Tamarin is a great game that I had enough fun with to complete 100%.
GAMEPLAY
There's no game quite like it. It's very unique in its combination of platforming, exploration, and shooting. I've played many classic 3D platformers, and Tamarin sets itself apart to provide a unique experience of its own.
The shooting is inspired by Jet Force Gemini, but what sets it apart is that it has dedicated platforming areas more akin to something like Super Mario 64. This isn't just a novel blend of game genres, but it makes for a welcome change of pace and variety that keeps the game interesting throughout. The entire game is well-paced, and never felt dragged out.
The game's platforming controls very well. The protagonist, Tamarin is well-animated, and the inputs are responsive. He feels agile but also with a good amount of weight. During dedicated platforming sections, the move-set borrows quite heavily from Super Mario 64- there's a dive, crouch jump, and the "side-somersault" (which is useless in this game). The only means of attacking is a roll move, which is simple, but fun to pull off and chain between jumps and dives.
The most unique ability Tamarin has is this context-sensitive leap, where he can leap long distances in specific areas. My feelings on this mechanic are mixed. Sometimes, it was a satisfying surprise to discover a spot where I can use it. Other times, it felt asinine and that it would've been more fun to just do normal platforming.
Tamarin can also climb specific walls and poles. The wall sections are fun obstacles that add to the exploration. The poles are fun too, but went heavily under-used, in my opinion.
The game's shooting is also solid. It's a nice break from the platforming. It's third-person shooting, but with a unique control-scheme that attempts to capture the same feeling of shooters from the Nintendo 64- specifically Jet Force Gemini. It isn't by any means emulating those old controls though; it's more like a half-way point between old and new controls. I think the controls are fun and the game's challenges are well-designed with these controls in mind. Aiming vertically takes getting used to, but it never felt unfair. You rarely ever have to aim vertically anyway, as the game allows you to lock-on to enemies positioned on turrets/towers/balconies. The lock-on mechanic might confuse some players, as you can ONLY lock-on to these aforementioned enemies but not any ground troops.
You also unlock new weapons along the adventure. I wont spoil any of them, but they're fun and well-used throughout the game. I found myself using every weapon I unlocked all the way through the game. It's well-designed.
Shooting sections are generous with health and ammo as long as you explore, and I think the challenge is fair throughout.
LEVEL DESIGN
The game is thoroughly well-designed. Progress between each main area is gated, requiring players to collect a certain amount of fire-flies (this game's main collectible). You find fire-flies by exploring during the platforming segments.
It's a fun progression system that provides just the right amount of challenge and forgiveness. You don't need every fire-fly to progress and there's a healthy amount of room for choosing which you want to collect.
The game is less forgiving when collecting blue birds, which are the main collectible during shooting segments (blue birds are exchanged for fire flies at bird-houses, (3 birds = 1 fire fly) so they're technically also fire-flies).
The birds are held hostage and you have to rescue them. If at any point they're shot (by the enemy, or you), they're completely gone until you complete that area and then revisit it from the very beginning. It's easy to miss these or accidentally get them killed for first-timers. On top of that, shooting levels can last about 20-50 minutes depending on skill and thoroughness, so that's considerably punishing when going for 100%
Fortunately though, for Any%, it's not an issue at all. It's only overly punishing if going for 100%, but this system is fair and rewarding for Any%. It's completely the player's fault if they don't have enough fire-flies to progress to the next area.
The platforming levels are focused on exploration, while the shooting areas are linear with branching paths. Both are well-designed overall.
GRAPHICS
The visuals are great. There aren't many platformers with this setting and style, so I also think it's unique.
All the outdoor environments are simply visually pleasant, and there's enough distinction between areas to distinguish them. The textures and lighting are great, and everything's solid.
I do think the in-door factory sections could've used more visual variety, as they look very similar to each other. With that said, the factory areas still look good though.
MUSIC
The music is very good. I found each song to be a good musical piece. The music overall is very dramatic and moody, and it does a good job scoring the game's settings.
STORY
This game's narrative is relatively simple but serviceable. It's about saving Tamarin's family. Almost the entire narrative transpires through the gameplay. There are very few cinematics, which I think is a good thing. It's a gameplay first kind of game, and I appreciate that. I think any more cut-scenes would've worsened the game's pacing.
The story is also competently executed. It sets up its conflict and the conclusion of the game resolves it. Its stakes are communicated through the game's challenge and settings.
There's also memoirs which add personality to Tamarin by providing a little inner monologue in the form of text. They don't add much, but it's an appreciated detail that adds character to the game.
This game's narrative delivers what it needs to. It's not a focal point, and it shouldn't be.
LENGTH
Tamarin took me about 10 hours to beat normally, 13 hours to 100%. I think the game is replayable.
FLAWS/ISSUES/DISLIKES
-The game crashed on me, I think twice, over the course of my entire time playing it. Causes are unknown. It wasn't a big deal though as there is frequent autosave and I could just restart the game.
-It's VERY nit-picky, but I noticed tiny issues with the geometry of some assets, such as missing tris on some surfaces. It was very infrequent, only found on some static meshes in the environment, and most people probably won't even notice though.
-I think the birds being blue and the enemies being blue in the shooting areas can confuse first-timers in dim-lit caves and rooms. I've accidentally shot a bird because of it.
-When doing the timed silver coin challenges, the camera showing where the coins are can be very disorienting. Because of this, later challenges felt somewhat trial-and-error.
-Personally, I think the death animations and effects for the bug enemies is a bit much. I understand it's a throwback to Jet Force Gemini, but some might find it shocking and even inappropriate for younger audiences.
-Collecting everything 100% beyond what is required to progress the main game lacks any extrinsic reward.
CONCLUSION
Like I said, it's a great game. If it looks to you like a kind of game you would enjoy, you probably will enjoy it.
