[b]I COMPLETED IT!!![/b]
Okay so when I first started this game I’m not going to lie. I nearly uninstalled and gave up (Narrator likes to test your patience). HOWEVER, once I got past the first part, things got MUCH better. A beautiful ghostly piano solo came on, and the tower become much more adventure friendly, allowing me to pick and choose areas to try, so I could come back to a difficult one later (LAVA ROCK JUMPING – pain in the A**!).
Apart from the starting area, I loved how much variety there was within the game. Some areas were covered in green lush trees with little mice running around, whilst others were streams of lava, or a dark underground cave full of water with a full blown pirate ship to explore. There’s also a talking dragon which was cool.
I saw after playing that a lot of players were complaining about bugs, but the only one I ever found throughout my entire play-through was getting stuck on something (which I managed to get myself free after a few seconds) - Although I only started playing as of the latest update yesterday, so either I was really lucky, or the update fixed them?
I cannot really say much about the story without spoiling anything, but if you pay attention (I did not on my first play through: lost all my lives and had to restart) the story actually is really interesting. I suggest you turn down the music and sfx so you can better hear Fate.
[b]Pros[/b]
+ Great atmosphere.
+ Interesting story.
+ Sound / music were extremely well done.
+ Strong voice acting.
+ Animation was really good (although the lantern was a bit wonky sometimes).
+ GOOD ENDING (I was surprisingly not left disappointed, I’m currently re-playing for the second ending).
+ You get to control a MOUSE (Obvious pro).
+ CHEAP (I’d have paid $10 maybe $15 for what I got).
[b]Cons[/b]
- I sometimes got a little lost, and a map would have been nice.
- Some areas force you to die to progress, which felt a little UNFAIR to TAKE one of my precious lives. (Although after the starting area, there’s lots of lives you can find to replenish your reserves).
- Awful tedious start, the first puzzle is more of a waiting game, you’re sent back to over and over if you die. (It was fun once, but ONLY once.) [UPDATE: During my current play through this seems to have been updated so you don’t have to keep doing it!!].
- The valves are a bit clunky to turn, I was nearly doing a 360 with my mouse.
- Whilst the game saves your progress, loading takes you back to the main hall rather than back to where you were, it would have been nice to load exactly where you left off. It takes less than a minute to get to where you were, but it was still irritating).
- Fate skips dialog if you complete an area too quickly.
- There’s a grim reaper dude that has a lantern shop. Which is not very obvious, I kept walking past it, and it would have been nice to find it sooner – I found it more than half way through. I really wish I had a particular lantern much closer to the start. (Get his key for the chest, you won’t regret it).
[b]Final thoughts:[/b]
The game takes around 3 hours to complete. Apart from the beginning, and a few frustrating moments, I really enjoyed this.
All in all, for a small indie game, I'd say this is certainly worth playing, especially for the price.
