I love how each world has its own distinct feeling despite all taking place in a similar setting (kind of like Super Mario Sunshine). It's writing/central themes are really beautifully integrated into the gameplay and all the characters are lovely, but the level design just leaves a lot to be desired for me. There's some really cool sections like that haunted hotel level and the parts where you can fly around with the feather item, but a lot of the platforming just feels kinda predictable. I beat it in a few days and didn't find it all that challenging except for when I was going for all the strawberries, which add a lot of replay value. I kinda just wish it took more risks and had more eclectic levels but overall there's a lot to love here and I'm glad it's gotten the attention it deserves.

Atmosphere is on point and it controls fine but I don't think the metroidvania formula translates that well into an FPS here. Most of the game consists of following a path, hitting a dead end, turning around until you find an item and then using the item to get through the dead end only to rinse and repeat. You could argue that's what the 2D ones did but it worked fine there because not only did you move much more quickly, but building up your arsenal felt like it had use outside of just getting to another area. Here the items feel very situational and the game just feels like I'm walking back and forth through the same areas without much purpose.