This came from a really small studio, so it's an incredible achievement. I love this game's presentation: the visuals are lovely, and the music is soothing throughout the whole game.

And the amount of effort they put into the design, goddamn - the "figure it out" approach was executed really damn well, thanks to the amazing idea of the in-game "instruction manual". I loved it, and was able to do most of it without a guide. Discovering the Holy Cross was a particularly satisfying moment. I did end up having to look up some tiny things because occasionally I didn't see a way forward, and I don't think those were meant as "puzzles", it felt like poor visual conveyance from the level design. Nothing major though.

But wow, getting the true ending is kinda absurd. I was almost done so I went all the way, but it was absolutely waaaaay above me, and I looked up a guide. For those who played it, I'm talking about the Golden Path and the fairies. It's always a curious feeling to read the solution of a puzzle, and still be unsure of how it works.

Here's a piece of advice though: if you can't figure it out youserfl, don't bother with the true ending, even with a guide. The devs considered that just solving the puzzle was pay-off enough (rightfully so, solving these without a guide is a truly amazing feat), so the true ending actually has no final boss to speak of. It just ends, and since I've used a guide, it felt anti-climatic.

Not that it matters that much, because I really didn't think the combat was good - my one major criticism. It's pretty obvious the devs are big Souls fans and were dead-set on incorporating Souls elements into this game, and it's an ill-conceived idea, imo, the game would be much better served with a more basic Zelda-like combat.

The bosses' movements and patterns feel like a mismatch to your own movement, and the game not pausing when you open your inventory is legit a detriment. There's tons of items to be found, but I ended up not using a lot of them because it wasn't possible to switch things around during combat.

Thankfully, the devs realized the strength lies on the exploration and the world, so there's an option to make yourself invincible, making combat a non-issue. I love when devs do that shit.

Just a lovely game all around.

Reviewed on Jul 03, 2022


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