AyoNW
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Nothing here!
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037
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Some interesting ideas here! Really liked the length, the focus on a small-scale narrative and the central mechanic of the hoover arm. Game was absolutely gorgeous throughout - didn't love the character models but the environments were fantastic, felt bright and full of life.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.
This review contains spoilers
Absolutely adore most of this game. Devoured it within a weekend and that is the ideal length of a game to me. Drill mechanic feels phenomenal. Building up speed, curving around, skipping across the surface of the water, knocking shit down. Fantastic stuff. Loved the additions to the drill too - particularly the grapple points and swing points, the cannons and the snowmobile. They really added to the sense of speed and entering a flow state, especially during segments where you'd have to chain cannon jumps, swings and drilling. Loved it. The gun and mech were cool too! Broke up the flow a bit but they still felt really good! Whole game felt like a flash game/GBA platformer in the best way possible. Short, sweet, plays with one central mechanic in very cool ways.
Generally in non-combat focused games I don't like boss fights. They often feel like they're there for the sake of being there, and most of the time feel like they grind the game to a halt. This was absolutely true here. The first 3 bosses were calm, I was willing to look past them. But the final boss was ASS. Finicky, frustrating, unfun. I hated the drilling between tiny circular platforms thing with a bottomless pit below, it makes moving at any kind of speed a massive risk. Just an unfun ending that completely left a sour taste in my mouth. If it were down to me I'd have redesigned that whole final boss. Made it into one more level where you're drilling into the Emperor dude's giant body and toppling him like that. Maybe even ending with you drilling through his skull like in the logo. But that's just me.
Loved this game otherwise. It being made by one guy is so inspiring, what a labour of love it clearly was.
Generally in non-combat focused games I don't like boss fights. They often feel like they're there for the sake of being there, and most of the time feel like they grind the game to a halt. This was absolutely true here. The first 3 bosses were calm, I was willing to look past them. But the final boss was ASS. Finicky, frustrating, unfun. I hated the drilling between tiny circular platforms thing with a bottomless pit below, it makes moving at any kind of speed a massive risk. Just an unfun ending that completely left a sour taste in my mouth. If it were down to me I'd have redesigned that whole final boss. Made it into one more level where you're drilling into the Emperor dude's giant body and toppling him like that. Maybe even ending with you drilling through his skull like in the logo. But that's just me.
Loved this game otherwise. It being made by one guy is so inspiring, what a labour of love it clearly was.
A lot of fun, especially when playing with a group of friends who know what they're doing. Idk though, I had 2-3 really fun sessions and then never felt any urge to jump back in. I know the gunplay, movement and things like calling in stratagems feel great. I know it looks amazing, and I know the live service aspects are being used in very clever, genuinely new ways. The structure of the game just never really made me want to play more. Maybe I missed something but each mission just turned into 'run around, kill bugs/do objectives, pick up samples', ad infinitum. I think I'm just not wired for live services anymore because the idea of doing that same gameplay loop with no sense of progression beyond new weapons and cosmetics for hundreds of hours just did not appeal. Glad I jumped in at launch because I never do that with big games anymore but I will be selling my copy.