One more try one more try one more try one more try one more try GOT IT YES next level I should probably stop but I'll give it one go one more one more one more and that's how I thought I had spent maybe 7-10 hours on this game but actually spent over 20 and completed every challenge. I'm so rarely a completionist but there's something about short levels and short checklists that absolutely send dopamine coursing through my body. Perfect stuff.

Just for OlliOlli haven't started the second yet. This double pack was $4.50 on sale which feels absolutely illegal.

I'm pretty split on this. I really enjoyed it but also felt it was pretty flawed.

The important thing is that it was fun, it was relaxed, it was a good time.

The granularity of controls allowed for flexibility, but also made it difficult to master and frustrating when precision is required.

The world is beautiful and fun to explore, but none of the side stuff felt that meaningful, and there was nothing driving me forward to really explore it. The easiest comparison is of Ori and the Blind Forest, which it felt like in many ways, but the progression in that game was so encouraging, this felt a little pointless.

The difficulty as a whole is funny, since there are no real stakes, you don't take damage or anything, so to make it challenging, it just makes certain boss events very frustrating and easy to stuff up, again though, the relaxed nature of it was a good thing.

I have issues with the world design and backtracking, ability progression, and the currency system, but despite it all, the concept and gameplay was just so solid and fun that it made up for most shortcomings. This had potential to be truly incredible, but maybe it didn't. The problem with such a unique concept, a pinball metroidvania, is that maybe, though fun, it is inherently flawed. Maybe it couldn't ever be perfect, like more straightforward games that aren't combining things in such novel ways. But it is fun. And that's what games should be, right?

A lot of fun, and clearly a lot of effort was put in to polishing this. It's also quite rich in possibilities for mastery, which is cool, and it does require you to be at a certain level to unlock all the levels, but it's never that difficult. I think some tutorial elements are poorly delivered, and there are some levels that are a bit of a slog, and right at the end, a mechanic is introduced that I'm not a huge fan of, turning it into a bit of a very underwhelming finale. All in all though, it's a good bit of fun.

Fun...until it isn't. Getting the hang of the platforming is a treat, and the game excels in the speedrun areas (though they become incredibly difficult at points), but by halfway through, there are so many massive exploration based levels which are a chore to get through, especially when we are dealing with one mistake ending a run. It's like if every star in Mario 64 was a 100 coin star. Brutal and tiresome. I think this kind of game works best as a quick, pick up and play sort of deal, but the design works against it.

Maybe its the nostalgia. I grew up with this, not Mario 64. The level design in the late game doesn't really hold up to scrutiny, and obviously, the length and difficulty leave something to be desired. That said, I was the target audience of this game at one point. And back then, the feeling of experimentation with the powers was awesome. It didn't feel too easy or too hard. The soundtrack and visuals were my jam. And it was full of just enough creepiness to make a lasting impact. Playing through it again was a blast. Kirby's the best :)