Felt the need to pick a short Game Pass title to play through, and saw that this got a 10/10 on IGN and was critically acclaimed, so thought I'd give this a go.
This is a beautifully atmospheric platform/puzzle game, which gives you absolutely no handholding whatsoever. You play as a boy lost in a forest who has to navigate through some sort of military complex, and it looks like some kind of military presence have enslaved other individuals. There's no combat here, just avoid any bad guys, work out lots of fun puzzles and essentially keep moving right to the next challenge. The whole 4-ish hours are seamless - no cut scenes, no button prompts, nothing. And it works beautifully.
The puzzles were pretty good - but nothing that stood out above any other games of a similar ilk. It's.... good. Visually, it's lovely. Particular the lighting. The sound is also spot on - again, atmospheric and spooky.
The final act of the game takes a drastic, crazy turn which I didn't see coming, and it's very thought provoking. I've a theory of what it's all about which I'll put in spoilers at the end. As a narrative piece, it makes you rethink everything you've done up to this point, and it's pretty successful.
So - this is a solid, polished, pretty fun platformer which I enjoyed. But one of the main things I thought about this game is just why it's so highly rated? I don't really understand the level of praise it's got - is it the last act and the subsequent theories it provokes? This is by no means a poor game - I did enjoy it, but an IGN 10/10 Masterpiece gene-defining classic? Not for me - certainly worth a play, and I think it's the perfect length - plenty of difference game mechanics, and it doesn't outstay it's welcome - it's engaging, it's emotional, it's good. But it's not a bona fide classic.
Spoiler for the ending:
After a bit of headscratching, and wondering what the absolute fuck was happening when the boy merges with the other bodies into a big blob, I think this is something to do with a germ or virus infiltrating the body.
All of the sentries, dogs, guards, water people etc - could these be antibodies? Is the little boy actually the 'bad guy' all along, finding a way into the main organs and subsequently infecting the whole body, which then 'breaks out' at the end as an illness, such as a cold, or some other form of virus?
There's a point where the boy 'learns' to breathe underwater, like a virus mutating or adapting to its surroundings which should have rung some alarm bells....
Anyone else had any similar thoughts?
This is a beautifully atmospheric platform/puzzle game, which gives you absolutely no handholding whatsoever. You play as a boy lost in a forest who has to navigate through some sort of military complex, and it looks like some kind of military presence have enslaved other individuals. There's no combat here, just avoid any bad guys, work out lots of fun puzzles and essentially keep moving right to the next challenge. The whole 4-ish hours are seamless - no cut scenes, no button prompts, nothing. And it works beautifully.
The puzzles were pretty good - but nothing that stood out above any other games of a similar ilk. It's.... good. Visually, it's lovely. Particular the lighting. The sound is also spot on - again, atmospheric and spooky.
The final act of the game takes a drastic, crazy turn which I didn't see coming, and it's very thought provoking. I've a theory of what it's all about which I'll put in spoilers at the end. As a narrative piece, it makes you rethink everything you've done up to this point, and it's pretty successful.
So - this is a solid, polished, pretty fun platformer which I enjoyed. But one of the main things I thought about this game is just why it's so highly rated? I don't really understand the level of praise it's got - is it the last act and the subsequent theories it provokes? This is by no means a poor game - I did enjoy it, but an IGN 10/10 Masterpiece gene-defining classic? Not for me - certainly worth a play, and I think it's the perfect length - plenty of difference game mechanics, and it doesn't outstay it's welcome - it's engaging, it's emotional, it's good. But it's not a bona fide classic.
Spoiler for the ending:
After a bit of headscratching, and wondering what the absolute fuck was happening when the boy merges with the other bodies into a big blob, I think this is something to do with a germ or virus infiltrating the body.
All of the sentries, dogs, guards, water people etc - could these be antibodies? Is the little boy actually the 'bad guy' all along, finding a way into the main organs and subsequently infecting the whole body, which then 'breaks out' at the end as an illness, such as a cold, or some other form of virus?
There's a point where the boy 'learns' to breathe underwater, like a virus mutating or adapting to its surroundings which should have rung some alarm bells....
Anyone else had any similar thoughts?