Neat game about going through it.
I'm coming to the party a bit late, so most of what I knew about this game before playing it was that it was something that was a "trans people game." Looking at it you might think that it means that it's going to be a Wholesome 100, Feelsie game about transitioning or something, but it really isn't. The game is pretty genuine about the idea of people having different struggles and the difficulty of what it takes to get through them, even having a fake out “your parents just don’t understand you” scene. It’s hard to get through whatever you’re going through (the game is pretty vague about Madeline’s problems specifically, which I think helps in sympathizing with the game’s concepts), but being with other people, wherever you can find them, helps. At the same time, you need to be willing to accept the problems you do have and not just push them down in hopes you’ll be better for it. That all said, there’s only so much I can say about the story as there’s only so much of it. The game says what it wants to say and not much more. The gameplay on the other hand has a lot more than the initial run through.
One of the strengths of indie games is that the simpler game concepts can often be explored in so many different ways without also feeling like they were drawn out too long. Basically every 45 minutes or so, you’ll have some new mechanic on top of jumping, dashing, and holding. Add on different aesthetics for each chapter, the whole game felt fresh and kept me interested the whole 7 hours it took me to go through the main campaign. With there being even more optional stages and collectables, this could be a game someone could really engross themselves into.
Overall, a pretty good game that ended up being a lot different from what I was expecting but not overwhelming. Madeline is just like me, fr, though.
I'm coming to the party a bit late, so most of what I knew about this game before playing it was that it was something that was a "trans people game." Looking at it you might think that it means that it's going to be a Wholesome 100, Feelsie game about transitioning or something, but it really isn't. The game is pretty genuine about the idea of people having different struggles and the difficulty of what it takes to get through them, even having a fake out “your parents just don’t understand you” scene. It’s hard to get through whatever you’re going through (the game is pretty vague about Madeline’s problems specifically, which I think helps in sympathizing with the game’s concepts), but being with other people, wherever you can find them, helps. At the same time, you need to be willing to accept the problems you do have and not just push them down in hopes you’ll be better for it. That all said, there’s only so much I can say about the story as there’s only so much of it. The game says what it wants to say and not much more. The gameplay on the other hand has a lot more than the initial run through.
One of the strengths of indie games is that the simpler game concepts can often be explored in so many different ways without also feeling like they were drawn out too long. Basically every 45 minutes or so, you’ll have some new mechanic on top of jumping, dashing, and holding. Add on different aesthetics for each chapter, the whole game felt fresh and kept me interested the whole 7 hours it took me to go through the main campaign. With there being even more optional stages and collectables, this could be a game someone could really engross themselves into.
Overall, a pretty good game that ended up being a lot different from what I was expecting but not overwhelming. Madeline is just like me, fr, though.