Charmandolin
2023
Took me back to when I first played Tunic, though in this case engaging with the translation is the main mechanic. At first, I'd feel bad if I brute-forced a translation with the notebook - it felt like cheating. But after thinking about the larger context of the game, you can't brute-force anything unless you have a general understanding of what characters mean what.
I wish there was more game here - referring back to Tunic, translating was part of the game but there were excellent mechanics elsewhere. Here in Sennaar, there is awkward stealth and super light point-and-click style puzzles. Those criticisms aside - I had a good time with this game and have recommended it to a few other folks in my life.
I wish there was more game here - referring back to Tunic, translating was part of the game but there were excellent mechanics elsewhere. Here in Sennaar, there is awkward stealth and super light point-and-click style puzzles. Those criticisms aside - I had a good time with this game and have recommended it to a few other folks in my life.
2022
I was looking for something incredibly low stakes and this game absolutely is that. However, I bounced off of the fact that some of these puzzles are so absurdly easy that you might confuse this game for the second screen in a TikTok illegally posting clips of Family Guy. Video Games have their limits, and I don't think any game will ever make a cozier puzzle than just actually solving a physical puzzle.
2022
I'm not sure what part of this game didn't click with me, but it didn't. I didn't love the fishing, it felt like a bit of a grind. Mashing buttons as fast and often as you do is bad for a SteamDeck. The Tapper minigame during food service wasn't particularly gripping either. I found out almost 5 hours into the game that I was doing the restaurant management drastically incorrectly but still was making enough money to move along the power curve at a normal level. The writing felt generic and shallow - the parody characters are the most basic parody elements rolled into a character (Shopkeeper = sketchy, weeb loves figurines, the cool sushi chef is cool and mysterious).
It's not a bad game, but it was not for me.
It's not a bad game, but it was not for me.
I think this game does an excellent job of adapting Celeste's mechanics to a 3-D space and wish it were longer. The movement wasn't flawless, but the fall indicator helped quite a bit. I would recommend it to fans of the game but this probably shouldn't be someone's first game in the 3-D platforming genre.
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