I'll start by saying the art direction in this game is simply stunning and is accompanied by a beautiful musical score that comes in and out at the perfect time. The video game-ification of the 5 stages of grief was pretty interesting and I applaud the creativity.
However mechanically this game doesn't really do anything new and uses a lot of the well established design tropes that have been used for years to create emotional feelings through level design and gameplay, specifically present in this game is the steep ascents and sharp descents to create feelings of overcoming obstacles and hope, or despair and sadness respectively.
The gameplay is minimalist and somewhat uninspired which ends up hurting the final product significantly. While playing I kept hoping in the back of my mind that it would end soon because I just knew that the gorgeous style could only hide the lacking substance for so long and I didn't want to start disliking it. Thankfully the game is only 2-3 hours long so it doesn't overstay its welcome and the finale is rather powerful and ends on an optimistic note which I appreciated.
However mechanically this game doesn't really do anything new and uses a lot of the well established design tropes that have been used for years to create emotional feelings through level design and gameplay, specifically present in this game is the steep ascents and sharp descents to create feelings of overcoming obstacles and hope, or despair and sadness respectively.
The gameplay is minimalist and somewhat uninspired which ends up hurting the final product significantly. While playing I kept hoping in the back of my mind that it would end soon because I just knew that the gorgeous style could only hide the lacking substance for so long and I didn't want to start disliking it. Thankfully the game is only 2-3 hours long so it doesn't overstay its welcome and the finale is rather powerful and ends on an optimistic note which I appreciated.