where to BEGIN

jokes aside, I really like this game, if not with a few issues that did effect my overall opinion but it still is incredibly bold and unique for what it attempts in the medium. from the same creatives as moon remix rpg adventure this was love-de-lic's final game under that title before splitting off into a bunch of different studios, and it is very unique. easily the best aspect of this game is just the overall atmosphere of everything, this is definitely more of a pure "experience" type game rather than one for pure fun. this game really makes you FEEL alien, the sound design, the creatures, the music it all feels like something out of another dimension and it really sets the mood wonderfully. I love how much it feels like they just warped each set piece in terms of their look to really make you feel disoriented, highlight area for me would be the final 2 for almost complete opposite reasons they are really cool. I really love the different transformations that you can never predict where they are going they are always really neat. the soundtrack and sound design are so good as well, the best way to describe the soundtrack is that it feels like a futuristic version of what nature will become in like 100 years, it is genuinely so beautiful, favorite track is probably dream with its cooling guitar and its more wavy electronic motions its so relaxing. the sound design also accompanies this and I love it a lot, very detailed in its sound work. we will get into story a bit later cause we are about to talk about the real meat of any game THE GAMEPLAY, and uhh, it's weird.

the game took a real risk in that department, as they decided to take a real power move and have NO DIALOGUE in the entire game and tell everything through visuals, and overall I think it works very well for the story and the overall immersion, but for gameplay while it was mostly fine, had some real hurdles for me personally. the main issue is that the game isn't very good at explaining the mechanics and what can properly be interacted with said mechanics, and it can often be confusing to find the solutions because of that. the gameplay loop is pretty simple, pretty much most levels you have to help your fellow aliens with whatever problems so you can evolve into a bigger creature, and when you are able to figure things out its pretty fun, but the real issue is that there are no real hints or any small pushes to find your way so it can be a tad bit annoying, a lot of the solutions I think are legit pretty clever but the issue is getting to solving them is genuinely hard to do without some push, something like moon while it also can be a little bit vague at times still had a lot more of a push to explore and it feels rewarding. not helped is the fact there is a timer constantly looming over yourself in the form of your hunger meter, which if it gets low enough slowly kills you and you get a game over, and with the way it is implemented it can feel like a bit of a drag at points to me and I wish the way it was used was more like moon, where at first it is very strict, but the further you get into the game the better it gets, but here it just doesn't and was always a looming stressor. it sounds like I am complaining a lot so far here, but thats cause it is fairly flawed with how it is executed and I wanted to tell you if you do play it is pretty flawed in the pure gameplay regard, but once it clicks it really does click and its genuinely really cool to connect each piece you find to evolve becomes super satisfying to expand, and the overall exploration is really cool. each area is brimming with interesting patterns of how each ecosystem comes together overall, once again not perfect, but it still is so cool when you do really get into it. I do think the no dialogue thing works very well OVERALL, it just comes with a few things that could've been ironed out a bit more, maybe have on the animal screen for each creature a explanation of what they are and could've given a small hint to what they could've done.

now let's talk about the story itself, and its really cool. not to get into spoilers but it is a very environmental story, mainly in terms of the destruction that can happen from a "lack of love". once again not to get into major spoilers, but the way the story is told in the gameplay makes it really damn engaging with how it uses a lot of diegetic methods to make you involved in what is going on, it is very simple but it is very effective for what it is aiming for and its really nice, especially that final section which really adds a lot of tension of "is he going to make it" and its real neat and the ending is just plain nice, really love the way the story is told in this game it is a definite case of something that could only be done in the gaming medium and its just real cool.

lack of love is not a perfect game, but it is one that you can get a lot out of. if you are willing to be a bit patient you will be rewarded with a very special experience that you will gain a appreciation for. really enjoyed it and highly recommend if you haven't played it you won't regret it