Lovely game from start to finish with just a few shakier parts and bits of missed potential here or there. To make things relatively short, I think the strongest part of this game is absolutely the feeling of authenticity it has both as a retro revival and as a piece of art on its own terms. Its weaknesses are often just extensions of the good -- that is to say, sometimes the game simply needed to have more in it. There's also the weird issue that the game's internal settings never saved themselves between sessions, so I would always have to change the camera to inverted vertical as desired and adjust volume levels every time I started the game (edit: this has now been patched! Shame it was slightly late). The ending was slightly abrupt too. Bleh.
As I'm sure many have said there is a really thick atmosphere of dreams and childhood that are (at least for those within certain age groups) pretty powerful in execution. I don't really feel nostalgia as far as I can tell based on how others have described it, but playing this game I felt so much like I was little that it was almost addictive. I describe it as almost a weird in-the-womb type feeling, yet also a sort of detachment. Personally I found myself thinking about mortality and life cycles a lot just as a result of the feelings this game evoked in me, and I find that really interesting even if the devs weren't exactly going for that.
For the first segment of the game there was just something so deeply youthful about the whole experience, like a breath of not-so-fresh but pleasant air. The blur filter and the somewhat muffled music added much to the feelings the game was generating, hitting the beats of childhood senses far more than most nostalgia-focused media tends to from what I've seen. The actual musical compositions probably could have used some more nostalgic-sounding N64 cellos, but what the game does give is nice to listen to.
Later into the game as things got more spooky and nightmarish rather than simply remaining as sweet dreams I still found them relatable in a sense. I was reminded of those creeping edges of darkness even in childhood when innocence is romanticized, and it made me shiver a little bit. I think the half-meta half-in-universe use of nightmares was clever and worked to the game's benefit. It didn't feel like a typical cheap modern indie "what if lighthearted thing was actually DARK" trick so much as a sincere show of... in a few pretentious words, the mixed nature of young life through the microcosm of another's dream. The bits of background lore and encyclopedia entries made it all the more salient of a narrative maneuver and it captivated me more than I expected.
However, I think there could have been a little bit more buildup and slow burning to get to that point of atmospheric shifting. The game's just a wee bit too short for its own good, only having four worlds with a hub world and some subworlds included too. There likely could have been one more world after the first just to emphasize the serenity of dreams before diving into the stormy scary dream of the second world or the cold and sad dream of the third. We only have a brief moment of softness to cling to, and that itself has a bit of darkness that's not able to be ignored. In terms of pacing it just feels a little off to dive into the darker sides of things so soon. Still, with what was in the game I found it remarkable just how well it balanced claustrophobic fifth-gen game maps and more open platforming. It once again gave off a feeling of the limited size of a dream, though I think things were juuuuuuust a little small for my liking even taking that into account.
On that note, though, the collectibles were generally well placed and provided plenty of challenge to acquire them all in plenty of hidden spots even within the small levels. However, some abilities like the bubble shot went woefully underused, and once again having a whole extra world to play around in would have given more room to take advantage of such a power. At the very least, though, the momentum-based platforming challenges were mostly well done and used at just the right measure, so in terms of general micro design the game was neither too compact nor too bloated. Of course, it also just felt good to play, not quite fitting like a glove yet not ever feeling remotely clunky. The movement worked well enough and felt like a blend of new and old in a way that's hard to describe.
To avoid spoilers I won't discuss the characters or endgame stuff in much detail. I found the small main cast all compelling, with the side characters being memorable and welcome too. The roles the main non-player characters had in the story were well shown as well as well developed in background elements. The secrets the player could find with the ability the game granted at 100% egg completion only added to such elements, and I found them all to be treats as well as generally appreciated bits of design. Being able to actually use an end-of-game completion reward to do unique things other than encountering the final boss is great and I wish more games had that design philosophy. Even as minor as the stuff ultimately was, it made things feel extra worthwhile as I was quite invested in this game.
I feel like I should say more about the game but this review's plenty long enough. Everything about this game felt great in a number of ways, and my biggest gripes were mostly that I wanted more. There was something truly magical about how this game capitalized on the eerie dread and discomfort N64-type games would create unintentionally. It brought to light that realization as an adult just how small childhood truly is. When playing this game I really felt like a little dragon kid on a mission and I felt immersed and sucked into this in a way games don't often do for me. The game builds itself upon both perceived and emulated limitations in a masterful way that leaves me hoping to follow the developers' further exploits. This was wonderful and I've to see (and maybe even create!) more in this general vein, though I hope it doesn't become oversaturated.
Playing this game was like a dream come true and I absolutely see myself coming back to experience it once again someday.
As I'm sure many have said there is a really thick atmosphere of dreams and childhood that are (at least for those within certain age groups) pretty powerful in execution. I don't really feel nostalgia as far as I can tell based on how others have described it, but playing this game I felt so much like I was little that it was almost addictive. I describe it as almost a weird in-the-womb type feeling, yet also a sort of detachment. Personally I found myself thinking about mortality and life cycles a lot just as a result of the feelings this game evoked in me, and I find that really interesting even if the devs weren't exactly going for that.
For the first segment of the game there was just something so deeply youthful about the whole experience, like a breath of not-so-fresh but pleasant air. The blur filter and the somewhat muffled music added much to the feelings the game was generating, hitting the beats of childhood senses far more than most nostalgia-focused media tends to from what I've seen. The actual musical compositions probably could have used some more nostalgic-sounding N64 cellos, but what the game does give is nice to listen to.
Later into the game as things got more spooky and nightmarish rather than simply remaining as sweet dreams I still found them relatable in a sense. I was reminded of those creeping edges of darkness even in childhood when innocence is romanticized, and it made me shiver a little bit. I think the half-meta half-in-universe use of nightmares was clever and worked to the game's benefit. It didn't feel like a typical cheap modern indie "what if lighthearted thing was actually DARK" trick so much as a sincere show of... in a few pretentious words, the mixed nature of young life through the microcosm of another's dream. The bits of background lore and encyclopedia entries made it all the more salient of a narrative maneuver and it captivated me more than I expected.
However, I think there could have been a little bit more buildup and slow burning to get to that point of atmospheric shifting. The game's just a wee bit too short for its own good, only having four worlds with a hub world and some subworlds included too. There likely could have been one more world after the first just to emphasize the serenity of dreams before diving into the stormy scary dream of the second world or the cold and sad dream of the third. We only have a brief moment of softness to cling to, and that itself has a bit of darkness that's not able to be ignored. In terms of pacing it just feels a little off to dive into the darker sides of things so soon. Still, with what was in the game I found it remarkable just how well it balanced claustrophobic fifth-gen game maps and more open platforming. It once again gave off a feeling of the limited size of a dream, though I think things were juuuuuuust a little small for my liking even taking that into account.
On that note, though, the collectibles were generally well placed and provided plenty of challenge to acquire them all in plenty of hidden spots even within the small levels. However, some abilities like the bubble shot went woefully underused, and once again having a whole extra world to play around in would have given more room to take advantage of such a power. At the very least, though, the momentum-based platforming challenges were mostly well done and used at just the right measure, so in terms of general micro design the game was neither too compact nor too bloated. Of course, it also just felt good to play, not quite fitting like a glove yet not ever feeling remotely clunky. The movement worked well enough and felt like a blend of new and old in a way that's hard to describe.
To avoid spoilers I won't discuss the characters or endgame stuff in much detail. I found the small main cast all compelling, with the side characters being memorable and welcome too. The roles the main non-player characters had in the story were well shown as well as well developed in background elements. The secrets the player could find with the ability the game granted at 100% egg completion only added to such elements, and I found them all to be treats as well as generally appreciated bits of design. Being able to actually use an end-of-game completion reward to do unique things other than encountering the final boss is great and I wish more games had that design philosophy. Even as minor as the stuff ultimately was, it made things feel extra worthwhile as I was quite invested in this game.
I feel like I should say more about the game but this review's plenty long enough. Everything about this game felt great in a number of ways, and my biggest gripes were mostly that I wanted more. There was something truly magical about how this game capitalized on the eerie dread and discomfort N64-type games would create unintentionally. It brought to light that realization as an adult just how small childhood truly is. When playing this game I really felt like a little dragon kid on a mission and I felt immersed and sucked into this in a way games don't often do for me. The game builds itself upon both perceived and emulated limitations in a masterful way that leaves me hoping to follow the developers' further exploits. This was wonderful and I've to see (and maybe even create!) more in this general vein, though I hope it doesn't become oversaturated.
Playing this game was like a dream come true and I absolutely see myself coming back to experience it once again someday.
Lynxelot
5 months ago