when it's done right, the subgenre of "short, arty, atmospheric exploration game driven by abstract storytelling" has made for some of my favorite games ever, in titles like Journey, ABZU, and Gris.

Vane is definitely not that subgenre done right. It delivers on the visuals and art direction, at least, but its horribly clunky controls, frustratingly unclear objectives, and lack of checkpoints for already badly-controlling platforming segments make it impossible to recommend at all but the steepest of discounts.