I'm floored with Ghost Song despite the numerous flaws. 9 hours flew by quickly. This game is amazing at building up a believable world, being very atmospheric and sounding great. I don't mean sound just in terms of music but also sound effects, voice acting (when there is some), the way sound is mixed and from which side it comes from when you're using a decent headset etc. The game has some little touches like how some of your friends carry an umbrella when it's raining, how it snows sometimes, how the living life forms truly feel alive etc. The setting is so fascinating and I wish I got to see more of it. The Metroidvania gameplay is also very well done. The modules are worth going after and it's addictive levelling up your character.
When it comes to flaws, I can think of 2 mainly. Story and difficulty. I enjoyed the story a lot but the way it was presented is not the best sometimes. And there isn't enough of it. Let me explain a bit more (without spoiling things).
Most of the story is gotten by talking to NPC who are either near the ship or somewhere in the field. You don't get all they have to say by talking to them once, you have to talk to them multiple times until they have nothing new to say until the next cycle. This is not the problem. The problem is when they also say some random shit or too much sometimes. Yes, you don't have to keep talking to them if you're tired but there are some very important lore mixed with stupid dialogue sometimes. Like when they say things like 'sometimes I dream of being carried by a tortoise' or 'do you think a girl lived here' or 'why don't you write a poem about a cat' etc. I know they were building up some personalities and setting up the mood but sometimes it goes too far. Also it is very easy to miss NPC dialogue and therefore lore when it happens in the field. You have to be at the right place and the right time to activate certain dialogues. I don't know what these conditions are but it is easy to think the game has bad story when you didn't speak to certain NPC. The ending also felt very abrupt. I wish they added a bit more to it, especially when we didn't get an answer about what Blue is, how she arrived at this planet etc. It's pretty bad to not answer those kind of questions when a lot of the plot is about it and most NPC asking what you are. I have my guesses of course but there is no confirmation in-game. Who knows, maybe I missed a dialogue somewhere.
About the difficulty, you get 2 modes. The way the game is intended to be played originally (a more difficult mode) and explorer. I went with explorer because I wasn't sure what to pick (in-game they advise you to pick explorer if you're unsure) and you can't change the difficulty mid-game. I would have liked giving the other difficulty a try and switch to explorer if I didn't like it. I thought the difficulty was fine for the most part but some sections did feel off. Like things could have been a tiny bit more challenging. But I don't want a frustrating time, hence the decision. There is new game plus that I sadly don't feel like giving a try before the game is taken off Humble launcher on November the 7th. But I might use my save and try it out if I ever get it on Steam someday.
This game is special. It truly got my attention. But it's not a game for everyone. Especially the ones focused on gameplay mostly. The gameplay is good but it's not the main selling point or does anything unique. I'm not sure if the game is challenging enough for those seeking this since I didn't try out the other mode. But ones looking for exploration, atmosphere and world building while having fun with the gameplay? It's definitely worth a look.
When it comes to flaws, I can think of 2 mainly. Story and difficulty. I enjoyed the story a lot but the way it was presented is not the best sometimes. And there isn't enough of it. Let me explain a bit more (without spoiling things).
Most of the story is gotten by talking to NPC who are either near the ship or somewhere in the field. You don't get all they have to say by talking to them once, you have to talk to them multiple times until they have nothing new to say until the next cycle. This is not the problem. The problem is when they also say some random shit or too much sometimes. Yes, you don't have to keep talking to them if you're tired but there are some very important lore mixed with stupid dialogue sometimes. Like when they say things like 'sometimes I dream of being carried by a tortoise' or 'do you think a girl lived here' or 'why don't you write a poem about a cat' etc. I know they were building up some personalities and setting up the mood but sometimes it goes too far. Also it is very easy to miss NPC dialogue and therefore lore when it happens in the field. You have to be at the right place and the right time to activate certain dialogues. I don't know what these conditions are but it is easy to think the game has bad story when you didn't speak to certain NPC. The ending also felt very abrupt. I wish they added a bit more to it, especially when we didn't get an answer about what Blue is, how she arrived at this planet etc. It's pretty bad to not answer those kind of questions when a lot of the plot is about it and most NPC asking what you are. I have my guesses of course but there is no confirmation in-game. Who knows, maybe I missed a dialogue somewhere.
About the difficulty, you get 2 modes. The way the game is intended to be played originally (a more difficult mode) and explorer. I went with explorer because I wasn't sure what to pick (in-game they advise you to pick explorer if you're unsure) and you can't change the difficulty mid-game. I would have liked giving the other difficulty a try and switch to explorer if I didn't like it. I thought the difficulty was fine for the most part but some sections did feel off. Like things could have been a tiny bit more challenging. But I don't want a frustrating time, hence the decision. There is new game plus that I sadly don't feel like giving a try before the game is taken off Humble launcher on November the 7th. But I might use my save and try it out if I ever get it on Steam someday.
This game is special. It truly got my attention. But it's not a game for everyone. Especially the ones focused on gameplay mostly. The gameplay is good but it's not the main selling point or does anything unique. I'm not sure if the game is challenging enough for those seeking this since I didn't try out the other mode. But ones looking for exploration, atmosphere and world building while having fun with the gameplay? It's definitely worth a look.