This is genuinely one of, if not the most, disappointing games I've played this year. I had such high hopes for it based on the screenshots and reviews, and I love liminal space, weirdcore, and dream exploration as themes and concepts in media. I was genuinely so excited to play this game. So you can imagine my disappointment when I begin playing and come face to face with awful 3D platforming. The hub world was honestly the worst part, as for some reason, you have to hop up these giant pillars to get to the next world, with every new level you unlock adding a new pillar to the path. Why this design choice was made, I can't say, as once you complete a world, you're no longer able to enter it, so what's the point of keeping the other pillars around? The amount of times I tried jumping from one pillar to the next, only to barely miss the next pillar and fall into the water below and die was astounding. And it's not just that I'm jumping bad on purpose, no, you have to jump from a very, very specific spot with very specific timing in order to make it to the next pillar. There were even a few times where I landed ON the edge of the pillar, and then clipped and fell into the water and died anyway. And every time you die? It's a five second respawn back in the middle of the island. So in between levels, I was dying maybe 7-10 times just trying to get to the next one. That's ridiculous.
I think the most egregious one though was in the fifth world. No spoilers, but the level takes place in a large map and has a stretch of mid-air platforming at the very edge, the furthest from the starting point. However, before you can do the platforming, you have to unlock the section by talking to two separate NPCs in a specific order. This causes a new platform to spawn that allows you to bridge the gap between the map and the platforming section. These NPCs aren't insanely far apart from each other, but you do have to walk a bit to complete this task, not to mention having to walk from the 2nd NPC to the platforming section. HOWEVER. If you die while doing this platforming, you spawn back at the beginning of the level, with the entire thing RESETTING. So now, you have to walk all the way across the map, talk to both NPCs again, and then go re attempt the platforming. Not to mention the fact that the walk speed is very slow and although there is a run button*, it is not mentioned anywhere but the control page in the settings menu. For something so vital for a game like this, it's bad design to have it go unmentioned on a surface level, especially in a genre (chill/lo-fi/walking simulator) that doesn't always have them, as typically the point is to take your time and enjoy the environments. Because clearly, it's very easy for players to miss it.
The frustration I experienced from these platforming sections, especially those in the hub world, ruined the game for me. I was no longer able to feel relaxed or calm enough to want to explore, as I knew that every time I beat a level, more horrible platforming awaited me. And again, I feel really bad, because I was so excited to play this game, and besides the platforming, the game is immaculate. The worlds feel unified and tonally sound, and the graphics are just awesome, as is the music. But the platforming, god the platforming, it destroyed me. Part of me feels like the developer KNEW this was an issue, because nowhere on the itch.io page does the game mention or show off platforming. Not in any of the text, not in any of the screenshots, not even in the tags. So sure, you can think to yourself, "maybe he's just not good enough", "maybe the platforming isn't as bad as he says it is, and he's just not good enough at 3D platforming". And I'd say, Ok, that's fair, BUT... this game gains nothing from it, and loses everything from it instead. There was no reason for it to exist at all in the game. And at the end of the day, maybe I am bad at 3D platformers. But that's why I decided to play a game that didn't say it was one. And at the end of the day, that's why I'm so infuriated over it.
*In my original review, I stated there was no run button. I didn't know the game had one until editing this (9/5/23) and thus didn't use it at all while playing through the game.
I think the most egregious one though was in the fifth world. No spoilers, but the level takes place in a large map and has a stretch of mid-air platforming at the very edge, the furthest from the starting point. However, before you can do the platforming, you have to unlock the section by talking to two separate NPCs in a specific order. This causes a new platform to spawn that allows you to bridge the gap between the map and the platforming section. These NPCs aren't insanely far apart from each other, but you do have to walk a bit to complete this task, not to mention having to walk from the 2nd NPC to the platforming section. HOWEVER. If you die while doing this platforming, you spawn back at the beginning of the level, with the entire thing RESETTING. So now, you have to walk all the way across the map, talk to both NPCs again, and then go re attempt the platforming. Not to mention the fact that the walk speed is very slow and although there is a run button*, it is not mentioned anywhere but the control page in the settings menu. For something so vital for a game like this, it's bad design to have it go unmentioned on a surface level, especially in a genre (chill/lo-fi/walking simulator) that doesn't always have them, as typically the point is to take your time and enjoy the environments. Because clearly, it's very easy for players to miss it.
The frustration I experienced from these platforming sections, especially those in the hub world, ruined the game for me. I was no longer able to feel relaxed or calm enough to want to explore, as I knew that every time I beat a level, more horrible platforming awaited me. And again, I feel really bad, because I was so excited to play this game, and besides the platforming, the game is immaculate. The worlds feel unified and tonally sound, and the graphics are just awesome, as is the music. But the platforming, god the platforming, it destroyed me. Part of me feels like the developer KNEW this was an issue, because nowhere on the itch.io page does the game mention or show off platforming. Not in any of the text, not in any of the screenshots, not even in the tags. So sure, you can think to yourself, "maybe he's just not good enough", "maybe the platforming isn't as bad as he says it is, and he's just not good enough at 3D platforming". And I'd say, Ok, that's fair, BUT... this game gains nothing from it, and loses everything from it instead. There was no reason for it to exist at all in the game. And at the end of the day, maybe I am bad at 3D platformers. But that's why I decided to play a game that didn't say it was one. And at the end of the day, that's why I'm so infuriated over it.
*In my original review, I stated there was no run button. I didn't know the game had one until editing this (9/5/23) and thus didn't use it at all while playing through the game.
2 Comments
@ANerdList No need to be passive aggressive. You're right. I just checked, and there is one. However, in my opinion, it's bad design to have something so vital (or really the controls in general) tucked away in the settings menu. I'll append my review, but to me, this doesn't change the rating I gave it.
ANerdList
8 months ago