One of my biggest gamer eye-opening moments of the past few years was realizing that movement can, and should be fun in any game. Analgesic Productions' previous title, Anodyne 2, was one of the titles which furthered that train of thought, and made me realize that if a game has a cool, weird movement system, it allows for a whole new world of possibilities I was unaware of previously. Sephonie continues this tradition, while also presenting a whole new talking point from a two-dev-team with some of the most unique perspectives in gamedev today.

The platforming can be described in several ways, it is sometimes floaty, sometimes bouncy, sometimes heavy. It all depends on the situation, and the pace isn't even. It's weird, like I said. The world reflects this; the level design is very abstract, the shapes of what you are running on are not always round or straight. They're uncohesive. Other platforms stick out, there are bulges which you may or may not run alongside with your wallrun ability. It's prone to experimenting, and there's a lot of joy to be found there. You are constantly occupied trying to wrap your head around a path, or thinking about where an item could be hidden. Some objects are not reachable with the rules the game itself set out, but once you discover it, the hunt is on.

Some platforming puzzles can be difficult, I wish there was a way to insert your own checkpoint to expedite the process somewhat, but the game does provide a plentitude of accessibility options, all ready to be toggled at your leisure. In fact, the game even provides a way to access debug mode in the epilogue, as it is seemingly incentivized in order to obtain all the collectibles. Not required, mind you, I don't think there is a single collectible unavailable through regular gameplay, but I did find it fun exploring each stage in debug mode. There are some pretty neat secrets here and there.

As I mentioned, the devs have a very unique perspective, similar to Anodyne the topics discussed are very modern and very rare, especially in games, making for a very exciting piece of media to experience. Here's what I wrote about it while playing and making notes:

Characters' individual stages intermingle with the others' stories. Sephonie, the island, is mixing them up, creating an idea of what the human world looks like from their memories. Cool as fuck.

Importance of barriers, as it is barriers that form differences. If we become too much of something else, is there even an individual? Isn't it the different perspectives that form a person, form love, desire? There is so much nations ask of us, and yet they usually cannot return back. But sometimes, there appears a feeling of a special kind of connection to things that were made in one's own country. To the people who speak the same language. It's very similar to stories of one's own creations, thoughts, they both excite in a similar way.

It is important to understand one another, that is obvious. Talk, come up with ways to work problems out. But the barriers are a part that perhaps most don't appreciate. Sephonie does. Sephonie values what brings people together and what brings them apart. Because beauty manifests through both, even if it is tough to comprehend. Sometimes they coexist, sometimes there's more of one than the other. Kind of like the creators of this game; the two have their own unique perspectives, barriers, yet they co-create this game. Difficult to describe. Play the game. See what you think.

"In small moments, we can strike a balance. In giving and taking, in seizing and yielding. Small deaths that fold into resurgent, gasping life."