y'know if you really think about it the whole plotline of being trapped in an alternate world filled with quirky characters where you can only escape it if you have a heart is kinda similar to under--

this is a really fascinating game. it's really ambitious with its concepts but falls flat in plenty of places. the parts that it manages to get right are really great, though, which makes it absolutely worth checking out at least once

the world is really fantastically put together, there's a lot of passion put into it, especially when it comes to the visual aesthetics and the music. like one thing that specifically stands out to me is the contrast between the bright toon objects and the dark warped inert buildings and setpieces that they're juxtaposed against. the dynamic soundtrack adds a lot to it, too. the subtle changes to the instrumentation depending on how much paint and thinner you're using are really cool when you stop to notice them. the general atmosphere of the game is really uneasy and it's pulled off incredibly well. i also really love the projector screen segments that take place in other cartoons, it's a really cool homage to disney's history.

there's a lot of issues when it comes to the gameplay itself. the game keeps flip-flopping back and forth between being way too hand-holdy and not giving you enough direction. i love gus as a character, he's got a really specific charm to him, but as a narrator he constantly repeats himself and constantly points out super obvious things. it was starting to get on my nerves by the midway point of the game. there's also a ton of sidequests and backtracking you have to do, some of which feel like they'd be really easy to miss if you're a new player (even as someone who played this as a kid and owned the strategy guide i still managed to miss the ice cream cake quest?). there were also a few others that i missed the initial brief on, but i was luckily still able to complete them since i already collected the items for them. platforming is also really awkward on occasion because of the finicky collision, it almost felt like mario sunshine sometimes lmao. i think the worst thing though has to be the camera, like it's genuinely kinda shocking how attrocious it is?

but despite all the issues, the game's cool atmosphere and concepts kept me motivated to continue playing. not really sure if i'm gonna immediately be doing more runs for completion, though. it's going to be really interesting seeing what rebrushed will change, if it ends up changing anything at all