pretty sure it's as real as it can get. the main characters' voice actors were basically authenticity checkers. that's why it doesn't feel weird to begin with

as for frustration - i think that lays exclusively with the boss fights lol

i see where you're coming from, but my argument towards brute forcing not being an issue is twofold

1. i think just about every puzzle in anything can be theoretically brute-forced. i'd argue this isn't necessarily a problem depending on the nature of the puzzle - figuring out something exceptionally crafty in a game like portal would just give a sense of accomplishment. however...

2. la mulana's ultimate riddles require knowledge of the entire puzzle ecosystem, and misunderstanding any of them is grounds to fuck up everything. in this way, i see your brute-force method to just be another one of the ruins' many traps

i won't deny that la mulana is a game that heavily revolves around cryptic nes-era shenanigans (trying every damn thing in every room before moving on), but i think its strength is in telegraphing what those things are. i can't really think of an instance in the game where i found a solution and went "oh come on" over it. because of this i also believe screenshotting in the game is pretty overkill. i think la mulana thrives on the tech it was designed around - pen and paper. just as much of the strategy in figuring out the puzzles is in how skilled and concise of a notetaker you are. if you keep track of everything so thoroughly via annotated pictures it spoils a lot of that indiana jones esque charm imo and even gives you more excessive shit to shuffle through

i think if i was as meticulous as you were, i'd have found the game somewhat dull too

i gotta say fartgang, you write some of my favorite reviews on this site

futo is a footnote. the fact that you were able to stumble through it is a red herring at best


put simply - you wouldn't have completed the game with that outlook. sure, you could hypothetically bang your head into every wall and eventually, maybe finish it. but doesn't it make you feel like you're the one who isn't as clever as they think? do you solve rubik's cubes by blindly shuffling them without thought until they eventually, inevitably come together?

is it the fault of a puzzle that you're able to brute force it in a way that doesn't prepare you aptly for future problems to solve?

classic fucking marathon !!!!!!