the messenger was a game that constantly had me guessing:

"what's the next shopkeeper story going to be?"
"what crazy twist are they going to throw at me next? a new character? more time travel? completely changing the genre altogether?"
"what bullshit is going to make me die and then have to traverse back to where i was for five minutes next?"

while I cannot refuse to acknowledge the enjoyment that i got out of my time with this game, I must also do the same for the moments i encountered regarding frustrating hitboxes and overwhelming enemy locations/spawn numbers.

i deeply enjoyed this game's music, art direction, clear inspiration from games passed, boldness, writing, and boss fights. shifting from a linear action side-scroller to a deep & rewarding metroidvania could never have been predicted by me. and, as somebody that typically has a difficult time with the genre, i greatly enjoyed revisiting levels & solving inter-stage puzzles. however, my previous grievance regarding the enemy spawns/locations certainly heavied in my awareness as I backtracked.

as somebody that has played & did not finish both the messenger (finished half a few years ago) and sea of stars (20 hours in, ran out of game pass) previously to my time with the messenger now, I did feel as though the connections between the two were exciting at first & a bit worn out toward the end. this is, however, coming from a space of not being great at metroidvanias and needing more time & the accompanyment of guides, which furthered my exposure to things like the ost & enemy designs.

overall, I enjoyed my time with this game and would recommend it to those looking for a fun, twisty, comedic action/exploration title.