Visually gorgeous and with a strong beginning, it quickly gets lost up its own bum as this twee little thing that I'm not sure I'm a big fan of. The big-name stars first impress but then add this feeling of slumming it to a game that isn't really much of a game, nor that good a story (though thankfully they aren’t phoning it in - the quality of acting is really good; it’s just too bad what they’re given to say isn’t). .

The game tries to make up for its lacking gameplay with some of the shallowest platforming I've ever seen, and while the Simon Says rhythm game has its moment, it is, like the lead’s playing as often commented by other characters, made up for by other things - in his case, lasers, in the rhythm game’s case, lots of pretty colourful effects and some nice music.

And now don’t get me wrong - there is a lot of enjoyable music here, and the game looks beautiful, and the acting is good; but the writing struggles to be good enough. Incidental writing is the most notably weak part of the game, with the lead often pointlessly commenting on things we can already see, ruining the mood of the moment and the potential for quiet awe.

And then there are the dialogue choices you can make that are utterly useless, except for a few cases where they decide your background that the lead will later quote. But nobody you are talking to ever actually reacts to what you specifically say, instead saying what they were going to say anyway, and hence you can pick whatever you want, it just doesn’t matter - the game and the character are already written and the options don’t even have the illusion of mattering.

And what a waste of money and talent on a story that for the most part runs in place repeating “be yourself” until the culmination when the lead finally gets it. But it’s a meaningless choice on his account because he doesn’t actually have anything to lose. It doesn’t help that he’s also one annoying dumbass, that gets more annoying the more self-assured he becomes.

Still, there are moments where the themes managed to spark some interest, and I liked the parallel between the lead’s socially-imposed desire to repeat the glory of the past and the older musician’s self-imposed desire to relive the glory of his past, and how they come to a head.

But the game still feels somehow wrong, like an octogenarian putting on a cap and saying “dope”. Plus every level takes twice as long as it should as the “platforming” sequences drag interminably (quotes on purpose); the best part of traversal is when you slide because you move faster through the damn thing. Every time I thought I might still like this game, there was another platforming sequences that reminded me why I won’t.

And it never really rises about its twee shallowness, partly because of its insufferable characters, and while there are moments where the game feels nice, it can’t really make up for how much of a wannabe it is - it wants to be serious, and be taken seriously, compared to real art with its important themes and beautiful visuals and important actors; but it’s just not fun or deep enough and is too often stupid without understanding that it is.

And when an apparently major character shows up again at the end of the game, and all the characters are “holy shit, it’s you”, and I’m just “wait, who was this?”, well done setting this up.

I’m probably harsher on the game than I should be, but I really thought I was going to love it based on the first hour or so, so the disappointment is just that much more painful. Hell hath no fury as whatever scorned, and so is the biggest critic the one that once loved.

When a game makes a reference-based joke early on and then flat out says "those who know will understand", and I don't understand, it's pretty clear the game's not meant for me.

Gorgeous-looking, but with a backward-looking writing and mechanics I can't vibe with, an hour was enough. This is less a review than just logging my personal preference.

Would have been cool if this game was amongst that, and perhaps I'd learn to appreciate it further in, but when the game itself is telling me it ain't for me, who am I to argue?