An outlet to play online/local multiplayer Puyo Puyo... and absolutely nothing else. There's no campaign, very little content in general, a real headscratcher of a roster and very little here that'd appeal to casual fans or series newcomers. But just being an outlet to play multiplayer Puyo is all this game was ever meant to be, so I can't really fault it for this I suppose. It's still Puyo, and Puyo's always fun, and for $10 tops, it's not a bad deal at all.

Despite the fact that there's very little to do in this game, I still 100% completed it anyway and I'm not sure what that says about me.

Sights & Sounds
- After discovering Newgrounds in the early 2000s, I spent hours upon hours delving through the "popular" and "top rated" games pages. Many of my favorites were room escape games. It's clear that the visual design of Rusty Lake games pay homage to that era
- That is to say, nothing in the Cube Escape Collection looks visually stunning. Not sure the artstyle is really my preference either. Everything looks a little clumsy. The various rooms and settings are interestingly themed, but it takes a minute to look past what I'll charitably call its aesthetic
- The music is serviceable, but not noteworthy, and the sound design can best be described as "present"
- All in all, the presentation leaves a lot do be desired

Story & Vibes
- The fact that the devs bothered including a story--even if it's just impressions and hints--in a game like this is noteworthy, and it's interestingly-told to boot
- The story is meted out in bits and pieces as you go along. Sometimes it'll feel like a cutscene is presented to you at random. Other times, you'll find a code from one of the later games in the collection and go all the way back to an earlier one and enter it somewhere to get a meatier lore drop. Fitting the narrative pieces together is a puzzle on its own
- Not sure how to feel about the vibes. I usually appreciate a creepy or unsettling tone in a game, but it came off as a little edgy and try-hard here. It's not consistently annoying, but I did roll my eyes at a few of the attempts made to shock the player. At its best (for example, in the excellent "Arles" and "Harvey's Box" levels), though, it feels quirky and offbeat in the best way

Playability & Replayability
- But you're probably not looking at reviews for a game like this because you're interested in art or music or story. It's either because a) you like puzzles, or b) the game is dirt cheap. For the purposes of this review, let's assume the former
- If my assumption is correct, you're in for a treat. The puzzles in here are top-notch. If you were ever a fan of those Flash-era escape room games, the ones that comprise Cube Escape Collection are among the finest you'll experience
- Of course, with 9 games/levels, there's going to be some variability in quality. For example, the central puzzle of "The Lake" doesn't require much rigor to crack, but the absolute weirdness and absurdity of "The Mill" will take a bit of trial and error
- I'd highly recommend retreading the game with a guide after finishing the game's challenges. Getting through the puzzles you're already solved is quick work, and it's fun to see the paths you overlooked during your playthrough

Overall Impressions & Performance
- When shown a game with lamentable presentation and a heavy-handed tone-setting, I tend to shy away. No such case here. The puzzles are just too fun. I love the interconnected nature of the puzzles and plot. It's ambitious and interesting enough that I'm willing to overlook a few blemishes
- The game played perfectly well on the Steam Deck using the trackpads. Probably still easier to play it with a mouse, but I didn't feel like sitting at my laptop for that

Final Verdict
- 7.5/10. If you're down for a collection of some devilishly clever and challenging puzzles with a zesty dash of lore, you could do far worse than Cube Escape Collection. Hard to argue with the price, too

played 6.5 hours straight the first day i got it can i get a uh.. booyaaaaa (that's my hyper demon sticker, very popular)
it's super fun making different designs and now i've been playing for 13 hours... second day in... and i will never stop but i got a little cranky having to make boring designs for the quests. i know it's a game and not my own actual store but like can't everyone just want this?
and this?
or this?
and this?
or this?
and this (i actually have that sticker in real life.........)
or this, and THIS...
anyways, main point of game is this
ya dig?

˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖

the art, presentation, and atmosphere of Yomawari is amazing and is definitely something that shouldn't be understated for such a unknown and seemingly low budget game, but behind this unique rpgmaker-esque horror game are frustrating mechanics, unfair chase sequences, unclear directions, and a very inconsistent difficulty that made me want to quit the game.
This game has tremendous potential and I hope its later iterations realize that and improve on it's formula creating a truly unique horror game

I have exactly one criticism for this game, and it's quite the nitpick: A Hat in Time feels a little too cynical for the genre style it's going for. It's not much, and it's really only in a handful of places - for example, that throwaway line about Hat Kid's soul feeling "the normal amount of empty". It's a really funny line! But it does take me out of things just a little bit.

Everything else, though? Some of the most fun I've had in what's easily my most comfortable type of video game. 3D platformers are comfort food for me, so I was quite excited when this game's Kickstarter was announced. A modern 3D platformer, deliberately evocative of GameCube titles I'd grown up on like Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker? I didn't kick in, since admittedly there have been very few games I've backed on Kickstarter, but I was very excited to follow the game's progress.

Then it came out, and it was even better than I could have imagined.

There's an immediate joy to this game. Hat Kid has to be one of the most likable protagonists - cute and fun-loving, but impulsive, rude, and little concerned with the troubles she finds herself drawn into. There are all these hints at the world being fairly dark, what with those character vaults hinting at all the major players' tragic backstories, but this almost never intersects with the actual narrative of the adventure. Hat Kid almost feels like Kirby in this regard: an adorable hero in a sweet world with dark overtones. Only Kirby himself is not wired to interface with tragedy, just friends and foes, while Hat Kid is kinda annoyed by everyone (besides Bow Kid) and is content to cavalierly do her own thing.

Which makes for a great complement to the game's "anything goes" approach to level design! This is one of those games where there isn't really a "tutorial" world, nor is there any point in having one, since what every level asks ends up being so unique. This isn't to say that the game leaves the player in the lurch; "Mafia Town" very naturally shows off what Hat Kid can do and gives the player a ton of space to explore. And then every other world does something wildly different.

"Battle of the Birds" is quite simply one of the most fun and engaging video game worlds, period. What a fun way to bring together wildly divergent ideas! I'm curious about the original "science owls" concept mentioned in the Kickstarter, but I honestly can't imagine preferring it to what we got: two inexplicable rivals, a funky penguin and a train conductor... thing... trying to win an annual film director award. Dead Bird Studios and the respective train/moon film sets make for cool, divergent environments with their own challenges, and while I have a definite favorite (The Conductor), the whole thing's great.

Since I'm going through all the different worlds anyway - "Subcon Forest" is probably the other easy candidate for someone's favorite world. Having Super Mario Bros. 2 in my foundational gaming background, I went in expecting a very dreamlike world (i.e. Subconscious). And while that is the case, it's a dual meaning, since you spend the whole world Subcon-tracting. The Snatcher is suuuuuuch a fun villain, adding a ton of loud personality to what's otherwise a very melancholy, quiet world. I love the scattershot flow that comes from this world, where you can get saddled with contracts in one level that won't even be addressed for another level or two. Makes the whole thing feel way more sprawling than you'd expect.

Speaking of sprawling, there's Alpine Skyline! I've heard it called the also-ran world of this game, and it's hard to argue with that. I do still think it's quite good, though! A big world of pure platforming challenges makes for a fun counter-offer to the game's usual character-driven design. Like you definitely miss the presence of other characters, but there's something nice and silently contemplative to all the obstacle courses that characterize this place.

...other levels I'll cover if/when I get around to doing reviews for the DLC. This write-up just covers the base game.

But, like, I've spent a lot of words articulating a simple point - A Hat in Time is a wonderful, wonderful game. One of those where everything, from the cast to the level design to the writing to the MUSIC, contributes to one of the most enjoyable games I can think of. An easy personal recommendation for anyone.