This review contains spoilers
A fantastic game in all aspects; visually stunning graphics, great combat controls and level design incorporating puzzles, and a very well fleshed out story that convinces me that this is a entire world that exists in another dimension/universe.
Every time the game present a new level with different enemy types, I kept thinking about how much time it took to create all of these sprites. That alone is very impressive. NPCs even have their own idle animations, as well as their speaking animations. This game did not take any shortcuts on the visual quality.
I won't forget the moment you advance from Potcrock Isle to the Strange Forest. It's an amazing shift in the tone and overall feel of the game. I really got a sense of what they were trying to achieve with that; living in an underground city for your entire life and stepping out into the outside world for the first time.
Some dialogue and objectives seemed a little too much, and I felt it could be trimmed a bit and you would still produce an amazing game. Some parts was starting to feel like filler, almost for the sake of making a long game and to let certain aspects of the game be used/shown multiple times to get the most mileage out of them. Expect to do the occasional fetch quest and sit through lots of dialogue. This is where my half-star deduction mainly comes from.
The OST can be a bit more varied. There were two tracks that felt very repetitive and I quickly grown tired of it. There are some amazing tracks that kick in towards the last chapter.
Overall sound design is spectacular and a treat to experience with headphones. Every step on a metal staircase or through dirt felt very satisfying.
Sam as a character seems fine for the most part, but I personally didn't see more dimensions to her or as much growth as the other characters, like Alva and Isabel, or even Daniel and William. She had her moments, but also felt a bit one-dimensional during dialogue. "John! Let's go!"
I enjoy John as the silent, main protagonist, and how there is a slight backstory behind why a fry pan is his main weapon of choice. I also like that he's some scruffy middle-aged man.
Supporting characters Alva, Isabel, William, and Daniel were fantastic additions during Sam and John's adventure towards Ester City. We don't see very much of Jasper again in the second half of the game because he's content in settling in a town before the duo heads further east. I do wish there was some kind of reunion there.
Enemy types were varied between different areas. It felt like just the right amount of variation. Again, huge praise for the attention to detail and work on all the sprites in this game.
There's a whole entire section for cooking in within the game, that is very reminiscent of TLoZ: BotW's cooking mechanics; combine ingredients, in this case, 3 slots max for ingredients, and one spice/flavor enhancer of choice. Before cooking, a slot machine mini-game will come up and depending on what you get, you can buff the food effect further.
There's also some light RPG elements. Not necessarily leveling-up your character, but upgrading and leveling up your weapons, backpack, and abilities, both through natural progression of the game and at specific shops.
I did not beat Earth Born, but may go back and try to beat it. That also in itself is an amazing accomplishment as well; a full-fledged RPG with some cool mechanics that slightly set it apart from traditional RPGs, at least from what I played so far.
This game is a major accomplishment for such a small team, and deserves to be celebrated by anyone who loves these kind of games. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys a lengthy story with lots of dialogue, TLoZ-like combat mechanics, Earthbound/Mother-like lore, and plenty of exploration.
Every time the game present a new level with different enemy types, I kept thinking about how much time it took to create all of these sprites. That alone is very impressive. NPCs even have their own idle animations, as well as their speaking animations. This game did not take any shortcuts on the visual quality.
I won't forget the moment you advance from Potcrock Isle to the Strange Forest. It's an amazing shift in the tone and overall feel of the game. I really got a sense of what they were trying to achieve with that; living in an underground city for your entire life and stepping out into the outside world for the first time.
Some dialogue and objectives seemed a little too much, and I felt it could be trimmed a bit and you would still produce an amazing game. Some parts was starting to feel like filler, almost for the sake of making a long game and to let certain aspects of the game be used/shown multiple times to get the most mileage out of them. Expect to do the occasional fetch quest and sit through lots of dialogue. This is where my half-star deduction mainly comes from.
The OST can be a bit more varied. There were two tracks that felt very repetitive and I quickly grown tired of it. There are some amazing tracks that kick in towards the last chapter.
Overall sound design is spectacular and a treat to experience with headphones. Every step on a metal staircase or through dirt felt very satisfying.
Sam as a character seems fine for the most part, but I personally didn't see more dimensions to her or as much growth as the other characters, like Alva and Isabel, or even Daniel and William. She had her moments, but also felt a bit one-dimensional during dialogue. "John! Let's go!"
I enjoy John as the silent, main protagonist, and how there is a slight backstory behind why a fry pan is his main weapon of choice. I also like that he's some scruffy middle-aged man.
Supporting characters Alva, Isabel, William, and Daniel were fantastic additions during Sam and John's adventure towards Ester City. We don't see very much of Jasper again in the second half of the game because he's content in settling in a town before the duo heads further east. I do wish there was some kind of reunion there.
Enemy types were varied between different areas. It felt like just the right amount of variation. Again, huge praise for the attention to detail and work on all the sprites in this game.
There's a whole entire section for cooking in within the game, that is very reminiscent of TLoZ: BotW's cooking mechanics; combine ingredients, in this case, 3 slots max for ingredients, and one spice/flavor enhancer of choice. Before cooking, a slot machine mini-game will come up and depending on what you get, you can buff the food effect further.
There's also some light RPG elements. Not necessarily leveling-up your character, but upgrading and leveling up your weapons, backpack, and abilities, both through natural progression of the game and at specific shops.
I did not beat Earth Born, but may go back and try to beat it. That also in itself is an amazing accomplishment as well; a full-fledged RPG with some cool mechanics that slightly set it apart from traditional RPGs, at least from what I played so far.
This game is a major accomplishment for such a small team, and deserves to be celebrated by anyone who loves these kind of games. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys a lengthy story with lots of dialogue, TLoZ-like combat mechanics, Earthbound/Mother-like lore, and plenty of exploration.