Environmental storytelling when done well can sometimes draw you into the world more than something more explicit. Other times though you're just left running around clueless as to what is happening and why, with no impetus for the journey you're on, and just like how your protagonist takes in many of the vistas across the world, this is firmly the end of the scale where Hob sits.
As pretty as the forests, lakes and vistas I explored could be, the game did nothing to try and intrigue me, or scatter even the most minuscule of breadcrumbs to be able to learn more. And perhaps this wouldn't have mattered so much if I was engaged in another aspect of the game but sadly that wasn't to be either. The combat was laborious (and ultimately pretty pointless as you can roll past nearly every enemy encounter with no consequences) and the platforming sections were severely 'okay' but I guess it was the world itself that disappointed me the most.
Yes it can be green and lush at points but there were very few areas that stood out and so the requisite backtracking sections involved a lot of map checking, as each part of the scenery blended into one another. And all this was not helped by an atmospheric soundtrack which seemingly just repeated the same 1-2 minute loop, including one part of the map where you're subjected to an obvious and sudden stop in the background music that completely throws you out of the experience. It probably didn't help that the framerate can absolutely chug on Switch - I'm usually not that fussed by FPS but it was distractingly bad in certain areas and during some cutscenes.
I take no pleasure in being harsh with the game - I really wanted to like it, and probably against my better will and judgement kept playing in the vague hope that it might get better - but in retrospect I feel like my time with it was just wasted.
As pretty as the forests, lakes and vistas I explored could be, the game did nothing to try and intrigue me, or scatter even the most minuscule of breadcrumbs to be able to learn more. And perhaps this wouldn't have mattered so much if I was engaged in another aspect of the game but sadly that wasn't to be either. The combat was laborious (and ultimately pretty pointless as you can roll past nearly every enemy encounter with no consequences) and the platforming sections were severely 'okay' but I guess it was the world itself that disappointed me the most.
Yes it can be green and lush at points but there were very few areas that stood out and so the requisite backtracking sections involved a lot of map checking, as each part of the scenery blended into one another. And all this was not helped by an atmospheric soundtrack which seemingly just repeated the same 1-2 minute loop, including one part of the map where you're subjected to an obvious and sudden stop in the background music that completely throws you out of the experience. It probably didn't help that the framerate can absolutely chug on Switch - I'm usually not that fussed by FPS but it was distractingly bad in certain areas and during some cutscenes.
I take no pleasure in being harsh with the game - I really wanted to like it, and probably against my better will and judgement kept playing in the vague hope that it might get better - but in retrospect I feel like my time with it was just wasted.