This game I can only recommend to extremely hardcore nostalgia driven platformer gamers, everyone else, I don't think you'll find what you're looking for.

For starters there are very little QoL elements. It's missing elements games had even back around the 90s (admittedly some might have been in booklet format). At some point doing platforming in the main level, I kept failing and in frustration went to check my move set in in the menu. Um. Nothing. Not only is there no backup for any complex moves at all, they don't even list controls or simple buttons in the menu - eg X for jump. This is fine for everyone who is a master at platforming, if you're lucky to have a really good memory and don't struggle with playing multiple games at once, but I put it away, came back then had to go all the way to the tutorial level to go read the notes on the wall. (BTW my issue was I had to jump between objects by 'jump button then action button then HOLD jump button then action button' while I was going 'jump button then action button then jump button then action button' just assuming I would have to jump off by ... you know jumping. No. There are a lot of move sets in this game.)

This seems like a missed opportunity, since Alexis (your friend in game and dream hijacker) seems super eccentric, and the type to make a highly questionable dream journal in the menu just for you. Not only helping those unfamiliar with multiple complex combos but adding character to the game.

Weird QoL and missed opportunity is the save points discussions. Save points are guarded by Alexis. When a save point pops up, Alexis can talk to you from it. So I was expecting some really fun banter since she has hijacked your dream .... except the first conversation at every save point she strongly hints or just tells you what you should do for the next puzzle. So if I want to play the game hint-free ... I can't talk to the only other character to banter with in the game. It's just a baffling narrative decision. The second part is that each save point has one hint and not the current hint, so you'll run to a save point to get a hint and she'll tell you a hint from 2 hours ago, not a hint now. So when I don't want a hint, I get spoiled, and if I want a hint, she will tell me that I should move that object that I already did hours ago.

Other QoL is the inability to go to the last save point. Like I said, save points are maintained by Alexis, and you yourself can not warp to said save points (as far as I'm aware). If you die, you just go back to the last one you passed. This is a bit of a ''cheat'' but If you are halfway up at a hard platforming section and you miss but fall to the bottom alive, normally you'll go 'Okay I'll cancel the game and just go back to the save before I fell'. Instead if you cancel to the menu, for whatever reason, you will load back to the main hub area and then have to run back to the previous area, in which now everything is now reset and your save point is now gone. Baffling. Sucks if you have to close the game and come back to it. For the hardcore platformers, no problem. For normies that failed multiples times on a incredibly tight jump, thinking about quitting and playing tomorrow with a fresh mind is not as appealing because you're gonna lose your save.

Now for the main issues. YES the actual meat and potatoes of the biggest gripes that I can't really see a fun fix.

Really bad repetitive music. Sorry, but the first few times are fine but I started to lose my sanity. The music will drill in your mind and is the N64 version of an old school ringtone. Fun but not very long, and specifically designed for you to pick up because everyone in the room will get angry if they have to listen to it one more damn time. Maybe it could have been fixed if the tracks were longer or had more variation with more down beat elements in the tunes, I don't know. Sorry. No real fix here. I just don't have nostalgia for that type of game music and I played so much better when I turned it off.

Controls, camera and depth perception. I had heard that people needed newer controllers for the more tight movements. I don't know if my PS4 controller just wasn't enough or just a problem with the game. Controls, camera and depth perception as being the problem ... it's hard for me to tell. It's probably on me to allow the game to choose the camera angle but often I was doing all the right moves and just not landing it. Then change the angle and BAM, did it. Huh. Same exact moves but not landing. I think in particular the depth perception is the hardest to figure out. There are these exploding elements you are meant to impale in your horn, and I just kept missing them. They just don't look like where they should be on screen, same with some of the owls and walls. I think this is a style choice, but man. Failing to hit a wall because the lighting and style isn't clear is frustrating. I think some of it's a style thing and people should just accept that but other elements like flying birds having a better shadow or raised platforms to hit the birds is a design choice.

Oh and the other element is the game is .... one big tutorial world, one big main world and that's about it. Apparently the barrier to nachos is just a few extra steps. No multiple dream worlds here, dream hijackers can't hide how much nachos are just under the surface of Seve's subconscious, I respect that.

In conclusion: I really love the art style, and what elements of humour and world building I saw I liked, but honestly there wasn't that much there in that department. Just a lot of pain to causal platformers.

TLDR; If you are obsessed about platforming, multiple move sets, old school feel and toughness, this game is for 100% you. But if platforming isn't your life and you came for the cool design, old school humour, fun characters, silliness being front and centre, you'll be disappointed.

it's a$$ tbh

um fantastic classic N64 type game. loved the character and world designs, loved the game play, and loved collecting things :) definitely a bit of a difficult platformer but worth it if you're looking for something like that, or something very retro feeling