Recent reviews by gopher_p

The mechanics of the game are fun, and the boss fights are rewarding. But I can't honestly recommend this game due.

In classic metroidvania form, the game requires quite a bit of backtracking/re-traversal of previously-visited areas. And there are many clues to let you know that you will need to revisit some places later on after you have acquired new items and abilities. But there are a *significant* number of item/places that are locked behind items and/or abilities which themselves are buried under a mountain of Dark Souls-level (in terms if the degree of indecipherability) fetch quests. It's just too much, and it's *extraordinarily* frustrating.

It's disappointing, since this game is *so* close to being amazing.

Solid action-platformer metroidvania with decent boss fights. I had fun for most of my playthrough, but I was definitely ready for it to be over by the time I got to the end of the game.

The game is flat-out gorgeous to look at and listen to, and the controls/movement are among the best I've experienced. I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. The setting is great, the story fantastic (and moving), and game play amazing. Strong recommend for fans of metroidvanias and platformers.

I did not finish the game. Many of the "puzzles" that I encountered were the frustrating "see/guess what the dev wants you to see and do the obvious thing" type where you either get the solution immediately or feel like a jackass for not noticing it sooner. They were very unsatisfying to solve either way. I never really felt like I was working towards a solution, rather that I was just stumbling around blindly until I tripped over one.

There was quite a bit more platforming than what I expected. I consider myself a fan of platformers, but the controls were very wonky. The 3D aspect in particular did not work very well at all, and I found myself dying to gravity far too often because of it.

The second chapter - where I ultimately decided the game wasn't for me - featured quite a bit of tedious stealth. I don't mind a little stealth here and there, especially when it's more of a mood-setter than an actual game play mechanic. But here it was just a little too punishing. Any sense of dread that was there was quickly replaced by frustration from not having more control over the situation beyond simply waiting it out. Even when you were given control of distractions, they seemed to have very little effect. And what effect they did have was mostly inconsistent.

The game gets a lot of deserved attention for its aesthetic. The environment is beautifully creepy in all the right ways. It's unfortunate the the lackluster gameplay would take away from what could have been a great experience.

This is a fun puzzle-platformer in the vein of a 2-D Portal with some light Metroid-like qualities (backtracking for goodies, items that open up new areas, item upgrades). The puzzles gave the right amount of challenge without being overly frustrating. The game does a minimal amount of hand-holding, and you may need to do some experimentation to understand some of the more interesting mechanics in later puzzles. There is an optional hint system available if you get stuck, but it's possible to finish the game without using the hints. Puzzle solutions are primarily mental, but there are some that require moderately precise platforming and/or quick execution.

As far as negatives go - and I'm not sure the first is even a negative - there isn't really any story to speak of, and what is there kind of has a unsatisfying conclusion. This game is all about the gameplay, and you'll be disappointed if you're looking for anything more than that. Also - and this is purely subjective - the music is is subpar. It's not bad music necessarily, but it just didn't work for me, and there were times when I found it grating. It didn't fell like it fit the tone of the game. FInally, some people night find it short. I 100% completed the main game in a bit less than 8 hours. I personally though it was the right length; I think they squeezed just the right amount out of the available mechanics without things getting unnecessarily difficult or repetitive. There are user-created puzzles available from the Steam workshop for those who want to continue playing after completing the game.

Overall, this is a good game and I would definitely recomend it to anyone looking for a solid puzzler to occupy their time for a weekend.

Other reviews compare this game favorably with Super Meat Boy and Spelunky. As a big fan of both of those games, I find those comparisons horribly misplaced. The walljump controls are extremely inconsistent. Given that walljumping is one of the core mechanics of the game, that's unacceptable.

This game could have potentially been good, but it suffers from some of the most frustratingly awful and unresponsive controls I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. The game is pretty difficult when the controls work (which is rare), but it's downright unplayable when they don't. I am very disappointed.