If you want to take pictures, just go outside. What is wrong with you?

7/10

Downvote because of the broken achievement "Speed runner"

Umarangi Generation is a game that feels like it has loads of potential in 2 different ways, but manages to lose all of it by aiming down the middle. While I'm glad I played it, I can't say that I enjoyed it at any point.

On the positive side, it looks absolutely fantastic and stylish. The world is relatively interesting to explore and the levels generally get more interesting as you go along.

But the game tries to walk the line between "art-with-a-message" and "video game" and I'd say it failed me miserably on both sides.

From a technical standpoint, it barely functions. I walked through walls, got launched 15 feet into the air by walking up stairs. got stuck on things and fell through the world once or twice. I'd carefully line up a camera shot and wouldn't get credit, or I'd randomly snap a shot of emptiness and get an achievement marked off. And don't worry about focus because you get full credit no matter how blurry the shot is.

Here's the thing though, none of this would have been a meaningful problem if this was an artsy-free-roam-walking sim. Snapping photos is extremely satisfying, reading the notes on the walls, trying to piece together the lore... this is all good.

But this is where they introduce "Game Mechanics" You are now on a 10 minute time limit for each mission, searching for hidden film and searching for ultra-specific combinations of set pieces that can only be snapped from one specific point, angle and film. Many shots are even puzzles like telling you to find something, only to have it solved by finding the word or a certain angle that forms into the target.

The end result for me was that instead of a chill, casual scavenger hunt with a hidden lore and message... it was a stressful series of being launched off the side of a building because I dared walk on the stairs. I can't read the lore because time limits and the objectives are hidden and puzzle-y.

Instead of a light and fun photography arcade game that has me expressing myself and finding pieces as im exploring the world... I find myself searching for ultra-specific spots to stand. Instead of exploring the site of a massive Kaiju battle... I'm stuck trying to find the right angle to fit both skateboards into the frame.

There's alot of really cool things here, and I am glad I played it. But ultimately... I can't think of a single type of person I'd recommend it to.

the first level i play and the game can't handle stairs and walls without the player clipping into walls and between rooms
i know i got this game cheap, but it's simply unacceptable to have the camera phase through things
seems like the kind of game where the audience is more concerned with the story and the textures, models, maps, and the wider idea of the game, rather than the movement and photography game itself
please beg for more resources to cook it some more

SJW game. I knew how these Antifa protestors work and this game try to sugarcoat it HARD, saying they're the good guy.

I sorta recommend the base game despite all the jank. But the Macro DLC, the final level of the DLC just threw all the worldbuilding away for a leftist talking propaganda. The mechs are weapon of the nazis? what about fighting the Kaiju? Didn't we helped the UN fighting the Kaiju?

Despite that, Credits rightfully given to soundtrack, art and level design.

it's sparking an urge within me to invest in a DSLR camera solely for the joy of experimenting with different lenses. otherwise if you want to play this just don't go look up speed runs so you can figure out the right way / right one, just take a pic of the word "cops" on a wall is not good enough wish this game would be way more quick and loose on where you have to stand and point, its just broken and kills the vibe, otherwise the ost is great, I got this on sale for like 7$ and no matter how much I want to like it, it feels way too strict and extremely confusing "take a picture of 10 solar panels it says" ignores every shot unless tooken from a specific place and lens, kind of like its environmental story telling, wish it had a random objectives or a mode for that. just feels lacking in ever way other then cool lowpoly art and music even the player controller is broken and sticks to walls at lest it can double jump and clip through objects to send you flying...

Had my eye on it for a while, as the photographing mechanic seemed novel, and the artstyle unique.

Well, big disappointment, I'm afraid.

The biggest problem I have with the game is with how crude it is. I sometimes like low-fi aesthetics, but in this case it goes directly against core of the game - text becomes insanely aliased when it is very important for the political message, the platforming is very buggy (with the character getting stuck whenever it collides with something, the double jump being finicky and momentum based, some things look like platforming but turn out to have no collider, etc.) and even the photo mechanic, when it's about capturing specific objects is too permissive and you can easily take a picture of a special objective by mistake - sometimes while the object is obscured by something else.

The platforming is the biggest frustration, because the levels seem built with a lot of verticality and I could imagine myself have fun *exploring* them - but they have nothing to explore and are very basic. Whatever platforming seems interesting and free - as when you try to climb high - turns out disappointing when there are misleading platforms without colliders or simply no reason for you to get to the tricky spots in the first place.
And it's just floaty and unpolished in general.

Other than this, the game is just a series of levels with objectives and just about nothing else. The bonus objectives are always the same (go quickly, make money, find X of this tiny irrelevant item spread throughout). It tries to give you more mechanics with different lenses and so on, but they don't have much of a purpose. As a game, it goes through the motions without getting anywhere.

The political message, finally, mostly goes over my head. Basically, "UN is bad". I'm sure there is more to it in the way the levels are arranged, in sequence, the characters and themes portrayed, and so on. But the core of the game is so unsatisfying to me that I can't be bothered. I'll admit this particular complaint may be more on me than on the game.

Finally, the aesthetic is cool. The music, especially - reminds me of Lethal League, in a very good way. But not enough to save it.

Perhaps I'm simply in the wrong mindspace for the game, but it really failed to capture me, and instead the crudeness of the most basic game elements marked the majority of the experience. I've played 4 levels, and I think I've had enough.

I can forgive jank as long as it doesn't get in the way. You know what I mean? I really like the ideas here. As a photographer irl, a photography game should be an easy recommendation!

But I quickly discovered that walls are merely a suggestion in this game. You can easily clip through any wall and most geometry by walking against with with no effort. Which by itself wouldn't bother me, like I said, I'm willing to forgive some jank as long as the idea behind the game is solid (which it, I like the environmental storytelling on display).

The problem is ramps and stairs are also a suggestion. I regularly clipped through the ground whenever I tried going up a ramp or stairs (of which there's a lot, at least in the 1st few levels ). It would happening over and over again. And in a game that is timed, it's really frustrating to clip through the ground and lose time like that.

platforming is infuriating

I'm a real professional photographer and I must say...
This game ain't it even for 2 bucks.

The movement is so clunky, the general controls are not intuitive, completed objectives don't trigger sometimes, the forced objectives are whack, and the fact manual mode needs to be unlocked is a slap in the face to photographers.

I just want to take cool pictures but all these gameplay issues get in the way.

This game is masquerading as a love letter to photographers while at the forefront being a dog water collectathon with movement that makes King's Field feel fast.

It's an absolute shame seeing how much love was clearly put into the aesthetics of this title but the literal mechanics trying to glue it all falls apart from the molasses levels of clunky movement speed and bugginess.