Trying to have an open mind - should I buy?

[The Alchemist]

This game is blowing up. People comparing it to Hollow Knight, etc.

Really not trying to hate just understand - what makes the game so great? Asking totally unbiased and just want to make sure I know what I’m buying

Reviewers keep talking about “secrets” and “no combat” playing as a featureless “blob” that can only jump and move left and right.
They also talk about pixel hunting in every room in order to make progress… that doesn’t sound very fun on paper

Is there some hook or mid game feature that innovates? A bit perplexed by the overwhelming positive score

[likecnsnnts]

It's extremely not Hollow Knight! Think of it more akin to Fez or The Witness or a more approachable Void Stranger, where the puzzles are the point, but there's also a meta-layer of puzzles on top of that. If you like puzzle games, great! If you're newish to them, I think it's a low-to-medium complexity kind of puzzle game. Nothing too brain-bending. Kind of like a gateway drug to "Infovanias."

It's less pixel hunting than paying attention to corners of the room that are shadowed instead of hard lines, and special floor tiles that look diggable. There is no traditional combat, but there's a lot of great, fun movement tech if you like platforming. The various items you pick up have double, even triple uses once you get good at wielding them, but there's also plenty of shortcuts to come across.

I think it's a very moody, thinky, 15-20 hour game. If any of that helps.

[Taehl]

I don't get why people won't just try the dang game. If they don't like it, they can get a refund. Yet people don't act nearly as suspicious when some big company wants them to pay $60 + DLC + microtransactions for SuperBland 6: The Grindening.

[<:)]

It's nothing like hollow knight. It's an incredible puzzle platforming experience, with a large detail heavy map that requires repeated backtracking to comb over details. I wouldn't even say it fits the spirit of 'metroidvania' in terms of said backtracking just due to the nature of its progression.

[Cuddle_Rat]

All I can say is this is that I'm enjoying myself. If you do decide to take the plunge and buy it my one suggestion would be to not watch any videos about the game itself. Figuring things out and how items interact with the world is amazing the first time through. To say anything more than this would be a massive spoiler.

[symphony]

Originally posted by Swampo:

Reviewers keep talking about “secrets” and “no combat” playing as a featureless “blob” that can only jump and move left and right.

That's it though. that is the selling point. it's a metroidvania that's different

the pixel hunting is just a secondary and completely optional thing to extend the gameplay beyond the main playthrough. it's kinda like how there's years of lore digging in games like dark souls. completely optional, but it's baked into the game for those who want it

[Geargut]

Originally posted by Taehl:

I don't get why people won't just try the dang game. If they don't like it, they can get a refund. Yet people don't act nearly as suspicious when some big company wants them to pay $60 + DLC + microtransactions for SuperBland 6: The Grindening.

1-5 were really good though.

[The Alchemist]

Originally posted by Taehl:

I don't get why people won't just try the dang game. If they don't like it, they can get a refund. Yet people don't act nearly as suspicious when some big company wants them to pay $60 + DLC + microtransactions for SuperBland 6: The Grindening.

You're assuming I'm the type who easily drops $60 + DLC on a game in a thread where I'm asking for insight from other users if a $23 game is worth my time and money.

What a weird, defensive mentality to have.

[symphony]

Originally posted by Swampo:

Originally posted by Taehl:

I don't get why people won't just try the dang game. If they don't like it, they can get a refund. Yet people don't act nearly as suspicious when some big company wants them to pay $60 + DLC + microtransactions for SuperBland 6: The Grindening.

You're assuming I'm the type who easily drops $60 + DLC on a game in a thread where I'm asking for insight from other users if a $23 game is worth my time and money.

What a weird, defensive mentality to have.

you're the one picking fights bud. all the info you need is already right there. if the game wasn't good we wouldn't be here talking about it or giving thumbs up reviews

[JollyClaret]

Originally posted by symphony:

Originally posted by Swampo:

You're assuming I'm the type who easily drops $60 + DLC on a game in a thread where I'm asking for insight from other users if a $23 game is worth my time and money.

What a weird, defensive mentality to have.

you're the one picking fights bud. all the info you need is already right there. if the game wasn't good we wouldn't be here talking about it or giving thumbs up reviews

I feel like once you hit your 1000th hour on Path of Exile and idle clicker games, your opinion on what is and isn't a good game goes out of the window.

[it's a gabe]

The best comparison would be FEZ, which people seem to have forgotten about (except for the dev, who added a cute little Gomez easter egg). Animal Well has a lot more surprises, wtf moments, and more of an interconnected, puzzle box of a world than FEZ, but the premise of a game that requires the community to band together to figure out its secrets is what's making Animal Well blow up.

It's the spiritual successor to FEZ in that regard than it is similar to Outer Wilds or... Hollow Knight? Really? I don't see it, but sure.

Of course, we can't have nice things anymore so all the puzzles that would make the community go 'wtf are we suppoed to do?' have been solved. Maybe it was the little pre-release community the publisher put together, maybe it was people digging into the code, maybe the dev and publisher just gave everything away. idk, but I just don't see how we'd know so much about these secrets, some of which are mind boggling stupid insane, less than a week after release.

Still a brilliant game and reaching the normal ending felt very rewarding to me. But yeah, I had to follow guides after that cuz so many of its secrets are stupidly difficult and many if not all have been solved, so 🤷‍♂️ I didn't get to experience FEZ's concept when it came out as I played it a few years later, and I guess I'll never experience anything like it seeing as this was supposed to follow up on that.

Alas. I went way off course there. Still a fantastic puzzle platformer that I had a blast with.

[symphony]

Originally posted by JollyClaret:

Originally posted by symphony:

you're the one picking fights bud. all the info you need is already right there. if the game wasn't good we wouldn't be here talking about it or giving thumbs up reviews

I feel like once you hit your 1000th hour on Path of Exile and idle clicker games, your opinion on what is and isn't a good game goes out of the window.

cool ad hominem and cherry picked examples lol. making your stance really clear here. good thing you don't have to take just my opinion. if you want to see what's wrong with the game then read the negative reviews. like i said all the info is already there

[Ryoko-Sha]

Originally posted by likecnsnnts:

It's extremely not Hollow Knight! Think of it more akin to Fez or The Witness or a more approachable Void Stranger, where the puzzles are the point, but there's also a meta-layer of puzzles on top of that. If you like puzzle games, great! If you're newish to them, I think it's a low-to-medium complexity kind of puzzle game. Nothing too brain-bending. Kind of like a gateway drug to "Infovanias."

It's less pixel hunting than paying attention to corners of the room that are shadowed instead of hard lines, and special floor tiles that look diggable. There is no traditional combat, but there's a lot of great, fun movement tech if you like platforming. The various items you pick up have double, even triple uses once you get good at wielding them, but there's also plenty of shortcuts to come across.

I think it's a very moody, thinky, 15-20 hour game. If any of that helps.

Oh your comment aged like Milk. There are so many Secrets and puzzles that are time base, date based and also Save game based. Its so good that game

[The Alchemist]

Originally posted by symphony:

Originally posted by Swampo:

You're assuming I'm the type who easily drops $60 + DLC on a game in a thread where I'm asking for insight from other users if a $23 game is worth my time and money.

What a weird, defensive mentality to have.

you're the one picking fights bud. all the info you need is already right there. if the game wasn't good we wouldn't be here talking about it or giving thumbs up reviews

Quote me where I’m picking fights, bud

I literally made a thread asking for opinions. Is that picking a fight to you?

Genuinely embarrassed by your insecurity.

5,300+ games on your profile dog? That’s some next level consoomar sh!t

[The Alchemist]

Originally posted by likecnsnnts:

It's extremely not Hollow Knight! Think of it more akin to Fez or The Witness or a more approachable Void Stranger, where the puzzles are the point, but there's also a meta-layer of puzzles on top of that. If you like puzzle games, great! If you're newish to them, I think it's a low-to-medium complexity kind of puzzle game. Nothing too brain-bending. Kind of like a gateway drug to "Infovanias."

It's less pixel hunting than paying attention to corners of the room that are shadowed instead of hard lines, and special floor tiles that look diggable. There is no traditional combat, but there's a lot of great, fun movement tech if you like platforming. The various items you pick up have double, even triple uses once you get good at wielding them, but there's also plenty of shortcuts to come across.

I think it's a very moody, thinky, 15-20 hour game. If any of that helps.

Thanks that’s an excellent explanation and helpful. I picked the game up last night after reading
Will start in on it this weekend

Thanks for not getting triggered by my question. Have some points

[Zelakon]

Originally posted by it's a gabe:

It's the spiritual successor to FEZ in that regard than it is similar to Outer Wilds or... Hollow Knight? Really? I don't see it, but sure.

It's because all these ill-informed newbies weren't around for the older indie games and therefore haven't heard of them.

That being said this looks decent enough, despite the hype. It's on my wishlist and I'll play it eventually, but seems overpriced for the amount of content (just like Tunic is/was).

Anyone who disagrees with that can go buy and play FEZ or Knytt Underground for the peanuts those cost, relative to how excellent they are.