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Beans Jun 1, 2024 @ 6:42am

I don't get it

This game is beloved and I don't understand. It seems super polished but it is not fun to play at all. The game is perhaps too vague? But, I don't even think it's that hard to figure out what your supposed to do... I think just playing it sucks. It's very frustrating to move around in. It's like the developer forgot there's a point where you don't have any traversal/gear options and they forgot to make that part fun.

Also, the re spawn system is awful. It's difficult to tell what actually affects your health/hearts/life and what constitutes losing them. Then, when you touch water you sorta re spawn where you were previously, but, not always... it's just always the most inconvenient place you could of possibly re spawned.

Also the telephone/save point might as well be invisible in some locations.

{EDIT} The puzzles that require, or result in, you jumping back and forth between screens are a nightmare on the eyes. The screen flash when bouncing between screens is awful. It's the true reason I turned the game off and probably won't go back.

I've heard the game gets much, much better and I believe it... but I don't want to have to waste hours being frustrated and annoyed before I get to something worth while.

Last edited by Beans; Jun 1, 2024 @ 6:46am

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Showing 1-5 of 5 comments

FDru

Jun 1, 2024 @ 9:14am

Originally posted by DarkPenguin:
I've heard the game gets much, much better and I believe it... but I don't want to have to waste hours being frustrated and annoyed before I get to something worth while.

Hours? The 4 main items needed to get through the game are all placed in spots where they can be grabbed quickly and easily (though the disc has some... caveats to that, lol). If you know exactly where they are you can probably have all 4 of them within a few minutes.

I guess if you go in blind and get unlucky and don't get the bubble wand early you might feel lost for awhile, but each path prevents you from progressing without having one or more of the other items so it's not like you're just stuck with nowhere to go... you just need to try one of the other paths.

Anyway, this game was sold to me as being about exploration, discovery and puzzle solving and even though I did sometimes feel lost at first, I found it very satisfying figuring out what to do next.

Your other points seem particular to you, as I have never heard anyone else complain about those things. Like the screen flashing I don't get, the respawn system is pretty straightforward (you always respawn at the last solid ground you were touching, except in a few very specific places they made it different so you don't get trapped) as well as the damage system (only water doesn't hurt you, everything else does) and the telephones are definitely totally visible and they're all marked on the map as well.

SZATURN

Jun 2, 2024 @ 6:08am

Despite the artwork and music being top-tier I think there's a lot of Gen-Y nostalgia for early platformers in this game. Unfortunately that means there are a lot of lame "non-puzzles" - things like key items or buttons being hidden in foliage in the top left corner of a screen a lot of "non-solutions" as well - ex: where using a random item in a room is required for progression.

Early platformers were designed to eat people's quarters at arcades, which means a lot of obfuscation and time wasting artificial difficulty. IMO a lot of Gen Y has positive nostalgia for these games because they played them as kids and it leads them to recreate experiences that are grating and confusing for other audiences.

Another related fact - it was common for older games to come with a paper manual, this is why a lot of pre 2000s games don't have exposition or instructions in-game. I suspect a lot of younger players in the early days only had access to arcade versions with no documentation or didn't/couldn't read the manual, which creates this weird nostalgia for games with no exposition or tutorial that "convey information through gameplay."

It's not a bad game, it's just a "you had to be there" if you know what I mean - if you're older or younger than Gen Y or just didn't play platforming games in the late 90s it just won't resonate. Dunkey, Leah, and the game's developer are all Gen Y if I'm not mistaken. Your brain may not have the emotional script for feeling good or happy while playing this type of game.