This game is pretty hard

[nephalim]

I was expecting a chill experience but there is some moderately challenging platforming throughout. Does it get harder? I am probably 1/4 of the way in.

Fantastic game so far, but two criticisms - I still haven't unlocked fast travel. Just let me travel between phones from the start of the game. Traversal can be a little tedious, and the character is very squishy so if you die there is a lot to retread too. I also haven't unlocked a way to put markers on the map which is a bummer so far into the game (5 hours)

[Perseus]

Originally posted by nephalim:

I was expecting a chill experience but there is some moderately challenging platforming throughout. Does it get harder? I am probably 1/4 of the way in.

I think that depends on what you've already done and what you've struggled with.

Originally posted by nephalim:

I also haven't unlocked a way to put markers on the map which is a bummer so far into the game (5 hours)

Have you explored the rooms around the "hub" (the place directly outside the starting area)?

[aoanla]

I've certainly found some of the "platforming challenges" mechanically difficult even when I understood precisely what I was supposed to do. (And at least one of them I had to come back to later on with extra items.) I think people undersell the mechanical difficulty of Animal Well quite often here.

[Augmentl]

I found some of the platforming challenges extremely difficult, even when it was clear what I had to do. The sections where you have to navigate long stretches purely by bubble hopping nearly drove me insane, but the satisfaction of getting it done… priceless.

[nephalim]

Originally posted by Perseus:

Originally posted by nephalim:

I also haven't unlocked a way to put markers on the map which is a bummer so far into the game (5 hours)

Have you explored the rooms around the "hub" (the place directly outside the starting area)?

Thanks, I found it, after getting 3 items and a flame. Easy to miss IMO.

[nephalim]

So I just finished to the first ending. Overall I enjoyed the game so far, there were some great puzzles great aesthetics and some decent platforming, and feel it was worth my $20 purchase. I have about 10 hours but can't say for sure because my Steam Deck is often wrong as it is now.

But definitely some feedback for next time:
1. Having a better map with more clearly marked elements like fast travel points, area names, etc seems like it would not hurt what the game is going for.
2. For a game that focuses on retreading the same ground many times times, there should be more movement abilities. Relying on bubble jump to traverse through ground you have already explored is not fun. Give me a double jump and dash or something. I know this isn't exactly a metroidvania game, but it has metroidvania map, and platforming, with even more backtracking.
3. Fast travel should be harder to miss, I was like halfway through the map when I finally stumbled on it, and the game is one giant puzzle I don't think it is necessary to hide the warp song behind an easily missable one. And after using it just let me pick a spot directly on the map.

4. I am interested to see all the puzzles and any new art of the second pass but looking for 64+more collectibles without any in game checklists to help you find which you are missing essentially necessitating a guide and lots and lots of backtracking combined with the traversal issues doesn't sound like my kind of fun. I beat the first pass, I earned it. Of course if it the kind of fun someone else wants, then past the first layer just isn't for me I guess.

[karaji.en]

Congrats for beating the game and getting first ending (but have you gotten the "good ending"? haha, I had a real laugh when that happened)!

I've yet to gather all the flames even at ~20 hours in. But I do have a fair few of the collectibles and a couple of the more hidden items.

Once I was able to mark the map, I made a large number of ? marks to mark areas I even thought MAY have secrets/areas to revisit later.

I do have to say that some of the sections seemed incredibly daunting in my playthrough. A lot of the areas difficulty changes dramatically depending on what items you have found at that point.

The way some of the "main features" were hidden, kinda in plain sight, made me a bit reminiscent of Tunic. Also a very difficult game, but very satisfying!

I have to say though, the difficult sections in this game haven't make me rage as hard as I do in some games! Haha (so far...)

Cheers, and hope ye have a happy 2025!

[nephalim]

What's the good ending? I got the ending where the credits rolled after getting the lantern and beating a tough boss that shot lasers at you while you had to press a bunch of buttons..

I honestly have no idea what this game is about or what my goal was and why.

[karaji.en]

Not what you'd think, it's just an achievement you can get for making "a tragic mistake" .

The game is a curious combination of things isn't it?