ethereal is kind of an exploratory puzzler. you wander around in cool-looking worlds, and while horizontal movement is allowed as long as nothing blocks your way, vertical movement is only possible if there's a single-width platform above or below. it's weird at first and gets a lot more disorienting with the various mechanics the game slowly introduces, but the basics are the same throughout: pick up matching colored things to open the exit and move on.

there are 4 main worlds with 6 levels in each, plus some other areas here and there, and you have to navigate the worlds as well to get to the next level, so there's plenty of puzzling to do, especially if you want to hunt down the 2 secrets hidden in each world. they add absolutely nothing and since you can't go back to earlier levels, if you're going for 100%, use a guide or be prepared to replay the whole thing.

a level selector was promised months ago, still nothing, but according to the creators, you wouldn't be able to use it to get missing secrets or achievements anyway, just replay levels. not sure why developers insist on making everything more awkward and cumbersome than necessary, going against common sense and convenience, as if they'd never played a video game before. also, there are 3 save slots, so it makes zero sense to wipe progress after completing the game, especially if they wanted to add level selection at some point.

otherwise the game is mostly okay from a technical standpoint. there are resolution options, windowed mode, and only a single volume slider, but there's no real background music, so it's fine. there's a really annoying 'globe' feel to the game with no way to make it look flat, and the mechanic that lets you move platforms yourself is not great, I often had a hard time figuring out what I can move. I guess it's part of the puzzle, but it could've been presented better somehow. you can also get stuck if you don't place platforms precisely where they should be, and only level reset helps.

ethereal provides relatively unique and fun gameplay for about 4 to 5 hours (more if you want to hunt down secrets on your own), it's not too challenging, just needs a little patience, but I think the asking price is too much, especially with the issues mentioned above, so at around 50% off I'd say give it a shot if you're interested.

[b]ethereal[/b] is kind of an exploratory puzzler. you wander around in cool-looking worlds, and while horizontal movement is allowed as long as nothing blocks your way, vertical movement is only possible if there's a single-width platform above or below. it's weird at first and gets a lot more disorienting with the various mechanics the game slowly introduces, but the basics are the same throughout: pick up matching colored things to open the exit and move on. there are 4 main worlds with 6 levels in each, plus some other areas here and there, and you have to navigate the worlds as well to get to the next level, so there's plenty of puzzling to do, especially if you want to hunt down the 2 secrets hidden in each world. they add absolutely nothing and since you [b]can't go back to earlier levels, if you're going for 100%, use a guide or be prepared to replay the whole thing[/b]. a level selector was promised months ago, still nothing, but according to the creators, you wouldn't be able to use it to get missing secrets or achievements anyway, just replay levels. not sure why developers insist on making everything more awkward and cumbersome than necessary, going against common sense and convenience, as if they'd never played a video game before. also, there are 3 save slots, so it makes zero sense to wipe progress after completing the game, especially if they wanted to add level selection at some point. otherwise the game is mostly okay from a technical standpoint. there are resolution options, windowed mode, and only a single volume slider, but there's no real background music, so it's fine. there's a really annoying 'globe' feel to the game with no way to make it look flat, and the mechanic that lets you move platforms yourself is not great, I often had a hard time figuring out what I can move. I guess it's part of the puzzle, but it could've been presented better somehow. you can also get stuck if you don't place platforms precisely where they should be, and only level reset helps. [b]ethereal[/b] provides relatively unique and fun gameplay for about 4 to 5 hours (more if you want to hunt down secrets on your own), it's not too challenging, just needs a little patience, but I think the asking price is too much, especially with the issues mentioned above, so at around 50% off I'd say give it a shot if you're interested.