Who knew a story about one of my favourite fruits could be so meaningful? *munches pink lady apple*

I do not recall how I came across this but this is one of my best discoveries in 2019. This is a fantastic effort by one person. It’s a genuine shame that this has very little reviews and has not been played by more people.

Playing as plucky imp Ringo, he is happily living his life in Applewood with his friends. One day he investigates a rumble. Ringo with the support of friends old and new starts his journey to Mt Durian to pursue the legend of the first apple…

This pixel art game may not be the most aesthetically pleasing game but has dollops of uncomplicated charm and strong engagement. Take your time to enjoy the dialogue of the cute characters: they may give you wise words of wisdom, some light laughs, clues or just say sweet things.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1914549342

Game play consists of creative problem solving by placing items in the right place to open doors for the next section. This gets progressively more complex as new elements are introduced. Enemies cannot be directly killed so you have to use other resources. There items to collect such as gold berries to purchase items and hats.

The game is very generous with lives and plenty of save points. You do not need twitch reflexes to complete this game. However, there is a longer end game difficulty spike. Controls were smooth and tight with X to throw, A to jump/hover and the D-pad or left stick to move Ringo. Ringo can barely swim and can just skim the water by hovering. Do not jump in deep water!

I personally experienced technical issues with this game. It crashed on me several times. In two major fights I got an error message and was forced to close the game which is discussed in a thread here. I also experienced a bug at one of these when hitting an enemy. All the characters subsequently froze except for Ringo.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1107470/discussions/0/3166519278510402949/

Despite my enthusiasm this may not be a game for everyone. Despite its slower pace, due to game design, if you have any issues with aiming because of poor co-ordination this may be a frustrating experience. If you are currently looking for a more hardcore or run n gun experience this is not your game.

Associated themes: casual, loneliness, friendship, courage, loss, forgiveness, compassion, platformer, puzzle, cute, eeeer apples?

* disregard my playtime hours for this - there was a LOT of idling while doing other things over a 6 week period*