played the game about four years back, i don't own it anymore so i don't remember that much but i think i liked this game? sort of? decent platforming and combat but i remember some of the puzzles seeming kind of pointless and just there to waste time. also i remember it was absurdly easy, like literally not a challenge at all. still really cool art though, so thats nice
I think I came into this with some distorted expectations. I think I got the impression it was more musical than it was from the trailer and ended up with a quirky edgy puzzle platformer about childhood traumas.
I'm not really into the whole Tim Burton thing and I also got stuck relatively quickly. What I played I didn't enjoy and quickly gave up on.
I'm not really into the whole Tim Burton thing and I also got stuck relatively quickly. What I played I didn't enjoy and quickly gave up on.
Very odd, dark story that has a Metroidvania like structure. It is pretty good, but the horror felt. The story had an interesting twist. However, the actual gameplay never is super interesting sadly and even at the short length it seemed boring with sometimes obtuse puzzles.
So, I played Okami during the summer, stopped because I got back into reading during my spare time, then decided to resume gaming last week. Unfortunately, my Wii isn't reading discs (this is the second Wii by the way), so I had to put aside Okami for the time being.
I decided to check out this game since I occasionally watch Thomas Brush's videos and wanted to support his work. Overall, I enjoyed this game. It's a fun, cute platformer with some interesting puzzle-platforming mechanics. I love the art style and the Burton-esque, Babadook tone is cool. I think the enemies are a bit lackluster, especially the boss battles which aren't that challenging. The game is pretty short too, but I understand this was made with a very small team. Also, it's a captivating story which isn't common for platformers.
Best Parts:
• Haunted house
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater
• The puzzle where you have to know the guy's middle name
Replay it? - Probably
I decided to check out this game since I occasionally watch Thomas Brush's videos and wanted to support his work. Overall, I enjoyed this game. It's a fun, cute platformer with some interesting puzzle-platforming mechanics. I love the art style and the Burton-esque, Babadook tone is cool. I think the enemies are a bit lackluster, especially the boss battles which aren't that challenging. The game is pretty short too, but I understand this was made with a very small team. Also, it's a captivating story which isn't common for platformers.
Best Parts:
• Haunted house
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater
• The puzzle where you have to know the guy's middle name
Replay it? - Probably
Feels like a game inspired by a Playdead from ten years ago. The clunky controls and flat visuals didn't hold me for very long. Fun VA tho.
I liked it but it doesn't reinvent the wheel
Each and every one of us has experienced true guilt at some point in our life. Shame because of what we did or didn't do, whether it was our fault or not. Some of you may be able to call to mind a moment in which innocence was lost, in which you saw that your actions had consequences. Neversong is a journey of that singular feeling, that moment of realization, in carefully crafted pieces. It's an adventure unlike any I've gone on before, showcasing the worst elements of the human experience alongside the best ones in pursuit of proving we are more than our baggage.
Neversong, originally titled Once Upon a Coma, sprouted from a Kickstarter by Pinstripe developer Thomas Brush as a sequel to his flash-game Coma. The story eventually developed into something else entirely and grew into new characters, settings, and mechanics inspired by a wide array of games; elements of Undertale, Night in the Woods, Inside, Hollow Knight, and The Legend of Zelda click together surprisingly well in this authentic journey into the monster we call Guilt. Anyone interested in playing this game need not worry about playing the first game to understand it - Neversong does a wonderful job establishing this mysterious and outright scary world in just minutes. This review will be completely spoiler-free, and I advise anyone who wants to play to avoid spoilers elsewhere as well.
12-year-old Peet wakes up alone in a gloomy, dusty room. The walls are laden with pulsating membranes, soft piano music echoes down the corridors, and a shadowy figure smiles in the distance. Neversong launches the player headfirst into the world, giving them just a taste of the supernatural peril they'll come to fear hours later before tossing them into a decidedly normal suburban town. Peet finds himself in his girlfriend, Wren's, decrepit and abandoned house. A single playable grand piano sits in the living room next to an empty grey fireplace. The player steps outside and encounters a whimsical suburban town similar to Night in the Woods, only even more charming. The air of the empty town strikes me with an atmosphere similar to Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Neverwhere.
I cannot stress how beautiful, heartwarming, and relaxing the art of Neversong is. The minimal detail on the character's faces only serves to add to their personalities. Things as simple as menus and the dialogue UI are a pleasure to look at and navigate, and even the sound effects are welcome to the ear. The colors strike me as bright and vivid but restrained as if a colorful Alice In Wonderland-like world has been suddenly drenched in sepia tones. The creatures encountered along the way are, for the most part, quite cute. Every now and then a true monster will rear its ugly head, and at these times the range of the artist's abilities becomes obvious - Thomas Brush has created a world that is so charming it's absolutely terrifying. Brush cites artist Eyvind Earle as his main inspiration, but the best praise I can give Neversong is that it is heavily reminiscent of Tim Burton's masterpiece James and the Giant Peach in artwork, music, and general vibes.
Upon speaking to the charismatic and snot-nosed bratty kids in the neighborhood, Peet discovers that a monster came and abducted Wren. Instead of protecting her, Peet fell into a coma and has just awakened. The adults of Red Wind have gone out to search for and rescue Wren, leaving the village full of only children for an indeterminate amount of time. Joined by a sarcastic fairy companion named Bird, clearly inspired by Tatl from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Peet ventures out into six disturbing yet welcoming worlds to find the truth about what happened to Wren. The Booty Bum gang clearly weren't fans of Peet and Wren, and their sarcastic and derogatory remarks make for some great entertainment amidst the awfulness.
The story is framed by a narrator perusing through an old storybook, wickedly laughing as he recounts the events of Neversong in an almost-rhyme with a constantly changing meter that only adds to the creepiness. As the story unfolds, more details about past events will come forward, connecting dots in a clever and thoughtful way. The player feels as if they are learning more about how the world works every step of the way. Nothing is as it seems, no one can be fully trusted and the strange mastermind Dr. Smile seems to be three steps ahead of Peet at all times. This isn't a game for short bursts of play over a week - you'll want to get to the ending as soon as possible.
The single-button combat is simple at its core, and that's why it doesn't get old. Peet's only armament is a baseball bat, later gaining nails to fight off the increasingly disturbing monsters in Red Wind. Peet has a forward, up and down slash technique that propels him in the corresponding direction, very similar to Hollow Knight (who also happens to use nails as weapons). Basic monsters are usually not too difficult to beat, and every enemy you slay yields a heart, making it quite difficult to actually die. Each area houses a boss which yields a new item to take on the new dungeon. This method of unlocking items paired with the environmental dungeon puzzles calls to mind a 2D version of the 3D Legend of Zelda games. I got lost two times during Neversong and the game didn't make it clear how to progress - this is likely a plus for many.
Each boss fight is unique and relies just as much on platforming as actually fighting, which is a mark of great game design. The combat itself is nothing innovative or groundbreaking, but the bosses are another matter entirely. Each one must be defeated using the item Peet acquired for their dungeon, and upon defeat, Peet will obtain a new song. In another callback to 3D Zelda games, playing that new song on the piano will unlock a new item. The final boss fight was quite a large difficulty spike, but as there's a save point right before it that wasn't unwelcome. The ending brings some closure to this excellently-crafted story while leaving a few things to the player's imagination.
Neversong is an adventure that will resonate with anyone who has experienced true, unadulterated guilt. This is not the guilt of breaking a jar your mother loved or forgetting to feed a friend's cat for a day; this is the guilt of destroying something, someone, that is precious. The loss of innocence, the terror of creeping into adulthood, the end of who you were as who you will become begins to manifest - these universal themes pervade Neversong in a haunting choir. Songs of death, life, and all the things in between can be found here. If you know true guilt, you are not alone. This must-play title sits alongside other indie greats such as Inside and Undertale and is recommended for anyone who wants to look Guilt in the eyes, stand tall, and defy it.
Neversong, originally titled Once Upon a Coma, sprouted from a Kickstarter by Pinstripe developer Thomas Brush as a sequel to his flash-game Coma. The story eventually developed into something else entirely and grew into new characters, settings, and mechanics inspired by a wide array of games; elements of Undertale, Night in the Woods, Inside, Hollow Knight, and The Legend of Zelda click together surprisingly well in this authentic journey into the monster we call Guilt. Anyone interested in playing this game need not worry about playing the first game to understand it - Neversong does a wonderful job establishing this mysterious and outright scary world in just minutes. This review will be completely spoiler-free, and I advise anyone who wants to play to avoid spoilers elsewhere as well.
12-year-old Peet wakes up alone in a gloomy, dusty room. The walls are laden with pulsating membranes, soft piano music echoes down the corridors, and a shadowy figure smiles in the distance. Neversong launches the player headfirst into the world, giving them just a taste of the supernatural peril they'll come to fear hours later before tossing them into a decidedly normal suburban town. Peet finds himself in his girlfriend, Wren's, decrepit and abandoned house. A single playable grand piano sits in the living room next to an empty grey fireplace. The player steps outside and encounters a whimsical suburban town similar to Night in the Woods, only even more charming. The air of the empty town strikes me with an atmosphere similar to Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Neverwhere.
I cannot stress how beautiful, heartwarming, and relaxing the art of Neversong is. The minimal detail on the character's faces only serves to add to their personalities. Things as simple as menus and the dialogue UI are a pleasure to look at and navigate, and even the sound effects are welcome to the ear. The colors strike me as bright and vivid but restrained as if a colorful Alice In Wonderland-like world has been suddenly drenched in sepia tones. The creatures encountered along the way are, for the most part, quite cute. Every now and then a true monster will rear its ugly head, and at these times the range of the artist's abilities becomes obvious - Thomas Brush has created a world that is so charming it's absolutely terrifying. Brush cites artist Eyvind Earle as his main inspiration, but the best praise I can give Neversong is that it is heavily reminiscent of Tim Burton's masterpiece James and the Giant Peach in artwork, music, and general vibes.
Upon speaking to the charismatic and snot-nosed bratty kids in the neighborhood, Peet discovers that a monster came and abducted Wren. Instead of protecting her, Peet fell into a coma and has just awakened. The adults of Red Wind have gone out to search for and rescue Wren, leaving the village full of only children for an indeterminate amount of time. Joined by a sarcastic fairy companion named Bird, clearly inspired by Tatl from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Peet ventures out into six disturbing yet welcoming worlds to find the truth about what happened to Wren. The Booty Bum gang clearly weren't fans of Peet and Wren, and their sarcastic and derogatory remarks make for some great entertainment amidst the awfulness.
The story is framed by a narrator perusing through an old storybook, wickedly laughing as he recounts the events of Neversong in an almost-rhyme with a constantly changing meter that only adds to the creepiness. As the story unfolds, more details about past events will come forward, connecting dots in a clever and thoughtful way. The player feels as if they are learning more about how the world works every step of the way. Nothing is as it seems, no one can be fully trusted and the strange mastermind Dr. Smile seems to be three steps ahead of Peet at all times. This isn't a game for short bursts of play over a week - you'll want to get to the ending as soon as possible.
The single-button combat is simple at its core, and that's why it doesn't get old. Peet's only armament is a baseball bat, later gaining nails to fight off the increasingly disturbing monsters in Red Wind. Peet has a forward, up and down slash technique that propels him in the corresponding direction, very similar to Hollow Knight (who also happens to use nails as weapons). Basic monsters are usually not too difficult to beat, and every enemy you slay yields a heart, making it quite difficult to actually die. Each area houses a boss which yields a new item to take on the new dungeon. This method of unlocking items paired with the environmental dungeon puzzles calls to mind a 2D version of the 3D Legend of Zelda games. I got lost two times during Neversong and the game didn't make it clear how to progress - this is likely a plus for many.
Each boss fight is unique and relies just as much on platforming as actually fighting, which is a mark of great game design. The combat itself is nothing innovative or groundbreaking, but the bosses are another matter entirely. Each one must be defeated using the item Peet acquired for their dungeon, and upon defeat, Peet will obtain a new song. In another callback to 3D Zelda games, playing that new song on the piano will unlock a new item. The final boss fight was quite a large difficulty spike, but as there's a save point right before it that wasn't unwelcome. The ending brings some closure to this excellently-crafted story while leaving a few things to the player's imagination.
Neversong is an adventure that will resonate with anyone who has experienced true, unadulterated guilt. This is not the guilt of breaking a jar your mother loved or forgetting to feed a friend's cat for a day; this is the guilt of destroying something, someone, that is precious. The loss of innocence, the terror of creeping into adulthood, the end of who you were as who you will become begins to manifest - these universal themes pervade Neversong in a haunting choir. Songs of death, life, and all the things in between can be found here. If you know true guilt, you are not alone. This must-play title sits alongside other indie greats such as Inside and Undertale and is recommended for anyone who wants to look Guilt in the eyes, stand tall, and defy it.
game fun
This is an interesting game due to the fact that it is a remake of an early game in the developer's career. Thomas Brush created the game "Coma" in Adobe Flash a while ago and it gained some viral attention. It focused on a kid named Pete who suffered a coma and is suspended in a sort of dreamlike world. It took less than an hour to complete.
This game was created years later in Unity (under the working title of "Once Upon a Coma") with more of a team, has much more plot and gameplay (takes about 6 hours to beat), and expands on the original story. It focuses on Peet, as he goes on an adventure to save his childhood crush Wren, who has been kidnapped by the evil Dr. Smile. Hidden beneath the cutesy and slightly macabre artstyle lies a dark and tragic metaphor about growing up, loss, and guilt. It's a narrative puzzle-platformer with a handful of interesting boss fights, a cast of weird but engaging characters, and rudimentary combat. The small-ish worldmap is built in a Mario-esque sidescroller fasion with bits of Metroidvania sprinkled in. It boasts a subtle and dreamlike soundtrack to accompany Thomas' surreal artstyle and has some decent voice acting to complement the dialogue, which has its moments but falters occasionally.
For an indie game, it's a neat creative effort, but it leaves a little more to be desired from a gameplay standpoint. Some other things that put me off were the childishly vulgar mannerisms (I get it, it's a game about childhood neighborhood shenanigans, but the "booty bum", "poop", and "fart" stuff comes across as a little forced sometimes).
I would recommend it for those who have more than a passing interest in indie games. For anyone else, it might seem short and a bit boring. I personally enjoyed it, due to the themes of nostalgia resonating with me.
This game was created years later in Unity (under the working title of "Once Upon a Coma") with more of a team, has much more plot and gameplay (takes about 6 hours to beat), and expands on the original story. It focuses on Peet, as he goes on an adventure to save his childhood crush Wren, who has been kidnapped by the evil Dr. Smile. Hidden beneath the cutesy and slightly macabre artstyle lies a dark and tragic metaphor about growing up, loss, and guilt. It's a narrative puzzle-platformer with a handful of interesting boss fights, a cast of weird but engaging characters, and rudimentary combat. The small-ish worldmap is built in a Mario-esque sidescroller fasion with bits of Metroidvania sprinkled in. It boasts a subtle and dreamlike soundtrack to accompany Thomas' surreal artstyle and has some decent voice acting to complement the dialogue, which has its moments but falters occasionally.
For an indie game, it's a neat creative effort, but it leaves a little more to be desired from a gameplay standpoint. Some other things that put me off were the childishly vulgar mannerisms (I get it, it's a game about childhood neighborhood shenanigans, but the "booty bum", "poop", and "fart" stuff comes across as a little forced sometimes).
I would recommend it for those who have more than a passing interest in indie games. For anyone else, it might seem short and a bit boring. I personally enjoyed it, due to the themes of nostalgia resonating with me.