The art style is cute but if failed to grip me
Sights & Sounds
- The visual aesthetics are amazing. I love the hand-painted look of the environments and characters
- The music was sorta forgettable. I played this less than a week ago, and none of the music has stuck with me
Story & Vibes
- Not a ton going on narratively, either, but I did like how the game surprises you halfway through. It's not really a twist (you can tell that a turning point is coming), but it definitely takes the story in a new direction
- I'm not sure that there's many take-home messages or nuggets of wisdom to really be gleaned from this game. Without any real lore or literary depth, the game feels a little thin
- It's definitely a chill game, so there's that, at least
Playability & Replayability
- It's a puzzle platformer where you change the season to change the environment and solve puzzles. There's a ton of games like this, and Seasons After Fall doesn't really add anything new to that mix. It just looks nice
- It's not a Metrodvania, but there is a lot of backtracking through the same interconnected map. I'll be frank, if you're gonna borrow anything from that genre, backtracking is the worst choice
- I'm not sure why, but the jump felt laggy and hard to predict for the first hour of my playthrough. It took forever to get used to it. Input lag + floatiness + uneven momentum = bad jumping
- Not doing a replay; once was enough. There's nothing in the game calling me back to it
Overall Impressions & Performance
- Somehow, I managed to play Moonleap before this game and Hue right after. They're all basically the same concept with different levels of complexity. I'm just tired of the season/color/time-of-day changing mechanic. Not sure how I managed to queue up so many similar games in a row
- It ran well on the Steam Deck with no need for tweaks or fiddling
Final Verdict
- 5.5/10. The visuals really are nice and it's a relaxing enough game. I just wouldn't recommend it unless you're craving a new puzzle platformer and the price is very reduced. I liked it more than I disliked it, so that's something, at least
- The visual aesthetics are amazing. I love the hand-painted look of the environments and characters
- The music was sorta forgettable. I played this less than a week ago, and none of the music has stuck with me
Story & Vibes
- Not a ton going on narratively, either, but I did like how the game surprises you halfway through. It's not really a twist (you can tell that a turning point is coming), but it definitely takes the story in a new direction
- I'm not sure that there's many take-home messages or nuggets of wisdom to really be gleaned from this game. Without any real lore or literary depth, the game feels a little thin
- It's definitely a chill game, so there's that, at least
Playability & Replayability
- It's a puzzle platformer where you change the season to change the environment and solve puzzles. There's a ton of games like this, and Seasons After Fall doesn't really add anything new to that mix. It just looks nice
- It's not a Metrodvania, but there is a lot of backtracking through the same interconnected map. I'll be frank, if you're gonna borrow anything from that genre, backtracking is the worst choice
- I'm not sure why, but the jump felt laggy and hard to predict for the first hour of my playthrough. It took forever to get used to it. Input lag + floatiness + uneven momentum = bad jumping
- Not doing a replay; once was enough. There's nothing in the game calling me back to it
Overall Impressions & Performance
- Somehow, I managed to play Moonleap before this game and Hue right after. They're all basically the same concept with different levels of complexity. I'm just tired of the season/color/time-of-day changing mechanic. Not sure how I managed to queue up so many similar games in a row
- It ran well on the Steam Deck with no need for tweaks or fiddling
Final Verdict
- 5.5/10. The visuals really are nice and it's a relaxing enough game. I just wouldn't recommend it unless you're craving a new puzzle platformer and the price is very reduced. I liked it more than I disliked it, so that's something, at least
Un jeu chill quoi.
It's very easy for forest-fantasy themes to be corny and kitschy, so this game has to be welcomed with open arms as it manages to anchor the theme at the gameplay. It's just so fun and creative, endless combinations that result in mini-puzzles, and it's all so mesmerizingly well done that it's pure joy with which you're exploring the forest. This is what The First Tree wishes it could be. It's a playable fable, and what a pretty one.
A very benign, short little game in the "artistic not-mechanically-tuned-enough-to-be-a-full-Metrovania-but-grazing-the-surface 2D platformer" genre that I finished in about a day of casual gaming. I was reminded of two games playing this, one being Ori and the Blind Forest (with a smaller budget) and the other being Kajenx's flash game William and Sly 2 (with a bigger budget), and it certainly scratches that itch if you're looking for a pretty low-energy 6 hour puzzle romp with no enemies to kill.
The narrative of this game is what you expect; a cute fox (or, rather, a spirit inside a cute fox) has to save the forest and the glowy-eyed big animal guardians from some sort of spooky threat that has a bunch of scary brambles, and they harness the power of the elements in order to make 4 times the color palettes and art assets for each level as they solve platforming puzzles.
What I did not expect is that the sinister undertones of your character's actions to help your mysterious benefactor are intentional, so if you're thinking to yourself "Wow, that glowing spirit just possessed that fox and took over its body, that's kinda messed up!", then I'm happy to report that the game actually accounts for this rather than just leaves this as unspoken fridge horror. The writing isn't amazing but hey, props for this fun little narrative twist.
Unfortunately, where it shines in artistic merit, it falters in the actual gameplay. The biggest problem is the backtracking. This game has an area where you start at the center, travel to one of the four corners (one for each season/guardian), travel back to the center, and rinse and repeat until all four corners are accounted for. This was great the first time. This was acceptable the second time since you unlocked all of your season-changing powers and it's nice to see what new areas could be unlocked with your full arsenal. This was...kind of a slog when, in the final act of the game, the Guardian bear told me I had to do it all again a third time in order to roll credits. Sure, slightly different areas opened up that third time, but I was still running through the same locations for 80% of the time I was doing the final Ritual section with no map or options for fast travel beyond the extremely situational warpstones and magic ziplines.
That being said, it's hard to fault this game for the padding when, even with said padding, it only took me about 6 hours to hit Platinum.
Gorgeous game and at a nice little bite-sized length, but also this game made me do the same Cicada Tree three separate times and there's only so much waiting for floating platform cycles that I can take before I ask the game "what did I do to deserve this".
The narrative of this game is what you expect; a cute fox (or, rather, a spirit inside a cute fox) has to save the forest and the glowy-eyed big animal guardians from some sort of spooky threat that has a bunch of scary brambles, and they harness the power of the elements in order to make 4 times the color palettes and art assets for each level as they solve platforming puzzles.
What I did not expect is that the sinister undertones of your character's actions to help your mysterious benefactor are intentional, so if you're thinking to yourself "Wow, that glowing spirit just possessed that fox and took over its body, that's kinda messed up!", then I'm happy to report that the game actually accounts for this rather than just leaves this as unspoken fridge horror. The writing isn't amazing but hey, props for this fun little narrative twist.
Unfortunately, where it shines in artistic merit, it falters in the actual gameplay. The biggest problem is the backtracking. This game has an area where you start at the center, travel to one of the four corners (one for each season/guardian), travel back to the center, and rinse and repeat until all four corners are accounted for. This was great the first time. This was acceptable the second time since you unlocked all of your season-changing powers and it's nice to see what new areas could be unlocked with your full arsenal. This was...kind of a slog when, in the final act of the game, the Guardian bear told me I had to do it all again a third time in order to roll credits. Sure, slightly different areas opened up that third time, but I was still running through the same locations for 80% of the time I was doing the final Ritual section with no map or options for fast travel beyond the extremely situational warpstones and magic ziplines.
That being said, it's hard to fault this game for the padding when, even with said padding, it only took me about 6 hours to hit Platinum.
Gorgeous game and at a nice little bite-sized length, but also this game made me do the same Cicada Tree three separate times and there's only so much waiting for floating platform cycles that I can take before I ask the game "what did I do to deserve this".
Overall, I liked it more than I was bored by it. As far as 2D indie platformers go, this one actually had some puzzles that tripped me up - not because of difficulty, but because it rose above my expectations for novelty. With it's core mechanic being changing seasons for every scene of every level, this game had as much art as one 4x its length, so that level of polish is commendable.
On that note, the gameplay ideas are not evenly balanced among the four seasons. Winter makes bodies of water frozen, and autumn grows mushrooms necessary for platforming - both are so useful and ubiquitous that most of my game time was spent in the two drabbest color palettes for any individual level. Playing this game at a time in a place with snow on the ground, there was perhaps a tinge of unintentional immersion that green summer days were little more than wistful moments against the drudgery of reality.
Seasons after Fall gets thrown into the indie game camp of "I can't tell if the writing is for children, or if the writers are bad and surrounded by supportive friends and family who can't tell the difference to help them." Either way, incomprehensible and ignorable.
I liked the playable fox's animations, its bouncy jaunt when walking slowly, its momentary indignity of clambering up ledges. That was actually my favorite gameplay mechanic, that the fox would catch the edge of ledges and hoist himself up if you were slightly off in the height or placement of your jump. I think that would be a neat feature or option in more 2D platformers as an accessibility option, as it felt like a kind accommodation the game was making for my imprecision without punishing me for more time than a second attempt would have taken. Kept the flow of the game centered on moving forward and deciding where to be, rather than demanding spending time to become skilled enough to travel there.
In my rating system, 2 stars represents an average, C rank game, and Seasons after Fall is perfectly fine. Maybe if it had spent less time implementing a non-starter narrative and funneled that funding into more music tracks it would have been easier to recommend.
On that note, the gameplay ideas are not evenly balanced among the four seasons. Winter makes bodies of water frozen, and autumn grows mushrooms necessary for platforming - both are so useful and ubiquitous that most of my game time was spent in the two drabbest color palettes for any individual level. Playing this game at a time in a place with snow on the ground, there was perhaps a tinge of unintentional immersion that green summer days were little more than wistful moments against the drudgery of reality.
Seasons after Fall gets thrown into the indie game camp of "I can't tell if the writing is for children, or if the writers are bad and surrounded by supportive friends and family who can't tell the difference to help them." Either way, incomprehensible and ignorable.
I liked the playable fox's animations, its bouncy jaunt when walking slowly, its momentary indignity of clambering up ledges. That was actually my favorite gameplay mechanic, that the fox would catch the edge of ledges and hoist himself up if you were slightly off in the height or placement of your jump. I think that would be a neat feature or option in more 2D platformers as an accessibility option, as it felt like a kind accommodation the game was making for my imprecision without punishing me for more time than a second attempt would have taken. Kept the flow of the game centered on moving forward and deciding where to be, rather than demanding spending time to become skilled enough to travel there.
In my rating system, 2 stars represents an average, C rank game, and Seasons after Fall is perfectly fine. Maybe if it had spent less time implementing a non-starter narrative and funneled that funding into more music tracks it would have been easier to recommend.
Completed with 'true ending'; 100% of achievements unlocked. Visually stunning, Seasons after Fall is an enjoyable puzzle platformer, seeing the player take control of a fox attempting to restore prosperity to a forest. Divided into four main areas - one for each season - the puzzle mechanic centres around switching between seasons, with each bringing changes to certain elements of the game world - for example, a flower that absorbs water as it grows in the summer, allowing deeper parts of a lake below it to be explored - with satisying results, even if complexity is limited.
Although the environment is a single connected world, in my mind it lacks the interconnectedness and extend of upgrades to be considered a true 'Metroidvania'. Despite that, the game still feels like it would benefit from inclusion of a map, or alternatively some clearer direction on where you need to go to progress at times, as it can be quite easy to waste time trying to work out where to go at times and there's no fast-travel mechanic for most of the game. With a bit of effort, though, this can be worked through (and of course, guides are out there if you choose to take that approach).
Special mention should be made to both the visuals and music, which are excellent and help to give a cohesive feeling throughout the game, across all four seasons.
Although the environment is a single connected world, in my mind it lacks the interconnectedness and extend of upgrades to be considered a true 'Metroidvania'. Despite that, the game still feels like it would benefit from inclusion of a map, or alternatively some clearer direction on where you need to go to progress at times, as it can be quite easy to waste time trying to work out where to go at times and there's no fast-travel mechanic for most of the game. With a bit of effort, though, this can be worked through (and of course, guides are out there if you choose to take that approach).
Special mention should be made to both the visuals and music, which are excellent and help to give a cohesive feeling throughout the game, across all four seasons.
it looks and sounds wonderful, but the gameplay just isn’t there and no kind of in-game map made this a chore by the end, such a shame
The art and music are really really good. My only complaints are the story's a little unclear and the movement can feel sluggish. Ended up using a guide for a lot of the later half, particularly the Pit altar and the bug puzzle, but I don't mind. Might have liked it better that way, honestly.
The art style and animation are so cute
unashamed to say that i would never have finished this if it weren't for the existence of walkthroughs
It was just a relaxing, chill time. A few areas that were a little frustrating, but it was still enjoyable, and the music was very well done.
Me ha parecido un coñazo antológico.
Está hecho con mucho mimo, no se lo niego, y el estudio tiene talento, pero jugablemente es un peñazo. Un juego de tres-cinco horas que parecen diez.
Un casi-metroidvania muy pocho.
Está hecho con mucho mimo, no se lo niego, y el estudio tiene talento, pero jugablemente es un peñazo. Un juego de tres-cinco horas que parecen diez.
Un casi-metroidvania muy pocho.
Ok class, today we learned that slow-paced and metroidvania, are two genres that should never be in the same game
Seasons after Fall é sensacional, curti tanto o jogo ao ponto de buscar todos os troféus, e olha que eu sou uma pessoa que não dá a mínima para platina.
É um jogo de plataforma 2D com uma arte que lembra muito o famoso indie Ori, conta a história de uma semente e uma raposa que estão tentando salvar as 4 estações que são protegidas por guardiões.
O jogo contém vários puzzles super interessantes que para resolver se usa uma mecânica onde você altera a estação, algo que eu achei bem criativo e simplesmente lindo.
Mas talvez esse jogo não seja para todos por esses motivos: o jogo não tem mapa e não te orienta em quase nada.
As críticas que vi reclamavam justamente disso, muitos jogadores não sabiam exatamente para onde ir ou o que fazer, isso não foi um problema para mim, na verdade eu achei super fácil me orientar nele.
Então se você é uma pessoa que se perde fácil, eu não recomendaria esse jogo, caso contrário, apenas vá e tenha uma boa experiência.
É um jogo de plataforma 2D com uma arte que lembra muito o famoso indie Ori, conta a história de uma semente e uma raposa que estão tentando salvar as 4 estações que são protegidas por guardiões.
O jogo contém vários puzzles super interessantes que para resolver se usa uma mecânica onde você altera a estação, algo que eu achei bem criativo e simplesmente lindo.
Mas talvez esse jogo não seja para todos por esses motivos: o jogo não tem mapa e não te orienta em quase nada.
As críticas que vi reclamavam justamente disso, muitos jogadores não sabiam exatamente para onde ir ou o que fazer, isso não foi um problema para mim, na verdade eu achei super fácil me orientar nele.
Então se você é uma pessoa que se perde fácil, eu não recomendaria esse jogo, caso contrário, apenas vá e tenha uma boa experiência.
Seasons after Fall had a few neat mechanics and an alright story. The art style and how everything was executed in this game flowed together really well! Love the moral by the end and getting all the achievements wasn't too bad for me. Overall to be a wonderful experience when I needed it and I replay it every fall for the past 6 years. :) Recommend for a short comfortable game.
I honestly stumbled across this game first from a Let's Player back in the day. Whilst the platformer gameplay is definietly not what drew me to the game, the artsitry of it all really got me going. The let's-player in question was particuallry quiet enough for the music to just flow and express it's magnitude. The build up from the tutorial with "Roots", a gorgeous tense and mysterious opener, as Little seed navigates the veins of the wild to find physicality in a small fox. This leads to the jovial and playful "Present", as the fox now leaves the dense forrest into the vast pastoral world! Out coming to a "Creek" where tempo rises to a gallop as the player is able to test the limits of the fox, dashing, jumping and exploring, strings grabing ahold or the reighs and matiching the joy and revelry of running through a field of grass. It was a wonderful moment to watch on screen, I just had to re-experience it myself and bought the game and completed it in about 5 hours.
What especially had my attention with the soundtrack was that it was entirely composed with string quartet (with a few added production for pieces such as "Frozen Lake" and "Dreams").Yann van der Cruyssen spearheaded the composition, creating incredible soundscapes from Spring to Winter, paying homage to Beethovens "Symphony No. 6, Pastoral" and Vivialdi's "Four Seasons" with thier distinct leadings of violas, cellos and violins to represent the land, bloomed and primal. Songs that embody these facets and how they relate to Little seed's journey to keeping the seasons in balance are fabulous. The dangers that Little seed encounter are coupled by daring and ruthless uses of taught strings, emmenating danger and stress like on "Ritual of the Fox" and "First Nightmare", the former especially. Parallel to that, there are many ambient and atmospheric tracks that embody the hand-painted envirmonments our fox navigates such as "Waterfalls", "Foliage" and "The Winds".
The whole sonic accompaniment really out does itself against the actual quality of the gameplay (unfortunately). It is a true delight on the ears.
💫HIGHLIGHTS💫: TITLE - THE WINDS - FROZEN LAKE - DREAMS - RITUAL OF THE FOX
🦊🎴🌲
What especially had my attention with the soundtrack was that it was entirely composed with string quartet (with a few added production for pieces such as "Frozen Lake" and "Dreams").Yann van der Cruyssen spearheaded the composition, creating incredible soundscapes from Spring to Winter, paying homage to Beethovens "Symphony No. 6, Pastoral" and Vivialdi's "Four Seasons" with thier distinct leadings of violas, cellos and violins to represent the land, bloomed and primal. Songs that embody these facets and how they relate to Little seed's journey to keeping the seasons in balance are fabulous. The dangers that Little seed encounter are coupled by daring and ruthless uses of taught strings, emmenating danger and stress like on "Ritual of the Fox" and "First Nightmare", the former especially. Parallel to that, there are many ambient and atmospheric tracks that embody the hand-painted envirmonments our fox navigates such as "Waterfalls", "Foliage" and "The Winds".
The whole sonic accompaniment really out does itself against the actual quality of the gameplay (unfortunately). It is a true delight on the ears.
💫HIGHLIGHTS💫: TITLE - THE WINDS - FROZEN LAKE - DREAMS - RITUAL OF THE FOX
🦊🎴🌲