I have mixed feelings on this game, but I think looking back on my experience I would call it mostly positive. The visuals and music are great, and the main hook of being able to combine copy abilities is a great idea that should definitely be fleshed out in a future game.
While I enjoyed the copy ability mechanics, I would argue that there are a few that are extremely OP and others that are basically useless. The lack of balance deterred my drive for experimentation somewhat, but I still tried to get every possible combo by game's end.
I first played through the game without a particular focus on collecting all of the crystal shards due to how often they would seem more annoying than fun to collect. I'm not fond of the 'hey to get this one, you need to have this exact combination of these two abilities that you won't be able to find anywhere in the level and have to hold on to for 5 minutes into the level without dying because you'll lose it' schtick. The ones that you came across naturally were satisfying to collect, but I could do without the "puzzle" ones. Once I'd played through once, I did decide to go back through and collect the ones I was missing. In the end, I found it didn't take too long, and I was at least thankful for the ability to retain any collected items / abilities by exiting the level through the pause menu at any time. There was no need to play through to the end of the level if I got what I needed from it 10 seconds in.
The bosses in this game were pretty awful and unmemorable with the exception of the last boss. Maybe I just happened to have OP moves when I fought them, but several bosses didn't even get a chance to launch an attack on me before I managed to kill them without even taking a step.
With all the nitpicks out of the way, I would still say this is a solid platformer with enjoyable presentation that tries some unique things and mostly succeeds. I'd say it's more worth going for an any% completion rather than 100%, but I also wouldn't say I regret completing it 100% for the full experience.
Positives:
+ Art and music
+ Copy mechanics
+ Charming levels
Negatives:
- Unbalanced abilities
- Bosses
- Puzzles / 100% requirements
While I enjoyed the copy ability mechanics, I would argue that there are a few that are extremely OP and others that are basically useless. The lack of balance deterred my drive for experimentation somewhat, but I still tried to get every possible combo by game's end.
I first played through the game without a particular focus on collecting all of the crystal shards due to how often they would seem more annoying than fun to collect. I'm not fond of the 'hey to get this one, you need to have this exact combination of these two abilities that you won't be able to find anywhere in the level and have to hold on to for 5 minutes into the level without dying because you'll lose it' schtick. The ones that you came across naturally were satisfying to collect, but I could do without the "puzzle" ones. Once I'd played through once, I did decide to go back through and collect the ones I was missing. In the end, I found it didn't take too long, and I was at least thankful for the ability to retain any collected items / abilities by exiting the level through the pause menu at any time. There was no need to play through to the end of the level if I got what I needed from it 10 seconds in.
The bosses in this game were pretty awful and unmemorable with the exception of the last boss. Maybe I just happened to have OP moves when I fought them, but several bosses didn't even get a chance to launch an attack on me before I managed to kill them without even taking a step.
With all the nitpicks out of the way, I would still say this is a solid platformer with enjoyable presentation that tries some unique things and mostly succeeds. I'd say it's more worth going for an any% completion rather than 100%, but I also wouldn't say I regret completing it 100% for the full experience.
Positives:
+ Art and music
+ Copy mechanics
+ Charming levels
Negatives:
- Unbalanced abilities
- Bosses
- Puzzles / 100% requirements