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.