This review contains spoilers
I love, love, love this game. It's 1:30 in the morning, and I should be going to bed, but I just finished this game, and I need to write about it while it's fresh on my mind or I won't be able to sleep.
Back in mid-2019, not long after this game came out, I picked it up and started playing it. Fairly quickly you get an idea of what the core gameplay loop is going to be: explore a 3D world, to find entrances to 2D Zelda-esque adventure sections. Explore the 2D sections to find dust and cards, and use the dust and cards to unlock new 3D sections. Pretty straight-forward. I got about halfway through the second (of five-ish) act of this before life got in the way, and I ended up abandoning the game. If this was all the game was, I'd be giving it about 3.5 stars.
Well, this week I revisited this game and decided to start fresh, and I am so glad that I did. At the end of act 2, the developers basically throw that core gameplay out the window, and the resulting game has some truly great moments.
The writing is easily the biggest strength of this game, as with the rest of the games this team has put out. This game manages to seamlessly meld the quirky and dark humor of Anodyne with the contemplative commentary on human nature presented by Even the Ocean. It manages both laugh out loud funny moments mixed with some real tear-jerkers, and even some moments of great tension, without any of it feeling forced or at odds with one another.
The gameplay is solid and dependable. It's not the main draw to the game, but neither does it get in the way of things. The 3D sections are mostly about exploration, with the occasional moment of platforming, but the double jump and automatic glide means the platforming never feels punishing, and the Ridescale ability (i.e. your character transforming into a car) makes the necessary backtracking not feel like a chore. The 2D sections use a similar engine to the prequel, but the use of a vacuum cleaner as your primary weapon (allowing you to inhale and spit out enemies) keeps the game feeling fresh.
The music does a fantastic job of setting the tone; the 3D sections all have an ethereal and somber feel to them, really giving you a sense that all is not well in the world. Meanwhile, the 2D sections (where more of the action tends to be) get themes that suit the moods of the individual areas. Highlights of the soundtrack for me include Upon Soaring Highways, Pastel Horizon, Stargaze Valley Night, and the theme for the last 2D section of the game, which I won't name because it's a pretty big spoiler.
The graphics are the kind of retro graphics that I love - the kind that makes you think "this could have been done on a 16-bit console, right?" Yeah, they could have, but no one did, back then. What's new to me is a game that captures that feeling but for early 3D graphics; the 3D sections of the game simultaneously look like they could have been on the Playstation and also better than anything the Playstation actually produced.
All in all, this game is fantastic. I'm so, so happy I came back to this game, as this is now genuinely one of my favorite games of all time. Would highly recommend for anyone who likes narrative-heavy games with a little action spread throughout.
5/5
Back in mid-2019, not long after this game came out, I picked it up and started playing it. Fairly quickly you get an idea of what the core gameplay loop is going to be: explore a 3D world, to find entrances to 2D Zelda-esque adventure sections. Explore the 2D sections to find dust and cards, and use the dust and cards to unlock new 3D sections. Pretty straight-forward. I got about halfway through the second (of five-ish) act of this before life got in the way, and I ended up abandoning the game. If this was all the game was, I'd be giving it about 3.5 stars.
Well, this week I revisited this game and decided to start fresh, and I am so glad that I did. At the end of act 2, the developers basically throw that core gameplay out the window, and the resulting game has some truly great moments.
The writing is easily the biggest strength of this game, as with the rest of the games this team has put out. This game manages to seamlessly meld the quirky and dark humor of Anodyne with the contemplative commentary on human nature presented by Even the Ocean. It manages both laugh out loud funny moments mixed with some real tear-jerkers, and even some moments of great tension, without any of it feeling forced or at odds with one another.
The gameplay is solid and dependable. It's not the main draw to the game, but neither does it get in the way of things. The 3D sections are mostly about exploration, with the occasional moment of platforming, but the double jump and automatic glide means the platforming never feels punishing, and the Ridescale ability (i.e. your character transforming into a car) makes the necessary backtracking not feel like a chore. The 2D sections use a similar engine to the prequel, but the use of a vacuum cleaner as your primary weapon (allowing you to inhale and spit out enemies) keeps the game feeling fresh.
The music does a fantastic job of setting the tone; the 3D sections all have an ethereal and somber feel to them, really giving you a sense that all is not well in the world. Meanwhile, the 2D sections (where more of the action tends to be) get themes that suit the moods of the individual areas. Highlights of the soundtrack for me include Upon Soaring Highways, Pastel Horizon, Stargaze Valley Night, and the theme for the last 2D section of the game, which I won't name because it's a pretty big spoiler.
The graphics are the kind of retro graphics that I love - the kind that makes you think "this could have been done on a 16-bit console, right?" Yeah, they could have, but no one did, back then. What's new to me is a game that captures that feeling but for early 3D graphics; the 3D sections of the game simultaneously look like they could have been on the Playstation and also better than anything the Playstation actually produced.
All in all, this game is fantastic. I'm so, so happy I came back to this game, as this is now genuinely one of my favorite games of all time. Would highly recommend for anyone who likes narrative-heavy games with a little action spread throughout.
5/5