Tinykin is a difficult game to evaluate.
Is it fun? Sure, the movement feels good, tight, and responsive. Skating around levels on your soapboard is satisfying and quick. The levels are massive and intuitively designed, possibly some of the best 3D level design I've experienced for that matter; constantly offering multiple options to explore that always seem to loop back in on themselves and branch into other routes. After getting the hang of the game it flows extremely naturally and you wind up completing the entire level without ever losing the wind in your sails until, essentially, the very end when you're just doing cleanup of the last few ambrosia you missed (this game's sort of "coin" collectible, with over a thousand per level).
The visuals are incredibly charming as well, transforming everyday objects into not just obstacles but things that are functional for the NPCs as much as they are engaging to interact with. One particular level has an entire sink with a running faucet that overflows into an irrigation system, using sponges for farmland (which happen to be as evergreen as grass). The character designs are similarly cute and visually interesting.
And... Surprisingly, the game's writing is pretty good. There's actually somehow relatively interesting politics internally from stage to stage that showcases thoughtful worldbuilding. Similarly I didn't expect the very ending to be so... Strangely melancholic and tragic. Still, it wasn't an unwelcomed tonal shift to close out the ten hour runtime.
So what's the hang-up? Why can't I rate it any higher when the game is so expertly and lovingly crafted?
The game is just... Too easy. It feels like wasted potential. There isn't a single stretch of difficult platforming to be seen nor is there an engaging puzzle. The highest compliment I can give this game amounts to "the most fun you can have with your brain turned off", which is an unfortunate statement to have to make. There's no fail state, no way to be punished or to make a decision that can lead to any form of punishment. You can't even lose progress in longer stretches of vertical platforming because there are shortcuts to the bottom every layer up.
I'm not asking for tedium, but even Mario Odyssey, a game that (at times) just hands you a decent amount of your moons for free in the name of accessibility, still offers entirely optional venues for sometimes extremely challenging platforming. I don't think this is a particularly difficult design choice to at least keep in mind, but what Tinykin offers in the ways of intriguing challenge is entirely zero. I understand that challenge isn't the point of every game, games are made to be fun, but it's the extreme lack of stimulation I felt while engaging with the content that bogged down an otherwise great experience.
I still highly recommend the game in spite of this if you have a few hours to burn and find yourself even remotely interested. It's short and I do believe it deserves full support, but I just found it lacking. I hope they continue to make games as they clearly have an incredible vision for this type of thing.
Is it fun? Sure, the movement feels good, tight, and responsive. Skating around levels on your soapboard is satisfying and quick. The levels are massive and intuitively designed, possibly some of the best 3D level design I've experienced for that matter; constantly offering multiple options to explore that always seem to loop back in on themselves and branch into other routes. After getting the hang of the game it flows extremely naturally and you wind up completing the entire level without ever losing the wind in your sails until, essentially, the very end when you're just doing cleanup of the last few ambrosia you missed (this game's sort of "coin" collectible, with over a thousand per level).
The visuals are incredibly charming as well, transforming everyday objects into not just obstacles but things that are functional for the NPCs as much as they are engaging to interact with. One particular level has an entire sink with a running faucet that overflows into an irrigation system, using sponges for farmland (which happen to be as evergreen as grass). The character designs are similarly cute and visually interesting.
And... Surprisingly, the game's writing is pretty good. There's actually somehow relatively interesting politics internally from stage to stage that showcases thoughtful worldbuilding. Similarly I didn't expect the very ending to be so... Strangely melancholic and tragic. Still, it wasn't an unwelcomed tonal shift to close out the ten hour runtime.
So what's the hang-up? Why can't I rate it any higher when the game is so expertly and lovingly crafted?
The game is just... Too easy. It feels like wasted potential. There isn't a single stretch of difficult platforming to be seen nor is there an engaging puzzle. The highest compliment I can give this game amounts to "the most fun you can have with your brain turned off", which is an unfortunate statement to have to make. There's no fail state, no way to be punished or to make a decision that can lead to any form of punishment. You can't even lose progress in longer stretches of vertical platforming because there are shortcuts to the bottom every layer up.
I'm not asking for tedium, but even Mario Odyssey, a game that (at times) just hands you a decent amount of your moons for free in the name of accessibility, still offers entirely optional venues for sometimes extremely challenging platforming. I don't think this is a particularly difficult design choice to at least keep in mind, but what Tinykin offers in the ways of intriguing challenge is entirely zero. I understand that challenge isn't the point of every game, games are made to be fun, but it's the extreme lack of stimulation I felt while engaging with the content that bogged down an otherwise great experience.
I still highly recommend the game in spite of this if you have a few hours to burn and find yourself even remotely interested. It's short and I do believe it deserves full support, but I just found it lacking. I hope they continue to make games as they clearly have an incredible vision for this type of thing.