Hylics has me very torn. This game has surrealism down to a T. The art style is to die for, the music is wonderfully weird, and the world and dialogue are as confusing as they are morbidly hilarious. But it's the vibe alone that does the heavy lifting.

That vibe is what seems seems to get in the way of Hylics being a joy to actually play. The art, beautiful as it is makes it confusing to tell where your character can and can't go - and that's just regarding overworld movement, let alone the question of where the player is meant to go to progress.

The game is filled to the brim with busywork. Combat aside there's just a lot of wandering around and interacting with everything, which serves well as a means of discovering all there is to see, but doesn't make for very fun or interesting play. Mix that with relatively straightforward combat and a few sections you'll be redoing thanks to enemies that kill you instantly, and suddenly the game feels more like a chore.

None of this is to say that Hylics has to be fun. It's an aesthetic experience - more akin to visiting an art gallery than playing an RPG. I'd happily recommend it to anyone looking for a brief journey into the world of RPG Maker weirdness, but it's just not a game that makes the most of its medium.