I think the biggest failing of this game and what really ground me down after playing it for a while was the constant dissonance between so many of the moving parts of this. The art style wants to go for a pixelated, simplistic look but also wants to have cutscenes displaying emotion through facial expressions that don't really translate through the design. Parts of this tonally feel like a cutesy English kid's storybook but when the darker elements are introduced they don't slot in naturally at all. The majority of this wants to be a precision platformer, but then streams of somewhat clunky minigames break up the natural flow of the game (all the transitions feeling very jarring & abrupt).

Now, part of my reason for dropping this might just be down to my own preferences & less so any inherent failings of the game itself. I'm definitely not one for nail-bitingly hard gameplay or precision platforming, but I was surprised with just how precise and unforgiving the majority of this game was. The lack of a life system is indicative of this, but this still felt off-puttingly punishing to a point where the lack of lives seems more like tape on the cracks than an intentional design choice. It's not a complete loss, as I do like the story, some of the charming visual design and the soundtrack, but all the endearing aspects were ground down by aggravating gameplay & a lack of skippable moments.