Complete playthrough. A well-made 2D platforming adventure following the 'life' of the titular sentient robot, Horace's highlight has to be its profound story, at turns touching. amusing and surreal. While platforming is the primary gameplay mechanic, often built around a gravity-manipulation mechanic and eventually becoming 'Metroidvania'-like with collectible upgrades and hidden secrets, occasional minigames and other side activities mix it up, often to good effect.
However, what drags the game down significantly is an absolutely punishing level of difficulty, which doesn't feel well-placed here and is especially frustrating when combined with the free-form exploration of some of the game's later chapters - it's simply not fun to navigate through difficult challenges repeatedly upon finding that a given direction isn't fruitful at the time. The game's story justifies its length, stretching across 22 chapters that will likely take somewhere in the region of 10-15 hours to play through, but in gameplay terms I'd gladly have seen it cut down to half that.
However, what drags the game down significantly is an absolutely punishing level of difficulty, which doesn't feel well-placed here and is especially frustrating when combined with the free-form exploration of some of the game's later chapters - it's simply not fun to navigate through difficult challenges repeatedly upon finding that a given direction isn't fruitful at the time. The game's story justifies its length, stretching across 22 chapters that will likely take somewhere in the region of 10-15 hours to play through, but in gameplay terms I'd gladly have seen it cut down to half that.