Loved it by the end, but it took a while to get going.
I think compared to Cyan's previous games the puzzles are generally more straightforward than usual, and I never hit a point where I felt like the solution required so much note taking/comparison that using a guide to simplify even parsing what the "problem" was was necessary. I found myself slightly disappointed by how there wasn't as many "eureka!" moments for me while playing as I had in Myst or Obduction, but at the same time I still enjoyed solving them. There's something to be said for puzzles being more about base-level logic and spacial awareness/navigation as well - it definitely helped keep the pacing pleasingly brisk.
The environments are also huge and lovingly detailed/designed, as you'd expect of Cyan. The game looks wonderful and the puzzles at several points are on a scale that'd qualify as a "setpiece" moment in Obduction for me - there's fewer overall to solve, the game is a lot shorter in general really, but I definitely found myself impressed by the scope of some of them.
The main area of the game I had issues with for most of its duration was the narrative. I found it consistently a letdown how little there is in the way of "lore" through most of the game - compared to Obduction, the "cast" you grow to learn about is tiny (I'd say more comparable to Myst) and the actual backstory is delivered mostly via monologues triggered at set points from the mysterious woman speaking to you rather than finding notes, journals, and other articles plus cues in the environments. I went in wanting to get lost in the world of the game and finding out about it as I explored, but it never really scratched that itch for me.
And then the ending happened and suddenly everything clicked into place and the emotional impact of it was tremendous compared to the level of investment I felt in it before. While I still think the game should and could have fleshed out the array of characters alluded to but never "seen" throughout it, I can't say I left it still unsatisfied with the story.
I can see why this game has proved to be somewhat divisive with Cyan's fanbase but for me personally I had a very good time with it and left it feeling more than satisfied.
I think compared to Cyan's previous games the puzzles are generally more straightforward than usual, and I never hit a point where I felt like the solution required so much note taking/comparison that using a guide to simplify even parsing what the "problem" was was necessary. I found myself slightly disappointed by how there wasn't as many "eureka!" moments for me while playing as I had in Myst or Obduction, but at the same time I still enjoyed solving them. There's something to be said for puzzles being more about base-level logic and spacial awareness/navigation as well - it definitely helped keep the pacing pleasingly brisk.
The environments are also huge and lovingly detailed/designed, as you'd expect of Cyan. The game looks wonderful and the puzzles at several points are on a scale that'd qualify as a "setpiece" moment in Obduction for me - there's fewer overall to solve, the game is a lot shorter in general really, but I definitely found myself impressed by the scope of some of them.
The main area of the game I had issues with for most of its duration was the narrative. I found it consistently a letdown how little there is in the way of "lore" through most of the game - compared to Obduction, the "cast" you grow to learn about is tiny (I'd say more comparable to Myst) and the actual backstory is delivered mostly via monologues triggered at set points from the mysterious woman speaking to you rather than finding notes, journals, and other articles plus cues in the environments. I went in wanting to get lost in the world of the game and finding out about it as I explored, but it never really scratched that itch for me.
And then the ending happened and suddenly everything clicked into place and the emotional impact of it was tremendous compared to the level of investment I felt in it before. While I still think the game should and could have fleshed out the array of characters alluded to but never "seen" throughout it, I can't say I left it still unsatisfied with the story.
I can see why this game has proved to be somewhat divisive with Cyan's fanbase but for me personally I had a very good time with it and left it feeling more than satisfied.