Less than the sum of its parts? There's a lot of original stuff here that does well: the minamilist soundtrack, the tight controls, environmental designs that mix ancient technology with a more natural space, and the outstanding animation work to say a few. Still it doesn't really coalesce for me.
At times the dialogue feels like a kids show with a high budget but too many fingers in the pot. Jokes fly off constantly with no rhyme or reason (or humor honestly). The characters are unseasoned, and in particular the plot crux of trying to turn Daxter back to normal feels very unmotivated. Would you want to turn Kazooie into a bear in Banjo? What kind of set up is it where you say you want the furry mascot to stop being a furry mascot? Ridiculous!
The environments lack any kind of pizazz to them, there's never really any moment you see how it all comes together. They are moreso empty with long stretches to hide loading screens. The movement too doesn't feel beneficial in any case, just some extra fluff.
I say all this to say two things,
1. Naughty Dog and me may never get along
2. The animation where Jak does an alley oop to Daxter with the Precursor orb has lived in my head rent free for over a decade now. I'm afraid I will never be able to forget it, even in my dementia ridden future my grandkids will have to deal with me showing it to them several times a day. I'm both scared and hopeful for that day to come.
At times the dialogue feels like a kids show with a high budget but too many fingers in the pot. Jokes fly off constantly with no rhyme or reason (or humor honestly). The characters are unseasoned, and in particular the plot crux of trying to turn Daxter back to normal feels very unmotivated. Would you want to turn Kazooie into a bear in Banjo? What kind of set up is it where you say you want the furry mascot to stop being a furry mascot? Ridiculous!
The environments lack any kind of pizazz to them, there's never really any moment you see how it all comes together. They are moreso empty with long stretches to hide loading screens. The movement too doesn't feel beneficial in any case, just some extra fluff.
I say all this to say two things,
1. Naughty Dog and me may never get along
2. The animation where Jak does an alley oop to Daxter with the Precursor orb has lived in my head rent free for over a decade now. I'm afraid I will never be able to forget it, even in my dementia ridden future my grandkids will have to deal with me showing it to them several times a day. I'm both scared and hopeful for that day to come.