I don't really get into sandbox-y games, usually because they expect long play sessions or learning a large bank of knowledge... and I want to be done with a game after 4-5 (maybe 8-10) hours rather than 'just getting started!'
But this sandbox-y platormer game centers physics-based 2D platforming, and the items you're given to clear levels are randomized and you're basically left to try and solve an open-ended puzzle with your toolkit of fish and boxes.
If you get stuck in Mosa Lina, you probably just die or try again with different items. So even though it looks like apuzzle platformer, it's not a 'pure puzzler' with designed solutions, which I'm not usually that into unless the puzzles are in service of something else (e.g. platforming puzzles in a story-focused game or something)
In Mosa Lina, with each cleared stage you're learning a little bit about whatever tool you used and maybe some object in the environment. So there's an interesting sense of growth, but instead, trying to solve a single level, you can just give up and try with a different set of 3 items.
The game is still sandbox-y though, it expects you to make your own experience. Sometimes the items you get are pretty ill-suited to some of the challenges, and you have to be okay with resetting.
That being said I find it's well-balanced overall and an amazing achievement. Even with a bad hand it seems like if I just keep dying/trying enough I can eventually get a roll that'll let me clear it, with enough ingenuity. Definitely a game I'll be thinking about and even coming back to for a while!
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My only real complaint is that the hitboxes of the spikes is a bit fiddly. They feel a lot bigger than they look and I find a lot of my deaths to them to be a little unsatisfying - either from failing to clear a jump by a pixel, my foot slipping, etc...
But this sandbox-y platormer game centers physics-based 2D platforming, and the items you're given to clear levels are randomized and you're basically left to try and solve an open-ended puzzle with your toolkit of fish and boxes.
If you get stuck in Mosa Lina, you probably just die or try again with different items. So even though it looks like apuzzle platformer, it's not a 'pure puzzler' with designed solutions, which I'm not usually that into unless the puzzles are in service of something else (e.g. platforming puzzles in a story-focused game or something)
In Mosa Lina, with each cleared stage you're learning a little bit about whatever tool you used and maybe some object in the environment. So there's an interesting sense of growth, but instead, trying to solve a single level, you can just give up and try with a different set of 3 items.
The game is still sandbox-y though, it expects you to make your own experience. Sometimes the items you get are pretty ill-suited to some of the challenges, and you have to be okay with resetting.
That being said I find it's well-balanced overall and an amazing achievement. Even with a bad hand it seems like if I just keep dying/trying enough I can eventually get a roll that'll let me clear it, with enough ingenuity. Definitely a game I'll be thinking about and even coming back to for a while!
-
My only real complaint is that the hitboxes of the spikes is a bit fiddly. They feel a lot bigger than they look and I find a lot of my deaths to them to be a little unsatisfying - either from failing to clear a jump by a pixel, my foot slipping, etc...