You see the main drill mechanic and you'd think how can this not be fun but I found myself more aggravated with it than anything. It just didn't translate that well as a core mechanic for a game. Something about the way it controlled was too chaotic. I felt the level of precision needed vs what the controls allowed just didn't align, especially the ability to change direction suddenly felt hit and miss. If you entered a small block at a bad angle, it didn't matter how quickly you could react, there was nothing you could do to correct it.

Some areas verged on Super Meat Boy level tedium where you die until you remember the button timing and sequence to get through it and I'm just not a fan of that style of gameplay. Perhaps I just expected this to be something different than what it turned out to be.

I found the shop element particularly disappointing. The temporary health boost was the only useful item but just wasn't worth getting. Both because of the hassle of needing to leave and re-enter a level but especially on the 2 stage bosses. If you died on the second stage of a boss you just restart from the second stage again. It was less annoying just to tough it out with lower health and keep doing that than it was to leave, get the temporary health boost then start from stage 1 again hoping you don't die because it would have been all for nothing. Then if you also don't care about the cosmetics or stickers (the only other items to spend gems on), collecting gems was rendered pointless. I would have love to have seen some upgrade mechanics.

It did try to introduce a new mechanic in each level to keep the gameplay fresh but I felt they were all kind of lackluster. I found myself getting through levels just for the sake of getting to the next one and not really enjoying any particular level. I definitely didn't feel the urge to go back and play through any.

The bosses were on a whole other level of annoying, at times it felt like there was nothing you can do to avoid getting hit, if you went in the wrong direction, accidentally came out of the ground at the wrong angle or were in the air at the wrong time, there was nothing you could do. On top of that there just straight up weren't fun or interesting to battle, they were all just jumping and drilling through the boss. The last boss especially was something else... his second stage can burn in hell.

The ONLY reason I pushed through to the end of this game was because it's so short.

I'm no stranger to challenging games, I don't shy away from building up the skill to overcome difficulty, when I feel like I'm still enjoying the experience. For some reason I just did not enjoy the experience this time.

Probably the best game I've played this year. The whole concept of mixing the maze like exploration and dungeons of Zelda with a metroidvania style bullet-hell was executed perfectly. Even after finished it at just under 8 hours I couldn't stop and I rarely do that. You can get an item that shows you everything you missed on the map so collecting everything after finishing wasn't a chore like some games and was actually still fun, with plenty to still do that wasn't just simply collecting things. I liked that they utilised every aspect of this concept with even some racing elements since you're a ship.

I'd really love to see a sequel.

Probably the best game I've played this year. The whole concept of mixing the maze like exploration and dungeons of Zelda with a metroidvania style bullet-hell was executed perfectly. Even after finished it at just under 8 hours I couldn't stop and I rarely do that. You can get an item that shows you everything you missed on the map so collecting everything after finishing wasn't a chore like some games and was actually still fun, with plenty to still do that wasn't just simply collecting things. I liked that they utilised every aspect of this concept with even some racing elements since you're a ship.

I'd really love to see a sequel.

I loved the concept, super simple, addictive and chill. Just mining resources, upgrading your systems and defending against waves of enemies, that's it. I thought the game length was good too for a game like this, finished in 13 hours, I felt any longer and it would have started to wear on me.

It didn't seem to be a problem for me in the end but one concern I had was basing the end of game on finding all the keys. Since it's procedurally generated with all the items randomized, this means your ability to finish the game is completely RNG based. Though it didn't turn out as bad as a thought through the use of the depth scanner and making a beeline to all the anomalies. Nevertheless there's potential there for someone to get stuck on the last key and take hours longer trying to find it which would have annoyed me.

I loved the concept, super simple, addictive and chill. Just mining resources, upgrading your systems and defending against waves of enemies, that's it. I thought the game length was good too for a game like this, finished in 13 hours, I felt any longer and it would have started to wear on me.

It didn't seem to be a problem for me in the end but one concern I had was basing the end of game on finding all the keys. Since it's procedurally generated with all the items randomized, this means your ability to finish the game is completely RNG based. Though it didn't turn out as bad as a thought through the use of the depth scanner and making a beeline to all the anomalies. Nevertheless there's potential there for someone to get stuck on the last key and take hours longer trying to find it which would have annoyed me.