as a sick and twisted individual who enjoys janky, open-ended 3D platformers infinitely more than tight, immaculately designed 2D platformers, this fuckin' rules. got more dopamine dying over and over in one of the shitty mario sunshine references than i did from the entirety of the real (actually good) celeste. though it's actually pretty impressive it's as functional as it is considering developing 3D platformers is really fucking difficult, let alone making one in just a week. also i can't wait for madeline to be the third canonical trans lesbian in super smash bros

Super relaxing and well-crafted game that shoots itself in the foot when you start spending twenty-thirty minutes hunting down the last specks of miniscule dirt you missed beneath a random veranda or the corner of a shed gutter. In those moments, you just want it to be fucking over already and you're racking your brain trying to figure out where the last drops are, and that runs completely against the relaxing and easy-to-play facade this game presents. And unfortunately, this hurts the game way more than it thinks. Satisfaction gives way to madness, and there's a hollow feeling when you spend upwards of an hour plus on a stage and realize you actually aren't getting paid in the real world for your attention to detail and thoroughness. Like, say what you will about escapism, but if I wanted to play a video game that literally feels like a job, then I'd much rather just work, because at least then I'll get paid for the soul-sucking monotony.

I reached Gnarvana. Taking the core elements of the original Olli Olli titles but improving on the pacing, adding optional objectives, checkpoints and expanding the scale of levels with multiple branching paths - there is a ton to unpack.

The input demand in later levels can get intense, but again, with the optional objectives in play, you can just focus on finishing the level first and coming back later to clean up any other tasks. Still, I found pulling off special tricks to be difficult and more often than not the game would detect a simple trick instead. It may have just been me but this was my biggest frustration overall and I still can't get the knack for it.

One thing I do appreciate is the game slowly rolling out different techniques you can use, but not locking them off till you reach that section - so if you remember things like manuals from the prior games, you can use them from the start.

The Adventure Time aesthetic and lo-fi beat mash-up is a constant delight throughout - even when you bail on a specific grind for the 50th time. If Roll7 want to go full 'Tony Hawk's American Wasteland' next time with this style - I'm all for it.