This is a game so simple, and straight to the point with it's concept, I find it a little hard to criticize. It sets out exactly what it wants to do, being somewhat of a mini commentary of the "immersive sim" genre. The game proposes a potential issue with immersive sims; While encouraging complete emergent gameplay freedom towards the player, those games still have a set amount of choices and options you can tackle. Mosa Lina completely rectifies this issue by making everything completely randomized, down to the tools/items given to you, along with the stages presented to you.
It's in this randomness that the game could potentially be facing an even bigger issue. This can be having levels becoming completely unsolvable, with no real solution at all because you fail to have the right items and tools that suit the design of the particular level. However, while this issue may seem pressing, I believe that it's Mosa Lina's most intriguing, unique, and most ingenious idea out of all the games I've played this year.
Only issue I can find here is that if you're someone who doesn't often find a lot of intrinsic motivation in games, and doesn't like accepting that you have to lose a lot of scenarios to learn, this may not be for you. The sheer beauty of the way this game works comes from the inner motivation to push through whatever challenge a level throws at you. This forces you to use tools such as boxes, anti-gravity fields, and even a frog to craft such a roundabout solution to achieving your goal. The game's almost like an anti-Spelunky in a way, but in the best possible outcome. It's because of the lack of real curated hand-crafted design that the game truly becomes a creative puzzle box to get from point A to point B.
Overall, in a sea of incredible games to come out this year, Mosa Lina may be the most unique thing I'll have played. The fact that the creator itself claims to have not seen every possible outcome is what intrigued me, and I hope it intrigues you. For $4.99, Mosa Lina's a steal. Won't hurt the wallet to give it a try.
It's in this randomness that the game could potentially be facing an even bigger issue. This can be having levels becoming completely unsolvable, with no real solution at all because you fail to have the right items and tools that suit the design of the particular level. However, while this issue may seem pressing, I believe that it's Mosa Lina's most intriguing, unique, and most ingenious idea out of all the games I've played this year.
Only issue I can find here is that if you're someone who doesn't often find a lot of intrinsic motivation in games, and doesn't like accepting that you have to lose a lot of scenarios to learn, this may not be for you. The sheer beauty of the way this game works comes from the inner motivation to push through whatever challenge a level throws at you. This forces you to use tools such as boxes, anti-gravity fields, and even a frog to craft such a roundabout solution to achieving your goal. The game's almost like an anti-Spelunky in a way, but in the best possible outcome. It's because of the lack of real curated hand-crafted design that the game truly becomes a creative puzzle box to get from point A to point B.
Overall, in a sea of incredible games to come out this year, Mosa Lina may be the most unique thing I'll have played. The fact that the creator itself claims to have not seen every possible outcome is what intrigued me, and I hope it intrigues you. For $4.99, Mosa Lina's a steal. Won't hurt the wallet to give it a try.