Very conflicted about this one. Closer to 3 stars than 4 for sure. I love the game's aesthetic, it is incredibly beautiful and what drew me to it in the first place. And the sense of mystery is strong.... at the start of the game.
The main issues I have with this game are the protagonist who DOES. NOT. STOP. TALKING, the puzzles in chapter 4 & 5 and the larger story.
Firstly, the protagonist's constant babbling creates an atmosphere in which the mystery becomes increasingly less interesting because you are so constantly bombarded with information. This becomes especially bad once the potential threat of the ooze becomes known yet the protagonist never stops talking about how safe she feels around the ooze and how the island seems to be threatening to everyone but her. It left me kind of uninvolved in our protagonist because it seemed like everything would turn out fine for her regardless, and there were quite a few times where an important piece of dialogue was immediately cut short by a different line reacting to something completely pointless.
Secondly, the puzzles in chapter 4 and 5 range from so strangely simplistic that you spend way too long trying infinitely more complex options because it does not even occur to you to try it, to needlessly convoluted puzzles which require either luck or a guide to solve.
Finally and most importantly though I found myself exponentially less interested in the world being build as the story went on and I realised where it was headed. It could have worked, but the amount of time focussed on the strange politics of gods and subjugation and slavery in this fish world took away any air of mystery that might have existed.
I am still giving it 3.5 stars because I really enjoyed my first ~3 hours, as well as most of chapter 6. But unfortunately the middle section of the game and the overarching world being set up just tanked my interest hard. Could've been a fantastic addition to the puzzle/walking sim-genre, but ended up being just pretty good.
The main issues I have with this game are the protagonist who DOES. NOT. STOP. TALKING, the puzzles in chapter 4 & 5 and the larger story.
Firstly, the protagonist's constant babbling creates an atmosphere in which the mystery becomes increasingly less interesting because you are so constantly bombarded with information. This becomes especially bad once the potential threat of the ooze becomes known yet the protagonist never stops talking about how safe she feels around the ooze and how the island seems to be threatening to everyone but her. It left me kind of uninvolved in our protagonist because it seemed like everything would turn out fine for her regardless, and there were quite a few times where an important piece of dialogue was immediately cut short by a different line reacting to something completely pointless.
Secondly, the puzzles in chapter 4 and 5 range from so strangely simplistic that you spend way too long trying infinitely more complex options because it does not even occur to you to try it, to needlessly convoluted puzzles which require either luck or a guide to solve.
Finally and most importantly though I found myself exponentially less interested in the world being build as the story went on and I realised where it was headed. It could have worked, but the amount of time focussed on the strange politics of gods and subjugation and slavery in this fish world took away any air of mystery that might have existed.
I am still giving it 3.5 stars because I really enjoyed my first ~3 hours, as well as most of chapter 6. But unfortunately the middle section of the game and the overarching world being set up just tanked my interest hard. Could've been a fantastic addition to the puzzle/walking sim-genre, but ended up being just pretty good.
Pevsfreedom
8 months ago