my first play-through of this in a long time where i went for a 100% run and it was very much worth it. the main story itself is a blast to complete (even if it does fall apart in the second half), the side missions utilize areas that one may not even touch if someone didn't know about them and help with the world building so much and it is the best way to make money <i>if you know how to game the system</i>.

even two years since my last run of the game, this is still my favorite game of all time and it just oozes with charm. i am praying every day that granzella gets the rights back to the ip, so that we can finally get the sequel

wrote a review for this one ages ago when i was still casually involved with gaming journalism stuff (s/o to annapurna for still allowing me to play the game at e3 2018 without an appointment and just by knocking on their door lol). my feelings towards the game since that review have been modest - it does a lot that i like, but the package as a whole doesn't deliver and since i hadn't played it since its launch, i figured i would give it another go to see if my opinion would change.

the second half of this game is stronger than the first one and rather than go for the "suck everything up with your hold" tactic, the game wants you to solve puzzles by sucking things up, but then utilizing those objects to interact with the level and these are the moments where the game shine. the whole trash king segment in general follows this route and personally, i love the arcane kids feel the tech and music showcase here.

years later, i like this game, but i don't love it like i had expected to and those looking for an "reverse katamari" are going to be letdown (because this is not what this game is), but i do advise to pick this one up when it is cheap on sale and spend the hour or two it will take to 100% it - it's a fun ride