mspasta
BACKER
Waterparks play a large if mysterious role in the world that is to come.
Used to love playing online as a stormtrooper with a purple lightsaber (the way the light reflected off the uniform was incredible), using the heavy stance, participating in duels, trying to time the slow leap attack to nab my opponent...
2014
Some sections of sublime, effortless, wondrous exploration. Neat breathing mechanic adding to a feeling of embodiment. If I did half-stars, I’d give one for Pauline Oliveros being on the soundtrack. Otherwise… vexing.
I’ve cast my line and, the camera having followed the bait into the lake, I can see my character up through the water’s surface, standing at its edge. A tuna fish swims past, and I see something strange off in the distance. What a game!!
2022
A great Playdate game; sorta frustrating in a fun way. Lovely presentation.
Felt linear (or, too directed?) and a bit tedious, with heavy-handed story delivery and more "game mechanics" than are maybe necessary. But, there were plenty moments of wonderful, fluid movement, and it's all very pretty.
2024
I've realized my preference when seeing a mysterious mural in the background of a game is to wonder, what does this say about the fiction of the world? With Animal Well, I'm not sure there is a fiction of the world, and any vagueness + open-endedness I might like to dream into gets co-opted by gameplay puzzles with definitive answers. Where's my sense of wonder?? The level design is also very utilitarian. Why does this place exist? To enable accomplishing my video game objectives.
It's a neat game!! Certainly an A+ for some folks with tastes different than my own.
It's a neat game!! Certainly an A+ for some folks with tastes different than my own.
2013
Absolutely loved the style of interaction here and would love to see it explored in other games. The puzzles were great too. Alas….… the story/worldbuilding fell flat for me. Glad to have played this one regardless.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Really fun exploration-based platformer, and a perfect ~7-hour length! Not too hard in either platforming or puzzles; both provided just enough friction to be quite satisfying... overall a very smooth ride from front to back, disregarding the final boss which was extremely annoying.
Sorta early on I discovered a way to jump really high, much higher than the high jump you eventually unlock, which allowed me to skip a few sections / complete some challenges easily. The timing was difficult at first, but I could do it reliably by the endgame. It was really gratifying to do it accidentally at first, and over the course of a few hours, work out the sequence of button presses and timing so I could use it to explore all over the dang place.
Finding hidden (?) movement tech also felt in the spirit of the game. Cavern of Dreams seems to promote such small revelations, like the ways areas can preview each other, or when you first put it together that you can carry an item from one area to another. I think I would have liked the game a lot without this discovery, but I can't deny that it heightened my experience.
Sorta early on I discovered a way to jump really high, much higher than the high jump you eventually unlock, which allowed me to skip a few sections / complete some challenges easily. The timing was difficult at first, but I could do it reliably by the endgame. It was really gratifying to do it accidentally at first, and over the course of a few hours, work out the sequence of button presses and timing so I could use it to explore all over the dang place.
Finding hidden (?) movement tech also felt in the spirit of the game. Cavern of Dreams seems to promote such small revelations, like the ways areas can preview each other, or when you first put it together that you can carry an item from one area to another. I think I would have liked the game a lot without this discovery, but I can't deny that it heightened my experience.