i like to go into games looking for cool, unique experiences that only games as a medium can offer. so by saying that, what's so special about this game? it's an artsy game akin to a short film. it has a beautiful, moody and expressive hand drawn and watercolour aesthetic that captures it's mood's perfectly. the same can be said about the music. the story is simple easily understood and does well for one that doesn't use words. and the scenery is fitting and feeds well into your imagination on the world that you explore.
thats honestly it, i felt a little disappointed when i finished with how much this game leaves to be desired. i really wanted this game to be good, i contemplated writing something nice but i guess i realised how strongly i feel about how disappointed in this game i am. this could have been a short film, an animation, or a picture book even with it's beautiful frames. but a game? maybe not as well suited. telling a story using games should at least have some amount of "gameplay", it's a barebones platformer with auto-pilot puzzles. like maybe the player should be part of the story, this is the only medium that allows the audience to actively control the pace and direction of the story, but this game has little player involvement and little gameplay to go around so at that point was making this a game necessary? i know its bad to go into a game with super high expectations but when people nominate this game of the year it kinda makes it hard.
that being said, i did enjoy this game and it's aesthetics. i think it was sweet and eye candy all the way through, although a bit of a drag and dare i say a bit on the boring side.

i'm always picky with how choose your own adventure games play out. a lot of the times choices in these games, you pick option either out of obligation or because they seem like the right choice, a lot of the time not feeling like a choice you would actually pick if you were in that situation. this game does choice in a perfect way that feels like i'm driving the story in a personalised way. theres a technical aspect to these kinds of games to make it easily digestible and accessible to your average player while also including a plethora of options to choose from. it's incredible and absolutely impressive how polished, expressive, entertaining and natural this game handled it, and it's all god damn voice acted?? that alone is a feat in itself.
the self insert is so brilliant, there was so much planning done and the insane dedication to creating a story made for "you", the player, its outrageous. sometimes games create a character for you to relate to or create a blank slate character that is carved out throughout the story through your choices. both work perfectly fine within their own contexts, but this game brings both of those concepts together in a flawless and brilliant way. you've lost your memory and thrown into a new world that feels familiar but very different to your own. you can make decisions that make perfect sense within that context, be it chaotic, neutral or overly apologetic. the character that is unknown to the player exists within the game's story if you wish to find out more about him, or you can slowly create this character yourself with your own choices, regardless of the character's history, and it makes sense because he literally doesn't know how he ended up in this situation. you discover the world for the first time, the same way the character does. whats even more insane, even small details like the dialogue trees that you see as options to pick in the game is exactly how the main character views his options to pick from. absolutely genius.
theres way too much to talk about in this game; every npc has a distinct personality and vision that they feel too real, the pleasant ambience to the somber numbers that play throughout are meticulously placed to fit each of the game's moods, the enjoyable mystery that never leaves a stone un-turned, the vivid psychedelic visuals perfectly fit the game's tone and themes, the "aha" moments you'll face throughout each story beat and dialogue trees that feel so genuine, the fact that almost every single playthrough someone can go through will be vastly different from your own, i could literally go on all day.
i would say this is the perfect game besides the long loading times and the controller movement. i can see why this is highly regarded. it's one of a kind, don't miss out

its a unique and accessible rhythm game seemingly inspired by rhythm heaven with it's simple yet distinctive rhythmic ideas and single button controls. it's impressive how many different patterns and rhythms can be portrayed through two spinning balls and a path. the music is beautifully tailored to fit each maps and level design and pacing feels natural and is well made. while all these are seem like the perfect recipe for a perfect rhythm game, i unfortunately don't find myself continuing this game past the first few worlds. restarting the whole level upon making a SINGLE mistake becomes more frustrating than it is fun the longer the song is. theres a few problems with this; the flow of gameplay and the song is completely ruined and you're forced to restart the whole level just to get back to the point where you were and other rhythm games (especially the ones it takes inspriation from) do failing in better ways. why not just have lives instead, or better yet just continue the song until the end so i can enjoy the song? you can imagine accidentally making a miss-input or a misread and just like that you're restarting a 3 minute long song that only had 1 measure left. even as an avid rhythm gamer, this just ruins a casual's fun and becomes way too serious where i'm forced to focus 100% of the my brain power all time, and i personally don't find that fun. if you find fun in grinding out songs for long periods and enjoy experiencing fresh and interesting ideas within the rhythm game scene, this game might be worth trying out. it's cheap and full of love and care. unfortunately it isn't for everyone. in short, it's a super frustrating hardcore rhythm game disguised as a cute casual game.

to me this game feels like the perfect nintendo ip to make out of a walking AR phone game. you get rewarded to explore areas you've never been to, to fill in your literally world map which i find adorable, collect seeds to grow more pikmin, gather fruits to make nectar for your pikmin and you send pikmin on expeditions by themselves to collect more seeds and fruits for your to make more pikmin to find more seeds and fruits, so on and so forth, and oh its so god damn cute. it's a less competitive, more solo driven pokemon go that feels euphoric and peaceful to play, with the steps and mood tracker for each day that feel genuine and personal. the clean and cute aesthetics and the whimsical and beautiful music are the cherry on top. i literally always listen to the planting flowers music because it has such a strong feeling of nostalgia, most of the tracks really suit the mood and are more ambience than anything. however, it's a phone game it'll come with it's fair share of downsides. i've been playing since the "closed beta" earlier this year, the worst change for me was the swap in focus from "play this game whenever you feel like, no sweat" to "uh oh i forgot to play this game today". you could really tell in the beta they just wanted to make a fun little game that wouldn't be the forefront of your life, giving you all the money in the world and the only progress wall was literally walking more, but predatory phone game design will always trump them all. the whole coin paywall might be frustrating to some because it slows progress unless you're willing to pay, but if you're a patient gamer it shouldn't be a problem. it's just a bit unfortunate, i still like this game regardless.

it's a subtle game and allows you to play at your own pace. if you like pikmin and walking this game is for you lol

probably my favourite game in a long time. this game is just perfect. coming straight from the previous game they really go above and beyond, the visuals are probably the most beautiful, expressive, zany, mechanically impressive and just overall the best a game can get, the mechanics have been polished super finely that it just feels blissful and pleasant to explore the landscapes speed-run style or at your own pace, and everything else, not any less important has also gotten an upgrade for the better. it's the perfect sequel that does everything right but doesn't exactly do anything new or outlandish besides a few revamped and changed ideas. the gameplay and overall design still feels the same as the first, its like an extension to the first game, which isn't a bad thing but can be seen as a downside to some. you play this game for the crazy, otherworldy sights and ideas and the ultimately insane and fun ride you'll be in for and boy does this game deliver. this game brought back childhood joy of just exploring every single nook and cranny, talking to every single npc that could be talked to and using clairvoyance on everything. one of the few games in a while i've played for myself and not just to have finished. i genuinely enjoyed this game. and any game that has a photo mode is an instant classic for me.

i could go on forever, but to me it's perfect. i had high expectations and it delivered above and beyond. it's best experienced blind, and i'm so glad i did because it made this experience worth remembering. thank you for making such a good game!

for a game this old i'm surprised how fresh this game feels. theres an over abundance of pure fun ideas oozing out of this game, ranging from the tight gameplay, wacky yet fitting characters and amazing set pieces. the deep dives into characters psyche just seems like a perfect concept for a video game, and this game honestly does it perfectly. the visuals are insanely outlandish and crazy looking, for the disgustingly cartoon-y proportions of characters to the other-worldly dreamscapes. every world is a vastly different idea, its refreshing and its a pleasure to explore. the tone and story of this game feels perfect, its a good level of silly and serious when it needs to be. platforming feels nice, its archaic but has a level of raw-ness that leaves room for cool movement tech. the only flaws i feel are sometimes some ideas can overstay their welcome but that seems to be part of the experience. this game is a masterpiece, at the time, and even to this day.

its childhood game so my perspective might be fogged up by nostalgia but after coming back to this game after all these years, i really enjoyed this game. some levels require some out of the box thinking, spacial awareness and understanding of mechanics and level design. its long relative to it's difficulty and theres a fair bit of levels that are exciting to see and are generally blissful to the ears. its archaic however. its downfalls come from the fact that its a product of it's time. this game is unfair and grueling and expects a whole lot of trial and error and word of mouth to pass levels and find secrets. thats where all it's charm comes from. it's a classic platformer, nothing more to add.

so many references in the characters, jokes, set pieces and humour that i don't really get, and strangely tacked on "dating/friendship" segments feel so surreal. the "check literally everything" rpg playstyle seems like the best way to enjoy this game, but i really don't have the patience for that anymore. when this game came out i really wanted to enjoy it. i was a huge fan of undertale when it came out when i was in highschool and now im nearly about to graduate uni but i feel indifferent to this game. i dont know why, could be a lot of things. this game has a lot of passion that oozes fun ideas and jokes in it's gameplay, story and world building and i can appreciate it, but i feel like its not for me anymore, as much as i want to love it.

i remember seeing the commercial for this game when it came out; seeing mario in space, and wow he can turn into a bee and he can fling between planets??! i immediately knew this game was for me. i got the game next christmas as a gift and it was the best thing i could ever ask for. this game has a soft spot in my heart from its beautiful, spacey atmosphere, the awe-inspiring music, the vast amount of worlds to travel to and fro and just the whole space theme. this game fed my imagination. i loved it a lot, and it shaped my childhood.

i've come back to this game after those years and i still think what i loved about this game is still holds up. i have nothing to add to it, its just simply a fun platformer with a million ideas to keep things fresh. however i do think the over abundance of ideas and the non-distinct theme throughout levels can be a turn off, but thats what this game does best. this game is a masterpiece in my eyes and will continue to be my favourite mario game.