a bit too short for its own good, seal the deal does not impress me on either side of its dlc. the new chapter has an amazing theme and mission 2 feels very unique, but past that, it's over in like 30 minutes. this is totally personal preference, but i don't enjoy death wish. base game hat in time has a difficulty of like 2/10, and death wish ramps that shit up way higher. some challenges are really fun, but some are so brutal i'll never touch them again probably. just an ok time. neither of a hat in time's dlcs blow me away really

man, i don't know if i'm just getting old, but this dlc just gives me a headache. the playable area is purposefully obtuse to traverse, which is totally ok for those who enjoy it, i don't even hate this dlc or anything, but i find myself saying "where the hell am i supposed to go right now" a good bit while in the nyakuza metro, which is never an issue for me in the base game/ the other dlc. i know there's an option to enable handholding, but i'm too stubborn to turn that on. i don't want to make it sound like this dlc is 'objectively' bad, because it isn't. it just ain't for me, you know? i really, really enjoyed the ending bossfight when hat kid faces off against the legendary dragon of dojima, Kazuma Kiryu though

a hat in time is one of those games where I don't think I'll ever truly get my fill. not in a bad way, I think the game is wonderful and it's a very nice 10 hour journey, and I think I'll always eventually come back, even if it's years from now. I feel the same way about Mario odyssey, and if I'm comparing something to that game in a positive light you know it's special. every part of this game hits, the platforming is, you guessed it, as finely tuned as it should be for any platformer, but it isn't just the raw gameplay that makes me love this world. a hat in time is adorable, but it doesn't go overboard. all of the sweet has a slight, slight sour tinge underneath it and it all balances incredibly well to the point the game makes you laugh, and also go "god damn, that's adorable". hat kid is a perfect platformer mascot. she isn't given much dialog, but what she does have paints such a clear picture and really bonds you to her. the side characters are pretty much all hits, i felt compelled to talk to everyone, even if it was a random owl sitting on the train, or some mafia thug that was ready to beat me up. i really want to see what this studio does next