4 replies to this topic

[Anthus]

January 23rd! I thought we had a thread for this game, but this finally got a release date. For those of you who don't know, this is a game that has been in development for quite a while, and it looks really promising. The guy who made it also made Legend of Princess which I think someone posted here, but I could be wrong. It's a 2D sidescroller with puzzle/ platforming elements. It looks like a Cave Story/ Metroidvania love letter.

[Avaro]

Never heard of this, but judging from this trailer it looks pretty awesome.

[Anthus]

Never heard of this, but judging from this trailer it looks pretty awesome.

Yeah it looks like it has a ton of potential. I'm a sucker for games like this too. I remember first hearing about this back in 2014, but at that time, developement seemed to be at a stand still. I was starting to think it would not get finished at all.

[Anthus]

I've been playing this for a little while, and it's a lot of fun. I'd say I'm about a third of the way through or so. I went into this not really knowing what to expect. From the gameplay footage, it looked like a pretty typical metroidvania run-n-gun. But what this really is, is a puzzle box. There is shooting, enemies, and bosses for sure, but the bulk of your time will be spent dealing with various puzzles involving moving cylindrical platforms around with a wrench to manipulate the environment. If you read my posts, you'll know I'm not really an avid fan of puzzles. But to say that is a really broad stroke, since there are lots of different types of puzzles. I think why the puzzles work here for me is because they feel like part of the environment, and still promote a fair amount of exploration. And, nothing feels like it takes too long to do. There is some backtracking here and there, but you are moving around quickly, so, at least for me, any one area has not overstayed its welcome yet. Granted, I haven't finished the game yet, and seen all it has, but these puzzles can either get cooler, or get really annoying. I'm really hoping it is the former.

 

If you like platformers, I'd recommend checking it out. Even calling it a platformer is a bit of a misnomer, cause uses it, but it isn't the focus. If I compared it to Shovel Knight, it's not nearly as focused on combat, and making tight jumps as Shovel Knight. It's more about how you get around. There is one little thing that is really dumb though. So, you know options? Yeah, like those things that let you adjust volume, and controls? Well, they can only be accessed from the title screen. This is not a deal breaker, but it is kind of dumb. There is also a surprisingly lackluster amount of options to mess with, and it uses window scaling instead of a drop down resolution select box. Again, minor and it could be patched, but after coming off of A Hat in Time's wellspring of options and customization, it felt like a step back. Speaking of HIT, there is also a sequence in this game that is nearly identical in execution to something found in HIT.

 

I know, I know. They can't all be A Hat in Time.

[Anthus]

And I beat it.

 

 

Shitty collection rate aside, it was a great game. Had some annoying parts, but even the puzzles I didn't like were still objectively well made, and people who do like puzzles will find a lot to love here. The story is also pretty great, but it can be a bit wordy at times. Thankfully, the writing is actually good.

 

I will admit, I thought the main character looked kind of derpy in the promotional material/ artwork, but her design has grown on me since then. All the characters are really well animated, and expressive in game. I love the art style but there are a few small irksome inclusions of lazy sprite rotating, an scaling, but given how much other stuff this one guy did, I'll cut him some slack.

 

And sorry for the triple post, but this game needs to be more well known. Games like this, and Hollow Knight, and Celeste are carrying the torch pretty well in 2D, and Hat in Time is doing it for 3D. I am hoping 2018 will be another great year for action/ platformer games. I'll likely write an in depth review, and I'm thinking about recording my next playthrough.