This game is a first. While I have yet to put a dime into the Epic Games Store, I have been watching and collecting from the games they give away for free for a while now, collecting about 40 free titles in the process. (No, before you ask, I do not have and refuse to get Fortnite.) But up till now, those freebies have basically been sitting in my backlog waiting to be played. This week, the dice called on this game, the first of those titles I would open up and seriously play. It only took a few days to finish, but needless to say if I wasn't able to get this free, I probably would have never tried it... and I would have definitely missed out.
The ocean washed you ashore. With no past in your memory, you wake up on the beach all alone. But what you find on this island is a lot more then you normally would, for it is covered with strange ancient ruins, at the center of which is a tower you can't help but want to explore and understand.
This may not sound like much of a story, and you would be right to think so. The game doesn't have a particularly complex one and it will explain nothing as you begin. Rather, it will show you small snippets as you progress to explain what happened to bring you to this place and what you are actually doing. And since the game treats these pieces almost like rewards for finishing it's sections, it would be a disservice to explain much more here.
But where that plot plays second fiddle, the world itself is what will keep you glued to this game. In essence you are playing a platforming puzzle that will have you climbing and exploring an ancient world now decayed and falling apart, and yet at the same time alive and literally magical. But you will not be doing this unguided. Very early on you find yourself in the presence of a fox spirit who will play this roll, always acting as a marker to where you need to progress next, yipping and barking to make sure you don't lose him as the world itself twists and turns and you progress through the realms it offers.
And this is all you really need from the little guy since some of the places can be vast so having a goal you can reference in the world is a very useful thing. You certainly won't need the help with the puzzles, as there is nothing here that is really going to challenge you. Yes, you may get stuck for a short time here and there, but most of the time it will because you didn't see something rather then anything you need to figure out. Be ready to feel really dumb once in a while.
And also be ready to enjoy a vast variety of areas, from the bright lit ancient world you start to deserts and even an underwater wasteland, this game will keep the themes varied and never leave you in one long enough to get bored with the very land itself... and it still manages to save the best and most impressive looking part of the world for last. Enjoy this journey.
Overall: This is a game that definitely has an audience that should pick up a controller and play. It is a title that emphasizes platforming exploration and related platforming puzzles before all else and does so very well. It even does so with a strong vision, atmosphere, and world to apply it all to, making for a really great package to play. However, it also does so at the sacrifice of just about everything else, resorting to flash scenes between sections of the game to explain why you are even there in the first place and there is almost no threats to keep you on your toes at any point during your adventure. The result is a very relaxing game which, provided you are not looking for some serious action or monsters to blow up, you will like;y be able to sit back on the couch and enjoy. But this is also a relatively brief game, as I finished it in about 6 hours taking my time with it. It is actually a great length of time for the game itself, as everything stays long enough to keep interesting, but not overstay it's welcome. But as a total package, it seems a bit steep for the asking price of $30. I would say if you like exploring and finding new ways to find your way around an environment, its worth getting, but get it on sale if you can just due to the length.
Score:
8/10
System Requirements:
- Intel Core i5 running at 2.9 Ghz or AMD FX-6300
- 4 GB RAM
- NVidia GTX 550 Ti or AMD Radeon 6950 (1GB VRAM)
- Windows 7 (64 bit only)
- 8 GB hard drive space
- Ryzen 3 2200G running at 3.5 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Windows 10
- PDP DX Wired Controller (Crimson)
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