izigame.me

This is one of those games I find hard to truly recommend to the average gamer, but for a specific few this is one of those rare little treats.

At the time of this review, I have 99%'d the game. With the exception of a few achievements, one of which is simply jumping the truck off every ramp in the game, there is isn't a single drop of content left to do. Personally, 7 hours for 20~ dollars isn't the worst value, but I am left feeling unfulfilled. I am left wondering if another year in the oven would have worked wonders for this game, or if it's reached the limits of the creator's vision and that vision is simply incomplete.

There is no challenge here, as in no combat and no genuine puzzle solving. You drive a van from point to point, pick up shiny objects and maybe read a little dialogue as part of whatever quest you're on, maybe sometimes you climb a bit... and... that's it. Everything is spelled out fairly clearly (barring the definitely rushed localization) and you are put under absolutely no pressure to do anything. The entire game is 'This place is sorta interesting, I wonder what's over there', held together by so-so platforming and a fairly interesting story that gives you enough crumbs to give you a desire to keep going. As the progression is casual enough that it never feels tedious, even when there isn't much to do but drive from one landmark to the next, the 'drive' (haha) must come entirely from within or your desire to get more story beats.

I enjoyed my time with this game, it was a great 'shut-your-brain-off' for a lazy Sunday kinda experience. However, the ending felt crazy rushed, the build up and pay off is almost insulting and it ends so abruptly I'm simply left confused. When you reach the end and uncover the big reveal, it really just felt like 'uh...okay i guess' and then the credits roll and there's nothing after them. No little teaser, no final to-do, just some cute pictures and the names and roles of the people involved. Quite literally boiling down to a binary choice. Pick A or B, here's the credits.

I think this game is a spot on 6/10. It's definitely a step above the standard jank that's released by the gorillions these days, but it's far from perfect. If you could pick this game up on a decent sale, it's well worth a few hours of your time, doubly so if you're more of a casual gamer that just wants to chill and shut your brain off.