izigame.me

Score: +20 -RECOMMENDED-
Review Summary:
A crafting metroid-vania platformer that is perfect for folks who like light platforming mechanics, puzzle-like crafting mechanics, and great art. A very cozy feel.
Pros: +55
The audience is kept interested with helpful audio queues along side the visual queues. The characters are ones that have distinct personalities even though they do not have voice acting. You never feel helpless, and you know that there will be progress once you find the right path to unlock the next set of areas. Petting random cats is nice, I am just sad you cannot pet the goats. To end this section on the highest note for me, you can tell that the developer wanted as many people as possible to enjoy their game. Along side the standard accessibility options we have come to see in games, they have legibility options, and motor function options. These are huge, and I hope to see them in more AAA games as well.
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+5 - For most titles, I expect about 1 hour per 1$ spent. I usually give some leeway for indie titles, but this game did not really need it. 23.1 hours for 25$ at the time of this review, and I tend to race through games. Great work.
+5 - A very cohesive art style that attracts to the game instantly.
+5 - No voice acting, but still uses "wub-wub" sound effects to keep attention. Similar to Animal Crossing.
+5 - Cooking seems extremely varied right off the bat and only improves as the game goes on.
+5 - Gathering quick spare change from pots as saved me more times than not. Wonderful safety net system.
+5 - Early hints at power ups later on in level design. Very well suiting the genre.
+5 - Can pet random animals
+20 - Accessibility options include legibility for AuDHD and Dyslexic people, and contain options to make the game not require certain motor functions. Do not see this very often in platformers.
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Cons: -30
Controller support was clearly prioritized for this title. Even with a controller, user experience in menu flow is rough. A piece of the story seems woefully unexplored and the way you gather orders makes you feel like you are always missing something.
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-5 - Mouse support for menus would go a long way for keyboard players
-5 - Wandering controls plague this game. Sometimes you need to use SELECT, sometimes SUBMIT, sometimes BACK. This needs to be stream lined so the user is not needing to memorize a combo move to get through menus quickly.
-10 - Starts with an extremely pushy "roommate" who hints at racism being a portion of the story, but this is never explained and the roommate is just "Different" at the end, but the witches are afraid of the roommate. Poor piece of the writing in an otherwise enjoyable story.
-10 - Can be difficult at times to find quests, especially if you explore early to find better ingredients. A bit of a punishing feeling for wanting explore the world first as soon as possible. Late game this makes me feel like I am hunting down NPCs to see if they need something, but they move around, so I am left with a feeling of incompleteness at the end of the game. (Maybe a notification system on the map for people who have requests?)
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Hrms: -0 (usually zero)
There are many things you can nit-pick in any title. This one is no different. Many ways that I can see to improve the flow of this title, but not enough to make this category a net loss.
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+0 - Too much banter in the beginning. Does not feel quirky, but wordy.
+0 - It feels like there should be random recipe requests. Some difficult, and some easy. This would lend to a nice continuation mechanic in the game.
+0 - "Roommate" serves near zero purpose. Should be able to work the shop window while out and about? (Upgrade maybe?)
+0 - Movement controls are intuitive, though a little slow feeling for a platformer.
+0 - Menus are best suited or controller play, but no suggestion is given or controller.
+0 - Can't throw away ruined items early on and it just becomes clutter. This is solved later on, but is frustrating none the less.
+0 - Could purchase map upgrades immediately. Is a very odd addition to the equipment system and should probably just be standard, or moved to be upgrades earned as you progress the merchant's story. If I never have to live without them, their impact is lessened.
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Bugs: -5 (Scored on impact)
I only really ran into three bugs during gameplay. This is impressive. If these three things were fixed, this game would be extremely smooth. Cannot praise this enough.
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+0 - Platform Lifts sometimes stop working and you must reload the map for them to start again. This usually occurs if you have them on screen, make them go off screen, and come back to them without leaving the current map.
+0 - When handing over a delivery, the icon changes too soon and can prompt the user to release, making them start over on the hold to deliver.
-5 - Stairs have a lot of collision issues that make movement around them very frustrating, and even caused me to burn some of my recipes. Under the bridge of the middle elevator area is a good example of this being frustrating, besides the more frequently used house stairs.
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