izigame.me

This game is an absolutely beautiful visual spectacle, with frustratingly little substance.
As other reviewers have hinted; the puzzles in this game are kinda "easy" - but that's because they've been lifted from the Inside school of gameplay design where the puzzles themselves inherit depth by the way they progress the game's narrative.
But this game has no narrative. It's a linear showcase of undeniably gorgeous but slightly self indulgent set design and easing curves. I'm five hours in and I still have no idea what I'm progressing towards or why.
When I started the game it struck me that my character knew what they were doing when I didn't. This is reverse dramatic irony and a cool motivator! I'm motivated to fill the gaps in my own knowledge. But this tension has never been released or built upon, and it's not enough to sustain me for eight hours alone.
I'm mechanically immortal, I have no apparent destination, and the only measurable progress I can point to is the number of orbs I've collected.
At one point in my last play session I had three orbs. I voluntarily gave them all to a giant monster for no obvious reason, then shot him in the face as part of a climactic set piece, at which point he reverently gave me one back.
"Yeah thanks" I thought, "that was already my orb. What did either of us gain from this interaction?"
I feel like it's pretty given that a puzzle game should either have compelling gameplay or a compelling narrative. Ideally both. But for me this doesn't have either. It's really really beautiful, with some really advanced holistic environment design. But that doesn't fulfil the requirements of a good game for me.
I recommend playing Inside instead.