- Fun, charming, and relaxing 3D platformer
- Satisfying platforming and movement mechanics
- Appealing visuals and art style
- Numerous bugs and glitches reported
- Short game with limited content
- Problematic camera controls
Emotions
Players felt satisfied by completing the game, often despite minor challenges, and found the overall experience enjoyable due to factors like appropriate pricing, good value, charming aesthetics (art, music, characters), smooth gameplay, and satisfying progression. The game's wholesome and relaxing nature also contributed to a positive, fulfilling experience.
Enjoyment stemmed from the game's fun and cute nature, particularly its charming characters, appealing music, and engaging graphics. Players frequently highlighted the fun movement abilities and the overall positive, cozy, and entertaining experience the game provided.
Joy was primarily driven by the game's cuteness, adorable characters, and bright visuals, often described as a 'warm hug for the soul.' The humor, charming art, and fun movement mechanics also contributed to a delightful and smile-inducing experience.
Frustration was commonly caused by technical issues such as game-breaking bugs, crashes, and poor performance optimization. Players also experienced frustration with problematic camera movement, janky or weird controls (especially with M+KB), and characters sliding off platforms.
Disappointment arose from various factors including game-breaking bugs preventing progress, the game's perceived short length, and a lack of compelling content or challenge. Some players also found the gameplay overly simple, the story uninspired, or experienced issues like motion sickness.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 88% · Negative 12%. Score: 12 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly found the game to be a fun, charming, and relaxing 3D platformer and collectathon. Its short length and low price were frequently cited as positive aspects, making it a delightful and worthwhile experience.
- The platforming mechanics, especially the movement system with its jumps and dashes, were described as fun, satisfying, and well-designed. The progression of movement abilities through collecting solar cells was a key factor in enhancing the gameplay experience, making traversal enjoyable and rewarding.
- The game's visual presentation, including its graphics, art style, and environments, received high praise for being cute, beautiful, and well-executed. The unique 'solarpunk' aesthetic was particularly highlighted as a strong and appealing element.
- While limited, the customization options, such as wearing hats or having a snail buddy, were appreciated as fun and charming quality-of-life details.
- The mechanic of collecting seedlings and parts to repair the town was a delightful and rewarding aspect of the game, adding to the overall positive experience.
Negatives:
- Players frequently encountered various bugs, including progression blockers, graphical glitches, and issues with controls and achievements. These bugs often led to frustration and negatively impacted the overall experience, sometimes requiring game restarts.
- Many players felt the game was too short and lacked sufficient content, leading to low replayability. The story, level design, and character customization were also perceived as shallow, contributing to a general feeling of unfulfillment.
- The camera system received significant criticism for being erratic, overly sensitive, and causing motion sickness. Its poor behavior often made navigation and platforming difficult, detracting from gameplay enjoyment.
- The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to performance issues and low frame rates even on lower settings. This is particularly noticeable in certain areas, despite the seemingly simple graphics.
- Players reported janky and inconsistent controls, especially with keyboard and mouse, and sometimes even with controllers. The lack of control remapping options and clear control menus further exacerbated these issues.
Gameplay:
- The game is primarily a 3D platformer with significant collectathon and fetch-quest elements. Players explore, jump, and collect items to help rebuild a village after a storm. It is noted for its simple mechanics and lack of combat.
- The game is consistently described as very short, with most players completing it within 1-2 hours, even for 100% completion. This makes it suitable for a single sitting.
- The central narrative revolves around helping a community of robots rebuild their town after a storm. This involves completing various tasks and collecting materials for NPCs.
- Collecting solar cells significantly upgrades the player's movement abilities, granting additional air jumps and dashes. However, some feedback suggests that acquiring these power-ups can make the platforming too easy, potentially ruining challenges.
- A key characteristic of the game is the complete absence of combat. Players cannot take damage, and there is no time pressure, contributing to a relaxed experience.
Performance:
- Players reported encountering minor bugs, such as issues with stairs, but these generally did not impede game progress or break the overall experience. The bugs are present but not critical.
- A user noted the availability of a camera sensitivity option, which suggests some level of customization for player comfort. This indicates a positive, albeit small, quality-of-life feature.
- A user had to manually adjust the resolution to 2560x1440 to properly view the game's display. This suggests a potential minor display scaling or default resolution issue for some setups.
- One player successfully ran the game on a Mac using Whisky, indicating potential compatibility for non-native platforms. This suggests the game is playable, though not officially supported, on certain alternative setups.
Recommendations:
- Players overwhelmingly recommend this game, highlighting its appeal as a short, sweet, and relaxing experience. Many express a desire for more content or a sequel, indicating strong positive sentiment.
- The game is recommended for fans of 3D platformers, especially those who enjoy cozy, low-stakes collect-a-thons with an emphasis on exploration and environmental themes, similar to classic Mario games.
- Some players found it difficult to recommend the game due to reported bugs, particularly issues with the camera and sensitivity, which negatively impacted their experience.
- One player noted that the game might cause motion sickness for some, suggesting playing on a smaller screen as a potential workaround.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players noted the game's short length, with most completing it 100% in under two hours. This suggests a very casual and brief experience, which some found 'sweet' but others implied lacked depth.
- Players generally appreciate the development team, Merge Conflict Studio, and wish them well for future projects. Positive interactions with developers were also noted.
- The game is considered affordable, especially when on sale. Some players indicated they would be willing to pay more for a longer or more substantial game.
- Some players commented on the game's 'solarpunk' theme and the exploration of non-capitalist utopian societies, finding it an interesting aspect of the narrative.
- A specific request was made for the game's soundtrack to be released on streaming platforms like Spotify or Bandcamp, indicating appreciation for the audio.
