Izzy's 2024 gaming year in review.

[isthatallyougot]

#31 Donkey Kong Country (SNES - 1994) 3/5 (4 and 1/2 hours playtime)



I remember walking into my local Best Buy back in ‘94, and they had this HUGE display in the center of the store with screens facing in every direction hanging from the ceiling. In addition to other videos and advertisements, they would often have new games running on it as a sort of “attract mode”. When I first saw a video for Donkey Kong Country on this massive monitor, I remember being a bit shocked that this was running on an SNES. At the time, I was unfamiliar with the pre-rendering technique used and hadn’t really seen anything like it, especially on the SNES. This was an era (and even up through the PS3 in some regards) I loved in console gaming where seemingly large and “impossible” advances sometimes happened, leaps which seemed to push a machine into a new stratosphere - an era where things could still be surprising from a technical standpoint WITHIN the context of a particular machine. It seemed there was always more juice to be squeezed out of a console, even if it was often a bit of smoke and mirrors. We've lost much of that wonder with general advancement, diminishing returns, and the homogenization of tech in the console space, and I really enjoyed those shifts that seemed to usher in a "next" level. That, along with the significant differences in hardware, made console gaming feel fun and unique. Every machine was distinct, not only in terms of appearances and technical specifications but also in terms of having very unique libraries. There was a real *decision* to be made about which console - if you were only getting one - was the right one for you. Those days are gone, for better or worse. Bringing this back to my initial impressions of Donkey Kong Country, as impressive and mysterious as the technological aspect was to me, I also found it to be kind of ugly and grainy aesthetically. It looked..."artificial" for lack of a better word. Not that other games aren't, but it just didn't have the warmth and definition I've enjoyed in the better sprite-based games of the day and going forward. And all these years later, now having finally played it for myself, I still feel the same. It's pretty unique and impressive from a purely (and relative) technological standpoint, but artistic sensibilities always carry the day for me, and through that lens, DKC just isn't a style I really like. It's not so off-putting that I was necessarily repulsed looking at it, but it's not something I would ever call a “good-looking” game. Like Mario RPG, it suffers from this form of visual design for me. Not only does this style not hold up, it wasn't attractive from the get-go for me.

But enough of the visuals. If the gameplay is good, the visuals aren't a deal-breaker for me by any stretch. Well, I know this series has a loyal following (given the cult of Nintendo, as much as I love them myself (their creative output - not the entity)), and this era of games is filled with competition in this genre, so I had reasonable expectations of enjoying a really good game. I will say that the general platforming is responsive and fun enough. And there are a variety of level types throughout as you help (this version of) Donkey Kong (he's really the son or grandson - I don't remember - of the REAL Donkey Kong who is now the aged ‘Cranky Kong’ in this game) retrieve his hoard of stolen bananas - what a fun and lighthearted premise! There are the regular hop and bop platforming levels, some forced movement rail-car and platform levels, some levels where you must turn on timed light switches regularly in order to see platforms and enemies ahead of you, among others. There was a decent variety as well as secret passages and items to be found. You could collect the letters K-O-N-G in stages in order to get a new life as well as the obligatory collect 100 of X - in this case bananas - so that you were given another shot. Everything was pretty standard stuff - not only through the lens of today, but relative to the time as well. One differentiating feature was the fact that you are playing as a tandem of (the new and young) Donkey Kong along with his nephew Diddy Kong. You can switch between them with a very monkey-appropriate hand slap, and each has their strengths, with Diddy being a bit quicker and more agile, allowing for higher jumps, while Donkey Kong has more power and can dispatch any enemy, even the bigger ones, by simply landing on their heads. There are also some stages where you can find and mount rideable animals like a rhinoceros or an ostrich, for example. And these creatures play a role in finding many hidden areas too. Some of the level designs were pretty interesting, requiring quick reflexes if you were just learning it as well as just having that general fun inherent to the running and jumping action of the genre.

There were also some points of detraction for me here. Even though it was competent and responsive mechanically, the hit boxes could often feel a bit inaccurate or loose, making for some cheap-feeling deaths sometimes. The feeling of precision that I look for in the better platformers wasn't always present here, in my opinion. The boss fights were pretty boring and rote. There were plenty of trial and error sections that could be pretty punishing and were reliant on really knowing the level in advance of success. There's an element of memorization required due to the short reaction times. If you want to beat this one without save states, you'll have to get really familiar with some stages. The enemy designs had no character or charm in almost every case. They were really lacking and one of the biggest negatives for me. And overall it just felt a bit shallow as a pure platformer. It was competent in terms of baseline playability, but it never had much finesse or refinement that made me feel that sense of pure mechanical joy from the moment-to-moment action, or at least it wasn't able to sustain its highs.

Overall, it was a mixed bag for me. Being a platformer from an era and console loaded with greats, Donkey Kong Country failed to impress, relatively speaking, with so much competition from its peers. It was certainly not a bad game at all, and I've heard that many fans really consider the 2nd entry to be head and shoulders above the original. I hope that's the case if I ever get around to it. But I felt this one was overly reliant on its visual gimmicks, which, for me, didn't have enough of a draw to carry the average, but admittedly familiar and generally fun gameplay on offer. In the end, it's just a middling platformer. It's surely good fun if you like the genre, which I most certainly do, but there are so many better examples of this form to enjoy. It gets a passing grade, just not a super-enthusiastic one. 3/5

[canedaddy]

I played that one on GBA expecting to love it (I am an ape fanatic and enjoy platformers) but it didn't click. Something about the controls/platforming was very frustrating to me, and I bounced pretty quickly.

[isthatallyougot]

I played that one on GBA expecting to love it (I am an ape fanatic and enjoy platformers) but it didn't click. Something about the controls/platforming was very frustrating to me, and I bounced pretty quickly.

Yeah, as much as I love platformers, I certainly wouldn't call this a great one. I enjoyed it, but it was middle of the road for me. Sometimes it's hard to calibrate expectations, especially when it comes to Nintendo games due to how "loud" some of the fanatical contingent can be. It's easy to forget that this segment, while very vocal, doesn't necessarily represent consensus or, of course, how you personally may feel about a game. And generally speaking, my experience with the supposed "glory days" of Rare has been fairly underwhelming.

[isthatallyougot]

#30 Pandemonium 2 (PS1 - 1997) 3/5 (6 hours playtime)



Back during the good ‘ol days of the PS1, I played a platformer called Pandemonium. I suppose it’s a relatively unknown game to many, but I had a good time with it, and I wanted to play the sequel. Although I enjoyed the original, it has been quite the long gap between series' entries here for me, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it or not. The one thing I really remember the original doing well was the sense of scale. There was plenty of vertigo-inducing verticality from falls to bounces, and I'm happy to see that same sensation returning here in the sequel. Granted, it's primitive through the lens of today, but given hardware constraints, it was quite the sensation to feel that sense of 3D space, and it's still pretty impressive and unique here. I remember being so impressed with this aspect of early 3D, and it seemed to really highlight the potential of this added dimension. I remember this and the PS1 Tomb Raider entries being particularly memorable in this regard, and I just love the feeling of being “up high” so much. There's also a nice sense of speed at times as you slide/grind down and around pathways or leap forward or upward via the use of some pretty powerful bounce pads. Another thing this series does well is allow for various paths through levels. It's easy to miss plenty of content if you're not paying attention, and a careful eye to the world will allow you to pick up extra lives or whatever the game's form of “coins” is to earn another life as well. (It's 500 for another chance here, so the collectibles are plentiful.) Also, the environments are very vibrant, colorful, and psychedelic. I read that some didn't appreciate the redesign of the game's two characters back in the day, but having not played the original in so long, I didn't feel any sense of that, and it may have been a non-issue for me anyway. And the two characters have different traits/abilities, which adds some replay value. And at the end of each level, you're given a total of all treasure/coins found, so there's incentive to perfect your runs if you really love the game. And the general platforming is basic genre fun, even if it doesn't have too much to differentiate itself outside the 2.5D visuals and excellent verticality, which, again, stood out, especially in reference to most of its peers of the day. And the pseudo 3D visuals added depth and made things feel more expansive, but within the framework of that presentation, you're limited to simple left/right movement in practice, and those movements sometimes wind around circular pathways and changes in elevation, and these shifts in perspective can make for awkward platforming and add extra difficulty in terms of avoiding some obstacles. There are also several bosses to contend with, although they vary in quality and screen presence. Some bosses (and general enemies) were pretty silly, but they weren't out of context with the overall trippy presentation. Some of the platforming could also feel a bit too slippery or loose, though, and could require a bit of retrying to get things right. There were also a couple of odd difficulty spikes that seemed out of place and lacking pre-release testing. Finally, the story was pretty throwaway, which is fine for a platformer, but the “world” and narrative skin wrapped atop the action are quite sparse and not really worth much attention or investment. It's not necessarily needed in a platformer, but it's nice to have some extra room for investment when it's there. But overall, I had a good time with Pandemonium 2. It's no classic, but like the original, it's a fun platformer with some unique strengths that still impress today. It was a visually engaging wild ride with decent mechanics that offered a good amount of fun within the genre. I'm happy I gave it the 6 hours it took to finish. 3/5

[isthatallyougot]

#29 Netherworld: Beyond Time I Stand (The Lost) (PC - 2002/2009) 3/5 (10-ish hours playtime)




The way most games end up on your screen isn't really much of a mystery. You learn of a game, become drawn to what you've seen, buy it, and then there you are. However, there are some oddities and circuitous paths in the way things can unfold in life sometimes. Take the focus of this review, for example - Netherworld: Beyond Time I Stand, for instance. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Well, let me rewind the clock a bit and remember the days of the grand ole PS2 and a little game called The Lost. Don't remember that either? Well, that's because it was ultimately cancelled. But it was a game that caught my attention while in development. Coming relatively hot off the heels of System Shock 2 (which I still need to play), this was Irrational Games' follow-up to that critical darling. And what I had seen of it seemed like a game I would enjoy. And I remember being pretty disappointed when I learned of all its development troubles and ultimate cancellation. But, oh well, life does what it does, and we move on. But due to some unknown mystery of neurological plasticity, my memories of that cancelled title lingered somewhere in my subconscious, and for whatever reason, I found myself digging up information about it in 2024 online, so long after its initial 2002 scheduled release. Why? The workings of the universe are surely impenetrable to such simple monkey minds. Well, much to my surprise, I discovered that this cancelled title was ultimately purchased by some Indian company I'd never heard of and which apparently no longer exists - a company called FXlabs. Ultimately it was released for Windows by them in 2009 in an effort to grow the gaming market in their country, and eventually this game saw wider release in a variety of global regions, being retitled to the aforementioned 'Netherworld' for North America. I was a little shocked to find out this information, and I still definitely wanted to play it, even if I carried a justifiable level of skepticism due to the winding path this game had taken to make its way to market. But it wasn't on Steam, not on GOG, not...ANYWHERE. Well, thankfully, there are plenty of sites that host abandonware, and those resources of gaming's dusty and forgotten corners afforded me a chance this year to finally play something I thought was a mere curiosity of gaming's past.

First, a little more in the way of history. Given the fact that The Lost was a completed AND cancelled game, I found my curiosity engaged. Why would that be the case? Well, it turns out that Ken Levine was of the opinion that, “The game just wasn't good” (his words), and he thought it may ruin the reputation and identity of Irrational Games. So, valuing his studio's reputation over any potential missed sales, he buried it essentially until FXlabs came along and offered to buy it. I will say that it was funny seeing the closing credits of this game and seeing almost exclusively Indian names, knowing full well that this was, for all practical purposes, developed by Irrational. I know FXlabs made some changes for the Indian market in terms of some artwork, according to Wikipedia, but from everything I've been able to gather, which admittedly isn't too much for this obscure title, it seems as if this is Irrational's game, only lacking their moniker as developer after the sale and transference of rights and all associated usage and benefits. I suppose that may have been part of the agreement - that disassociation from this product. Whatever the fine print, it is surely The Lost that would have been released for PS2 and Xbox way back in 2002 had not Ken Levine and company been dissatisfied with the results of their work.

So, what is Netherworld: Beyond Time I Stand? Well, it's a third-person action adventure that is very reminiscent of many games from the PS2 era in terms of its presentation and fundamental identity. As the player, you embody a mother named Amanda who must travel through the circles of hell, as inspired by Dante's Inferno, in order to save her daughter Beatrice, who has been taken away. The game is a mixture of combat, puzzle solving, and exploration as you venture through the game's eleven (I believe it was) levels on your way to the salvation of your child. Along the way, you meet some local denizens of hell, some of whom are entities that take up residence within Amanda and offer her their abilities on her journey. There is Instinct, whose strength is in up-close sword-based melee combat along with an ability to deflect bullets back at turrets and gun-wielding foes a la Wonder Woman. There is Shadow, who is a stealth-based character with the ability to go into “invisible” mode for some stealth kills and shoot his grapple to either fly to targets or bring down certain in-game objects. Corruption is a mage that floats above the ground and is equipped with ranged attacks of various kinds. There's another entity called Light who travels within and is “crucial” to this journey according to the in-game dialogue, but she's a character that takes no apparent active role. And you can switch between these characters at will for most of the game as each one is introduced, utilizing their skills as required or you best see fit to deal with your enemies and the environmental traversal and obstacles. In concept, it was a solid design, and I did enjoy the fundamental structure. The artwork could at times be very nice as well, as it depicted a pretty wide range of locales, some of which were pretty interesting, attractive, and moody. And some of the level design was interesting as you worked out how to proceed, either via pathway finding or puzzle. The sound design had some real highlights at times as well, with a nice selection of musical pieces and hellish environmental soundscapes that often enhanced this trek through the netherworld. All in all, you could clearly see the vision that Irrational had for this game, and they hit a lot of good notes in my view.

However, there is surely a reason why Ken and co. wanted this thrown in the bottomless pit, and I can see their justification for feeling that way. I'll try to cover the main issues. The most glaring problem is the combat itself. It's not really fun. It's just button mashing with no finesse, sense of impact, or any real joy. It works...most of the time...but you're never really excited for it. And there is plenty to contend with throughout the game. And the hitboxes for both combat and general navigational geometry could be really bad at times. As an example, when you're invisible as Shadow, you can creep up behind enemies for a stealth kill. But you can be lined up right behind them, press the button as indicated via prompt to execute the attack, and he'll whiff altogether sometimes. Absolutely ridiculous and infuriating, and it could sometimes result in you getting killed and losing progress. And the movement in general was floaty without a sense of groundedness to environments, lacking precision and just not well-executed. I had an instance where I got stuck falling between a ledge and a wall within the world, and I could neither get back on the ledge nor fall to my death, being stuck in a true endless hell of free-falling with no reprieve. And in a case like this where you have to reload, another issue rears its ugly head in the form of save methodology. You are given checkpoints that feel pretty arbitrary, and if you make a good amount of progress but haven't hit that random mark, well, you can just go ahead and do it all over again. Good thing the combat was so fun. /s There were also some issues in terms of explaining a few of the controls. The game comes with a 37-page manual, and to be fair, it WAS pretty thorough, but it didn't outline things completely, leaving me to figure it out through trial and error. Granted, this was a relatively minor issue, but something that shouldn't be a part of a complete product. I'm assuming this swing and miss goes on FXlabs. The bosses also have no health indicator or any visual feedback for how you're progressing, so you just keep pummeling and hoping for things to come to a conclusion. This was particularly problematic in the fight with Amanda's husband, “Todd”, lol. He couldn't be damaged at all by normal means. So I spent a ridiculous amount of time blasting away at him with different entities until I realized what I needed to do. To be fair, it made sense narratively, but it was still a little annoying. And speaking of Todd, he has to be about the most laughable, non-menacing, and unintentionally comical boss in about any game I've ever played. That was a big issue with Netherworld. The tone and atmosphere could be really good at times, and you could see the vision and enjoy that setting, but the vibe was all over the place, uncertain if it was dark and serious or oddly and curiously comical at times, and it made things feel really inconsistent and incohesive as a package at times. It's a game that never really coalesced into a unified feeling whole in many ways, and I can understand why Ken Levine maybe didn't want to have this finished work associated with Irrational and his name creatively. It just felt a little schizophrenic and unfocused. In another boss fight, this mutant fell back into the pit he crawled out of and died on his own, lol. Nothing in the world changed around me, though, and there were some red (health) orbs at the bottom of the pit, and so I assumed I was supposed to go in that direction. So I jumped in and proceeded to fall to my death - time to reload last checkpoint. Oh my! There were also some instances where the music and environmental sounds would simply stop altogether, leaving you with the sounds of Amanda's echoing footsteps as if the world around you took a break for a while. And as nice as some environments could be, the color palette was sometimes too bright and garish-feeling for a game set in hell. Just lots of little annoyances and lack of polish in places. It's not a smooth and tight experience in many ways overall. There was development trouble, obviously, switching of engines, and general struggles getting this put together, and this IS evident in the final cancelled / eventually released product. That's something to consider before deciding whether you want to play it. It's surely a finished and completable game in most important ways, but it's just janky and in need of some serious TLC and direction that it never received. Finally, it did take a little bit of my PC-fu to get everything to play nice in addition to configuring things for the controller, as this is KB&M only by default.

But despite the game's numerous and sometimes significant issues, when putting everything on the scales, I still found it to be a good game overall that should have been released, in my opinion. It pales in comparison to Irrational's better work, like Bioshock and presumably System Shock 2, but there's an interesting and enjoyable experience buried underneath some awkwardness, especially for the more patient gamer. If you enjoy the 3rd-person action-adventure genre and the examples of that from the era, this is still worth a play in my view. It's no classic, to be sure, but it's not as bad as its history would seem to indicate. There were some good ideas, some enjoyable atmosphere, and narrative concepts. It just needed some fine-tuning, better combat, and some further overall development to round off the rough edges to really reach its potential. But as I discovered in my research about the history of this game, Irrational's reach surely extended beyond their grasp in this case. According to lead designer Bill Gardner, “We always pitched it as Zelda meets Silent Hill.” High aspirations indeed when thinking of the best from those hallowed series, and they were CLEARLY unable to match that formula in the way they wanted or in a recognizable way to a fan of many of the games of both of those franchises. As already stated, in Ken Levine's own words, “The game just wasn't good.” And while that may be an overly harsh self-critique, I do see the justification for the lack of enthusiasm in comparison to what this studio is capable. To be clear, this is not something I would likely replay, and it's not something I would necessarily recommend to everyone. But for me to have had the opportunity to play a title I was looking forward to more than two decades ago, a title that took such a strange and mysterious route into my experience, I recognize that perhaps those factors soften my judgment a bit simply by virtue of being grateful for finally having had the opportunity to play something I thought was forever lost. 3/5

A fun bonus. In my research for this game, I came upon the Indian market trailer. Strange and seemingly unrelated to the game I played. Gotta love India! Well, I can't find it anymore, lol. Just as well, it was TERRIBAD, HA!

[canedaddy]

You got me scratching my head on that one with "The Lost" box art. As much time as I spent in the PS2 section at Gamestop, never saw that one. After reading, I know why. Wow. It sounds like the journey to finding and playing the game was as interesting as the game itself.

[isthatallyougot]

You got me scratching my head on that one with "The Lost" box art. As much time as I spent in the PS2 section at Gamestop, never saw that one. After reading, I know why. Wow. It sounds like the journey to finding and playing the game was as interesting as the game itself.

Yeah, it really was. I had always assumed it was unfinished and would never see release. I never knew that it had already been completed and binned until last year when I got curious and looked up some stuff.

[isthatallyougot]

#28 Babbdi (PC - 2022) 3/5 (2.8 hours playtime)



I was reading some forum thread somewhere about games whose focus is entirely on navigation and exploration, and I really enjoy that sort of experience - the feeling of roaming and discovering on your own without much in-game guidance. Within that thread, someone suggested a game called Babbdi, a free indie game released in 2022. I took a look at it, and it seemed pretty interesting, so I figured I'd give it a shot since there was no cost.

In Babbdi, we find ourselves in the vacated bones of some city or region, presumably Eastern European. There are massive residential towers and plenty of indications of an exodus from what must have once been a thriving center of human civilization. But as with all exoduses (that always sounds wrong, lol), there will be at least some remnants and stragglers for a while, and so it is in Babbdi. We discover early on that the only way to leave Babbdi is with a train ticket, but the train will not stop unless you are in possession of this sought-after slip of paper. So our quest to find a ticket begins as we explore the environment and talk to the few holdovers that either can't or won't leave this dying place, residents, some of whom will offer direction on our quest. The remaining inhabitants of this urban tomb can be quite strange and a bit lost and hopeless in many cases - understandably so. And then there are some that seem to be more at home in this lonely and mostly vacant place.

The exploration in Babbdi was very well done. There are tons of hidden nooks and crannies, interesting bits of worldbuilding to discover on your way, and dead ends and meandering pathways, both horizontally and vertically, that invite you forward in your search for that elusive ticket out. The environments are a real star here. The scale is massive with hulking structures making you feel small and insignificant. The sounds are haunting, with the penetrating moan of winds prominent as they are no longer disturbed by the clatter of a living and moving human world. There are also echoing voices and strange noises occasionally penetrating the aural void, emphasizing and giving reminders of the mostly abandoned setting. There is just this isolated, aching emptiness that pervades, and the feeling is palpable and convincingly conveyed. As much as I love my own solitude, there was a real sense of wanting to leave Babbdi, this forgotten and dying locale. Alone is not necessarily lonely, but this place felt lonely. The overall sense of place was very unique and compelling and, coupled with the excellent sense of exploration, was well worth the close to three hours it took me to find my ticket and finally leave. There are also 21 secret items to find if you enjoy the Easter egg hunt type of thing within an open world. I found 15 of them in my playthrough, but I did a good amount of exploring, and some of these were really well hidden down obscure paths that didn't seem worth pursuing. I also found an item towards the end that will point to the nearest secret item, so if I go back to it, I can use that to clean up the ones I missed.

I will acknowledge that the visuals are of a lower fidelity and detail. Personally, I love low poly and always will. There's always a greater engagement for me when my imagination is invoked via a more abstract presentation. But it's certainly not “cutting-edge” for those who “suffer” without that sort of eye candy. And there is first-person platforming, which I generally don't like. It almost never feels right to me, and there is a good deal of platforming here. Identifying the placement of your "feet" (when not displayed) can be quite unintuitive for me. So I fell more than I would have liked, and often from great heights, but there is no penalty for falling, other than the time it takes to navigate back to where you were. There's really not a lot in the way of significant negatives if you enjoy the sense of wandering and exploring with a singular goal driving you. Overall, I thought Babbdi was very well made and fascinating. It's good enough that it should be a paid release in my opinion, but that's just another benefit of PC gaming. I really love taking a chance on many smaller projects. There are so many wonderful curiosities that lie off the beaten path, there to discover for those who like to venture within the deep and shaded woods of gaming. 3/5 Memorable and recommended if the description resonates for you.

[canedaddy]

Huh, interesting one there... certainly never heard of it. But might be a little too horror-ish for my tastes. I don't know if that's the intent, but running into one of those freaks as you're exploring an empty world would be unsettling.

[isthatallyougot]

Huh, interesting one there... certainly never heard of it. But might be a little too horror-ish for my tastes. I don't know if that's the intent, but running into one of those freaks as you're exploring an empty world would be unsettling.

It had a melancholy to it, but it wasn't overly oppressive. Although to be fair, I'm comfortable in the metaphorical shadows of life. So, yeah, like everything it would land with a different flavor for everyone I'm sure.

#27 Beacon Pines (PC - 2022) 3/5 (6.4 hours playtime)



I picked up a game called Beacon Pines for 99 cents on some sale and I was looking for a brief intermission from Morrowind, so I fired it up. Things are presented as a story within a literal book, a book that is both narrated and one in which you enter and interact with the world via a variety of characters. Everyone is an anthropomorphic creature within a mysterious town of the same name as the title. It seems that this town has a mysterious past, a past that saw it rise from nothing to a thriving community as a result of founder Sharper Valentine, a man who sold his “special fertilizer", which helped in the blossoming of this growing locale. In a more narrow focus, we inhabit the role of a boy named Luka VanHorn, a 12-year-old boy who is being raised by his grandmother after his father passed away six years ago and his mother mysteriously vanished not so long ago. There are plenty of suggestions of a dark underbelly to this place before we learn of the whole truth, and the story did an excellent job of gradually building intrigue with little hints and threads that kept me engaged and curious to see where things would go.

And things can go in multiple directions. The primary form of interaction within this world is via the finding and collecting of “charms,” little one-word tokens that can be utilized in certain spots within the tale in a sort of Mad-Libs fashion to alter the path of things. In the opening trunk supporting the various extensions of this multi-branched tree, we learn many details about this world, and sometimes as we progress, we encounter dead ends where the narrator expresses that while this is a possible conclusion, it is unsatisfying, and so we're left to try and utilize other charms in order to walk down other pathways of this story until we've finally developed a more complete tree, having learned the thorough history and details of things as well as finally uncovering the best and conclusive ending. I have to say that I did enjoy the premise of using these charms to explore and uncover this mystery. It did a nice job of fleshing things out without feeling tedious and making you feel like you were replaying the same scenes repeatedly since each new charm/word altered things nicely. Overall, the story was really well written, interesting, and had a pretty strong allure that remained intact throughout. Being in the shoes of the young boy, it's also kind of a Stand By Me or Goonies youthful coming-of-age adventure, and there was plenty of drama and many lessons to be learned along the way.

In terms of presentation, I really liked the backdrops. They were colorful and sharp and were presented in partial-screen views, nicely reinforcing the fact that you were “within” the pages of a book, a sensation I really enjoy. And the primary setting was of an autumn motif, which I always find very appealing. Things had mostly a homey, cozy, and pleasant vibe that was contrasted nicely by the sinister undertones of the mystery, giving things a complex and complementary flavor. The soundtrack was really nice as well and had a number of varied pieces that added to the atmosphere. And there were some nice audio touches, like the sound of wind blowing through the leaves and so on, that helped to build the world and also showed an attention to detail that I appreciated.

In terms of the delivery of the tale, it is handled both by a narrator speaking via asides as well as the various characters interacting via their own dialogue with one another. They (not the narrator) spoke in "Sims-ish" or Okami-like blips and bloops. I know many don't like that, but I really enjoy that interesting personality that is added by higher or lower tones and varying cadences, which help to convey differences in character without the potential for voices that may not seem to fit personalities.

On the other side of the coin, I will first say that I have no issue with anthropomorphic characters. Plenty of great platformers have used such a thing, but the "furry" character designs here are not attractive to me. Here they're a relatively recent and particular style of art that makes me feel like an out-of-touch old man - they're a little strange and unsettling without having much funny or charming appeal. I don't know when this art style came into fashion or if it has a name, and I've seen it elsewhere, but I do not get furry culture in any way, and I feel like an outsider when I see art like this. Just weird to me. To be clear, I've got no issue with anyone living life as they please. If identifying as an animal is what gives you joy, knock yourself out. I just struggle to relate, and I feel like this is a particular subculture that will always be impenetrable to me. I wasn't necessarily overly “bothered” by the character designs, but they weren't really appealing to me. They're just peculiar in a bit of an unsettling way to me. Also, while the narrator enunciated clearly and had good emotion and excellent vibrancy in her role, she's got that “modern” female tone (I'm sure some would hate me for this idea) to her rhythm and intonation that just comes off as falsely upbeat and/or (maybe) condescending - that “vocal fry,” maybe. I'm not sure how to properly express it. When I hear this delivery in media or in real life, I want to punch someone. Seriously, I HATE it! If someone speaks to me in this manner, I will make a quick exit and every effort to avoid future interaction. To be clear, it isn't a constant issue, and she surely has skill as a narrator, as a linguist, but again, it's a mixed bag. She has quality voice skills, but the actual voice patterns and tones were sometimes quite grating to me. There is the option to turn off the narrator, and I toyed with the idea, but despite the aspects that put me off, she was pretty integral to the overall package, and I chose to leave it on. Despite some teeth grinding, she didn't kill the game for me, to put a finer point on things. Finally, there's very little actual gameplay. It's much heavier on the visual novel style of gaming in the end, despite a few moments of interaction as well as being able to jump around as Luka as you traversed the environments. So if you don't like that heavier narrative focus, you'll not enjoy this one.

But the story was interesting and kept me invested for the roughly six hours it took to complete. It was satisfying to learn what was really going on in Beacon Pines, and throughout things, the varied characters had quite a bit of depth and engaged in dynamic and tense interactions that weren't as lighthearted as the visuals may suggest. There's surely more depth to things than might be apparent on the surface. In the end, I wouldn't say that Beacon Pines is a can't miss, but I did enjoy myself overall with it. It's on the upper end of “good,” but short of “very good” for me. Solid 3/5