It's a bit like Zelda but with more layers of gameplay to it, actually reminds me a little of PocketWatch because it has those cozy exploration vibes as you navigating the town. Most of the game is designed around the rotation mechanic which is used for puzzles and creative exploration, not to mention various power ups like transforming into a smaller character, so it also has that metroidvania aspect to it. It's a decently large game, took me around 9 hours to complete the narrative with most of the achievements, just a few left.

Puzzle gameplay is probably 70% of the game, with combat and exploration closer to 30% together. It has some charm and personality to it, you will meet many goofy characters while also unlocking various features around the town like mini-games or a store for consumables. It's not just grinding, there are plenty of chill moments, sometimes you can just bounce between the characters and maybe get a few items or just read some silly dialogue.

The RPG mechanics are pretty basic, you can level up to gain Attack/Defense, find some extra hearts, and sometimes buying or finding consumables, it's not meant to be like a big numbers game. The bosses are probably the worst part of the game, most of them are damage sponges with only a few attacks, nothing worth mentioning.

The rotation is not the same as the 2D/3D transformation, it's mostly used to temporarily remove objects from the level, allowing you to navigate the map in creative ways. It's surprisingly challenging, some puzzles took me 10 to 20 minutes individually, and I would not say they were unfair, just a little too creative, not something you see a lot in games, so sometimes you will have those moments where you didn't even know a puzzle like that could be made.


(+) The exploration is very rewarding, it has a ton of creative secrets to find extra hearts, or coins that unlock various features. The world feels populated with characters and it's enjoyable to unlock new locations and new events

(+) Actually very good puzzles, they can be difficult at times, but they will make you think for sure, you kinda have to think in multiple dimensions and consider various mechanics on top of it

(+) The game does a decent job at breaking the gameplay loop, there are all kinds of small interactions and activities, and it often adds new gameplay mechanics


Some puzzle nuances:

- I am not sure if you intended for the bomb to be used as "tech" foreground, but if you did, the box is so small, it's too hard to do so consistently. Also there is a bit of a tech to use it as a jumping pad, which I am sure is not intentional, but I don't know how to do it consistently either (it's possible and can break some sections).

- I feel like cooldown for the cassettes should recover faster, and go down slower

Quest progression:

- if I am not mistaken the store unlock is required to trigger the robot cutscene (it did not trigger the first time I went there). That will trip people because they won't expect it as an objective

- the seed interaction with the "M___" might be a little obtuse, easy hint to miss

Other:

- honestly boss fights were pretty lame, the flower fires too often BTW. The mouse maze was very dull compared to the rest of the game. You can also cheese the last boss by standing to the side

- you have a bug that can increase the size of the box and lockout the game

Overall Thoughts: 7.5/10

Closer to good than average I would say, the few things I didn't like were not a big deal, for the most part it's a very creative and somewhat challenging puzzle game, I thought it had a lot of personality and fun exploration to it. It's not a large game in scope, but it's kinda packed densely with content, there are many little things to discover. It had some of the smartest puzzles that I have seen recently, it uses its mechanics in many creative ways, and there were plenty of wholesome moments to find around the world.

This isn't a bad game, and it has some really neat ideas that, as others have said, come together as a cross between Link's Awakening and Fez. It's playable, but it's really rough around the edges to the point that just moving throughout the world feels pretty awful as you're constantly getting hung up on bits of scenery.

The graphical style, while charming, also causes everything to bleed together in such a way that it's difficult to play, which is a shame because there's a really neat little game here that, with some more polish, could be pretty good. As is it just kind of jumps between annoying and boring.

Loving this game. Fez meets Link's Awakening with an emphasis on small, well crafted puzzles. Wonderful soundtrack too!