Fun addition to the original

Posted on 2013-04-17 20:11:36 by KainKlarden:

...which probably should've just been a simple addition to the original. But more on that later. Let's start with the good things - this game, as the original, is fun and funny. It has a lot of cultural references yet manages to be unique and not loose itself in them. It looks fantastic. It mostly keeps puzzles fun and interesting - rarely too easy, rarely too annoying or needlesslyread more complex. Unlike the original, this game is pretty short, which could be a plus, since the game could have had little filler content in it. And it mostly did. Mostly.
However, I couldn't stop thinking, that the game was designed as a short expansion, which would either require the original or would cost less than it does, but then the developers realised that they need to sell it as a standalone game at a specific price, so they decided to "appropriately" fill it with more content. So the last third of the game feels needlessly longer than it should be. Cultural references and jokes become slightly lazier, puzzles require more pointless walking and figuring out what else the game wants you to do. And it's a shame, really, as the game starts very good, and the characters of Nate and Critter are good from the beginning till the end.
This should've been a cheaper expansion/DLC, with most of its last third removed in favor of not tainting the magic of the first two thirds of the game. But I'd still recommend it for those good parts.