Mable & The Wood

Exploration is not something I'd recommend. You just lose out on a lot of stuff and sometimes go places you're not supposed to, wasting your time. I went to some far off area thinking i was going to find something. Achievement unlocked: "You're not supposed to be here". Great. Another time I found a seemlingly secret passage and tried to go through it. Very difficult and no checkpoints. Finally succeeded and reached the checkpoint on the other side. It turns out it's a secret passage from the beginning of the stage to the end of it. Now I had to pass through it again in order to come back to the end... Very poor level design to let players be able to enter from the wrong direction, when the passage is so frustratingly difficult. Lost about 30 min there, thinking I'd find some secret stuff. Of course I didn't! The only thing I managed to do when trying to explore has been to miss out on the first boss and that power up. Overall the level design is super confusing. At times I have no clue where I am. Not like where I am as in which room in the level, but where I am at all. Places just change and it feels like you're randomly appearing in different places with no connection to the previous gameplay or plot. Everything just feels out of place and like the progression has been thrown into a scrambler. Level design is very poor as well. Most of the ddifficult places have been difficult because it's pitch black except for a small circle around the character and insta death lava lurks everywhere. It's not a challenge that makes you feel good about overcoming it. It's just frustrating. I wanted to try it out now during the 80% discount as I thought there was a 1/5 chance I'd like the game. I didn't like it at all but it has some nice ideas and good art. Would really recommend to level designers for them to experience what not to do.

The idea of a different platformer is good. Being a small girl that can't really fight or jump with that big sword, but can turn into other forms, leaving the sword behind and calling it to her through enemies is an interesting concept. But to make it a fun game, you would need good level design and precise controls. This game has neither. The level design varies between unfair and boring and the controls are imprecise and lagging. To make matters worse there is hardly any story, no character development and only sparse interaction with the people you are supposed to save. All in all the game feels like a concept study that was accidentally released as full game.

As title says, on Linux i just couldn't properly connect gamepad. I tried wireless PS3, Xbox360, legacy gamepad, Pro Controller and none of these worked properly. I didn't tried wired though but regardless this is only issue that I would really like to be fixed. Gameplay wise it's not for everyone. You would need to be willing to get used to unique commands, be very fast in certain cases, willing to read through the input and possible solutions, sometimes play based on expectations of lag, erratic behavior and potential unexpected turns. Story is great, ending not expected and did surprised, I won't spoil whether surprise was good or bad and I will just put emphasis on "not expected" . Amount of morphing options is decent, but i found many necessary, some I didn't even used once. I do like option of choice, but reason why i didn't used every is because some of them are just almost non usable. Other than that you can still get through the game without any problems. Overall it's a good game and definitely deserve better reviews.

Mable & the wood could have been something great, the idea behind it is solid and the fantasy landscape, at least in theory, could have worked. Unfortunately, the gameplay, some part of design and overall execution of the story doesn't give justice to the idea behind it. A shame, it could have been great. Still, for all Metroidvania lovers out there, looking for something fresh, this could be for you. Just wait for a discount.

In this game you are a little girl with a sword who can briefly shapeshift. At first you can shapeshift into a fairy, which allows you to fly. When you shift you drop your sword and when you shift back you can recall it, hitting enemies, switches, pots, etc. in between. The second form is a spider, which allows you to poke enemies and vines, climb and swing. It's pretty neat, if a bit iffy. I sorta enjoyed it until i got a bit further and didn't really know where they wanted me to go. I died to a horizontal monolith and didn't feel like going on. Oh well.