I played the whole game on Linux using Wine and was able to fully complete it (there is one bugged level). It took me maybe 15 hours. This game contains puzzles and story of girl named Lynn. There is a lot of puzzles (maybe ~120?). The difficulty ranges from trivial to complex. The game presents new mechanics as you go. There are three parts: Lynn Story, Extra Story and Acorn Story. The Acorn story has slightly different game mechanic. According to the number of your moves, you get 1-3 orbs. There is 324 orbs to collect. The game contains hint system that can really help you to get all the orbs. There are few bugs. The progression is somewhat broken. It allows you to skip certain chapters without fully completing previous chapters (the problem is mainly present in Extra Story and Acorn Story). But if you are careful, you can just follow correct chapter numbers. The story is told in form of images, simple animation, Korean narration and puppetry. The setting is, I assume, during Choson dynasty during smallpox plague and introduces mythical creatures like Nine-tailed Fox and Dokkaebi. The music has traditional Korean themes (instruments like Haegeum, Geomungo and Daegeum). There is not enough music and it repeats too much. There are however song with singer which are really nice. If you like Korean folklore, puzzles, indie-games, you will like it. And you will learn Chinese numerals!
Wow. I thought I would like the game, but I did not except to like it this much. If you like Korea, Korean history, games like Ori and Blind Forest, bit of challenge - this is the game for you. It took me 31 hours to completely finish the game and every minute of it was pleasant. I played it using Wine on Linux. The theme of the game and it's drawn art style is really memorable. I was able to recognize pieces of Korean culture that I know from historical dramas like Daejanggeum. Hand drawn character, architecture, story animations, backgrounds are nice to look at. The theme is bleak as it should be and simple colors really fit. The story is engaging and there is much more storytelling than in, for example, Ori and Blind Forest. There is a lot of characters you can talk to, each with different personality. They will provide more information about the story and progression. The ending was emotional and I believe there are multiple endings. The story, art style, setting and the theme are definitely high points of the game. The game play is harder. On normal difficulty, it was pretty challenging, especially some of the bosses. You can make it easier with perks and equipment which encourages exploration. The game is controlled entirely using keyboard or you can use controller. Through the game, you will unlock special abilities that enhances your movement and you will be able to revisit areas and search for more secrets. There are multiple weapons, each with different uses. Some of them are more like tools. Saving system is in form of checkpoints you can find through the levels and active them at you will. Overall, It is one of the best games I played. It is shame that the game is not more known. It is hidden jewel, that I will remember for long time. Long live Arum, The Guardian of Death!
Linux review. I almost finished this game (level 21 currently) on Ubuntu 18.04 with AMD and NVIDIA GPU. Installation works fine, This games works in 4:3, 16:10 and 16:9 aspect ratios, no lags, no visual bugs either. This package contains bonus level - demo. I did however encounter one game breaking bug in level 3. Right at the end of the level, After you are done shooting with the gatling gun, the game hides your mouse pointer and you cannot do anything. It is stuck before the cutscene. I found workaround. If you hit right mouse button (so you will leave the gatling gun) right before the cutscene everything works fine.
It is memorable game with great graphics and sound design. It's story telling is also awesome. I didn't get stuck once in all 4 hours of gameplay. This game is family friendly, but adults will enjoy it as well. It has some epic moments, it has a lot of funny moments and it has some mysterious moments. Puzzles make sense. The game contains few minigames. I didn't get any bug. The game does not take itself too serious which is good.
Difficulty : average Length : short Music : good Design : great Graphics : great Story : good Atmosphere : great Sound design: good Bugs : none I will remember this game and it is good thing. Why will I remember this game? It is unique game with unique design. This game stands on it's own legs. It is art project. This game does not have any UI. This game does not use any text. It only use sounds, music, graphics and animation to draw you into it. The gameplay is composed of several mechanics that are cleverly combined. This game is somewhat simillar to following games: Ori and the Blind Forest Botanicula Hellblade - Senua's Sacrifice This game could be little longer. I finished Ori and the Blind Forest in about 15 hours. Gris took me about 4 hours (not all achievements). If this game was twice as long as it is, I would rate it higher. They could use the game mechanics more. This game was too short for me to create bond with the main character but it was still good. I feel that it missed the great opportunity to become one of the best games of 2018. It was great but I want more.
