At a first glance, the game looks bad, the music can be a bit grating, but you won't ever know, for sure, what's going to happen next. It's so full of charm and wit, you'll keep playing just to see what whimsical thing will happen next, and I appreciated that about the game. A full playthrough, completing all quests netted me 8 hours, so I think its length is appropriate and doesn't overstay its welcome. I was perfectly entertained for the entire time, and that's something rare.
I bought this game because it was created by the same guys as the Legend of Grimrock, so I was expecting quality, and that was indeed what I got. You could look at the game like huge puzzle but, unlike in Grimrock, there's multiple solutions to each level, with varying degrees of quality. Getting always "top marks" is very hard, in my opinion, especially if you try to beat these in your first try. There's often little room for mistakes, so every move has to be carefully laid out. Although, you can often replay the level in the same way, and get similar results, so there isn't much randomness. I played on normal, and had to often reset levels. It is worth it to complete the optional objectives, as you are rewarded with much required level ups, gems and new weapons for your characters. Interspersed, there are a few pure puzzle levels that are, in my opinion, quite easy in comparison, but are still fun to solve. In time you learn the more effective strategies and spells, but the game also ups the difficulty to match, especially when you want to achieve every optional objective on every level. There is a gradual increase in difficulty, but, IMO, there's quite a few spikes and dips in difficulty. Altough, there were levels that could be beaten, or made much easier, by employing non-traditional techniques. Sometimes you might be stuck in a level for tens of minutes, and the music can get a bit grating, but I found the soundtrack to be good, and a bit of an earworm. In this line of thought, the game tries to punish turtling by summoning extra monsters, or adding time limits, so you always have to be on your toes. I have seen several criticisms of the game's story. I'm not sure if I agree. I found it to be cute and charming. Not overly complicated, very straightforward, did not get in the way of the action. It also didn't leave a horrible cliffhanger to tease a sequel; it's self contained. In short, I had a phenomenal time playing it, and would recommend it.
