So I'm slightly less than 6 hours in and I'll say upfront my review is a little tainted. This version lacks the latest patch that was issued last year, and that's a bit annoying because some bugfixes are important. That gets a star knocked off, but I don't fault Gog for that. Pros: It's cute, in a pixelated manner. You don't have to get invested in a deep story that I can tell, and it's cake to run. Cons: Aside from the patch missing, it's very grindy. You might find yourself repeatedly farming some areas just for coins to survive, and crystals for key situations. There's also the Depair factor, be careful how you rack that up! Then juggle in offense, defense, survivability and you might end up doing what I plan to do, a short spurt here and there. Good thing it's not taking up a lot of space. ;) Buy on sale, not full price.
Before I get into the game itself, I'll say this, for a Unity game, it actually plays smooth. Now for the game, reminds me of Bloodstained, which of course reminds most everyone of the "Vania" types that are all over the place. It looks pretty decent all things considered, plays pretty decent, though some weapon styles have distinct differences you need to adjust to. The sound is repetetive, but this isn't quite as big a game as the sequel. My only frustrating nitpick is the (un)subtle need to farm the crystals for upgrading early on in the game. Otherwise, it's not a bad 1st entry, certainly a lot worse out there. I give it 3/5 stars, with a kudos for a Unity usage that doesn't make me cringe.
Upfront comment - I have this game on another platform and I got it free. But I'm about 95% finished with it and as soon as I can, I am buying it here in order to get the devs something they are due and I am going to buy the soundtrack as well to support the artist. Review time: Graphics: 8 Music: 10 (I'm a sucker for this kind of French music) Fun Factor: 10 Replayability: For me - 10, someone else - varies. Is it perfect, no, but what it lacks in visual perfection, it makes up for in HEART. A mouse, that wants to help a world that ignores her. And through little ingenious actions, you do just that, and help a local village. Every time she does something that helps another, and receives the rewards for her work, she sees/absorbs the happiness and that in turn makes her smile. She squeaks, she has costumes and the interactions are adorable. Everything is solvable, whether you need a video or you spend the time figuring it out. Even my 3 year old son just sits entranced by the video segments when the mouse smiles. It's a reminder that size does not matter; if a little mouse can make a difference, so can anyone else. (Also a reminder that a game doesn't need to be 120gb installed to be awesome either.)
My wife / then girlfriend bought me this on day 1 release on Steam, it's why I have a Steam account. It was a slightly belated birthday present, and to date, between the original, the special edition and the anniversary edition, I've got over 1600 hrs I imagine invested into a game that is almost 11 years old. No matter how many times I have played it, with or without mods, it's always kept my attention. I can probably recite the spoken lines of the important NPCs and their quests by heart. I can feel Lydia's annoyance when she tells you "I am sworn to carry your burdens" before she even says it. The quests in the DLC to kill vampires, build your own home, and kill the First Dragonborn all still feel fun to me. That is what makes a game great, despite the "Look, now we can get it on X platform edition" re-release. And this is why I bought it myself on Gog, because now it's the "I finally own it myself" edition. Thank you for the early birthday present Gog, this is why I prefer you guys vs. other platforms.
