I claimed this game from the Epic store when it was free. This game is probably the only "AAA" game on par with Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze, both in terms of Graphics quality and level design. The levels aren't difficult, but challenging. The levels can be finished in a breeze, but tracking down all 5 T.W.I.T. coins in each one proves your mettle. I'm a seasoned platform player, and it had a few head-scratchers hidden in the levels. It was satisfying to complete, in most ways I don't get nowadays. Certainly an improvement in game direction over Yooka Laylee, and a sign of good things to come for Playtonics!
I'm uncertain whether I couldn't get into this game because of its gameplay, or whether I couldn't get into it because of its immersion-breaking "bugs." I don't want to call them bugs because they're not glitches or game-breaking, but there's a missing layer of polish in a game like this. There seems to be collision issues with enemy models, and I'll see the gory bits of a dead enemy jiggling on a flower or slope. There's a few UI tweeks that don't render/load properly, but it all boils down to reminding me I'm playing a game. I do like it's sense of humor, but the game isn't for me, and it's not well polished enough that I feel I an give it a 4 star rating.
This game is done really well, but it's not for everyone. It borrows elements from fighting games, RPGs, 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias, but doesn't excel at any one of them. The blend is confusing, and the story is a Saturday-morning Anime, but I love this game. It's endearing and I pulled the full 31 hours to 100% it (based on Acheivements). I don't think I'll return to it, but I enjoyed it start to finish. It took about 7 hours before it clicked for me and I was hooked. Words of advice if you want to give it a try: • you have to just give up exploration until Act 3 of the game's story. • don't worry if you have Ringsels out of sight, the game teases you with them for later • don't fret when you're soft-locked from returning to a path you wanted to explore • always talk to Razmi
I knew going into this game it would be a short finish. I figured I'd play 2-3 nights in the late evenings when I'm winding down before bed, 45 to 60 minutes tops. I gravitate towards puzzle games, especially sidescroll/platform puzzle games (Limbo, Inside, Blink, etc) so I felt I could casually work my way through it. I beat the game in one sitting, in only about 2 hours. I've got to say, there is one moment of bullspit where I thought "This moment will annoy me on any/all subsequent playthroughs; it might stop me from re-playing the game" and the final chapter is a bit of a let-down. The atmosphere, art direction, design, sound mixing, everything in its presentation is top-notch and would rival any AAA studio production on a game like this. It's beyond what you expect from an indie developer, ESPECIALLY, in their break-out game! That said, it's not perfect and the experience leads me wanting more. I'm looking forward to the DLC. I want you to know, that this game only made it to my radar because the dev stood up to EGS's tactics, and I wanted to show them support--buying it at full price--but my verdict is that otherwise I most likely would have bought/played this game for between USD $9.99 and about $12.99. I'm glad I did get it when I did though! Perfect to hype me up for Halloween.
Pardon my language in the title. This game is the best thing to a proper 3-D collect-a-thon you can get, unless you have a Switch. Gears for Breakfast crafted a witty and charming game with great movement mechanics and wonderfully thought-out level design. Character performances are outstanding and the game is just really fun. It's hopefully a mark of a new era for Independent 3D game design as a whole, and a strong revival of a long-shelved genre of game.
Sphinx feels like it's from the PS2/Xbox/GCN era, but to a fault I feel. The camera is too restrictive and your characters are floaty. I could see myself loving/getting into this game back in 2003, but now that games like Yooka Laylee and A Hat in Time show-case what 3-D platformers look like with modern control sensibility, Sphinx is pretty uncomfortable to play. I used a Dual Shock 4 for reference, since it's nearly identical to teh PS2's Dual Shock 2.
