I really wanted to like this game. It's got great pixel art, it's got a fantastic soundtrack, and it's got all this visual storytelling and intrigue. But the way the game is optimized just kills any mood the story could have. For one, the longer you play it, the laggier it gets. Input lag gets worse, enemy attacks get slower, even basic menu actions (limited though they are) take seconds to execute. Bear in mind, I don't have a potato for a computer, but even if I do by today's standards, when this game was made, it could roar along with the newest titles. Combined with the difficulty the game wants and I find myself, more often than not, fighting against the input issues. Keyboard, controller, doesn't matter. This was especially terrible with the last boss, where each attack knocks 2HP off you and you can be knocked into other attacks. I basically had to cheese the thing with the laser rifle for eons to avoid instant-death. Not to mention, a lot of the secrets don't change the course of the story. I was hoping finding all the monoliths would do...something. Bigger health bar, altering the dog...nothing. You get brown. It feels like Shadow of the Colossus, but doesn't seem to arc into a bigger story or have the technical optimization needed to do this. The color scheme is pretty, the soundtrack is great. But as a game, it just is too frusturating, and rewards too little. I give it two stars because I still wanted it to work...but it just doesn't.
