Surprisingly complex, with each stage needing different strategies. There also seems to be a thriving mod scene. I do wish it had a little more - maybe they can do that in a DLC? Like enemies to fight, or a storyline, or maybe more decor or extra buildings to research. Still, it's surprisingly addictive even so. If you like the building and designing town aspect of RTS's, you'll probably like this one.
Most games of this nature have combat, puzzles (jumping or otherwise), side-quests, leveling up, or just, well, "something" to fill your time besides following the main story. This one was mostly exploration and collecting a few mushrooms outside of the plot. There was a little bit of puzzle to switching animal forms for the different abilities, but it was very minor, and I rarely found myself in the position where I needed to backtrack to get the right animal for an obstacle--a bit like a very easy 3D platformer. I can't decide if I like that or hate it. Story didn't surprise me, really--I had a good idea of who the ember was by the second act--but it was touching and well-paced, very atmospheric. You never felt the game got in the way of the story or vice versa, which is a rare balance to hit. The level design also felt good, where nothing ever felt stale or re-used, yet also just enough time spent in each area that I didn't feel like I didn't get enough of something. I feel like the only thing that could've made this better was the collectables actually meaning something. Not to the gameplay maybe--that flowed well enough on its own--but more detailed tidbits about the world and its lore perhaps, or unlocking a different color for the wolf? I felt it a bit of a missed opportunity when I checked the description on a bowl and it said it was a bowl that you ate out of (paraphrased). Well, yes, I kind of assumed that. ;) I think this studio is one to watch, if they keep their eye on atmosphere, art, and writing, and just expand a little more into the gameplay bit. This is a very interesting potential genre, though in this case I felt it needed a little bit more padding.
