It's like Ori and the Blind Forest but this time it's almost exactly the same?

You may balk at this negative review, given the overwhelming praise and adulation that's flowing this game's way, everywhere you look. But I'm sorry, it's not worthy of that of universal praise. Nothing is. This game has its flaws, and I want to draw attention to them, because I don't want to see them repeated another time around. There is a good game buried in here somewhere, but it is spoiled by careless execution (as well as enough bugs to feed a hungry tarantula).

My complaints about this game's prequel are as follows:
- the art style came, too often, at a cost to the gameplay
- the autosave system was a bastard

I am going to essentially copy-paste those comments because, in many respects, this game is a copy-paste of its predecessor. I'm not saying that's an entirely bad thing! If you enjoyed The Blind Forest, you will probably enjoy this too. But it's not anything like the radical evolution I was expecting.

Like before, while the backgrounds are gorgeous, they are often too bright - especially considering your character is a luminous little star-gremlin. The camera movement in this game also leaves something to be desired - especially when you transition from one medium to another. If you are burrowing through sand, then leap out into the air, you will notice the camera struggles to keep track of you. This problem becomes acute, because there is an entire chase sequence *built* on this mechanic, which need not have been so frustrating if only it had been slightly better executed.

Like before, while the autosave system is usually "adequate", for the purposes of exploration, it often forces you to relive your most frustrating moments over and over, because boss battles and chase sequences are usually quite long, and they offer you no respite whatsoever. These encounters tend to be quite long, and by the end, they overstay their welcome.

And fundamentally, that's my parting thought with this game. While it's beautiful, it overstays its welcome. I'm only going to give passing comment on the story, because it's clear that that's exactly as much effort as the writers put into it. It's amazing what meaningless, pretentious trollop you can get away with when you use an artistic filter to make every character sound like they have a bassoon lodged in their trachea. This is a game which thinks it's deep, when really it's just very pretty.

Before I sign off, a word about the bugs. I have encountered multiple performance issues with this game, despite having a pretty solid gaming PC:
- Framerate drops
- Audio tearing
- Outright crashes

I hope to goodness that if there is a further sequel to this game, that at least *some* of these criticisms can be addressed. There's a good game buried in here somewhere - but if I could make one change myself, I would not have a glowing protagonist in the next one. I would much rather play as one of those delightful little Moki - they're irresistibly cute and also, they don't give me eye strain...

It's like Ori and the Blind Forest but this time it's almost exactly the same? You may balk at this negative review, given the overwhelming praise and adulation that's flowing this game's way, everywhere you look. But I'm sorry, it's not worthy of that of universal praise. Nothing is. This game has its flaws, and I want to draw attention to them, because I don't want to see them repeated another time around. There is a good game buried in here somewhere, but it is spoiled by careless execution (as well as enough bugs to feed a hungry tarantula). My complaints about this game's prequel are as follows: - the art style came, too often, at a cost to the gameplay - the autosave system was a bastard I am going to essentially copy-paste those comments because, in many respects, this game is a copy-paste of its predecessor. I'm not saying that's an entirely bad thing! If you enjoyed The Blind Forest, you will probably enjoy this too. But it's not anything like the radical evolution I was expecting. Like before, while the backgrounds are gorgeous, they are often too bright - especially considering your character is a luminous little star-gremlin. The camera movement in this game also leaves something to be desired - especially when you transition from one medium to another. If you are burrowing through sand, then leap out into the air, you will notice the camera struggles to keep track of you. This problem becomes acute, because there is an entire chase sequence *built* on this mechanic, which need not have been so frustrating if only it had been slightly better executed. Like before, while the autosave system is usually "adequate", for the purposes of exploration, it often forces you to relive your most frustrating moments over and over, because boss battles and chase sequences are usually quite long, and they offer you no respite whatsoever. These encounters tend to be quite long, and by the end, they overstay their welcome. And fundamentally, that's my parting thought with this game. While it's beautiful, it overstays its welcome. I'm only going to give passing comment on the story, because it's clear that that's exactly as much effort as the writers put into it. It's amazing what meaningless, pretentious trollop you can get away with when you use an artistic filter to make every character sound like they have a bassoon lodged in their trachea. This is a game which thinks it's deep, when really it's just very pretty. Before I sign off, a word about the bugs. I have encountered multiple performance issues with this game, despite having a pretty solid gaming PC: - Framerate drops - Audio tearing - Outright crashes I hope to goodness that if there is a further sequel to this game, that at least *some* of these criticisms can be addressed. There's a good game buried in here somewhere - but if I could make one change myself, I would not have a glowing protagonist in the next one. I would much rather play as one of those delightful little Moki - they're irresistibly cute and also, they don't give me eye strain...