Recent reviews by DogsOnStage

Looker good.
Witness bad.

TL; DR Very cute little game, I really enjoyed the taking photos mechanic. There is emphasis on world-exploration and simple puzzle solving. Love the minimalist art style. Game is a little short, I 100%-ed it in a little under 4 hours and there isn’t really any replay value. Best to buy it when it's on sale (I got my copy for $15). Score: 8/10

Game play
I adore the photo mechanic. I never felt confused on how to set up photos nor what objects I should be photographing. You are given an initial list of missions to complete in each area (as well as obtaining more by talking to the area’s citizens) in order to progress. The name and description of each mission either tell you exactly what you should photograph or act as a hint as to solve the small puzzle the mission poses. Some of these missions do require some out of the box thinking, but I would say 90% of them are relatively straight forward. The camera also offers another perspective of the level for you as the player. While you can rotate the level’s camera as you walk around, this rotation is limited and there are many areas that are practically invisible until you use your handheld camera (aka first-person view). The use of your handheld camera (as well as the missions) really forces the player to carefully observe their surrounding for the tiniest of details: either subjects to photograph, or “hidden” areas to look for. I love looking for secrets in any video games, so this was by far my favorite part. I only wish this was implemented much more often. I feel like there is a lot of potential when it comes to this changing of perspectives.

Visuals
I love the minimalist art style. Everything in the world feels miniature, which makes everything feel cuter to me. The character designs were all unique to their specific areas, but all were very appealing. I like the mesh of 2-D characters with the more 3-D environments stylized to be 2-D. I’m not familiar with the specific term for this style, but the first comparison that comes to mind is the Paper Mario franchise. As for the pictures you can take, there are plenty of photo-ops. It’s pretty hard to take a “bad” photo in this game; nearly everything in each level is set up to make a beautiful backdrop for a photo. Small achievement spoiler: I especially loved the special silver photos. The little illustrations are adorable and I wish there were more. No spoilers for the ending, but let’s say the photo I took last was my favorite by far.

Music
I am an absolute neanderthal when it comes to music. I honestly don’t notice the music when it comes to most games. The music was very soothing and acted as good ambiance for the game. Whenever the music changes to a different track, a small notification tells you which song is playing, which is handy if you wish to go back and play it again later. You can play any song you unlock at any point in the game via the in-game cassette player, so you can appreciate any song at any time. My personal favorite songs were the “The Smiling Huntsman” and “Fisherman’s Tune”.

Overall
This game is a cute little adventure with unique game play. I loved the puzzle solving elements as well as the out-of-the-box exploration. My main gripe with the game is that it feels too short. I 100%-ed the game in a little under 4 hours in a mostly blind play through (I did use a guide for 2 of the harder to find achievements, sue me). I would appreciate it if there were 2-3 more areas to explore, perhaps a desert or a fully underwater/Atlantis type level. This concept has a lot of potential and I wish it was capitalized on more. I bought this game for $14.99 during a New Year sale, and I feel it barely met that value. There really isn’t any replay value to this, especially since I’ve found everything this game has to offer in one play through.

This game was very enjoyable and I do recommend it, but not for the full $20. Definitely grab it when it goes on sale, like I did.

Score: 8/10

Great game. Not too easy, but not too rip-your-hair-out-difficult. Each "game" is between 5-7 hours if you play at a casual pace. As someone who was not a part of the NES generation, this felt like it belonged in the past. 9/10, wished there was a bit more, but happy with what I paid for.