Recent reviews by Lbartz

I was initially put off by people saying how hard this game is. It is punishing at times, and expect a lot of trial and error while you figure out how to go about a typical day without dying, but fortunately the game doesn't force you into anything and there are usually multiple paths to take through an area.
This is a game to play cautiously. It's not a good idea to rush through it, instead spend some days getting the hang of things, exploring a bit of new area then returning to the same shelter, etc.
Most of the difficulty lies in getting around the enemies, which can spawn in the worst spots, and there's some pretty difficult platforming at some points. You don't 'level up' or anything, you only get better through learning how to survive.

Once you get the hang of it though, this game gives you a great sense of wonder, especially once you start getting to the story and finding out why the world is how it is. It's quite interesting to (eventually) start learning about the society that lived there. You do have to work to get to the lore, and it doesn't just explain everything to you, you sometimes have to put the pieces together on your own. I personally was awed when I got to the story elements, it was kind of unexpected. You can tell it was building to something, but I was not expecting to get much story and it was a pleasant surprise. The lore is done in such a way that you never fully understand it, which I thought was appropriate given you're a little rodent who isn't really meant to comprehend everything.

Possibly my favourite part of the game is just the way the world is done. The enemies aren't just enemies that are put there to kill you, but part of their own ecosystem doing their own stuff to survive. It's a great feeling when that lizard that was blocking the way gets eaten by a vulture. You really do feel like just a little creature trying to survive in the world, who eventually starts making its way towards the goal.


Pros-
+a lot of freedom, the game doesn't force you to go into difficult areas before you're ready
+good areas to explore
+good artstyle
+immersive
+interesting main story (the pearls might not be worth it to some people, but I enjoyed collecting them.)

Cons-
-later areas get a bit unfair
-the karma mechanic isn't explained. Once you figure it out it's pretty simple though.
-lore is pretty annoying to unlock
-can get rage-inducing. Sometimes you die just because of how the enemies spawned that day, or the day was a short one so you got caught in the rain.

8.5/10