First off, if the Game Boy aesthetic rubs you the wrong way, you may just not like this one. However, if you're nostalgic about that kind of thing, it feels really good. Second, let's be very clear that while this is fashioned after Pokemon, it's also not about catching monsters and using them. It both hits a lot of the notes you'd want from Game Boy and Pokemon nostalgia, while very much being its own RPG.

The Edge of Allegoria is a neat game, clearly made with love by a developer that wanted to do their own thing. The pixel art is fun to look at, with a cute and consistent style that feels personal. Pay attention to the sellable loot in your inventory too, as it's all uniquely illustrated as well - the attention to detail is one of the charms of this game.

The dungeons remind me of early Dragon Quest, not being overly long. You can get a little lost, but not super lost, and there are puzzles and mazes to keep things a bit more interesting. Toward the end they got a little tedious, but still not that long.

Despite the old school feel, there are some more modern sensibilities mixed in, like quick exit after beating a dungeon, fast travel to towns and dungeons, and a pretty robust and flexible skill system tied to your items. You can and should rotate skills pretty regularly, which keeps things lively, though eventually your skills are pretty broken.

The humor of the game doesn't always land, but I don't think it needs to. Part of what the game does is ask what a world like Pokemon would look like with adult concepts, from drugs or sex, to shameless corruption. I found the changes that happen in some of the towns based on your actions pretty interesting.

A lot of the music is fairly quick yet inoffensive ambient loops, while some scenes like story exposition feel a bit more melodic and impactful. It definitely fits the mood of the game. Sound effects are solid too, with some blippy and chunky retro-flavored noises to enjoy.

There are also secret dungeons, but they're all findable with a bit of guidance included in the game. They definitely added a twist into the game for me that increased my interest.

A few minor problems, like mimics being too repetitive, leveling up being kind of pointless, the fact that you have physical and magical attacks, yet you can't see enemies' phys/mag defenses (which I assume are kept fairly close to each other anyway, since you could get yourself stuck against a physical wall with only magic equipped) ends up feeling like a distinction without a difference. Since enemies mostly use the same moves you do, encounters eventually feel like you've seen all there is to see, and since all enemies are vulnerable to all status ailments, it doesn't matter that much who you're fighting aside from bosses clearly having higher overall stat pools.

None of those really ruin the game, and figuring out how things work is still entertaining as you go through. I'd love to play another game by this dev, so I'll keep an eye out.

Thanks for letting us join the Lumberjacks, it was a pleasure.