Recent reviews by Shiny

This game has a great main idea and is very ambitious, especially during the time it was made. I quite like the graphic novel type art style and the game looks great in general. The mechanics of using a laser to cut objects, a claw to grab objects, and a rocket to launch objects sound great on paper but don't work very well in action.

First off, the mechanics get tiring very quickly and nothing is done to spice them up as the game goes on. You cut rocks, you pull rock parts, and sometimes use rockets to launch rock parts. The gameplay loop is monotonous, and because these mechanics are integral to exploring the game's world, it becomes a chore quickly. To complement that are the awkward and seemingly inconsistent physics involving the rocks that you spend the entirety of the game using and navigating around. Oftentimes a rock that you were pushing would seemingly bounce into the air for no recognizable reason, or a part of a rock that you just cut would pop out in a weird direction. Consequently, necessary objects can very easily fall off or get lost and can make progression outright impossible.

Collectibles are a pain to collect due to sometimes being pushed off of the stage and rendered impossible to get for that run or requiring a ton of maneuvering to get to. I also found aiming to be very fickle as I often find my character grabbing or cutting incorrect objects.

That said, the game isn't entirely terrible. As mentioned before, I love the game's style. Seeing sound words pop up like those in a comic is both charming and satisfying. The game's textures are hand-drawn and are nice to look at, despite the majority of the game taking place in a desert setting. The soundtrack is alright, it's not outstanding, but it definitely isn't bad. A lot of the game's humor revolves around fourth wall breaks and self-awareness, if that's your thing.

Ultimately, I hesitate to say that this game is objectively bad, as the game does have a fair amount of things I found good. However, the tedium of the game's movement and exploration takes away from the game's initial charm and gradually reduces it into an exercise in repetition and frustration.