Impressed

[tm]

I am seriously blown away by the game.

The gameplay strikes an incredible balance between exploration, puzzles, and action. Naija has enough abilities to allow the player to get creative with their solutions to the various situations they encounter, but not so much it turns into a math exercise. Some of the bosses are fast paced exercises in dodging, others are slower and require far more thought. The variety is wonderful.

The music and art direction both are incredible. Seriously, I couldn't even imagine something better. After each major accomplishment I find myself exploring and wandering around, mostly just as an excuse to relax, listen to some nice music, and view some incredible scenery. Having treasures and memories to look around for is just icing on the cake.

The difficulty is pretty much perfect. It has been a while since I've played a game hard enough to give me a sense of accomplishment when I jump over the next hurdle. I like that the game doesn't hold your hand, point you in the direction you need to go, or necessarily make the solution to everything obvious. Spot on.

Then there is the story. The truly great games find their own way to communicate their story, Aquaria did exactly that. I enjoy the subtleties of the storyline -- it lets you fill in bits and pieces for yourself, but doesn't leave you wondering about the major points. The past-tense narration works so well for the subject matter as well.

Finally, there's the details. Her subtle 'wow' when she comes across a large creature, and her cry of fear (or perhaps, despair?) when she comes across a hostile boss. It is that level of polish that separates the average from the outstanding.

Aquaria is perfect in its own way, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. Definitely one of my top 5 games (which for me, is just a big 5-way tie).

[Alec]

 

Thanks for the kind words.

[Alphasoldier]

I wonder how big Alec's ego has grown with all these sorts of topics.

[Alec]

I wonder how big Alec's ego has grown with all these sorts of topics.

Haha... I hate people with big egos, so I try to avoid becoming that way as much as possible, but its nice to read positive feedback on a day when I'm feeling kinda down. Reminds me that people like some of the stuff I do, and that feels good.

[Kiiy]

I'm impressed by the game too. I downloaded the demo a bit over a week ago, and was impressed enough I bought the game the next day. The fantastic music and atmosphere hit me first, then the free-form singing mechanic hooked me (for some reason, I love being able to make my own music in games). The game continued to amaze me with all the little bits of story that hit just the right note; Naija's wonder at the world around her, the way the game slows down the first time you break through the Veil, the saddened narration that comes when you defeat a boss, and the ending and hidden ending, which I adored. These moments managed to convey the right feelings without explicitly explaining anything to me, which fits perfectly with the idea of exploring a wondrous world at your leisure. You don't need the details, just the theme ideas presented, which the player can then react to on his or her own.

Naija's narration was particularly effective, both artistically as well as in terms of gameplay; the simple fact that she was commenting on the world suddenly becoming dark, or that she had spent so much time killing things, made me accept shifts in gameplay and narrative a lot more.

I finished it today, and then I came here to see what other people were saying about the game. It's a little bit funny seeing the reactions people had a year ago, and then comparing it to the patched version of the game that I played. It seems that most of the issues people had were resolved in the patch, which is great. The map in the main game is a lot more usable than the map in the demo, for example, and the widescreen support is nice.

The only complaints I have are that the game could stand to point you in the right direction a bit more in the early part of the game, and it can be a bit shootery at times, especially early when you don't have all your abilities. A few more save points and giant turtles would've been nice too; it's not a problem later on, but early in the game it can be mildly annoying. Still, the game is so impressive these things were easy for me to forgive. I love the world you created, and the way the game let me explore it and fill in the blanks myself, without overly imposing its own interpretations or beliefs upon me.