Translated by
Microsoft from French
Microsoft from French
Product received for free review on GameSideStory [www.gamesidestory.com], with better formatting and images.
I am generally quite suspicious of everything that targets children, most of the games of the genre being usually pretty sloppy stuff and often taking children for idiots, which in my opinion is a perspective error. A child is usually quite clever and can spend hours trying and try again until successful. After all, I don't think I'm the only one to have finished Ghosts'N goblins and other difficult games of the 8-16-bit children's eras and not feel able to finish them again after all these years. It's spring again is nonetheless aimed at the younger ones, for whom it is even more difficult to find suitable games (and which I certainly would not put Ghosts'N goblins in the hands, on the other hand).
It's spring again, therefore, is a game adapted from a puppet theatre for 2 to 5 years. It is intended to be an educational game for children from two years. For about fifteen minutes, he presents himself, with his aesthetic in animated paper mode, as a sequel of small scenes of gameplay dedicated to teach the child what to know about the four seasons. As it stands, this gameplay comes down to clicking everywhere to be able to advance the seasons. Using simple left mouse clicks (or by activating the "AutoPlay" mode, which advances the game by itself), you can fetch the Sun hidden behind the clouds, grow flowers, pick the fruits of the trees, drop the Snow... It's spring again is simplified as possible, making the game totally playable for children of all ages without the need for parental help or supervision. Small clues are scattered in a very natural way so that you never get stuck and never really have to wonder what to do next, an option that can also be activated for more obvious clues.
Where the game of Asya Yurina works best is that the Visual part is very worked, especially for a game for less than fifteen minutes. The aesthetics of animated paper works very well, keeping a record reminiscent of puppets. Thus, all the objects of the décor such as trees, clouds or the Sun have human faces, in a style perhaps a little creepy to the image of the Teletubbies. The whole is very well animated, entirely narrated by a very nice voice and accompanied by a nice music, making the experience very pleasant. Very cute, the game will give children an understanding of the seasons accompanied by a relatively positive message about nature and the planet.
It's spring again is not completely uninteresting for the older. If the educational aspect has indeed greater interest, the whole being obviously very basic, the visual aspect still works on the other hand as well. The narration is really nice to listen to and the impression of participating in a lively and interactive tale makes it a very nice experience, especially since it lasts less than fifteen minutes. I also found it interesting enough that, in the image of the seasons, the game repeats itself in a loop until the player decides to leave, this one can then exchange of his time against a scrolling of the years and seasons yet identical each time.
It's spring again only costs a small euro (two more with the puppet show from which it is drawn) and is a very nice and enjoyable visual experience for all ages. Where it shines, however, is that it learns the seasons to the youngest with rather clever gameplay choices that make it all quite natural and never takes them too much by hand, without abandoning them to themselves.