The Next Penelope

Sorry, but this game is, overall, mediocre. Despite all the sympathy I have for Aurélien regard, who conceived this game essentially alone, it must be said: from a player's point of view, the game is frankly mediocre. Certainly it is visually sublime and musically impeccable. But a game is first of all a gameplay, and on this side, the disappointment is immense. Still goes the absence of multiplayer online. Still passes the choices of game design a little doubtful in this or that mission (the semi-random rebounds in the jail mission... seriously??), but it is unacceptable that a game sold at the full price of €13 contains serious problems and never corrected like the ship-who-remains-stuck-against-the-walls, or that a game based on speed and difficulty requires ironing systematically through the briefing (with long uninterrupted seconds) every time you want to start a poorly engaged level. Just as it is unacceptable that a game with precision-based gameplay is incompatible with most PC gamepads, forcing anyone who does not have an Xbox or PS controller to play the keyboard. More broadly, the game is cruelly lacking in fun and is proving overly frustrating. In fact, the only really fun parts are the races strictly speaking... the races: it should be the big one of the game, and if it was, the game might be good... only between the tips of tutorials for the new weapons, the very badly inspired bosses and the special levels, the races proper (against opponents) represent at most one quarter of the game. There are 5 and not one more, and they end very quickly. Everything else is about filling more or less well inspired... in general rather less (the concept of weapons that pump energy to be used is perfectly suited to a race, but it's overly frustrating against a boss faced shmup way). In the end, we understand what happened... Aurélien regard had a real good idea of play (the pitch is, let's face it, Super-seductive), and he wanted to develop it alone, but his project was far too ambitious for one person. He arrived at the end of what he had the energy and time to do well before he could make a game really complete and finished. Balance: spinal content, bad ideas for filling, poorly calibrated gameplay (a match for a game that wants to be ultra-demanding), a poorly dosed difficulty, and overall, a frustrating game whose only fun part corresponds roughly to 15-30 minutes of play. At the price I paid the game, I was not cheated. But at €13, or even at 6.5 in promo, sorry, it's not worth it when, in front, a nugdo like don't starve is sold €15 Max. I know that Aurélien has not benefited from the means and the number of employees of Klei entertainment, but here it is... It is a matter of making a purchase decision with a limited budget: I can not decently recommend you to pay €13 for 6 hours of play consisting of 30 minutes of fun, 4:30 to scream rage, and 1 hour of boredom. At the limit, if you see it solded to 90%, for its graphics and its soundtrack, but that's it.