LogFAQs > #932346452

#80





Years of release: 2013 (PC/360/PS3), 2015 (PS4/XB1/Mobile), 2019 (Switch). It's funny that the Switch keeps getting ports of several years old indie games, although it's great for people who haven't played them yet
Beaten?: Yes

If you care about "tiers" at all, then this is probably where a new tier starts. The first 20 games on this list were like "oh yeah, that game is really cute!" but now we're getting into like "oh yeah this is the real shit."

Shameless namedrop time! I played this game because it's Kevin Regamey of Powerup Audio's favorite game, and I was chatting with him at SGDQ and he absolutely insisted I play it and then watch his speedrun of it after. So I did! It was a really good recommendation. For whatever reason, I don't think it made me feel quite the same way as it made him. It was like the most magical experience ever for him, and for me I was like, that was really cute and neat and I can see why some people so dearly love this game.

It's a short and sweet adventure game about... well, two brothers, each of whom are controlled simultaneously with one analog stick and one shoulder button each, who go on an adventure to find medicine for their sick dad and solve a bunch of puzzles and meet some people along the way. Each of the brothers can do things the other can't - the younger brother can sneak into small places but he can't swim or reach high places for instance, and most puzzles revolve around combining their abilities to get past obstacles. The puzzle-solving in this game is snappy and satisfying without ever being too difficult, but that's not really what this game is about. This game is an atmosphere-and-mood kind of game.

The world here perfectly captures the essence of being in a fairy tale - a warm and inviting fantasy countryside with a dark underbelly. Every moment of this game is beautiful, especially for an indie game from earlier in the decade. The story plays out completely wordlessly (the characters only speak in an invented nonsense language) but it's told so well through the character's gestures and actions that you really get attached to the two protagonists, as well as some of the side characters, throughout. It's a really charming little romp.

The ending is powerful, and the game's final puzzle 'trick', so to speak, is both really satisfying to figure out and also completely knocked the wind out of me. I realized it pretty quickly and then the game was over soon after, but that moment will still stick with me for a while. It isn't the most affected I've ever been by a game, but again, I can definitely see why some people were. I played this game in one sitting in an afternoon and it was an afternoon well spent - I didn't catalog it under 'favorites of all time' but it is surely one of the most charming and clever games of the decade.

The speedrun, by the way, is surprisingly entertaining. I was surprised by how much fun speed tech there was in a game that is absolutely meant to be taken leisurely, stopping to take in all of the beautiful environments and little character moments - blazing through it feels almost sacrilegious somehow, and yet it's really satisfying. Do what Kevin told me to though and play the game first! It's a game that I think everyone should probably play once.