Grizzland

4,5/10 A small but unpolished metroidvania. The main issue is the controls. With such minimalist graphics it's amazing how it was possible to fail so greatly at the most important aspect of the game. The gameplay is super rigid for no good reason. The character is slow to attack. The attack animation is also slow. It's so slow that ennemies can kill you during the four sword attacks combo. Each action locks the next. You can't attack and move in the same time. You can't jump and shrink/grow (a power got later) in the air. You can't cancel an attack... And the developer probably never tried to play his game with a controller. The UP arrow allows you to scroll through the text using the keyboard, and this command is called "interact". I tried both the Xbox controller and the Steam Deck and the result is the same: several lines of text disappear in a fraction of second if I use the left joystick. It's as if the game is registering multiple "UP" each time the stick is used once. Odd designs The introduction displays the controls for the player in the background of the first two screens. But why two screens? The first screen display nearly every actions possible and the second screen …

An adorable animal adventure! The graphics are charming characters are cute and the gameplay feels like a lively cartoon perfect for anyone who loves fun furry friends and colorful worlds.

..5 button presses to open your rather sparse map. Very simple game but made irritating through trying to navigate it. It's playable but I can't testify to having any fun with it.

There's some ideas here that had potential, but at its core, Grizzland is neither fun nor particularly interesting. Some abilities and area gimmicks were amusing, sure, but this game just lacks a spark that would make it distinct. In contrast, there's a lot of issues about it. Everything is way too slow, primarily the attacks, which make for a very tiresome experience. The enemies are not visually distinct at all, so I'm constantly confusing them with background elements or NPCs, getting hit as a result. And speaking of NPCs, I have no idea what anyone of them is saying, nor do I have the patience to sit through them speaking nonsense two words at a time. And, though the music is unoffensive, it gets old and grating real fast. I got this at its lowest pricepoint, so I don't mind the few cents I gave to get it. But I still would not recommend you buy this, as there's barely anything to play here.

Grizzland, developed and published by Kiepska Spółka, is an exercise in minimalism and atmosphere that manages to achieve a sense of scale and mystery far greater than its simple presentation would suggest. Built entirely in a resolution of 128x96 and limited to five colors, it is a starkly designed Metroidvania-style exploration game that proves ambition isn’t tied to graphical fidelity or budget. It is a love letter to a time when imagination filled the spaces left by limited hardware, but it also stands on its own as a modern experiment in restraint and discovery. Beneath its rough, lo-fi aesthetic lies a carefully constructed world filled with secrets, danger, and a quiet melancholy that lingers long after the final scene. The story unfolds on a dying planet where nature is fading and the last traces of life struggle to survive. You play as a lone wanderer armed with a sword, guided by vague directions and cryptic remarks from the few remaining inhabitants. There is no exposition or cutscene-heavy introduction—Grizzland begins without ceremony, letting its setting speak for itself. As you explore its interconnected environments, you piece together fragments of lore that hint a…

A gem of a game. Just a real enthralling experience.