Maseylia : Echoes of the Past

I played the ♥♥♥♥ out of the demo, found every nook and cranny, absolutely loved it. Then I got the full release, and really the demo was better. Every biome is pretty much the same, I mean they've got some cool mechanics but not enough save points. Really the rage quit for me was the double jump arena. Once I got that ability I was 100% stuck. I couldn't finish the area, I played that one section for over 2 hours and never got out. I would have loved to move on or go back to another area but sadly you can only fast travel to very specific way points from very specific way points, and there aren't any in that area. The map refuses to let you go backwards from there so, while this game was fun, it is dead to me now because of poorly designed levels. Sorry guys better luck next time. Unless you implement map travel from anywhere so you can get yourself unstuck from areas, this is a no go for me.

Overall feeling is that the game is fairly enjoyable, just really unpolished and lacking. Areas generally look good and are mostly fun to explore. Game really just needed some puzzles or actual mechanics beyond just whacking things with a stick or shooting them. Movement feel clunky in areas, and super jolting in others. 'Bosses' are pretty awful. Honestly felt like you could just remove all the 'combat' from the game and it just gets better. Map and UI need a ton of work. Impossible to tell which way you are facing on the map. Aiming reticle needs to stand out way more. Environment is pretty cool but the plot/story are pretty derivative. Not every indie game like this needs to have the exact same lore. Unsure why money even exists in the game other than to make you backtrack. Probably needs a few more months in the oven.

This is fun, the controls are thight, the bow is fun to use in combat and all the mecanics introduced in each zone is a breath of fresh air This game won't change your life but it is a fun distraction from time to time

There are two major issues with Maseylia that prevent me from fully enjoying the game, one of which is possibly not fixable, the other of which is a personal preference but can be fixed. Others will harp on the combat more, but I want to focus on the platforming. So the latter first. I'm a real nitpicker when it comes to the feel of a jump in a 3d platformer, but Maseylia's got one of the weaker ones. There's two reasons for this, one of which is the jump curve, and the other of which is the animation itself. The jump's acceleration and deceleration are barely present, resulting in a jump that feels more like the character is sliding up and then down. The animation lacks anticipation, and it lacks squash and stretch. Combine these factors together and you have jumps with no oomph and no hangtime. This isn't a dealbreaker, though, it's just something that I tend to notice in indie 3D platformers that don't quite get the feel right. What IS a dealbreaker is, awkwardly, the game's selling point: the art direction. I love the devs taking inspiration from Moebius, but it actually comes at the cost of readability. Playing on the Steam Deck, I have sometimes gotten turned around because…

this game is a blast to play, awesome controls and movement, exploration also feels great, the world and artstyle are beautiful. the combat is a bit janky, and the bosses are not that though, but since you will be mostly platforming, I don't mind this at all. one thing that I found was great was that I got to a point where I was able to enter an area and do a difficult platforming puzzle, got to the end and then had to backtrack to where I came from, which was already hard enough when I went first, imagine going back. it felt great when I managed to do it. funny that later I got a new ability that made me go back to the same area and it allowed me to go through it this time with no effort at all (mind that I only got the new ability after going to a different area and doing lots of platforming/exploration). this is a great 3D metroidvania, and even though it got some minor flaws (I got stuck in some terrain at some point and managed to get out by spamming buttons lol), I'm thoroughly enjoying it and I highly recommend it.

This is a solid game! For a game made by two people, this was impressive. Loved exploring the world and discovering all the different areas while collecting upgrades along the way. The movement was by far my favorite part of the game especially when you get some later game upgrades. You truly can do so much. The combat was not as polished as it needed to be. The enemies were few and far between and even the bosses can be taken out with ease. I hope the devs take that to heart cause the world building and exploration are really fun. Hope more people check this out!