Somber

I uh. Well. You... tried...? Like, visually this is very pretty, I won't deny that... maybe a bit one-note but it's an aesthetic that works. And there are some platforming -ideas- here - the grapple mechanic is pretty cool and with some polish could be used in interesting ways... but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay doesn't feel great. The dash is less a "dash" and more a "add to your horizontal speed (but preserve your vertical speed)" and the wall cling is... very sticky. I was able to get pretty deep into an area I don't think I was supposed to have access to just by wall jumping, only to get hard-locked by stomp floors or key doors forcing me to backtrack and follow the intended route, so what little "exploration" is here is... limited. There are powerups, sure, but none of them feel rewarding, and the yellow dots... chickens? according to the game, do literally nothing as far as I can tell. The plot is loosely sketched and ends with a "twist" I don't even really understand. Can't say I was too impressed by the level design itself, either, especially with how loose everything feels and thus how breakable most platforming sections are. And I beat it in, like, an hour, which.…

fantastic game, played through it twice and reviewed it https://youtu.be/XD85BKyv6io

I really love this aesthetics: the whole environment art, character, vfx, color palette. Love the atmosphere that build in this game. Love the story feeling but I don't think I reach the true ending? Who is the bad guy? I can see the level design and game design but it's not perfect, just good And it's a little bit short I think. I hope that you'll provide more games with us like this. Longer, more story, more ability like Ori.

Before going into detail: the game runs great on the Steam Deck. I specifically picked it up to play it on the Deck and the only thing I noticed was that I had to use the touchscreen to start the very first game, everything beyond that was done with the normal Steam Deck Gamepad Controls. [b]Gameplay:[/b] The gameplay of "Somber" reminded me a lot of other Metroidvanias like Ori and Hollow Knight - abilities are unlocked as you play the game like double jump, dash, etc. Navigating the game world works fluidly and while there is an in-game map I only had to use it occasionally. Dying is a non-issue since checkpoints are plenty and it is rare that I had to travel more than a few seconds from the checkpoint to the place where I died which I loved. This helps a lot in the more challenging sections near the end. The game has some tricky bits but overall it is very accessible even for new players of this style of game. The play time is around 1 hour, more if you want to complete everything (Steam seems to report the wrong playtime since I played it mostly on my train communte to and from work without an internet connection). [b]Graphics:[/b] "Somber" has a distinct style that appears …

The gameplay is very satisfying and not overly long. I enjoyed my time here!

A charming, short game - I loved the atmosphere of the world, the backgrounds are fascinating works of art.