Punished Miku
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Just finished the game, and I am totally perplexed by the critical and user reception to the game. Unless I'm just on my own here, this is literally one of the best 3D platformers I've ever played. It's a fresh new IP with unbelievably cool art, a fantastic premise (you explore the inside of a black hole), pitch perfect controls, and a solid story as well. I honestly don't know if I've ever seen an indie team ever advance this far from one game to the next as has happened here. Heart Machine started out with Hyper Light Drifter, a stylish and cool pixel art indie with compelling combat and puzzles, but I never thought the game was a masterpiece. Sometimes it was too cryptic for its own good. The graphics are fairly limited. The combat is decent, but not phenomenal or comparable with the best in the industry. Then out of nowhere, their very next game is a shockingly original 3D exploration / platformer that blends influences ranging from Gravity Rush, to Mario Galaxy, to Shadow of the Colossus, to Neon White, to Aeon Flux and pulls it off nearly flawlessly. The controls are so smooth, despite some parts of the bosses resembling 3D speed runs similar to an F-Zero 64 track at times with shifting points of gravity and demanding camera control platforming. How does a developer pull this off after a simple pixel art 2D game? And why on Earth is this sitting at a Metacritic of 77%?
Best I can tell, the game is an unusually eclectic blend of genres, and that rubs some people the wrong way. For example, parts of the game are dreamy and strange, like a bizarre acid trip with limited difficulty and a higher focus on exploration across expansive environments. Then when you get to key destination points, you have to basically do a brief speed run platforming segment and they can get a little challenging if you're not used to complex 3D exploration and platforming. You have to really grasp where you are in a 3D space, the kind of thing you usually only experience in Mario or Zelda games. But you have to execute these segments like a speedrunner, similar to Neon White. You simply have to be okay with failing and then learning. You always have checkpoints near by for instant access to whatever section you're stuck on, but some sections took me 5-10 tries.
This is amplified on the bosses. The bosses emulate Shadow of the Colossus closely, but they feature a lot more intricate platforming. You're expected to nail tight speed running sections on the back of a giant enemy boss that really push your ability to grasp the course in 3D. If you can't play F-Zero 64, Mario 64, Gravity Rush, you probably don't need to play this. It's not like it's impossible or anything, but apparently most reviewers hated this. Read the reviews and they call it tedious and frustrating, but if you're someone that has experience with the old 3D platformers that were really pushing the envelope, you're probably going to absolutely love this. Just know it's not strict platforming on small platforms, it's more of a speed run over an open area where your basic movement is a smooth skating motion and your main moves are simply a boosting long jump, and a double jump.
Combat is simplistic but snappy and satisfying. Enemies are intelligently designed to tie the combat into the platforming and mobility at all times. Some enemies can only be hit in the back. Some enemies are snipers perched up on walls in difficult to reach spots. This means you have to complete demanding, small platforming sections to be able to reach them and attack.
Finally, the story is a little bit of a mixed bag. You have a few main side quests that are present throughout the game, and a core storyline shrouded in mystery. Most of the game I considered the story to be the main weak point of the game. However, at the end it really did come together in an extremely cool way that I felt was satisfying and interesting, culminating in a cool final boss as well if you follow what is happening at that point.
I really can't recommend the game enough. I can't even dock it points for the story. I can't really dock it points for anything, other than being potentially frustrating for people inexperienced for 3D platforming. For me it's either a 9.5 or a 10. It's way, way past Shadow of the Colossus for me, even though it is riding on their shoulders. The gameplay elements are just infinitely better. The art and level design are just so good. One level takes place in almost total darkness and it's designed well enough that it totally works and makes you again think in 3D to grasp some of the minor puzzle elements. The art design, music, and story all contribute a lot. This is literally one of the best "indie" games of all time, and one of my favorite 3D platformers of all time. When a lot of indies are still stuck on 2D metroidvania pixel art games, Heart Machine is just sooooooooooooooo far ahead. I could not be more interested in Hyper Light Breaker coming up, which is also 3D.
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