YesterMorrow

Very much an unsung classic in the action-adventure-puzzle-platformer category. I don't know anything about the history of this game's development but it feels like a game that was rushed out the door and then, after the first round of basic bug fixes, left to its own devices. Which is a shame because it's honestly great, even genius at times. To appreciate the game you have to be able to tolerate some jankiness though. The physics are pretty cool and I enjoy how they play into platforming challenges and traversal. BUT in some spots the physics are slightly broken, and there's annoying things like unnecessarily slow swimming speed, three-quarters of dialogue being unskippable, sporadic glitches, etc., that make it feel like a game not fully actualized. But for all its flaws, it's completely playable and most importantly, fun and interesting. Level design is creative and fully utilizes the abilities you gain throughout the game. You'll know where to go if you check your map for the next destination point, and pay attention to signage in the world that orients you where you are. It's possible to get a little lost in temples, but in general there is good sense of direction and flow to the level designs. Another thing I like is when you explore and travel around, the creatures that populate the environment aren't just there to be eviscerated for resources and XP. In fact, you can't hurt them, you can only cleanse the corrupted spirits that possess them. In some cases creatures are involved in cute little traversal puzzles as well. That really adds to the charm of this game, along with some nice musical themes. In terms of difficulty, it's not exactly a walk in the park but there are generous checkpoints; I think if the mechanics were tighter ([i]i.e.[/i] if the game had had more time to cook) the difficulty could be ramped up more, but for now I'll say it strikes a decent balance between challenge and QOL. One final criticism is the fact that late game backtracking for 100% completion can be a real drag, due to the lack of conveniences such as fast travel between islands. It really feels like the game flows well in one direction but when you try to go extensively in the reverse, you can easily get frustrated (yet another symptom of rushed development?). So whenever I play this game I try to collect everything as I go, instead of planning to come back later. Still, I see the vision...the glimmer of the masterpiece that could've been. Would recommend to anyone looking a compact adventure with plenty of robust platforming and some excellent boss battles to boot.