All of the adorable denizens you meet speak in mumbly Sims-like chatter but get their points across through wild gesticulation and the occasional visual aid. The folks at Amanita have mastered the art of storytelling through action and expression and it does tremendous work here. The story is another strong point building on these basic mechanics, a remarkable feat given that it is told entirely without dialogue. And then later in the game you'll get to pick specific critters on your team to do things, collect items to use in puzzles, and work through a few more nifty gimmicks. The scenes your clicks produce are so funny and heartwarming I doubt anyone will have a problem with relinquishing control for them. Instead, you can just click on little creatures to make them fly or yell or burp, and as long as you do it at the right time or in the right order or at all, you can make progress. Botanicula's world is strange and alien, and most of the puzzles wouldn't work at all if they required more exact input. These limitations actually serve to benefit the game, especially as the scope of the gameplay expands. You don't move your team directly, but rather click on arrows pointing to different areas. There's only left click (and on occasion mouse proximity has an effect) and only on specific points of interest like critters and items. As an adventure game there's very little player input, relatively speaking. What this actually means is you have five little dudes who roam around as a unit, following your clicks from screen to screen and interacting with the many living things of Botanicula's world. Struggling to stay one step ahead of their monstrous adversary, the critters journey through a colorful arboreal world in search of a new home and a fresh start. Some spidery thing showed up and started devouring it all with a sort of creeping darkness, and a small band of the aforementioned critters escape with the tree's last seed. Once upon a time there was a very nice tree, full of little bugs and sprouts and assorted critters. Botanicula is another notch in this merry belt, one that has no trouble juggling goofy vignettes with existential threats. From Samorost's kooky cosmic critters to the pleasant rustbuckets of Machinarium, their games exude pure happiness in the form of upbeat gibberish, uncomplicated puzzles, and positive themes no matter how dark individual moments may get. Amanita Design is one of those developers that I love to death, and in their case it's because all of their games are so unrelentingly joyful.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |