DeVuego

Classical education standards aside, this is certainly a mixed bag, but a very interesting one, and I’m certainly very pleased to have played it. If they could have ditched the dullest puzzles for more of the smartest, and had that jump feel a little less awkward, I think it would have shone. But it still glimmers rather nicely, and for a price that makes it worth it.

n the end, the relationships between the children could have saved it all, but they’re just non-existent. It relies entirely on your nodding at the archetype and just agreeing that’s enough, and it clearly isn’t. The reliance on reading off a list of films and TV shows you saw in the 80s (and somewhat confusingly, often the 90s too) inducing a state of nostalgic bliss might work for some, but not for me. I wanted this game to do some heavy lifting too. That it ultimately collapses into a string of unpleasant platforming sequences that the core design simply can’t sustain means I grew to loathe Crossing Souls, once it entirely abandoned its redeeming features for everything it couldn’t get right.

This is the sort of game that makes my frustrated trawling through the Steam mire a worthwhile endeavour. Sweet, splendidly delivered, and a bargain for a game you’d not heard of until just now.

It’s such a shame, because a complete game would get a recommendation from me. It’s a troubling game in many ways, but without ever being overtly dickish about it. The hipflask is perhaps a little trite, but the grim undertone of its breezy and delightful animation makes for a splendid cognitive dissonance. There was one moment in there near the end that is certain to upset some people – for me it merely had me say “Oh my God” out loud, and then move on. I was far more offended by the whole thing being a wild goose chase ending with the words, “GET READY. THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.” Nope. It was the ending, and it was bloody annoying.

So it’s such a galling shame that the game lets itself down so badly. A collection of poor puzzles is frustrating (one in particular required me to email the developer to get past), but forgivable in this lovely daft genre. But not going anywhere – that’s not okay. This isn’t the first chapter, and doesn’t end with a “to be continued”. That’s it. The story, everything you’ve invested in over its ten or so hours, isn’t going anywhere. It announces what needs to be done to save the day, prepares your character with a process of self-realisation, establishes the plot threads that will lead to an eventual dénouement… and then stops.