What an unexpectedly lovely game. I was gifted it out of the blue and wanted to just check it for half an hour.

That was now 7+ hours of straight playing ago.

The game has lots of charme, and that charme is being used in a smart fashion to turn gameplay limitations into game strengths, I feel.

The gameplay itself is super solid and polished. I was surprised by how much fun the gliding / flying is – especially, near the end game when you've amped your skills.

And the music is just lovely and doesn't get annoying.

The island is quite jam-packed with content and feels genuinely big. And it has a well-crafted sense of verticality.

The game is short – I almost 100%'ed it without guide in these 7+ hours. But I actually prefer it that way, and therefore, see that point as a plus.

I have a few negatives, though:

* The plant sprouts that you're supposed to find and interact with are very, very tough to spot. Even if you're standing right in front of it, I've had a hard time seeing it. It would have helped if they had a border, different … more vibrant color, sparkle effect, animation or anything of that kind.

* A world so large that is all about exploration should totally have an in-game map. It doesn't have to be interactive (like, dynamically unlocked markers) – though, that would be a much appreciated bonus.

* The camera, how it sometimes wips around by ~90° at certain spots … it can be very disruptive. Especially, when flying.

All in all, very recommendable.

8.0 / 10