▲ Recommended
3 hrs
I feel a little sorry for Cotton Game, they consistently make puzzle games of similar quality, and yet their audience seems to come and go at random, with seemingly unpredictable results. They often undervalue their games, too cheap for what they offer and how well animated they are, always giving good emotional bang for the dollar. Now, they had a few misses with the adventure games before, but I think it was a different developer they publish (not sure if they are completely different team, or maybe another project lead), but this one was actually very good, no huge complaints from me.
The game does not start in English by default (classic), you can change it in the settings, press on the gear looking icon, and the word on the very bottom. I would think they would color code it with flags by now.
Unlike their ISOLAND series this game does have a moving character, and yet it actually plays about the same as ISOLAND4, it's fast and has some nice quality of life features like teleporting between the rooms and making notes on the screen. This developer has a tendency to overkill on the mechanical puzzles sometimes, there are a lot of logic mini-games, they are not too difficult, but they can occasionally slow the game down. This game might take about 2.5 to 3.5 hours blind, with a very touching ending I must say, actually reminded me of their Elevator game which is one of my favorites from the developer.
The puzzle gameplay and exploration flow pretty well for the most part, the only complaint I have is the consistency issue with the feedback they have for interactions, the game seems to highlight some areas and quests, but not all of them. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, and assume where the item goes because there may not be any indication for it. I assume they didn't want the game to be too easy and spell out every puzzle for you, but I just find it confusing because they will highlight what items some characters want, but not all of the characters.
(+) Cotton games are generally well animated, this one even more so, lots of cool looking characters and fun puzzle feedback. The character is also very fast and responsive. Love those backgrounds and the notebook too.
(+) Another good narrative from the developer, with a touching ending. Reminded me a little of their Elevator game. So sad...
(+) Reasonably challenging logic puzzles, god knows Cotton Game loves their logic puzzles, but it provides nice features like room teleporting and drawing on the screen.
(+) Decent achievement/collection support.
- It annoys me that this game will show required items for some characters, but not all of them, and the same goes for some interactive areas, it's like the game cherry-picks what you are allowed to look at, sometimes I mistake things for props, or I assume the character does not have a quest. I don't really care if it would make the game easier, I think you should consistently use feedback and bubbles for everything that you can touch or talk to.
(It's not as big of an issues as I make it sound, maybe 10% of the game, but ehh)
- There are several puzzles that will make you backtrack a lot, and I think a few of those is fine, but man, some of the hints in this game very easy to miss or mistake for props.
Overall Thoughts: 8/10
Cotton Games are usually very similar in terms of gameplay and what you get out of them in terms of story, but I thought this one was above average within their catalog, top 3 I would say, mostly because the animation and backgrounds are so nice, even a lot of detail for the notebook. Nice streamlined puzzle game overall, can be a little difficult, but I really liked the ending.
The game does not start in English by default (classic), you can change it in the settings, press on the gear looking icon, and the word on the very bottom. I would think they would color code it with flags by now.
Unlike their ISOLAND series this game does have a moving character, and yet it actually plays about the same as ISOLAND4, it's fast and has some nice quality of life features like teleporting between the rooms and making notes on the screen. This developer has a tendency to overkill on the mechanical puzzles sometimes, there are a lot of logic mini-games, they are not too difficult, but they can occasionally slow the game down. This game might take about 2.5 to 3.5 hours blind, with a very touching ending I must say, actually reminded me of their Elevator game which is one of my favorites from the developer.
The puzzle gameplay and exploration flow pretty well for the most part, the only complaint I have is the consistency issue with the feedback they have for interactions, the game seems to highlight some areas and quests, but not all of them. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, and assume where the item goes because there may not be any indication for it. I assume they didn't want the game to be too easy and spell out every puzzle for you, but I just find it confusing because they will highlight what items some characters want, but not all of the characters.
Pros:
(+) Cotton games are generally well animated, this one even more so, lots of cool looking characters and fun puzzle feedback. The character is also very fast and responsive. Love those backgrounds and the notebook too.
(+) Another good narrative from the developer, with a touching ending. Reminded me a little of their Elevator game. So sad...
(+) Reasonably challenging logic puzzles, god knows Cotton Game loves their logic puzzles, but it provides nice features like room teleporting and drawing on the screen.
(+) Decent achievement/collection support.
Feedback:
- It annoys me that this game will show required items for some characters, but not all of them, and the same goes for some interactive areas, it's like the game cherry-picks what you are allowed to look at, sometimes I mistake things for props, or I assume the character does not have a quest. I don't really care if it would make the game easier, I think you should consistently use feedback and bubbles for everything that you can touch or talk to.
(It's not as big of an issues as I make it sound, maybe 10% of the game, but ehh)
- There are several puzzles that will make you backtrack a lot, and I think a few of those is fine, but man, some of the hints in this game very easy to miss or mistake for props.
Overall Thoughts: 8/10
Cotton Games are usually very similar in terms of gameplay and what you get out of them in terms of story, but I thought this one was above average within their catalog, top 3 I would say, mostly because the animation and backgrounds are so nice, even a lot of detail for the notebook. Nice streamlined puzzle game overall, can be a little difficult, but I really liked the ending.
Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/
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