izigame.me

I have mixed feelings on this game, but I don't want to be too harsh on it due to its small developer and scope. I don't think it's a great example of a retro-inspired platformer, but it's not a bad game either. I would have given it mixed rating if that were an option. My biggest gripe mostly stems from a few obtuse mechanics and level design choices, as well as some questionable controls. The story isn't really well told either.
When the game starts, it never really explains why the main character and their siblings ended up where they did. Some of the character motivations are not entirely clear either. There does seem to be some inkling of lore that's both dark and intriguing, but it's never really told or expanded on in any meaningful way, and it's mostly left for the player to theorize or deduce. The Encyclopedia is the primary source of lore that you gain access to, and it doesn't give up much information.
The camera can be a nightmare at times. I fought with it quite a bit, especially during trickier sections. It has a tendency to want to rotate around the character in the direction you're moving, which is fine or desirable in most situations, but if you're trying to do some side-scrolling platforming in a 3D space, it can be infuriating. It really needs to be contextual or have the ability to be shifted in mode.
The controls, especially when rolling, are not particularly precise or fun. You slow down when rolling up hills. You can get caught on ledges and fall when trying to climb and jump over them from vines. The double jump is an extremely slow and painful move to make. I could keep going, but the good news is most if not all the bad move-sets are made obsolete by the end of the game with the introduction of new abilities and ultimately the capacity to fly. Other peeves are that moving up/down and left/right through menus is done through TWO SEPARATE sticks, instead of all being tied to the singular directional pad or one stick, which is incredibly annoying and unintuitive. Backing out of the menu when holding an item makes you toss it. Making a non-standard random button for the text prompts but tying the back button to attack is baffling to me, as opposed to just making it a normal contextual select.
Finally, about half way through the game there's a bit of a difficulty spike. The game becomes incredibly obtuse with its level design and puzzles once you make it to the palace. The things you can do are poorly explained, and hints for puzzles are given in cryptic messaging. I was forced to look up a few solutions, and it was never clear to me how I was expect to discover that solution without just trying to brute force it.
Anyway, I will say the character design is good, the sound design is compelling and strangely nostalgic, and there are hints of good level and game design, It just didn't work for me as an entire whole. So I'm lukewarm at best on this.