Abi and the soul Reviews

I tried. I tried so hard to give this game a chance. This is the SLOWEST "puzzle platformer" I have ever seen. I was aware that I was purchasing a game for an age demographic well below my own, but this is basically unplayable. The maps are massive, several mechanics are busted, and you move painfully slow. Visuals: - The world is lifeless. The few animals you do encounter are odd. The rabbits were nice though. - Character faces don't move; makes them look creepy. - Level 1 was nice and bright. Level 2 and 3 were so dark you couldn't see. 1 tiny ball of light following you around is not enough. Made the last level extremely difficult (Move the Soul forward a few feet, switch back, follow it, repeat.) Movement: - Everything is painfully SLOW: walking, flying, climbing, and don't get me started on the horizontal climbing speed. - We're taught in the first level that climbing vines doesn't work. Then we are made to climb vines in the final level? Also, I wasn't allowed any horizontal movement on the vines. In order to progress I had to climb up with the Soul following me, climb down so I would actually stand on the Soul (it has collision), and then jump off of it to the ledge. - Unforgiving; Respawn points are far apart. One small misstep leads to a lot of frustration. - Ledges are busted. Jump too late and you climb down over the ledge, or you just slip and fall. Jump too early and you don't make it far enough. Rage quit the 3rd and final level after that + the far respawn point. Tutorial/Story/Guidance: - Interesting start: Wake up on a beach, follow the little, blue ball of light. - Tutorials include: How to jump, How to climb rungs and shimmy back and forth, how to swap between Abi and the Soul, how to fly up and down with the soul, how to tell the difference between real platforms and fake platforms, how to climb down from rungs, and how to interact with the end of the level. - Tutorials NOT included: How to use the "pressure" plates for Abi or the Soul. I reloaded the first level 4 times before I figured it out by trial and error. (I REALLY wanted to give this game the benefit of the doubt, and it punished me for it.) - The only "puzzle" in this game is figuring out which direction to go in the dark areas. - Memory sections tell an extremely simple (and possibly triggering) story, with a little twist that I did not get to see flushed out because I didn't finish the final level. - From the description: "Undoubtedly a story of love and fantastic friendship..." I have seen NONE of that. No dialogue, no emotion, no character development, and barely any interaction between the two. Like I said, I really tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt. I was not rewarded for it.