Koral Reviews

The idea is good and admirable, the execution is annoying and eye strain inducing (colors and use of light). The puzzles are either cramped or way too large an area, similarly the collectibles are either shoved in your face, hidden in rewarding places(yay!), or so far off the beaten path you question if the developers were trying to pad playtime. The controls are alright, or they would be if the games hitboxes were a little more forgiving. I got stuck in the rip currents too many times to make them pleasing, the ability to enjoy the ride is also hindered by the constant possibility of missing collectibles, which are facts about the ocean. A great concept, but the fact that they frequently reference the collectibles before them often means missing one throws the continuity off, and some are very missable. The puzzle aspect itself leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of potential on the table. Instead of using the landscape and its 2D style to help you solve the puzzles the foreground graphics often obstruct the players view and the levels are so convoluted, the excessive amount of backtracking gets even more annoying. The time limit introduced in chapter 8(?) is unneccessary in a game like this, the combination of it with the green plants had me quitting at the 4th attempt of beating the level, there is no fun to be had in swimming around at either mind numbingly slow or marlin speeds to figure out a puzzle that is basically all trial and error. This does feel and look like a love letter to the ocean, but it also actively wastes time. This could have been a player assisted visual journey with puzzle elements, and it would have been actually accessible. The game has the audacity to say it was specifically made to be accessible in sounds, visuals and gameplay and only requires one input at a time, which is straight up untrue. The bright colors as mentioned before are eye straining. The sound at times randomly cut off and the bright/shrill plings of the healing plants can be ear straining. Don`t get me started on the required hand eye coordination and tenacity to get through this game or the memorisation aspect of completing the puzzles.