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Saira / Re: Just, amazing
« on: October 09, 2014, 07:58:18 »But the important part, the gameplay. I've been a fan of platform games since I played the first Prince of Persia baaack then and loved it. It was just the fun of making sharp and precise jumps, grabing ledges, watching how the Prince cheated death just by some centimeters, and while it wasn't mind blowing action and acrobatics, it was fun. Well, nowadays, is really hard to find platform games that give you that feeling. Most of them doesn't feel natural, or as precise, not even the popular Prince of Persia reboot for the PS2. Games like Assassin's Creed, which are about parkour and whatnot, while fun, they don't really nail that aspect (mostly because it's not what they want, but whatever). Mirror's Edge is one of the games I can say does exactly that. It requires a lot of skill, and when you do it right, it feels good. Well, this game does exactly that. It turns platforming, jumping, wall jumping and more, into something fun. Something that doesn't turn repetitive or boring. That's one of the reasons I could play the game without raging. There are some parts that are fairly hard, yet I could just shrug it off and keep playing. The platforming is really good. Is simple, is sharp, precise, is fun, fast. There's really nothing I can say here. It may seem silly to some to write a paragraph this big without actually saying nothing, but this is REALLY a big deal in this kind of game, because it's what keeps it fun.
I understand your point and agree completely. Given that, I can't recommend Knytt Stories enough. Nifflas' own levels are all fantastic and, after that, there are at least a few dozen inarguably brilliant user levels. It can be a bit of a hassle hunting for the best amongst all of them out there but it's easy enough to get recommendations, and those usually with download links included. There are some equally good, equally free, modded versions of KS aswell but I'm wary of burying you in recommendations.
I'm a big fan of nearly all Nifflas' other games aswell but I'll spare you any more evangelising There are a lot of different styles and genres of game so some people get disappointed rummaging through the back catalogue, just to warn you. The quality is always high but, inevitably, not every game is to the taste of every user.
Now, the other big part of the gameplay. The puzzles. I don't know if the whole photo system was made before, or something similar, in a game. But it was refreshing and great. I love puzzles games, and this game does it right. It has puzzles that make you think, yet don't involve pixel hunting or ridiculous hard things. And the whole "take a photo" aspect just gives the puzzles this bit of fresh air that they needed.
I'm not aware of any games that had used it at the time but there's a game called Snapshot by (amongst others) Kyle Pulver. Unfortunately, it appears that the demo's no longer available (though this was mostly a very long-winded way of saying that I think it was an original concept in Saira).
Anyway, I wrote a lot of stuff, sorry for whoever who has to read that (if anyone at all will). I'm sorry for this sloppy review, but I just had to say it somewhere. Is a real shame the game won't have more episodes of nothing like that, but I get that making a game isn't an easy task. I will, however, keep an eye on anything that may come from this developer, if any, I don't really know.
Short version. I loved the game. It' gameplay elements are perfect and it has a strong and unique personality, which makes the game for me. Kudos to the developer.
There was a period after the release of people, on a semi-regular basis, signing up to the forum to rant about how much they hated Saira and then disappear again. It was all a bit unpleasant, in no small part because most muppets with an anger-management problem choose to shout it from the rooftops, while very few satisfied players take the time share their opinions. As much now as it was then, it's a real pleasure to hear from on of the latter.