Exellent game, plays like a dream, stunning art and animation (i felt bad for the sweet creatures i tackled to progress).

The level design felt natural to play, like a gently guiding hand and the map was an excellent source of guidance whenever I wasn't confident in my wondering. I really like how in order to obtain the next ability, you must first demonstrate increasing proficiency with the prior abilities, with the health increases a thoughful reward for thorough exploration or the completion of an extra challenge. 

From the moment I woke up, the tutorial controls UI was seamless and didn't stick out, adapting for both controller and keyboard, even if I switched mid session. The subtle reveal of map areas as I explored was so neatly executed that I barely noticed the adapting map UI until towards the end. The quick snap of the refill on the hover indicator the moment I touched the ground was exactly what I needed to figure out some of the platforming towards the middle of the game.

I liked that even in this shorter experience, I had the classic, satisfying metroidvania moment of returning to the tutorial level to collect the trinket hidden on the first screen. The respawn placements were thoughtfully placed and I never felt like I was unjustly penalised for my bad habit of sometimes facetanking enemies when I shouldn't.

The boss fight at the end was a brilliant, timed test of everything I had learned so far, as well as being exciting climactic fun, and ties up the story brilliantly. The game usually lets you explore at your own pace, so this was an excellent way to challenge the player to fight groups of enemies in ways and a pace that they weren't necessarily doing beforehand.

Enemies were varied and interesting, I liked how my initial horizontal attack left me unready to defeat the later enemies, so I had to focus on avoiding them in the meantime. The twists of "oh, they fly now" and the diagonal shooting mushrooms were seamlessly integrated yet surprising when encountered.

Story was well crafted through text reveals including during upgrade screens, I had this steady "oh no" feeling as I learned how the crisis unfolded with my increasingly unstoppable nature mirroring that of the other unseen robots. I think it's really cool how you get a choice at the end.

The music was incredible throughout, I particularly loved the rush I'd get when battle starts. I hope there's a soundtrack release at some point, because I'd definitely add the themes to my playlists.

The sound design really shone. In combat, the crunchy hits and the slices added fluidity to the feeling of the attacks. The voicing of the robot ensouled it from the moment it took a breath as it started up. Combined with the whirs, buzzes and shimmers, I really feel in the presence of a living, mechanical, magical being without any of the concepts outcompeting the others. The little steps each different surface, the surprised murmur of the mushroom waking up, the wiggle of the insects as they stride! (I could go on, but I'm forcing myself to move on from each category as there is so much to say, I could write a whole review on each aspect I dedicate a paragraph to)

The art is stellar, so much personality in each different creature. The rays of light glinting inbetween the tangled parallax trees that weave before you, with hanging vines funky rocks. Waking up in a facility where everything is sturdy, mechanical and built to last, yet deeply worn and thrashed regardless. woah. Also the final boss, woah. The animations on the transformation sequence, exquisite.

I noticed at times a shift in lighting indicating an iminent change in area even before the background, walls, platforms and music all shift as well, feeling like I'm climbing into a little tunnel between dense foliage in the woods.

With a few more frames inbetween some of the movement animations (and a distinct texture for the flower to fragment into when defeated), this game would feel indistinguishable from the demo of a larger game that had been steadily crafted over the course of years. Neither of these points I raise are reasonable things to point out about a game that was in development for only a month, as animation is absurdly time-consuming. I mention this only because it is difficult to critique this game as if it were a jam project, because it feels too complete, too adeptly, cohesively constructed to be judged on that scale.

This game was a joy to play, it felt robust and fluid, it felt polished, it was beautiful, and I'm both sad it's over and envious of the me who got to play this for the first time a few hours ago. Thank you all for bringing this game to us.