First off, I've never been a fan of "furries" or the whole "big eye" art direction of some eastern animation studios. I loved Don Bluth animated features such as An American Tail or The Secret of Nimh as a child and can totally get behind an awesome 2d platform "Metroidvania" whatever as much as the next guy, so why does everything I see for this game give me the heebie-jeebies? I'm still going to give it a fair shake and hopefully the story can engage me before the art direction turns me off completely. Fingers crossed.

Yeah, kinda. Part of it is the same thing that I don't like about most animated things today in that it looks too "clean." Old cartoons looked dark and gritty. I like that.

Edit: Also, I should say that when I say "gritty," I mean literal grit. Like dirt.

Going by the comments on the quick look, no you're probably not the only one. But I don't care personally, excited to play it.

Not going to lie, they kind of remind me of furries.

Beautiful art and incredible animation, buy yes, the character design gives me the creeps. I'm glad it wasn't just me.

Yeah I'm kind of on the fence. The character art is great but does give off that "furry" vibe while I love the rest of the art. My xbox is broken so I wont be playing anyway :(

Mostly weird people or people that are trying to dislike any game are bringing it up. It's not my preferred taste in art styles, but it is ridiculous to lambast a game for that alone. From what I've played, I've enjoyed it. The art style doesn't matter that much in the end as it is a beautiful game in motion.

yeah, I'm getting a strong fuck-off furry vibe from the art style. It's distasteful, to say the least.

The fact that I haven't heard anything about this game other than people bitching about furries just makes me chuckle.

@Phatmac said:

Mostly weird people or people that are trying to dislike any game are bringing it up. It's not my preferred taste in art styles, but it is ridiculous to lambast a game for that alone. From what I've played, I've enjoyed it. The art style doesn't matter that much in the end as it is a beautiful game in motion.

The game looks awesome. I'm likely going to pick it up. I don't think anyone is trying to lambast this game. We're just taking note of the odd character design choice that's hard not to point out.

I wish deeply that I had no idea what a furry was. Blame the internet, not us.

@Kyotsu said:

The fact that I haven't heard anything about this game other than people bitching about furries just makes me chuckle.

*looks at avatar*

HAH!

I'm confused i thought furries were animals that are sexualized.

I've been playing the game and there is nothing like that, that i've seen.

I find everything about the game stunning. The backdrops, the UI, the item icons, everything.

Except the characters. I've always found bestial ears or eyes on a clearly humanoid creature very off-putting. The fox character (Fidget, I believe) has the body type of a healthy, young, human woman with the voice of a four year-old girl. I understand this is a stylistic choice and one that doesn't stem from any desire to sexualize animals or promote bestiality or pedophilia, and instead is a reflection of a unique artistic direction. But even that understanding doesn't lessen the distaste I have for modern Eastern animation.

Great art style, interesting game.
 
Shame about all the people that have played as Sly Racoon, random bald space marine, cyborgs, minotaurs, Orcs, Elves or Dwarves are suddenly against being whatever the main character is.
 
Bloody logic, right there.

Thanks for articulating what I couldn't quite grasp what I had a problem with. The animations and voice acting are pretty solid though (possibly apart from that flying fox thing, heard that type of sidekick voice in a bahzillion diifferent animes and its always annoying)

I dunno, an art style that you really don't like can kind of break a game. I mean, you're looking at it for a significant chunk of time. I don't think it'll stop me playing it but my initial reaction in the first few minutes of the QL was 'Uh oh, furry bait' but the rest of it seemed fine and the music really struck me. So, yes it is only one facet of it but there are going to be people who can't get past it.

I think everything but the characters looks great, but the "furry" character design is a major turn off.

@zombie2011: The style of furry art (about 90% of what you would find on deviantart) is just like this, but with sexualization.

@Mahonay said:

@Kyotsu said:

The fact that I haven't heard anything about this game other than people bitching about furries just makes me chuckle.

*looks at avatar*

HAH!

lol

As for myself, If I wanted to play the game, the art wouldn't stop me.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

Great art style, interesting game. Shame about all the people that have played as Sly Racoon, random bald space marine, cyborgs, minotaurs, Orcs, Elves or Dwarves are suddenly against being whatever the main character is. Bloody logic, right there.

I think it's less that there are animals more that the fucking Vixen has breasts. It's a goddamn vixen, why does it have fucking breats?

Also anime eyes.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

Great art style, interesting game. Shame about all the people that have played as Sly Racoon, random bald space marine, cyborgs, minotaurs, Orcs, Elves or Dwarves are suddenly against being whatever the main character is. Bloody logic, right there.

Oh come on, that's just dishonest. We all know the real reason.

People don't want to be caught playing this game by someone who knows what furries are.

It's really only the faces that weird me out. The animation itself is excellent.

@zombie2011: Not all furry art is sexual. This stuff is strongly reminiscent of a large portion of the art that comes out of that community/culture/thing.

Did you not read the video comments? About half of them are saying how creepy it is. I love the look. Reminds me of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. It's nice to have bright games like these in the midst of all the brown, apocalyptic shit that ever AAA title has to have.

it's the hips on the flying cat thing where it crosses the line for me

I have no problem with furries or anthro art styles or talking animals or whatever you want to label anything. No problem whatsoever; the art in this game still sort of irks me. Not because of what it is, but because of how it looks.

I just don't think it's very good anthro art. But to each their own, I guess.

It was drawn by furries from Deviantart (redundant, I know).

Of course it looks bad.

@mabber36 said:

it's the hips on the flying cat thing where it crosses the line for me

Are they child bearing hips?

The fact that the flying fox thing isn't wearing clothes might have something to do with it too.

I love it. I think it looks wonderfully well done (artistically and mechanically). I'm not so immature as to stoop to the whole "furry" thing. I just hope that it makes its way to steam eventually.

I dunno, I think it looks neat. It's a shame that the art style alone is enough to drive some people away from what looks like a pretty decent game, but it is what it is I guess.

I just can not believe the amount of hatred towards anthropomorphism in this community. I literally can't wrap my head around it =| .. like, actively hating on a harmless quality. Why? The game was done extensively by a single, extremely talented guy and he was able to portray the world he wanted to. So.. Personally, I am part of the furry community and I'm open to questions. Before you hate, remember that there are -plenty- of games all throughout history that involve anthropomorphic animals.

The game looks brilliant, the internet has just ruined all of your once innocent minds.

Really doesn't bother me beyond Fidget looking a little like a neo pet and some of the dudes having eyes that are way to shiny. I prefer my furry dudes not having strange colors like teal and looking a bit more animal like, such as Star Fox or Sly cooper. Really though a lot of the little touches made the game look very nice,

This art style's furries is to disney furries as Deathsmiles, disgea's or Katawa Shoujo's anime characters are to Final Fantasy or SMT's anime characters.

Yep, don't like the art design at all.

@TaliciaDragonsong: It's the big, goofy, hyper-glossy eyes more than anything else, that bug me.

@Roxxy: Furry=Anthropomorphism, Anthropomorphism!=Furry.

I think the hate is aimed more at how generic the art is, and frankly it looks pretty amateurish as well.

Kind of like how in anime, most things Moe look like the exact same shit.

I don't really care too much about the "furry" aspect of it; whatever, live and let live.

But I hate anime-style design, like HATE it, and this game is influenced enough in that direction that it bugs me.

Whatever though, it still looks rad, I'll pick it up whenever it hits Steam. I can play a game with bad graphics, so no reason I can't play a game with great graphics but an unpleasant art style.

I have seen things on the internet that make me instantly dislike any art style like this. So no I can't get past it. Not saying the game is bad, I have no idea, just personally I can't get past that.

Did I think "furry" when I first saw it? Yes, I won't deny that I immediately did, but it seems like nothing more than a stylistic choice and not one made for fetishistic purposes (though twenty bucks says that Rule 34 has been in play even before the game's release).

Will I play it? Possibly. Color me interested, it looks fun and worthwhile, though I can tell you right now that the dungeon where Brad entered a door, then walked five feet over and entered another, did it again and again, etc., looks like a nightmare to navigate. Anyway, the initial furry look of everything only bothered me at first but I don't think it will now, the anime eyes won't bother me much either. The only thing that might bother me is the annoying four-year old voice that the tiny flying fox had, but it wasn't that bad.

@GnomeonFire said:

@Roxxy: Furry=Anthropomorphism, Anthropomorphism!=Furry.

I think the hate is aimed more at how generic the art is, and frankly it looks pretty amateurish as well.

Kind of like how in anime, most things Moe look like the exact same shit.

It's LITERALLY made by a furry from Deviantart.

You can FIND THEIR PROFILES.

I love everything about it, except the character designs.

@Terramagi said:

@GnomeonFire said:

@Roxxy: Furry=Anthropomorphism, Anthropomorphism!=Furry.

I think the hate is aimed more at how generic the art is, and frankly it looks pretty amateurish as well.

Kind of like how in anime, most things Moe look like the exact same shit.

It's LITERALLY made by a furry from Deviantart.

You can FIND THEIR PROFILES.

Yeah, it's pretty straight forward that this is furry art. I was just pointing out that the hate here isn't about anthropoblahblahblah, but at furry art.

I forgot to make the obvious joke, so... *clear throat* "Is anyone else turned on by the art design of this game?"

Jokes aside, its kinda sad that people are making a big deal about this. Yes the creator is a furry and he has been working on the world this game is set in since 2000. You have to give a lot of credit to the guy for following his dreams and doing everything pretty much on his own. Also, stop hating on him for being on DA. He just wanted to share his art. People didn't give Team Meat a bunch of shit for Super Meat Boy even though it was a flash game from newgrounds. Hate furries all you want, but the way people are reacting to this game is just sad.

@GenocidalKitten said:

@TaliciaDragonsong: Yeah, it's definitely a thing of opinion, I think that there isn't really a ton of logic behind why people find this particular game to be creepy.

It's furry art. That's why it's creepy. It's a pretty straightforward reason.

I didn't think about furries before you said anything. I thought the aesthetic looked really cool.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

@GenocidalKitten: Well, considering the replies here and the ones on the video I thought it to be fair to speak my heart on the matter as well. Its just silly to see how people play as the strangest things and never question it, but somehow this is furry? And furry is bad in what way? If we're talking about how the game does it? Don't get me wrong, I've nothing with talking animals or furry thingies or whatever, but unless I'm missing something major I just fail to see what's so 'bad' about the art style.. To each their own, for sure, but I was curious.

Everyone will have their own opinion on the art style, and taste/perception is not something that can always be logically reasoned with or figured out. I don't particularly like the art style because I find it far too reminiscent of the style used by people all over deviantArt and similar places on the internet. There's normal stuff in this style, and there's weird sexualised stuff in this style. I'm a fan of neither. I'm sure the game artist's intentions were far from those of the deviantArt artists, but that connection is there and inescapable.

@Kyotsu said:

People didn't give Team Meat a bunch of shit for Super Meat Boy even though it was a flash game from newgrounds. Hate furries all you want, but the way people are reacting to this game is just sad.

Of course they didn't, because that wouldn't make any sense? That comparison doesn't apply here at all.

I'm not that into it either.  I think it's mostly the color palette for me though.  A little too pastel-y for my tastes, but I suppose it has to look different somehow and that's the direction they took.