This is a really good write-up. If it had been playtested etc. such that it wasn't so buggy, would that change your opinion that the a game is still the wrong medium for the story told? Or do you think the tonal shifts of the minigames are still too off-putting?
It's hard to say. The bugginess was certainly a factor, but I felt as though the actual gameplay involved was simply poor. Like if you were playing tetris; but every move you make has a 1.5 second delay from when you input; or if you're playing mario, but his jump only works 3/4 of the time. I think it would go beyond QA'ing out bugs, it would need a complete overhaul of the gameplay systems driving the game as a whole. The tonal shifts could work, but it was definitely the playability which hindered the experience.
I had more or less the same experience. I wasn't as bothered by the religion, since it's their struggle and people often turn to God or some other higher power for comfort and understanding in times like these. I'm not religious either but I don't fault them for expressing that, since it is their personal story.
However, the gameplay aspect left a lot to be desired. The Mario Kart-esque section you mentioned is weird and jarring, like it just floats along on rails without much control over you. The bit where you actually confront the dragon in the video game sequence was completely broken for me, I fell through the level several times and had to restart to get it working properly.
It was mostly effective, but there were times where I was hung up on the technical aspects of the experience, rather than giving myself over wholly to the emotions that were being laid out. It's unfortunate.
The bit you censored was a section that I had immense trouble with, in much the same way. One of the other sections that I had a bunch of issues with was the Don't Drown Section (Swimming Underwater). For some reason, that broke for me 3 different times, in 3 different ways. The technical issues ended up affecting my experience more than anything else.
And, as you mentioned, I think it's totally fair - it is their story, and they can tell it however they want. I just feel like it crossed over from telling their story, to telling everyone to see the same way they did. That was my main issue from those sections. I certainly don't fault them for reaching the conclusions they did, nor for seeking help in that sense.
It is really a strange dichotomy with this game. It is a fascinating, well-told story; but just too many issues to recommend. I feel this is an experience where if I'd simply been watching instead of playing, I'd have gotten far more out of it.
I just want to make a counterpoint to the Review for Owlboy that's highlighted here. I reviewed it also, and have the exact opposite opinion that he did =)
I have to say, this is like a D-tier game. It kind of seems like a college experiment, but fleshed out a little bit too much. Shame, I like all of the people at No Goblin =(
So sad, this game seemed like it easily could have been a 5* game if some other design choices were made. Thank you for the well-worded and thorough review, Dan.
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