As keen as this looks, I'm not sure if I could get into it. Nothing about the protagonist or setting is relatable to be. My early 20s were a whole lot of nothing, and my hometown, while small and rural, wasn't this small and rural.
"Disquieted" perfectly describes my reaction to the abundance of games employing nostalgic elements. Without actually playing a game, determining whether it's exploiting nostalgia or attempting to emulate what made older games fun is hard. They force me to ask "Am I being pandered to? Or does this game 'get it'?"
Many of those games don't seem to "get it," and I think their existence is a big part of the anti-nostalgic sentiment I see from (presumably younger) people online. Because as Mike says, being good is as important to a game becoming nostalgic as existing at the right time in someone's youth. And if a person's only exposure to the elements common in nostalgic games comes from bad throwbacks and cash-ins, as opposed to the good older games themselves, then I can see how that person can dismiss older games (and older game enthusiasts).
Thanks for making think about something I thought I thought enough about. :)
Neato! I liked the lengthier levels in Super Meat Boy. They gave you room to really get going. This looks like it's got that going for it in every level.
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