I gotta make a thread and rec this game It's a colorful platformer game with an art style like layers of paper (and the areas you move in are on those layers), and the main game mechanic circles (hehe) around this octave of colors/notes: By pressing in the relevant directions, the bard sings different notes - and ducking down low means singing a lower octave, because, well. They're a little bit punny. You can run around turning flowers whatever color you're singing, knock leaves around, sing (and dance) in even many of the more serious cut scenes... And many of the puzzles require stringing together short song sequences (3+ notes) for various effects depending on the level. By default, there's flashing lights and whatnot, but the settings are pretty good about letting you turn those effects off. You can see examples of a lot of the effects in action here: the official site, along with a trailer that shows so many spoilery things I can't believe it. I played on the Switch, so it was one analog for movement and one analog for singing, and it's also on PS4 and PC/Mac - I'm not sure how they translate it on the keyboard. Maybe the number pad? Either way! A friend recommended it to me by saying the main character is like a cross between Steven Universe and Papyrus, and that the theme of the game is similarly somewhere in the neighborhood of SU and Undertale... And honestly? Kinda holds up. The bard's a silly singsongy guy who brightens the lives of the people around him, who sings his way through troubles and cares genuinely about complete strangers - in ways that can inspire them to start caring, too. Spoiler: Spoiler chat The game is cute and colorful, but it's also about preventing the end of the world. The very first scene of the game reveals it: the bard dreams of finding a sword that can only be wielded by the true hero, fails to wield it, and gets an apologetic rundown from an angel who thinks they're cute. That early scene doesn't really convey what The Hero is all about, but her first appearance - and the short section where we play as her - do pretty well. The bard is singing and caring and friendship, The Hero is a bright blade cutting ties and killing monsters and ending the world. Spoiler: and, while not quite like undertale (There is one alternate ending, where the bard's efforts fail, but you really won't stumble on it accidentally in your first playthrough or anything. It takes either playing through, or checking a guide how to get it. I haven't actually gone through with it yet, but... y'know. I'm the sort to at least try, and it's 'easy' to do. If heartbreaking.)
I edited the above post to fix a pronoun: word of god is that the bard is nonbinary, and fine with any pronouns. I'm gonna take care not to default to 'he'. I keep saying "the bard" rather than a name because you get the option to spell out their name - but not like, typing from a keyboard or anything. It keeps to the same style of all communication in this game, poking around the song wheel. So you choose a 4 letter name, 1 letter at a time, where there's 6-8 options of letters in each of the four. One of the available options is Bard. And, according to some of the commentary you can find around the game after beating it once, the 'official' name for the bard is Kiwi. While I am here, more things: - the dog-petting is not nearly as prevalent as in Undertale, and it's more an option to pet all the animals in a certain section of the game. - Once you've beaten the game, it unlocks 'scene select' so you can go back and replay from specific parts - The selection menu looks suspiciously like the Acts from Homestuck - There is an explicit, blatant Homestuck reference, though it's easy to skip - There's at least two times in the game where characters ask you to compose a song for them, and give you a time limit in which to hit whatever notes you're going for. It's not a lot of time, and it's tricky to get used enough to the controls to not only hit the notes you're aiming for, but hit them at the speed you want so it sounds good... but they'll remember the songs, and reuse them later. :D - Most people get stuck on this one part of the game, and when it was initially released on Steam I hear it was even worse? To the point that they did a little editing to it to make it easier? You will know it when you see it. And when it sees you. - I will upload screenshots of good parts later
Hey im still so swamped with school but this is next on my list to buy and play *v* Someday when I'm free hgrh but I'm hype for when that day comes!
