Derelict Star

Hey, Dev. Some of these sequences are torture. The one for under the sea, where you have to carry an emergency warp, was some of the most impossible sequences in my entire history of playing games. It didn't even take me that long, as the watcher took far longer. But by god. That felt borderline insurmountable. I don't even feel relief clearing it, I still have 3 more batteries to go. Good game.

I've never had a game demand I master every intricacy of a small set of mechanics in such a small package. It is like having normal mario levels and kaizo mario levels exist in a single small world. It is so mysterious and challenging, and each step forward feels like significant progress. 10/10 would spend 20 min trying to make a jump between 2 spikes again.

Wow, what a game! It's a exploration-based precision platformer and it asks a lot of the player, but I really enjoyed figuring it out and creating my own sense of accomplishment despite the ship not caring. Fundamentally you have a strange physics engine with precise (but mysterious) feedback, and all of your progression comes from understanding its nuances. It's a big game with lots to explore, and an impressive variety of puzzles and challenges given the seemingly small rule set. Some of the puzzles are incredibly elegant (I'm thinking of the green key rooms). Sometimes you will know what you need to do but spend 45 minutes grinding it out! I got all the power cells without any hints or assists, so I think the signposting is quite good in this game without being hand-holdy at all. Tip: I almost bailed on this once I reached my first power cell and realized what I would have to do in order to rescue it, but I think I actually came upon one of the hardest ones first. By the time I came back and set my mind to actually doing that one, I had gotten better enough that it wasn't that bad. I do firmly recommend getting all of the power cells to see all the game has to offer, but if something feels too hard you should explore elsewhere!

One of the best platformers in recent memory

One of the harder puzzle platforms ive played, but gave me a that fuzzy feeling that only Animal Well had given me so far. This game deserves to be much more popular

[b]Conquering Without Conquest[/b] The first thing to note about Derelict Star is just how nice this game tries to be. Every step of the way, the writer reminds you that this a game made out of love and for the fun of the game, and that the player should just quit if they don't feel like playing any further; that there is not grand narrative unfolding, and that you won't miss anything but the comfortable satisfaction of having conquered a particularly difficult task. You know what? Scratch that last line. Conquering is exactly what Derelict Star tries to avoid. There are no enemies to speak of, no spaceship to call your own, and nothing but a couple of batteries to find so that your small astronaut can get back to their home galaxy. That lack of urgency and of the very idea of conquest is what sets this game apart from other precision platformers like Celeste (which is all about conquering a mountain) or Getting Over It (which is about conquering yourself... I guess, I've never finished that one). [b]Managing Speed[/b] Luckily, Derelict Star has plenty of fun to offer. Everything is based on an intricate movement system that ties jump height and length to speed. The player must manage momentum, figure out increasingly complex routes and precisely control their speed to overcome sometimes extremely difficult challenges. Luckily - here, the theme of 'being nice' comes into play again - there are plenty of checkpoints to support the endless trials and errors of the prospective flyers. The most difficult challenges gate optional collectibles, and the game makes sure that you [i]understand[/i] that collecting those is just for fun... and uses this knowledge to push those challenges to the max. Alas, poor completionists, because some of those things look damn near unreachable. [b]Open Season[/b] Derelict Star's gamespace is open, which means that the player can explore the eponymous derelict construct on their own terms. Not all batteries, which are the game's main collectibles, have to be acquired, which I am very thankful for. Although Gate did his best to provide a fair experience, some of the later batteries are a bit overtuned and while those who vibe fully with the movement system will undoubtedly enjoy the challenge, I was good with collecting a couple and then dip into the very minimal outro - I still got my money's worth and then some. Sometimes, I wish the game would have pushed me a bit harder. Maybe I would have collected the last couple of batteries, if there would have been at least the approximation of a story beyond a couple of sardonic lines, of if there was a bit more to the system than "just" exploring one mechanic until the last drop is squeezed out of one and a half buttons. I mean, Gate certainly knows how to create atmosphere - the pixel art is pleasant, and the soundtrack downright gorgeous. [b]Someone's Favorite Game[/b] I am 100% sure that Delelict Star is someone's favorite game - it is assured of itself, very well crafted and knows exactly how to utilize a minimal moveset, and it scratches a particular itch to perfection. And even I - who did not vibe fully with the systems as they were presented to me - left satisfied, even if a bit disappointed with myself for succumbing to the game's niceness. Yeah, maybe I should conquer those last three batteries, but then again... that's not what this game is about, right? ...right?

The movement mechanics are really interesting and are introduced or suggested pretty naturally throughout the world. The sense of discovery when realizing some new movement trick is fun, then applying it to bypass some obstacle you got stumped by earlier is even better. Even in the later parts of the game I was still discovering new things. Really impressive depth and variety to the movement. I really liked the world design and sense of exploration trying to find new areas. Different regions emphasize different aspects of the controls and gameplay in neat ways. I had been worried the game might be too difficult or finnicky to make any progress after seeing a little bit of the gameplay, but it ended up being pretty approachable. Don't get me wrong: the game is difficult. There's just a reasonable difficulty curve and the hardest challenges are mostly optional. There's also enough checkpoints so you don't need to redo too many rooms or game segments. I can't overstate how much I liked this one, it's just great overall.

It reminds me of NPLUSPLUS momentum based movement, leap year's intuition style of exploration, Animal Well's puzzles, and Celeste's precision. Wonderfully simple. Good soundtrack as well.