Status QuilDewIvy Jan 16, 2020
MO: Astray - First Impressions
Don't believe the advertising, that's my first thing. Contrary to the steam store description, Mo: Astray is a very methodical puzzle platformer that tells its story slowly and environmentally over time rather than the heart pumping action platformer it kinda hints itself to be.
And honestly that's fine, but I wanted to get that out …
MO: Astray - First Impressions
Don't believe the advertising, that's my first thing. Contrary to the steam store description, Mo: Astray is a very methodical puzzle platformer that tells its story slowly and environmentally over time rather than the heart pumping action platformer it kinda hints itself to be.
And honestly that's fine, but I wanted to get that out of the way. As for the game itself, it's good. Nothing particularly special, you have solid foundation with platforming mechanics, the puzzles are very simple but require understandable use of your abilities (felt a bit of Ori vibes), and the story is VERY simple. It's your standard "ah what has science done" kind of thing, where the characters lose sight of their goal for progress and everything goes to shit.
So why is it good? Mostly because of the atmosphere. The art, music, and general presentation is oozing a very disturbing scifi ruin that I honestly found myself disturbed by from text blurb to text blurb. Every enemy you can possess (your main mechanic) has their last memories and a hint at what their role in the overall story is. And a lot of them are disturbing and creepy, with very effectual reveals over time. That's another strong suit MO: Astray has, it paces its entire story content out in environmental effects and story threads you put together yourself from whichever memories you choose to read, none of it forcefully. In that way, I found it very engaging.
I was reminded of Horace, weirdly. Good game overall, but nothing to do with the platforming itself as much as the atmosphere and aesthetic around it that more guided the game's design. Does it deserve its Overwhelmingly Positive reviews? Hardly, but i'm only about 1/3 into the game. And Steam's going to be like that with a plus/minus system not a score, so the best and most consistent "7/10" is going to make the top of the % charts.
Either way, I'm shelving it for now cuz I'd rather play more Baldr Sky and La-Mulana 2, but feel free to pick it up when it goes on sale!
