Exo One (2021)

super vibey game that has some really high highs. capsule thoughts are monkeyball + returnal + thumper. a couple stray thoughts here:

• really interesting to me that 2021 gives us Returnal and this game, both with really interesting 'space incident' vibes. makes me wonder what was in the air.
• there's a level where the mechanics become somewhat inverted and i think that's been my favorite of the bunch because of what a simple twist it was and how it really flexes your familiarity with the controls.
• i think they could do a better job explaining the controls, tbh, but when you get them you really feel like you're in lock step with the game. still, the tutorialization and introduction is a little rough.
• the game is incredibly engrossing. even though i was playing it on a steamdeck, i still caught myself white knuckling a few areas.
• i triggered a few cases where i'd hit the tower for the end of the level and just couldn't roll up it or trigger its animation unless i restarted the level
• like returnal, each flashback, even momentary ones, pull you out of the game just a little bit and i can see now why returnal moves these to actual specific spots in its gameplay.
• the 2001 slit scan stuff never gets old for me
• when i get hits of the soundtrack it's great but it usually feels really sparse to me
• the energy stuff feels a bit opaque, probably in line with the tutorializing i mentioned earlier.
• the game introduces levels that have more specific mission objectives and some i think feel better than others.
• likewise, i think some maps/biomes are way more successful than others even just in how they transition from easy challenges to challenges you know require some level of skill to attain. sometimes you hit a spot of the biome it feels you weren't supposed to end up at and it feels really disorienting.
• the approach to voiceover / captioning is really interesting, it works with the game and feels extremely intentional.

still, super fun, and i think there's a lot of small touches in this game that make the game feel really polished that i think are super instructive if you're into game design or looking for ways to interleave narrative with pure gameplay.

Exo One is one sale for £4 on Steam at the moment! Been on my wishlist for a while so picked it up straight away. Really like the controls, diving and rolling down hills as an ominous sphere and then launching into the sky to glide feels awesome.

It's one of those games that's a complete change of pace, and for me at least is very reminiscent of those obscure PS1 and PS2 titles you used to get like Vib-Ribbon and Rez. No real goal or objective constantly being pushed on you, just exploration with a slight rhythm game feel to it but in the most relaxed and organic way possible.

Definitely not as deep as its obvious inspiration, Journey. Still, the movement is really fluid and fun during most of the 2 hours that it takes to beat the game.

I was genuinely amazed by the graphics during key moments, quite good considering the dev team is like 5 dudes.

It's more of a 3-star kind of game, but I absolutely love Journey so anything remotely similar will get extra points from me. It was also included in Game Pass, so the price couldn't be better :)