PS2 Backlog Committee

The first of the 4/5s! Not sure that one is for me, but I applaud the oddity/charm.

canedaddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 04, 2025 9:17 am The first of the 4/5s! Not sure that one is for me, but I applaud the oddity/charm.

Yeah, you need to be a bit of an oddity yourself, perhaps, to enjoy certain things. But yeah, 22 games for me in 2024 that, at least in my own estimation, I'd call very good to great. Pretty good year, and that's without counting the replays that I already loved.

#21 Fibrillation HD (PC - 2012/2017 - 2 separate releases it seems, presumably for the regular and then HD versions) 4/5 (Playtime 2.8 hours)




The nature of experience - where does it originate, and what does it mean? If you are the type who doesn't simply accept things at face value, if you are a curious person who questions everything, you may have considered that it is really impossible to know exactly WHAT it is that we are aware of as well as the WHY of it all, if indeed there even is an answer to that question. There are literally endless possible interpretations, and, surely, most are content with simply residing in what currently IS without too much mental labor over those mysteries, which is, of course, perfectly fine. And as for myself, I feel that the only thing that can truly ever be KNOWN is present moment experience. All else is conjecture. What is, IS and that's all we'll ever be able to state definitively, no matter the contents of experience. All else rests on shaky and unprovable ground…in mystery. With the uncertainty regarding the hypothetical "bedrock" of experience, we may find ourselves in an existential crisis over the terror of the unknown...the unknowable. Take a game called Fibrillation HD that serves as a wonderful example of that sensation.

We embody a being called Ewan Berrington, a name that comes along with precious little exposition in this minimalist narrative affair. As things begin, you find yourself in an open landscape with rubble in your view ahead that miraculously comes together into the shape of a tower with a door at the bottom. As we approach the light-filled entrance, we hear sirens, a suggestion of some connection to what most of us would call the “real world”. Coupled with the very name of the game, it is easy to draw some conclusions about the nature of this experience and place. As we move through this otherworld, we encounter a variety of strange structures and landscapes. There are often abstract, hulking, twisting, irrational, and sometimes MC Escher-like environments that suggest a surreal and disorienting space only very loosely related to the "real" world. The question is, where exactly are we? The practical method of progression involves finding and collecting glowing orange cubes that fit into recessed spaces within certain doorways. Along with this aspect, there are a number of bizarre and hostile creatures that clearly despise your presence in this place and chase you when you are seen. These encounters, accompanied by distant and sometimes heavy thudding footsteps or odd mechanical screeching of some alien beings, really added an excellent layer of tension and atmosphere. Coupled with the general mood of this incomprehensible, cavernous, echoing, and moaning place, the overall setting was wonderfully immersive, and I found myself on the edge of my seat due to the general tone as well as the sometimes uncertain course of navigation. There were also times when you would be pursued by some of these beings, and there were numerous instances of precarious platforms that gave way to bottomless pits, and as you sprinted for safety, it was very easy to slide off into the abyss. I'm usually not a fan of first-person platforming. It rarely works well in my view. Falling off edges is very easy without having the visual sense of your actual connection to your character's feet or their placement on the ground beneath. I fell a good number of times, even when unhurried, as the often narrow pathways just seemed to give way as I was unable to maintain the proper course. And to make things worse, when you are rushed as you are being pursued by enemies with no option to fight back, you end up racing for safety along narrow stairs and ledges with the already iffy perspective for such navigation. But on the flip side of that, I have to acknowledge that the tension added by the uncertain sense of footing really amplified the anxiety in a pleasantly unpleasant way, lol. It made your movements impactful, both when being chased and even when not. Despite my general dislike for this aspect of navigation, it worked here because of the way it was used contextually to amp up the stress. The pursuit levels don't make up the bulk of the game either, to be fair, and there is plenty of navigation where it's just about finding your way without the added stress of evasion.

Fibrillation wasn't a very long game, clocking in for me at just under three hours for the eighteen levels. But I found every (special blue) key, which opened up a bonus 19th level as well as 5 of the 9 secret areas. It was nice to get the better ending vs. the alternative . This is a game that succeeds predominantly on mood and setting, and the overall atmosphere was so well done and interesting that it kept me very invested throughout. If you enjoy the surreal and abstract and don't mind the feeling of uncertainty and the potential terror that comes from the unknown, this is a game that is easy to recommend. There is persistent tension and disorientation, and I love that sense of unease. Good stuff. 4/5

#20 Kraken Academy!! (PC - 2021) 4/5 (Playtime 7.5 hours)



Digging through my Steam backlog in 2024 and looking for something to play, I happened upon a game called Kraken Academy from 2021. The game opens with your mother driving you and your sister Nadia away to a boarding school of the same name, presumably to rid herself of these “burdens” so she can get her unencumbered drink or milfing on. It's not long before things get quite strange as we find this school has some mysteries to uncover along with a dark past, and as the protagonist, it will be your job to sort things out. You are tasked with freeing certain school spirits that have been trapped within different students bodies, and there are four total who are spread across the school's four clubs: Music (to which the protagonist belongs), Drama, Sports, and the Art Club. Shortly after the opening, you discover that there is a kraken living in a lake on the school grounds, and he tasks you as his “disciple” while giving you an amulet that allows you to rewind time. You are stuck in a 3-day loop, a la Majora's Mask, until you can sort all this mess out and restore order to the school. You can rewind time to the beginning of the cycle via the magical amulet, but all the character interactions and threads you've cultivated on that particular loop will be forgotten, although you'll keep all items you've discovered. You can also fast forward time in chosen increments by sleeping in your room, a room that you can decorate with purchased furniture and items, or by talking to your mother on one of several phone booths. But if you let time run out, you will witness the “end” of the world, like the moon crashing down on Termina in Majora's Mask. There's no real pressure, though, as spinning the hands of time in reverse is always just a button press away. So you're free to explore the world and all its time-dependent events at your own pace, despite the apparent time “constraints”. Essentially you tackle the four main quests assigned to the four trapped spirits in piecemeal fashion before returning for another round while also completing any side quests you discover along the way. There are also plenty of different individuals with whom to interact, and they've all got distinct and memorable personalities and idiosyncrasies, even if they're not particularly deep. You can make friends with many of these characters, and in doing so earn a “friend badge” which is displayed on the character profile screen as well as granting certain bonuses for the number of friends you've helped. And there are plenty of these side quests to discover, which kept exploring fun and satisfying as you met the conditions to aid these fellow students. And the clubs themselves are very cliquish, as you might expect in a high school experience. The Drama club, to which your spoiled and narcissistic bitch of a sister belongs, is the most annoying. They've got the only well-kept dorms and campus, with the members generally coming from privileged backgrounds in contrast to the remaining clubs' disheveled and run-down facilities that are populated with the normies and outcasts. There's a pretty large inventory for this relatively simple game, and discovering these items and figuring out where and when to utilize what you've got is a big part of the fun. The primary in-game currency comes in the form of recyclable bottles, which can be turned into the game's actual spendable currency - "shlotinki" - at various sentient and humorous vending machines. You collect bottles by smashing dumpsters and trash bins around the various club-oriented segments of the campus or adding funds through completing various mini-games. The plunking sound made when collecting these bottles was strangely addictive, and I had tons of fun simply smashing things to hear that little Pavlovian reward as I hoovered them all up. I also really enjoyed the little sound nuggets for the display of dialogue text. Whoever did the sound work really knows how to properly tickle those aural sensors with fun little rewards. There is some voice work, mostly in the form of singular grunts and identifying sound bites to add to the flavor of all the characters. There are also some light puzzles to solve in order to make your way forward, but they are not challenging, as well as a couple of “boss” fights, which are similarly pretty easygoing. All in all, the central concept and execution were fun, the structure was well-organized, and progression was steady and consistently rewarding.

In terms of presentation, the actual in-game visuals are very low fidelity. They reminded me of an Atari VCS game, albeit in turbo-charged form in a what-might-have-been if that machine had tons more memory to work with and years of development experience. But the menus, character profiles, and dialogue screens have well-designed and sharp art that is far more detailed than the basic graphics during gameplay. I really enjoyed that contrast as well as the exploration of really simple visuals. I know the general mood of a large segment of the gaming populace is fixated upon hardware-melting code, but games like this serve as a reminder (to me) that fun experiences are not dependent upon pushing technological boundaries - a big part of why I've spent more time with indies as the years march on. The primary flavor of the experience was absurdity, as you might expect with a game in which you serve as a disciple for a lake-dwelling Kraken. There's plenty of ridiculous melodrama as things unfold, and there are some really silly scenarios to enjoy. For example, a local cave-dwelling homeless dude presiding as a judge in a trial where he uses a pineapple as a gavel - lots of stuff like that. If you can enjoy a nonsensical style of humor, this will probably please in terms of tone. There was a consistent stream of colorful dialogue(not referring to profanity), situations, and interactions that kept things interesting throughout. Musically, there was also a nice assortment of whimsical tunes that helped reflect the light-hearted and silly mood, and I really enjoyed the overall soundtrack. Overall, the presentation was engaging and held my interest throughout the seven or so hours I spent with the game. In terms of negatives, it could sometimes be easy to kind of get stuck on world geometry while navigating. It was never a big issue, but it could be mildly annoying in spots. But taken as a whole, I really enjoyed Kraken Academy. It's not super deep or too lengthy, but it's a fun and well-designed adventure game with a nice amount of humor, variety, and quirky charm. I have no problem offering a recommendation with this one. 4/5

#19 Sumire (PC - 2021) 4/5 (Playtime 4.1 hours)



Life is surely a mixed bag. We come into this world, and we (hopefully) find things that we love mixed in with our hardships. And there is a natural tendency to want to cling to those people, circumstances, and things that bring us joy and comfort. But the reality of life, as we all experience, is a continuous flow of change. In the course of these changes, we often lose things we love, and that can be painful to accept. But how we face this constant renewal of life has the potential to foster a spirit of beauty within and without if we are able to move gracefully with the vicissitudes of experience.

Such are the themes of a game I played in 2024 called Sumire. We encounter a young girl who has lost her grandmother not so long ago and has a father who has abandoned his family to live in the city along with a consequentially depressed mother who can't keep the house clean or keep the refrigerator stocked. She is also going through the normal awkwardness and stresses of youth, where she is antagonized by the “in-crowd” at school as well as struggling with her inner fear and reluctance to express her feelings to a love interest. Her young life certainly has its fair share of challenges. One night amidst these storms of life, she has a strange dream and feels that her grandmother is trying to tell her something, and after beseeching her spirit for aid at her in-home shrine (a Butsudan perhaps), she hears a crash coming from her bedroom window. On the floor she finds a strange, glowing seed, which she plants in a pot in the living room. In the morning it has grown into a sentient and talking flower that tells Sumire that it only has one day to live in this human world and asks her to show it a beautiful day. Sumire expresses reluctance in her depression, but the flower suggests that she may possibly see her grandmother if they'll go on this journey together. Eventually she yields, and they construct a list in her notebook of a selection of things to accomplish that would comprise her “perfect day”, and off they go to try and fulfill these dreams.

There are seven primary objectives to satisfy along with a variety of creatures and people to aid on your journey, should you wish. There is an inventory of items that sometimes has uses in these quests, and everything is tracked in her notebook for reference as you try and live the best day you can. You are not required to help anyone or accomplish your dreams during this day, but there is a (mostly invisible) karma system that keeps track of the goodness you spread - to yourself and others - and which factors into the ending you get. The whole idea is that the moment is fleeting, and to make everything count as you journey through your “one day / one life”, doing the best you can so that you live without regret. It's very ephemeral Buddhism in tone. I must say that it felt good to do good as things were presented here - both to respect and honor yourself and others. You have the option to punish or forgive those who have mistreated you, but of course, holding onto bitterness only serves to darken your own despair while missing the chance to express grace to others, others who may also be elevated through your kindness and understanding. The mood created throughout was very moving, and it was only enhanced by the rapidly dying flower spirit that accompanied you on your journey. Despite the anthropomorphic nature of the relationship, there was an absolutely wonderful sweetness and selflessness to this bond, and as the day drew to a close, I felt a real sadness for a variety of reasons I won't spoil. What, I'm not crying - don't look at me!

In a practical sense, you were free to explore and partake in adventures as you pleased, for the most part. Everything took place on a 2D plane, but there was room to explore into the background and foreground to a limited degree. The visuals were colorful in a painterly style and often beautiful, and the music was usually very nice, in particular the main (and closing credits) theme. Overall, I thought Sumire did an excellent job of capturing the bittersweet essence of life. It didn't try to sugarcoat with a saccharine sweetness, instead using the contrast of the darkness we all face within and without to accentuate the positives in a realistic way, serving to emphasize appreciation for the good that results from the direct and often painful experience of the negative. In the end, I accomplished all of the main objectives of her dream day and did so with an overall good level of karma. There are things I missed, but in the spirit of a one-day-one-life theme, I didn't want to play it a second time. I did the best I could with my time, and I chose to live with the results. If you have any interest in moving narratives presented in a beautiful (imho) style, Sumire is well worth the four or so hours it asks. 4/5

That one sounds very appealing. Hope they bring it to Playstation at some point. Looks like it's on PC, iOS and Switch.

canedaddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 11, 2025 9:36 am That one sounds very appealing. Hope they bring it to Playstation at some point. Looks like it's on PC, iOS and Switch.

It really is a touching / heart-string-pulling game. I'm not sure what sales it received, but surely it would get some more if it was available on PS. Maybe the cost to port it over is more than they want to bear. I really know nothing about the finer points of financial considerations when it comes to these things, ha.

#18 Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES - 1988) 4/5 (Playtime 8 1/2 hours)



As avid a gamer as I've eventually become, when I was younger it was a less consistent pastime of mine. I surely did play, and I loved it, but I was more of an outdoor child as a young tyke, and when I got older, I was active in sports, schooling, and other activities that limited my time with controller in hand. So there are gaps in my gaming history that might not otherwise be there had I had the hobby as my primary interest growing up. But it was always a pull that felt like it went unfulfilled in the back of my mind, even as I spent my time with other things that I loved. You surely cannot do it ALL, can you? One of those gaps is many of the popular NES titles. I had an NES, and I played a handful of games that I loved on that great console. I spent a good chunk of time with the original Super Mario Bros. and thought it was fantastic. But that was the only NES Mario I ever experienced, and being a big fan of many other Mario titles since, I felt it an obligation to explore what I'd missed. So seeking to right a long overdue wrong, I played the sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2, in 2024.

I had been aware for a long time that this entry in the iconic platformer series was originally another game altogether - the Japanese-only Doki Doki Panic. So, I was less surprised than the alternate timeline me would have been when he played this long ago. He would have been flabbergasted at the significant changes to the Mario formula established in the original. No flagpoles, no timer, no scoring system, multiple selectable characters, no King Koopa, gambling for extra lives via acquired coins on slot machines, plucking up and throwing vegetables, jumping on enemies doesn't kill them, and what's this...I can move in this strange way. What's it called? Oh yeah, LEFT, ha. What is this wizardry!?! Certainly, SMB2 was a departure in many ways from that iconic original, and understandably so, given its roots as another game.

So, it took a bit of an adjustment in expectations from the ancient momentum and muscle memory that had been ingrained in my mind and fingers. But, soon enough, everything became second nature. The platforming was still tight, if a little different, especially with consideration to the different characters and their unique handling. The culturally familiar, even outside of hobbyist awareness, tune was not there, but the music was quite good nonetheless. There are secrets to find, doorways to the quite on-the-nose “subcon" or subspace areas, vines and ladders to navigate, bombs to toss against breakable walls and foes, larger and more intricate worlds, keys to acquire and race to a locked door while being pursued, unique bosses and mini-bosses, and overall just a plethora of interesting and unique content relative to the original. I just found the differences to be pleasant and interesting in their unfamiliarity in comparison to the first entry, and as mentioned, the physics and movement were still tight - a must for the genre.

I also liked the fact that there was the incorporation of a narrative, however simple. The fact that everything ultimately turned out to be a dream within a dream (going by the manual description and subsequent in-game ending) was quite appropriate to the mushroom-munching Mario and his hallucinogen-infused escapades. It was the first hints of a richer universe that would see Mario go on all sorts of fleshed-out and diverse adventures, in particular in the RPGs in which he would take part. And I really liked that little bit of added flavor and coloring to this world that was beginning to be built here.

I don't know how this would have landed (or did, really) back upon release, having not experienced that sensation. I do know that it sold well and that it surely must have been perceived as an oddity, relatively speaking, and especially in the context of the third entry, which followed and returned a sense of familiarity to the original. I know that there are many who love SMB2 today BECAUSE of its unique nature, as well as those who find it to be the lesser NES Mario overall.

As for myself, I really enjoyed it for all the reasons mentioned. Had I played it back upon release, I'm not sure how I would have felt, but in the end, it's still a well-controlling and decently challenging game, given the less abundant extra lives - unless you just really get the timing down on the slots. It had some flaws, like the slippery ladders and vines that punished even a little tilt on the d-pad, and sometimes if you hit a ladder wrong from the top, it would glitch and you could fall to your death as you crossed screens rather than descending the rungs. I also didn't care for Luigi's lack of easily managed jumps, despite the wonderful leg-kicking-to-fly animation that propelled him forward. But it was almost entirely a smooth and polished experience. Had I played it during the release era, I may, and likely would, have considered it an all-time classic, but context and timing matters, and WHEN something is experienced relative to time can and does have a significant impact on how something is received. Many great platformers (and games in general) have come since, and I've played so many outstanding games during the interim. And I can't view SMB2 without a lens that includes that information and those experiences, for better or worse. I can't experience it in its natural context relative to its time in the spotlight. That ship sailed for me long ago. It's still a very good game, and I really enjoyed it via the lens of my experiences so long after the fact, but the impact of intervening time weighs upon it, perhaps unfairly so, but again, personal context matters. And to be fair, I HAVE played games long past their time in Sun that I did find worthy of personal hall of fame status. So, it probably is what it is, irrespective of context for me. In the end, as good as it is, it still feels a notch below that iconic original and ultimately renders it a 4/5 for me. Again, I may have been even more enthusiastic had I experienced it in a different context, but it, nevertheless, is still a platformer that was really fun and well worth playing, even through the lens of today, and a game that is, despite its origins, worthy of the Mario moniker.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Tue Apr 15, 2025 4:59 pm #18 Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES - 1988) 4/5 (Playtime 8 1/2 hours)
I don't know how this would have landed (or did, really) back upon release, having not experienced that sensation. I do know that it sold well and that it surely must have been perceived as an oddity, relatively speaking, and especially in the context of the third entry, which followed and returned a sense of familiarity to the original. I know that there are many who love SMB2 today BECAUSE of its unique nature, as well as those who find it to be the lesser NES Mario overall.

As for myself, I really enjoyed it for all the reasons mentioned. Had I played it back upon release, I'm not sure how I would have felt, but in the end, it's still a well-controlling and decently challenging game, given the less abundant extra lives - unless you just really get the timing down on the slots. It had some flaws, like the slippery ladders and vines that punished even a little tilt on the d-pad, and sometimes if you hit a ladder wrong from the top, it would glitch and you could fall to your death as you crossed screens rather than descending the rungs. I also didn't care for Luigi's lack of easily managed jumps, despite the wonderful leg-kicking-to-fly animation that propelled him forward. But it was almost entirely a smooth and polished experience. Had I played it during the release era, I may, and likely would, have considered it an all-time classic, but context and timing matters, and WHEN something is experienced relative to time can and does have a significant impact on how something is received. Many great platformers (and games in general) have come since, and I've played so many outstanding games during the interim. And I can't view SMB2 without a lens that includes that information and those experiences, for better or worse. I can't experience it in its natural context relative to its time in the spotlight. That ship sailed for me long ago. It's still a very good game, and I really enjoyed it via the lens of my experiences so long after the fact, but the impact of intervening time weighs upon it, perhaps unfairly so, but again, personal context matters. And to be fair, I HAVE played games long past their time in Sun that I did find worthy of personal hall of fame status. So, it probably is what it is, irrespective of context for me. In the end, as good as it is, it still feels a notch below that iconic original and ultimately renders it a 4/5 for me. Again, I may have been even more enthusiastic had I experienced it in a different context, but it, nevertheless, is still a platformer that was really fun and well worth playing, even through the lens of today, and a game that is, despite its origins, worthy of the Mario moniker.

My brother and I owned this game (and I still have it). Since I would have been like 9 or 10, I don't accurately recall much about my feelings or knowledge of the game at that time other than it was obviously a departure from the original but that I enjoyed playing it for the most part. I know I liked the different playable characters, the vertical nature of some of the levels, and learning about the potions for secret doors (probably from Nintendo Power). I have no idea when I learned that it was basically another game, but back then and as a kid, I didn't necessarily even care. I'm pretty sure most of my friends thought it was a good game, though there were a lot who also liked the first game better.

This is not a personal memory, but I believe that once SMB3 released (and then SMW for SNES), this game was relegated to black sheep status for a while. And then once other Mario games started using characters introduced in SMB2 (Shy Guy, Bob-omb, Birdo), people started to re-evaluate its legacy.

jfissel wrote: ↑Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:27 am My brother and I owned this game (and I still have it). Since I would have been like 9 or 10, I don't accurately recall much about my feelings or knowledge of the game at that time other than it was obviously a departure from the original but that I enjoyed playing it for the most part. I know I liked the different playable characters, the vertical nature of some of the levels, and learning about the potions for secret doors (probably from Nintendo Power). I have no idea when I learned that it was basically another game, but back then and as a kid, I didn't necessarily even care. I'm pretty sure most of my friends thought it was a good game, though there were a lot who also liked the first game better.

This is not a personal memory, but I believe that once SMB3 released (and then SMW for SNES), this game was relegated to black sheep status for a while. And then once other Mario games started using characters introduced in SMB2 (Shy Guy, Bob-omb, Birdo), people started to re-evaluate its legacy.

Thanks for sharing that perspective. That's interesting. And I think you're right about the general shift in perspective with the passage of time. Sure, it wasn't *originally* a Mario game and was a bit of an oddity, but it's still good fun in being interpreted as a Mario platformer and as a general game imho.

#17 FUMIKO! (PC - 2017) 4/5 (Playtime: 8 hours)



I tend to buy a lot of games, and for years I have kept a spreadsheet for my collection - both physical and digital. This spreadsheet serves as a place for scoring and ranking the games I've played as well as a reference for what I own over various platforms. It has been useful many times due to not always remembering everything that is in my collection. Usually when I'm about to make a purchase, I remember to check my spreadsheet and do a search to see if I already own what I'm buying before going through with the transaction. I mention this because this process of consulting that document before buying served to highlight one of the games that I ultimately ended up playing this year. I was about to check out in the Steam Summer Sale (I think it was) and one of the items in my cart was a game called FUMIKO! I think it was only a couple of dollars on the sale, but when I ran my search, I discovered that I already owned it on itch.io, a platform where I have thousands of games from various bundles, and so many of those games were just part of very large bundles, and I have no way of remembering all the various titles that were thrown in as a piece of those purchases. So anyway, the fact that I was about to buy it, which revealed that I already owned it, sort of spurred me to fire it up in that synchronicity, and I'm ultimately quite happy for this conjunction of circumstance.

So, what is FUMIKO! exactly? I certainly didn't know going in. I only knew that I thought the visuals were interesting and that it was some sort of platformer - that's what caused me to put it on my Steam wish list initially. So I was going in mostly blind, with only the carrot of coincidence pulling me forward. Well, right off the bat, we find ourselves in an obvious virtual world, a digital space. We take the form of what appears to resemble a female with electric, glowing hair, but the essence of who this character is seems to be an amnesiac AI of some sort - perhaps a digital Jesus/savior of some sort - and one of some importance to different characters within this electric playground. We are communicated to only via text, and we are guided along by someone who seems to be our creator and wants the best for us and this world and its purpose, along with also having someone who seems to be our primary foe that wants to prevent us from accomplishing whatever it is our journey will ultimately lead us towards. There is plenty of uncertainty for both the player and Fumiko, as she is often uncertain about what it is she is to accomplish, how to go about it, or even WHAT exactly she is to begin with, and it is much the same for you as her controller. So there is a sort of sympathetic bonding that takes place due to this mutual sense of the unknown, which I thought was a wonderful way to link the player to the game and protagonist.

And highlighting this sense of mystery, we have a vibrant and otherworldly presentation along with a discover-it-on-your-own means of progression. In the first place, I found that the striking minimalist visuals really impressed with their simplicity and paradoxical complexity - screenshots can't convey their impact. This is best appreciated in motion (and with sound - you need to play it for full impact). If you enjoy the TRON (or REZ) aesthetic and vibe, you'd probably enjoy the experience and visuals here, even though they aren't necessarily a 1:1 type of comparison. This digital domain is filled with plenty of simple geometry - lots of cubes and right angles emphasizing the binary world - but there is such an abundance of particles and forms and motion that combine to elevate the technical simplicity into the stratosphere when taken in totality. But things are quite alien and mostly divorced from our familiar and organic world, if there is such a thing. (There is some imagery and elements of familiarity referencing more commonly experienced human “reality”.) On the whole, FUMIKO! is an audiovisual tour de force that mesmerizes with its trippy atmosphere. There are some moments where I was in utter awe at the whole mix of movement, sound/music, color, and hypnotic visuals. Things were truly breathtaking oftentimes. And the soundtrack was, at its best, god-tier stuff. It was both emotional and technological, with many pieces feeling perfectly married to the situation, raising the whole experience in an orgasmic blending of sensory stimuli. It's really hard to offer too much praise in regard to the presentation, especially if you appreciate an abstract sort of experience.

In terms of player interaction, FUMIKO! is first and foremost a platformer at heart. There is plenty of forward movement and jumping. But it really differentiates itself in a number of ways. In the first place, the play spaces are absolutely MASSIVE, finding you jumping and dashing across absurd distances. The platforming feels like a combination of jumping and flying as you cover these great spaces with multiple “double” jumps and maneuvers that let you cover wide spans very rapidly. In terms of core feel, things were really fun. There's a very liberating and empowering sense of movement in these immense spaces, and it was joyful in terms of the ongoing sense of input and resulting execution. As Fumiko explores these realms, there is little in the way of direct guidance for the player. There is plenty of subtle direction guiding you along, but it's mostly a find-out-by-doing sort of game. There are, of course, things with which you can interact, and observing what happens as you do is the best way to find your way forward. I mostly found this means of progression satisfying, as it relied upon player observation and experimentation, and that sort of fundamental approach is one I usually enjoy. Here it was mostly well-realized, and I found myself satisfied and enjoying the sense of discovery prompted by direct interaction and resulting consequences. Overall, the fundamentals of the game itself were enjoyable, and it was a fun experience in the moment-to-moment action.

However, in a few cases, progression was unnecessarily obtuse. Towards the end, there was a level that felt utterly impenetrable for a long while. It was a combination of factors that led to the confusion. There were memory fragments to collect - one of the methods of narrative delivery, and one that is optional - along with the idea of moving on past the level itself. Well, it wasn't clear which actions led to which outcomes, and I found myself trying to do one thing that led to the other and vice versa, with neither really taking me along where I wanted to go. Things were VERY vague, to be sure, and while that was largely in harmony with much of the preceding experience, it felt overly obscure in this instance, and it really caused some frustration and impeded the otherwise wonderful pacing up to that point. And generally speaking, this is NOT a game where you will feel guided by a friendly hand. If you don't like the sensation of feeling lost or uncertain in terms of interaction and progression, there are a number of instances that may cause frustration here. Also, the platforming can sometimes feel a bit imprecise, understandably at least in part due to the combination of environmental scale and your rapid movement. Small landing spots are sometimes a bit of a problem, although there are checkpoint blocks that you can activate to minimize some of the mistakes you will inevitably make. Another factor that comes into play is the fact that the camera is user-controlled, which I generally appreciate, but when you couple that fact with the rapid and large movements over space, it can leave you feeling completely disoriented at its worst. It's manageable, but there was surely some digital whiplash at times as I struggled to keep myself oriented in the more hectic circumstances. Also, some of the platforming obstacles that could “kill” you and send you back to a checkpoint were a bit indistinct in terms of their positioning and the space they occupied. Their borders were hazy and a little unclear due to a lack of precise, hard, and consistent lines/borders, and it could be frustrating to think you had room to clear a hazard, especially a moving one, only for you to be obliterated and sent back to an earlier point. Granted, there wasn't ever major progression lost, but I ended up having to replay some sections multiple times due to this issue.

But I judge a game on the total experience, as it made its mark on me in the end, and FUMIKO! was a vivid and impactful journey overall. Despite the weaknesses in some areas, I'm invigorated knowing that there are such talented creators who are able to craft things like this. I thought this was made by a single person, but they offered a list of credits at the conclusion, referencing those who contributed. Nevertheless, it was certainly a small group that put this together, to whatever extent the primary developer was aided. I laugh at those who say gaming is in trouble in their myopic view of AAA as the definition of “gaming”. Their loss. Despite the narrative being rooted in the internet/technology, it had a decidedly spiritual set of undertones and flavor in spots (like The Matrix for me as well). I thought that contrast was very interesting, compelling, and quite moving. The idea of trying to break free from something (the world of illusion/the prison of the mind or the network in this case), of feeling hopelessly trapped and wanting to escape a confinement of sorts, was poignant and tinged with a relatable sadness and frustration. This may or may not be relatable to most others, but it had a very peculiar and familiar flavor in some ways. I want desperately to go home... In the end, I found FUMIKO! to be very memorable and enjoyable in a very sensory-overload sort of way. It was an orgasmic light show married to thumping audio, resulting in a real visceral experience. There could have been a bit more direction in a couple of spots, but I wouldn't have wanted the rest of the journey of discovery to have been compromised in an effort to overly guide the player. And after a gentle introduction, things ramped up with a thrilling intensity, both mechanically and audiovisually. I'm really happy I put this one on the spinner this year, and it just reinforced my interest in an ongoing exploration of the fringes of this medium. 4/5.