started: 11/3/23 | finished: 11/7/23 | reviewed: 12/31/23
played on: nintendo switch (physical) | release year: 2021
i was going back and forth on whether i wanted to get this game for a while, but then super rare games did a physical release for it and i decided to get it. since it's by the developers of a hat in time (which i didn't like) and some people describe this game as a worse version of that game, i was skeptical, but i ended up really liking it!
since the developers describe this as "a game for tired people", i decided to play it as intended (when i was tired, usually after work). it fits that purpose perfectly!! it's just really chill and not taxing at all. it's a 3d platformer split up into several small worlds where you go around helping people since you're a "professional friend". they give you tokens that you can then use to get to new worlds.
there are lots of fun missions to do, including designing graffiti, carrying a lost turtle to his husband, and my favorite, fishing by jumping into the water while you're attached to a fishing pole. the platforming is fun, if a bit janky at times. the artstyle is adorable!! the pastel colors and animal characters are very cute. the story is nice too - you are told pieces of the story through phone messages from niko's parents, which they listen to on the train between worlds. they have run away from home presumably due to not being accepted as nonbinary, and they are just looking for a place to fit in. without spoiling it, the ending is really lovely.
a couple things that got on my nerves are the talking sounds and the post-game. characters make repeated short noises of varying pitch when they speak (think of games like banjo-kazooie). however i found that a lot of the voices are very loud and not fitting to the characters. there were countless times i heard very deep and intimidating voices coming out of these cute little animals! they are also sometimes words instead of sounds, like there is a character who just says "yo" repeatedly. as for the post-game missions, they aren't really worth doing as it's just recycled versions of missions you've already done. you won't see anything new. i also encountered some bugs, such as all the trees in the mountain level turning invisible, which i had to restart the game to fix.
if you like playing chill games when you're tired, i definitely recommend picking this one up!!
score: 8/10