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Mr. Wonder
When I started playing Mr. Wonder, I hoped for a little Squid Games and a little Saw to be married into a perfectly wrapped package. While this title definitely entertains the idea, it never really sticks the landing, as most obstacles are low-stakes, puzzles are extremely easy, and the main villain isn’t scary at all.
In fact, the titular Mr. Wonder is just some edgy cringe-lord with delusions of grandeur who laments some long monologues that he thinks are deep, but in reality, he just really needs a good therapy session. Additionally, I found the gameplay to be pretty clunky, with the controls being just very dampening and the visuals being wholly unappealing in general. So far, I’m not a fan of Mr. Wonder’s.
Knightling
On the flip side, Knightling is an incredibly energetic and fun title that I had a hard time putting down. For what could’ve been a lazy platformer, we get a fully realized and innovative action-adventure title. The platforming is set forth by your character’s shield, which can be enhanced to make it a skateboard or a hang glider at the touch of a button.
To add to the game’s great gameplay loop, the combat is effective and can also be upgraded as the game goes on, with new attacks. For what I expected to be just another Banjo-clone, I was given a new, innovative Jak and Daxter-type title, which I really enjoyed. We don’t get refreshing action-adventure games often these days, so I am very pleased with what Knightling has to offer.
Out and About
Speaking of innovative, Out and About takes a typical life-sim and adds a new fun enhancement with the way that it utilizes its foraging mechanics. You’re not just walking up to plants and plucking them from the earth. In this title, you’re discovering plants and their traits and then going in to see how you can harvest them. Each plant has a gauge depicting how much you’re able to forage from it before it becomes unhealthy and possibly dies.
Aside from that, Out and About offers a colorful and lively world as you’ll help the inhabitants of Portobello reinvigorate themselves through rebuilding the once thriving coastal town. Something else I personally enjoy thus far is the character customization, which I’d like to see developed further before the game’s full release.
