And people wonder why developers don’t do demo’s much these days. I think half the time people forget its just a demo, big changes happen before the final release. I also think its high time that Switch players accept that it’s an underpowered system, that is going to find it hard to run any major game now
I really enjoyed the demo, its pure old school and every much like BLiNX not for everyone got issues but I loved my time on the demo and looking forward to the game.
I hope you’re right, but it seems very unlikely. Especially, with over 80 abilities. I just don’t see it happening. It seems like they dug themselves into a hole with that one…
And I’m sorry, but the Switch can make this game look better than what they optimized it for. That was just plain lazy!
I’m not just on about this demo, but all demos. I mean you had DF doing a frame rate count on the demo of RE 8 for crying out loud. Call a finished game out by all means, but a demo?
The Switch was underpowered when it came out and now years on it’s going to have a hard time trying to run any of the 3rd party games now, hell the Base Xbox One does too and that’s way more powerful.
I think people need to be realistic, the uproar over Cyberpunk frame rate is a joke, you could tell by looking at it, that the old consoles would struggle to run it
Here’s another vid of Balan Wonderworld. Basically,. the same opinions as before…
I much rather read your impressions, than just another YouTube type video
I mean I love the environments because it reminds me of Nights into Dreams kid sections. So, if you just want to run around and have fun rummaging through the levels I guess it’s passable. But, come on they could have made a better functioning platformer than this…
That’s fair enough, but if you’re playing it on the Switch it’s a terrible experience, so much better on the Series X
Yeah, I’d stay away from the Switch version. Going to play it on PC/Steam myself.
Well there is co-op now at least…
Balan Wonderworld:
Full Review: Yuji Naka Tries to Recapture the Nights into Dreams Magic but Ultimately Fails
Yuji Naka, famed creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights into Dreams; two series that have captivated players since the early 90’s is trying his hand at a new game series. Now, fast forward to 2021 and the man behind the dream is trying to recapture the magic he once had with his beloved Saturn masterpiece: Nights into Dreams, by creating a spiritual successor called Balan Wonderworld. But, after 25 years, can he really capture magic in a bottle a second time? Well, sadly that answer is no.
This game unfortunately is just “not” fun at all. And here is why:
One major issue is: not having any kind of permanent double jump or hover jump. An essential gameplay mechanic, in any good platformer. Only one costume I’ve gotten so far has this. And if you don’t have or bring that ability on a later level (the jungle level with the books and spider webs) you will miss out on other areas within the levels that could potentially contain precious Balan Statues! And that brings me to my next issue: when you get hit you lose the costume/ability you currently are using!
And being forced to get these Balan Statues and not having the right ability to do so, is another major problem: because you need to get these golden Balan statues in order to open up or unlock new levels! The problem? You see them scattered around the levels, but you never have the correct ability on hand to reach them. Some requiring abilities from later levels. And even if you do, it’s sometimes unclear as to how you’re supposed to get over to them. And you might have the ability but lose it and have to search the current level or even get it from a previous level to gain it back again! It’s completely aggravating! Not to mention most of the abilities at times, feel useless…For instance: there is a dragon costume you get in the first level that lets you breathe fire but the fire has limited range and you can’t even jump!
These are some major issues that are seriously interfering with the fun this game might have offered because the levels are really very creative and imaginative, but the game is incredibly frustrating to play!..
The pros:
The levels are very creative. Just like the ones from Nights into Dreams. All kinds of surreal aesthetics from an island full of windmills with a flying island that is actually a whale covered in moss and trees! Of which you actually get to walk on! To a jungle full of floating books and spider webs. Very cool!
And the music is very well done. Catchy tunes with some light vocals have you humming away and fit the levels perfectly!
But, sadly…more cons:
Another downside about some of the abilities is: some abilities/costumes lack the ability to jump or attack. That means if you only have this one ability left and all others gone, you can’t attack or even jump across a gap! Really puzzling game design here…
Also, when your 3 ability limit is filled up on the top left of the screen, any other acquired costumes will push the third costume off of your ability list. The game doesn’t tell you this so make sure when getting a new ability, the one you don’t want is on the third slot!
Once you die and lose a costume, if you only have one of that particular ability, it gets crossed off your main list meaning: you have to go all the way back to the level you found it on again to regain it. You can only get hit one maybe two times and you immediately lose the costume you currently are using! And it’s not easy to gain a considerable amount of any one costume as they might take some time to respawn. I can see this is going to be a major issue when trying to get the Balan statues in later levels that require an ability from a previous level. I’ve already lost various abilities off my list! And I can see I’m going to miss a lot of statues, not being able to unlock the last tier of levels. And I’ve only unlocked up to level 6 with the fear that I won’t be able to see the rest of the game…Update: and this is exactly what happened! I don’t have enough Balan Statues to unlock the rest of the levels! It’s just not fun or worth it to have to go back to all of the other levels just to get one ability I lost or need!
So, in conclusion: This is atrocious game design. Not fun at all, completely aggravating and a waste of your time. If all the game has going for it is pretty levels with nice music that is not enough, if the rest of the game falls apart! In this regard, the gameplay just doesn’t hold together, with too many barriers impeding your progress. It’s sad really to say but: just go back and revisit a better game called: Nights into Dreams and Nights Journey of Dreams. Those are 10 out of 10 games compared to this disaster! Yuji Naka what happened?..
6 out of 10: Might get some slight enjoyment but is highly frustrating and is a prime example of barely playable game design.
Thanks for the impressions @legaiaflame. I hadn’t gotten around to trying either the demo or final game; at this point I’ll probably hold off buying it. Maybe further down the line I’ll give it a try.
No problem! The sad thing is I couldn’t get a refund from Steam because I had already played for 6 hours…
I really wanted to like this game but it’s just not worth it. They weaved a life system into the damn abilities/costumes! Why would you do that? Meaning: when you get hit just once or twice you lose your damn costume and have to get it all over again! And that ability might be all the way back on a previous level! Because, almost all of the Balan Statues are unobtainable, you are ultimately forced to have to go back to previous levels and then return at a latter time. And if you don’t have enough Balan statues you can’t even unlock any new levels!! You should just be able to keep your abilities permanently!!
All of my fears and hunches about this games 80 costume ability system, from the very beginning, were realized and unaddressed. I should have listened to my gut feeling…Hopefully you can get to the end of the game without throwing the game out the window!
I just don’t agree, more so on a ‘double jump’ That’s not stable or essential in any platform or platform adv games at all Look at Astrobot, which is one of the best platform games ever made this and last generation I love how it looks and feels and plays like a NiGHTS platform game and like NiGHTS the gameplay isn’t for everyone.
Getting hit and losing your costume is just a game mechanic, Seen in countless games, not least most shooters; where you lose all your power-ups and have to start again. Sure it’s old school, but that’s also part of the game charm, along with its visuals and awesome music
I just don’t have time to waste on something that is so flawed like this. The flaws for me outweigh the positives and those positives can be found in Nights Journey of Dreams: a better game imo.
Whether it’s a gameplay mechanic or not, I just can’t stand to lose the abilities I acquire. Imo it’s just bad game design: losing abilities permanently, having to go back to previous levels, having to backtrack to checkpoints, abilities not letting you jump, abilities not letting you attack, going through one level and not being able to get half of the Balan Statues due to the loss or lack of certain costumes, all break the flow and immersion of this game. If that’s the mindset of an 80’s arcade game, then that type of game design deserves to stay in the past not in 2021! Just because it’s a gameplay mechanic doesn’t mean it was implemented in a smart and intuitive way. It’ s just not fun imo. Just aggravating!
Imagine in Metroid if I had the Grapple Beam, Spider Ball, Spin Attack and double jump. Now, imagine if I got hit two times and all those abilities were taken away from me and put back in the spots throughout the game where I got them. Then, imagine me having to go back to alllllllllllll of those areas all over again to regain them, only to lose them again after taking damage and falling in some lava…No, sorry, that is not fun, but a bad design decision by the creators.
This is the kind of garbage I had to deal with in Balan Wonderworld:
Example: I went back to Level 3 to get the spider costume. Then in the next level I fell off of a platform and off the level. Guess, what happened? I lost the Spider ability and had to go all the way back to level 3 to get it again. That’s enough for me to be done with the game. It’s just not fun for me.
Another example: I’m on Level 6 trying to farm the Gear costume. I get two of them, just two, then go back through the mirror, then return to where the costume spawns. Then what happens? I get the key but the costume/ability won’t respawn. It’s a chore to even horde abilities! That’s it. Again. I’m done.
Losing abilities is part of platforming games, Do you get to keep all the power up’s and abilities when Mario gets hit? I’ve yet to encounter a part of the game when I lost my ability and wasn’t able to find a key and get the power back with a little looking around, that’s to overlook how before you start a level you can select a number of abilities before you start
The game isn’t perfect and very old school but I’m enjoying it so far
I’ve been watching this for a while. I love the concept but not the end product.
I’ve probably watched about 2-3 hours worth of gameplay now and that’s enough for me to decide I’ll probably give it a miss. It seems very, very slow.
I can see it being appealing to some, especially if you’re looking for something chill and straightforward, but for the rest I think the hype might’ve created a space for disappointment. While the setting is nice, it’s certainly not a NiGHTS game.
I saw this today: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/03/balan_wonderworld_is_getting_a_suspicious_amount_of_1010_metacritic_user_reviews
Bit suspicious. Look at this example of two different reviewers, with identical reviews: https://m.imgur.com/a/IPikCcW
You know if you guys really want to play the last great Yuji Naka/Sonic Team game I would suggest playing Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg over this. It is extremely underrated. This dumpster fire that is Balan Wonderworld really made me appreciate that game.
I mean the level design and gameplay mechanics of Billy Hatcher alone, are lightyears ahead of this game. Going through levels with the egg mechanics (throwing, bouncing, boosting, jumping, destructible objects and animal companions) and the different objectives alone, are you know what…?..FUN!
And you know I can really appreciate the design of Billy Hatcher because if we compare them. In Billy Hatcher you can collect gold coins in every stage, similar to the Balan Statues, but these coins aren’t “required” to unlock new levels or advance in the game. The just go towards unlocking extra content. Where in Balan Wonderworld, if you don’t have enough Balan Statues you can’t even get to the next level!
