Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Feb 4, 2022

  I usually write reviews for two reason: the game is surprisingly good or even exceptional and I have to say something about it, or the game is so bad that I feel the need to caution other people against wasting their time or money. This isn't either of those cases. But currently the game sits at a Mixed rating, and I think it deserves more. Let's get straight to the point: this game isn't perfect, far from it. As others have pointed out, the story isn't great (but by no means bad,) and the generous collisions, rather than the controls, make things frustrating at times. There are some quirks to the controls too, but nothing you won't get used to in 20 minutes tops. The pixel art is pretty, but... it's a bit over the place. It seems like a collection of vaguely cohesive assets that come from slightly different games. Art direction is definitely the weakest part of this game's presentation. The puzzles themselves is where the game really shines. After the tutorial, you will obtain a bow that can shoot two types of arrows: one that ages living things, the other that makes them younger, and each of the multiple stages the creatures have behave differently in relation to both the character and the environment. You can also enter a state called Ageless, where everything but you freezes, and if you touch any living creature, you can boost away from it in any direction by consuming some of the creature's age. You will have to use these powers to manipulate life around you and reach the end of every screen. Each of the several areas has its own unique creatures that behave in strange and interesting ways, and new mechanics are introduced on top of this enemy variety, like teleporting or death/rebirth. And there are A LOT of levels, both mandatory and optional. Some of these rooms stretch the various interactions between your character and the environment to the extreme, pushing the limits of what you thought was the extent of programmed functionality. I was surprised by "oh, so this and this together do that" several times throughout the game. And just wait till the last area, where [spoiler]all these various creatures from all biomes are thrown together in the same levels for even more interactions[/spoiler]! Now, yes, bosses are chases for the most part, and I usually hate those in games... But for some reason they worked for me here. I think that's because the bosses themselves feel like chains of puzzle rooms, just longer ones and with less checkpoints; a natural extension of the puzzles you've done up to that point rather than a curve ball. In short, this is a game that I would recommend only to puzzle-platformer lovers, as it's quite long and hard, but some of the ideas and interactions are just brilliant and need to be seen if you're into this sort of stuff. And if you already like the genre, you'll have plenty to chew on with Ageless. If you go in knowing that it's much more puzzle than platformer, and that it could've definitely used some more time in the oven, I think you'll have a good time with it.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 28, 2022

  repetative
• Mokk

  Mar 1, 2023

  Music 10/10. Level aesthetic and design 10/10. The only issue I encountered was unbalanced bosses. Besides that, very solid platformer.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 23, 2023

  This game sucks
• Isolark

  May 21, 2023

  A very solid indie puzzle platformer with a simple but decent art style. The core mechanics are unique and lead to some very interesting puzzles that offer a good degree of flexibility in how they are solved. Though the controls can be a little difficult to get used to, the auto-aiming and slowing of time when you aim makes it reliable and consistent once you get the hang of it (i.e., you won't have "cheap" deaths). I would recommend using a controller over a mouse and keyboard honestly. The story, characters, and world-building are also pretty decent, handling the subjects of existentialism and personal disappointment in a believable fashion. It's a feeling most people can relate to and allows for good character development
• trucidee

  Jul 12, 2023

  I love it! Neat concept and good level design, it gives you enough freedom to let you experiment. Personally didn't find the controls annoying or unresponsive.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 30, 2020

  I hate whales
• gamedeal user

  Jul 30, 2020

  Cute puzzle platform game. You age or de-age things in your environment to proceed to the next area, very fun.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 31, 2020

  Just finished the game, and I was pleasantly surprised. The controls feel on par with what you'd expect from a precision platformer, and the gameplay was good throughout: with some creative uses of its core mechanics, some unexpectedly dynamic boss battles, and a good enough system that it's sometimes possible to find seemingly unintended solutions to puzzles. My two gripes would probably be the narrative, which feels a bit rushed until about the halfway point (sidenote: I wish there was more of a bridge between chapters, instead of essentially being teleported to the next area), and that some sections can toe the line of overstaying their welcome - though I don't think it ever quite crossed it. Ageless isn't revolutionary, but it's a good time for fans of platformers in general, and of puzzle platformers especially.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 4, 2020

  As it is, I cannot recommend Ageless to others, which is a shame because it's a very good idea, and it has good execution... in parts. I bought it because I saw someone play and because it reminded me of Celeste (which is admittedly a large shadow cast on this game). In any case, here are my pros and cons: Pros - Adorable art style - The player character controls tightly - The aging mechanic adds a lot of variety to the puzzles - The music ranges from good to great - The story and characters are fairly engaging Cons - The game is littered with glitches, which become more and more apparent as you go further in the game, and often time can mess with the gameplay severely. Even the achievements are bugged - While the player character reacts tightly, the rest of the world can be very janky, leading to some puzzle solutions only working some of the time, even when taking the exact same steps. A large problem in a precision platformer, especially one in which the environment plays such a crucial role - The difficulty varies wildly from one puzzle to another from the second biome onward, with some puzzle taking me 10 seconds while others would take me up to 20 minutes right afterwards - A lot of the difficulty is due to things being placed awkwardly and hard to shoot at, requiring tiny jumps or seemingly pixel perfect placement which, rather than give a sense of accomplishment once beaten, is only frustrating, not helped by the combination of a lot of shooting while jumping or falling already - Story feels very rushed, with it going by leaps at a time. An example that stands out to me is when the protagonist discusses the deuteragonist with a NPC, saying that she knew him, but doesn't know who he's turning into; all this despite having only talked to him 4 times - Related to the above, the game is rather short, with only 5 different biomes to explore, and lacks any kind of postgame or bonus levels Should the developers take steps to fix at least the glitches, janky environment and awkward placement, I would recommend this game.