HOLY.
Ok so, I beat the game. It's only about an hour long, and although getting golds on each level would be tough, to just finish the levels isn't that hard. Wish it were longer, but it is what it is.
THAT HOUR THOUGH. HOLY F DO THEY CRAM SO MUCH AMAZING STUFF INTO IT. Like it's seriously just a constant barrage of new and cool stuff happening. Skateboarding, sword fights, giant robot wolves, just... like every little section has something new and neat in it. It's not just background details either, the gameplay itself shifts, as well as perspectives and everything. Reminds me a bit of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor in that respect.
Also, the style is like nothing else. This is one of the most well presented games I've played. The soundtrack is pretty awesome too. I just sat on the title screen listening to it before even starting. It's one of those rare games, like the Persona series, that just feels super slick and cool in every little detail.
Incidentally, except for being way better on most every single measurable level, this game actually reminds me a lot of what I've been trying to do with my game, In Retrospect. Auto movement, switching of cameras, different ways to move, vehicles, lots of freeform action but also syncing some stuff to the soundtrack.
One thing it doesn't have that In Retrospect does have though, that I really wish it did have, is leaderboards. Now that I beat it, it's like... now what? There isn't much to do once you beat the game. You unlock a mode that is basically playing the entire game for a single score, which I will probably play through because holy freak this game is cool and short enough to replay so I definitely want to replay it... but that's not the most compelling "extra". I guess you can try to get better scores just for their own sake, and if you get gold medals on every level (seems nearly impossible but I guess some people will do it) you unlock... something else? But otherwise that's it.
Still, just to have this experience, even if a short one... so cool. It may have only been an hour but it is definitely one of my favorite gaming hours in recent memory.
Also, random fact, Queen Latifah is the narrator,
which apparently happened due to an offhand comment one of the developers made as a joke.. So weird. But she fits!
