Feist (Xbox One) Review

Imagine, if you will, a platformer that takes the shadowy graphics of Limbo or those cool Donkey Kong Country Returns levels and combines it with creepy wildlife reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are or Critters. What you just pictured is probably a better version of Feist, a platformer that follows a roundish creature with legs traveling through the wilderness trying to avoid equally creepy beings such as flies that shoot needles and giant rodents.

While the silhouette graphics are easy on the eyes (at least in screenshots, not as much in motion), I found myself quickly growing bored of them since every level looks nearly identical aside from a palette swap. It is one thing to have a level or two like this, but the impact of the art style is kind of lost when it is the whole game. I shouldn’t be tired of such a beautiful art style in a game that only lasts around three hours.

There is no hand holding here, as players are literally dropped into the first level with little to no information other than what they previously know from playing other side scrolling platformers. Players can push or pick up items such as rocks and spears to fend off baddies, and they’ll have to do a bit of scaling of trees from time to time to reach the end of each level.

The jumping feels a little delayed, or at the very least floaty, and not in a fun way. The speed at which the ball of fur goes up and down in the air takes some getting used to, especially when enemies can bounce the player around with ease. Combat isn’t exactly fun either, though it should be considering players are tossing giant pine cones and rocks at the heads of massive rodents or squeezing huge flies to shoot out needles.

Feist has a lot of things to like such as atmosphere, character design, and graphics, but the gameplay just isn’t tight or polished enough to be considered more than average at best. It did however make me want to watch all the dark fantasy Jim Henson movies I grew up on, so that is a win in my book.