This game was on sale in the Nintendo eShop. There wasn't much to go off of at the time. There were some dynamic screenshots and a video that made the story feel deep and compelling. Plus, the busty protagonist got my attention speedy quick. There are some indie games that are absolute gems so I do my part when I can. It is normally $14.99 but was sale for $2 so I picked it up. I learned quickly that the advertising material oversold this game. Everything looks same-y so trekking the areas can be confusing. It's not made clear whether you should attack and defend bad guys, so you find out early on that you are not supposed to engage in battle. Failure results in a dreadful loading screen and an autosave never near where you fell. You would think with the amount of campfires and materials provided to craft arrows that it would be important, but other than literal targets in the distance and hanging bags of crates there is nothing to shoot. These "evil" priests take more than one arrow to fell; I ever managed to kill any of them with just arrows. The story is so thin that it never makes clear WHY the priests are evil, but we learn through these oddly placed journals that they work for the big bad. Even with the journals, the story is NOT fleshed out enough to make it engaging. You can easily deduce that the writer is her lost boyfriend. Voice acting is over the top not in a good way. The protagonist has far more emotion than all the other characters in the game. The music is forgettable and does nothing to stand out, it's just generic "fantasy" forest music. No music in the sneaky areas so there is no tension (someone told me that there is supposed to be music so maybe my game failed to load it). It does do something right: the achievement icons are cute, and when her uncle got turned to stone I genuinely gasped. There's a spore or particle effect floating that SHOULD have made the game look good, but instead makes the game look dusty. The jump animation looks ridiculous and should have just been an auto jump since it's only used on cliffside. The ending sets up a "to be continued..." scenario, but I don't think they should try it.

Frankly, I always think that indie game studios can have more freedom than studios to create AAA games, but if they have enough budget, they will improve their success. Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow is a game developed like a written story, with enough exploration and gameplay mechanics in a limited area. Though limiting the area seems not a good idea. I love fiction in general, and I would like to say that the stories told in the Journal interested me more than the main story. The puzzles in the game could have been more detailed, but I know the studios need the budget first and then the time for this. I wish to see a game that focuses more on puzzles in the future. However, I might add that I felt the Tomb Raider vibe, especially the crafting mechanics in the campfire. As a result, the entire game was enough to tell a story. I think that Catthia Games will accomplish more success in the future, add more enjoyable puzzles, and create a deeper story for their games. Note: Search every corner of the environment very well, you will not regret it. Because I couldn't collect 2 goddess statues. I was also able to collect only 4 of the costume chests.

First Impression: I was interested in this game after seeing some nice gameplay shots on Reddit, I'm planning to be an Indie Dev myself so I decided to follow the Unity discussions. This game caught my eye, and after playing for a few minutes I broke the game, the respawn mechanic just went on an endless loop and kept spawning me in the first lake section (like literally in the lake). What bugged me the most was the fact that it took 3 years to develop this game, and it looks the way it does. I understand that this is an indie game, and a lot of developers have limitations, understandable. Aesthetically I did not like how some UI, visuals, graphics, loading screens, Dialogue, controller compatibility and effects were done so far. If this game had been released between 2000- and 2013, it would be highly acceptable by my standards, but sadly times change and evolve. I always say that indie games are the future and that indie games should do what a lot of AAA studios won't do. So coming off of this after about an hour of play I would give it a 5/10 it's a game, but it hasn't grabbed me, or interested me in any way as yet. Some advice, I think that this game needs a more stylised overhaul graphically and mechanically, when I first picked up the bow, the first thing that came to mind was Aloy, from Horizon. This developer should have taken some notes from similar games or at least their favourite games to create something familiar but new. *Edit So I finished this (Told you I'd come back), and after playing Skull Island: Rise of Kong as well, I will bestow upon this game an Extra point. 6/10, An average experience, and while it's not the most amazing game I've played, this game has a heart, and that to me matters. I hope this dev pushes for a sequel in a broader way.