OldBoy

demo up... https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/ba...ot:overviewtab

Adam Tyner

The near-universal response seems to range from "indifferent shrug" to "this is terrible". I haven't fired up the demo yet. Part of me is stupid enough to stick with my full price preorder just to support a game like this existing.

RichC2

It does seem like a game that would have come out during the peak Sega/Michael Jackson era.

The Questyen

I was about excited for this as one could be and yeah it's not great. The gameplay is uninteresting and the controls are sluggish. Also very poor level design. Disappointing.

OldBoy

^ they still have 2 months. could get better, no?

The Questyen

These are fundamental problems with the game so no. It's not like the framerate is bad or needs polish.

Adam Tyner

I finally got around to playing the demo, and...errrr, promptly cancelled my preorder. I didn't hate it the way most people seemed to, but I can't say that I liked it either. Movement is sluggish. Jumping doesn't feel right, which is more than a little bit critical for a platformer. Disliked the camera. Costume management seems kind of annoying; one hit and your current one is gone, and you can only have 3 at a time. Some of the things it seems to want me to do aren't explained very well. If it improves with updates, I'm still open to buying it at the right price, but...yeah. I wonder if Square Enix regrets releasing this demo. It's succeeding at getting the word out, but...

dsa_shea

Maybe they will postpone it a few months and make some needed changes. I'm interested in the game but not for full price and not in the current state. The one hit and losing the costume sounds dumb. A potentially cool platformer that will turn into frustration for kids that want to play it.

OldBoy

Anyone wind up getting? I haven’t seen any reviews yet...

Adam Tyner

VGC:

Quote:

However, this isn’t the worst game of all time, as some social media accounts might have you believe: we don’t expect to see Balan Wonderworld threatening to appear in anyone’s top 10 lists for the year, but as a package, it’s mostly inoffensive and younger players or fans of retro games might even enjoy it a lot. We played through the entire game in a day, and as fans of the genre, it was… fine.

Video Chums:

Quote:

If you have a soft spot for classic 3D platformers and imaginative game worlds, you'll have a lovely time with Balan Wonderworld. With a heartfelt story, plenty of cuteness, a clever costume system, and oodles of stages to master; it's one incredible adventure.

OldBoy

Oooh. That sounds good. I swear I put in Balan Wonderland reviews and got nothing. I’m itching to buy a new game, but anything actually. Ugh. I guess should play more of demo.

Adam Tyner

They didn’t send out review codes until yesterday, so write-ups are slow in coming. But it seems like the type of game that anyone who’s committed enough could turn around super-quickly, so we’ll probably see more in the week to come.

I’m still open to getting it but only when there’s a severe lull and the price is right.

OldBoy

Going to depend on stellar reviews for me. I got Fenyx Rising to begin the platformer genre if I so choose after or maybe together with Outriders and and see about Balan. I certainly love the aesthetic of Balan.

OldBoy

that could also be seen as bad sign...

OldBoy

ouch...

OldBoy

glad i purchased this. then, returned it promptly!

Decker

The Questyen

Even after hating the demo I still bought this game because I'm a lunatic.

RichC2

I get the feeling this one will be "free" in multiple ways come late Summer. Be it Gamepass, Humble Bundle or giveaway.

Decker

This reviewer did not enjoy the game very much.

OldBoy

Wow. I had this pre-ordered since first day available at MS store. So glad I didn’t go through. Even if it goes to GP or Gold down the road, doesn’t seem worth it.

The Questyen

So I'm up through world 4 and surprisingly it's a solid platformer. They tightened up the controls and camera from how it was in the demo and it looks great on a PS5. Most of the really bad reviews seem to be for the Switch version which runs like shit but it runs perfectly fine on a PS5.

dsa_shea

I'll get it when it hits 20 bucks.

OldBoy

have you seen the post above yours? Those are all the platforms. Switch lowest, but 40’s, 50’s? That’s some terrible shit. This is as of today...

mhg83

Fixed