Twilight Ferry

An absolutely beautiful little game :) The story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, the characters are really likable and the design is completely stunning. Also, Jatuli is my man XD

The graphics, as already stated, are really beautiful. Starting from the well drawn intro cutscene, to the cute pixel artstyle, all the way to the fitting camera angle shift during the conehead encounter. The character portraits have a lot of details in them and look super cute.

The music is really befitting of the current mood and adds to the atmosphere - not to mention it is really nice to listen to :) Along with the forest sounds, as well as the quiet bird chipping you can't help but be immersed in this story.

What the game definitely does best however is the atmosphere. The mix of the slightly gloomy music along with the graphics creates an atmosphere like I've only seen in a handful of games. Also, while you progress with the story, the daytime advances. This may not sound like much, but it is a detail that now many games have, and it really makes you feel like Tytti is spending time in the forest, not just doing a bunch of sidequests for NPCs.

Gameplay-wise, Twillight Ferry is on average I'd say. So far, you mostly walk around and complete quests for lost souls in the forest, having to choose specific dialogue options. It is creative however, that Tytti only unlocks those options after certain events, and I see a lot of potential with this. Like, if you find a hidden path, you uncover a lost secret that awakens a certain memory in Tytti's mind, which you need for a sidequest or something. Otherwise, some of the terrain feels like it should have collision even though it doesn't, like some of the rocks for example. Until after the not-yet-implemented cutscene, when Marjukka regains her voice and the music stops, the screen looks a little jittery when moving around for some reason :/ But that's easy to overlook. 

Where the game unfortunately falls a little short however is the combat. It is a classic Rock-Paper-Scissors system, which isn't really bad per se - there just aren't a lot of creative options yet. I'm not sure how the system will change once Tytti regains more memories and therefore gains more power words in combat. However, I feel like once you understand the system and are able to immediately pick the stronger word, there will be a lot of dialogue that your enemy won't be able to say because you defeat them so quickly. Maybe not all people are interested in this kind of thing - but it is still content that would be left unseen, which is really unfortunate.

The minigames more than make up for the combat however. The hole puzzle, while really simple once you notice the pattern, is quite fun, and the music puzzle was a welcome challenge, that really made me use my brain.

Overall, this is a really cute game that has the atmosphere and graphics as its strong suit. I'm looking forward to when more of the game releases and we'll get to play more of it :)

I really enjoyed this! The theme and the art style are so unique. Makes me wish there was more to the demo ⭐

There was nothing really out of place other than very minor things:

• No collision on a lot of rocks/fallen trees
• Getting stuck in one of the water pools (I just wriggled around a bit to break free)
• I don't know if it's just me, but the screen is a bit jittery when moving horizontally

Can't wait to see more of this and already put it on my Steam wishlist 😀

There is a lot to like here and I enjoyed it. It felt like an intuitive game with interesting theme and stories and an engaging gameplay mechanics.

Some thoughts:

A: Bug? Is the game actually supposed to close when I enter the boat? It does not for me but the dialogue gave me the impression it would. There is a available dialogue if I press "E", but I can also move in the world and get away from it. I hear sounds but everything is black. There did not seem to be a difference depending if I finished the game or if I did it immediately from the start.
Edit: Not a bug, black screen is normal.

B: Inconsistent dialogue. If I defeat the cone-head and head back to Väinö, he still talks about there being someone at the shore, which isn't true anymore. It's not a big thing but something I noticed.

C: Inconsistent hitboxes. I can't walk through trees but I can walk through rocks and some other things like the buildings next to chanterelles, the big tree with the mom and the characters. I would prefer that either everything stops me or nothing does, now it feels like I need to guess.

D: Some artistic choices. Personally I feel like the water "updates" too quickly, I would make it slower. Perhaps the grass also. The game felt also a little too dark in the end, but maybe I would find it fitting after more playtime.

E: The inclusion of emotional things was very very nice. The word play seems great. The music puzzle was good but it took a little bit of time to understand. Nice art, nice characters. Maybe Marjukka could have a visible kantele in the small dialogue picture also, I think it would be a good addition since it is an important object.

Good job and thanks :)

The demo intrigued and delighted me with its fresh approach on familiar genres. I loved the otherwordly vibe of the world, and the sneak peek into the bigger plot and cast of characters. I'm very interested to see what the journey to the other side will end up looking like.

Some general positives:

• Beginning cutscene has a beautiful painted arstyle with gloomy vibes
• The gameplay itself utilizes high-quality pixerart with skillful use of painterly lighting
• Ethereal music provided by the Finnish natural instrument kantele creates a memorable soundtrack
  
• The characters are intriguing and endearing
• Interesting progression system based on memories and power words
  
• Exploring even the demo's small environment and its puzzles was fun
• Mini games such as kantele tuning and song battles fit well with the rest of the game's motifs
• Loved the themes of death, memories, loss, and letting go

Things that can still be improved:

• More window modes would be appreciated
• The collected souls follow you quite slowly
• Song battle system was a bit hard to understand