The experience of playing this game has been wonderful and while some people might complain about a game only being 4-5 hours long, I think that experience has been exactly as long as a game needs to be. This isn't an RPG, there aren't very many upgrades as far as your gear is concerned and there isn't anywhere to go other than where you are supposed to go. So after getting past about 4 bosses, all of which were wonderfully made, some creative yet simple puzzles, and speaking to just the right amount of people and very seldomly being interrupted by cinematics, it is clear to me that the dude in the distance, is my final fight of the game.
The setup is really eerie as you can hear the deep breaths of something enormous that is above you. Your journey to this showdown is really straight-forward and even though this appears like a balance beam of platforming, you aren't allowed to fall. Heck, you can't even intentionally jump off of these things if you wanted to suicide yourself.
once we make it to the top there is a brief cinematic with someone stuck in a bag on a table and it is presumed that this is your sister, who is the very reason why we have been on this journey to begin with. As you are trying to free her, an enormous something or other can be seen in the background and you know that this creature doesn't want to be your friend.
We watch in horror as the Mountain King does something that wasn't very nice to her and realize that he has now spotted us. This was always going to happen though, right?
This battle isn't tough, per se, but just like with anything the first time you face it, you don't really know what he is going to do so you are going to die a few times. He has a knife and a fork attack and you just avoid those. Understanding the mechanics of these is something you will pick up pretty quickly because just like all the other fights in this game, this battle isn't designed to be particularly difficult, it is designed to be a visual marvel and I think they succeeded at that.
My picture isn't fantastic but it shouldn't be a huge surprise when he has a second phase that involves a sword being swung at you and the later, the sword swing and subsequent jumping that you have to do happens twice in a row.
Just like in all the battles up to this point, the 2nd phase is its own checkpoint so you don't have to do the entire 1st section again if he kills you and I think he will unless you watch a tutorial before facing him.
one of the biggest issues I faced when doing this 2nd phase was that I was my own worst enemy, and in an effort to jump in a rather spastic manner, I jumped off the playfield, which kills you.
So don't do that if you can help it haha
He's slightly larger than you are
All in all, this fight took me, from first encounter to completion, about 10-15 minutes to get past and to me, this is a perfect amount of time. None of it was frustrating and when I did make mistakes it wasn't because this was some super challenging thing that required ultra-precise reflexes, it was because I mad-button-mashed or lingered too long on the offensive and ended up getting crushed by a fall rock. Then of course there was the 4 or so times that I just jumped off the playfield like a tool.
Overall, this has been a delightful experience of a game with a few forgivable hiccups along the way. It is true that the game is only 3-5 hours long but since it is a story that is so well-told and well-executed for the most part, that short length doesn't really bother me all that much.
There isn't much replay value here, but I think I would actually kind of enjoy watching my GF play this if she ever wanted to give it a try. This is a simple game that I think the noobies
of noobs could have some fun with, so if you have a chance to pick it up for a few dollars or even better, get it for free with your membership (it's on PS-Plus right now) then you absolutely should do so. The music, the graphics, the story, the simplistic controls, all of this appealed greatly to me, and i think it will to others as well.
all unsourced images are screens from my own gameplay
