LogFAQs > #977495912

Game #20 Complete! The Fall of Elena Temple

Throw This Quote On The Back Of The Box: "There are some bits here I liked!"

Final Thoughts:
The good news is this is definitely the best of the catalogue games I've played so far. The bad news is that's like winning a race at the retirement home. Not exactly stiff competition here and my overall assessment of this game is definitely in the bottom half of puzzle platformer (movement puzzler?) games I've played. Like, it is good for a Playdate catalogue game but pretty meh for a game in general.

There are some levels here I thought were pretty decent. The game is at its best where I'm sitting around looking at the layout and trying to figure out which one way through the level gets me all the coins I need. Or, better yet, when I make a move and then twenty seconds later realize "oops, the game has outsmarted me". That's what I want out of a puzzle game like this. Punch me in the face once in a while. Call me dumb and make me prove I'm not. This game doesn't ever really get to that point. There's no super challenging level here, no capstone course that really makes you feel clever for solving it. There are a handful of levels here that make good use out of the mechanics, which does definitely put it above the bottom tier of Playdate games for me.

There's also a bit of a personality here, which I appreciate. Elena Temple isn't hilarious, but the little bits of dialogue at least made me smile once in a while. It feels like its own thing, too, which is also important. I don't have a ton of close comparisons for this one. I mean, time mechanics have been done to death at this point but this one still felt fairly unique. I like that especially when it is very easy to make a derivative indie game.

Still, the problem with a lot of these Playdate games still plague this one. It feels like someone's first attempt at a game. Sort of a "hey take it easy on me - I haven't done this before!" kind of vibe to it. The game gives you a mechanic, but never really spends time exploring it like it should. Hey here's spiders ok we'll play with those for two levels and then move on forget about the spiders. This is the kind of game that feels like it needs twice the levels it has, and it is a pretty basic, bare bones puzzle platformer all things considered. Not terrible, but you're not going to miss out on skipping it.

Should You Play It? Eh. No? Probably not. It isn't terrible but I don't think that's enough to really warrant a purchase. It is only three dollars and there is some fun here, so maybe if you love puzzle platformers and don't mind a basic, one hour sort of experience.

Final Score: Solid 4. Some good ideas. Some bad ones. Some sense that the game stole your three dollars and ran off with it.

Games Completed: 20/128

Game Rankings:
20) Boogie Loops
19) Hidey Spot
18) The Lushes Land
17) A Joke That's Worth 0.99 Cents
16) Whitewater Wipeout
15) Snak
14) DYG
13) Lost Your Marbles
12) Grand Tour Legends
11) Demon Quest '85
10) The Fall of Elena Temple
9) Flipper Lifter
8) Questy Chess
7) Echoic Memory
6) Omaze
5) Sasquatchers
4) Casual Birder
3) Zipper
2) Pick Pack Pup
1) Crankin's Time Travel Adventure

Hey I now have a top ten and bottom ten Playdate game list that doesn't have any overlap. Congrats on Elena Temple to be the only non Season 1 game to make the top ten. Just barely though.