Imp of the Sun Preview

You are an imp sent by the sun itself to fight against an eternal eclipse that has fallen on the lands. With platforming that looks similar to Ori and the Blind Forest, does Imp of the Sun hold the same platforming joys that the former did?

I would like to preface: I am an absolute fanatic of Ori and the Blind Forest. I played through the entire game easily eight times back to back as I tried to get all of the achievements for it... and then played a couple of times more to get them on the Definitive Edition; with that in mind, I came in with an open mind since I knew that I would have a bias. That said, I will refrain from comparing Imp of the Sun too much to Ori and the Blind Forest since the worth of this game should not be defined by how similar it is to an already-existing title.

The preview starts off with a cutscene depicting a confusing scene that I did not understand much, and soon enough you land on the world as the protagonist. Talking to a girl just beside the start of the preview explains to you a bit of the lore and gives you your name: Nin.

Speaking to other NPCs felt more like a chore rather than anything else in the game however, as the characters felt hollow; for example, the grandmother, Izhi, was rude and completely unlikable straight off the bat. My favourite character was the ghost named Qari, as he seemed the friendliest and most down-to-earth character. That said, the unlikable NPCs weren't my only quarrel with the game's dialogue, as each of the text boxes reveal what the characters are saying extremely slowly and there is no option to speed this up.

As Nin, you will be tasked with defeating the four Keepers that stole the sun's power in order to get rid of the eternal eclipse. You'll set off in your journey without much guidance, looking for where to go and stumbling upon what you have to do by complete accident, which didn't feel like a particularly fun way to start off an adventure.

The Peruvian-inspired world is pretty; however, it is more so in the short cinematics than the gameplay and I felt they left a bit to be desired, especially since some of the elements on the screen aren't immediately obvious to newcomers. The music and soundtrack did do more justice to the game, however, as it was a charming one.

Finally, we get to the gameplay; Imp of the Sun's fast-paced platforming felt a bit too fast for me, as Nin can move incredibly quickly. I'm not sure if I'm perhaps too slow in my reactions, but the way the speed and gravity were handled in the game felt uncomfortable. Nin's speed and jumps feel supernatural and not very comfortable nor easy to traverse with, as the speeds and gravity are drastically different from other core titles within the genre such as Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest. 

The combat felt misplaced and uncomfortable too, as Nin's main form of attack is a melee one that is used to defeat foes, but some of the foes felt far too difficult for me to face — especially when they were gathered in clusters, which meant I had to fight all of them at the same time whilst some of them clubbed me in the face. I struggled with the enemies present in the second area because I could not coordinate my attacks, animation speed, and movement speed to work properly. The game also warns you that Nin fights better whilst suspended in midair, but the knock-up height paired with the jump height didn't seem to agree with each other. 

Some work needs to be done to Imp of the Sun before its early-development feel goes away. I hope that the game's momentum and gravity are adjusted to fit a more comfortable speed, as it currently feels far too quick for me; I was excited to explore the Peruvian-inspired world, but at those speeds, I don't think I'll ever make it past the first boss.