Mirage of Dragon

[b] Mirage of Dragon [/b] is an abstract exploration game with some casual platforming gameplay. I kind of like it but unless you want to experience some of the most cryptic puzzles, I would not recommend it. When I say puzzles I mean more like jumping off the screen to find some secret hallway by complete accident. It has a lot of those "leap of faith" moments. If you played Zzzz-Zzzz-Zzzz it is very similar in format. Not exactly intuitive when it comes to mechanics and lack of proper hints. There are some very beautiful locations if you have the patience to find them. This is definitely the game that you buy for aesthetic reasons and writing (not so much for gameplay). This developer also made a point&click adventure called GhostDream. Which is very odd because this platformer has the same problems. He makes these unique visual games and somehow manages to make them unnecessary hard to play. I really wish the game would just have a pop-up text that would explain new mechanics. I ha...

I really can't say it any better than one of the previous reviewers did: "This developer also made a point&click adventure called GhostDream. Which is very odd because this platformer has the same problems. He makes these unique visual games and somehow manages to make them unnecessary hard to play." That's it. That's exactly how I feel about both Mirage of Dragon and Ghostdream -- yet another case of someone being a much better artist than they are a game designer or programmer. I paid around 50 cents for this game, and for that price I would rather have an interactive art gallery where I could just click through the images and be done with it in ten minutes, rather than have to endure hours of tedious, badly designed platforming in order to see everything. I really would like to see more of what this game has to offer visually, but I just can't be bothered with any more of the clunky gameplay that is required to get there.

This is quite a unique game. Short review: Pros: + Art and OST are absolutely amazing + Unique maze level design, where any encountered puzzle can be immediately solved, and every exit to the maze is also an ending to the game + Great puzzles and platforming without any kind of gimmicks + story, art direction and level design mesh together to produce a great atmosphere Cons: - This game is all about mystery and exploration, if you don't like being lost and asking yourself "where do I go", then this might not be for you. That being said, the game comes with a guidebook that helpfully points out where to go without fully solving the puzzles for you - The no gimmicks design might feel a tad simple for people that want more in the way of precision and/or action platforming Slightly more in-depth: Gameplay: It is basically platforming maze with 7 exits (one for each ending). You can reach any of the endings right from the beginning of the game - "all" you have to do is traverse...

[h1]Someone Cared[/h1] Someone cared a lot while making this game. The way the background scrolls with you made me queasy when I first started playing, but I've gotten used to it. There is not much in the way of a tutorial, so I'll add a tips section to this review. The art is top tier. I love it! [h1]Atmosphere[/h1] There's atmosphere in this title that is not quite seen in other platformers. This is partially due to the art, and partially due to the vignettes that appear on almost every screen. If you press X or K on the keyboard or B on the controller, a unique vignette appears on almost every screen in the game with text detailing a story. Grammar and spelling is occasionally wrong, and word choice is occasionally odd as well, but the dev obviously doesn't speak English as his primary language, so I give it a pass. There's quite a bit of music tracks as well that lend nicely to the atmosphere. [h1]If you buy this game, here are some tips that you'll want to try.[/h1] -The jump b...

I instantly fell in love with the art style, but cannot play the game. the movements are too fast and sensitive to play with keyboard, and not all keys are mapped correctly for game controller. There doesn't seem to be a way to remap controls. I don't want to have to spend an hour programming an xinput remapper so I guess I'm giving up. Love to play it if I could.

Have only played an hour so far but I'm super interested. The gameplay is ok, its pretty basic jumping. But you can tell a lot of effort and love was put into the game. Wish there was a bit more instruction on how to move and interact with things, but you can work it out as you go. After reading through a bunch of stuff in the libary in game and the readme / secrets files in the install folder, its clear it was the creators intentions.

This isn't a video game

One of the best indie games I've come across in a long time. I'd recommend reading the developer's artbook which comes with the game when you first start playing so that you'll understand it a little bit better and can get more out of it. The biggest appeal for this game is of course the art, which is fantastic, surreal, and varies from area to area so that it never feels stale or reused. I've spent quite a bit of time already just staring at the backgrounds and all the intricate details. The platforming is very fun and feels smooth. The learning curve might be a little steep but it's rewarding once you get the hang of it. I also enjoy the focus on "pure platforming" and not relying on gimmicks like many action platformers do. The music is very good and the overall atmosphere is incredibly immersive. I've not found all of the endings yet but I love all of the story and writings I've come across. I definitely recommend this game and it's a shame it hasn't gotten more recognition yet. I...

hmm.. this game is very interesting. The most frustrating thing about it is that it doesn't tell you what all the mechanics are. It doesn't tell you you can wall jump in certain places and that you can double jump on certain things. Also the menu screens are a little confusing, But stick with it, it starts to become a better puzzle platformer game later on. The most redeeming quality(some may say only) is the story, the story is very interesting, although confusing. Overall I'd recommend because it's pretty cheap and pretty interesting if you stick with it.

I recommend it. As to why I do, you'll have to figure it out by yourselves.