Ary and the Secret of Seasons

If Ary and The Secret of Seasons would have undergone a more thorough QA session it could have been a great game from the start. In its current situation, where despite the annoying issues, the developers still did not release a patch, the game loses a lot of its charm. All the necessary ingredients are present: an immersive story, interesting characters, an innovative game concept, varied puzzles, and a promising combat system. But all of these positive aspects pale in front of the technical part that is severely lacking. As such I cannot recommend Ary and The Secret of Seasons until several patches have come out fixing the annoying issues of the game.

This is really more of a puzzle and exploration-based game, but fights do work well where they are included. Sadly, at the time of review, the game is still a bit glitchy, with bugs, lag, and slight screen interference dampening the experience. However, this is an otherwise solid and enjoyable action-adventure, with an excellent central mechanic. If you’re a fan of the genre, you could do a lot worse than picking up Ary and the Secret of Seasons. After all, ‘tis always the season for adventure.

Clearly a labor of love, Ary unites puzzles, platforming and exploration into one round package. Although its technical issues are a bit off-putting at first, if you can look past them, there’s much fun to be had.

Glitchy mechanics and a lack of polish get in the way of this otherwise innovative, whimsical puzzle-platformer. I want to wholeheartedly recommend it as a game for the whole family, but sadly several broken elements stop it from being a must-play.

Ultimately, this game would have benefited from more time both in testing and on the drawing board. A more sophisticated combat system, less cheesy storytelling, more embellishment on exploration, and animations that are far less glitchy would have done Ary and the Secret of Seasons the justice it sincerely deserves.

Ultimately, this game would have benefited from more time both in testing and on the drawing board. A more sophisticated combat system, less cheesy storytelling, more embellishment on exploration, and animations that are far less glitchy would have done Ary and the Secret of Seasons the justice it sincerely deserves.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is perfect for the old platformer and The Legend of Zelda lovers, but it's literally devastated by technical problems, from tearing to cluncky controls.

At the heart of Ary and the Secret of Seasons rests a good story and a delightful world ripe for exploring. The only thing that keeps players from experiencing the world in full is the game's half-done execution. The glitches alone will put off seasoned gamers, and given this game's young demographic, it is hard to imagine kids suffering through the slips. This is a shame as Ary is the kind of character you want to root for. But after one too many glitches, her dazzling personality will fail to keep gamers plugged in.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons has a few short moments of brilliance, with clever season manipulation mechanics that are used to good effect. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience is let down by poor graphical choices, consistent choppiness and a general lack of polish in almost every aspect.

It's still easy to recommend the game to fans of whimsical adventure. Ary is a lovable and scrappy hero, and her journey is full of lighthearted comedy and a surprising amount of thematic drama. It's not perfect, nor a grand reinvention of the genre, but Ary and the Secret of Seasons has soul, an intangible quality that does a lot to elevate the game above its station.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a lovely looking game with some truly smart gameplay ideas, but all of that is plagued by screen-tearing, performance issues, animation bugs, and a general lack of polish in almost every aspect. After a few patches and a sale Ary could become someone's favourite game, but the fact it launched in this state is just a shame.

The technical sector is in fact immature, with consequences that strongly influence the use of the adventure.

With a little spit and polish or perhaps a bigger budget, Ary and the Secret of Seasons could have been a real standout that no Zelda fan should miss. However, at least in its current state, it’s hard to recommend as the game is anything but sunshine and rainbows at the moment. If Ary and the Secret of Seasons sounds like something you’d enjoy, that’s great. But I’d strongly recommend waiting for the game’s developers to iron out the kinks before plunking down your cash.

There is a great game here, fun combat, interesting mechanics, nice characters and story. Too bad it is buried under so many technical issues and bugs. It might be a good buy after a hefty polish.

Exiin's first step as an indie studio is not as strong, but it doesnt disappoint either. Ary and the Secret of Seasons is full of new ideas, but the lack of time probably prevented the team from fully developing those ideas, and the result is an unpolished, rushed game that could have been much better.

The combination of an energetic heroine exploring a vibrant world showed enough promise to make me eager for its debut. It’s both sad and frustrating to see the final product because I know it can be so much better. Travel is tedious, with environments so large as if to inspire awe but are a real slog to cross. Half-baked ideas, poor performance, and low reliability prevent it from reaching any heights and unless there’s some serious patchwork to be done, I can easily see this game being forgotten by the end of the year, if not sooner. Ary and the Secret of Seasons has its heart in the right place and displays flashes of greatness but nothing short of a major overhaul can fix its numerous and significant flaws.

Early glimpses of the puzzles and dungeons showed just how great Ary and the Secret of Seasons could be, and while those are realised here, it's just not enough to make up for the numerous issues and missteps. Many players won't be able to even see those best moments unless they have the considerable patience needed to be able to get over halfway through. A true disappointment; there is an awful lot to like here, but ultimately it's hard to recommend this. Strangely, considering how many times it's been delayed, this just feels unfinished, like a preview build.

Even for someone as desperate to be captivated by a light-hearted adventure like me, Ary and the Secret of the Seasons is an exercise in frustration that isn’t likely to improve your mood.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a basic my-first-adventure, that rarely lifts itself above mediocrity. Turns out having the power of seasons can’t stop the game being a disappointing rainy day in summer when you’d planned to go to the beach.

Ary‘s problems largely overshadow everything there is to love about it. No-one wants be in the middle of exploring and fall through the world, or get stuck in a rock for no apparent reason. And no one wants to have that continuously happen for up to fifteen hours. With some patches to address the game’s issues, Ary and the Secret of Seasons might be worth recommending for its fun characters, engaging story and unique mechanics. But while ever those issues persist, it isn’t worth your time.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons feel like it's not ready for release yet. It's frustrating because there are occasional moments of promise in areas like its temples and puzzles, but the overall experience is brought down by sloppy combat, a stale world, and numerous technical issues. If the developers take some more time to polish things up Ary could be a decent adventure, but in its current state, you're better off waiting.

At times, Ary and the Secret of Seasons can be a fun if not particularly memorable new action adventure game, but what will really stick in your mind are the various gamebreaking bugs you can stumble across. I would certainly wait a few seasons for patches before considering picking this up. There is the skeleton of an enjoyable family-friendly title here but it just isn’t ready.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is fun for a while, but the technical issues really effect it, and stop you from having a great adventure.