Very charming platformer with a really solid movement/combat system. I do feel like the level design starts to take a fall around world 5, as alot of it is just basic geometry or flat terrain, but there's still some really solid moments even in those worlds. I just feel like the game doesn't fully take advantage of it's level design/enemy design. For example, there's this one enemy that's essentially a chain of ghosts that moves like snake, y'know, the PC game. In order to eliminate the enemy, you have to photograph each segment, which totals up to around 12 segments you need to photograph before it's gone. Considering how fast the enemy moves and it's unique health, I think it would have been great to see it in more varied arenas, but pretty much every time you encounter it, it's just alone in a room with 2 large platforms, rarely paired with other enemies or interesting terrain to take advantage of its speed and properties.

Don't get me wrong, I think the enemy design here is REALLY solid. Each enemy fills a distinct role and none of them tread on eachothers territory and can really synergise with one another, alot of them lend themselves to the movement/combat system very well, but like I said, the game just doesn't fully live up to the potential that these enemies have.

The bosses are, surprisingly, a high point. which is surprising considering alot of platformers falter with their bosses. Needing to photograph another enemy along with the boss itself is a really good way to emphasize positioning yourself correctly, and the dashcam shield is a good way to discourage dash spam. I also love how the bosses don't just use, but EMBRACE enemy adds, with some of the bosses absolutely peppering you with them, along with their unique attacks and mechanics. They're all genuinely really solid fights and I think Leather did a great job with them. The only one I didn't really like was the final phase of the final boss, where it becomes alot more static and less tailored towards the overall games structure due to lack of enemies or terrain to use, the boss also only has 3 attacks, one of which is only there to get your companion to move, and as such is entirely predictable.

I don't think the game should have been harder per say, but I think more unique environments/arenas/subrooms would have done it a really big favour. I'm not expecting Ultrakill tier level design obviously, but something more to snack on would have been nice.

Still on the whole? It's a very solid platformer with alot to love about it. The writing is fun, the artstyle is gorgeous, and the movement/combat is very very good. And even though I just ragged on the level design a bit, I still think it's overall fairly solid.

8/10. Would love to see what's in store for the future.