Seasons after Fall Review – “Seasons of a Different Color”

Developer: Swing Swing Submarine
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Reviewed on: PC
Code received

Seasons after Fall is a puzzle platformer with a charming, albeit simplistic story, and an amazing, hand-painted art style that impresses from start to finish. What makes the game unique is it’s season manipulation mechanic that is at the heart of the puzzles you will be solving. Unfortunately, the lack of direction, simple platforming, and absence of rewards make the later half of this indie game a chore in backtracking and patience.

Story

The game puts you in the paws of a curious fox who gets possessed by a forest spirit. It then tasks you with awakening the Guardians of the Forest in an attempt to perform a sacred ritual, one that will supposedly bring life back to the empty forest. These Guardians control the seasons, Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, and each one bestows upon you the ability to change the season at will. The story does tread some well worn territory, and ends with a bit of a thud, but it is mostly serviceable.

It took me about six hours to complete the game. There are flower patches you can find that unlock pieces of concept art, but that constitutes the extent of the collectables. There are also no difficulty options, so each playthrough will be largely similar.

Gameplay

This is a very simple puzzle platformer. There is no combat and you are limited in your movement abilities, in fact all you can do it jump and bark. You do not upgrade any of these abilities along the way and the challenge comes in the way of environmental puzzles what must be manipulated using your ability to change the seasons. If you come in expecting more than just casual platforming and puzzle solving, you may be disappointed.

Each area changes dramatically based on the season. For instance, geysers of water become frozen during the Winter allowing you to use them as platforms. Certain plants also behave differently depending on the season, allowing you to grow tall trees in the Spring and climb snow mounds in the Winter. While these mechanics are novel at first, their repeated use grows tiresome after their initial introduction.

While some of the later puzzles do prove to be quite challenging, on the whole the game is very easy provided you can find your way to the objective.

The level design is subject to wandering and backtracking. With no map and no objective indicator, you are left to find your own way for most of the game. This sometimes leads to aimless wandering, hoping to come across your goal. Considering how one note the platforming is, hitting a dead end can be frustrating. The inclusion of a map or at least some way to track your objectives would have gone a long way to alleviate some of this frustration.

Graphics & Sound

Seasons after Fall is nothing short of breathtaking. The hand-painted scenery brings the forest to life in a way few games can. The color palette is varied and expertly used. Each season comes with it’s own features and the transition between each one is instant and an amazing technical achievement. Winter sees snow falling from the sky and Spring sees that snow turn to rain all in the blink of an eye. It all comes together to make Seasons after Fall one of the best looking 2D games available today.

Much the like the graphics, the music and sound effects are also top notch. Fall is underscored by gusting winds and Summer brings the sound of crickets chirping in the distance. The story is also complimented by great voice acting that drives home the fairytale aesthetic. Combine that with a fantastic soundtrack and Seasons after Fall is a feast for both the eyes and ears.

Performance

I experienced no performance issues during my time with the game. It fully supports both mouse & keyboard as well as a gamepad. I used an Xbox 360 gamepad for the entirety of my play through and was satisfied with the experience. I also didn’t encounter any bugs, glitches, or crashes.

Conclusion

Seasons after Fall is a gorgeous looking game that tells a cohesive, family friendly story. However, the casual platforming, repetitious puzzles, and backtracking may disappoint those looking for a challenge.