✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, puzzle design and strong narrative focus
≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, shooter and racing gameplay, while skipping precision platforming
Tighter and more focused than the open worlds that followed it, with a compact city you learn by heart rather than by map marker. Driving carries most of the game. The shooting has aged badly — no proper cover, stiff aiming — and missions restart from the beginning, which turns a late failure into a long redo.
Where it drifts furthest from Ori and the Will of the Wisps: visuals and tone.
On reception: its Steam reviews are very positive, against overwhelmingly positive for Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
It predates Ori and the Will of the Wisps by 18 years, with what that implies technically.
