Game Thoughts - Karambola by Holy Pangolin Studio

I got curious about this game mostly because of the title, since the word is also used in Filipino, and usually used with the meaning "collision" (like with vehicles on the road). Turns out it also means carom seed, which is what Karambola, the main character of this game (kinda), is.

What's It About?

Bad thought birds have taken away Karambola's friends (who are also plant people, like, people with plant heads) and isolated them into different seasons and places, and the goal in this game is to help them overcome those thoughts and bring them back together again as a group. I guess that's how I could best say it, given the surreal nature of the game.

Writing

I like how simple the story is, in that it has a start, a middle, and an end, and that it pretty much tells what needs to be told. And at the same time, what's also nice about it is that it still leaves many things to the imagination and interpretation of the player, even if there's descriptions of individual situations in the achievement descriptions. In a way, every player has their own version of what's going on, and it makes the whole experience of this game personal.

For me, I like how it portrays isolation, where it's basically how people get stuck in their own world, and how it can aggravate negative thoughts in your head. And I also like how it shows that when people are together, the seemingly big problems are brought to their proper perspective.

Art

I really like the art style, which kind of reminds me of some editorial cartoons, and how the story is told through images. While there are some form of narration in the form of words, most of the game employs pictures to tell this tale.

It's also nice to see both color and black-and-white used to achieve certain effects, like letting the player know that a stage is finished, or providing contrast between elements.

The plants are also drawn in really good detail, and I find it so cool. However, I do have some difficulty recognizing what they are until the achievements show up, but that's due to most of them being unfamiliar to me (due to being in a country that doesn't have most of these commonly). I've never known that there were things like carom seed, kiwano, and pattypan squash. (Also, I was not aware that spruce cones were edible.)

Audio

Music and sounds play a large part in the story. Oftentimes you will have to make some form of music (and there are quite a few tracks, with at least one per character) in order for the characters to get out of their isolation. The game also puts a lot of detail in how the characters sound and what situation they're in, like with Karambola crying once he remembers that his friends were taken away, or how Artichoke is heard shivering (either in fear or cold, not quite sure).

One thing I don't like about it, however, is how the sound levels seem to vary a lot between scenes. I mean, it's alright if you're going to just play it by yourself, since you can just adjust as needed. But it can be a bit bothersome if you're recording and want to keep it consistent.

Ah... Why even be so bothered with that when there's a cat that has a deep-voiced meow???

Gameplay

This is a point-and-click puzzle game, and so you have to explore each environment with the cursor and figure out what the clickable elements do. I like that the puzzles are a mix of observation, thinking, and going by feel (or is it playing by ear?) Then again, given the nature of the story, where it deals a lot with emotions and somewhat abstract thoughts, these kinds of puzzles fit very well. You get to ask yourself, "What do I need to do here?" and you also get the satisfying feeling of "Ohh, so that's how it is!"

I also like that you can play the stages in any order, and you can go back to the main screen if you find yourself getting stumped. I doubt that you'll get really stumped for long, however, as long as you keep trying new approaches to the puzzles, like looking for other things to click or changing the order of what you click. It also helps a lot to try looking for things that seem to be linked.

I find the puzzles somewhat on the easy side (or should I say simple side), but it still needs some brain work. And it's even more satisfying when you see the hearts appear and the characters expressing happiness in their own ways.

Overall

It's a pretty cozy, fun, and surreal game that deals with isolation, friendship, and negative thoughts without being too emotional about it. And considering that it's the developer's first game (at least, on Steam), it's a fairly decent one, too.

You can get it for free on Steam.