Skábma - Snowfall

With a big sigh I am giving this game a thumbs up. It's a gorgeously told and designed story and setting, but it's a horrendously frustrating game. This is one of the those very rare occasions in which I just barely forgive the latter because I was so touched by the former. I suspect that many gamers won't be as forgiving.

Oh, how I love the story. It takes place in a beautiful rendition of Sápmi (a.k.a. Lapland), is voice acted in the enchanting rhythms of the Northern Sámi language, and is generously sprinkled with Sámi cultural practices, folklore, and mythology. It's a pleasure to have experienced a mythical version of that world through a video game.

But then there's the gameplay, the core issue being controls. It starts with insanely sensitive camera defaults, which you'll immediately want to dial way, way down in the settings. But that won't save you from the game's abysmal 3D platforming. Look, I'm not one of those people who absolutely hate the concept. I play and enjoy a lot of games that have it, even when they don't do it very well. But Skábma is uniquely awful. Early on you get the power to jump high into the air. It's maddeningly finicky to activate, aim, and combine jumps. And it's not a rare challenge: this is the game's core mechanic. I cussed. A lot. All the way to the final boss battle, which wasn't too long or hard, but made me question all my life choices that led me to such a sorry excuse for a gaming experience.

There are additional problems with quest goals being poorly communicated and even bugged. I had an especially frustrating experience with trying to capture the fire fox spirit, despite doing everything right.

Another annoyance is collectibles. They are actually nicely done as such and add a lot of flavor and even humor to the game. However, you can't go back and collect them after finishing it. Completionists will have to replay the whole damn thing while carefully following a walkthrough. What an unfortunate decision. You can't pay me enough to replay this.

I know this doesn't read like a positive review, and really it isn't. I would not recommend this game to people who want to enjoy a good game. (Not a satisfying sentence to write.) But I would recommend it to people intrigued by the story and armed with a boatload of patience for poor gameplay.

There's a hint at the end of the game that there might be a sequel. I strongly suggest the devs listen to the feedback and even consider hiring a gameplay consultant.