Island Hopper

just played through the demo and i have to say that it was fantastic!) a very cool 3d platformer game with its own style (kind of a floaty-arcane fantasy, if i had to name it), great levels, absolutely gorgeous graphics (even on the lowest settings the game looks fantastic), and a very good design for the main character - he kinda reminds me of the black mages from Final Fantasy, especially Vivi from Final Fantasy IX, but he (alongside other guys that look like him) have a unique, cute charm to their appearance - love the guys!) also, my favorite level has to be the three islands - having the ability to freely explore a pretty big map with little platforming puzzles on every island is great! oh, and also, the cutscenes showing off the locations when you enter them look beautiful - you can just stop and see the masterfully-crafted imagery for yourself while also getting a good look at the maps!)

but, alas, i have a few complaints and problems with the game - they're pretty small but it would be great if they were polished out a bit) first things first - the game doesn't have any sounds or music for me, except the sound when you pick up the coins - maybe it has something to do with my computer, as a lot of games don't have any sound for me, but, alas, maybe it's just a demo thing) next, when first starting the game and all throughout the first location, there is a message in the upper-left corner of the screen saying "LIGHTING NEEDS TO BE REBUILT (642 unbuilt objects)" and another, grey one under it - "'DisableAllScreenMessages' to suppress". once you go to the tutorial or any of the levels the message dissapears, but if you go back to the starting village then it appears once again( next, a very nasty bug occurs if you jump on the cannons instead of going to them by foot - the main hopper freezes there and can't turn around or move anywhere, and the cannons themselves (at least in the tutorial) have some missing textures on their wooden bases. as for the bug with the hopper freezing on the cannons - you can exit the level and it goes away, luckily) also, the starting cutscene playing again and again whenever you go back to the village is pretty annoying - it wouldn't be much of a problem if you could skip it, but holding X doesnt work - maybe that's because i'm using a keyboard instead of a gamepad, but still!)

all in all, this demo plays very well and gives me great hope for the game - it has a lot of potential while still being very much playable and enjoyable even in its current state! DevBrooksie, you did a great job, and i wish you best of luck, nerves of steel and lots of inspiration both while continuing the development for Island Hopper and in your future endeavors!) take care!