While I can absolutely appreciate the fact that developers of all sorts have begun to use games as a medium for expression, much as is the case with other artforms there are sometimes projects that you simply can’t wrap your arms around. I suppose given the more international composition of the eShop now, with games from many different corners of the world, it’s also easier to see how some flavors and styles may work well in some regions, but not necessarily translate well to others. For me that’s where I think Coralina, for me, sort of gets lost in the weeds. Despite its obvious ambition and drive to tell its story in its own way, I’ll admit that even an hour in I was still feeling pretty lost overall.

After a traumatic event, your character Cora has found herself trapped in Limbo, with no idea of how to get out. Joined by a crow, her goal will be to try to navigate the somewhat complex maze of platforms and doors, talking to anyone she can along the way to try to help piece together what has happened, and what she should do. The challenge for me was simply trying to keep up with what everyone was trying to say, and to grasp what it all meant in the overall scheme of things.

There’s no question that the game’s artwork and general design have their moments, and they do at least establish a sort of vibe to the experience, even if I was struggling to keep up with what the story was trying to accomplish. It does often use more elevated and conceptual language, feeling like it’s trying very hard at times to be profound, but more often than not I was left scratching my head wondering whether it would get any more clear what was going on or why I even was supposed to care. I applaud the daring degree of creativity the game shows, and its willingness to buck normal trends and just do things its own way, but when the final point may then be a struggle to see, it makes the affair feel hit and miss at best.