I’ve reflected on this before, but while it tends to be really easy to form opinions and write reviews about games that are truly amazing or simply terrible, the real struggle is trying to write about titles that effectively leave you feeling indifferent. These are games that work, and seem to meet their intended design objectives, but are just pretty forgettable all around. I suppose my level of exposure to so many different titles makes it more likely I’d bump into this problem, being more painfully aware when I’m playing a game that isn’t as good as some others already out there, but most of the time the issues aren’t even about competition, just that the gameplay in question is pretty bland.

As you may have guessed, that’s roughly where I’ve landed with Dino Odyssey, a pretty benign and basic puzzle platformer where you’ll control a small dinosaur looking to collect 3 eggs on each level. Especially early on, some of these stages can be completed in a matter of seconds, making me wonder why they bothered beyond simply padding numbers, but thankfully most offer at least a little more substance than that. Whether you’re trying to jump over traps, contending with mean rival dinos, or avoiding a deadly dip in the water, there are hazards to contend with, just more often than not that doesn’t make for much, if any, challenge.

Unfortunately, I will say that in at least one area there’s a challenge where there really shouldn’t be. In particular when you’re climbing on a vine, trying to jump properly from them is a real hassle. In particular when you’re tasked with jumping to the side to get to a platform, finding the exact correct spot you need to be in, not too far down, but not too close to the ceiling, feels like it’s more aggravatingly hard than a very simplistic game like this should be offering. Mix that with too many stages that just feel very basic peppered in with some that are more of a challenge, but hardly taxing either, and this is a pretty easy game to be indifferent about. It’s hardly the worst out there, but it’s clearly making absolutely no effort at trying to be one of the best either.