Delicious Fruit
Download Game Screenshots
-
by Fruitless
3 Reviews:
quadstuffed
Song tier list:
1. Lightshow (insane piano riff)
2. Midday stroll (super serene)
3. stage/save select (sets the pace of the game)
Great stuff Kira!!!
[1] Like
1. Lightshow (insane piano riff)
2. Midday stroll (super serene)
3. stage/save select (sets the pace of the game)
Great stuff Kira!!!
Rating: 8.0 80
Difficulty: 40 40
Aug 31, 2026
Kilgour22
Disclaimer: I tested the game in its later stages of development. Naturally, I have thoughts and critique, which I'll be spoiler tagging. But for a basic summary, I think there's some good gameplay with decent but overly simplistic bosses. The production value is generally good, and the music is all custom-made by the creator (awesome!). The game is also made in ReloadedK's Godot fangame engine, which was a questionable choice but makes sense given the creator's preexisting familiarity with Godot. Check the game out if you like easier platforming and having a more relaxed experience.
On to the full review.
I Wanna Journey is, in many ways, a game of two halves. In a more literal sense, the bottom half of the hub is the main game, while the top half of the hub is the extra content; but the metaphorical side is what I mean. There's a split in the platforming that presents an interesting dilemma in game design that I think is underexplored territory: catering to new players while catering to speedrunners.
If you play each save quickly, you'll see what I mean. The cycles tend to work out, and that's in part because considerable attention to speedrunning potential was given by the creator. Where this design breaks down, however, is in tighter cycles and bosses; neither will be ideal as a more casual experience, particularly for experienced/quicker players, who will be bored during bosses and whose natural pace of play will not always match the speed the cycles play at.
Speaking of the bosses, this is where I feel the division is most prevalent. Questions of genre arise, ones that challenge the idea of Needle + Boss = Adventure. It was apparent to me that the creator prefers platforming over bosses, particularly with respect to the time spent ensuring variety within the gameplay. The bosses are too simple to really scratch the itch that Adventure players are looking to scratch, whereas the mere existence of bosses is going to be annoying for Needle players. Such a dichotomy is also partly present in the later platforming stages, where the gimmicks used become precise enough to begin morphing into a Gimmick Needle game rather than an Adventure game, this time annoying Adventure players while generally satisfying all but the most puristic Needle players (or those who can't get over slight physics differences), and the stages just stop having bosses altogether.
More time should have been given to developing boss attacks and filling dead space. Boss 4 embodies these issues, being by far the longest boss while having lots of time where nothing is happening, and when something does happen, it's always just RNG bouncing. There should have been a boss at the end of Stage 5 and Stage 6, and the secret stages should have offered a harder version of their respective stage's boss.
These qualities keep me from rating the game higher; half of the game simply lacks the passion it needed to offer a unique and memorable experience, one that feels complete.
I wish the creator the best of luck on their next endeavor!
[0] Likes
On to the full review.
I Wanna Journey is, in many ways, a game of two halves. In a more literal sense, the bottom half of the hub is the main game, while the top half of the hub is the extra content; but the metaphorical side is what I mean. There's a split in the platforming that presents an interesting dilemma in game design that I think is underexplored territory: catering to new players while catering to speedrunners.
If you play each save quickly, you'll see what I mean. The cycles tend to work out, and that's in part because considerable attention to speedrunning potential was given by the creator. Where this design breaks down, however, is in tighter cycles and bosses; neither will be ideal as a more casual experience, particularly for experienced/quicker players, who will be bored during bosses and whose natural pace of play will not always match the speed the cycles play at.
Speaking of the bosses, this is where I feel the division is most prevalent. Questions of genre arise, ones that challenge the idea of Needle + Boss = Adventure. It was apparent to me that the creator prefers platforming over bosses, particularly with respect to the time spent ensuring variety within the gameplay. The bosses are too simple to really scratch the itch that Adventure players are looking to scratch, whereas the mere existence of bosses is going to be annoying for Needle players. Such a dichotomy is also partly present in the later platforming stages, where the gimmicks used become precise enough to begin morphing into a Gimmick Needle game rather than an Adventure game, this time annoying Adventure players while generally satisfying all but the most puristic Needle players (or those who can't get over slight physics differences), and the stages just stop having bosses altogether.
More time should have been given to developing boss attacks and filling dead space. Boss 4 embodies these issues, being by far the longest boss while having lots of time where nothing is happening, and when something does happen, it's always just RNG bouncing. There should have been a boss at the end of Stage 5 and Stage 6, and the secret stages should have offered a harder version of their respective stage's boss.
These qualities keep me from rating the game higher; half of the game simply lacks the passion it needed to offer a unique and memorable experience, one that feels complete.
I wish the creator the best of luck on their next endeavor!
Rating: 7.3 73
Difficulty: 40 40
Aug 31, 2026