Game #1344: Oceanhorn - Monster of Uncharted Seas

 Not all Zeldas have pointy ears.

  I first learned of Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas back when I was in love with the PS Vita, and always felt kinda bummed I missed out on the physical release. And then I missed out on the Switch release.... but, praise the seas, it rereleased alongside Oceanhorn 2, so I finally get to play this little game that eluded me for about 6 years.

 Oceanhorn is a Zelda clone, Wind Waker in particular, through and through. You, as a little guy in a blue tunic, long before Link wore his in Breath of the Wild, get to travel through various Islands, going through dungeons, bombing walls, collecting pieces of heart, the works.

 Every Island has its own set of goals, which grant you Adventurer XP, and when you raise your Adventurer rank you get tiny perks, such as carrying more bombs or arrow, nothing game-changing, but enough to entice you to defeat enemies and try to clear subgoals. Much like Zelda, the main quest is about getting new tools, of which there aren't all that many, and then using them to find treasure and solve puzzles.

 Sailing is fairly on-rails, unlike Wind Waker, so you just pick an Island and you automatically sail to your destination. Exploring and talking with NPCs will slowly reveal the location of more Islands for you to explore.

 The game is a bundle of charm, travelling around felt so much fun despite how admittedly clunky the game is at times. Y'know, movement is a bit off, sometimes the collision boxes are suspicious, etc... but the game, as a whole, works well. The sense of adventure is ever-present, as the smaller size of every island, when compared to "triple A games", makes the whole thing feel cozy, which works in its favor. Oceanhorn is good, y'know?

 8.0