Ary and the Secret of Seasons Reviews
Unfortunately, Ary‘s problems largely overshadow everything there is to love about it.
Ultimately, Ary and The Secret of Seasons is a tragically rushed title. I honestly wanted to like this game; I like the genre, the aesthetics, and the characters that are actually voiced. It’s a lighthearted action platformer with a unique plot, big adventure, and interesting bosses.
As of right now, even for someone as desperate to be captivated by a light-hearted adventure like me, Ary and the Secret of the Seasons is an exercise in frustration that isn’t likely to improve your mood.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons delivers on its core systems and its ambition pays off in many areas, but it’s frustrating and off-key moments along with continuous bugs make it a mixed bag.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons had a lot of potential, mainly for their inspirations. However, the final execution was horrible and appears to have been delivered in a hurry. It is not worth the investment with the current quality, but it may be that in the future they will be able to correct the dozens of flaws that hinder the fun and immersion.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There are the bones of a fun and inventive game here. I had a blast playing an earlier demo on PC but the Switch just isn't able to deliver that. While I can't recommend the Switch version, this may still be worth checking out in some other form.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons has some good qualities. However, they're almost always in danger of being trampled by the game's consistent lack of polish and stream of bugs.
While Ary and the Secret of Seasons is an original, feel-good game with an interesting gameplay mechanic, it's still an unpolished game that deserved more fine-tuning to do justice to its scope.
At the heart of Ary and the Secret of Seasons rests a good story and a delightful world ripe for exploring. The only thing that keeps players from experiencing the world in full is the game's half-done execution. The glitches alone will put off seasoned gamers, and given this game's young demographic, it is hard to imagine kids suffering through the slips. This is a shame as Ary is the kind of character you want to root for. But after one too many glitches, her dazzling personality will fail to keep gamers plugged in.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a delightful action adventure that has great gameplay ideas but ultimately falls short. There are a lot of glitches, the combat is average at best and the visuals feature low-res textures. The ability to control the four seasons and use them to solve puzzles is a redeeming feature, but the reality is there are plenty of stronger titles in the genre available.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons has some inventive ideas with its puzzles but it lacks enjoyment in every other aspect of it.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
I think the game needed a bit more time in development to truly shine; erase the above issues and it would have been one of my favourite games of 2020 so far due to its magical storyline and Ary’s strength. A bit more time for the devs to fill up the world with more life, make the NPCs less like cardboard cut-outs and give players a bit more direction would make this game really shine.
A well-told story, a fantastic gameplay mechanic centred around seasons, and a well-realised world filled with unique characters. It’s not a game we’d urge you to rush out and purchase immediately, but if you’re after an action-adventure fix, you could do a lot worse.
Even if the developers will manage to fix all the gamebreaking bugs with subsequent patches, the core issues like a weak battle system, mediocre plot and lazy worldbuilding are not going anywhere. The only thing that can motivate you to see this game through is Ary's never ending charisma and a chance to see some narrative closure.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a lovely looking game with some truly smart gameplay ideas, but all of that is plagued by screen-tearing, performance issues, animation bugs, and a general lack of polish in almost every aspect. After a few patches and a sale Ary could become someone's favourite game, but the fact it launched in this state is just a shame.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons introduces an interesting "season bubbles" mechanic and a well characterized game world, but fails in providing a compelling story and an interesting gameplay. Many bugs and glitches don't help, either.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ary and the Secret of Seasons has an original concept and an appealing look to it. The game lets you control the seasons to create platforms or open up other ways to progress. In the open world, you can find a lot of things to do which keep you busy for hours. There is simply a lot to discover in the game. But unfortunately there are a lot of flaws. The game has tons of glitches, a faulty camera and crashes sometimes. Thanks to this the great concept turned out to be a mediocre title, even for 40 euros.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
A game with lots of potential that we can enjoy any and everywhere, but has too many issues on its own.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ary and the Secret of Seasons is perfect for the old platformer and The Legend of Zelda lovers, but it's literally devastated by technical problems, from tearing to cluncky controls.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ary and the Secret of Seasons reminds me greatly of an animated children’s film. It also reminds me of an early-2000s online computer game for kids, complete with choppy cutscenes and terrible graphical performance. There’s a ton of charm to be found in the soft animation and the silly characters, but there’s also a disappointing level of detail that’s missing from this unpolished adventure.