LOVE 3
- June 21, 2021
- Retroware
In LOVE 3, players navigate a surreal, hand-drawn world as they solve puzzles and uncover the story of a lonely boy and his mechanical companion. This atmospheric adventure game features unique mechanics, minimalistic design, and a hauntingly beautiful original soundtrack. Players must explore the world, manipulate objects, and interact with non-playable characters to reveal the truth and find their way home.
Reviews
- LOVE 3 is a fantastic precision platformer that includes all previous games in the series, offering a wealth of content and replayability.
- The game features a unique checkpoint system that allows players to customize their difficulty, making it accessible for both casual and hardcore gamers.
- The minimalist pixel art style combined with an outstanding soundtrack creates an immersive and enjoyable gaming experience.
- Some players feel that LOVE 3 lacks original content and innovation compared to its predecessors, relying heavily on recycled elements from earlier games.
- The absence of a scoring or grading system at the end of levels has disappointed some fans who enjoyed the challenge of aiming for high scores.
- While the game is generally well-received, a few players have reported performance issues and a lack of challenge due to the unlimited checkpoint feature.
- music54 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in "Love 3" has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its stunning soundtrack that enhances the game's minimalist aesthetic and unique level designs. Players appreciate the remastered tracks and new compositions, noting that the music significantly contributes to the overall experience and replayability of the game. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features, elevating the gameplay and evoking strong emotional responses from players.
“The music has been remastered - new levels have been made for the game + new music - the old maps themselves have been changed from the original and they even kept the original layouts from the previous updates; it brings me back so many memories.”
“The soundtrack is superb and it's tough to pick my favorite track but I'll go with 'Shiny' since it's a bop and makes you smile when you hear it.”
“Honestly, the music alone would make this game worth it, even if it wasn't fun to play (but it is!)”
“When you've listened to a lot of video game music and start getting impatient with uninspired, cliché, boring tunes that don't seem to have much thought put into it, even just one new creative or attention-grabbing track you discover can feel so refreshing.”
“The soundtrack goes the same way, trying to improve what Love 2: Kuso did, although there are some tracks that can be said to surpass it, but Love 2: Kuso still has the best soundtrack of the trilogy. I'm not saying it's not outstanding, but the use of it in this game still generates me many doubts, more than the main menu which is a big step backwards compared to the previous installment.”
“I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention the game's amazing aesthetic, too -- this is very much like minimalist graphic design in game form, with often alien-looking landscapes carved out of the chunky pixels and each stage having its mood inferred with a limited palette; and a soundtrack that goes entirely hand-in-hand with the action to the point where I'd consider the game incomplete without it.”
- gameplay31 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this platformer is praised for its diverse mechanics and engaging level design, with each level offering unique challenges and artistic themes. Players appreciate the introduction of new features like customizable checkpoints, speed boosters, and momentum-based navigation, which enhance the overall experience while maintaining intuitive controls. The combination of satisfying platforming, creative level layouts, and a strong musical score contributes to a polished and enjoyable gameplay experience.
“A very cool platformer with way more different mechanics than I anticipated, which adds a lot of diversity to it!”
“I was already satisfied with the simpler mechanics in the first two games, but this game manages to add mechanics that are exciting and have a ton of movement potential, while still being intuitive and tightly designed.”
“The tight controls are paired with fun level design, and lots of simple mechanics pushed to their extremes.”
“But without this deterrent, the gameplay becomes perverted and largely pointless.”
“The only mechanic I found a little annoying is the helicopter because it can be quite hard to control.”
“It was a nice simple platformer, with a lot of challenging and creative levels and mechanics, though the ending was lacking.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game series are characterized by a unique and immersive aesthetic that combines simple yet vibrant art styles with refined animations, creating distinct visual themes for each level. While the graphics are minimalistic, they effectively convey clarity and charm, enhanced by a catchy soundtrack that complements the gameplay. Overall, the series excels in delivering a polished and engaging visual experience that stands out in the platforming genre.
“But the thing I think is so amazing about this game series, which I want to review in particular, is the unique and immersive aesthetic you likely won't see in any other game.”
“While simple, the graphics and animations have improved every game, and in general, I really like how much you can get out of the simple art style.”
“I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention the game's amazing aesthetic, too -- this is very much like minimalist graphic design in game form, with often alien-looking landscapes carved out of the chunky pixels and each stage having its mood inferred with a limited palette; and a soundtrack that goes entirely hand-in-hand with the action to the point where I'd consider the game incomplete without it.”
“The graphics are minimal, but incredibly clear.”
“While simple, the graphics and animations have improved every game and in general I really like how much you can get out of the simple artstyle.”
“Love 2007 for being the birth of love, love 2014 for being the improved version and for being the best known installment of this saga and for improving everything love 2007 did not do well, love 2: kuso for polishing the pixel art style, for improving the controls and level design as well as adding secrets in the levels, for bringing us an exclusive mode the infinity mode and many more things, and then this love 3 that brought us all the previous but 'improved', the new levels and nothing more, and moreover brings us the weakest main menu of the trilogy, so much that it seems to be made if you win.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability due to its well-designed levels that encourage speedrunning, the presence of secrets to discover, and various modes like time attack and arcade. Players appreciate the quick death animations and checkpoint system, which enhance the experience by allowing for short play sessions or longer runs. Overall, the combination of challenges, achievements, and polished gameplay mechanics makes it a charming platformer that players frequently return to.
“The music and ease of being able to jump in, play for a few minutes and get far (if I don't outright beat it), gives this game a lot of replay value so far.”
“Granted, beating all of it won't take too long, maybe 2-3 hours at most, but the levels are made to be replayable and speedrun-able, which adds a lot of replay value.”
“There's actually quite a bit of replayability here too since there are secrets in most levels and an active global speedrunning leaderboard.”
“Overall a pretty solid game, definitely worth the money if you like challenging platformers, and with all the features it has like YOLO mode, arcade mode, and the ability to play levels from the previous games, I'd definitely say it has solid replay value.”
- story4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's narrative is effectively conveyed through its minimalist pixel art and environmental storytelling, creating a captivating experience. Players find that the story becomes clearer after completing the campaign, with engaging secrets and light story elements that enhance the overall depth of the narrative.
“Relative to the first two points, the secrets are much more in-depth with simple but interesting and engaging light story elements.”
“The story makes sense after beating the Love 3 campaign.”
“The narrative and storytelling done through the environment alone is super fascinating; for such minimalist pixel art, it accomplishes a lot.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while its aesthetic and replayability are praised, some players have noted performance issues that were not present in previous titles, such as Kuso/Love 2. Additionally, changes to the settings menu and the introduction of risk-versus-reward mechanics related to performance ratings have been seen as a step down by some users.
“This is the kind of thing you might start to forget once you beat all the levels and get into 'optimization' mode and replay everything over and over, but I truly think the aesthetic is a valuable, rare, and unique strength this whole series pulls off wonderfully, this game being no exception.”
“To me it seems more like a step down from Kuso/Love 2, with some options getting removed from the settings menu, and for my machine, I am actually experiencing performance problems, which is something I have never encountered in Kuso/Love 2.”
“In Love 2, performance ratings penalized checkpoints at a certain point, turning them into a great risk-versus-reward mechanic.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Love 3 is characterized by a minimalist design that complements its challenging gameplay, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack that enriches the overall experience.
“Love 3 is a wonderful platformer, a very nice mix of challenge and minimalist atmosphere, with a great soundtrack.”