Paws and Soul: First Step
- June 18, 2020
- ELECTROSTALIN ENTERTAINMENT
Get on SteamThird-person adventure game about rebirth, where you will visit a mysterious forest as a wolf. Story about a man that you’ll see with animal eyes is extended by fascinating gameplay focused on exploration and searching for collectibles. Look for clues about your past life, reveal bonus stories about other people and enjoy breathtaking views. You are completely safe here, so relax and let your curi…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a beautiful and vibrant art style, creating a relaxing atmosphere.
- The concept and story have potential, with interesting mechanics like collecting butterflies.
- The music and sound design contribute positively to the overall experience.
- Controls are clunky and unresponsive, making platforming frustrating and difficult.
- There is no save feature, forcing players to restart from the beginning after each session.
- The game suffers from technical issues such as clipping, lag, and poor optimization.
- story9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is described as having potential, with an interesting beginning and a promise of beauty and relaxation, but many players feel it lacks clarity and purpose, making it difficult to engage with. Some users expressed frustration with the gameplay mechanics overshadowing the narrative, leading to a sense of confusion about the plot, particularly regarding themes like reincarnation. Overall, while the aesthetic and initial premise are appealing, the execution leaves players wanting more coherence and depth in the storytelling.
“I would recommend this to a gamer that just wants to relax and enjoy a scenic gameplay with some interesting storyline to it.”
“But remember, this is a story-based game.”
“Demo is super promising; it looks like it's going to be a very beautiful, relaxing story game from what it shows so far, and the music is really nice and very aesthetically pleasing.”
“Everything else made it feel like a chore, and I still have no idea what the story's about (I wouldn't even know that it has anything to do with reincarnation had I not read the description on the store page).”
“I'd assume that the story will get better.”
“The first quest had no purpose.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the art style and find the visuals pleasant and aesthetically pleasing, others criticize the low poly design and excessive motion blur. Despite these issues, many users note the potential for a relaxing atmosphere and enjoyable environments, suggesting that the graphics contribute positively to the overall experience.
“The graphics and sound have potential.”
“The only things I can say that I liked were the visuals (the places are nice to look at) and the music (which was soothing).”
“Nice visuals, pleasant music, some interesting gameplay ideas.”
“That combined with the low poly art makes this slightly substandard in terms of visuals.”
“I haven't seen such forceful motion blur in years, and in fact, the game looks better at the lowest settings with a more consistent art style.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay features interesting ideas and mechanics, such as picking up buffs like butterflies, but suffers from nonsensical mechanics and poor depth perception, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals and music are pleasant, these issues prevent a strong recommendation for the game.
“Nice visuals, pleasant music, some interesting gameplay ideas.”
“Butterflies are an interesting mechanic.”
“Add to this non-existent depth perception, which is crucial to some gameplay elements.”
“The mechanics are mostly completely nonsensical.”
“But there's also a mechanic of picking up buffs.”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its soothing and aesthetically pleasing qualities, contributing to a relaxing atmosphere that complements the beautiful visuals. Reviewers find it enhances the overall experience, making the game feel promising and immersive.
“The only things I can say that I liked were the visuals (the places are nice to look at) and the music (which was soothing).”
“Nice visuals, pleasant music, some interesting gameplay ideas.”
“The demo is super promising; it looks like it's going to be a very beautiful, relaxing story game from what it shows so far, and the music is really nice and aesthetically pleasing.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting poor performance even on capable hardware, often struggling to maintain framerates above 30 FPS at maximum settings. Many hope that future updates or the full release will improve performance.
“It's not optimized well at all, with the max settings holding your framerate hostage at below 60 and possibly even below 30, even though you might be running a 1060 and a Ryzen 1400 with 16GB of RAM.”
“As to the performance, it's also a joke.”
“I hope this is some beta build too, so maybe the performance is better with the full game.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for being good and relaxing, complemented by appealing graphics. However, some players note that clunky controls can detract from the overall experience.
“Good, relaxing atmosphere with some nice graphics.”
“Relaxing and atmospheric, but with a bit clunky controls that don't always respond.”
