Fairune: Cute but flawed

Indie games and I are not a good match overall; so when I stumble on an indie game I like, which happens one in a blue moon, I try to milk the darn thing as much as I can. That's why I've been polishing off three runs of Fairune, a cute little indie game that's an unashamed homage to 8-bit action RPG. Fairune is basically Hydlide sprinkled with a bit of Ys and Legend of Zelda: it boasts graphics that scream 8-bit, a really catchy chiptune soundtrack that has a way of getting stuck in one's head and a basic yet relaxing and satisfying gameplay based on puzzle-solving and enemy-stomping — complete with a very unexpected bout of space-shooting during the final boss fight. I had lots of fun playing that simple little retro treat, and yet... I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone; because as cute and refreshing as it is, it's also quite flawed — and we're talking about a game-breaking flaw here, not a mere cosmetic issue.

If you write off Fairune's shortness, simplistic graphics and barebone gameplay as aesthetics choices that must be loved or left, the game's single major flaw is the inconsistency of its logic. Solving Fairune's endless string of puzzles is a cinch most of the time, especially when one figures out said puzzles' patterns; yet once in a while, the game throws in a puzzle that boasts confusing and/or never used before logic or even downright makes no sense at all unless the player knows exactly what they're supposed to do. Here are the three insults to logic that irritated me the most:

• The Warrior Statue: This is an item that you obtain early on and that's used many times over the course of the game; however, figuring out how to use it can be tricky at first, because its design is kinda counter-intuitive. As the name suggests, this is a statue of the game's heroine; and as the shape suggests not, it must be used as a mere weight to hold down switches and the like. Why not go with something a bit more obvious and straightforward, like a stone or a brick? By all RPG logic, a statue should rather be used as a key of sorts to open a locked door, not as a mere dead weight. Were you trying to be fancy or just confusing, game? I'm so not impressed.

• The Infinite Warp: An homage to 8-bit RPG wouldn't be complete without a good ol' screen that warps lest you choose the right set of directions. Fairune's warping screen can be found in the Administrator Tower; and as you may expect, there's a clue nearby to help you figure out the right directions, and that clue is none other than six statues conveniently facing the directions you're supposed to take. But wait, there's a catch: those statues only indicate the directions you have to take, not the order in which you're supposed to take them. Are you kidding me, game? Do you know how many options that leaves? If you assume that the last direction has to be left for layout reasons, that leaves 120 different combinations! I assure you I have better things to do than test 120 bloody permutations just to cross a screen, game. Such a cumbersome puzzle is entirely pointless, especially in the age of the internet. But wait, there's worse...
• The Mamono Slayer: This puzzle is the worst offender of the bunch, because there is virtually nothing that indicates that it must be tackled or even that it exists at all. The Mamono Slayer is a sword that's necessary to slay the final boss; and how do you get that sword you're never told about? Why, by upgrading your regular sword in a hardly discernible split on the first floor of the Administrator Tower, of course! Seriously, game? Why can't I have a single functional clue to figure out what I'm supposed to do? Do you maybe expect me to try every single item on every single pixel until I hypothetically stumble upon the solution? This is pure obnoxiousness, that's what it is. There is nothing worse that a random puzzle that cannot be solved through logic just because you don't even know it's there. 

I honestly can't figure out why these shitty puzzles were allowed to soil Fairune. Was it a vibrant homage to the fake difficulty-riddled '80s adventure games? Was is an attempt to make the game last longer than the mere hour it takes to beat it once you know the ropes? Were the puzzles created by two different teams? Whatever the reason, that uneven logic serves no purpose and only detracts from the game's quality by forcing the player to run to a walkthrough on a regular basis.

Anyway, that's one less indie on my to-play list. I've been able to cross a couple more lately, including the two Hotline Miami games and Titan Souls: those three games combine a gameplay requiring diabolical precision with a sloppy and unprecise set of controls, and that's a deadly combo that made me scurry away faster than I could scream "shit, a game that requires motor skills!". So all in all, Fairune is the best indie I've played these last months despite its game-breaking flaw; and that, dear fellow gamers, is a testament to how indie games and me are not meant to cross paths. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!