Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Feist. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

Feist wants you to believe it's a cute platformer. It's not. It wants you to take it's folky art style and take it lightly. Don't. Feist is, at least deep down, an unforgiving and tough as nails platformer that challenges you every step of the way - it just get's muddled in the moments in-between what makes it so great. It won't take you long to finish it; I'd be surprised if it took you more than an afternoon to beat, but I could think of a lot worse ways to spend a lazy summer afternoon than with the fuzzy fiends of Feist.

In truth, Feist is just playing the same role that Play Dead's Limbo did a few years ago - it just doesn't do it quite as well. Instead of taking the role of a child looking for his sister in a mysterious world you play as a furry...thing looking for his companion in a mysterious forrest. The same mechanics that made Limbo work so well are at play here and they make Feist a blast to play but I'll admit that when I was done I just wanted to go back and play Limbo again, for like the fifth or sixth time. That's not saying anything bad about Feist necessarily, it's just saying something more about Limbo.

Much like in Play Dead's classic, you can't do much in terms of offense to thwart your attackers so you'll have to use strategy to get as far as possible. Your furry little hands can pick up objects around you and use them to your advantage but they can only do so much. Pinecones only knock your enemies back briefly and most rocks are too heavy to be carried or thrown at any distance that makes it worth it. Instead, you'll be using the environment to outsmart your attackers as much as possible. Hunter's traps are laid throughout the world and they'll be your best friend when giant monsters come your way. Your little critter is pretty nimble and it's really rewarding to jump over giant enemies and lead them right into a trap that takes them out in a violent second. Well, it is when it works anyways.

Feist doesn't always play by the rules it sets. There were several instances throughout my time with the game that I  setup a perfect trap and for some strange reason it didn't trigger when it should. Most games will slowly introduce it's mechanics and teach you how to use them but much like Limbo, Feist let's you learn the rules on your own. To be fair, I'm still not sure if I was doing something wrong here but I played through the game twice and still had the same problems. By everything the game taught me it should have worked but it didn't, and I had to rethink my strategy for the game. Luckily, Feist's autosave function is pretty forgiving and I only had to go back a bit but it was still a bit frustrating to say the least.

When Feist does work though it works undeniably well. It's the same visceral feeling that made Limbo work so well. Remember that first encounter with the spider the first time you played Limbo? There's a moment like that here in Feist that similarly sets the tone for what you'll play for the rest of the game and it's going to surprise you, especially if you're not expecting Feist to be just what it is. To it's credit though I did like how Feist put much more of an emphasis on vertical play than Limbo ever did. Most of what you see can be used to your advantage and it's a lot of fun to try out different solutions with different things you'll find in the environment. Branches and logs are spread throughout the world and they encourage you to experiment with your play style as much as possible.

Feist also uses a lot more color in it's visuals than Playdead ever did. It's still based in silhouettes and shadows but the game does a great job making it all pop with an interesting mix of blues and grays that give the mysterious forrest a ton of character. Everything animates really well and the game uses an interesting health system,rather than having any sort of HUD your character's hair just gets more frazzled with more damage. It all adds in to the minimalist style that makes the game and it's source material work so well. The soundtrack is similarly thin but works so well with the content provided.

It may not be fair to compare Feist to a classic like Limbo as much as I did in this review but when a game is so similar it's kind of unavoidable. For what it's worth though, Feist does it's best impression of Playdead's gloomy platform but it goes further and starts to carve out it's own legacy - it's just not as successful. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery than consider Feist a big sloppy love letter but it's clear that it has it's own agenda and it's one that you may really like.