I was impressed when I first opened the game. The visuals really are the standout here; the mix of 2D and 3D looks great and matches well, and the bright, bold colours are very appealing. The audio isn't standout like the visuals, but it's pretty good, and voice acting always adds to the perceived production value. Overall it gives a good initial impression of a polished game.
The platforming stage was a bit of a mixed bag. The level design is pretty good, although it's very short. There's a good variety of mechanics on display. The jumping I felt okay, but I didn't like how close some of the jumps were. I wish it was a little more forgiving. The combat, I just feel the timings don't work. Your attack has a short range and long windup, which makes it feel almost laggy and makes it hard to get a feel for. There's an invincibility period, and enemies get stunned, but the timings of these in combination with the long attack interval mean you're going to take damage anyway unless you've planned ahead. Maybe I'm reaching, but I feel the idea is to prevent the player from spamming/stunlocking, which I get, but I don't think the alternative is really better. It feels clunky and frustrating. On my second try I got a feel for it enough to pass the stage, but I feel this could have been better.
I wasn't able to get past the car chase. I think the concept here was interesting, but to be honest I don't think it works at all. I sort of get how it's supposed to work- you see the red outlines and move to dodge- but there isn't enough depth to really tell where you need to be, especially when multiple obstacles stack up, and there isn't enough time (or, crucially, a predictable amount of time) between when the warning appears and when the obstacle appears. If you had more time to get through the level it would still be a bit of a drag, but it would at least be doable. I honestly don't think I could do it even if I was willing to keep attempting it.
It's minor, but I did find it annoying that 99% of the game can be played with the keyboard alone, but the buttons to start the car chase need the mouse.
Another minor issue is that the voice lines don't stop and instead stack up when you quickly skip through dialogue.
I'm not really into the narrative style or tone, but I think it does a good job of what it's trying to be. I like my games grittier, generally, and this one's more cute and whimsical, and that's fine.
I really wanted to like this one, even with the flaws there's a lot to like about it, and I think it's 90% of the way there. I'm not sure about the car chase, but I think if some values were tweaked and it was just generally made more forgiving the platforming section would be better. I have to mention the art again, though, because it really did stand out well.