There are “secrets” to be found in each chapter, and I managed to get a few, but I’ll admit that I didn’t spend much time hunting for them. This wasn’t a problem once I got used to the idea, and took my hints from those movements instead of trying to solve puzzles independently. For example, instead of moving Milo to a place of your choosing, clicking on your kitty avatar will cause him to move in a scripted pattern, which may have be nowhere near where you wanted him. It’s also not always readily apparent what you can and cannot click on, nor is it obvious what clicking on things will do. You are only occasionally allowed to zoom in on things, so at least for me, this was a game much better suited to a large monitor than a handheld system. It was hard to see all the details on the Deck, and the details very much matter. The backgrounds are detailed and beautiful, but they ended up making me switch over to my PC, rather than playing on the small screen of the Steam Deck as I had planned. Each area is it’s own chapter – you need to figure out how to get across the yard safely by manipulating things in the environment, solving some puzzles, and avoiding the magpies which seem to be trying to hinder your progress. You play as Milo, a cat on his way home across the rooftops – it’s just a normal day until you get scared by some birds, and have to abandon the roofs and make your way home through the yards of the neighborhood. It was a short, but very lovely experience. However, when I spotted that it was half price during the most recent Steam Summer Sale – and that the full price was only two dollars – I decided to give it another chance. Partially it was because I struggled with figuring out what I was supposed to do, but I admit, part of my hesitancy was that I basically expected the game to be priced far above what I would have been willing to pay for it. Average playtime is approximately 1.5 hours – I definitely spent more time than that just to soak in Scherft’s charming world.Milo and the Magpies is a game that I almost passed over entirely after playing the demo back in 2020. (It’s available on Spotify.) Overall, play Milo and the Magpies if you’re looking for a chill jaunt through a beautiful atmosphere. I would love to download the soundtrack too, but it’s not obvious if/how that can be done. I didn’t uncover all the secrets in the game (one per chapter) in my first playthrough, so that is my excuse to return. There is no replayability with this game however, the art and music is beautiful enough that I want to go back to it every once in a while just to immerse in the atmosphere. It would’ve been better to get in-game hints for those, instead of having to resort to the walkthrough video, which basically gives you the answers. in the chapters Unexpected help and The final storm). With some good observation and clicking around, the puzzles are not too complicated to solve, but there are specific steps within a couple of the puzzles themselves that were not that intuitive (e.g. Perhaps because of that, I found the textural differences between the level art and the animated objects to be quite jarring at first, and not as well integrated into the overall atmosphere of the game. This reinforces the payoff from being attentive to the environment around you. You have to explore the environment, click on various items to figure out what problems are hindering Milo, and solve them. This is clearly a game that fits its publisher Second Maze Studios’ mission to bring forward games that “tell personal stories, have interesting puzzle concepts or have a very special atmosphere.” If you like birds, birdwatching, or enjoy Wingspan, this game also features many beautifully illustrated birds, not just magpies. At the end of the game, I wished that the story of Milo and the magpies could be retold in a short film, as I wanted to experience it all over again. The art is gorgeous and beautifully complemented by Victor Butzelaar’s piano-driven music, which really imbues the atmosphere with a sense of quiet adventure and wonder at the small, beautiful details of daily life. Every level and character in this game was hand drawn in watercolor or pencil by the artist Johan Scherft, who also conceptualized the game. Milo and the Magpies is a delightfully whimsical peek into life in a neighborhood in The Netherlands through the eyes of Milo, a cat who’s just trying to make his way home.
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