Little Nightmares 2. While I am enjoying it thus far, the devs seemed to have doubled down on my complaints about the 2.5D, and it's, eh, annoying at times. The depth of the "3rd dimension" in this one is far greater than in the first game to the point that progress is often dubious though easily figured out with trial and error. That said, the checkpoints? Awful at times. Firstly, the reload drops you at the immediate start of a chase, so you have to have the left stick already pressed to the right before the screen fades up from black. Then, you have to make sure you're not pressing too far right-up or right-down lest you find your character hung up on an object in the fore or background. And when you fail, you start all the way back at the beginning of the chase to repeat the aforementioned steps all over again.
Games like these need to be simple, because the biggest impact comes from the moment-to-moment shock and awe and spectacle. When you hang the player up on what was initially a tense and anxiety-inducing moment by sticking them on repeat of that moment for 6-7 times trying to figure out poorly implemented mechanics, those moments lose their impact and just become frustrating. I can already see myself deferring to guides if a puzzle gives me fits beyond a 2nd or 3rd attempt. Not because I'm unwilling or unable to figure them out, but because I'm not here to beat the game; I'm here to SEE the game. I want to see what happens next; I want to see what grotesquerie is around the next corner; I want to see how twisted and disturbing things get. Yes, I could easily watch a let's play, but there IS something to be said for experiencing it firsthand, and that's what I paid for.