Okay, so I watched my friend play about halfway through this game before I picked it up myself, and my only regret about it was not going in with only the minimal amount of knowledge about gameplay. I think this game is more enjoyable the less you know about it going in.

Everyone else says that the basic gameplay is like the old Paper Mario games that people have been wanting for years, and while yeah, that is true, there's still a lot here that makes the game it's own unique thing.

For one, you have only have the same 3 characters for the entire game, and each excel in their own areas. Additionally, mechanics like turn relay create for interesting (or maybe not-so-interesting, depending on your playstyle imo) battle strategy as you figure out what you need most in the current moment. The game also has a toggleable "hard mode" that is actually difficult, which gives a nice breath of air to the game for a 2nd playthrough if that's your thing. As someone not too familiar with actually playing these types of games, I found the standard difficulty to be challenging enough for a first-timer playthrough, although those familiar with the original Paper Mario could elect to play entirely on hard and still find challenge.

Those familiar with Paper Mario will certainly find a lot more of these comparisons throughout the game - beyond the battle system - when you stumble across something and be like "hey, that's just like [item]!" or "this reminds me of [mechanic/area]". For those looking to 100% the game in an unofficial definition, there's plenty of this stuff to find.

Where I feel this game shines a lot more though is everything outside of the gameplay. The artstyle is also very similar to old PM in that it uses a lot of flat scenery and characters with some models mixed in, but it's clear that they definitely wanted to make much of it unique in its own way. Also nifty how all the bugs are based off of actual ones in the wild.
The music is catchy in its own right, one that I find there somehow seems to be no shortage of ambience that matches each area it's set to. Incidentially this also makes for a nice soundtrack to throw on in the background of work or something, due to the wide variety of instruments and areas.
The writing is excellent, too. The main party is by far the most fleshed out, but it's really nice to see how they all progress through the story from this incredibly oddball trio that don't seem to mesh together at all into a strong-bonded team that trust each other, even if their past selves still exist in bits and pieces. I found a lot of the spy/tattle conversations to be amusing as well, as everyone has their own views on each thing which leads to funny banter when they disagree.

Now, not to say this is a perfect game. I still find it has flaws from a personal perspective.
I find the ending kinda... fizzles? The end of the story comes pretty quickly once you reach the final areas, and while the final boss is thematically amazing, the remaining plot closes out rather quickly following that.
100% completionists beware of the recipe log. I completed this on my first playthrough and after a bit it sorta just became this long grocery list of items to purchase to cook, although this was done before the 1.1 patch where they added a recipe seller, so I can't comment too much on that.
Until the very endgame, I found I was strapped on currency sometimes for the things I wanted, which leads to the inherent problem of grinding battles for them. Some methods still exist to exploit this to its fullest extent, although said methods also aren't available until near endgame anyways, so that's more of a moot point.

All in all, while the game still has some issues, this is an incredibly solid indie that you should look at if you were a fan of the old Paper Mario games, as you'll find enough familiarity here with it's own touch of fresh mechanics and charm.

Solid 9/10.

Okay, so I watched my friend play about halfway through this game before I picked it up myself, and my only regret about it was not going in with only the minimal amount of knowledge about gameplay. [b]I think this game is more enjoyable the less you know about it going in.[/b] Everyone else says that the basic gameplay is like the old Paper Mario games that people have been wanting for years, and while yeah, that [i]is[/i] true, there's still a lot here that makes the game it's own unique thing. For one, you have only have the same 3 characters for the entire game, and each excel in their own areas. Additionally, mechanics like turn relay create for interesting (or maybe not-so-interesting, depending on your playstyle imo) battle strategy as you figure out what you need most in the current moment. The game also has a toggleable "hard mode" that is [i]actually difficult[/i], which gives a nice breath of air to the game for a 2nd playthrough if that's your thing. As someone not too familiar with actually playing these types of games, I found the standard difficulty to be challenging enough for a first-timer playthrough, although those familiar with the original Paper Mario could elect to play entirely on hard and still find challenge. Those familiar with Paper Mario will certainly find a lot more of these comparisons throughout the game - beyond the battle system - when you stumble across something and be like "hey, that's just like [item]!" or "this reminds me of [mechanic/area]". For those looking to 100% the game in an unofficial definition, there's plenty of this stuff to find. Where I feel this game shines a lot more though is everything outside of the gameplay. The artstyle is also very similar to old PM in that it uses a lot of flat scenery and characters with some models mixed in, but it's clear that they definitely wanted to make much of it unique in its own way. Also nifty how all the bugs are based off of actual ones in the wild. The music is catchy in its own right, one that I find there somehow seems to be no shortage of ambience that matches each area it's set to. Incidentially this also makes for a nice soundtrack to throw on in the background of work or something, due to the wide variety of instruments and areas. The writing is excellent, too. The main party is by far the most fleshed out, but it's really nice to see how they all progress through the story from this incredibly oddball trio that don't seem to mesh together at all into a strong-bonded team that trust each other, even if their past selves still exist in bits and pieces. I found a lot of the spy/tattle conversations to be amusing as well, as everyone has their own views on each thing which leads to funny banter when they disagree. Now, not to say this is a [i]perfect[/i] game. I still find it has flaws from a personal perspective. I find the ending kinda... fizzles? The end of the story comes pretty quickly once you reach the final areas, and while the final boss is thematically amazing, the remaining plot closes out rather quickly following that. 100% completionists beware of the recipe log. I completed this on my first playthrough and after a bit it sorta just became this long grocery list of items to purchase to cook, although this was done before the 1.1 patch where they added a recipe seller, so I can't comment too much on that. Until the very endgame, I found I was strapped on currency sometimes for the things I wanted, which leads to the inherent problem of grinding battles for them. Some methods still exist to exploit this to its fullest extent, although said methods also aren't available until near endgame anyways, so that's more of a moot point. All in all, while the game still has some issues, this is an incredibly solid indie that you should look at if you were a fan of the old Paper Mario games, as you'll find enough familiarity here with it's own touch of fresh mechanics and charm. Solid 9/10.