People like rules, or at least the appearance of rules, even in fantasy.
2D side scrolling games sure have changed a lot since I was a kid. Gone are the days of garish characters that spout catchphrases while bounding around one level to the next. These days you're more likely to find your side scrolling game has a much darker feel to it. This isn't anything new but since Limbo and Inside blew everyone away it's now more prevalent than ever. Whenever there is a successful shift in tone others are bound to follow and Feist is one such game but can it mix with the big boys?
Let's get this out of the way first. I have no idea what the hell your character in Feist is suppose to be. This isn't because the art direction or character model sucks it's because you're never told but it looks like a hedgehog so as far as I'm concerned that's what it is. When your mate is kidnapped by a bunch of evil predators your journey begins. You find yourself traversing thrush a savage and untamed land as you fight for you survival as everything around you wants to eat you. 
If you've ever played any platforming game ever you'll know exactly what you're getting here. As usual it's a mix of physics based platforming and minimal combat thrown into the mix and if you've ever played Limbo this is just a carbon copy in all but name except nothing seems to be as precise. Platforming games need to click and you have to know that when you stick a jump it will be fast and smooth. Everything here just seems to hang in the air for that split second too long. It gives the game a weird zero gravity feeling that's really off putting. When you perform an especially long jump it seems to take forever until you land. You just seem to hang in the air. This becomes even more annoying when you have to jump over enemies because it adds a certain amount of hesitation when judging the distance needed to clear them successfully.
Combat suffers the same fate unfortunately. It's a weird mix of pot luck and absolute precision. This quickly becomes extremely frustrating especially when you find yourself surrounded by multiple enemies. This frustration is also present during boss battles. You face off against a mutant sized hedgehog in your first battle with no clue how you take it down. There are various objects you can pick up during this battle and I found myself throwing whatever I could get my hands on but nothing made a dent and he just kept coming at me. Purely by chance I managed to crawl under a log which triggered a trap that rained arrow down on my tormentor. But because I'd found it by accident I felt no accomplishment only annoyance.
My experience with Feist was frustrating and short. There are elements to like here but the execution always feels off. As hard as it tries to be on a par with Limbo it just doesn't reach those same heights. The game does have a lot of flair visually but it's nothing I haven't seen before. Sadly it's one redeeming factor is its short length because if I had to endure much more of Feist I would have ended up throwing my controller through a window.
Developer: Bits & Beasts
Publisher: Finji
Website: Feist
Twitter: @FinjiCo / @FeistGame
Review code supplied by XCN.