TL&DR
While the presentation media looks great, based on the demo, the game is just a
walking simulator with occasional game-like elements. If you're idea of a action and adventure is primarily walking 90% of the time between the islands of activity ... then this game is for you. If you like the visual style then watch the walktrough videos. At least there you can enjoy the visuals and skip the boring parts.
This is one of those examples where having a demo can actually has a detrimental effect. However, luckily my disappointment is still much less then if I had actually paid for this as a "game" based on how it was advertised. This video is very similar to my experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oGhS5LyaoKgI am surprised NO ONE made a comment ever in this post. No interest in anything that is not pixel-art-rogue-like? Ahh, that you are not Lucas Pope or another famouse dev. Ok, no prob -_-
As b∀kkusa mentioned, it looks more like a marketing dump log than a devlog.
"The games we produce are small, smart, simple and elegantly designed. Our objective is to make people spend a good time with our products creating an enjoyable video game experience."
It's a great goal, but it seems like the developers spent more attention on the presentation media than the actual game development.
I can think of many reasons why the game hasn't passed Steam Greenlight in the past. Based on other people's comments and YouTube videos, it seems like there was at least one previous attempt - and perhaps more.
As for the "game", I was rather disappointed. The visual teasers and inspirations looked interesting but the game is in "another world" (pun intended). Demos give a good idea of what to expect and based on that Laraan's just a
walking simulator with mild game-like elements that is about as much fun as pushing a shopping car in a grocery store. Sure, you have to avoid colliding with people and objects but most of the time, you'll be walking ... walking ... walking ... walking ... If that's your idea of a game experience, then you might like it. Actually, there were parts of the game that could've been fun, (jumping from boulder to boulder near the end of the first level) but instead were turned into ... (you guessed it) walking.
"Explore the world".
Umm ... The levels are linear. Go from point A to point B. There might be a few branches and dead-ends, but that's about it. Nothing really to explore, wonder or be curious about.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Arcade
Are there different demo versions? My experience was nothing like that at all!
Looking at the videos from 2014, the same animations are being used.
-Walking on ice. My guess is that the original walking speed matched the animation but the developers realized or received feedback that it took looooooooooong time get from point A to B. So they increased walking speed ... but didn't change the walking animation.
-"Infinite Jump": as others also mentioned it (Steam, YouTube videos) ~ looks strange. The only benefit is that you can travel about twice as fast as walking. However, the fact that you have the exact same animation for jumping up and falling and also floating ... not a good idea.
The hover bike. I was playing with with keyboard and mouse and I'm guessing with a controller some of the movement can be more precise. However my main issue is that you can't turn in the air - even though according the visual jet stream released you should be able to (according to the visuals). But even then, the gameplay is very basic.
Wall of text intro. Even back in the Commodore 64 days, I've played games that at least had a few images to illustrate the points of the story. Having a large text appear lost it's appeal so I don't even know what the story is about.
Bugs:
-You can still jump after you die.
-You can die if you touch the stone columns in the cave system - just as those move up. There's no indication (e.g. spikes) that you'll get hurt. (As a side note, I had a similar issue with a box2d engine so it may be something similar). Also, the columns just move into the ground and don't give clear indication as to where you get hurt.