So, I recently played Baby Steps and just started Avangeline Era and they both really got to me. It's rare that a game breaks off from modern day conventions and I think that's a shame - It's great to have players be able to pick up a game and just play it, but I think you kinda lose something when that happens.
I remember when I first started Dark Souls, the game seemed hilariously impossible. I played Dark Souls for the first time on a stream for my friends in 2020 and knew well enough about the "difficulty" - so I was just rolling with the punches and trying to get through the skeletons for a few hours.
The game controlled uncomfortably compared to what I was used to.
But I did it.
There's a cool feeling you get when you get to the end of a game like Baby Steps, Dark Souls and something like Cruelty Squad that breaks conventions. Everything seemed so hard at the beginning, but now - you can just run by those skeletons with ease. It brings me back to the PS1 days a bit - of which I consider the wild west of 3D gaming; No conventions were there and everything felt new.
I think that's a concept people don't really think about too much when designing a game but it's something I want to approach with full force.
I loved 3D platformers as a kid, and as an adult I've played many good and bad 3D platformers to try and get that same feeling. But I think what makes me feel most like a kid again - is playing something completely new. Everything was new then, and I think breaking conventions helps it feel a little more new and a little more like I'm 6 years old, holding a controller for the first time.
If any of this resonates with you, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this game.