Ayasa: Shadows of Silence is a dark, surreal puzzle-platformer with an impressive visual style, an eerie atmosphere and a mysterious world to explore. Its six symbolic lands, environmental puzzles and unlockable abilities provide plenty of interesting ideas, while the graphics, soundtrack and sound effects help create a genuinely captivating experience. The story, told through imagery rather than spoken dialogue, also adds to the sense of mystery. Unfortunately, the excellent presentation is let down by gameplay that simply isn't polished enough.
The biggest problem is the jumping mechanics, with a noticeable delay between pressing the button and Ayasa responding. Combined with imprecise controls, awkward camera angles, collision problems, inconsistent stealth encounters and lengthy loading times, platforming quickly becomes frustrating. It is particularly disappointing that some of these issues have apparently existed in the PC version for months without being properly addressed. Ayasa has plenty of potential, but in its current condition it feels unfinished. I would happily revisit it if the developers fix the underlying problems, but for now, it falls well short of what it could have been.
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