Guessed by @kenjab
The first new entry for this year. There aren't too many, so I better cherish them.
Death's Door was... well, I want to say something nice, but the first words that come to mind are wasted potential. When I first booted up this game it felt wondrous and magical, it had a somber yet somehow light-hearted tone, the game just oozed character. Throughout the opening hour or two, I was amazed at how cool everything was, the whole setting and vibe, the idea that you're a reaper and all that, it was just striking me in a really powerful way... And then, the game stops you with a cutscene and says "this is a Zelda clone, here's the mcguffins at each end of the world, go get them". Fine, I guess. It got way less interesting from then on, but still had its great moments. And when I thought the game was over, it surprised me with what seemed to be the moment when things would take a wild turn for the better, but it was more inverted castle than dark world. That is to say, once the thrill faded, it quickly became an exercise in endless padding, rather than a great twist on the game.
This game also suffers from the "we made a nice looking game in a fixed camera, but it's 3D, so let's show off different angles and close-ups of the characters in cutscenes" syndrome. It's pretty common these days. Developers, just because your game looks nice during gameplay doesn't mean it won't look like crap in cutscenes. Stop overestimating your game's graphics.
Anyway, this game was great. It has an insanely underrated soundtrack (my favorites are Hall of Doors, Lost Cemetery, and The Old Watchtowers), and looks beautiful outside of the cutscenes. It had some great boss fights, two particular standouts I won't mention because spoilers, and it had a strong identity (until it didn't). In the end, as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but wish it had been more. It could've.
