Some questions:
Do you disagree that the making the only in-game objective collecting light seeds and then giving no encouragement or reward for said collection needlessly limits the scope of the game?
Is it enough for a game with such an ambitious scale of design to simply start and move through to a conclusion, telling a small story that does not match the size of the game?
Do you disagree that the Prince is a brilliantly animated and wonderfully voice-acted character who is entirely unlikeable (and not in an interesting or compelling way) and that his companion is as dull as he is clichéd?
Do you think that the simplified and restrictive combat system is better than its predecessors?
Did you not think the plotting was painfully linear, in that nothing you can do as a player can change the outcome of in-game events?

Ultimately, these things are all true to large extent and are the main points of my review, and you did not bother to dispute them in your comment. My evaluation of their effect on my enjoyment of the game is my personal opinion and I present it as such. I’m glad you have the courage to disagree (that’s a part of what the internet is for — an open forum of shared thoughts), but remember: all reviews, either positive or negative, are biased, as surely as your comments here are biased in their own way. What makes a review interesting is the slant the reviewer brings to the article, because how can anyone evaluate something subjectively without a bias? To say my review is unfair because it is “biased” is reductive and unnecessary. Bias is not a universally negative thing, but it is universal.

Objectively, this game is a success because it does its job well, it has good graphics, easy gameplay, no glitches, a start and a finish. It succeeds as a game. What it doesn’t do is go beyond being just a game and move into a realm that demands personal, emotional investment. It has no hook from a human standpoint. That is why I did not like it. If you like it for other reasons, bully for you, that makes my take on the game no less valid.

Thanks for your thoughts!

To the contrary; I wholeheartedly agreed with your surmation of the good points and then found myself asking ‘what more could they possibly want?’

With regards to people bitching about not being able to die (you suicidal abominations)…
I honestly don’t see how not being able to die counts as a negative aspect. In actuality it’s a boon as it prevents the flow of the game being disrupted. You can still mess up and metally chastise yourself for missing that ledge or whatever, but I for one don’t need a superflous ‘death animation’ to ram the point home and spoil the flow of the game. Seriously, are you all that dependent on every single video-game cliche being present, that immortality presents a painful and abhorent concept to you?

It seems clear to me that the author of this review is a fan girl who’s bought into a franchise and now feels short changed because the game has taken a new direction (she says as much). I can empathise with that, but nonetheless it remains true that this has become yet another biased and misleading review of a truly brilliant game.

Frankly I could rant on this subject all day, but I wont. Suffice to say that people the world over are being far too judgemental of what is quite simply a superb game that now sits in the hallowed halls of my top ten games of all time.