Still not done with this one, but with the type of game this is, I don’t know when I will be, so I might as well write my thoughts now before a patch comes and forces me to rethink everything.

As of now (version 2.1) it is an incredibly fun but deeply flawed kart racer, one of the best of its genre yet incredibly polarizing and difficult to recommend.

It does indeed bring more skill to the standard Mario Kart-type gameplay, however it seems these applications of mechanical depth are often misplaced, as you’re given ample tutorials and tools for obscure things like aerial falling speed, braking in regard to stage hazards, etc., yet nothing to combat rampant CPU rubber-banding, and in the case of your rival, direct cheating. In this sense, the infamous tutorial is less a problem of “information overload” and moreso a problem of focusing on the wrong information entirely.

The core ring system really is fun and strategic, and adds a lot, but it’s hindered significantly by the team’s apparent hesitance to let it stand by itself, with its crutches coming in the form of extremely heavy slope nerfs and a frustrating “last ditch maneuver” that always ends up screwing the player over accidentally by getting them into debt or ignoring items when they didn’t intend to use the thing at all. Plus, the decision to have items override your ring button is just… awful, and discourages the usage of items in the first place.

Collectibles and unlocks can be quite fun, but clearly suffered scope-creep over the course of development, with many spray cans being either ridiculously difficult or mind-numbingly easy to collect, and many challenges being insultingly vague, with the Chao key system certainly helping to mitigate things, but far from remedying them entirely, especially with the rude decision to make one or two big challenges non-optional by using a blank tile around their perimeter.

Character selection is… good, I think? I’ve never seen a game with this many characters that takes so long to unlock them. It really should’ve been tied to cup completion, or something.

Honestly, the only thing I can praise without a caveat is the track design, the choices of Sonic locales and general theming are hit after hit with no shortage of memorability. (Besides Balloon Park, fuck Balloon Park, what the hell was Balloon Park doing.)

I think with patches and mods, this game will get much, much better, and I really do look forward to it. So please, do give it a shot, but if you choose to wait a few months, even years… I can’t say I blame you.

My first experience with Rhythm Heaven, and what an introduction. If the goal of this collection of top hits was to show me why Rhythm Heaven is so special, it definitely achieved that with Megamix.

Although the gameplay is very simple, with just a few button presses in sync with the rhythm, it is incredibly fulfilling to find yourself in the flow. This is largely due to the exceptional audio design, captivating music, and charming visuals that come together to give this package a distinct personality and offer some of the most gratifying experiences in the rhythm genre.

This is also a meaty package with over 100 consistently excellent mini-games that offer replay value with perfect scores that you can achieve, which are super stressful but very satisfying to do. Moreover, there are numerous remixes of these mini-games that will truly challenge your skills.

My only few complaints with this game are that the structure in story mode sometimes pads itself out, and the coins feel like a band-aid solution to the inconsistent difficulty curve that creeps in out of nowhere every once in a while, especially when you get to the gates as you progress through the story mode.

In conclusion, I now understand why Rhythm Heaven is so beloved. Megamix has provided me with an exceptional rhythm experience that I will always remember, and it has sparked my interest in exploring this genre further. I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity to play it.

Lego 2K Drive is frustratingly good because beneath the horrendous micro-transactions & battle passes is a really fun simple racing game with a campaign that shoots you through races that offer up charming characters, powerups, etc. Top that with very tight controls & seamless transitions between different types of vehicles depending on the terrain that you are on making moving around surprisingly fun.

However. As I said at the beginning, it’s unfortunate that the terrible monetization has soured this overall game’s reputation by a lot & making customization in a Lego game almost non-existent due to that result. It’s so frustrating to see a game that is fundamentally great due to its core gameplay loop getting kneecapped by greed. Nonetheless, I can recommend it if you see it on sales and if you can stomach the unacceptable monetization.