Arcesius
2012
I played the original back when it released, and have replayed this game many times over the years. While not my favorite entry in the series, I always have a great time returning to this one.
Fleshed-out characters and a dark, well-told story, and one of the most iconic villains in the series. And besides that, really fun secrets, minigames and optional content to enjoy.
Fleshed-out characters and a dark, well-told story, and one of the most iconic villains in the series. And besides that, really fun secrets, minigames and optional content to enjoy.
While Diablo III looks great on a superficial level, there really is no depth to any of its systems. Playing through the campaign results in a straightforward and fairly shallow experience, there is not much complexity to build crafting (or even the necessity for it) and the end-game becomes repetitive very quickly.
2010
Short but sweet. With an eerie atmosphere and clever puzzles, Limbo is a game that will be stuck in your head long after beating it.
This one is a bit difficult to rate. On one hand, I enjoyed how tense the game is, the mental struggle of the protagonist and how the game makes you feel that struggle yourself.
On the other hand, the gameplay (both the puzzle solving and the combat) were pretty basic. I enjoyed traversing the world more than any of the combat encounters.
On the other hand, the gameplay (both the puzzle solving and the combat) were pretty basic. I enjoyed traversing the world more than any of the combat encounters.
There cannot be enough praise for this game. Hollow Knight excels at everything it does.
Gorgeous aesthetics, deceivingly deep combat with a simple but effective character customization system and, my personal highlight, an incredible OST. The game works a lot with musical themes, and even tells stories with its compositions. It's fantastic.
From a gameplay perspective, exploring Hallownest is really fun and the size of the world is simply mindblowing. Enemies are varied and fun to engage, and Bosses are very well designed.
The game is fairly easy unless you want to tackle its optional challenges. Completing the Pantheon of Hallownest, a gauntlet of 42 bosses back to back with a single life, was really daunting, but I felt an immense sense of satisfaction when I finally succeeded.
Gorgeous aesthetics, deceivingly deep combat with a simple but effective character customization system and, my personal highlight, an incredible OST. The game works a lot with musical themes, and even tells stories with its compositions. It's fantastic.
From a gameplay perspective, exploring Hallownest is really fun and the size of the world is simply mindblowing. Enemies are varied and fun to engage, and Bosses are very well designed.
The game is fairly easy unless you want to tackle its optional challenges. Completing the Pantheon of Hallownest, a gauntlet of 42 bosses back to back with a single life, was really daunting, but I felt an immense sense of satisfaction when I finally succeeded.
2018
I somewhat enjoyed my time with this game, the ranged combat meant approaching fights in a way I wasn't used to, and the setting definitely is unique.
However, there are many cuestionable design choices and issues, for example invisible enemies that spawn in front of you out of thin air, throw a sticky grenade at you and disappear again before you can react. They result in specific areas being more trial-and-error instead of being able to observe the situation and develop a strategy on how to approach those sections.
I finished the game 7 times (NG up to NG++++, then twice more to get all curses in "The Mask of Pain" DLC), and I never saw anything that would make NG+ cycles worthwhile.
The DLCs did nothing to improve the game.
However, there are many cuestionable design choices and issues, for example invisible enemies that spawn in front of you out of thin air, throw a sticky grenade at you and disappear again before you can react. They result in specific areas being more trial-and-error instead of being able to observe the situation and develop a strategy on how to approach those sections.
I finished the game 7 times (NG up to NG++++, then twice more to get all curses in "The Mask of Pain" DLC), and I never saw anything that would make NG+ cycles worthwhile.
The DLCs did nothing to improve the game.
2018
Fantastic couch-coop game that can be played also with anyone that is not well-versed with videogames, resulting in fun, chaotic moments.
But even if you yell at the monitor every now and then, you will be coming back to get those 3 stars. It's just so much fun!
But even if you yell at the monitor every now and then, you will be coming back to get those 3 stars. It's just so much fun!
2017
My favorite game by Housemarque by far. Fast-paced gameplay accompained by an OST with hard and straightforward beats to keep you focused, and colorful visuals. Nex Machina is an arcade game that is a joy to master.
You will be constantly hit by waves of enemies, all of which fill the screen in colorful explotions when they are defeated. There are lasers to dodge and walls of projectiles to avoid. However, the game never feels visually too chaotic.
I completed a 1CC run and a full Veteran Run, which were really fun to do, but moved away after beating the first area on Master difficulty.
You will be constantly hit by waves of enemies, all of which fill the screen in colorful explotions when they are defeated. There are lasers to dodge and walls of projectiles to avoid. However, the game never feels visually too chaotic.
I completed a 1CC run and a full Veteran Run, which were really fun to do, but moved away after beating the first area on Master difficulty.
2022
The combination of rhythm game and twin-stick shooter is a great idea, and the game plays well and looks great. The OST is amazing, with songs ranging from R&B, over Classical, to EMD and Rock, so there is something for everyone here.
However, it is unacceptable that - in certain songs - the metronome is wrong. It's a rhythm game, that's the one thing that you need to get right!
That's why while going for Multiplatinum, where you have to beat all stages on the highest difficulty doing all actions perfectly on-beat and whithout taking damage, I had to lower the music volume and have the metronome very loud, so that I could hear when it would go off-sync.
On Playstation, we didn't get the balance patch that released on steam, so doing Multiplatinum requires you to play with a specific character and kill everything with her special weapon, as regular weapons don't deal enough damage and stages can't be completed in time. That's a shame.
However, it is unacceptable that - in certain songs - the metronome is wrong. It's a rhythm game, that's the one thing that you need to get right!
That's why while going for Multiplatinum, where you have to beat all stages on the highest difficulty doing all actions perfectly on-beat and whithout taking damage, I had to lower the music volume and have the metronome very loud, so that I could hear when it would go off-sync.
On Playstation, we didn't get the balance patch that released on steam, so doing Multiplatinum requires you to play with a specific character and kill everything with her special weapon, as regular weapons don't deal enough damage and stages can't be completed in time. That's a shame.
2016
What a game... Hyper Light Drifter quickly became one of my favorite games thanks to its gorgeous pixel-art style, amazing OST and unexpectedly deep combat. Exploration is fun, with secrets hidden around every corner, arena-style fights against varied enemy types, and a great roster of bosses waiting for you. The latter can be fought back to back in the "Boss Rush" DLC, and doing so with the "Nacked Loadout" was really cool.
Both the Hard Mode playthrough and a deathless playthrough were fun and are among my highlights with this fantastic game.
Both the Hard Mode playthrough and a deathless playthrough were fun and are among my highlights with this fantastic game.
2016
With a cute character and beautiful Scandinavian scenery, Unravel is a unique platformer with a strong emphasis on puzzle solving and not so much on precision.
The game is on the easy side and could have been more challenging, even the deathless runs through each level are relatively easy to achieve.
The game is on the easy side and could have been more challenging, even the deathless runs through each level are relatively easy to achieve.
2017
Beautiful game! Actually, that's not the right word... The game's aesthetics are amazing, but the world you are thrown into is everything but beautiful.
Grotesque characters chasing you, a small child, through claustrophobic corridors and nausea-inducing heights result in a dark, oppressive and harrowing atmosphere.
A deathless speedrun through the entire game was one of my highlights as well.
Grotesque characters chasing you, a small child, through claustrophobic corridors and nausea-inducing heights result in a dark, oppressive and harrowing atmosphere.
A deathless speedrun through the entire game was one of my highlights as well.
2014
Despite its amazing soundtrack, Transistor failed to grab me as much as I wanted it to. I had fun playing through the game and experimenting with different setups, completing all optional challenges, etc.. but I was expecting more. I was never truly blown away, but it's definitely worth a playthrough!
2016
This was a game with a unique mechanic that was fun at the beginning but became a bit boring as the game continued. Not a bad game by any means, just not one that resonated with me too much.
2016
What a game. The atmosphere immediately drew me in, and the fast combat was fun from start to finish.
Great boss quality throughout (obviously there are a few that are rather hit&miss), good level design despite levels being isolated, and very good DLC.
Great boss quality throughout (obviously there are a few that are rather hit&miss), good level design despite levels being isolated, and very good DLC.