AyoNW
2021
Some interesting ideas here! Really liked the length, the focus on a small-scale narrative and the central mechanic of the hoover arm. Game was absolutely gorgeous throughout - didn't love the character models but the environments were fantastic, felt bright and full of life.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.
2024
This review contains spoilers
Absolutely adore most of this game. Devoured it within a weekend and that is the ideal length of a game to me. Drill mechanic feels phenomenal. Building up speed, curving around, skipping across the surface of the water, knocking shit down. Fantastic stuff. Loved the additions to the drill too - particularly the grapple points and swing points, the cannons and the snowmobile. They really added to the sense of speed and entering a flow state, especially during segments where you'd have to chain cannon jumps, swings and drilling. Loved it. The gun and mech were cool too! Broke up the flow a bit but they still felt really good! Whole game felt like a flash game/GBA platformer in the best way possible. Short, sweet, plays with one central mechanic in very cool ways.
Generally in non-combat focused games I don't like boss fights. They often feel like they're there for the sake of being there, and most of the time feel like they grind the game to a halt. This was absolutely true here. The first 3 bosses were calm, I was willing to look past them. But the final boss was ASS. Finicky, frustrating, unfun. I hated the drilling between tiny circular platforms thing with a bottomless pit below, it makes moving at any kind of speed a massive risk. Just an unfun ending that completely left a sour taste in my mouth. If it were down to me I'd have redesigned that whole final boss. Made it into one more level where you're drilling into the Emperor dude's giant body and toppling him like that. Maybe even ending with you drilling through his skull like in the logo. But that's just me.
Loved this game otherwise. It being made by one guy is so inspiring, what a labour of love it clearly was.
Generally in non-combat focused games I don't like boss fights. They often feel like they're there for the sake of being there, and most of the time feel like they grind the game to a halt. This was absolutely true here. The first 3 bosses were calm, I was willing to look past them. But the final boss was ASS. Finicky, frustrating, unfun. I hated the drilling between tiny circular platforms thing with a bottomless pit below, it makes moving at any kind of speed a massive risk. Just an unfun ending that completely left a sour taste in my mouth. If it were down to me I'd have redesigned that whole final boss. Made it into one more level where you're drilling into the Emperor dude's giant body and toppling him like that. Maybe even ending with you drilling through his skull like in the logo. But that's just me.
Loved this game otherwise. It being made by one guy is so inspiring, what a labour of love it clearly was.
2024
A lot of fun, especially when playing with a group of friends who know what they're doing. Idk though, I had 2-3 really fun sessions and then never felt any urge to jump back in. I know the gunplay, movement and things like calling in stratagems feel great. I know it looks amazing, and I know the live service aspects are being used in very clever, genuinely new ways. The structure of the game just never really made me want to play more. Maybe I missed something but each mission just turned into 'run around, kill bugs/do objectives, pick up samples', ad infinitum. I think I'm just not wired for live services anymore because the idea of doing that same gameplay loop with no sense of progression beyond new weapons and cosmetics for hundreds of hours just did not appeal. Glad I jumped in at launch because I never do that with big games anymore but I will be selling my copy.
2015
This game is very fun.
I've seen so many playthroughs and knew exactly what was going to happen, but playing it for the first time (and leaving the decision making up to my girlfriend who had fresh eyes) enhanced the whole experience. The characters are annoying and do stupid things (like continuing to split up constantly), most of the gameplay is either walking around looking at the ground very slowly or doing QTEs, and the second half drags. But it is fun. Those QTEs genuinely made me sweat and felt high stakes, unlike any other game's QTEs. Every choice felt consequential and it never felt like there was a clear right answer. The Butterfly Effect system is so good too, that's something I could only appreciate actually playing it myself. So many times I'd do something that felt wrong, see that butterfly appear and then know I'd completely fucked something lol.
Funny looking uncanny valley character models but still looks amazing to me. Phenomenal shadows. Not sure how far this game needs any kind of remake but hey ho.
I've seen so many playthroughs and knew exactly what was going to happen, but playing it for the first time (and leaving the decision making up to my girlfriend who had fresh eyes) enhanced the whole experience. The characters are annoying and do stupid things (like continuing to split up constantly), most of the gameplay is either walking around looking at the ground very slowly or doing QTEs, and the second half drags. But it is fun. Those QTEs genuinely made me sweat and felt high stakes, unlike any other game's QTEs. Every choice felt consequential and it never felt like there was a clear right answer. The Butterfly Effect system is so good too, that's something I could only appreciate actually playing it myself. So many times I'd do something that felt wrong, see that butterfly appear and then know I'd completely fucked something lol.
Funny looking uncanny valley character models but still looks amazing to me. Phenomenal shadows. Not sure how far this game needs any kind of remake but hey ho.
This review contains spoilers
Yes it's more of the same. But that same is such a perfectly fine tuned, well balanced, addictive same that I can't complain fr.
Traversal is perfect. The new swinging animations are gorgeous, and I shudder to think about the amount of animation transitions there are. Everything just works so smoothly and fits together so well. Swinging, web wings, tricks, everything.
Combat I think has some hits and some misses. It largely feels identical to the first two games, which I think was a bit of a missed opportunity - I think it could have been cool if there were some meaningful differences between Peter and Miles when it came to combat. Maybe Pete could be slightly tankier whilst Miles is more agile? Idk. I'm glad at least they had parity on gadgets (but damn, rip the trip wire). I played on spectacular difficulty so maybe that's why, but I found the combat encounters, particularly towards the end, legitimately challenging. Enemies had so much health and I found myself overwhelmed pretty often with large groups.
I don't like the parry system. The timing never quite felt good somehow, like attacks would take slightly longer than expected to come out every time and throw me off. Also Spider-Man in these games has never been a stop and block kinda guy, he's a jump and dodge guy, and that's hardwired into my brain and thumbs. So it's weird now getting big attacks I have to sit still and parry (which you can't do in midair, which screws me when I'm doing an air combo but need to parry), and which I get punished for if I attempt to dodge. It was very difficult muscle memory to undo.
When it comes to stealth I lowkey think the web line is one of the best innovations in this game. For real. I loved it. Changing the space and creating new pathways is very much a bit of me. And I've loved stealth takedowns in Spider-Man games since the TASM game (which I still think pips this game when it comes to stealth takedowns and the sheer cool factor that came with those animations but hey). Speaking of other Spider-Man games, seeing the venomised NY was really cool after playing Web of Shadows - felt like a deliberate callback to me.
Really liked the story - I absolutely love the Insomniac versions of these characters, and the new spin on Harry and Venom works so well imo. The new boroughs in the map were good too, seeing more residential areas and exploring them with the Web wings worked well. The map honestly hits differently now I've actually been to New York, I'm just seeing spots I visited and reminiscing.
I can sit here and say the game does nothing meaningfully new, it treats Miles like a bit of an afterthought sometimes (and his new suit is disgusting), the swing-cutscene-combat mission structure started to get boring, and so on. But the shit is fun. Consistently. I couldn't put the game down the entire time I was on it, it's the most I've touched my PS5 in so long.
Oh I've just remembered - I liked how far they went to try and make the non-Spider-Man content fun. Gave MJ a sprint and a gun, gave Hailey a graffiti mini game, the entire funfair section, it was nice.
If it were down to me, I think I'd make sweeping changes to the next Spider-Man game. I would either:
- Make it linear, as in no open world NY, and really tighten up the pacing of the story
- Take it out of NY entirely - go to space, or different dimensions, something. Kinda want to see more of the space/fantasy side of Spider-Man now
Traversal is perfect. The new swinging animations are gorgeous, and I shudder to think about the amount of animation transitions there are. Everything just works so smoothly and fits together so well. Swinging, web wings, tricks, everything.
Combat I think has some hits and some misses. It largely feels identical to the first two games, which I think was a bit of a missed opportunity - I think it could have been cool if there were some meaningful differences between Peter and Miles when it came to combat. Maybe Pete could be slightly tankier whilst Miles is more agile? Idk. I'm glad at least they had parity on gadgets (but damn, rip the trip wire). I played on spectacular difficulty so maybe that's why, but I found the combat encounters, particularly towards the end, legitimately challenging. Enemies had so much health and I found myself overwhelmed pretty often with large groups.
I don't like the parry system. The timing never quite felt good somehow, like attacks would take slightly longer than expected to come out every time and throw me off. Also Spider-Man in these games has never been a stop and block kinda guy, he's a jump and dodge guy, and that's hardwired into my brain and thumbs. So it's weird now getting big attacks I have to sit still and parry (which you can't do in midair, which screws me when I'm doing an air combo but need to parry), and which I get punished for if I attempt to dodge. It was very difficult muscle memory to undo.
When it comes to stealth I lowkey think the web line is one of the best innovations in this game. For real. I loved it. Changing the space and creating new pathways is very much a bit of me. And I've loved stealth takedowns in Spider-Man games since the TASM game (which I still think pips this game when it comes to stealth takedowns and the sheer cool factor that came with those animations but hey). Speaking of other Spider-Man games, seeing the venomised NY was really cool after playing Web of Shadows - felt like a deliberate callback to me.
Really liked the story - I absolutely love the Insomniac versions of these characters, and the new spin on Harry and Venom works so well imo. The new boroughs in the map were good too, seeing more residential areas and exploring them with the Web wings worked well. The map honestly hits differently now I've actually been to New York, I'm just seeing spots I visited and reminiscing.
I can sit here and say the game does nothing meaningfully new, it treats Miles like a bit of an afterthought sometimes (and his new suit is disgusting), the swing-cutscene-combat mission structure started to get boring, and so on. But the shit is fun. Consistently. I couldn't put the game down the entire time I was on it, it's the most I've touched my PS5 in so long.
Oh I've just remembered - I liked how far they went to try and make the non-Spider-Man content fun. Gave MJ a sprint and a gun, gave Hailey a graffiti mini game, the entire funfair section, it was nice.
If it were down to me, I think I'd make sweeping changes to the next Spider-Man game. I would either:
- Make it linear, as in no open world NY, and really tighten up the pacing of the story
- Take it out of NY entirely - go to space, or different dimensions, something. Kinda want to see more of the space/fantasy side of Spider-Man now
2023
So chill. Gorgeous visuals, such a well crafted world. The climbing mechanic is phenomenal - really translates the feeling of looking for handholds in actual rock climbing, and alternating the triggers whilst moving becomes almost hypnotic after a while. Procedural animation is phenomenal also, sells it so well. The game is short but sweet - completed it within 3 train commutes and it did not outstay its welcome. Story was scant and I'm not the greatest fan of piecing backstory together via letters, and I did find myself sometimes wishing there were more meaningful interactions with the environment, but that's not what this game is and I accept that.
This review contains spoilers
Yeah. It's phenomenal. What did you expect.
Mind you, I don't feel like it was as blindingly, surprisingly phenomenal as the last two games. As much as I loved my time with this game, and loved so so much of what it does, it didn't quite hit the high heights of the first two games. Personally I think it's because I just prefer the modern, more sci-fi-ish setting of those ones to the jungles and outdoor environments of this one but who knows.
So, gameplay. Fun! It's a really cool evolution of the series to this point. Adding a controllable third person camera changes the relationship to the space so much. That plus getting rid of the Soliton Radar meant I was doing a looooot more actual peering around in the environment, and appreciating verticality a lot more in the levels. Definitely felt more organic. I also appreciated that I could switch to the fixed camera at any point - there were moments where it added so much having the cinematic, curated views as Kojima intended. Combat is a lot of fun, but I constantly found myself wrangling with the controls to get myself to do certain things - lots of funny button combos for simple things like aiming down sights. CQC was also often finnicky for me. But those are small complaints, I got used to how those systems worked pretty quickly. I liked the survival elements quite a bit, even though in practice they really just added a whole lot of menus to constantly switch between. Like the surgery system, I do get why it was designed the way it was, but then part of me just feels like I'm hitting a series of buttons really fast to get back to what I was doing before I was interrupted.
Unrelated, the boss battles are the best they have been yet here. I generally don't like boss battles in games, but these ones were a lot of fun and super challenging. Loved the multiple approaches and easter eggs.
Story-wise this was great. Felt more grounded than 2, for better or worse. The period setting works really well, and I loved the spy movie vibes. That theme song is just gorgeous and every use of it in-game is so so effective. The Boss is the goat. I played Peace Walker with no context years ago so I knew about the ending sequence but she's the goat fr fr. Young Ocelot was great too. The rest of the Cobras kinda just appear without warning and then aren't really mentioned again after being defeated but that's cool.
My thoughts on this aren't amazingly coherent bc it's late here but I had a really great time with MGS3, and I'm so glad I've finally experienced it in full. I played the absolute hell out of the 3DS version demo back in 2011 so I went into this knowing the opening areas like the back of my hand and then practically nothing else lol.
I will say though. Coming away from MGS1 and 2, I really felt a change in my mood and outlook. Both games ended on such positive, life-affirming notes that really struck me quite deeply. This game didn't hit that same chord for me emotionally which I find a bit of a shame. But it's all good. Super excited to get to MGS4 now.
Mind you, I don't feel like it was as blindingly, surprisingly phenomenal as the last two games. As much as I loved my time with this game, and loved so so much of what it does, it didn't quite hit the high heights of the first two games. Personally I think it's because I just prefer the modern, more sci-fi-ish setting of those ones to the jungles and outdoor environments of this one but who knows.
So, gameplay. Fun! It's a really cool evolution of the series to this point. Adding a controllable third person camera changes the relationship to the space so much. That plus getting rid of the Soliton Radar meant I was doing a looooot more actual peering around in the environment, and appreciating verticality a lot more in the levels. Definitely felt more organic. I also appreciated that I could switch to the fixed camera at any point - there were moments where it added so much having the cinematic, curated views as Kojima intended. Combat is a lot of fun, but I constantly found myself wrangling with the controls to get myself to do certain things - lots of funny button combos for simple things like aiming down sights. CQC was also often finnicky for me. But those are small complaints, I got used to how those systems worked pretty quickly. I liked the survival elements quite a bit, even though in practice they really just added a whole lot of menus to constantly switch between. Like the surgery system, I do get why it was designed the way it was, but then part of me just feels like I'm hitting a series of buttons really fast to get back to what I was doing before I was interrupted.
Unrelated, the boss battles are the best they have been yet here. I generally don't like boss battles in games, but these ones were a lot of fun and super challenging. Loved the multiple approaches and easter eggs.
Story-wise this was great. Felt more grounded than 2, for better or worse. The period setting works really well, and I loved the spy movie vibes. That theme song is just gorgeous and every use of it in-game is so so effective. The Boss is the goat. I played Peace Walker with no context years ago so I knew about the ending sequence but she's the goat fr fr. Young Ocelot was great too. The rest of the Cobras kinda just appear without warning and then aren't really mentioned again after being defeated but that's cool.
My thoughts on this aren't amazingly coherent bc it's late here but I had a really great time with MGS3, and I'm so glad I've finally experienced it in full. I played the absolute hell out of the 3DS version demo back in 2011 so I went into this knowing the opening areas like the back of my hand and then practically nothing else lol.
I will say though. Coming away from MGS1 and 2, I really felt a change in my mood and outlook. Both games ended on such positive, life-affirming notes that really struck me quite deeply. This game didn't hit that same chord for me emotionally which I find a bit of a shame. But it's all good. Super excited to get to MGS4 now.
This review contains spoilers
Who's even doing it like Kojima for real? Bigger, bolder, more ambitious than the first game and mostly nails it. Love the story and the setting - Raiden as a foil for Snake is such a good character, and I love the big reveal that the whole scenario was planned by the Patriots to mirror Shadow Moses. Plus Kojima is the only one who would name his two main characters Jack and Rose 3 years after Titanic came out lmao. Again, like the ending of the first game, oddly life affirming too. I've been really in the dumps lately about death and meaning, and Snake's speech on what we leave behind and why struck me as quite beautiful. Also on story - I actually almost shed tears seeing Snake and Otacon's secret handshake they're so fucking cute. Just like the first one, I'm hard pressed to find a modern game telling anywhere near as compelling a story as these games have so far, and I feel privileged to be experiencing them for the first time as an adult.
Gameplay mechanics-wise I'm slightly more mixed. Loved a lot of the innovations - first person aiming, hanging, peeking around corners. The moveset is so much more fleshed out than before. But then that's also the biggest problem, the control scheme feels like it's struggling to keep up. So many times I would try and press against a wall and peek around the corner to shoot, and realise my fingers were doing up twister on the controller to make that happen. Or I'd try and shuffle along a wall and the camera angle would shift without warning and throw off my input, leading to me getting spotted. Wasn't too fun, and actually very much soured my experience with Tanker coming straight from MGS1, where the controls were so simple and straightforward.
Apart from those niggles though, had a great time. Beautiful, complex, layered story, told with humour and utter sincerity, as well as clever tricks you can only do in an interactive medium like games (I knew about Fission Mailed from years ago and wish I hadn't so I could be surprised by it). Phenomenal sequel.
Gameplay mechanics-wise I'm slightly more mixed. Loved a lot of the innovations - first person aiming, hanging, peeking around corners. The moveset is so much more fleshed out than before. But then that's also the biggest problem, the control scheme feels like it's struggling to keep up. So many times I would try and press against a wall and peek around the corner to shoot, and realise my fingers were doing up twister on the controller to make that happen. Or I'd try and shuffle along a wall and the camera angle would shift without warning and throw off my input, leading to me getting spotted. Wasn't too fun, and actually very much soured my experience with Tanker coming straight from MGS1, where the controls were so simple and straightforward.
Apart from those niggles though, had a great time. Beautiful, complex, layered story, told with humour and utter sincerity, as well as clever tricks you can only do in an interactive medium like games (I knew about Fission Mailed from years ago and wish I hadn't so I could be surprised by it). Phenomenal sequel.
1998
This review contains spoilers
Holy shit LOL this game goes insane. Literally living Kojima's movie.
Absolutely beautifully made. Clever, inventive, exciting, fucking odd and strange and weird and one of a kind. Funny, has a massive heart, life affirming. Such a strong vision brought to life in such a strong way.
Really glad I played the first two Metal Gear games first, they give a lot of context to the way the design evolved. This game feels like Kojima just redoing the first two with more modern technology - lots of the same ideas/setpieces/even similar level designs sometimes, redone with higher fidelity and stretched further.
Some of the ideas in here still feel absolutely brand new to this day. When Naomi says "put the controller to your arm" and then it rumbles to simulate the nanomachines in Snake's arms getting stimulated? Psycho Mantis? The whole codec system and the amount of discovery and subtle branching choices. It's just amazing. Ludonarrative harmony to the max. I was Snake. This was MY movie.
Also wasn't expecting the plot to be so life affirming? There's so much heart. Everyone is so earnest whilst exploring love and life and war and death. It's just great man. Even with blocky PS1 graphics I was enthralled.
Only loses a half star because there were a couple of frustrations with the combat at moments, and the moveset feeling basic, but those are such small complaints in the face of such a stunningly made game.
Absolutely beautifully made. Clever, inventive, exciting, fucking odd and strange and weird and one of a kind. Funny, has a massive heart, life affirming. Such a strong vision brought to life in such a strong way.
Really glad I played the first two Metal Gear games first, they give a lot of context to the way the design evolved. This game feels like Kojima just redoing the first two with more modern technology - lots of the same ideas/setpieces/even similar level designs sometimes, redone with higher fidelity and stretched further.
Some of the ideas in here still feel absolutely brand new to this day. When Naomi says "put the controller to your arm" and then it rumbles to simulate the nanomachines in Snake's arms getting stimulated? Psycho Mantis? The whole codec system and the amount of discovery and subtle branching choices. It's just amazing. Ludonarrative harmony to the max. I was Snake. This was MY movie.
Also wasn't expecting the plot to be so life affirming? There's so much heart. Everyone is so earnest whilst exploring love and life and war and death. It's just great man. Even with blocky PS1 graphics I was enthralled.
Only loses a half star because there were a couple of frustrations with the combat at moments, and the moveset feeling basic, but those are such small complaints in the face of such a stunningly made game.
2023
Loved this. Expressive, free form movement worked so so well. It feels like Mario Odyssey movement in a metroidvania space, and that combination just clicks. Gaining mastery over the controls and the expanding moveset is super satisfying. Level design is phenomenal as well. A manageably sized space meant that even without a map, I never felt too overwhelmed. Areas were distinct and interesting, which really helped when backtracking later on. Never felt stuck for too long, and there was always another interesting platforming challenge around the corner.
Combat didn't really work for me, attacks felt too light and weak to be satisfying. Disliked the final boss (disliked that there was a final boss, would have loved the final encounter to be a chase or a Metroid-style escape sequence) and the story is nonexistent, but that's really not what you're here for. Looks great, feels phenomenal, does not overstay its welcome. Most fun I've had with a game in 2023 so far.
Combat didn't really work for me, attacks felt too light and weak to be satisfying. Disliked the final boss (disliked that there was a final boss, would have loved the final encounter to be a chase or a Metroid-style escape sequence) and the story is nonexistent, but that's really not what you're here for. Looks great, feels phenomenal, does not overstay its welcome. Most fun I've had with a game in 2023 so far.
2023
It's just so fuckin boring bro. I really wanted to love this game to spite the gamers, support a project with a black woman lead, etc and etc. It's just numbing my damn mind.
Traversal is flashy but feels absolutely automatic, especially compared to games of a similar scope with much more involved movement. Combat is boring and the upgrade system with silly percentages annoys me. The cutscenes and lore are so unbelievably dry. I just couldn't. Found out that the combat and traversal open up massively later on but I cannot be fucked to get to that point anymore. I gave it 3 hours and that was enough.
One day soon I'll come back and give this an honest second attempt, just not now. It's been sat inside my PlayStation since January and I just needed to be honest with myself and shelve it for now.
Traversal is flashy but feels absolutely automatic, especially compared to games of a similar scope with much more involved movement. Combat is boring and the upgrade system with silly percentages annoys me. The cutscenes and lore are so unbelievably dry. I just couldn't. Found out that the combat and traversal open up massively later on but I cannot be fucked to get to that point anymore. I gave it 3 hours and that was enough.
One day soon I'll come back and give this an honest second attempt, just not now. It's been sat inside my PlayStation since January and I just needed to be honest with myself and shelve it for now.
2006
Really enjoyed blasting through this. I'm a Rhythm Paradise Stan (I know the DS game like the back of my hand, can play it with my eyes closed), and finally got the chance to delve into the first game when I bought a cart containing the Rhythm Heaven Silver fan patch. Must say, excellent translation, really nailed the tone and feel of the later games' official translations.
The game is so fun. I don't know how they managed to spin so many unique ideas out of "press the A button to the beat" but I'm amazed by it. It feels a lot more limited compared to the later games in the series but that's probably a good thing, shows they were evolving with time. Aesthetics are great throughout - that Rhythm Heaven style works really well in the pixellated GBA style. Some of the games were frustrating as a non-Japanese speaker but so much fun otherwise. Rhythm toys and endless games round the package out nicely - I can see myself picking up my Game Boy randomly for a few mini games at a time, like I have been for the past few days. It's short and sweet.
The game is so fun. I don't know how they managed to spin so many unique ideas out of "press the A button to the beat" but I'm amazed by it. It feels a lot more limited compared to the later games in the series but that's probably a good thing, shows they were evolving with time. Aesthetics are great throughout - that Rhythm Heaven style works really well in the pixellated GBA style. Some of the games were frustrating as a non-Japanese speaker but so much fun otherwise. Rhythm toys and endless games round the package out nicely - I can see myself picking up my Game Boy randomly for a few mini games at a time, like I have been for the past few days. It's short and sweet.
Surprisingly engaging - I ended up loving the story, characters and the world of the school. Was really interesting seeing essentially an alternate take on the Ace Attorney formula - exploration and poking around crime scenes, visual novel sections, trials about presenting evidence at the right moment. It's all filtered through the design language of an action/shooting game. Exploration is first person with sprinting, even going to speak to someone shoots out a little question mark. Trials involve aiming, firing (including using a silencer), rhythm minigames and hangman. All very violent, lot of mechanics get piled on top of each other, but it genuinely comes together. Certain moments, especially towards the end, felt like I had pieced together the mystery a lot earlier than the game and was waiting for it to catch up, but otherwise I was along for the ride for real.
Feels a lot better mechanically than Sly 1 and expands on the stealth and thievery in a lot of interesting and welcome ways. I like the idea of an open world structure too. I'm just thinking Sly Cooper isn't really for me as a series, if this is the pinnacle according to fans and just doesn't click with me. I'm only 11% in and the pirate copy of this game on my Vita hasn't wanted to save so I've been stuck with this game in sleep mode for about 3 months now. Sick of it and I wanna use my Vita for literally anything else other than a Sly game I'm not really enjoying
2022
Very endearing, super simple platformer. Really well polished, fun central mechanic. So very GBA-like to have 3 buttons and a d-pad control everything. I got that feeling I normally get with games where I felt a real compulsion to hoover up every stray fruit and gem, and it felt really good collecting everything and slowly figuring out levels.
Brutal difficulty spikes though. Sometimes I found myself having to put my Switch down for the night and attempt a level the next day because it was frustrating me so much lol. A lot of little moments that just felt like total BS, and it's not the chill slightly easy platformer I initially thought it would be. But it was a fun time.
Ran like ass for a 2D platformer with a bunch of slowdown (and the game crashed the instant I beat the final boss which has led to me just abandoning my effort to 100% it because fuck that. I seriously thought it was a meta game element at first but nope, it just crapped out on me and didn't save.), but it was made by one person so I'm very willing to go easy on that part.
Brutal difficulty spikes though. Sometimes I found myself having to put my Switch down for the night and attempt a level the next day because it was frustrating me so much lol. A lot of little moments that just felt like total BS, and it's not the chill slightly easy platformer I initially thought it would be. But it was a fun time.
Ran like ass for a 2D platformer with a bunch of slowdown (and the game crashed the instant I beat the final boss which has led to me just abandoning my effort to 100% it because fuck that. I seriously thought it was a meta game element at first but nope, it just crapped out on me and didn't save.), but it was made by one person so I'm very willing to go easy on that part.