BorealPaella
2011
I had no expectations going into it (since I wasn't looking forward to it's release and I played it wayyy later) and I had quite a bit of fun with it.
Bosses being reused a lot, humor being hit and miss and the gameplay not being as good as Duke3D made it less fun, but not enough for it to be a 1,7/5 game (avg rating here). I also like all types of shooters so it not being a boomer shooter anymore didn't bother me.
Bosses being reused a lot, humor being hit and miss and the gameplay not being as good as Duke3D made it less fun, but not enough for it to be a 1,7/5 game (avg rating here). I also like all types of shooters so it not being a boomer shooter anymore didn't bother me.
2011
The game itself has very limited content and tools both in survival mode and creative mode. Survival mode pales in comparison to something like Terraria. Creative mode doesn't have a lot of tools. To go back to the Terraria example, as limited as it is, you can change the shape of blocks in that game. And it has many, many more decorative items that enhances building, even if it's a 2D game.
Minecraft becomes great/amazing because of what the COMMUNITY does with mods. Which is why I can't give it a good rating.
Minecraft becomes great/amazing because of what the COMMUNITY does with mods. Which is why I can't give it a good rating.
This route only has high highs and low lows. No in between.
It's not as good in the second half, but the first half of the game is one of the most fun experiences I had in an FPS. It's really fun and silly in the best way possible.
2012
The game is as competent as Persona 3 and 5, but nothing about it clicks for me. The writing feels worse. Characters lean into their tropes even more. I didn't like the social links. The dungeons are worse than Persona 3 and 5 and you need to grind every boss fight (as in, it's not me sucking, the bosses have far too large stats if you go through dungeons quickly).
Music is great as usual. Inaba is my favorite setting from the three games also. Dojima and Nanako, even if I only saw a little of them (the most I did was 3 dungeons), are some of my favorite characters in Persona 3-5. And I wish they were in another game instead. They feel so organic and interesting compared to the rest of the cast.
But I just hate this. I tried it twice and I still want to give it another shot eventually, but nothing about it makes me want to.
Music is great as usual. Inaba is my favorite setting from the three games also. Dojima and Nanako, even if I only saw a little of them (the most I did was 3 dungeons), are some of my favorite characters in Persona 3-5. And I wish they were in another game instead. They feel so organic and interesting compared to the rest of the cast.
But I just hate this. I tried it twice and I still want to give it another shot eventually, but nothing about it makes me want to.
2021
If I could summarize this in one word, it's "bland". It's not bad or anything but it's the equivalent of eating a slice of white bread with nothing on it. I struggle to understand how this game has such raving reviews on Steam (97-98% positive)
2020
This is supposed to be an Action RPG but the game is supposed to be played like the Turn-based RPG original. Abusing weaknesses with spells and all out attacks. Except it's made more tedious because it still tries to be an Action RPG.
I love the series, but after having spent close to 300 hours across the 4 games I played, it becomes more and more apparent how empty they are. And this is theoretically the one with most to do.
Animal Crossing is an amazing experience but a mediocre game. The closest thing to it are farming simulators like Story of Seasons and Stardew. Except they have actually fleshed out characters, instead of hundreds of villagers with one out of a few personalities and some quirks. They do have a lot of charm, but they're inferior in every way. Which is why the game discourse goes more into "I love this villager because of how they look" as opposed to "I love the writing for this character". Outside of the store clerks and Isabelle.
The real time clock is a unique idea, but you'd need to play regularly for a year to get to see events. Which are the only time the game deviates. Someone could put 100 hours in one month and then get bored. The only reason they'd play more is when there's an event, potentially months after they stopped playing. Same about seasonal specific bugs and fish.
The activities are enjoyable but few. And their profitability varies a lot on season. Summer fish is the best way to make money for instance. The amount of time it takes to do things also means that progression is slow. Which is good for a game like this, but it builds up on the other frustrations, like it not having much to do.
The house decoration is fun, but with how grindy it is to expand your house and how you need to check the store daily to hopefully get things you like, it ends up taking too long for you to be able to play with it enough.
This and the Gamecube game are very treasured experiences of mine, but they are just not good games.
Animal Crossing is an amazing experience but a mediocre game. The closest thing to it are farming simulators like Story of Seasons and Stardew. Except they have actually fleshed out characters, instead of hundreds of villagers with one out of a few personalities and some quirks. They do have a lot of charm, but they're inferior in every way. Which is why the game discourse goes more into "I love this villager because of how they look" as opposed to "I love the writing for this character". Outside of the store clerks and Isabelle.
The real time clock is a unique idea, but you'd need to play regularly for a year to get to see events. Which are the only time the game deviates. Someone could put 100 hours in one month and then get bored. The only reason they'd play more is when there's an event, potentially months after they stopped playing. Same about seasonal specific bugs and fish.
The activities are enjoyable but few. And their profitability varies a lot on season. Summer fish is the best way to make money for instance. The amount of time it takes to do things also means that progression is slow. Which is good for a game like this, but it builds up on the other frustrations, like it not having much to do.
The house decoration is fun, but with how grindy it is to expand your house and how you need to check the store daily to hopefully get things you like, it ends up taking too long for you to be able to play with it enough.
This and the Gamecube game are very treasured experiences of mine, but they are just not good games.
I'm starting to feel like you need nostalgia to enjoy Zelda games. Which I have none. Tried multiple of them and I simply never care.
This is very much an action RPG. But apart from puzzles and music, it feels lacking in all it's components. Story, writing, combat, characters. I don't care about any of it.
When taken as a whole experience and not just puzzles, it's just not satisfying to me. I don't care about this game's importance in my rating. I acknowledge importance but I judge a game based on how I feel at the time I play. Because I'm not doing a gaming history thesis.
This is very much an action RPG. But apart from puzzles and music, it feels lacking in all it's components. Story, writing, combat, characters. I don't care about any of it.
When taken as a whole experience and not just puzzles, it's just not satisfying to me. I don't care about this game's importance in my rating. I acknowledge importance but I judge a game based on how I feel at the time I play. Because I'm not doing a gaming history thesis.
The only good thing this game does is some of the tightest and most engaging shootouts I've seen in a long while. They feel incredibly well designed and smart for a cover shooter. But the downside is that even for me, who has a lot of shooting game experience, it felt really difficult. And that's on normal difficulty. I think it might be too difficult (unless easy is a lot easier) for people who aren't as experienced past a point.
I might remember wrongly, but the first game had far more puzzles and platforming. The balance is skewed towards shooting in this by a large margin. Which I don't really like.
The writing is awful as was the first game's, except this one is dumber. The banter between characters is still great, just like the first game. I wish it extended to general writing quality though.
I might remember wrongly, but the first game had far more puzzles and platforming. The balance is skewed towards shooting in this by a large margin. Which I don't really like.
The writing is awful as was the first game's, except this one is dumber. The banter between characters is still great, just like the first game. I wish it extended to general writing quality though.
1997
The most confusing map design I've seen in a game ever.
Turn based RPG with an alchemy system where you make your own usable items, armor, weapons for use in battles. Also crafting items to fulfill requests.
If that concept sounds interesting, this game is super simple in the best way imaginable on top of having great characters. The Atelier games after might be better, but this game has such charm and simplicity that I can't not give it a 5/5.
If that concept sounds interesting, this game is super simple in the best way imaginable on top of having great characters. The Atelier games after might be better, but this game has such charm and simplicity that I can't not give it a 5/5.
2014
Characters all almost behave exactly the same with slightly different hitboxes and animations and different choices of weapons, which all have the same basic attacks on all characters. The game's fun, but characters having no identity outside of their design and animation ruins this for me.
2009
I love the visual novel also, but I think this is one of the few cases where an adaptation of the source material is better. The anime in this case. A romantic relationship buildup is very important for the last chunk of the game to be impactful. The visual novel made it so if you miss one flag for it, you stop being eligible to get any of the later ones. The ending has little impact in regards to internal conflicts without it. Which you'd need to follow a guide for to get them all.
Even so, the anime presented it much better. Other than that, this game has a lot more filler. At least compared to Chaos;Head Noah and Steins;Gate 0 from the same company. Early in the game, the game takes 2 hours to explain all the time travel theories at the time of the game's release, for an example.
What you lose, the non-canon endings not present in the anime don't affect the experience much. They all feel harem-y where it's just focused on the main character getting buddy buddy with the other women. They have nice ideas, but they all boil down to that.
Ideally, if you liked either, I think it's great to watch the anime or play the game also. But I think watching the anime and seeing the Mayuri ending for the visual novel also is enough.
Even so, the anime presented it much better. Other than that, this game has a lot more filler. At least compared to Chaos;Head Noah and Steins;Gate 0 from the same company. Early in the game, the game takes 2 hours to explain all the time travel theories at the time of the game's release, for an example.
What you lose, the non-canon endings not present in the anime don't affect the experience much. They all feel harem-y where it's just focused on the main character getting buddy buddy with the other women. They have nice ideas, but they all boil down to that.
Ideally, if you liked either, I think it's great to watch the anime or play the game also. But I think watching the anime and seeing the Mayuri ending for the visual novel also is enough.
This is a package with three games. Of which, I only played the first one. So, I'm only talking about that.
I really enjoyed the Date a Live light novels up to where I read (6 books at the time of writing). They feel more like a parody on harem and dating sim media expectations with a sci-fi twist and is genuinely hilarious often. There's none of that in this visual novel.
This, apart from one character's route feels like a really mediocre harem dating sim. Maybe the anime focuses more on the harem wish fulfilment stuff and they target that group of people with this. But all the identity it has in the light novels is missing from this. As a light novel fan, I was very disappointed.
I really enjoyed the Date a Live light novels up to where I read (6 books at the time of writing). They feel more like a parody on harem and dating sim media expectations with a sci-fi twist and is genuinely hilarious often. There's none of that in this visual novel.
This, apart from one character's route feels like a really mediocre harem dating sim. Maybe the anime focuses more on the harem wish fulfilment stuff and they target that group of people with this. But all the identity it has in the light novels is missing from this. As a light novel fan, I was very disappointed.