Goal is to play every image and form game so been meaning to check this one out. I liked it, short little puzzle action adventure. Cleaning up goop like in sunshine. Nothing special and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Still feels like major tech demo vibes where the dev wanted experience in 3D animation (probably for Steamworld headhunter which funnily enough is on hold now). Feels like Microsoft just gave them a nice Cheque and said have fun. Vastly prefer digs, heist and quest but still glad I knocked this off the list. Some audio crackling by end of game and dialogue was a bit cringey.

Ah tough one to review, 6 seems a bit harsh, but 7 feels a tad generous. First off some context, my ps plus extra subscription expires in September and I have been looking for games to play on that tier to justify my sub that I haven’t really used as much as I expected. A bigger budget metroidvania with a shortish 10 hour platinum trophy, so I took the jump.

What we have here is an Ori-guacamelee knock off that is not as good as either of those games. The Ori style platforming is servicable with a good dash and decent movement upgrades. But some of the design just feels off with platforming. Some jumps are weirdly placed, wall jumps never quite feel perfect etc. it’s all competent which is a word I’ll use a lot but nothing spectacular. The combat is similiarily fine, get locked in a room constantly switching between different colour enemies ala guacamelee. Like that game I grew very tired of it by the end and dropped to easy. But I didn’t hate and some upgrades made it more fun.

Map is very linear and very little back tracking. The map is revealed when you enter an area which is a weird choice since then you can lose track of where you have and have not gone but not a huge issue. Very often auto saves make mis timed jumps bearable. But when an area has no check points my goodness can this game test your patience. One hit spikes are literally everywhere and the slightest touch can kill you. Very silly that it is explicitly mentioned in options that difficulty does not affect one hit kills. I would be surprised if 90% of deaths were a result of those and not the combat.

Story was fine can tell it’s personal for the creator which is nice and applaud him for this vision. Bosses were good decent changes and not too hard.

Unfortunately the million deaths from bad design or one hit kills has me saying “why am I playing this right now” far too many times and it really tested my patience debating sunk cost fallacy throughout the 10 hour journey. Cherry on top was game crashing on the final blow of the boss so had to do that again.

Im coming off harsh and I feel bad cause the game is decent in parts but really there are such better offerings in this genre not sure why I would recommend this over anything else other than it being free on a subscription service. Also they need to fix the dead stick after every exit from the map

Enjoy these games nice little mix of everything, Soulsy, metroidy. Story was engaging though find Cal to be a bit cringe at times. The open world aspect of this one does not get me crazy excited but they made it all optional and pretty clever with the ways they funnel into areas where you can explore a bit bit but not too much off the beaten path. So a little easier to not get overwhelmed. Combat was fun though I still rarely change stances too much so i am sure I am not seeing the full potential. About 25-26 hours to do main story with some extra content. Debating the platinum but it’s a commitment seemingly not sure I will. Can never give this more than 8 until they remove the idea that 80% of rewards should be cosmetic. Sorry I am sure playtesting shows people like this stuff I do not care whatsoever what colour my lightsabre button is. I know the god of war 1000 stats is probably not ideal either but surely there is a middle ground between making rewards meaningful and not over-bearing

Really have to give Reddit props here as this was a game I was on the fence about but so so happy I checked this out. I’ll admit the graphics are off-putting though can’t say it isn’t unique but what we have here is a special metroidvania or soulsvania or action RPG whatever you wanna call it. This game has some systems that are very unique and really make the game stand out, with the most impressive being the enemy trait system. Every enemy pretty much you can absorb (re: parry) when you get their health to a certain point at which point you unlock a unique trait that you can upgrade such as regain stamina quicker or do more damage after a parry. But they get way more practical and essential. It makes you want to go after every enemy and engage with the system exhaustively. Add no soul runs when you die (I.e. you keep your experience) and you have a perfect recipe for exploration. Exploration very rewarding. The bosses are very fair and challenging. I never felt as if I cheesed them or were unfair. The platforming and upgrades were very fun and usually had multiple purposes. The combat loop was super neat with parries and another ability I won’t mention that really keeps things engaging. As usual story is way over my head and I didn’t engage at all. Super happy I checked this out I feel like it’s a bit under talked about. Excited for the sequel. About 21 hours to beat at 63% completion.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Very much inspired by hollow knight doesn’t do a whole lot that I can point to that we haven’t seen done elsewhere. Still everything is solid and I couldn’t stop playing so I think they says something. 10 hours to get most things and true ending. I should add the game is much easier which is a big plus for me. Sure hollow knight is great but sometimes not always in the mood to do a boss 50 times. Only tricky one was second to last boss for me but even then got it down. Perfect final boss not too hard not too easy but every time I knew my mistakes.

Wow what a game. Probably the most hidden gem game I’ve played in terms I’ve never heard anyone mention it other than a few passing Reddit comments. Really fast fluid metroidvania, with little combat outside of boss fights. But the boss fights are fast and intense but manageable. Imagine maybe an easier hollow knight without enemies or corpse runs. And lots of platforming challenges that are all very fun and short. Really wish this was more well known and hopefully this review will lead others who like games like this to check it out

4 stars feels a tad a too high, 3.5 feels a tad low so it’s probably in between there. Neat little game glad I played it. Managed to get this from the library after months of waiting as I was very unsure I’d like it. But has elements of Zelda and action combat with unique controls where on joy con controls one character and other joy con controls the other. Kinda like rubbing belly and head at same time. Combat doesn’t quite evolve as much as I’d like, and exploration when you gain new powers is usually a staple of a Zelda game and this game has it too but the world map and sign posting is all so confusing and very easy to get lost if straying from main path. I did zero backtracking which is a bit disappointing when I know the game wants you to. Challenge was on the easier side but ending got a little tougher. Think the game suffers from some pacing issues with the storybook telling and just slower gameplay. Glad I stuck with it about 10-15 hours to main line.