DeemonAndGames
2022
I sat there listening to André, and every time it was my time to say something, for a moment I was left wondering...
What the hell did even ''Bon Mot'' mean
To be honest, I've never seen My dinner with André, and to be even more honest, for the longest time I didn't even know it was a film in the first place! But what I did see was the Simpson's gag about it, I watched it as a kid, found it pretty funny, and that was it. So when I discovered that someone decided to make based nor about the movie, but instead about the 10 second Simpson’s gag, I felt perplexed, confused, and extremely curious.
Before I started playing, I expected it to be what a premise like this could only seem to be for most: a stretched out joke made playable, and after the novelty wore off, it would just be an endearing but not that interesting joke game... yet here I stand, proven utterly wrong, and man I'm so fucking glad that's the case.
My Dinner with André takes the basic premise of the gag: two men having dinner together made playable, at is core a completely absurd idea, but it takes it upon itself to fully integrate it into the videogame medium, and the result is two men having dinner, talking about the videogame industry. The hardships of indie development, the horrendous state of the AAA industry and the impossibility of making art through it, and the absolute despicable acts that take place behind the walls of the companies, and how its leaders create an horrendous workplace for female workers... and yet, it never stops being pleasant reading what these two old friends that haven't met in a while have to say.
The conversation between Wally and André sometimes feels like a person's internal monologue, debating with itself certain aspects of the world in which they work, and if it's worth to keep going, to aspire to create art if it isn't making any profit... but the fact it ends in such a positive note is so inspiring and, again, pleasant.
Sometimes we need to just be reminded that with even the world burning around us, or at least a portion of it, something good can flourish, like hope for the future, or maybe a new opportunity that makes the momentary sadness worth keep going. All of this from a chat with an old buddy.
Dammit, now I want to watch the original movie.
What the hell did even ''Bon Mot'' mean
To be honest, I've never seen My dinner with André, and to be even more honest, for the longest time I didn't even know it was a film in the first place! But what I did see was the Simpson's gag about it, I watched it as a kid, found it pretty funny, and that was it. So when I discovered that someone decided to make based nor about the movie, but instead about the 10 second Simpson’s gag, I felt perplexed, confused, and extremely curious.
Before I started playing, I expected it to be what a premise like this could only seem to be for most: a stretched out joke made playable, and after the novelty wore off, it would just be an endearing but not that interesting joke game... yet here I stand, proven utterly wrong, and man I'm so fucking glad that's the case.
My Dinner with André takes the basic premise of the gag: two men having dinner together made playable, at is core a completely absurd idea, but it takes it upon itself to fully integrate it into the videogame medium, and the result is two men having dinner, talking about the videogame industry. The hardships of indie development, the horrendous state of the AAA industry and the impossibility of making art through it, and the absolute despicable acts that take place behind the walls of the companies, and how its leaders create an horrendous workplace for female workers... and yet, it never stops being pleasant reading what these two old friends that haven't met in a while have to say.
The conversation between Wally and André sometimes feels like a person's internal monologue, debating with itself certain aspects of the world in which they work, and if it's worth to keep going, to aspire to create art if it isn't making any profit... but the fact it ends in such a positive note is so inspiring and, again, pleasant.
Sometimes we need to just be reminded that with even the world burning around us, or at least a portion of it, something good can flourish, like hope for the future, or maybe a new opportunity that makes the momentary sadness worth keep going. All of this from a chat with an old buddy.
Dammit, now I want to watch the original movie.
And so, with a funny sounding yet triumphant trumpet, my little marathon of the Crash Banticoot series comes to an end. That's right, there are no more games everybody, absolutely no other games that I need to playPLEASE OH GOD DON'T MAKE ME PLAY THEM I WISH TO BE FREED FROM THIS MARSUPIAL REALM.
''Tell me, Crash, is this all there is, forever?’’
To be completely honest, I got Crash 4 shortly after it released on switch, even tho I didn't play ANY of the games at that point, but I figured that I shouldn't pass on the opportunity in playing a seemingly very fun 3D platformer, and so, I started playing... and shortly after I noticed my joy-cons had drift. Suffices to say I wasn't all that excited to keep playing a game that demands precision with, well, a controller that can't really give me that precision. Ando so, I postponed it, even well after I managed to grab myself a Pro Controller, and it ended up being the best involuntary decision I could have made, as it ended up serving as the final footnote in my dive of the Bandicoot's most well-known adventures, and it made its subtitle have the full weigh it fully deserves.
Indeed, my friend, it's about time, a game that strives to be the definitive sequel to a game that came out 22 years prior to this one, and let me tell, aside from what I think of the trilogy as a whole, those are some damn big shoes to fill.
Let's see if it has the foot to do it.
The Bandicoot at matter
As the ''fourth'' entry to a fairly continuist franchise, and one that had been subjected to some decisions questioned by many, AND with the remakes of the original trilogy coming out just three years prior, Crash 4 had all going for it to take the easy route: just make another Crash game, one that follows the beats of the OG's and you are set and done, you make some fans happy and make a fairly easy buck, simple! But as everyone has said, and as for many things one could say about Crash 4 (as I will certainly do), being not original is not one of them.
The game hits you with its presentation like if it was a punch to the eye, what Toys for Bob managed to do with the visual style is honestly jaw-dropping. Everyone has gotten a small re-design here, and nor only the new art-style does wonder to these old faces, but makes every animation a sight to behold. Every movement of every character, in both cinematics and gameplay, feels like watching an awesome animated movie, so many details and small things that make everything just so alive, and I think each time I'll think about this characters it will be in THIS look THIS style. Just look at Crash, Coco or Dingodile for crying out loud, they ooze so much personality that it makes me MAD, I'm angry at how amazing they look.
And the levels... DEAR CRUST THE LEVELS. Are these perhaps the most detailed, good looking and creative levels I've seen in a 3D platformer? 'cause they are up there for sure. Long gone are the days of level themes that repeat the same structure and in a messy order, instead, It's about time takes the original Crash Bandicoot world-map way of distributing levels and goes bonkers with it: each world a new theme, each level a new idea inside that theme. This game grabs your hand and takes you through unimaginable lands, from a prehistoric dying world to a Mad Max-esque wasteland, to even just filthy swamps, and it always manages to look beyond good and detailed, with set pieces that expand far beyond any other past game had ever done, and it truly feels like Warped on steroids. It's a blast going though these lands, you never know what crazy new thing the game it's gonna throw at you, but you know damn well it's going to be fun.
It also does a very smart thing: instead of collecting new power-ups to your move set every time you beat a boss, you start right of the bat with your double jump, and as you advance in the story, you rescue new masks that, at designated points, appear and give you powers that are designed specifically to be used in the level they are, like slowing time, give you a super spin that makes you practically fly,… and this may not feel as rewarding as a permanent upgrade at first, but it truly does wonders to help make incredibly more interesting level design, and thanks to it goes crazy with these ideas, and just adds so, SO much to the base crash formula that I couldn’t decide on my favorite one, they all just work so well.
Nonetheless, a lot of people would make the understandable assumption that even if the levels had a visual and design upgrade, the difficulty and challenge that was present in the first games would be lost, and to that I say... you poor, WRETCHED, FOOLS. There have been some changes that some could think make the game easier, like the fact that the recommended mode is the one without lives or that there are checkpoints through the bosses, but saying that this game is easy would a lie, it's incredibly challenging and offer some of the hardest platforming sections in the entire franchise , and while this is pretty welcomed, as it gives some really memorable and fun to overcome challenges, and there's really nothing wrong with any of this itself, but... well, we will get to that...
Only N'Tropy comes easy
I really wanted to start this review with the net positives, because this game has a few of them as you may have noticed, and make no mistake, when this game is good, is GOOD, in all caps, and I really want to make that clear. There are things I didn’t even talks about for the shake of not making this review longer than it already is like the music and boss fights, ‘cause both are absolute home runs, the bosses probably being the best in the series by far.
However, there are aspects the game which the game does fault a bit, like the story and the other playable characters. The game’s story honestly feels like a pretty decent take from where Warped left all, and putting the spotlight on N.Tropy as the true antagonist was a great decision… and then you beat N.Tropy (both of them) and the game decides to take the characters to little trip, but then it remembers the story needs a climax and so Cortex is the main bad again and it’s all just very jarring. I wouldn’t be as bad if other elements were also weirdly paced, a lot of interesting things like the return of Nitrus Oxide or Tawna not wanting to lose Crash and Coco after the versions of her dimension were killed are just glossed over very quickly. I know this is a Crash game, and that the story doesn’t want to be that complex in the first place, but still, it just feels they wanted to do a lot of things, so they threw them on the script with no consideration if they would feel half-baked or poorly made… Huh, I wonder if we will return to that point…
And as for the other playable characters, those being Tawna, Cortex and Dingodile, they are… fine????? I guess they are but none of them felt better that the base Crash and Coco. Twana just felt to restrictive and not having the slide severely limits her movement, Dingodile is very fun and it introduces some interesting elements, but aiming the TNT can be a pain on the ass sometimes, and Cortex… is probably the best, it is the lest mobile of them all, but it makes it up with the genuine interesting mechanic of turning the enemies into platforms, which if expanded upon could be the mechanic for an entirely new game! But what all these three have in common, is that… you barely see them. Yeah, for some reason most of the levels where you play as them you only do it for a small part of it, and half-way through you are back playing a level you already have beaten as Crash or Coco, the one difference being box placement, which just feel tacked on, repetitive and boring… Huh, I wonder if we will return to that point…
If these where the only bad things the game did, I wouldn’t complain even a bit, but keep in mind, these are the aspects that are a bit mixed… now it’s time dip the hands into the bullshit.
A faulty N.Gin
Hey, Vicarius Visions called, they want their whacky hitboxes back!
Ok, that may be a little to mean, Crash 4’s hitboxes and collision are nowhere near as bad as the ones in the N’sane Trilogy, but I did had a few moments where something silly happened, but luckily those where only counted instances… unlike some other shit. I was constantly raising my eyebrow to constant minor inconveniences, ‘cause Crash base movement may feel good, and the level design may be incredible, but that does not do much when the game decides to pull some silly trick or bug, specially in the enemies’ department.
And again, I can praise all these levels all day, but doesn’t change the matter that they just. Don’t. END. Levels lasts more than 15 minutes AT LEAST, and that’s not considering if you get stuck in some hard parts or the now infuriating bonus screens, and that would not be that much of a problem if it that didn’t meant that there are more boxes to break here that in any Crash game, 100 something boxes at minimum, and these number can reach to 300 in the Crash levels, and in the most outrageous case 5 FUCKING HUNDRED for one Dingodile level. So if you miss a box, and believe you me, you WILL miss a box, you have to start all over again the whole 15 minute level to get the box gem. And you may think ‘’oh well, just don’t pay attention to the boxes’’ but here’s the thing: not paying attention to the boxes just makes the game much less interesting, it eliminates some of the most interesting challenges out of the equation and it just doesn’t feel right. But at the same time, going for all the boxes isn’t worth at all ‘cause pretty much all the time it’s going to result in you missing some that you couldn’t find and as such you just end up feeling frustrated or demotivated! It’s the ouroboros of fucking it up, there’s no escaping here! And true, it’s not like I got all the boxes in any of the past games, but the difference it’s that in those I didn’t feel as frustrated ‘cause levels weren’t as long, there weren’t as many boxes, and so I still tried to break them in any new level, and I did got a lot of gems! Here tho? It’s just painful and if you are going for completion, it’s just time wasted… AND THAT’S ONLY ONE OUT OF THE SIX GEMS FOR EACH LEVEL.
There are 6 gems in total in each level, tho I’ll admit, some are fun to collect, like the wumpa fruit gems or the hidden one, and they are welcomed additions for sure… oh wait, did I say in a aggravating way that there were six of them? Oh, silly me, I meant 12… YEAH. After boss two, you unlock the N.verted versions of levels, which are.. the same levels you played… but with a nice filter on them! There are cool themes here and there, but in general, the changes are minimal, and in some cases make the level even more of a pain to see and traverse through, and also THEY ARE JUST THE SAME LEVEL AGAIN. I can’t call it padding ‘cause it isn’t necessary to beat the game, but it’s content that adds nothing to the overall experience and it just hinders it but making you go through it over, and over, and over, and over again; and that doesn’t even include the flashback tapes, the perfect runs, the unlockable skins, the time relic challenges and the N.verted versions of bosses. I know it may sound silly to criticize in this way what is basically side content, but is side content that just keeps recycling the base game, and it’s a big, BIG chuck of the game, and not playing it means not ‘’enjoying’’ all of the game, tho for me it ended up not even necessary to go though to get tired of the game, because even tho is just 10 hours long it just felt so looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-
Something something, pun with Dingodile in it
If I had to describe Crash 4, it would be by saying is both the best of what the series has to offer, while at the same time being some of the most repetitive and by design frustrating 3D platformer I’ve played, and I really don’t know if it was because of it’s nature as a Crash game or because of Toys for Bob insistence of making this experience last as it did.
If you asked me if I had fun, I’d say that only truly at the first half, and the rest of them I just praying for the end at some points, and it hurt me to feel that way so fucking bad, ‘cause again, what’s it’s good here, is freacking great, but I just can’t shake the feeling off that if it was more focused, more restrained with its content and, this would have been the best linear 3D platformer I ever played, but instead… it’s still a pretty good game!
I did overall enjoy it, but… I think I’m done with Crash for now. It was very fun, and I’m so glad that I ended up going all the way through this marathon, but, I had enough, I am too tired and my head hurts. I will be back to this series, don’t get me wrong, I really want to play Twinsanity but, for now, I’m happy with this little crazy voyage, and it was interesting to see the ups and downs of this marsupial, but it’s time for us to part ways…
Peace at last…
''Tell me, Crash, is this all there is, forever?’’
To be completely honest, I got Crash 4 shortly after it released on switch, even tho I didn't play ANY of the games at that point, but I figured that I shouldn't pass on the opportunity in playing a seemingly very fun 3D platformer, and so, I started playing... and shortly after I noticed my joy-cons had drift. Suffices to say I wasn't all that excited to keep playing a game that demands precision with, well, a controller that can't really give me that precision. Ando so, I postponed it, even well after I managed to grab myself a Pro Controller, and it ended up being the best involuntary decision I could have made, as it ended up serving as the final footnote in my dive of the Bandicoot's most well-known adventures, and it made its subtitle have the full weigh it fully deserves.
Indeed, my friend, it's about time, a game that strives to be the definitive sequel to a game that came out 22 years prior to this one, and let me tell, aside from what I think of the trilogy as a whole, those are some damn big shoes to fill.
Let's see if it has the foot to do it.
The Bandicoot at matter
As the ''fourth'' entry to a fairly continuist franchise, and one that had been subjected to some decisions questioned by many, AND with the remakes of the original trilogy coming out just three years prior, Crash 4 had all going for it to take the easy route: just make another Crash game, one that follows the beats of the OG's and you are set and done, you make some fans happy and make a fairly easy buck, simple! But as everyone has said, and as for many things one could say about Crash 4 (as I will certainly do), being not original is not one of them.
The game hits you with its presentation like if it was a punch to the eye, what Toys for Bob managed to do with the visual style is honestly jaw-dropping. Everyone has gotten a small re-design here, and nor only the new art-style does wonder to these old faces, but makes every animation a sight to behold. Every movement of every character, in both cinematics and gameplay, feels like watching an awesome animated movie, so many details and small things that make everything just so alive, and I think each time I'll think about this characters it will be in THIS look THIS style. Just look at Crash, Coco or Dingodile for crying out loud, they ooze so much personality that it makes me MAD, I'm angry at how amazing they look.
And the levels... DEAR CRUST THE LEVELS. Are these perhaps the most detailed, good looking and creative levels I've seen in a 3D platformer? 'cause they are up there for sure. Long gone are the days of level themes that repeat the same structure and in a messy order, instead, It's about time takes the original Crash Bandicoot world-map way of distributing levels and goes bonkers with it: each world a new theme, each level a new idea inside that theme. This game grabs your hand and takes you through unimaginable lands, from a prehistoric dying world to a Mad Max-esque wasteland, to even just filthy swamps, and it always manages to look beyond good and detailed, with set pieces that expand far beyond any other past game had ever done, and it truly feels like Warped on steroids. It's a blast going though these lands, you never know what crazy new thing the game it's gonna throw at you, but you know damn well it's going to be fun.
It also does a very smart thing: instead of collecting new power-ups to your move set every time you beat a boss, you start right of the bat with your double jump, and as you advance in the story, you rescue new masks that, at designated points, appear and give you powers that are designed specifically to be used in the level they are, like slowing time, give you a super spin that makes you practically fly,… and this may not feel as rewarding as a permanent upgrade at first, but it truly does wonders to help make incredibly more interesting level design, and thanks to it goes crazy with these ideas, and just adds so, SO much to the base crash formula that I couldn’t decide on my favorite one, they all just work so well.
Nonetheless, a lot of people would make the understandable assumption that even if the levels had a visual and design upgrade, the difficulty and challenge that was present in the first games would be lost, and to that I say... you poor, WRETCHED, FOOLS. There have been some changes that some could think make the game easier, like the fact that the recommended mode is the one without lives or that there are checkpoints through the bosses, but saying that this game is easy would a lie, it's incredibly challenging and offer some of the hardest platforming sections in the entire franchise , and while this is pretty welcomed, as it gives some really memorable and fun to overcome challenges, and there's really nothing wrong with any of this itself, but... well, we will get to that...
Only N'Tropy comes easy
I really wanted to start this review with the net positives, because this game has a few of them as you may have noticed, and make no mistake, when this game is good, is GOOD, in all caps, and I really want to make that clear. There are things I didn’t even talks about for the shake of not making this review longer than it already is like the music and boss fights, ‘cause both are absolute home runs, the bosses probably being the best in the series by far.
However, there are aspects the game which the game does fault a bit, like the story and the other playable characters. The game’s story honestly feels like a pretty decent take from where Warped left all, and putting the spotlight on N.Tropy as the true antagonist was a great decision… and then you beat N.Tropy (both of them) and the game decides to take the characters to little trip, but then it remembers the story needs a climax and so Cortex is the main bad again and it’s all just very jarring. I wouldn’t be as bad if other elements were also weirdly paced, a lot of interesting things like the return of Nitrus Oxide or Tawna not wanting to lose Crash and Coco after the versions of her dimension were killed are just glossed over very quickly. I know this is a Crash game, and that the story doesn’t want to be that complex in the first place, but still, it just feels they wanted to do a lot of things, so they threw them on the script with no consideration if they would feel half-baked or poorly made… Huh, I wonder if we will return to that point…
And as for the other playable characters, those being Tawna, Cortex and Dingodile, they are… fine????? I guess they are but none of them felt better that the base Crash and Coco. Twana just felt to restrictive and not having the slide severely limits her movement, Dingodile is very fun and it introduces some interesting elements, but aiming the TNT can be a pain on the ass sometimes, and Cortex… is probably the best, it is the lest mobile of them all, but it makes it up with the genuine interesting mechanic of turning the enemies into platforms, which if expanded upon could be the mechanic for an entirely new game! But what all these three have in common, is that… you barely see them. Yeah, for some reason most of the levels where you play as them you only do it for a small part of it, and half-way through you are back playing a level you already have beaten as Crash or Coco, the one difference being box placement, which just feel tacked on, repetitive and boring… Huh, I wonder if we will return to that point…
If these where the only bad things the game did, I wouldn’t complain even a bit, but keep in mind, these are the aspects that are a bit mixed… now it’s time dip the hands into the bullshit.
A faulty N.Gin
Hey, Vicarius Visions called, they want their whacky hitboxes back!
Ok, that may be a little to mean, Crash 4’s hitboxes and collision are nowhere near as bad as the ones in the N’sane Trilogy, but I did had a few moments where something silly happened, but luckily those where only counted instances… unlike some other shit. I was constantly raising my eyebrow to constant minor inconveniences, ‘cause Crash base movement may feel good, and the level design may be incredible, but that does not do much when the game decides to pull some silly trick or bug, specially in the enemies’ department.
And again, I can praise all these levels all day, but doesn’t change the matter that they just. Don’t. END. Levels lasts more than 15 minutes AT LEAST, and that’s not considering if you get stuck in some hard parts or the now infuriating bonus screens, and that would not be that much of a problem if it that didn’t meant that there are more boxes to break here that in any Crash game, 100 something boxes at minimum, and these number can reach to 300 in the Crash levels, and in the most outrageous case 5 FUCKING HUNDRED for one Dingodile level. So if you miss a box, and believe you me, you WILL miss a box, you have to start all over again the whole 15 minute level to get the box gem. And you may think ‘’oh well, just don’t pay attention to the boxes’’ but here’s the thing: not paying attention to the boxes just makes the game much less interesting, it eliminates some of the most interesting challenges out of the equation and it just doesn’t feel right. But at the same time, going for all the boxes isn’t worth at all ‘cause pretty much all the time it’s going to result in you missing some that you couldn’t find and as such you just end up feeling frustrated or demotivated! It’s the ouroboros of fucking it up, there’s no escaping here! And true, it’s not like I got all the boxes in any of the past games, but the difference it’s that in those I didn’t feel as frustrated ‘cause levels weren’t as long, there weren’t as many boxes, and so I still tried to break them in any new level, and I did got a lot of gems! Here tho? It’s just painful and if you are going for completion, it’s just time wasted… AND THAT’S ONLY ONE OUT OF THE SIX GEMS FOR EACH LEVEL.
There are 6 gems in total in each level, tho I’ll admit, some are fun to collect, like the wumpa fruit gems or the hidden one, and they are welcomed additions for sure… oh wait, did I say in a aggravating way that there were six of them? Oh, silly me, I meant 12… YEAH. After boss two, you unlock the N.verted versions of levels, which are.. the same levels you played… but with a nice filter on them! There are cool themes here and there, but in general, the changes are minimal, and in some cases make the level even more of a pain to see and traverse through, and also THEY ARE JUST THE SAME LEVEL AGAIN. I can’t call it padding ‘cause it isn’t necessary to beat the game, but it’s content that adds nothing to the overall experience and it just hinders it but making you go through it over, and over, and over, and over again; and that doesn’t even include the flashback tapes, the perfect runs, the unlockable skins, the time relic challenges and the N.verted versions of bosses. I know it may sound silly to criticize in this way what is basically side content, but is side content that just keeps recycling the base game, and it’s a big, BIG chuck of the game, and not playing it means not ‘’enjoying’’ all of the game, tho for me it ended up not even necessary to go though to get tired of the game, because even tho is just 10 hours long it just felt so looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-
Something something, pun with Dingodile in it
If I had to describe Crash 4, it would be by saying is both the best of what the series has to offer, while at the same time being some of the most repetitive and by design frustrating 3D platformer I’ve played, and I really don’t know if it was because of it’s nature as a Crash game or because of Toys for Bob insistence of making this experience last as it did.
If you asked me if I had fun, I’d say that only truly at the first half, and the rest of them I just praying for the end at some points, and it hurt me to feel that way so fucking bad, ‘cause again, what’s it’s good here, is freacking great, but I just can’t shake the feeling off that if it was more focused, more restrained with its content and, this would have been the best linear 3D platformer I ever played, but instead… it’s still a pretty good game!
I did overall enjoy it, but… I think I’m done with Crash for now. It was very fun, and I’m so glad that I ended up going all the way through this marathon, but, I had enough, I am too tired and my head hurts. I will be back to this series, don’t get me wrong, I really want to play Twinsanity but, for now, I’m happy with this little crazy voyage, and it was interesting to see the ups and downs of this marsupial, but it’s time for us to part ways…
Peace at last…
2023
If I had to point out a flaw about myself as a player, is that I don't give enough videogame genres the fighting chance they deserve to win me over. Strategy games, card games or even shooters, I've played quite a few over the years, but beating only some of them and the quantity pales in comparison to the amount of platformers, fighting or metroidvania games I've played; but without a doubt, shoot-em-ups are the ones I have avoided the most. It isn't a matter that I don't necessarily like them, but rather I just couldn't find one that ''clicked'' with me, most of the one that were recommended from friends and random people on posts online were just too hard and frustrating to me, mainly because they were catered to seasoned players, which I was anything but.
And then I saw this game. I'm always on the lookout for games developed by people that are on here, considering this is a site entirely dedicated to videogames and releasing one is, you know, a pretty big deal, and this time it was also developed by a person I follow! I know I wanted to play this game from the moment I saw it on visuals and sound alone, but I also went in hoping that, maybe this was time, the time I finally got into the genre, and I actually had fun with one of these kinds of games...
...and it actually happened!
Time to destroy some fish shaped ships
Cycle Chaser H-5 is probably the best entry point to the shoot-em-up genre I could have asked for, but calling it ''simple'' would be undermining a lot of clever decisions in play here. As I said before the game immediately catches your eyes and ears: the simplistic yet clear and distinct visual style and the up-beat yet oddly calming music work really great together, creating some unique enemy design and levels (The enemy ships shaped like fish actually act like fishes and I LOVE THAT SO MUCH), and when even in the most hectic of moments nothing was lost one me, 'cause believe me, this game does get hectic at times. The screen gets submerged in the chaos, yet where you or the enemies are is never up for debate: this game's priority is for you to know how to act at any given moment and it actively helps you staying alive, with a really permissive checkpoint system and with the hitbox of your ship being smaller than the ship itself, which is a deliberate designs decision and it makes you do much cooler plays and dodges without even noticing.
But perhaps the smartest design decision in the entire game is without a single doubt the percent bar. This one is filled as you attack and destroy enemies, and ounce it has 100% of energy you can perform a special attack, with the limit of energy you can have being 300%. This is all pretty normal stuff, but then there's the fact that this can also work as a shield, so at many points thought-out the levels and in many boss battles I was deciding if it would be better to save up energy in case they hit me or to use it to clean the screen of enemies and bullets, and that little mental puzzle added a lot of depth, and alongside the three different types of shots made this a constant dance of bullets that made the part of my brain that likes to shoot things in space go nuts.
There are still a few things that didn't really end up falling in place for me tho: mini-bosses are surprisingly easy to beat it, they all look amazing, but I can't really talk about their attacks when they die 10 seconds after I encounter them, and I found really peculiar considering how good the main level bosses are; some things aren't communicated as well as I hoped too, some bullets are able to be destroyed by your normal attacks, but it sometimes felt random, and specially in boss battles distinguishing which attacks can be destroyed by normal means is where things can get a bit confusing. And perhaps what really rubbed me off the most by the end: the story was told in a really weird way, there's a really interesting subversive narrative here that I do quite like, but I didn't even know that until I killed the final boss. I understand the narrative isn't the games priority but with the amount of incredibly detail the levels and enemies have in the logs in the menu, it's strange to me that so much of the storytelling is either done without words or done just after you are done with the game your first time around.
But saying that these flaws make Cycle Chaser H-5 something that's not amazing would be a complete and total lie: it's a hour long adventure that with which I had so much fun. I never felt frustrated when I died, I was always excited to pop back in and beat the level I was own and getting this sensation from a vertical shoot-em-up just... just made me really happy.
If someone ever asks me a good place to start with these kinds of game, I will point them out this one, is that good and welcoming to newcomers that I really can't think about another game that checks all the boxes like this one does. while at the same time a memorable experience and one of the biggest surprises of the year by far.
When I write a review, I always do it with the creators and developers in mind, and as such I always try to be as nice as possible, even tho they will never read them. But this time, there's a real possibility that the creator is reading is, and if you are, I just have one more thing to say to you... Congrats man! You really did a dope ass game, and I hope you enjoyed this review even a little, 'cause I sure had a fun time with Cycle Chaser H-5, to the point I might do multiple runs, which I barely do with any game in general!
See y'all battling aliens... in the year 68XX
And then I saw this game. I'm always on the lookout for games developed by people that are on here, considering this is a site entirely dedicated to videogames and releasing one is, you know, a pretty big deal, and this time it was also developed by a person I follow! I know I wanted to play this game from the moment I saw it on visuals and sound alone, but I also went in hoping that, maybe this was time, the time I finally got into the genre, and I actually had fun with one of these kinds of games...
...and it actually happened!
Time to destroy some fish shaped ships
Cycle Chaser H-5 is probably the best entry point to the shoot-em-up genre I could have asked for, but calling it ''simple'' would be undermining a lot of clever decisions in play here. As I said before the game immediately catches your eyes and ears: the simplistic yet clear and distinct visual style and the up-beat yet oddly calming music work really great together, creating some unique enemy design and levels (The enemy ships shaped like fish actually act like fishes and I LOVE THAT SO MUCH), and when even in the most hectic of moments nothing was lost one me, 'cause believe me, this game does get hectic at times. The screen gets submerged in the chaos, yet where you or the enemies are is never up for debate: this game's priority is for you to know how to act at any given moment and it actively helps you staying alive, with a really permissive checkpoint system and with the hitbox of your ship being smaller than the ship itself, which is a deliberate designs decision and it makes you do much cooler plays and dodges without even noticing.
But perhaps the smartest design decision in the entire game is without a single doubt the percent bar. This one is filled as you attack and destroy enemies, and ounce it has 100% of energy you can perform a special attack, with the limit of energy you can have being 300%. This is all pretty normal stuff, but then there's the fact that this can also work as a shield, so at many points thought-out the levels and in many boss battles I was deciding if it would be better to save up energy in case they hit me or to use it to clean the screen of enemies and bullets, and that little mental puzzle added a lot of depth, and alongside the three different types of shots made this a constant dance of bullets that made the part of my brain that likes to shoot things in space go nuts.
There are still a few things that didn't really end up falling in place for me tho: mini-bosses are surprisingly easy to beat it, they all look amazing, but I can't really talk about their attacks when they die 10 seconds after I encounter them, and I found really peculiar considering how good the main level bosses are; some things aren't communicated as well as I hoped too, some bullets are able to be destroyed by your normal attacks, but it sometimes felt random, and specially in boss battles distinguishing which attacks can be destroyed by normal means is where things can get a bit confusing. And perhaps what really rubbed me off the most by the end: the story was told in a really weird way, there's a really interesting subversive narrative here that I do quite like, but I didn't even know that until I killed the final boss. I understand the narrative isn't the games priority but with the amount of incredibly detail the levels and enemies have in the logs in the menu, it's strange to me that so much of the storytelling is either done without words or done just after you are done with the game your first time around.
But saying that these flaws make Cycle Chaser H-5 something that's not amazing would be a complete and total lie: it's a hour long adventure that with which I had so much fun. I never felt frustrated when I died, I was always excited to pop back in and beat the level I was own and getting this sensation from a vertical shoot-em-up just... just made me really happy.
If someone ever asks me a good place to start with these kinds of game, I will point them out this one, is that good and welcoming to newcomers that I really can't think about another game that checks all the boxes like this one does. while at the same time a memorable experience and one of the biggest surprises of the year by far.
When I write a review, I always do it with the creators and developers in mind, and as such I always try to be as nice as possible, even tho they will never read them. But this time, there's a real possibility that the creator is reading is, and if you are, I just have one more thing to say to you... Congrats man! You really did a dope ass game, and I hope you enjoyed this review even a little, 'cause I sure had a fun time with Cycle Chaser H-5, to the point I might do multiple runs, which I barely do with any game in general!
See y'all battling aliens... in the year 68XX
2023
This year I've grown fond of these little, shorter and more experimental games, and so far the experiences have gone from profound and interesting narrative pieces, to just a fun little time; Tet falls perfectly into the second category, and I found it to be a really cozy and interesting 10 minute little kitchen lesson.
It takes the ideas of fast paced minigames that other titles like Wario Ware are known for, but puts them all under a global timer, and the objective is to prepare dinner before the guest arrive. It's an extremely cute and relatable experience that it almost feels like a retelling of an actual story, only with much more absurdity added and a really unique visual hand-drawn style. It even gives you the recipes for the food you just prepared after you beat the game, it's really so goddamn adorable, and it’s just a really nice ten minutes to spend preparing a meal I had no idea how to make, tho I'll say some of the ''minigames'' felt a bit weird to control. Nothing bad or too distracting, but one or two felt a bit jarring despite being so short.
If anything I said caught your attention, play it! It's extremely short, totally free and extremely relaxing despite the pressure.
Welp, add this to the list of games that make me feel hungry!... a list like that would be a fun idea actually...
It takes the ideas of fast paced minigames that other titles like Wario Ware are known for, but puts them all under a global timer, and the objective is to prepare dinner before the guest arrive. It's an extremely cute and relatable experience that it almost feels like a retelling of an actual story, only with much more absurdity added and a really unique visual hand-drawn style. It even gives you the recipes for the food you just prepared after you beat the game, it's really so goddamn adorable, and it’s just a really nice ten minutes to spend preparing a meal I had no idea how to make, tho I'll say some of the ''minigames'' felt a bit weird to control. Nothing bad or too distracting, but one or two felt a bit jarring despite being so short.
If anything I said caught your attention, play it! It's extremely short, totally free and extremely relaxing despite the pressure.
Welp, add this to the list of games that make me feel hungry!... a list like that would be a fun idea actually...
Brace yourselves everybody, we are not gaming anymore... We are Donkey Kong gaming
While generally I don't have specific videogame genres to which I gravitate towards, as I prefer to keep things interesting and spice things up with different types of games, if you put a gun to my head and asked which of them I've played the most, I would most likely say Platformers, 2D to be precise. I've played A TON of them, and even tho I wouldn't say that most of what I played was that memorable, some of the most incredible games I've played are 2D-Platformers: Rayman Legends, Celeste, Super Meat Boy, Kirby: Planet Robobot, Sonic Mania... the list goes on and on. But you may have noticed the omission of a certain character and series, the lack of a certain... monkey.
Tropical Freeze had something that caught my curiosity the first time I saw it. I really couldn't tell you what it was, at a base level it looks pretty similar to Returns, which I didn’t really love or found particularly interesting, but I don't know, there was something about this one that really made me want to at least try it.
And so here I am, ten hours later.
Yeah... let's just say, there's a little bit of gorilla in my favorite 2D-Platformers list now.
To say that Tropical Freeze is masterfully designed, has amazing music, feels vibrant and full of life and that it controls incredibly well would be the understatement of the fucking decade. This game goes above and beyond everything I thought was possible in a side-scroller, how the hell can something be so consistently fun, amazing and creative non-stop?
DK’s controls just right, it isn’t particularly fast or mobile, at least not on its own, but its weight adds a layer of complexity that makes these challenged incredibly rewarding. The heaviness of its movement feels just right when jumping from one platform to another, swimming or going from barrel cannon to barrel cannon, paired with the sound design (which is amazing across the entire experience) and we have a character that feels just right control, add Diddy, Dixie and Cranky to the mix and the opportunities for thinking outside of the box and experimenting augmented tenfold. I’ll say that Diddy feels kind of underwhelming here; in Returns was perfect, it was an upgrade to DK’s air and ground movement and it gave two more hearts, but with Dixie and Cranky doing the same things except feeling WAY better, giving DK either more height or a way to evade damage and being far more useful, Diddy just feel like a poor option, and when given the opportunity as either of the three, I almost never use him. But ok, the Kong feels pretty ‘’cool’’ (horrible pun VERY intended) to control, but I wouldn’t be praising I this much if it weren’t because the levels not only are a great vehicle to experience the movement, but they stand tall as a masterclass in level design, it sometimes feels like they are just showing off at some points
From the very first level, it’s made clear that they have pulled all the stops: each and every one of the levels feels completely different yet connected. The worlds share a global idea, from exploring an island inhabited by the enemies and going through its towns and windmills, exploring a submerge city with technology beyond our imagination, traversing a country-sized ice cream making complex, and all culminating in exploring a frozen-up version of the original DK island. There’s so much detail, even in the world-maps or the optional levels: the backgrounds are packed with little secrets, everything in the levels themselves makes total thematic sense and as a result they all feel so natural, the enemies are really distinct and animations for even when you make contact with them it looks like they are hitting you instead of just touching them and losing a heart as a result. Everything just clicks, all the pieces fall in place to form some of the most creative and fun platforming I have had the pleasure to play. Also, there are penguins. Penguins that shoot fish-arrows. IN FLAMES. AND THERE ARE PENGUINS WITH VIKING HELMETS. I don’t really know what else could even want, we've reached perfection and humanity probably will reach this high point ever again.
Oh and yeah the OST is probably one of the best I’ve ever heard in my life… ya know normal stuff. All the tracks are masterpieces of their own, not only do they fit the levels in which they are and they keep building on top of themselves as it progress, but whether is a brand new song or an arrangement, it’s simply beautiful, a delight to the ears, and even if you are not that keen or convinced in playing the game, give an opportunity to the soundtrack, please, it ranges from calming to incredibly exciting, specially the boss fight ones. Never I expected battling a circus Viking seal to metal in the background, but here we are.
Tropical Freeze feel like a culmination of what all platformers aspire to be: it’s beyond creative and its constantly jumping from one idea to the next, the control is tight as it can possibly be, it invites you to experiment and try to get every possible collectable, it’s challenging, but at the same time it gives you a ton of options to make things a bit or a lot easier, like the Funky mode or the items you can buy from the store; I didn’t use any of these and I still managed to finish the game with 58 lives to spare without buying any from the store, and I’m not what you could call a ‘’good player’’, so it’s not the most impossible thing in the world, but it really gets hard at times and the feeling of accomplishment after beating certain levels or bosses is pure dopamine.
I know his review has consisted of me just gushing about the game, but I couldn’t contain myself, it truly activated the part of my brain that likes to go ‘’hehe I love jumping and penguins’’. Despite its only one noticeable flaw, a minor one all things considered, it’s truly some of the best level design and thematic I ever played, and it doesn’t have a single one that I could call ‘’weak’’ or ‘’not that good’’. It’s a blast, from start to its end, and I almost feel sad that I didn’t play this sooner. Better late than never I guess, but I’m so happy I didn’t wait any longer.
Long live the Donkey Kong, that magnificent bastard
While generally I don't have specific videogame genres to which I gravitate towards, as I prefer to keep things interesting and spice things up with different types of games, if you put a gun to my head and asked which of them I've played the most, I would most likely say Platformers, 2D to be precise. I've played A TON of them, and even tho I wouldn't say that most of what I played was that memorable, some of the most incredible games I've played are 2D-Platformers: Rayman Legends, Celeste, Super Meat Boy, Kirby: Planet Robobot, Sonic Mania... the list goes on and on. But you may have noticed the omission of a certain character and series, the lack of a certain... monkey.
Tropical Freeze had something that caught my curiosity the first time I saw it. I really couldn't tell you what it was, at a base level it looks pretty similar to Returns, which I didn’t really love or found particularly interesting, but I don't know, there was something about this one that really made me want to at least try it.
And so here I am, ten hours later.
Yeah... let's just say, there's a little bit of gorilla in my favorite 2D-Platformers list now.
To say that Tropical Freeze is masterfully designed, has amazing music, feels vibrant and full of life and that it controls incredibly well would be the understatement of the fucking decade. This game goes above and beyond everything I thought was possible in a side-scroller, how the hell can something be so consistently fun, amazing and creative non-stop?
DK’s controls just right, it isn’t particularly fast or mobile, at least not on its own, but its weight adds a layer of complexity that makes these challenged incredibly rewarding. The heaviness of its movement feels just right when jumping from one platform to another, swimming or going from barrel cannon to barrel cannon, paired with the sound design (which is amazing across the entire experience) and we have a character that feels just right control, add Diddy, Dixie and Cranky to the mix and the opportunities for thinking outside of the box and experimenting augmented tenfold. I’ll say that Diddy feels kind of underwhelming here; in Returns was perfect, it was an upgrade to DK’s air and ground movement and it gave two more hearts, but with Dixie and Cranky doing the same things except feeling WAY better, giving DK either more height or a way to evade damage and being far more useful, Diddy just feel like a poor option, and when given the opportunity as either of the three, I almost never use him. But ok, the Kong feels pretty ‘’cool’’ (horrible pun VERY intended) to control, but I wouldn’t be praising I this much if it weren’t because the levels not only are a great vehicle to experience the movement, but they stand tall as a masterclass in level design, it sometimes feels like they are just showing off at some points
From the very first level, it’s made clear that they have pulled all the stops: each and every one of the levels feels completely different yet connected. The worlds share a global idea, from exploring an island inhabited by the enemies and going through its towns and windmills, exploring a submerge city with technology beyond our imagination, traversing a country-sized ice cream making complex, and all culminating in exploring a frozen-up version of the original DK island. There’s so much detail, even in the world-maps or the optional levels: the backgrounds are packed with little secrets, everything in the levels themselves makes total thematic sense and as a result they all feel so natural, the enemies are really distinct and animations for even when you make contact with them it looks like they are hitting you instead of just touching them and losing a heart as a result. Everything just clicks, all the pieces fall in place to form some of the most creative and fun platforming I have had the pleasure to play. Also, there are penguins. Penguins that shoot fish-arrows. IN FLAMES. AND THERE ARE PENGUINS WITH VIKING HELMETS. I don’t really know what else could even want, we've reached perfection and humanity probably will reach this high point ever again.
Oh and yeah the OST is probably one of the best I’ve ever heard in my life… ya know normal stuff. All the tracks are masterpieces of their own, not only do they fit the levels in which they are and they keep building on top of themselves as it progress, but whether is a brand new song or an arrangement, it’s simply beautiful, a delight to the ears, and even if you are not that keen or convinced in playing the game, give an opportunity to the soundtrack, please, it ranges from calming to incredibly exciting, specially the boss fight ones. Never I expected battling a circus Viking seal to metal in the background, but here we are.
Tropical Freeze feel like a culmination of what all platformers aspire to be: it’s beyond creative and its constantly jumping from one idea to the next, the control is tight as it can possibly be, it invites you to experiment and try to get every possible collectable, it’s challenging, but at the same time it gives you a ton of options to make things a bit or a lot easier, like the Funky mode or the items you can buy from the store; I didn’t use any of these and I still managed to finish the game with 58 lives to spare without buying any from the store, and I’m not what you could call a ‘’good player’’, so it’s not the most impossible thing in the world, but it really gets hard at times and the feeling of accomplishment after beating certain levels or bosses is pure dopamine.
I know his review has consisted of me just gushing about the game, but I couldn’t contain myself, it truly activated the part of my brain that likes to go ‘’hehe I love jumping and penguins’’. Despite its only one noticeable flaw, a minor one all things considered, it’s truly some of the best level design and thematic I ever played, and it doesn’t have a single one that I could call ‘’weak’’ or ‘’not that good’’. It’s a blast, from start to its end, and I almost feel sad that I didn’t play this sooner. Better late than never I guess, but I’m so happy I didn’t wait any longer.
Long live the Donkey Kong, that magnificent bastard
2018
I do not know how to talk about 0_abyssalSomewhere.
I mean, in a way I do, but not in a manner it would do it total justice. It's incredibly obtuse, it doesn't make any part of it be clear, it's terrifying and tense despite death being non-existent. And yet, I loved it.
I don't usually remember my dreams very well, but when I do, they tend to be nightmares. Nightmares of me being lost in abandoned places, surrounded by cement walls, oppressive and claustrophobic, and the beings I encounter are hostile, human in form, but lacking something crucial, and that makes them terrifying. In that sense, it's uncanny how much this game replicates and evokes those exact feelings, playing this made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but now it's stuck on my head.
I know that this review may be biased, but even excluding my own personal dumb experiences with dreams, those sounds coming for the abyss of stone and rusty copper and the cryptic and ethereal monsters made of light and night amounted to something I've never seen in another game.
I believe that its admittedly clunky controls (especially in the ''combat'', despite being so little of it) and its overly cryptic nature do stop it from achieving absolute greatness, but it's still nothing short of incredible. It's a half-hour experience that evokes feelings that other works would wish to.
I cannot wait for what's next in Tower of No One man, for the first time ever I WANT to be creeped out... oh god I'm gonna end up playing Silent Hill won't I?
I mean, in a way I do, but not in a manner it would do it total justice. It's incredibly obtuse, it doesn't make any part of it be clear, it's terrifying and tense despite death being non-existent. And yet, I loved it.
I don't usually remember my dreams very well, but when I do, they tend to be nightmares. Nightmares of me being lost in abandoned places, surrounded by cement walls, oppressive and claustrophobic, and the beings I encounter are hostile, human in form, but lacking something crucial, and that makes them terrifying. In that sense, it's uncanny how much this game replicates and evokes those exact feelings, playing this made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but now it's stuck on my head.
I know that this review may be biased, but even excluding my own personal dumb experiences with dreams, those sounds coming for the abyss of stone and rusty copper and the cryptic and ethereal monsters made of light and night amounted to something I've never seen in another game.
I believe that its admittedly clunky controls (especially in the ''combat'', despite being so little of it) and its overly cryptic nature do stop it from achieving absolute greatness, but it's still nothing short of incredible. It's a half-hour experience that evokes feelings that other works would wish to.
I cannot wait for what's next in Tower of No One man, for the first time ever I WANT to be creeped out... oh god I'm gonna end up playing Silent Hill won't I?
1992
Yeah, that's right, I played this on the Sega Genesis Classics emulator on steam, I nabbed it when they gave it away for free some years ago. Sega thought it was being clever when it removed the Sonic games so we would buy Origins, well, who is laughing now, SEGA?!... Now please let me buy Rocket Knight Adventure pleasepleasepleaseplease pretty please.
Ah, Sonic, the one and only! I really liked him when I was younger, and I mean, look at the guy: it's blue, has legs, what's there not to love? I remember being really fixated over this guy for a while, even more than Mario... and then I played the games. I honestly couldn't even tell you if they were even bad, mainly 'cause I never got far 'cause man do I SUCK at those games. No matter if it's 3D or 2D, then or now, I'm extremely bad at them and I really couldn't tell you why, guess it's one of my two curses, the other one being bad grammar. To this day the only Sonic games I've played till the end are Generations and Mania, but even tho I really liked the latter it didn't really made me better at them at all; after beating it I tried time and time again getting into the classic ones, but I just kept dropping them 'cause, again, I just felt I wasn't good enough, that something wasn't clicking. Finally beating Sonic 2 so long after my first attempt was an eye-opener, 'cause while I still consider myself really bad at this games, I also noticed the core design issues that make this experience sometimes a chore to go through.
And it's a shame, because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has so many good elements that the first impression it leaves is always good! The game is beautiful from start to finish, everything looks incredibly well and far more interesting and stylized than many other 16-bit games. The colors pop out, the enemy and zone design are extremely creative and iconic, and the music... is a bit mixed actually, there are some themes here and there that are noticeable worse than others and don't sound that good, but believe me, when Sonic 2's music is good, IT'S FUCKING FANTASTIC. When it comes to presentation, the game doesn't shy away from going all out, even if that does mean that sometimes there can be a bit of slow-down when you have a lot of rings a get hit, but aside from that, and some graphical glitches that I don't know if they are a problem with the emulator or the game itself, in what respects looks, Sonic 2 absolutely shines.
And at a first contact, it looks like it shines in the gameplay department too! The first zone, Emerald Hill is amazing, it teaches you everything you need to know about the game's dependance on momentum and going as fast as possible, the multiple secrets and ways you can traverse the level, introducing some basic enemies from which future ones will expand upon and be more aggressive, etc. And all of this is... fun! It's really fun! I found myself really enjoying both of the acts of the first zone, and when arriving at Chemical Plant Zone, the first act was even more fun, introducing brand new elements that made the level far more interesting and most importantly: helped you go fast and overcome challenges in a far more agile and interesting way... and then Act 2 happened.
I... what the hell happened here? Don't get me wrong, it's far from being horrible, but many of the design decisions I simply don't understand that the game will carry onwards are present here: It simply won't let you go fast ... WHICH IS THE MECHANICN THE ENTIRE GAME IS SUPOSSED TO BE BASED AROUND. From here onwards, there are a ton of sections where the games into a precision-oriented platformer and... it just doesn't work. Sonic feels slippery, as it should! The idea is that he is supposed to go fast, and what slipperiness and imprecision when it goes slow, becomes a crucial key when it achieves incredible speed. So, when the game start to ask to take things more calmly and jump in a more precise way I say: ''OK! No problem, I get it, you got to break up the fast-paced levels with some down time. At least you will compensate the fact that Sonic wasn't designed for this kind of platforming with not so punishing level design, right?... right...?''
The game not only loves to keep slowing you down, but it also FUCKING ADORES to throw random shit at your direction that you just cannot react or recover from. Endless pits, random enemies or spikes, water from which you have no idea where to get out of, you name it! And this makes me specially mad because the game does have some extremely cool ideas and mechanics, and it’s not like it becomes unbearable from this point onwards, zones like the casino , Hill Top or Mystic Cave do have some fun moments and ideas throwed into them, but it just keeps tripping time and time again, not letting you do what's actually fun and unique about thus game and it seems hellbent on it. I don't want to see the final three zones of this game in my life, Metropolis Zone was boring and repetitive and drown out, Wing Fortress Zone was atrocious, and Death Egg Zone are just two bosses that aren’t that fun, and they don't give you any rings...You have to beat both battles without getting hit... YOU CAN'T EVEN USE SUPER SONIC IF YOU GET ALL THE EMERALDS IN THE FUCKING FINAL BOSS UNLESS YOU USE THE DEBUG MODE!
...ok... things got a bit heated there...
Listen, this game, as a sequel, is incredible: it's a huge upgrade in most regards, it introduces Tails and multiplayer, it introduced an incredible reward for getting the emeralds (tho getting them is absolute hell), it had actual little cinematics and it was all and all far more original and creative. And again, I did have fun, even if doesn't seem like it, but really, this game has some really good meat over its bones... but it's also full of rot. I cannot bring myself to really dislike it 'cause it isn't ''bad'' by any means, but I also didn't find myself actively enjoying it.
If you love or like this one, I'm so, so fucking happy for you and I'm so sorry I couldn't see what makes this game so special. I might be bad at Sonic, but sometimes Sonic is bad at design, and I can't look past that...
Tho I'll say I still really want to play Sonic 3, I might take a little break from Sonic before trying it, but I'll get there...
I'll get that hedgehog!
Ah, Sonic, the one and only! I really liked him when I was younger, and I mean, look at the guy: it's blue, has legs, what's there not to love? I remember being really fixated over this guy for a while, even more than Mario... and then I played the games. I honestly couldn't even tell you if they were even bad, mainly 'cause I never got far 'cause man do I SUCK at those games. No matter if it's 3D or 2D, then or now, I'm extremely bad at them and I really couldn't tell you why, guess it's one of my two curses, the other one being bad grammar. To this day the only Sonic games I've played till the end are Generations and Mania, but even tho I really liked the latter it didn't really made me better at them at all; after beating it I tried time and time again getting into the classic ones, but I just kept dropping them 'cause, again, I just felt I wasn't good enough, that something wasn't clicking. Finally beating Sonic 2 so long after my first attempt was an eye-opener, 'cause while I still consider myself really bad at this games, I also noticed the core design issues that make this experience sometimes a chore to go through.
And it's a shame, because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has so many good elements that the first impression it leaves is always good! The game is beautiful from start to finish, everything looks incredibly well and far more interesting and stylized than many other 16-bit games. The colors pop out, the enemy and zone design are extremely creative and iconic, and the music... is a bit mixed actually, there are some themes here and there that are noticeable worse than others and don't sound that good, but believe me, when Sonic 2's music is good, IT'S FUCKING FANTASTIC. When it comes to presentation, the game doesn't shy away from going all out, even if that does mean that sometimes there can be a bit of slow-down when you have a lot of rings a get hit, but aside from that, and some graphical glitches that I don't know if they are a problem with the emulator or the game itself, in what respects looks, Sonic 2 absolutely shines.
And at a first contact, it looks like it shines in the gameplay department too! The first zone, Emerald Hill is amazing, it teaches you everything you need to know about the game's dependance on momentum and going as fast as possible, the multiple secrets and ways you can traverse the level, introducing some basic enemies from which future ones will expand upon and be more aggressive, etc. And all of this is... fun! It's really fun! I found myself really enjoying both of the acts of the first zone, and when arriving at Chemical Plant Zone, the first act was even more fun, introducing brand new elements that made the level far more interesting and most importantly: helped you go fast and overcome challenges in a far more agile and interesting way... and then Act 2 happened.
I... what the hell happened here? Don't get me wrong, it's far from being horrible, but many of the design decisions I simply don't understand that the game will carry onwards are present here: It simply won't let you go fast ... WHICH IS THE MECHANICN THE ENTIRE GAME IS SUPOSSED TO BE BASED AROUND. From here onwards, there are a ton of sections where the games into a precision-oriented platformer and... it just doesn't work. Sonic feels slippery, as it should! The idea is that he is supposed to go fast, and what slipperiness and imprecision when it goes slow, becomes a crucial key when it achieves incredible speed. So, when the game start to ask to take things more calmly and jump in a more precise way I say: ''OK! No problem, I get it, you got to break up the fast-paced levels with some down time. At least you will compensate the fact that Sonic wasn't designed for this kind of platforming with not so punishing level design, right?... right...?''
The game not only loves to keep slowing you down, but it also FUCKING ADORES to throw random shit at your direction that you just cannot react or recover from. Endless pits, random enemies or spikes, water from which you have no idea where to get out of, you name it! And this makes me specially mad because the game does have some extremely cool ideas and mechanics, and it’s not like it becomes unbearable from this point onwards, zones like the casino , Hill Top or Mystic Cave do have some fun moments and ideas throwed into them, but it just keeps tripping time and time again, not letting you do what's actually fun and unique about thus game and it seems hellbent on it. I don't want to see the final three zones of this game in my life, Metropolis Zone was boring and repetitive and drown out, Wing Fortress Zone was atrocious, and Death Egg Zone are just two bosses that aren’t that fun, and they don't give you any rings...You have to beat both battles without getting hit... YOU CAN'T EVEN USE SUPER SONIC IF YOU GET ALL THE EMERALDS IN THE FUCKING FINAL BOSS UNLESS YOU USE THE DEBUG MODE!
...ok... things got a bit heated there...
Listen, this game, as a sequel, is incredible: it's a huge upgrade in most regards, it introduces Tails and multiplayer, it introduced an incredible reward for getting the emeralds (tho getting them is absolute hell), it had actual little cinematics and it was all and all far more original and creative. And again, I did have fun, even if doesn't seem like it, but really, this game has some really good meat over its bones... but it's also full of rot. I cannot bring myself to really dislike it 'cause it isn't ''bad'' by any means, but I also didn't find myself actively enjoying it.
If you love or like this one, I'm so, so fucking happy for you and I'm so sorry I couldn't see what makes this game so special. I might be bad at Sonic, but sometimes Sonic is bad at design, and I can't look past that...
Tho I'll say I still really want to play Sonic 3, I might take a little break from Sonic before trying it, but I'll get there...
I'll get that hedgehog!
2019
Do you remember?
Do you remember it? That tale about pain...
Inmost is a profoundly sad game, it tackles loss and pain in a really mature and respectful way, its bleak, yet it's absolutely beautiful at times. I was left speechless at times at the sheer sight of what I was experiencing, and it did things I've never expected a game of this kind to ever do... yet its heartbreaking that I cannot say that it's amazing. It’s great, don't get me wrong, but I can clearly see the masterpiece it just doesn't manage to fully be, and it’s even more heartbreaking that it's not a matter that it bites more that it can chew, like in so many other instances with other games, but rather that it chews it very slow, and then by the end EXTREMELY fast and then it spits it out. But let's take it in parts.
Inmost does something really curious, as even tho it technically has a level-by-level progression, with clear parts meant to be experienced in a certain order, it also has various elements of the ''Metroidvania'' genre, with all of its parts being interconnected and you getting different items as you progress and these being the key for your progress as well as getting the different collectables. It's a puzzle-oriented game, with light platforming and combat being practically out of the question, which leads to a very interesting game of cat and mouse with the enemies scattered through-out this dim world and some cool chase sequences. Even in the more narrative focused sections of the child or the times that there's combat when you take control of the knight, puzzles are always the focus, and for the most part they are super-well designed! They feel integrated in the context of the environments and the feeling you get after realizing what you got to do is sometimes very rewarding! They are far from the most complex thing in the world, the game as a whole is not that hard to be honest, and there are bits here and there that can actually be quite frustrating and not fun, like the bell puzzle. Plus, I sometimes couldn’t find a way to progress through a puzzle or to the next area the game wanted me to go, it happened a couple of times and every single one of them it was because the element I was supposed to interact with meshed into the background, but honestly, that seems like a fair price to pay in exchange for such a presentation.
This might just be one of the best pixel-art I’ve ever seen in any videogame. Everything is just so beautifully detailed, and even the most simplistic designs, like the enemies, worked really well. The game uses color extremely effectively, and most of it being shades of blue, green and black made it so when other colors were added into the mix the more incredibly impactful, and all of that combined with the fluid animations and simply spectacular soundtrack and sound effects, it amounts to an experience that can evoke something simply by looking at it, which it may seem a silly compliment to give since a LOT of games have that quality, but with this one it's especially true. It may have the occasional visual glitch and the aforementioned problem with not being able to distinguish certain things from the background. But I really can’t complain that much when I’m feasting my eyes with such a beautiful yet sad world.
Yet, where Inmost really shines, is it its narrative and story. I went in already expecting a rich and mature story, and I STILL was incredibly surprised in the best of ways. As I said at the beginning, this game tackles bot loss and pain, and it does it in a slow and masterful way. Piece by piece, the true meaning of this world and characters is shown to us, and it’s interesting as it it’s upsetting, I felt extremely torn seeing this characters suffer, I felt bad for pushing that kid accidentally, I felt terrible seeing how the child in the house suffered, was confused and surrounded by broken people with a broken pass, and the final not the game leaves on it’s so fucking astonishing and inspiring… and it’s because all of that that the fact it takes a lot of missteps in the way of telling that story breaks my heart so much. I got the feeling that halfway through they realized they didn’t have enough time for telling everything they wanted to tell, and as such we get a lot of flashbacks and changing of characters that happen out of nowhere and a lot of unnecessary narration that just detracts from what it would be some of the most striking moments both visually and narratively wise ever put into videogame. For most of the game I was left conflicted ‘cause some of the story is made clear as it progresses, and some parts of it just don’t seem to fit or the message to be that clear or even good, and even tho in the ending it all comes across and nothing is left up in the air… it’s because you just watched a 10 plus minute long cinematic explaining everything, instead of just being shown little by little across the game, which was what it was doing up until that point, and it just feels… rushed, and while it ties everything nicely and the message hits you like a truck at full speed, the long term impact it left me was just this sensation that it went too fast, and honestly, I would have been fine with sacrificing with some of the most obnoxious puzzles in favor of getting more development, and being shown instead of told. Even the collectables seem jarring, context wise at its core they do make sense, collecting fragments of pain and drawn memories, but it’s the way you get them that doesn’t really make sense. You are told that everything that is alive feels pain in this world, but… why do you get ‘’pain’’ from rocks and chests? And why the hell do I get paper from mining stones? I absolutely know that this just sounds petty and void as criticism, but with a game that tackles so much and it does make sense, it makes it so the ways it contradicts itself or it doesn’t make sense feel the more apparent and non-sensical, which its sadly a statement I wished could only be applied to the collectables.
And saying this tears me apart ‘cause I wished I could say this game was perfect, that its without flaws, because I really mean it when I say Inmost was such a emotional experience, the messages it wants to share are so beautiful and that are needed to say, and parts of them really hit close to me and I’m sure they will do for so many people, and if you love this game I absolutely get it, I loved parts of it too, but I have to be fair with myself and say that I did not like some of them as well. And still, I just think this one is really especial. I can totally understand arguments of both sides for not liking and adoring this game, but one thing I think some can agree upon, it’s in that this is a truly unique game. If you are in a good place mentally right now, I really recommend it, I can’t do it for people that are not, as it tackles some incredibly serious and upsetting matters, this is a tough one to play, for me in more ways than one, and I hope someone out there can see beyond its flaws and encounter a masterpiece, or not and not like it, but still think about it and how could games tackle this themes more or even better. Either way, Inmost its one of those that I will not forget about in a while, and damn did it made me tear up a bit.
…I was wrong.
It’s a tale about love
I will tell you… tell you once again
Do you remember it? That tale about pain...
Inmost is a profoundly sad game, it tackles loss and pain in a really mature and respectful way, its bleak, yet it's absolutely beautiful at times. I was left speechless at times at the sheer sight of what I was experiencing, and it did things I've never expected a game of this kind to ever do... yet its heartbreaking that I cannot say that it's amazing. It’s great, don't get me wrong, but I can clearly see the masterpiece it just doesn't manage to fully be, and it’s even more heartbreaking that it's not a matter that it bites more that it can chew, like in so many other instances with other games, but rather that it chews it very slow, and then by the end EXTREMELY fast and then it spits it out. But let's take it in parts.
Inmost does something really curious, as even tho it technically has a level-by-level progression, with clear parts meant to be experienced in a certain order, it also has various elements of the ''Metroidvania'' genre, with all of its parts being interconnected and you getting different items as you progress and these being the key for your progress as well as getting the different collectables. It's a puzzle-oriented game, with light platforming and combat being practically out of the question, which leads to a very interesting game of cat and mouse with the enemies scattered through-out this dim world and some cool chase sequences. Even in the more narrative focused sections of the child or the times that there's combat when you take control of the knight, puzzles are always the focus, and for the most part they are super-well designed! They feel integrated in the context of the environments and the feeling you get after realizing what you got to do is sometimes very rewarding! They are far from the most complex thing in the world, the game as a whole is not that hard to be honest, and there are bits here and there that can actually be quite frustrating and not fun, like the bell puzzle. Plus, I sometimes couldn’t find a way to progress through a puzzle or to the next area the game wanted me to go, it happened a couple of times and every single one of them it was because the element I was supposed to interact with meshed into the background, but honestly, that seems like a fair price to pay in exchange for such a presentation.
This might just be one of the best pixel-art I’ve ever seen in any videogame. Everything is just so beautifully detailed, and even the most simplistic designs, like the enemies, worked really well. The game uses color extremely effectively, and most of it being shades of blue, green and black made it so when other colors were added into the mix the more incredibly impactful, and all of that combined with the fluid animations and simply spectacular soundtrack and sound effects, it amounts to an experience that can evoke something simply by looking at it, which it may seem a silly compliment to give since a LOT of games have that quality, but with this one it's especially true. It may have the occasional visual glitch and the aforementioned problem with not being able to distinguish certain things from the background. But I really can’t complain that much when I’m feasting my eyes with such a beautiful yet sad world.
Yet, where Inmost really shines, is it its narrative and story. I went in already expecting a rich and mature story, and I STILL was incredibly surprised in the best of ways. As I said at the beginning, this game tackles bot loss and pain, and it does it in a slow and masterful way. Piece by piece, the true meaning of this world and characters is shown to us, and it’s interesting as it it’s upsetting, I felt extremely torn seeing this characters suffer, I felt bad for pushing that kid accidentally, I felt terrible seeing how the child in the house suffered, was confused and surrounded by broken people with a broken pass, and the final not the game leaves on it’s so fucking astonishing and inspiring… and it’s because all of that that the fact it takes a lot of missteps in the way of telling that story breaks my heart so much. I got the feeling that halfway through they realized they didn’t have enough time for telling everything they wanted to tell, and as such we get a lot of flashbacks and changing of characters that happen out of nowhere and a lot of unnecessary narration that just detracts from what it would be some of the most striking moments both visually and narratively wise ever put into videogame. For most of the game I was left conflicted ‘cause some of the story is made clear as it progresses, and some parts of it just don’t seem to fit or the message to be that clear or even good, and even tho in the ending it all comes across and nothing is left up in the air… it’s because you just watched a 10 plus minute long cinematic explaining everything, instead of just being shown little by little across the game, which was what it was doing up until that point, and it just feels… rushed, and while it ties everything nicely and the message hits you like a truck at full speed, the long term impact it left me was just this sensation that it went too fast, and honestly, I would have been fine with sacrificing with some of the most obnoxious puzzles in favor of getting more development, and being shown instead of told. Even the collectables seem jarring, context wise at its core they do make sense, collecting fragments of pain and drawn memories, but it’s the way you get them that doesn’t really make sense. You are told that everything that is alive feels pain in this world, but… why do you get ‘’pain’’ from rocks and chests? And why the hell do I get paper from mining stones? I absolutely know that this just sounds petty and void as criticism, but with a game that tackles so much and it does make sense, it makes it so the ways it contradicts itself or it doesn’t make sense feel the more apparent and non-sensical, which its sadly a statement I wished could only be applied to the collectables.
And saying this tears me apart ‘cause I wished I could say this game was perfect, that its without flaws, because I really mean it when I say Inmost was such a emotional experience, the messages it wants to share are so beautiful and that are needed to say, and parts of them really hit close to me and I’m sure they will do for so many people, and if you love this game I absolutely get it, I loved parts of it too, but I have to be fair with myself and say that I did not like some of them as well. And still, I just think this one is really especial. I can totally understand arguments of both sides for not liking and adoring this game, but one thing I think some can agree upon, it’s in that this is a truly unique game. If you are in a good place mentally right now, I really recommend it, I can’t do it for people that are not, as it tackles some incredibly serious and upsetting matters, this is a tough one to play, for me in more ways than one, and I hope someone out there can see beyond its flaws and encounter a masterpiece, or not and not like it, but still think about it and how could games tackle this themes more or even better. Either way, Inmost its one of those that I will not forget about in a while, and damn did it made me tear up a bit.
…I was wrong.
It’s a tale about love
I will tell you… tell you once again
Oh, what a cute game! But I'm sure it won't have a soundtrack that will fill me with nostalgia and hit me right in the feels of- This starts playing... fuck.
After the emotional rollercoaster that was Inmost and being busy with college stuff, I figured it would be the perfect time to play something short and relaxing, and Builder's Journey seemed like exactly that! Plus, I was curious about this one, since the LEGO videogame realm has been monopolized by Traveller's Tales style of gameplay, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with, those are pretty fun games, especially in co-op, but I did have the itch for some variations in my LEGO, and BOY is it different.
The way the game presents itself is, and pardon me the outrageous vocabulary I'm about to employ, FUCKING ADORABLE. All the levels feel like little dioramas that could be replicated to perfection in real life, everything is constructed from LEGO pieces, even the characters are made from blocks instead of being the usual figurines. It all just has this homemade feeling that it goes really well with the vibe it's trying to achieve, and even better with the music. I made a joke about it at the start but yeah, it's criminally good, and it all just comes together to form this calm sensation that, even tho Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker did a very similar thing with its levels, I like how it’s done here a bit more honestly, it just fits so nicely with the LEGO aesthetic, it's... perfection.
All of these levels are built (no pun intended this time, I swear) around a puzzle, and I adore how the game keeps building (I SWEAR) on top of itself, slowly introducing new elements and ideas that just feel right at home with the world of LEGO, it never gets difficult or too complex, but I like that, it keeps thing simple and it’s just sweet to find the solutions to the problems the game poses, and they are all extremely creative. However, while placing the pieces feels satisfying and it makes the movement all the more rewarding, I sometimes found it hard to determine where to put a piece, or what even is a piece you can use in the first place. The few times I got stuck were because I just didn't notice something I needed because it blended into the background and not having a free camera it's truly a shame, the main shot of the level is usually all that you need but it would be nice to have the option for the sake of being able to distinguish everything more easily, especially in levels with less light or where more stuff is going off. I also didn't really like the last sections and types of puzzle the game throws at you, which it's a shame because as I said, all the new ideas are usually extremely innovative and fun, but even tho the final sections consist in you basically building and creating new pieces at yours heart content... I don't know, it felt too unclear and even a bit unsatisfying, and it just seemed like I was doing random stuff and I didn't feel smart or like I overcome a challenge when I beat one of those levels. Thankfully they are far from being the bulk of the game, but it's kinda sad that one of the last notes the game leaves on is not a good one...
But even more than that, what makes me even sadder is that the game didn’t quite go all the way in with its narrative. LEGO games have always been characterized by their irreverent humor, and that’s were Builder’s Journey differs the most when compared to its family. At first it feels like an extremely sweet and sincere story about a parent and their kid, travelling and exploring together, all without words yet so much is told, and I would lie if I said it kinda made me feel a bit emotional at the beginning, it all just was so happy and the music elevated it even more. And when you thought the game was going to take and even more interesting route with this concept, it sadly doesn’t deliver. I never expected it a profound story or anything like that, and the game never really changes in tone, but its sad to see that it sacrifices the messages and narrative it could have gone through in favor of a more average adventure that doesn’t even give full context to what was happening. I sometimes thought some things were product by the kid’s imagination, but … nope, it’s all real and while it doesn’t clash with the rest of the game, it just feels like excuses to have MORE puzzles in an already pretty short experience. I would have honestly preferred a story with less steaks in favor on something more personal like the beginning promised, but, oh well, the ending its pretty sweet.
That’s how I can sum up this game: sweet. A sweet little journey that could have been a little bit more if it tried, but it’s just adorable and really charming nonetheless. I really recommend it, mainly because of how different and creative it is, the only bad thing is that it made me want to spend money on LEGO, and GOD they are expensive holy shi-
After the emotional rollercoaster that was Inmost and being busy with college stuff, I figured it would be the perfect time to play something short and relaxing, and Builder's Journey seemed like exactly that! Plus, I was curious about this one, since the LEGO videogame realm has been monopolized by Traveller's Tales style of gameplay, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with, those are pretty fun games, especially in co-op, but I did have the itch for some variations in my LEGO, and BOY is it different.
The way the game presents itself is, and pardon me the outrageous vocabulary I'm about to employ, FUCKING ADORABLE. All the levels feel like little dioramas that could be replicated to perfection in real life, everything is constructed from LEGO pieces, even the characters are made from blocks instead of being the usual figurines. It all just has this homemade feeling that it goes really well with the vibe it's trying to achieve, and even better with the music. I made a joke about it at the start but yeah, it's criminally good, and it all just comes together to form this calm sensation that, even tho Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker did a very similar thing with its levels, I like how it’s done here a bit more honestly, it just fits so nicely with the LEGO aesthetic, it's... perfection.
All of these levels are built (no pun intended this time, I swear) around a puzzle, and I adore how the game keeps building (I SWEAR) on top of itself, slowly introducing new elements and ideas that just feel right at home with the world of LEGO, it never gets difficult or too complex, but I like that, it keeps thing simple and it’s just sweet to find the solutions to the problems the game poses, and they are all extremely creative. However, while placing the pieces feels satisfying and it makes the movement all the more rewarding, I sometimes found it hard to determine where to put a piece, or what even is a piece you can use in the first place. The few times I got stuck were because I just didn't notice something I needed because it blended into the background and not having a free camera it's truly a shame, the main shot of the level is usually all that you need but it would be nice to have the option for the sake of being able to distinguish everything more easily, especially in levels with less light or where more stuff is going off. I also didn't really like the last sections and types of puzzle the game throws at you, which it's a shame because as I said, all the new ideas are usually extremely innovative and fun, but even tho the final sections consist in you basically building and creating new pieces at yours heart content... I don't know, it felt too unclear and even a bit unsatisfying, and it just seemed like I was doing random stuff and I didn't feel smart or like I overcome a challenge when I beat one of those levels. Thankfully they are far from being the bulk of the game, but it's kinda sad that one of the last notes the game leaves on is not a good one...
But even more than that, what makes me even sadder is that the game didn’t quite go all the way in with its narrative. LEGO games have always been characterized by their irreverent humor, and that’s were Builder’s Journey differs the most when compared to its family. At first it feels like an extremely sweet and sincere story about a parent and their kid, travelling and exploring together, all without words yet so much is told, and I would lie if I said it kinda made me feel a bit emotional at the beginning, it all just was so happy and the music elevated it even more. And when you thought the game was going to take and even more interesting route with this concept, it sadly doesn’t deliver. I never expected it a profound story or anything like that, and the game never really changes in tone, but its sad to see that it sacrifices the messages and narrative it could have gone through in favor of a more average adventure that doesn’t even give full context to what was happening. I sometimes thought some things were product by the kid’s imagination, but … nope, it’s all real and while it doesn’t clash with the rest of the game, it just feels like excuses to have MORE puzzles in an already pretty short experience. I would have honestly preferred a story with less steaks in favor on something more personal like the beginning promised, but, oh well, the ending its pretty sweet.
That’s how I can sum up this game: sweet. A sweet little journey that could have been a little bit more if it tried, but it’s just adorable and really charming nonetheless. I really recommend it, mainly because of how different and creative it is, the only bad thing is that it made me want to spend money on LEGO, and GOD they are expensive holy shi-
2016
Imagine just playing the game and then out of nowhere in one of the last areas thE ANOMALOCARIS SHOWS UP WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH THAT'S WHAT'S ALL ABOUT BABY FUCKING ANOMALOCARIS WOOOOOOOOOOOOO
.......cough.... sorry about that....
Even tho I have yet to play it, it isn't lost on me that after Journey's release, a lot of games followed its steps and tried to be a similar, contemplative experience, with mixed results in some cases, to say the least. Abzu is clearly no exception, this time putting is focus on a underwater setting, and if it one of the objectives was showing off its prettiness, by golly does it deliver it in spades.
Abzu's oceanic landscapes are nothing short of beautiful, magical, even. Swimming across these color filled areas, surrounded by a seemingly never-ending fauna, discovering the small secret zones and letting yourself be guided by these creatures that sometimes it's hard to believe they are real it's by far the best part of the experience, to just immerse (I swear I'm not doing this on purpose) in this little watery world, chill and relax as it sinks in, in that regard, in showing you pretty stuff and amazing set pieces, that is when Abzu shines.
But that's all it is, ''pretty'', and I can't shake off the feeling that its own contemplative nature gets in its own way. This a world overflowing with life, and yet, your interactions with it are the so few its comical. I have made it clear plenty of times that I don't have any problems when a game has only a handful of mechanics, hell, one of my favorite games is a ''walking simulator'', but in Abzu's case, being only able to swim , press a button on certain spots and meditate on some statues it’s just not enough, not considering what the game is showing me. I'm supposed to be saving this sea, and yet I just feel like I'm following a line, repeating the same actions in the same order until a secluded area becomes pretty to look at again, and it isn't until the final zones where I start to notice that the sea is in any real danger. Up until that point I was... doing what the game wanted me to do, the areas were still pretty, yes, but it just feels like I’m watching an aquarium, not really being in the same space as everything else. I was still being amazed by some things, like swimming alongside gigantic whales or rediscovering prehistoric life, but I just felt like a spectator, and that shouldn't be a bad thing, but the story seems to imply otherwise.
The game introduces a ton of elements, like ancient temples and a futuristic civilization that is destroying this world, and these are cool ideas in paper, but not they only really achieve their full potential or even appear just before the game ends. I get and really respect what they were going for, but it's poorly communicated, it clashes extremely hard with what it's shown to us and as such, it fails to give any sense of urgency, and makes its environmental message hit much less that it otherwise could have.
The ending is a cool final set piece, yes, and the music is fantastic, that too, but it just seems like the game tied its own hands in a lot of regards. It's still beautiful only because the sea itself is beautiful , and we should care for that beauty, one that slowly disappearing because of human action, and the game wants to join that conversation, but it doesn't seem to have the courage to really do it and be its own thing, and that's perhaps the worst about, that it seems content to be pretty and have cool set pieces, it doesn't aspire to be something greater.
Then again.... there are Anomalocaris, so it has its ups too.
.......cough.... sorry about that....
Even tho I have yet to play it, it isn't lost on me that after Journey's release, a lot of games followed its steps and tried to be a similar, contemplative experience, with mixed results in some cases, to say the least. Abzu is clearly no exception, this time putting is focus on a underwater setting, and if it one of the objectives was showing off its prettiness, by golly does it deliver it in spades.
Abzu's oceanic landscapes are nothing short of beautiful, magical, even. Swimming across these color filled areas, surrounded by a seemingly never-ending fauna, discovering the small secret zones and letting yourself be guided by these creatures that sometimes it's hard to believe they are real it's by far the best part of the experience, to just immerse (I swear I'm not doing this on purpose) in this little watery world, chill and relax as it sinks in, in that regard, in showing you pretty stuff and amazing set pieces, that is when Abzu shines.
But that's all it is, ''pretty'', and I can't shake off the feeling that its own contemplative nature gets in its own way. This a world overflowing with life, and yet, your interactions with it are the so few its comical. I have made it clear plenty of times that I don't have any problems when a game has only a handful of mechanics, hell, one of my favorite games is a ''walking simulator'', but in Abzu's case, being only able to swim , press a button on certain spots and meditate on some statues it’s just not enough, not considering what the game is showing me. I'm supposed to be saving this sea, and yet I just feel like I'm following a line, repeating the same actions in the same order until a secluded area becomes pretty to look at again, and it isn't until the final zones where I start to notice that the sea is in any real danger. Up until that point I was... doing what the game wanted me to do, the areas were still pretty, yes, but it just feels like I’m watching an aquarium, not really being in the same space as everything else. I was still being amazed by some things, like swimming alongside gigantic whales or rediscovering prehistoric life, but I just felt like a spectator, and that shouldn't be a bad thing, but the story seems to imply otherwise.
The game introduces a ton of elements, like ancient temples and a futuristic civilization that is destroying this world, and these are cool ideas in paper, but not they only really achieve their full potential or even appear just before the game ends. I get and really respect what they were going for, but it's poorly communicated, it clashes extremely hard with what it's shown to us and as such, it fails to give any sense of urgency, and makes its environmental message hit much less that it otherwise could have.
The ending is a cool final set piece, yes, and the music is fantastic, that too, but it just seems like the game tied its own hands in a lot of regards. It's still beautiful only because the sea itself is beautiful , and we should care for that beauty, one that slowly disappearing because of human action, and the game wants to join that conversation, but it doesn't seem to have the courage to really do it and be its own thing, and that's perhaps the worst about, that it seems content to be pretty and have cool set pieces, it doesn't aspire to be something greater.
Then again.... there are Anomalocaris, so it has its ups too.
2023
One never becomes a true gamer until it reads Infinite Jest in Another Pokémon Game.
Here I am, reviewing a game made by a person I follow on here once again. I said this multiple times, but making a game, as simple as the final product may end up being, it's a labor of work that I cannot even begin to conceive, and as such, making a review for a game who its creator may read it's always daunting.
What's funny about Another Pokémon Game it's that it talks about the game making process. Or rather, the game making process of a certain franchise of the Triple A industry.
A franchise that has broken my heart a lot of times.
Yet one I absolutely adore.
It's no secret Pokémon is a series of lights and shadows: it has some incredible games, both mainline and spin-off, that a lot of people, including myself, hold very dearly in our hearts. And it's precisely that love that makes us buy some unfinished messes, games that could have been so much more. A lot of people do love these games I call ''messes'', and I respect the hell out of them, but for me, since the release of Sun and Moon, this series has been a string of disappointments in one way or another.
Another Pokémon Game loves Pokémon too, and its because of that it's very critic of it, or to be more exact, of what its subjected too as the gigantic franchise that it is. Crunch, underpay, lay-offs, both a satire of the series and the industry in general, this game laughs non-stop at all that surrounds Pokémon, but with all the best intent possible, 'cause behind the jokes and laughs, the sadness of the matter is that this all happening, yesterday, today and tomorrow, a wheel built on money and nostalgia.
Another Pokémon Game isn't the funniest thing out there, at least for me, and I'm still not sure if some of its dialogue is supposed to be a pun or an attempt at a statement, but it still has some pretty funny gags, and even if I couldn't qualify it as ''subtle'', it does and tells what it aims for. We are bound to repeat this cycle as long as Pikachu poops money, and it'll keep pooping money, 'cause we'll be there to buy yet another Pokémon game.
As a game, this one is only to be enjoyed by fans, as strangers to the series will not get it or will simply not care, which it's totally understandable. In that sense, Another Pokémon Game is a more personal work, something I value a lot, especially when it’s done like this.
It's far from perfect, even as a little satiric experience, but golly gee does it do what it wants to do. I reminded me of how we as consumers should change. How multi-million dollar companies should, but will never change. And it reminded me of the old times.
Times playing a Pokémon game.
Here I am, reviewing a game made by a person I follow on here once again. I said this multiple times, but making a game, as simple as the final product may end up being, it's a labor of work that I cannot even begin to conceive, and as such, making a review for a game who its creator may read it's always daunting.
What's funny about Another Pokémon Game it's that it talks about the game making process. Or rather, the game making process of a certain franchise of the Triple A industry.
A franchise that has broken my heart a lot of times.
Yet one I absolutely adore.
It's no secret Pokémon is a series of lights and shadows: it has some incredible games, both mainline and spin-off, that a lot of people, including myself, hold very dearly in our hearts. And it's precisely that love that makes us buy some unfinished messes, games that could have been so much more. A lot of people do love these games I call ''messes'', and I respect the hell out of them, but for me, since the release of Sun and Moon, this series has been a string of disappointments in one way or another.
Another Pokémon Game loves Pokémon too, and its because of that it's very critic of it, or to be more exact, of what its subjected too as the gigantic franchise that it is. Crunch, underpay, lay-offs, both a satire of the series and the industry in general, this game laughs non-stop at all that surrounds Pokémon, but with all the best intent possible, 'cause behind the jokes and laughs, the sadness of the matter is that this all happening, yesterday, today and tomorrow, a wheel built on money and nostalgia.
Another Pokémon Game isn't the funniest thing out there, at least for me, and I'm still not sure if some of its dialogue is supposed to be a pun or an attempt at a statement, but it still has some pretty funny gags, and even if I couldn't qualify it as ''subtle'', it does and tells what it aims for. We are bound to repeat this cycle as long as Pikachu poops money, and it'll keep pooping money, 'cause we'll be there to buy yet another Pokémon game.
As a game, this one is only to be enjoyed by fans, as strangers to the series will not get it or will simply not care, which it's totally understandable. In that sense, Another Pokémon Game is a more personal work, something I value a lot, especially when it’s done like this.
It's far from perfect, even as a little satiric experience, but golly gee does it do what it wants to do. I reminded me of how we as consumers should change. How multi-million dollar companies should, but will never change. And it reminded me of the old times.
Times playing a Pokémon game.
2018
To be completely honest, I don't really have much to say about this one, so screw it, let's make it interesting. I ONLY HAVE 60 SECONDS TO WRITE THE REVIEW. TIME STARTS... NOW:
Minit takes an incredible unique concept and goes nuts with it; what it's admittedly a pretty simple Zelda-like with ‘’Metroidvania’’ elements it’s made especial by its time-loop premise, and while it does has a lot of downs, like some level and enemy designs aspects or getting lost very frequently due to how samey is the world visually, it's commendable for what it tries and I ended up liking it despite how lacking it can be.
TIME'S UP.
Oh wow, the result was actually not that horrible... I will never do it again tho that was very stressful holy shi-
Minit takes an incredible unique concept and goes nuts with it; what it's admittedly a pretty simple Zelda-like with ‘’Metroidvania’’ elements it’s made especial by its time-loop premise, and while it does has a lot of downs, like some level and enemy designs aspects or getting lost very frequently due to how samey is the world visually, it's commendable for what it tries and I ended up liking it despite how lacking it can be.
TIME'S UP.
Oh wow, the result was actually not that horrible... I will never do it again tho that was very stressful holy shi-
2023
C'est la vie
Horror is… not a genre I have a good relationship with, to be honest. And I don’t mean I had bad experiences with bad works, not at all, in fact, in all of my trials of my tribulations with the different pieces that induce fear, there’s only one that I could call ‘’bad’’. So it’s not a matter that I haven’t consumed horror media… rather it’s the fact that I’m a complete and utter coward.
Be it a painting, book, film or videogame, a good piece of horror has an inconceivable amount of power over me, and I know many other people share the same feeling. But between all the types of horror, beyond the monsters and the murderers, beyond the gore and even the psychological horror, what has proved time and time again to be my single biggest fear (aside from arachnophobia) is both the industrial horror and, above all else, the fear of what can lie under our skin, otherworldly, unknow horror that changes us and traps us in our own body, rotting away inwards… so yeah, if you put one of Koji Kondo’s work in a 10 meter radius near me, I would most likely immediately shit my pants.
Neotrogla seems to be tailor made for me, or rather, tailor made to disturb the shit out of me, as it combines these exact two fears and adds insect into the mix, ‘cause who needs sleeping, am I right, folks?
Its briefness may be detrimental to a certain extent, as it makes it have some weird pacing narrative wise, and I feel that the jump into the ‘’’’true’’’’ horror part starts too abruptly considering how slow paced the beginning is, but at the same time, it hasn’t stop it from sticking in my mind a while after beating it. The sheer oppression that the city and walls of steel and concrete ‘cause over the protagonist and the inhabitants, the bug ‘’museum’’ scene, the whole latter half of the game. Is so visceral, yet beautifully written, A dance macabre that gets more horrendous as it goes on, but you can’t stop looking at it. You can’t do anything to stop it. As if Kafka’s ‘’Metamorphosis’’ was made an even more horrendous tragedy, the foulness of what’s happening makes you feel sick to the core, as well as to feel sorry for the protagonist, all while the excellent soundtrack envelops you, paralyzing your whole body to the point the only movement you can perform is shivering. It’s a cacophony of otherworldly and nightmarish sounds, and as few songs as they are, they work perfectly, and my god do they manage to add SOO much.
It's not perfect, as a visual novel it doesn’t stive to be really ‘’visual’’ and again, it seems hampered by its own briefness; but the sheer amount of talent that has been put into this short experience is enormous. Some parts have been left engraved on my mind, and the mixture of both real and impossible horror makes it achieve even greater heights.
The possibility of the makers of this game reading this is once again very real, since this was made people I follow here, and I hope I managed to do it justice with this little review and you enjoyed reading it! ‘cause be assured you sure left an impact on me…
Tonight is gonna be full of itch and paranoia
Buzz Buzz
Horror is… not a genre I have a good relationship with, to be honest. And I don’t mean I had bad experiences with bad works, not at all, in fact, in all of my trials of my tribulations with the different pieces that induce fear, there’s only one that I could call ‘’bad’’. So it’s not a matter that I haven’t consumed horror media… rather it’s the fact that I’m a complete and utter coward.
Be it a painting, book, film or videogame, a good piece of horror has an inconceivable amount of power over me, and I know many other people share the same feeling. But between all the types of horror, beyond the monsters and the murderers, beyond the gore and even the psychological horror, what has proved time and time again to be my single biggest fear (aside from arachnophobia) is both the industrial horror and, above all else, the fear of what can lie under our skin, otherworldly, unknow horror that changes us and traps us in our own body, rotting away inwards… so yeah, if you put one of Koji Kondo’s work in a 10 meter radius near me, I would most likely immediately shit my pants.
Neotrogla seems to be tailor made for me, or rather, tailor made to disturb the shit out of me, as it combines these exact two fears and adds insect into the mix, ‘cause who needs sleeping, am I right, folks?
Its briefness may be detrimental to a certain extent, as it makes it have some weird pacing narrative wise, and I feel that the jump into the ‘’’’true’’’’ horror part starts too abruptly considering how slow paced the beginning is, but at the same time, it hasn’t stop it from sticking in my mind a while after beating it. The sheer oppression that the city and walls of steel and concrete ‘cause over the protagonist and the inhabitants, the bug ‘’museum’’ scene, the whole latter half of the game. Is so visceral, yet beautifully written, A dance macabre that gets more horrendous as it goes on, but you can’t stop looking at it. You can’t do anything to stop it. As if Kafka’s ‘’Metamorphosis’’ was made an even more horrendous tragedy, the foulness of what’s happening makes you feel sick to the core, as well as to feel sorry for the protagonist, all while the excellent soundtrack envelops you, paralyzing your whole body to the point the only movement you can perform is shivering. It’s a cacophony of otherworldly and nightmarish sounds, and as few songs as they are, they work perfectly, and my god do they manage to add SOO much.
It's not perfect, as a visual novel it doesn’t stive to be really ‘’visual’’ and again, it seems hampered by its own briefness; but the sheer amount of talent that has been put into this short experience is enormous. Some parts have been left engraved on my mind, and the mixture of both real and impossible horror makes it achieve even greater heights.
The possibility of the makers of this game reading this is once again very real, since this was made people I follow here, and I hope I managed to do it justice with this little review and you enjoyed reading it! ‘cause be assured you sure left an impact on me…
Tonight is gonna be full of itch and paranoia
Buzz Buzz
2021
In this game the whole universe’s stability depends on a giant semicolon and that has be the most genius thing ever put into any videogame... and that's the only thing I can say that its exceptional about it
Toodee and Topdee sold me on its concept since the first moment I saw it, the idea of controlling two completely different characters in two completely different perspectives in a puzzle/platforming setting that demands of you both thought and skill sounds incredible, and yet, as Toodee's perspective, it ends up falling flat.
That's not to say the game is nothing short of creative, 'cause holy hell if it oozes it: the first two worlds are a showcase of how this idea can lead into fantastic levels; it just keeps building on top of itself, expanding on what it already established, mixing old mechanics while introducing completely new ones, like the teleporting blocks in world 4, which lead to some amazing (albeit cumbersome) puzzles and challenges. But it's in these two worlds where the true meat of the game lies, the parts that will make you feel incredibly smart after you realize what you need to do, or even solving a problem in a way the game didn't account for. But then half-way through world 3, something terrible happened, something despicable and horrifying... I wasn't having fun.
Like... how is it possible? The past two worlds were a blast, how come from world 3 onwards the game just… didn’t feel right? After finishing, I thing the answer lies on the fact the game stops revolving around you trying different things and you finding an answer out of the multiple ones, to a trial and error festival that demands of you doing the puzzle the EXACT way the game wants you, and if you fuck up, you gotta repeat all over again. And you may be thinking: ‘’Demon you absolute nut shitter, that’s exactly what puzzle games are about’’, and while that’s true (tho we could argue that the best and most challenging puzzle games are the ones that let you solver their puzzles in multiple ways), Toodee and Topdee is also a platforming game, and that’s the thing that hampers it the most. Cryptic solutions, really wonky hitboxes at times, bosses that just feel like memory trials and not actual challenges that demand skill, and the one that ISN’T based around trial and error, it’s the most annoying lump of pixels I’ve ever come across in a LONG time. But perhaps worst of all, not only there’s the possibility of one of the two characters dying, and as such having to start THE WHOOOOOOOLE thing again, but it also doesn’t have any kind of rewind feature, and you know what that means: if you screw up at some point, and unless you are the most skilled player alive, YOU WILL, there’s no way to undo the error you just made, you have to start. All. Over. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. AND. AGAIN. It all just feels like frustration for the sake of frustration, all culminating on the last world and levels, in which you have to do them basically perfect if you want to complete them, as if you fuck it up even once, you die. The thing that basically sold me on the game, the mix of puzzling and platforming elements, ended up being the exact thing that caused it’s downfall, leaving the game stuck between dimensions, not knowing what it really wants to be, something that even affects the story!
While the two main characters are fine and charming, the game as a whole has dialogue that is constantly trying to make jokes, puns and soft fourth wall breaks, and even ignoring the fact that I didn’t find them particularly funny, it makes an ending that tries to be emotional completely meaningless. The game didn’t take itself seriously for most of the adventure, hell, there are barely any instances where the characters interact at all in the first place, if all of the story was like this, I wouldn’t even talk about it, but since the finale tries to go for this ‘’sappy’’ route, I’m not even surprised that I didn’t feel nothing, ‘cause, if the game can’t even make up its mind about what it really is, how can I even care?
And that’s what kills me, that I don’t care about Toodee and Topdee, because I wanted to love this game so badly. The concept, the first bunch of levels, the soundtrack, the animations, all amazing elements that cannot fix a frustrating, indecisive mess of a game that feels like it has a semicolon in the middle. I can’t call it bad, it does have some incredible moments, some (VERY) few levels even in the later half are good and the final section shows how this game really wanted to be something special, but even in that part it just was infuriating.
It's the worst kind of mediocre game: A game that has so many fun and genius elements ; yet it takes a path that makes it much worse that it could have been.
Tho I have to say, the game did teach me something, and that is that pigs in 3D are killing machines. Those pesky porks!
Toodee and Topdee sold me on its concept since the first moment I saw it, the idea of controlling two completely different characters in two completely different perspectives in a puzzle/platforming setting that demands of you both thought and skill sounds incredible, and yet, as Toodee's perspective, it ends up falling flat.
That's not to say the game is nothing short of creative, 'cause holy hell if it oozes it: the first two worlds are a showcase of how this idea can lead into fantastic levels; it just keeps building on top of itself, expanding on what it already established, mixing old mechanics while introducing completely new ones, like the teleporting blocks in world 4, which lead to some amazing (albeit cumbersome) puzzles and challenges. But it's in these two worlds where the true meat of the game lies, the parts that will make you feel incredibly smart after you realize what you need to do, or even solving a problem in a way the game didn't account for. But then half-way through world 3, something terrible happened, something despicable and horrifying... I wasn't having fun.
Like... how is it possible? The past two worlds were a blast, how come from world 3 onwards the game just… didn’t feel right? After finishing, I thing the answer lies on the fact the game stops revolving around you trying different things and you finding an answer out of the multiple ones, to a trial and error festival that demands of you doing the puzzle the EXACT way the game wants you, and if you fuck up, you gotta repeat all over again. And you may be thinking: ‘’Demon you absolute nut shitter, that’s exactly what puzzle games are about’’, and while that’s true (tho we could argue that the best and most challenging puzzle games are the ones that let you solver their puzzles in multiple ways), Toodee and Topdee is also a platforming game, and that’s the thing that hampers it the most. Cryptic solutions, really wonky hitboxes at times, bosses that just feel like memory trials and not actual challenges that demand skill, and the one that ISN’T based around trial and error, it’s the most annoying lump of pixels I’ve ever come across in a LONG time. But perhaps worst of all, not only there’s the possibility of one of the two characters dying, and as such having to start THE WHOOOOOOOLE thing again, but it also doesn’t have any kind of rewind feature, and you know what that means: if you screw up at some point, and unless you are the most skilled player alive, YOU WILL, there’s no way to undo the error you just made, you have to start. All. Over. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. AND. AGAIN. It all just feels like frustration for the sake of frustration, all culminating on the last world and levels, in which you have to do them basically perfect if you want to complete them, as if you fuck it up even once, you die. The thing that basically sold me on the game, the mix of puzzling and platforming elements, ended up being the exact thing that caused it’s downfall, leaving the game stuck between dimensions, not knowing what it really wants to be, something that even affects the story!
While the two main characters are fine and charming, the game as a whole has dialogue that is constantly trying to make jokes, puns and soft fourth wall breaks, and even ignoring the fact that I didn’t find them particularly funny, it makes an ending that tries to be emotional completely meaningless. The game didn’t take itself seriously for most of the adventure, hell, there are barely any instances where the characters interact at all in the first place, if all of the story was like this, I wouldn’t even talk about it, but since the finale tries to go for this ‘’sappy’’ route, I’m not even surprised that I didn’t feel nothing, ‘cause, if the game can’t even make up its mind about what it really is, how can I even care?
And that’s what kills me, that I don’t care about Toodee and Topdee, because I wanted to love this game so badly. The concept, the first bunch of levels, the soundtrack, the animations, all amazing elements that cannot fix a frustrating, indecisive mess of a game that feels like it has a semicolon in the middle. I can’t call it bad, it does have some incredible moments, some (VERY) few levels even in the later half are good and the final section shows how this game really wanted to be something special, but even in that part it just was infuriating.
It's the worst kind of mediocre game: A game that has so many fun and genius elements ; yet it takes a path that makes it much worse that it could have been.
Tho I have to say, the game did teach me something, and that is that pigs in 3D are killing machines. Those pesky porks!
2022
C'mon boys, won't you shake a poor sinner’s hand?
Me and my girlfriend played this together and we felt like the smartest persons ever alive every time we solved one of the levels, yes, is THAT kind of game.
Handshakes was an extremely pleasant surprise, what seemed like a charming albeit simple free experience ended up being an incredible puzzle game, with thoughtful and fun level design and concept, and was a blast to go through.
Sure, a really plain visual style, just having one song and its briefness are things that do hold it back, but don't drag the experience in the slightest. Some levels here are amazing, and what seems like such limiting concept ends up giving some amazing puzzles; it's a very smart game, not only because it makes you FEEL smart, but it also knows how to use its elements and mechanics to their fullest potential, they may be simple additions, but they feel game-changing, and in a way they are. The level ‘’Not what it seems’’ ended up being one of my favorites despite being one of the simplest, it’s just… chef’s kiss.
Also, after playing a puzzle game without a rewind feature, this one having felt like the fucking ascension.
I don't know, it just was an extremely cool and pleasant puzzle game, just a couple of guys being dudes, shaking hands and having really fun puzzle design. I cannot wait for the sequel, it has the potential to be something incredible, and I'm all here for it.
Are you ready?!
Me and my girlfriend played this together and we felt like the smartest persons ever alive every time we solved one of the levels, yes, is THAT kind of game.
Handshakes was an extremely pleasant surprise, what seemed like a charming albeit simple free experience ended up being an incredible puzzle game, with thoughtful and fun level design and concept, and was a blast to go through.
Sure, a really plain visual style, just having one song and its briefness are things that do hold it back, but don't drag the experience in the slightest. Some levels here are amazing, and what seems like such limiting concept ends up giving some amazing puzzles; it's a very smart game, not only because it makes you FEEL smart, but it also knows how to use its elements and mechanics to their fullest potential, they may be simple additions, but they feel game-changing, and in a way they are. The level ‘’Not what it seems’’ ended up being one of my favorites despite being one of the simplest, it’s just… chef’s kiss.
Also, after playing a puzzle game without a rewind feature, this one having felt like the fucking ascension.
I don't know, it just was an extremely cool and pleasant puzzle game, just a couple of guys being dudes, shaking hands and having really fun puzzle design. I cannot wait for the sequel, it has the potential to be something incredible, and I'm all here for it.
Are you ready?!