Risk of Rain is an interesting view into the design of its critically-acclaimed sequel, but doesn't offer anything that other roguelikes don't already have.

I liked the soundtrack (Chris Christodoulou's work is top-notch), giant enemies and bosses providing a sense of scale, and the insight into Risk of Rain 2's 2D roots.

I disliked the high skill floor, item imbalance, heavy reliance on RNG and AoE attacks, the boring early game, and how my boy Bandit is MUCH worse than in Risk of Rain 2.

I recommend this game if you're a big RoR2 fan and either have this game already or can get it extraordinarily cheap.

Despite being a "souls-like" Nioh does a lot to distinguish itself from others of its genre - when it's not being stupidly frustrating.

I liked how unique each weapon class was, the complexity of the combat, the Living Weapon system, some of the bosses, the overall aesthetic, and the loot system (especially during the DLCs).

I disliked most "bullshit" mechanics: getting stunlocked and dying in one inescapable string, projectiles that are annoying to dodge, almost every gank boss, and on occassion just straight-up getting one-shot. Some non-gank bosses also felt unfair.

I also think that the game goes on for too long - especially since the side missions often reuse maps, the game starts to become repetitive. However, I found the DLCs to be a lot better-paced.

I recommend this game if you crave a souls-like with loads of content to sink your teeth into, or maybe if you just want to play as a ninja with guns.

(Note: I played the Blue Lions route.)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses manages to implement an engaging combat system with in-depth and likable characters, but has a few issues that prevent it from being truly exceptional.

I liked the surprising amount of depth to the combat, freedom to build units however you like (although one or two classes are male specific - no War Master Catherine for you), the character design, and the story overall. I also thought the final battle was a great ending to the game.

I disliked the monotony of the various chores in the monestary, the pace of the story being rather slow sometimes, the overall length of the game (I think it could've been a few hours shorter), and the horrendous graphical quality. It's quite the nitpick, but I also feel like the marriage aspect of the game feels rather tacked-on compared to other FE games (and kind of weird). Annette is best girl.

Overall, I'd recommend Fire Emblem Three Houses for both those who are interested in strategy games and those who are veterans of the genre. Despite this game being a 40 to 50-hour commitment, I'm seriously considering playing through the game a second time.

I'm a super-passionate Metroid fan so I have a lot of conflicted feelings about Fusion. After replaying it yesterday I'm reminded of what makes Fusion good (and bad).
THE GOOD
Fusion's an interesting game because it takes a completely different tone than the first three. Instead of you by yourself on an alien planet, you have a robot assistant who barks orders at you (and quickly hints that it's evil). So you feel kind of trapped, trying to eliminate the escalating X threat while following the orders of someone suspicious. It's a good premise! And the moment when you start "sequence breaking," as in finding items when you're not "supposed to," feels oh-so-good.
In addition, I think the overall plot is the best of the Metroid games - but that's to be expected when there's so much dialogue and exposition.
I also found the movement and combat to be quite fun, for the most part. Nightmare is a goated Metroid boss.
THE BAD
From a beginner's players perspective Metroid Fusion's #1 problem has been, as Videogamedunkey coined them, "Metroid moments". While Super Metroid only has one or two (remember that one wall in Lower Norfair?), Fusion is chock-full of way-too-hidden secrets required for progression. The most obvious one is when you first visit TRO and have to bomb a completely random spot on the floor. It sucks a lot, and if you don't know that you have to bomb there you can spend a lot of time trying to find the "obvious way". Another one that sucks is when you revisit NOC and have to refight the BOX.
A lot of the bosses are also pretty bad - the spider, the chozo statue, and the Varia suit boss are really boring to fight.
As a veteran Metroid player, however, my primary problem lies with the item collection. As I beat my most recent Fusion playthrough, I ended up with 61%, a LOT less than I thought I would've had. Metroid Fusion's item collection has two problems: how cryptic it is, and how much endgame "cleanup" there is.
The majority of Metroid Fusion's item placement is, for lack of better words, bullshit. I applaud whoever found all of these items by themselves without Power Bombing every single room in the game or using a guide. I don't have much issue with the puzzles, though.
Secondly, the endgame item cleanup is just... annoying. While I didn't 100% the game this time I've done it before, and remember not being fond of it. Unless you want to backtrack to a sector for an item or two, you're going to end up getting a majority of the items right before the end of the game. It doesn't help that the game builds a (false) sense of urgency, making most casual players skip the endgame item cleanup.
--
In conclusion, Fusion is a pretty good devitation from the traditional Metroid formula and, ignoring some of the weird ways forward, provides a good experience for first-time players. The item cleanup still sucks, though.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a great example of how making a metroidvania is a lot more difficult than it seems. CotM should be looked at as a guide of how NOT to make one:

- All of the powerups besides the first two do absolutely nothing outside of opening new passages
- Combat stays mostly identical for 90% of the game
- Double tapping to move is really annoying
- DSS is novel, but completely luck-reliant
- Every DSS combo is either borderline useless or OP
- The best sub weapon (the boomerang) has only two locations where you can get it
- Level-up system essentially forces grinding
- No shops whatsoever, so all of the duplicate items in your inventory have no purpose
- Many of the enemies are the same knight guy with a different color
- Fast-travel points are really poorly placed, making backtracking often boring
- While not an issue in the early game, late-game bosses have irritating run-ups
- Rooms blend together really easily and most of them are just corridors with enemies
- All of the bosses are boring, with three attacks and way too much HP
- The final boss is absolute agony

In short, don't play this game. Please.

Easily one of my favorite "roguelikes". While it is technically a roguelike, it mostly takes a back seat to compliment one of the best strategy/puzzle games I've ever played. Every squad is unique in their playstyle and strategy and each turn is a series of chess-like thinking. The "aha" moments when you figure out a perfect solution for a seemingly impossible puzzle make this game a treat to play, alongside the great soundtrack by my boy Ben Prunty.

The free and newly-added "Advanced Edition" content make this game even better, adding a bunch of new squads, mission types, objectives, and more. The Bombermechs are insanely fun and well-designed, and if you haven't played this game in a while, give them a try!

This game is... not awful! I expected this to be the worst of all the Metroid games (except for maybe NEStroid) but with the help of the colorization ROM hack and a map it ended up being surprisingly decent.

The music (or lack thereof) helped add to the atmosphere of the areas, and the super-cramped screen made it pretty tense when you were exploring with the possibility of a Metroid suddenly appearing at any moment. This definitely isn't a traditional Metroid, though, as there is zero backtracking whatsoever. However, I think the overall difference in its formula makes it that much more charming!

As someone who's played through AM2R and Samus Returns I like to see how differently they interpreted this game. AM2R is very faithful to the original, while Samus Returns takes the ideas and makes it into its own thing.

If you're a big Metroid fan I'd suggest giving this game a play, ESPECIALLY with the colorization ROM hack.

This game is very underwhelming after playing through Dread. The enemy variety for such a combat-focused game is abysmal, the areas are way too damn big, Gamma Metroids suck major ass, and the entire tone of the ending of the game is ruined by making the baby Metroid required for certain items AND adding a new boss fight at the end which makes no sense, given what happens in Super Metroid. The controls for switching beams/ammo were also kind weird, especially if you play it on an emulator (which I totally, definitely didn't, by the way.)

However, this game isn't all bad. I think having the map on the bottom screen was REALLY helpful with exploring, Aeion abilities are cool, the chase scene with the Diggernaut is great, and the non-Gamma Metroids are actually pretty fun to fight.

I'm on the fence about recommending this one. It was very disappointing for me, but overall I feel like it's not a BAD game. It's just... not my thing. Just play Dread.

I've now played all three versions of Metroid II, but this was the first of them that I played. AM2R is also the best of these, in my opinion. It encapsulates a lot of the good aspects of the original Metroid II and adds a bunch of new additions to it, such as new power-ups, banging music, and fun boss fights to make it a much better experience overall. It does a great job at surpassing the original in terms of fun and playability.

However, AM2R loses a lot of the things that make Metroid II what it is. The cramped screen and the weird ambient music are two of the things that made Metroid II so unique, and AM2R gets rid of them. Despite this, however, I still consider AM2R to be the definitive version of Metroid II and has warranted five separate playthroughs from me.

If you can find a copy, give it a try! It's both a treat for experienced Metroid fans and people who have never played a Metroidvania before.

I'm not a huge battle royale guy, but after seeing a few videos of this game I was hooked and wanted to try it for myself. Surprisingly, Rumbleverse lived up to my expectations after playing it for a while!

+ Mixes fighting games and the battle royale genre really well
+ Combat feel much more visceral than gunfights do in traditional BRs
+ Getting KOs always feels cathartic
+ Really cool combos that you can pull off
+ Perk system encourages you to fight other players as much as possible
+ Variety of special moves which allow for several playstyles

- Game has no tutorial (that I could find at least)
- Netcode gets on your nerves sometimes (moves miss when they should hit, others hit when they should miss)
- The game kind of looks like ass
- Battle pass system is to be expected in a BR game, but I still don't like it

Overall, if you have experience with fighting games or want a great entry into the genre, I'd recommend playing Rumbleverse for a few rounds.

Harmony of Dissonance is very okay. While I don't think this game has quite the same level of magic as SotN I still think it's a decent game to play through and easily surpasses the previous GBA entry.

+ Movement's pretty good
+ Essentially no grinding required
+ Spells are pretty fun to use, good amount of variety
+ Lots of bosses that are pretty fun to fight
+ Furniture "side quest" is a fun collectible challenge
+ Good enemy variety

~ The "two castle" concept is obviously lazy, but makes exploring a little bit more eventful
~ Merchants exist, but are kind of useless

- Music is awful
- Spells make the game a cake-walk
- Really spread-out fast travel points so getting to places is often a chore
- Specific "warp points" between the two castles are annoying
- I wasn't a huge fan of the ending--it felt very rushed

I've finally played all three GBAvanias, and this one is easily the best out of all three. It has a few flaws, but combines the good parts of its predecessors and is the only GBA Castlevania I'd seriously recommend.

+ Movement still feels great
+ Lots of different weapons to use
+ Soul system is a great idea, and is executed very well
+ Zero filler content
+ Graphics and sprites are a major upgrade from the other GBAvanias
+ Music is mildly catchy and is a significant step up from Harmony of Dissonance
+ Actual good level of difficulty

~ Story is kind of weird, and the "power of friendship" theme doesn't really work in a series as dark as Castlevania

- Final boss kind of sucks
- Surprisingly short. I suppose that's what happens when you don't have filler content, but still, this is the shorted of the GBAvanias by far