I think this mainly exists to draw people in with the shock factor that is "Pokemon with guns and slave labour" and keep them engaged with a mediocre survival gameplay-loop. Which is fine & all but makes this kinda equivalent to all those Winnie Pooh horror movies that popped up when that character entered the public domain. What is interesting tho it's more gruesome mechanics also at least a logical evolution of Pokémon's internal logic, just brought to the extreme. In the Open World mainline games, Pokémon are already mostly resources to farm for exp or items and to use in combat for your own gains. Only these games try to contextualize the relationship between monster and trainer within the realms of friendship, whereas this game just stays within the gameplay logic of "exploit these monsters for your own gain" and just dials it up a lot. Both result in gameplay experiences that are devoid of any meaning, although Palworld feels much more cynical and I feel that cynicism has a kinda violent aspect to it. It has nothing to say about the ideas it portrays, instead joyfully revelling in the violence it reproduces.

review in progress, but I vibe with this kinda? Foamstars is a really bizarre game in a lot of ways, and that's most of what makes it so weird is what I like about it? First up, there's this entire map editor for your training area that can only be accessed through interacting with one kinda random element of the lobby. Then there's the incredibly barebones, weirdly slice-of-lifey singleplayer that they spun into a PvE mode with exactly two stages and difficulties with small rogue-lite elements, which is really random but also kinda fun, actually. Also, one collectible is just fake ads the game auto-plays in the lobby consisting of like two still images (that play for up to two minutes). And then there's just the entire aesthetic of the game, which to me looks incredibly trashy in all its over-produced glamor. It's bare-bones and probably quite cheaply made, feeling a little amateurish at times. There's not a lot of content here, but what is there just feels bizarre, like you stumbled upon a closed beta for a five-year old game that's mysteriously still up and running. Which means I'm actually quite suprised that the gameplay is this fun? I like the idea of three-dimensional foam as a twist on the Splatoon-formula, maybe after the "fucking around and finding out"-phase the player base will actually find strategic uses for stacking foam. I dunno, it's just a bizarre game with quite a fun gameplay loop that is definitely going to get shut down within this year, so I'll savour it for as long as I can!

After having completed the epilogue, I know finally feel comfortable rating this game. Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a game so thoroughly streamlined, so optimized for fun, that it's very hard not to enjoy your time with it. The gameplay is snappy and varied through all of the different unique characters with their own movesets and game plans, the presentation is beautiful and the main story goes over so fast there's literally no downtime. What happens after that is a cleverly designed loot grind to optimize your loadout and team, one that is so addictive even I wasn't able to shy away from it (normally, a single hour of grind would be a reason to drop a game). In short: It's a really fun game. And I was and am still able to derive a lot of joy from that. Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a completely frictionless game. And if you want exactly that, a fun way to spend 15-999hrs and not think about anything, I can't recommend it highly enough.

But this also results in me not really loving it. Because all this streamlining also results in a game experience that is entirely toothless, it has nothing to say. Its story is as bare-bones and clichéd as they come, it's characters mostly rough caricatures. Which is sad to me, as they didn't feel like that in the other Granblue media I looked at in preperation for this, neither in the anime nor in the (admittedly terrible) gatcha game. In a way, Granblue Fantasy: Relink lost a lot of soul in this streamlining, and no amount of optimization grind can fill that void. There are moments where that soul shines through, the completely voiced Fate Episodes i.e., or some smaller character interactions in the moment-to-moment gameplay, but overall, it's a little too streamlined, a little too frictionless. Which doesn't take away from the fact that it's still a very fun game, but I feel like it could've been a lot more.

No offense to His Highness Dark Gul, but Death Adder at least cared a bit about hiring quotas. All I see here is the same guys over and over again holding key positions (nepotism?). Sure, he may not have looked into benefits, but at least he tried to diversify; I also heard he gave away concert tickets whenever he could, so that's probably more an issue of management than leadership.

Despite finding somewhat entertaining thinking about Golden Axe II in terms of corporatism, you may have figured that's all I got. Same game as the first, your character doesn't die as easily, hits register a bit better and enemies die faster, but they still try to corner you and\or rush you, stages aren't so memorable but the game looks better in general. Good thing you can still throw enemies into pits, which are still there by the way, guess all they care about at GoldenExec is throwing pizza parties, not setting up safety nets.

Look, maybe I'm not as receptive to the idea of a sword-and-sandal beat 'em up experience anymore. I got it, it's still cool, I wish it was elaborated a bit further upon.

What if you wanted to go fast but God said you have to stop and find the collectibles?

This game was built with speed in mind, and you're set off to figure things out for yourself. Learning movement tech as you keep playing is actually satisfying and you can eventually chain moves together to skip large gaps, and complete stages much faster. The main character makes use of a yo-yo, offering a double jump, a dash forward through the air, and the ability to spin around the yo-yo while it stays in the air after a dash. This lets you carry the momentum as you swing forward, like choosing where to place a rope at any time. You can also drop down onto the yo-yo and ride it like a wheel.

The stages are mostly fine, not many of them stand out to me except the penguin world which was my favourite. It's a decent game which can be played casually, HOWEVER, there's bugs everywhere. Getting stuck in terrain, falling through the floor, the game literally crashing after clearing stages, those all happened to me.

There's also a score system, but it's kind of pointless since you can do things like bounce on a platform 100 times to get a 100 combo.

Pep's Detective Deep Dive - Game 7
Another FMV murder-mystery from the fine folks over at Wales Interactive (and developer Da'vekki Studios), The Shapeshifting Detective has you investigating the murder of a young cello prodigy who had more than a few murky secrets lurking underneath her perfect exterior.

As the name suggests, the gimmick of the game is that you have the ability to shapeshift into any of the characters you meet, and you use this over the course of the story to gain information and set suspects against each other. There are also elements of the supernatural that slowly creep in through the game, and there’s a really nice, spooky vibe to the presentation. In a similar vein to Contradiction! there's a lot of clicking around and trying to figure out which character to interact with to try and push the story along, and with the added task of figuring out who you should be "playing" it can get a little tedious at points.

Still, all the characters are very colourful, and when you begin to really see how everyone is connected and unravel their secrets the game absolutely shines. When you add in the fact that the killer is randomly chosen between three of the suspects, it just adds that extra element of tension - I was genuinely engrossed at the game's climax, terrified that I had chosen wrongly (I hadn't!).

The Contradiction! comparisons don't end at the gameplay; actors Rupert Booth and Anarosa Butler feature in both that game and The Shapeshifting Detective. Claude Dupont isn't quite as campy as Inspector Jenks but Booth is still the standout performer here. Overall, the acting is much better than in your average FMV game, with Aislinn De'ath's performance as Violet being another highlight. The only actors bringing the quality down slightly are those playing radio DJs Poe and Munro - and even then they're not really bad, it's just their 50s-esque transatlantic shtick feels horribly out of place.

The production quality is definitely on the "student film" side too - this isn't as flashy as something like The Isle Tide Hotel would go on to be, but isn't quite as rinky-dink as Contradiction either. In all honesty, I just wish Wales Interactive would have invested in some better lighting and makeup here. It's kind of crazy when you google Munro's actress and see how gorgeous she is - the Channel Awesome-level lighting job really does her no favours.

Overall, I'm actually surprised how much I enjoyed this. Wales Interactive's FMV games tend to vary in quality - for every The Bunker there's duds like Bloodshore and The Isle Tide Hotel. Even the other reviews on here and Steam are rather lukewarm, but I had a pretty great time with this. There's also a Poe & Munro-focused prequel which I may have a look into too.

P.S. no ending where I have a whirlwind romance with Violet? Cowards.