Even though it's more than 10 years old now, Monument Valley is still very enjoyable to play, and which global tone, artistic direction and music hasn't aged a bit. The game is quite short, but each level stands on its own and they're all very well crafted. That being said, if you quickly accept those forced perspective mechanics, the puzzles will go by pretty fast and the cerebral challenge stays light. It's without saying that the authors took inspiration from FEZ when making this title, but it's way easier and less deep than the game from Polytron.

In any case, Monument Valley stays and excellent puzzle game and it will poke at your cortex just the right amount, while still being pleasing to your eyes and ears.

8/10.

After completing it, it would be difficult to recommend Tails of Iron. Granted, the art direction is very good, so is its soundtrack. But unfortunately, the game lacks depth. More exploration, more secrets to discover, and a meaningful arsenal would have been appreciated. Instead, we are forced to do secondary quests that make us run around the map somewhat unnecessarily, with an inventory that boils down to choosing weapons and armor that simply fill a damage bar.

But the real drawback of Tails of Iron lies in its combat system. Being labeled as Souls-Like, one expects a minimum of basic mechanics that define the genre. So yes, the game is challenging. Yes, it does emphasize dodges and rolls, but two things completely tarnish this picture: the lack of I-frames and the animations.

Firstly, let's talk about the main problem: the roll doesn't have I-frames, making it almost useless. What should be a core gameplay mechanic becomes a mere enhanced movement, which reacts poorly because it depends on a double tap on the dodge key. This makes it nearly impossible to dodge/block certain attacks, especially from larger enemies.

This lack of I-frames is even more apparent when you realize that some animations are completely off. The character doesn't respond instantly: its movement animation has a lag at the start of the run (originally meant to simulate a rat's run) which causes the character to stick to the ground before accelerating. This results in making pretty much all movements quite frustrating. And I won't even start on some other very frustrating aspects like an auto-grab when approaching a ledge, unnecessary fall damage, or the inability to slide down a ladder.

But the icing on the cake is the lack of consistency in some of the enemies' pattern animations. Some of their jumps are shorter than others, for example. Or they have attack combos that are synchronized with our recovery animation, making it impossible to dodge. And when you know that some attacks are simply impossible to counter, the experience becomes extremely frustrating.

And that's the big problem when trying to make a Souls-like game: it's acceptable to face very tough enemies, but only if the game maintains a sense of fairness in the treatment it inflicts on the player. When a feeling of injustice arises, for whatever reason, this contract is broken, and the fun goes up in smoke.

So in the end, what remains after finishing Tails of Iron is the feeling that even though a lot of passion was poured into this project, the execution is lacking. Its universe could be rich, but it lacks depth. Its combat system could be even more challenging, but it seems too unfair to be interesting. Its loot and equipment system could make you want to scour the map from top to bottom, but it's devoid of interest.

So, for me, it's a swing and a miss. The desire to do well transpires throughout the game, but the negatives overbalance the positives and are too significant to overlook. Perhaps some will find it enjoyable, but even though this game is saved by its relatively short length (expect 10 hours to complete), it suffers from too many flaws to be recommended.

5/10.

I bought 30XX following the 1.0 release. I've had heard about the game for a long time, and I originally thought it was "simply" a Megaman-inspired game, and wanted something chill to play on the TV. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I saw it was an Action Roguelike. It shows the devs put a lot of effort into this game. The art style is good, the music is great, and a lot of work was put in the animations. Unfortunately though, the fun falls short, and the gameplay in itself is just poor.

The randomly-generated levels feel uninspired and repetitive. The way the chunks are designed and assembled doesn't reward any exploration effort, especially since the Nuts (one of the in-game currency) are so rare.

The hub, where you can buy permanent upgrades and select players/game modes, feels like a glorified menu, and there are multiple tiny things that are just frustrating. Why do I have to walk up to each shop/options? Why can't I just press B to close a buy menu?

While the small fights during the levels don't really feel noticeable, the various bosses look and feel alright. They sometimes have weird patterns that you can't dodge or prevent (a bit of inspiration from the Dark Souls series wouldn't hurt in that regard). But once again the game design makes each battle a chore. Not only can't you shoot up or down, which is understandable since you get pickups that improve your arsenal and abilities, but the hitboxes are inconsistent. Sometimes janky, sometimes too precise, you can't really develop a movement flow, and you're sometimes stuck looking at an enemy dead in the eyes without being able to hit them.

So all in all, despite the fact that its art and music is great, and a lot of love has been put into it, 30XX is not a game I can recommend. It's not a good roguelike, it's not a good platformer, it just falls short of everything and doesn't have that little something that could make it a worthwhile purchase. I had to ask for a refund, for I knew I wouldn't want to bash my head against this title after a few runs.

And I mean let's be honest. For the same price, why play this when you can play Dead Cells or Spelunky? Or if you're willing to spend a little more, get Rogue Legacy 2 or Hades. You'll get much more for your money, whether it be in terms of gameplay, mechanics, items, lore, or plain and simple fun.