After playing the game co-op and having some weird feelings about the game, I have now finished the campaign solo and have more solid impressions about my experience.

Overall I think the games does certain things better than the first, while also stumbling on new problems of its own. One clear example is how bosses on the first game were criticized for having too many adds, and this was particularly a criticism they said they would address, but now instead of having problems with adds, a number of bosses are just out of melee range, which hinders certain classes and builds.

One thing I noted in my first review was how I felt I didn't get as many interesting items in my run, and I think here the RNG of what areas you get can actually play a part. I got two sections with armors in this second run, while on the first I got none. I also got a Blood Moon naturally this time too, overall I felt my second run had way better side events, even without mentioning I was more familiarized with the structure of areas so I got more rings and stuff.

In the end, as I mentioned in the first review, the familiarity and the hunt for new loot on replays and adventure mode do feel more fun than playing for the first time anyway, I have a better impression of the game now than before, but I'd still probably say I liked the first one better. The gameplay is still very good and I'll certainly be excited for the DLC releases, I think the base experience could be better with some tweaks, and maybe these will come with updates too.

Starting this review by mentioning that I had finished the game and completed all the achievements prior to the update, you might say I had already gotten my fill, so it probably impacted my enjoyment of it.

First, the roguelite mode. It certainly adds some new ideas, but it didn't motivate me enough to keep replaying it just to get all my skills up to "endgame" status again. It is more challenge if you want it, but it doesn't reinvent the wheel.

The additions to the main campaign are great, but, they feel like they complement the base experience, and aside from the new side quest in the school, they are basically extras for people exploring the map. But as mentioned, I had already been to all these places, and it was hard for me to exactly place where a photo mission was trying to bring me after a long time away from the game too.

I think overall the update is great, but especially to people that are playing the game for the first time with the update. The new side mission is good and probably the scariest content in the game. Still love the game, and I think the new stuff only enhances it further, I just didn't exactly needed more at the moment, and maybe I'll give the roguelite mode more of a chance in the future to get that 100% achievement rate back someday.

It's actually been a while since I played it, and I never truly "finished" it but I'm considering it as much for the time I spent with it.

I love the flower breeding aspect of Animal Crossing, and this feels very much like it, but with bees. Getting the perfect matches and stats you want can be very time consuming but it feels great when you get the results.

The menus can be a bit convoluted, and I do wish some processes were more passive/automated because I don't really care about manually extracting honey, but I can see some players might enjoy the economy management more than me, I was just in there to combine the bees though.

Fighting games are intimidating, but I think Street Fighter 6 made every possible effort to make it as approachable as possible. And I certainly had a lot of fun with it, that I otherwise would not have experienced, if it didn't have modern controls or a quirky story mode.

I still wish some things were different, specially about World Tour. I think it starts great but at some point it felt bad as a scrub to use multiple health recovery items in a fight, and I felt powerless against increasingly large health bars. I wish it was less RPG, even though the RPG elements may help you "overlevel" a fight, it also makes enemies feel tankier when I just wanted them to feel smarter. After some time I enjoyed going through Arcade mode more than messing around in World Tour.

The characters are incredible and I love the vibes, the game is certainly amazing and I felt welcomed to try it. I wish it had something more to keep me on it, because I don't feel confident to play online, but I loved the time I spent with it.

After being mostly disappointed with Runner 3, this return to roots was everything I wanted from the Bit.Trip Runner franchise.

Even though it is described as a remake of the original, it feels to me a bit more than that. They incorporated some concepts that were cut and basically created brand new levels for the game, it feels pretty new even if the visuals are mostly a reimagination of the setting.

The original levels are still recreated as bonus levels, and there are some more original levels based on other games of the Bit.Trip series. There is also a level creator but I haven't explored that side too much, I'm certain there will be great and then not so great levels.

I didn't expect much, but I ended up loving it. It feels like the sequel I wanted after 2, even if it is not all brand new and shiny.

This one is hard to review. It is probably one of the best farming games I played, but at the same time it sabotages itself in multiple ways.

Most notable of all, if you are interested in characters and relationships in these games, this one is not for you. Characters barely have unique dialogue, they repeat some tips constantly, it is clear the budget went to other aspects of the game. It hurts more because some characters are really lovely designed, but there isn't really much to this aspect.

The farming stuff is really well done, and the crafting related systems are also greatly incorporated in your daily routine. The flower breeding is one of my favorite features, and it is rewarding to get new dyes after collecting a variety of species.

I think the game does stumble a bit at the start, focusing too much on the first dungeon, before truly opening up possibilities for the player. But after that I felt the pace at which I got to explore new stuff was great, and getting more magical stuff mixed in help bring out the uniqueness of the game.

I feel like while the game can be a lot of fun, it might be more fun a few months from now. At the moment I think the game is good, but it really needs some fixes and tweaks to become great, and it has the potential to be really great, it just needs an extra push.

[Note: I played it all solo and don't have much insight about the multiplayer features, but it was still great playing alone]

Chants of Sennaar is an incredibly well crafted puzzle game about deciphering languages. You encounter multiple cultures and you have to learn how each of them express themselves, be it through what they say or the environment, with signs, illustrations and other clues.

The game seems to strike the perfect balance in being challenging enough that it makes you feel good about getting things right and it never feels unfair or too obvious. Each language also feels unique, and figuring out the structure of a sentence is just as important as discovering what each symbol means.

I do feel like the middle ends up being the most challenging section, and the end feels a bit weird by shaking things up a little too much, but it is just a very small part that doesn't negatively impact my impressions too much.

With a curious world, portrayed in a beautiful art style, the game keeps pushing your observation and analysis skills, and it is extremely rewarding to feel the mystery unravel as your knowledge grows.

Cocoon is a beautifully weird adventure with nice puzzles but most importantly, it knows when to show off and make an impact.

Overall I don't think the game is particularly challenging if you are used to puzzle games, but the ideas are certainly unique, and the presentation makes sure the moment something cool happens you can feel the surprise.

There is one mechanic (the purple orb) that feels a bit disconnected from the whole, but it was still cool in the section it happens. The boss fights were very fun and also have their own unique ideas. Overall, a really wonderful journey.

Ys IX is at the same time very similar but also quite different from Ys VIII. Lacrimosa of Dana is my only experience with Ys before this game so I don't have much else to compare it too.

On one hand the gameplay, combat and exploration are quite fun, and just as good, but I feel the setting doesn't quite work as much to me. Equipment progression also has some bumps, I guess they had a specific balance of crafting and purchasing that I wasn't quite grasping.

The group of characters you meet is quite endearing and I really liked the interactions between them. I might not think the game is as great as VIII (tough act to follow really), but it was still a fantastic journey, let's see where the wind takes us next.