JMCristan
2022
The gunplay is amazing. In my first couple of hours I tweeted that this was the best FPS of 2023, period. Sadly, the roguelite elements do not work as intended, I guess. I'm currently grinding the first two levels to see if, empowered by all the possible upgrades, I can beat the last half of this game.
I recommend it because the gunplay really feels very good, frantic in a good way. Both the soundtrack and visuals are cool. I like how you have to be active marking enemies in order to replenish your shield. I like how upgrades are tied in with trigger actions, so you're also taking this factor in account while deciding how to proceed in battle.
It's dead cheap, though. For what they're charging, this is very good. I hope they balance it, as this game has the potential to be, hands down, the very best FPS roguelite.
I recommend it because the gunplay really feels very good, frantic in a good way. Both the soundtrack and visuals are cool. I like how you have to be active marking enemies in order to replenish your shield. I like how upgrades are tied in with trigger actions, so you're also taking this factor in account while deciding how to proceed in battle.
It's dead cheap, though. For what they're charging, this is very good. I hope they balance it, as this game has the potential to be, hands down, the very best FPS roguelite.
2022
I don't know, man. I thought this game was fire as soon as I started playing it. It looked kind of good, but kind of bland too. It is fun, but runs can get long. I don't know... This game looks good, plays well, has good ideas, but there are aspects of it that make me want to play it slightly less than I want to play most games I end up falling in love with.
It is a great game to listen to podcasts to, though.
It is a great game to listen to podcasts to, though.
I've played a lot of indie JRPGs, and didn't really liked most of them, because they were short in a way that also made them shallow.
Deathbulge is the best quirky, little JRPG that I played on PC. I can't rank it 5 stars because the game lacks some quality of life features (the most egregious one being the ability to keep saves and autosaves apart - the game autosaves all the time and you can totally find yourself stuck in a bad situation).
Apart from that, Deathbulge is beautifuly designed. I liked both the cities, and all the dungeons in this game. The enemy variety is good. Combat system is good. The story feels adequate, not an epic cut short, but a medium sized adventure that doesnt overstay its welcome.
The game plays like Mario RPGs do, but the combat is more in line with something like "Battlechasers Nightwar" or "Grandia". The fights are fun, and the upgrade systems are fine too.
The big thing this game have going on is its animation and music. Just stellar stuff, with lots of extra, unnecessary detail. Characters have a bunch of portraits, a bunch of animations, backgrounds are varied, the world feels lived in.
I really hope that a lot of people find their ways to this game. It deserves to be called a hidden gem by dozens of YouTubers on the years to come.
Deathbulge is the best quirky, little JRPG that I played on PC. I can't rank it 5 stars because the game lacks some quality of life features (the most egregious one being the ability to keep saves and autosaves apart - the game autosaves all the time and you can totally find yourself stuck in a bad situation).
Apart from that, Deathbulge is beautifuly designed. I liked both the cities, and all the dungeons in this game. The enemy variety is good. Combat system is good. The story feels adequate, not an epic cut short, but a medium sized adventure that doesnt overstay its welcome.
The game plays like Mario RPGs do, but the combat is more in line with something like "Battlechasers Nightwar" or "Grandia". The fights are fun, and the upgrade systems are fine too.
The big thing this game have going on is its animation and music. Just stellar stuff, with lots of extra, unnecessary detail. Characters have a bunch of portraits, a bunch of animations, backgrounds are varied, the world feels lived in.
I really hope that a lot of people find their ways to this game. It deserves to be called a hidden gem by dozens of YouTubers on the years to come.
2023
Why have they had to release Tevi two days away from a huge Steam sale? I was already feeling somewhat embarassed by what I've spent on games in the last weekend. And then I open Steam and I am greeted by the cutest bunny lady I've ever seen, Tevi.
I thought to myself: don't do it! You have a huge backlog, dude! You just bought, like, a trillion soulslikes! You're playing Evil West! Don't buy it!
And I was like, okay, I won't buy it. But I will play the demo.
The demo of Tevi is really cool. The devs made a little alternate adventure to show a lot of aspects of their game. And you won't get spoiled by anything, as the demo feels like a filler episode to the anime that is the full game.
The demo was so fire that I couldn't not buy Tevi. And so I bought it.
Game is horny AF. You know anime that emphasizes young woman being hot? Like, Shantae? And how they sometimes play it coy, like, being super näive in tone while also obviously feeling the hots for their characters? Tevi isn't like that, this is an openly horny game. It reminded me of Gust outings, like the Atelier series, Mana Khemia, etc.
Even if you find it cringe (and the game dabbles in fetishes I find somewhat weird), there's no denying how much quality is in this game. Tevi has combos for days, bunny girl hits like Dante from Devil May Cry. The game seems to have learned all the big lessons from decades of 2D game design, and incorporates every quality of life feature that you usually wish for in games of this kind.
Game opens up fast, and you'll be deciding your next adventure in no time. Tevi is story-heavy, and the game almost feels like a visual novel at times. It doesn't drag the pacing too much, and Tevi is a charismatic character. This game can establish relationships between NPCs and its main character, in a way that isn't super common.
Of course, I'm like 5 hours in while writing this, and the game can do the classic "get bad in the final stretch" thing that is so usual of the industry. But, even then, I think that Tevi is a special game. I know for sure that its a very good game in its genre. I'll wait a little for saying what I really think right now: this might be one of the best.
I thought to myself: don't do it! You have a huge backlog, dude! You just bought, like, a trillion soulslikes! You're playing Evil West! Don't buy it!
And I was like, okay, I won't buy it. But I will play the demo.
The demo of Tevi is really cool. The devs made a little alternate adventure to show a lot of aspects of their game. And you won't get spoiled by anything, as the demo feels like a filler episode to the anime that is the full game.
The demo was so fire that I couldn't not buy Tevi. And so I bought it.
Game is horny AF. You know anime that emphasizes young woman being hot? Like, Shantae? And how they sometimes play it coy, like, being super näive in tone while also obviously feeling the hots for their characters? Tevi isn't like that, this is an openly horny game. It reminded me of Gust outings, like the Atelier series, Mana Khemia, etc.
Even if you find it cringe (and the game dabbles in fetishes I find somewhat weird), there's no denying how much quality is in this game. Tevi has combos for days, bunny girl hits like Dante from Devil May Cry. The game seems to have learned all the big lessons from decades of 2D game design, and incorporates every quality of life feature that you usually wish for in games of this kind.
Game opens up fast, and you'll be deciding your next adventure in no time. Tevi is story-heavy, and the game almost feels like a visual novel at times. It doesn't drag the pacing too much, and Tevi is a charismatic character. This game can establish relationships between NPCs and its main character, in a way that isn't super common.
Of course, I'm like 5 hours in while writing this, and the game can do the classic "get bad in the final stretch" thing that is so usual of the industry. But, even then, I think that Tevi is a special game. I know for sure that its a very good game in its genre. I'll wait a little for saying what I really think right now: this might be one of the best.
2021
This game is okay. You play as Niko, a non-binary kid who possibly has some trouble at home because of their gender identity. The game never really specifies why Niko's mom has the unclear caring/judgmental traits towards them. Because of those problems, Niko leaves home and now needs cash, so they go on to be a professional friend for different animals in the islands of a cozy archipelago.
This is an easy platformer that plays similarly to A Hat in Time, although there is no combat and little stakes. You don't die for falling in the water, and there are no lasers or obstructions that damage you. The game is mostly about collecting stuff and doing little sidequests that play like minigames.
Although the islands are varied enough, the minigames repeat throughout the game. You mostly play the same minigames in different iterations, and each level also has some exclusive minigames.
It plays out like a less focused version of A Short Hike, comprised of 5 short hikes or so.
If you go all the way through, it isn't an experience that you'll write home about, but that's okay. It's an okay game. I didn't feel disappointed by it, I just felt that it wasn't engaging for long sessions of play. Played as intended, as an hour-long distraction to relax from having worked, it's actually a nice experience. It looks good and sounds good too.
This is an easy platformer that plays similarly to A Hat in Time, although there is no combat and little stakes. You don't die for falling in the water, and there are no lasers or obstructions that damage you. The game is mostly about collecting stuff and doing little sidequests that play like minigames.
Although the islands are varied enough, the minigames repeat throughout the game. You mostly play the same minigames in different iterations, and each level also has some exclusive minigames.
It plays out like a less focused version of A Short Hike, comprised of 5 short hikes or so.
If you go all the way through, it isn't an experience that you'll write home about, but that's okay. It's an okay game. I didn't feel disappointed by it, I just felt that it wasn't engaging for long sessions of play. Played as intended, as an hour-long distraction to relax from having worked, it's actually a nice experience. It looks good and sounds good too.
2000
Saiu num natal em que eu quase ganhei um PS2 de presente dos meus pais. Surgiu algum imprevisto, o plano não deu certo, acabei ganhando Majora's Mask e Paper Mario. Na época, eu não consegui enxergar toda a qualidade do game, acho que por ter estado de olho nos gráficos de filme do PS2. Jogando depois, mais velho, fiquei impressionado em como o Paper Mario é bom. Um dos melhores RPGs japoneses de estrutura tradicional. Acho que está pau a pau com a sequência, que é outro jogo muito acima da média.
Zwei is a simple game that does a lot right. You're Ragna, a red-haired heroic treasure-hunter who loves airplanes. You start the game piloting one. And then some anime villains shoot you, and you crash into a floating island that looks like Zeal, from Chrono Trigger.
You wake up in the house of kind strangers and find out that the reason why you aren't dead is that this vampire princess named Alween made you semi-vampiric so you could help her challenge the demons who took her castle from her.
The game is structured in the traditional "town -> dungeon" way of RPGs. Towns are great, and you won't be bored to death by what NPCs have to say. They've made a low number of unique NPCs in each town, and I think that is way better than the character-generator looking NPCs of almost every game.
Combat is simple AF. There are 150+ enemies in this game, and you can button mash 'em all to death. It is weirdly satisfying, though, because enemies explode like money filled piñatas, and their deaths also sometimes gives you food.
Food is both health regenating and XP boosting, in this game. You don't earn XP directly from monsters, and the only way for upgrading your pair of characters is by eating. You can buy "XP food" from a vendor, though, so there is a direct relationship between gold and XP. (Every monster drops gold, so you'll never be fighting for nothing.)
This game is charming in that "uber PS1" way. It looks like a very good PSP game. You can't rotate the camera, as this game is ancient, but a lot of quality of life features are present (you can warp, skip cutscenes, save whenever). So this really feels like a PSP game, a really simple dungeon crawling experience that doubles up on the charm.
Dungeons are nicer than you would expect. They have cool gimmicks, and I liked a lot of them. Rewards are all significant. They have that tileset-dungeon feel to them, but not in a particularly bad way. They're fine.
So, everytime I saw Zwei I thought that the game, being kind of old and dirt cheap, might be too mediocre. After buying and playing it, I don't believe in this anymore. Zwei is actually a hidden gem and a good game to get for pennies when it goes on sale.
You wake up in the house of kind strangers and find out that the reason why you aren't dead is that this vampire princess named Alween made you semi-vampiric so you could help her challenge the demons who took her castle from her.
The game is structured in the traditional "town -> dungeon" way of RPGs. Towns are great, and you won't be bored to death by what NPCs have to say. They've made a low number of unique NPCs in each town, and I think that is way better than the character-generator looking NPCs of almost every game.
Combat is simple AF. There are 150+ enemies in this game, and you can button mash 'em all to death. It is weirdly satisfying, though, because enemies explode like money filled piñatas, and their deaths also sometimes gives you food.
Food is both health regenating and XP boosting, in this game. You don't earn XP directly from monsters, and the only way for upgrading your pair of characters is by eating. You can buy "XP food" from a vendor, though, so there is a direct relationship between gold and XP. (Every monster drops gold, so you'll never be fighting for nothing.)
This game is charming in that "uber PS1" way. It looks like a very good PSP game. You can't rotate the camera, as this game is ancient, but a lot of quality of life features are present (you can warp, skip cutscenes, save whenever). So this really feels like a PSP game, a really simple dungeon crawling experience that doubles up on the charm.
Dungeons are nicer than you would expect. They have cool gimmicks, and I liked a lot of them. Rewards are all significant. They have that tileset-dungeon feel to them, but not in a particularly bad way. They're fine.
So, everytime I saw Zwei I thought that the game, being kind of old and dirt cheap, might be too mediocre. After buying and playing it, I don't believe in this anymore. Zwei is actually a hidden gem and a good game to get for pennies when it goes on sale.
2000
The Sims was bombastic, life-changing, even, back in the now ancient year of 2000.
I swear to y'all: I couldn't wrap my childish mind around the idea of a life simulation game hyped to be so deep. It wasn't as deep as I expected back then (I expected The Sims 3 right off the bat), but it was amazing as it was.
The Sims 1 is iconic. Now that I'm balding and getting a pouch belly, I think a lot about Bob Newbie, who was bald, had a pouch, and what looked like garbage juices spread around his clothes. I've never looked as dirty as Bob Newbie, but, who knows? Give me some time.
The songs are a whole thing in this game. Are children ready for jazz? Are children ready for the most melancholic piano pieces since the XIXth century? People at Maxis judged this questions and decided that yes, children deserved to hear amazing, mature music.
I remember the somberest of pieces, which popped in sometimes in building mode. That song made me suddenly reflexive and a little afraid. Sometimes I got a prank call a little after hearing the somber song. "You have been warned. They're coming for you" - said the trickster looking happy mask on the phone. After that, young me could barely move his legs to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. The Sims 1 spooked me like that.
I used a bazillion cheat codes for TS1. If you think that real adults lives are too busy, grindy and unrewarding, you should really experience The Sims 1 to see how bad all that stuff can get. The Sims 1 is a distopic capitalist experience. I'm sure that someone already defended this on some reddit post or youtube video, because it is so true. The Sims 1 is a game in which you NEGLECT YOUR NEEDS in order to PROGRESS at WORK, and you'll HAVE NO FRIENDS.
You'll poop for FORTY MINUTES, cook for TWO HOURS, call someone to your house, and then hug them until your sim FALL ON THE FLOOR FROM EXAUSTION. The time economy is bananas, and it is crooked against you.
Will I ever play The Sims 1 again? I don't think so. But I'll never forget this game and all the ideas and experiences that surrounded it. I love The Sims.
I swear to y'all: I couldn't wrap my childish mind around the idea of a life simulation game hyped to be so deep. It wasn't as deep as I expected back then (I expected The Sims 3 right off the bat), but it was amazing as it was.
The Sims 1 is iconic. Now that I'm balding and getting a pouch belly, I think a lot about Bob Newbie, who was bald, had a pouch, and what looked like garbage juices spread around his clothes. I've never looked as dirty as Bob Newbie, but, who knows? Give me some time.
The songs are a whole thing in this game. Are children ready for jazz? Are children ready for the most melancholic piano pieces since the XIXth century? People at Maxis judged this questions and decided that yes, children deserved to hear amazing, mature music.
I remember the somberest of pieces, which popped in sometimes in building mode. That song made me suddenly reflexive and a little afraid. Sometimes I got a prank call a little after hearing the somber song. "You have been warned. They're coming for you" - said the trickster looking happy mask on the phone. After that, young me could barely move his legs to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. The Sims 1 spooked me like that.
I used a bazillion cheat codes for TS1. If you think that real adults lives are too busy, grindy and unrewarding, you should really experience The Sims 1 to see how bad all that stuff can get. The Sims 1 is a distopic capitalist experience. I'm sure that someone already defended this on some reddit post or youtube video, because it is so true. The Sims 1 is a game in which you NEGLECT YOUR NEEDS in order to PROGRESS at WORK, and you'll HAVE NO FRIENDS.
You'll poop for FORTY MINUTES, cook for TWO HOURS, call someone to your house, and then hug them until your sim FALL ON THE FLOOR FROM EXAUSTION. The time economy is bananas, and it is crooked against you.
Will I ever play The Sims 1 again? I don't think so. But I'll never forget this game and all the ideas and experiences that surrounded it. I love The Sims.
1995
Esse game é um cometa, uma coisa especial que aconteceu. Possivelmente o melhor RPG tradicional, ainda mais na versão de DS. As músicas são muito fortes: aquela "Corridors of Time" é meu som preferido até hoje, sem exagero.
2019
What I find the most incredible about Slay the Spire is that: this is a game that released in 1997, on the Playstation 1, kicking off a whole generation of roguelite deckbuilders that continues to this day. You would bet that, in those 30 years of developers trying to catch up with Slay the Spire, they would have done it by now, and might have even surpassed it in its own genre, right? But they hadn't. You can buy all the roguelite deckbuilders on Steam, and not one of them dethrones the masterpiece that is Slay the Spire.
Buga buga buga buga buga!
Esse jogo é muito esquisito. A impressão que passa é que a empresa que desenvolveu já tinha um plataforma 3D genérico meio pronto, parado, e colou a parte dos monstros só depois.
As crianças vermelhas dão muito trabalho para o controle, você precisa macetar muito o botão. Dá um pouco de dó do dispositivo.
No mais, é um jogo surpreendentemente OK. Ele funciona. Você pula quando aperta A. Ele é medíocre e feio, ocasionalmente mal projetado, mas passa longe de ser atroz.
Apesar da nota baixa, eu joguei muito isso daqui na infância, minha irmã adorava esse. Até hoje ainda pego, volta e meia, pra jogar um jogo licenciado terrivelmente medíocre. É um sabor nostálgico de game.
Esse jogo é muito esquisito. A impressão que passa é que a empresa que desenvolveu já tinha um plataforma 3D genérico meio pronto, parado, e colou a parte dos monstros só depois.
As crianças vermelhas dão muito trabalho para o controle, você precisa macetar muito o botão. Dá um pouco de dó do dispositivo.
No mais, é um jogo surpreendentemente OK. Ele funciona. Você pula quando aperta A. Ele é medíocre e feio, ocasionalmente mal projetado, mas passa longe de ser atroz.
Apesar da nota baixa, eu joguei muito isso daqui na infância, minha irmã adorava esse. Até hoje ainda pego, volta e meia, pra jogar um jogo licenciado terrivelmente medíocre. É um sabor nostálgico de game.
Esse jogo explodiu minha mente, na época em que saiu. GTA tinha diálogos e personagens de filme, um mapa gigante, um bilhão de pequenos sistemas de RPG. Rejogando, anos depois, eu fui surpreendido pelo tanto que as mecânicas eram "quadradas", e pelo tanto que o design das missões era meio chato. Na época a gente percebia que não era o melhor jogo possível, mecanicamente, mas um grande conjunto da obra. É uma pena que as versões mais recentes desse jogo tenham vindo com a trilha sonora depenada pelo vencimento dos acordos de copyright. Hoje eu sou produtor de hip hop e tenho um álbum de rap, e essas coisas só aconteceram porque GTA implantou em mim esse apreço pelo gênero.
2009
Esse é possivelmente o meu persona preferido. Durante anos uma das minhas características de personalidade na internet foi declarar com firmeza que a Yukari é minha waifu. P3 tem um quê sombrio bem mais forte do que as duas sequências, inclusive com uma história principal mais melancólica.
O plot me lembra bastante de Evangelion, e a estrutura é a que eu mais curti dentre os jogos do Persona. Os monstrões vindo, um atrás do outro, cada novo bem mais forte do que o passado, e sem certeza de segurança pro futuro. Eu gosto do mistério inerente ao grupo técnico por trás das operações anti-monstrão, das intenções e da origem desse grupo. E, visualmente, o mundo alternativo com os caixões, a hora negra e o revólver invocador são simbolicamente muito fortes.
Não dou 5 estrelas porque, apesar das melhorias, a versão portable dá sim uma depenada no apelo visual do original. E os social links secundários são muito mais simples e curtinhos do que viriam a ser nos jogos posteriores. Fora isso, acho o Persona mais charmoso até agora.
O plot me lembra bastante de Evangelion, e a estrutura é a que eu mais curti dentre os jogos do Persona. Os monstrões vindo, um atrás do outro, cada novo bem mais forte do que o passado, e sem certeza de segurança pro futuro. Eu gosto do mistério inerente ao grupo técnico por trás das operações anti-monstrão, das intenções e da origem desse grupo. E, visualmente, o mundo alternativo com os caixões, a hora negra e o revólver invocador são simbolicamente muito fortes.
Não dou 5 estrelas porque, apesar das melhorias, a versão portable dá sim uma depenada no apelo visual do original. E os social links secundários são muito mais simples e curtinhos do que viriam a ser nos jogos posteriores. Fora isso, acho o Persona mais charmoso até agora.
2023
Em Dredge, você é um pescador que acorda com amnésia em uma vila pesqueira. O prefeito te empresta um barco para você ir pagando conforme pesca. O último pescador sumiu, e todo mundo te avisa, com urgência, para você tomar cuidado de noite.
Pescar é relaxante: tem uns peixes bem pertinho do píer da sua vila. Há outros pontos de pesca mais longe, mas pense em um barco lento, e é bem capaz que ele ainda seja um pouco mais rápido que esse barco que o prefeito te emprestou.
Navegar de noite realmente é perigoso. Primeiro, é escuro pra caramba, deixando fácil pra você bater o barco em paredões de pedra. Segundo, realmente há monstros lá fora. Tudo indica que você e todos seus amigos moram na parte mais Lovecraft do mar. Terceiro, você, o capitão, confrontado com esses horrores além da compreensão, começa a ter alucinações.
Pra mim, todos os aspectos do jogo funcionam bem. É gostoso planejar expedições para pescar, colher materiais, visando melhorar seu barco. Quando você melhora seu barco, você fica mais rápido e passa a poder carregar mais coisas. Quanto mais rápido você fica, mais longe dá pra ir sem passar perrengue.
O jogo é estruturado em "linhas de aventuras", uma pra cada região do mapa. Lá pro fim do jogo, as regiões impõem condições hostis de exploração. O desafio nunca passa do ponto, realça o jogo sem deixá-lo frustrante.
A reta final de Dredge é bem bacana... O final tem uma sacada boa, que deixa a trama mais marcante. Recomendo pra todo mundo. Possivelmente meu indie preferido de 2023.
Pescar é relaxante: tem uns peixes bem pertinho do píer da sua vila. Há outros pontos de pesca mais longe, mas pense em um barco lento, e é bem capaz que ele ainda seja um pouco mais rápido que esse barco que o prefeito te emprestou.
Navegar de noite realmente é perigoso. Primeiro, é escuro pra caramba, deixando fácil pra você bater o barco em paredões de pedra. Segundo, realmente há monstros lá fora. Tudo indica que você e todos seus amigos moram na parte mais Lovecraft do mar. Terceiro, você, o capitão, confrontado com esses horrores além da compreensão, começa a ter alucinações.
Pra mim, todos os aspectos do jogo funcionam bem. É gostoso planejar expedições para pescar, colher materiais, visando melhorar seu barco. Quando você melhora seu barco, você fica mais rápido e passa a poder carregar mais coisas. Quanto mais rápido você fica, mais longe dá pra ir sem passar perrengue.
O jogo é estruturado em "linhas de aventuras", uma pra cada região do mapa. Lá pro fim do jogo, as regiões impõem condições hostis de exploração. O desafio nunca passa do ponto, realça o jogo sem deixá-lo frustrante.
A reta final de Dredge é bem bacana... O final tem uma sacada boa, que deixa a trama mais marcante. Recomendo pra todo mundo. Possivelmente meu indie preferido de 2023.
1999
Putz, Pokémon Stadium. Esse jogo vinha com um kit de minigames pra jogar com os amigos, e eu joguei mais esse kit com meus primos do que o jogo em si. Ainda lembro 100% da corrida dos ratatás na esteira, da competição de comer sushi dos licktungs, do siga-o-mestre das clefairies, do campeonato de magicarpa. O jogo em si era muito aquém da expectativa de Pokémon 3D que foi cumprida só no Switch, mas foi minha primeira experiência com "metagame". É outro jogo que eu não teria jogado inteiro nunca, em outras circunstâncias. Na época do N64, que nois tinha pouca fita, zerei tudo, Elite 4, Mewtwo e tudo. O grande segredo era começar com o Electrode, pra garantir um paralyze no primeiro turno.