edit: apparently literally hours after i posted this review, Tetris Holding LLC took down setris but it's still available on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/setris-1.2

if that link goes down hmu on discord i gotchu

I am and always have been quite bad at Tetris but DAMN

Immensely satisfying physics, sounds, and screen shake, but with some gameplay tweaking this could really shine. I think part of the problem is the sand falls slower than the pieces do as soon as you go up a level in difficulty, which essentially makes it impossible to catch up past a certain height. Also, it sometimes feels like there are too many colors, maybe 3 instead of 4 would feel better at harder difficulties? And of course, probably don't need to have actual tetronimos as pieces, though it works surprisingly well!

I have discovered that Death Stranding is my “cozy game”.

I don’t think I’ve gotten such fulfillment from a video game as I have with Death Stranding. The actions you’re taking in the game actually feel like they matter. You’re delivering these packages to people who are, well, stranded by themselves and they are actively relying on you. Whenever you fuck up by either tripping on a rock, not taking your time down a slope, or running into a B.T. infested area a little to fast, you feel awful. That responsibility that was on your shoulders weighs SO heavy after little mistakes like these.

Listen, I get how people don’t like this game: You’re just walking everywhere delivering packages… where’s the gameplay? How can you like this? Aren’t you bored? Nope, I’m absolutely loving my time spent in this game.

Let me ask this: When’s the last time you’ve seen a triple-A game take a risk? Take a change on something completely new? I’m not saying Death Stranding is absolutely revolutionary, I don’t think it is. However, its core mechanics are a new idea I haven’t seen in another game on this scale. Needing to watch your path while running in order to not trip and ruin packages, organizing your loadout for max efficiency, planning out your path either using the fastest route or a route that hits multiple locations, all of these things I love! There’s a lot of preparation you can do and, most of the time, it pays off. Add all the preparation to the acts of service you’re providing for those in need and that’s where I get my fulfillment from.

With all these interesting elements, adding in a batshit unique story that we still don’t have all the answers to make this a game right up my alley. Kojima knows how to build a world and knows how to make the player question certain elements that need explaining, but do they actually need explanations? I won’t get into the story at all here, but it’s a trip and extremely engaging. Plus, all the emails and documents you are able to read build the world incredibly well. Definitely recommend you read everything the game has to offer to get the most out of it.

Overall, I’d recommend this game to those with an open mind on their experiences. You won’t win over people who stick with what they like and don’t venture out past that, but if you find yourself craving something different with depth, this is the one for you.

way too much potential, there needs to be a high speed batshit silly racing game like f zero or speed racer the videogame in the modern era of gaming but one of the only examples is stuck in a fortnite rocket league spinoff and its kinda not good????

- time-based boosts (so lame)
- drifting and jumping are pretty fun, but I think the camera should move alongside you when you drive onto a roof or wall
- most if not all my matches are filled with bots (some ppl are real but I know bots when im goated as hell and I see 7 cars that were far away suddenly go mach 5 speed and overtake me last lap)
- ranking up needs to scale to be a lot faster imo
- wish there were maps that werent a boring desert plains, like what about a big complex grand prix stadium with colors flying left and right imagine that
- UP TO 4000 VBUCK COSMETIC CARS, cmon dawg even if its between fn and rocket league that shit still isnt worth the price

I think I'm more positive on this one than most because I actually quite enjoy the core mechanics and track design here. Collision handling is terrible though and makes the middle of the pack racing feel like casino, and I wonder if it's Fortnite's fault cause Rocket League doesn't have this problem whatsoever. If epic has balls they'll turn the collisions off entirely and turn Rocket Racing into their version of Trackmania, crank out wilder and trickier courses, but they won't. Still fun, and kids don't know how to drift for shit so you'll be always second or first until at least the gold rank.

I'm honestly not the biggest fan of visual novels, but this one has one of the strongest stories I've ever seen. It's a nice mix of sci-fi tropes, interesting and unique characters who all have their own perspectives and objectives, and enough twists to keep you interested at every turn. It was a blast to play through the story and piece together the plot as you learn little tidbits of information from each character's storyline. Vanillaware's signature art style and adorable character animation are a joy to watch as well, they just do not miss ever.
The only real downside of the game is the combat sections which were serviceable at best, but get pretty bland and repetitive after a while. Overall though, had a ton of fun with this game.

At first glance, I thought this was more or less budget Hypnospace Outlaw, with the old internet/Geocities inspiration replaced by some amalgamation of Miiverse, Swapnote, and MSN Messenger. That wouldn't be giving enough credit to Videoverse however; instead of focusing on the mystique of the deep web, Videoverse tackles the intricacies of navigating a dying social network tied to increasingly redundant technology and highlights the relationships within. The game forgoes Hypnospace Outlaw's discovery puzzles, and cuts right to the core of interacting with the community itself, instinctively conveying the fragility of maintaining such relationships. You're constantly scouring the same forums over and over for new comments and any changes, trying to decipher exactly what this particular user meant with just one sentence while playing the simulations in your head about how particular responses (or not responding at all) could make their day a little bit better or potentially upset another member due to unintended consequences.

It's a surprisingly gripping experience despite its limitations: sometimes there are certain responses that the game forbids you from picking because you're not "lawful/cocky" enough even if the responses feel more blunt than out of character, and browsing the same posts repeatedly can feel a bit plodding when the trigger to proceed requires you to leave more comments but the system itself can only mark whether a post is left read/unread. Despite that, the payoff makes the occasional tedium worthwhile; marking down "top posts" in a notebook lets you reiterate those statements to others later on, and the game really comes together when you're using small tidbits of wisdom to brighten an online friend's day. If you're looking for an cathartic blast to the past that depicts the ephemerality of online spaces while thoughtfully forcing players to confront the ambiguity of the interactions stemming within, then Videoverse may be just what you're looking for.