Came at the right time for me, a really charming a calming little first person puzzler that has you searching round an large manor house looking for clues and details on how to grow a variety of picky little plants.

While it is overall a very relaxing experience, it is a little too on the easy to complete side with most puzzles being quite self explanatory and relying mostly on memorisation of data than anything else with solutions often just boiling down to remembering or writing down key facts to determine things like light sources, heat, sound or PH level.

Its still charming, soothing and very much the sort of game you'll finish in an afternoon but I do wish there was a touch more variety in the puzzles.

Playing Through My Evercade Collection Part 16: Piko Interactive Collection 2

I don't want to be too harsh on this since this is obviously a beta/prototype that Piko bought up when hoovering up small companies but its just bland. The UI is cheap and basic, the controls are on the loose side and the AI isn't really anything to talk about.

Theres not much progression outside of a basic 'RACE 1, RACE 2, RACE 3' linear set of levels and none of them are worth talking about. Add in a rather bland looping track that plays across most of the game and you've got a racing game that barely makes the grade. It may be 2/5 but theres so little to talk about here.

Playing Through My Evercade Collection Part 16: Piko Interactive Collection 2

You know the idea that you're always better off focusing on one thing and making that thing good. Clearly nobody told the developers of Top Gear/Racer as this essentially is their take on Road Rash, the motorcycle stuff clearly is the bit they put all their passion in. Sure its occasionally a little clunky and the range of the kicks when attacking other players is absolutely questionable, but it mostly works.

What doesn't work is the jet-ski component. While the motorbike racing still has that Top Gear/Racer sense of speed and excitement, the Jet-ski parts are just boring with bad track design and a general dull pace. These cut into the Motorbike stuff too by forcing you to often pace and save up money for the better upgrades as both the Motorbike and Jet-Ski have separate upgrade menus.

If this was just the Motorbike stuff, i'd call it a 3/5. Not bad but certainly has its moments. The Jet-Ski stuff just sinks it lower.

Playing Through My Evercade Collection Part 16: Piko Interactive Collection 2

Finally onto Top Gear 2... Sorry I mean 'Top Racer 2' and honestly its more of the same from the first game with a few steps forward but then a few steps back.

Firstly before we hit those, lets just copy and paste a lot from the first games review. The controls are still really good, the music banging and the AI often feels aggressive but generally quite fair.

That said, onto a negative, the game's difficulty curve is a little off. Its actually quite hard at the beginning, you'll often be hurting to catch up with others and it can sometimes feel like you've been stacked against impossible odds. On the other side, the late game is really easy thanks to the AI not really keeping up with you as you upgrade way past them.

On the plus side, the entire screen now is yours, no more forced split-screen. Huzzah.

So yeah, if you enjoyed the first game, theres a lot to like here.

Came at the right time for me, a really charming a calming little first person puzzler that has you searching round an large manor house looking for clues and details on how to grow a variety of picky little plants.

While it is overall a very relaxing experience, it is a little too on the easy to complete side with most puzzles being quite self explanatory and relying mostly on memorisation of data than anything else with solutions often just boiling down to remembering or writing down key facts to determine things like light sources, heat, sound or PH level.

Its still charming, soothing and very much the sort of game you'll finish in an afternoon but I do wish there was a touch more variety in the puzzles.