JaxyCafe
2015
This review contains spoilers
So I'm conflicted.
If Coda was a real person, we end knowing Coda asked Davey to not share his work with others, meaning the game goes against Coda's last words. And so while I enjoy experiencing the series of games and seeing "Coda's" work evolve, I personally end the game feeling dirty for playing it.
But, if Coda isn't someone else and is past/fictional Davey, then the emotional aspects of the story while meta seem shallow. Or am I supposed to grasp the emotions of feeling guilty for playing the games of a fictional character who doesn't want me to?
At the end of the day the meta questions don't resonate with me as much as diving into the mind of a game designer would. But that isn't the narrative here, its of ego, acceptance, and deceit.
If Coda was a real person, we end knowing Coda asked Davey to not share his work with others, meaning the game goes against Coda's last words. And so while I enjoy experiencing the series of games and seeing "Coda's" work evolve, I personally end the game feeling dirty for playing it.
But, if Coda isn't someone else and is past/fictional Davey, then the emotional aspects of the story while meta seem shallow. Or am I supposed to grasp the emotions of feeling guilty for playing the games of a fictional character who doesn't want me to?
At the end of the day the meta questions don't resonate with me as much as diving into the mind of a game designer would. But that isn't the narrative here, its of ego, acceptance, and deceit.
Forgotten Land brings Kirby to 3D, and I hope he stays. I was constantly appreciating the fun level design. The different environments look great! For a Kirby game in 3D I'd expect fun level design and abilities, which they nail both... but I was surprised by how well made the boss battles are!
Its a kids game, so the bosses aren't very tough, but they've got unique mechanics, telegraph well, and require you to actually learn their moves if you want to earn all of the Waddle Dee challenges.
There was something about it where I personally couldn't binge through this game, and its taken a few weeks to finish, but that's probably a me thing and not the game thing.
Its a kids game, so the bosses aren't very tough, but they've got unique mechanics, telegraph well, and require you to actually learn their moves if you want to earn all of the Waddle Dee challenges.
There was something about it where I personally couldn't binge through this game, and its taken a few weeks to finish, but that's probably a me thing and not the game thing.
2016
This is secretly an incredibly intense time management game, that every few days says "Hey, let's relax today, get cozy, and experience an adorable character moment". What a game to get sucked into.
I first played Stardew Valley on the Xbox like 6 years ago now, and while I thought it was fun for a few days it didn't quite click. I'm so glad I decided to give it another go, because WOW I haven't been able to put the game down! Stardew gives you goals to reach, but its up to you to make each day meaningful, and I think that's where the beauty is.
It can't be understated that this was made by one guy. Concerned Ape has made a masterpiece, and I cant wait for his next game!
I first played Stardew Valley on the Xbox like 6 years ago now, and while I thought it was fun for a few days it didn't quite click. I'm so glad I decided to give it another go, because WOW I haven't been able to put the game down! Stardew gives you goals to reach, but its up to you to make each day meaningful, and I think that's where the beauty is.
It can't be understated that this was made by one guy. Concerned Ape has made a masterpiece, and I cant wait for his next game!
2017
I got bored of this much quicker than I expected, but I do find the aesthetic and sounds charming. If you pick it up, I'd recommend turning your monitors brightness down, because staring closely at a mostly white monitor for a while is rough.
2023
A game of constant problem solving and creativity.
From a game design standpoint Mosa Lina is brilliant. This is a game of learning how the physics of abilities interact with each other, and then constantly using them in new and interesting ways. Randomizing the tools each death also keeps you on your toes to try a different strategies!
With so many different possible abilities it could become overwhelming for new players, but smartly every few levels there's a new selection of abilities you could get. And that allows you to learn what you have and make smart decisions.
Sometimes the pool of abilities does not work together as well, leading me to restart multiple times to get the ones I want instead of rolling with what you get. But impressively the desire to do so is rare and more often the joy of the game is to use the weird combinations.
For a game meant to be random, the levels do repeat pretty often and I'd like to see it updated to have more, but even with the same levels chances are you'll have to tackle them much differently than you did last time!
A huge recommendation to play this if you're on the fence!
From a game design standpoint Mosa Lina is brilliant. This is a game of learning how the physics of abilities interact with each other, and then constantly using them in new and interesting ways. Randomizing the tools each death also keeps you on your toes to try a different strategies!
With so many different possible abilities it could become overwhelming for new players, but smartly every few levels there's a new selection of abilities you could get. And that allows you to learn what you have and make smart decisions.
Sometimes the pool of abilities does not work together as well, leading me to restart multiple times to get the ones I want instead of rolling with what you get. But impressively the desire to do so is rare and more often the joy of the game is to use the weird combinations.
For a game meant to be random, the levels do repeat pretty often and I'd like to see it updated to have more, but even with the same levels chances are you'll have to tackle them much differently than you did last time!
A huge recommendation to play this if you're on the fence!
2023
You can tell it's 30 years old by how ridiculous the secrets are to find!
Super Mario RPG isn't a remake I would have asked for, but am so glad came out. While staying faithful to the original, the revamped art, music, and animations make this such a fun experience for new and returning players.
Funny writing with twists and turns, frequent minigames, and great characters keep an otherwise linear game feeling fresh the whole time. Some people have said that its too short, but I find it to be the perfect length to keep its charm.
And yea... I want Geno in Smash :p
Super Mario RPG isn't a remake I would have asked for, but am so glad came out. While staying faithful to the original, the revamped art, music, and animations make this such a fun experience for new and returning players.
Funny writing with twists and turns, frequent minigames, and great characters keep an otherwise linear game feeling fresh the whole time. Some people have said that its too short, but I find it to be the perfect length to keep its charm.
And yea... I want Geno in Smash :p
2023
Somehow, dying to absolute horseshit is terrifying and hilarious. Now you go be a good little asset to the company.
2020
Visually Spinch is awesome. The controls were alright and Worlds 1-3 were fun...
World 4 is HOT ASS, terrible level design, the worst water physics I've ever experienced.
World 4 is HOT ASS, terrible level design, the worst water physics I've ever experienced.
2021
It looks nice, but I came for a fun puzzle game and got trapped in a sappy love story with not that fun puzzles.
Overall, The Legend of Monkey Island was a lot of fun, and a welcome addition to SoT, but at times it felt like mechanics were over used to pad out time instead of keeping the pace moving.
In the few months I've been playing Wormtown, I've been impressed with how active and receptive the creator Vyvian has been with his community.
This game is a blast with friends, has been frequently getting updates, and with a free Friend's Pass version on steam is perfect for game night!
This game is a blast with friends, has been frequently getting updates, and with a free Friend's Pass version on steam is perfect for game night!
2021
Nothing to blow you away, but it's cute, and will remind you of Journey
2023
The current state of the game is dogshit, but if you play with a few friends it's fun. The matchmaking is awful, and the UI feels soulless, but the core gameplay and levels at launch are fun.
Hoping that I can wait a while and come back to a good game.
11/10/23
Hoping that I can wait a while and come back to a good game.
11/10/23
2021
The vibe was off for the story to hit as hard as it aimed to.
It gets the most important thing right for a platformer, which is fun movement. Solar Ash is like riding 3D Sonic rails, with Mario Galaxy gravity physics. I would have liked to see more new mechanics added throughout the game to give some variety as it's pretty repetitive just climbing walls and riding rails.
Combat was fine, for a platformer. Enemy variety was lacking, but in this case it didn't bother me as it usually does.
Fighting giant bosses is a huge highlight of the game, but they're all pretty much the same, and while skating across colossal creatures is fun, the camera and slippery platforms made it a bit frustrating sometimes.
Environmental art and level design was really good. Loved how the levels fit together and you can see them off in the distance! Seeing these colossal creatures loom over the environments and then the view riding on top of them looked awesome.
But as I started with, the vibe was off for most of this experience. The story at the beginning did not pull me in, and it took me almost until the end to care what was happening, and IMO the player model doesn't quite fit the look of the environments, which you could say was on purpose story wise, but distracted me the whole time.
It gets the most important thing right for a platformer, which is fun movement. Solar Ash is like riding 3D Sonic rails, with Mario Galaxy gravity physics. I would have liked to see more new mechanics added throughout the game to give some variety as it's pretty repetitive just climbing walls and riding rails.
Combat was fine, for a platformer. Enemy variety was lacking, but in this case it didn't bother me as it usually does.
Fighting giant bosses is a huge highlight of the game, but they're all pretty much the same, and while skating across colossal creatures is fun, the camera and slippery platforms made it a bit frustrating sometimes.
Environmental art and level design was really good. Loved how the levels fit together and you can see them off in the distance! Seeing these colossal creatures loom over the environments and then the view riding on top of them looked awesome.
But as I started with, the vibe was off for most of this experience. The story at the beginning did not pull me in, and it took me almost until the end to care what was happening, and IMO the player model doesn't quite fit the look of the environments, which you could say was on purpose story wise, but distracted me the whole time.
1990
If you like finding secret exits its a blast, but some times the level design blows.