MUCH better than MP1, minigames are better and much more balance, However it still has it fair share of issues in those department (crane game in particular) and boo taking coins is more of RNG then actually pressing the button. Western, Space, and Horror Land got introduced here which is GREAT. other boards are nothing to write home about or just “Why?”. The controls much tighter. Otherwise Its a good, perhaps great game, but I don’t see the appeal everyone gives it, I didn’t grew up on this game so perhaps i just don’t see it the same way everyone does.

It kickstarted the Mario Party games we have nowadays, but the more I play this one, the less I start to like it.

SIMULACRA is the spiritual successor to Sara Is Missing (SIM), a semi-well known and Internet-popular game from 2016. This one is better in nearly every way; there’s a level of polish and clear vision here that SIM severely lacked. In fact, there are so many improvements that it’s crazy.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that it’s any good, either. While I admire the massive overhaul that this second shot got, I can’t help but notice many persistent major flaws that hold it back from being above mediocre-at-best. I can only hope that the devs continue to hone their craft, and that future games continue to go up in quality.


SHORT REVIEW

Visuals: 3/5
Sound: 1.5/5
Story: 1.5/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall game score: 2.5/5 [2.6/5]

IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Visuals:
The art direction is just one of the things that received a big upgrade in SIMULACRA. Its look is sleeker and more professional; app icons, general layouts, and the overall graphic design feel much more realistic for a modern, state-of-the art phone.
There’s also some pretty decent visual scares. [SPOILERS] The evolution of the background photo as you progress, the creepy one-second jumpscares, and Anna being stalked in the background of one of her videos make for some memorable moments. [SPOILER ENDING]
Overall, 3/5.

Sound:
The main screen theme is actually pretty catchy. I wish the game had had more music, because the style they went for with it is interesting.
Aside from that, I’d like to discuss the absolutely terrible voice acting. Now, this can easily be lumped in with the story’s acting (as a portion of it is done through video), but there are actually more audio files/calls than videos, so it’s worth mentioning here too.
The VAs are so bad that it loops back around to being good, in a hilarious and ironic way. I found myself excited to listen to these bits simply to laugh at them. My favorite by far was Greg, who sounds like a 50s greaser severely over-exaggerating.
I also need to mention that I found the lack of background noise in these parts distracting. I understand wanting to have high audio quality for your game, but I doubt that all of these characters own the kind of phone that cancels out literally any noise.
Overall, 1.5/5.

Story:
The narrative is where SIMULACRA’S clearer vision really gets to shine through. It’s much more cohesive, the narrative much easier to follow, while still keeping the sci-fi and supernatural elements that the first attempted.
The characters are also much more interesting and two-dimensional. I don’t necessarily find them likable, or even well-written, but their contrasting personalities and strong traits at least keep conversations from feeling too similar.
Now, that being said, the dialogue is almost always subpar at best. While the character dispositions are strong enough to shine through, it’s often to a comical extent. This is what leads to many of them being unappealing.
Another big problem is the general length of the game. The dull dialogue drags on for so long, padding the runtime to an almost unbearable 3 1/2 - 4 hours. There was a lot of stuff that could’ve been cut or shortened. That was by far my biggest annoyance with it.
As I’ve already discussed, the acting is a huge issue as well. Not one member of the cast is good. Their deliveries are stiff and forced; it always feels like they’re just reading right off of a script. Hearing their voice acting is already terrible enough, but seeing them try to perform for the camera at the same time is almost impossible to watch.
Now - all those major flaws aside - there is one thing that I’d really like to praise. The climax of the game, where you finally confront the antagonist directly, is done superbly well. The VA for this character is fantastic, as are the effects overlaid onto it. The atmosphere set is immaculate, too. I can only dream of a SIMULACRA that didn’t take so long to get to the good part, or that the rest of the game matched it in quality.
Overall, 1.5/5.

Gameplay:
To my own surprise, I actually liked many of the puzzles in SIMULACRA. That’s not to say that there aren't a few that get a bit too convoluted, but the overall quality is much higher than SIM. SIMULACRA focuses heavily on app exploration; as long as you’re thorough in your search, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. The answers are integrated in a natural way, too, keeping things immersive. This kind of design is sensible, but still complex enough to provide a challenge.
There’s also an astounding amount of stakes put into how you interact with characters. Your replies actually do matter - at least, over half the time. I really appreciated that, since in many smaller games the illusion of choice means a lot of conversations are ultimately pointless (take, for example, SIM.)
Still, those aforementioned runtime issues make talking to Anna’s loved ones - which is the other half of the game, aside from the puzzles - such a chore. Even if you are choosing between dialogue options rather frequently, it gets boring after a while. I think that if the dev team focuses on tightening the length up, they’ll have a much better product on their hands.
Overall, 3.5/5.


Worldbuilding:
SIMULACRA’s world is far more in-depth than I would’ve originally expected; there’s enough content in the apps to build fairly strong flavor text and lore. Plenty of side characters populate this internet space to flesh it out, many of which you will have small interactions with.
Anna’s character is also given quite a bit of dimension. Her personal issues and interpersonal relationships are intriguing, as well as her love of animals and pursuit of vet school (against the wishes of her mom.) I liked learning more about her.
Overall, 3.5/5.

Overall game score: 2.5/5. A vastly superior successor to Sara is Missing, SIMULACRA shows how much an understanding of the story you want to tell can improve your game. The length, acting, and writing hold it back from being good, but it’s much closer to good than SIM was.

One of the weirdest and most loved versions of Mario Kart, and I now understand why. This game bumps the Mario Kart series up to a new whole level, with 20 different characters to choose from, 16 amazing tracks, the possibility of two players be on one kart or choose two characters on their own AND up to 16 players can play at once via LAN and multiple GameCubes.

The controls are very heavy due to the multiple characters on the kart, drifting is near perfect, items are balanced but can also get punishing enough for a ton of the Mario Kart frustration™. The characters have rare special items which makes picking a character more intriguing and exciting than just weight and looks.

Almost all courses from this game have all been in newer installment in the Mario Kart series, that's how good the tracks are. An amazing step up and a great entry!

Neversoft's Spider-Man is the perfect example of a game that gets by largely due to its charm. Mechanically, this is a very shallow action game with 5-ish different enemy types and levels that tend to last a mere minute long. I wasn't revisiting this game for the combat or puzzles. I revisited it because I love Spider-Man.

No other Spider-Man game feels like such a love letter to the franchise. Neversoft had already shown with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games that they'll always share their adoration with a game's subject matter if they're given the chance and this is exactly what they did here. This game is like a time capsule of 90's Spider-Man, before the movies and ultimate comics would go on to inspire most future webhead stories. I don't mean that as a jab at the utterly spectacular Sam Raimi films or anything else that came after the turn of the millennium but the start of the 00's were also the start of a new era for Spider-Man. Neversoft's Spider-Man may have come out in 2000 but its development started in 1999 and the developers used that decade of Spider-Man media as a base for their game. I'm not talking about continuity as much as I am the general tone. Spider-Man 2000 is a very upbeat, fun game that only takes itself as seriously as it needs to in order for you to buy into it. Spidey is cracking bad one-liners left and right and his supervillain foes are just as deliciously cheesy as you'd hope. New York City, and maybe even Earth in its entirety are at stake, but we know going in that Spidey is going to thwart the bad guys and look cool while doing it. The game could totally pass as an episode from the beloved-but-dated 90's animated show and we'd be none the wiser.

Where the love of the source material is most prevalent is in the extra unlockables. This was the first Spidey game with unlockable costumes to earn and they range from the predictable symbiote suit to deeper cuts like the Captain Universe costume. Beyond these, there's collectible comic covers, small bios for each member of the game's cast, various Easter Eggs hidden about, and a secret "What If?" mode that changes various elements of the game. Spidey's journey lasts a couple hours max so replayability is heavily encouraged.

When it comes to licensed games, I think a clear love of the source material is just as important as making an actually engaging game. If I want to play a top shelf action game, I have loads of options not related to Spider-Man. Sure, it's ideal when you get a game like Spider-Man 2 or Marvel's Spider-Man, where the gameplay shines just as much as the characters and the world they inhabit, but neither of those games feel like passion projects in the same league that Neversoft's only outing with the webslinger does. I'm sure it's partially nostalgia, but there's a level of scrappiness found in an older, smaller scale game like this than later efforts and that makes the love put into it shine even brighter.

people keep wanting to dig deeper and deeper into undertale, its metatextuality becomes an all-consuming force in which all themes of undertale have to be about undertale because undertale is about undertale, but no!!!! the game has things to say about stuff other than itself and i’d argue that its only interested in itself as a metaphor for much more material themes. it juxtaposes treating the game as a lived in world full of characters versus treating the game as pile of content not to say “treating games as piles of content is bad” but as a metaphor about why living out our, like, actual lives as strictly instrumental is bad.

readings of it being exclusively or even primarily about fandom or the way we interact with games are so limiting. It's such a loving and emotionally honest game and reducing it to a snake eating its own tail makes me sad.

Hey you! Like Donkey Kong Country? The first game was a little bit archaic for my taste. But when Nintendo released Donkey Kong Country 2 in 95 I think the series really came into its own, commercially and artistically. The whole game has really challenging platforming, and an angelic ost that really gives the game a big boost. It's been compared to Super Mario World, but I think DKC2 has more satisfying platforming. I think this game is Rare's undisputed masterpiece. A game so good that most people don't even think about the level design. But they should! It's not just a game about monkeys, It's a personal statement about the developers themselves.