Khalifa
2016
Nowhere near as good as The Cat Lady but still pretty engrossing in its own right. I did come out of the game pretty confused though, so I don’t think the story was told as effectively as it should’ve been. The vibes are immaculate and carry the game pretty far though, so it’s tough to dislike.
Alright, this was pretty cool. So cool to the point where I kinda can't believe Konami okay'd it. Glad they saved the best for last.
The best DLC so far! The new biomes are great and The Lighthouse was exhilarating.
Much like The Bad Seed, it's inoffensive.
It's fine, not really much else to say. The biomes are good and the boss battle is okay. It's inoffensive.
The Giant is a fun boss fight and the new biomes are neat but locking the final boss behind 5BSC is not the move.
2017
Roguelites and likes are the spawn of satan himself, so when a game in this cursed genre introduces options that help get rid of the stench of it, I always end up giving it a shot. I end up regretting a lot of the time, but Dead Cells is one of the few exceptions. the gameplay's fun, the visuals are great, the music is fantastic and the loop is very satisfying. The assist options still fail at getting rid of some of the hallmarks of the genre, but they were good enough for me to find this an ultimately enjoyable experience.
I feel the same exact way about this as I did back in 2020. Great setting but mind-numbingly medicore gameplay.
(BacklogBeat's Game Club - Q2 2024 nomination)
Still an absolutely quintessential JRPG experience and all of the QoL improvements make the game even better (I can't believe the orchestrated soundtrack wasn't in the original, Sugiyama was a clown). The game still has glaring issues like bland dungeon design among other things but man, what an adventure. I really miss the non-gimped visuals but this is still a fantastic way to experience the game.
Still an absolutely quintessential JRPG experience and all of the QoL improvements make the game even better (I can't believe the orchestrated soundtrack wasn't in the original, Sugiyama was a clown). The game still has glaring issues like bland dungeon design among other things but man, what an adventure. I really miss the non-gimped visuals but this is still a fantastic way to experience the game.
2012
(BacklogBeat’s Game Club - April 2024 nomination)
This one’s going to stay with me for a very long time, I think. Some of the best depiction of depression I’ve ever seen in a game. The game kinda suffers on the gameplay side as some of the puzzles are…a little out there but man is the storytelling super effective. Can’t wait to check out this guy’s other games out.
This one’s going to stay with me for a very long time, I think. Some of the best depiction of depression I’ve ever seen in a game. The game kinda suffers on the gameplay side as some of the puzzles are…a little out there but man is the storytelling super effective. Can’t wait to check out this guy’s other games out.
2020
Lowkey felt like a waste of time but it’s very short and the presentation was pretty nice so I can’t be too upset at it.
(BacklogBeat's Game Club - March 2024 nomination)
This was a great time. The pacing's a bit weird but the aesthetics are gorgeous, the world is intriguing and the gameplay's pretty great for what it is. It's also probably one of the best sequels I've ever played? I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything like that, it just legitimately takes everything, and I mean everything from the first game and improves upon it to a degree that I've rarely seen before. The jump in quality is just absolutely insane.
This was a great time. The pacing's a bit weird but the aesthetics are gorgeous, the world is intriguing and the gameplay's pretty great for what it is. It's also probably one of the best sequels I've ever played? I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything like that, it just legitimately takes everything, and I mean everything from the first game and improves upon it to a degree that I've rarely seen before. The jump in quality is just absolutely insane.
I'll come back and review this properly later once all of my feelings are sorted out, but it's absolutely magnificent aside from the ending which was a huge swing and a miss for me.
If the third game is even half as good as the first two, this will probably end up being my favorite trilogy of all time. Not just in gaming but in media in general.
If the third game is even half as good as the first two, this will probably end up being my favorite trilogy of all time. Not just in gaming but in media in general.
2005
Obsessed with how much of a nothingburger this was. The epitome of "go girl!! give us nothing!!!"
Requiring all the toads (this game's equivalent of the star coins) to access the final boss (like, the actual final level of the game and not a secret level or something) is an unhinged choice for a Mario game that I kinda have to respect it.
Requiring all the toads (this game's equivalent of the star coins) to access the final boss (like, the actual final level of the game and not a secret level or something) is an unhinged choice for a Mario game that I kinda have to respect it.
2018
🦆