Lancelot69
2017
This was pretty bad. There wasn't anything good I could say about it. It wasn't even so bad it's good. The environmental visuals weren't bad, but the characters looked pretty awful. The story I experienced was all cookie-cutter, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi fake word nonsense. The combat was pretty bare bones, just simple melee and ranged. The two worst parts of it had to be the dialogue/voice acting and controls. The dialogue was robotic and lazy. It was written like it was pulled from an edgy webcomic. The voice acting sounded like everyone was trying their hardest to sound tough and it was hilarious. The part that I hate the most though is the controls. They fucking sucked. I hated moving, using the camera, jumping, attacking. When you dodge the camera stays in the same spot and then jumps to the area you dodged which is stupid. When you have a weapon equipped, you can't pick any items up or even see if an item can be picked up. It was just a mess, and I will not be continuing it. Also, the game has shit lighting. I cranked the fucking gamma in the game up and I still couldn't see shit unless it was a fully lit area.
2019
This game has such an interesting idea. To play as the AI on a space station, Space Odyssey-style. They execute the idea well with the story(some minor issues with acting aside). I found it interesting and liked how mysterious it was. I like how it ended too. Cool sci-fi.
Unfortunately, I can't give the game much else praise. My main issues are with the controls. They are pretty bad. It's a real chore to sit and wait for the camera to pan and you have to do it a good bit. Controlling the spheres was better, but it's only slightly better. There is momentum that makes it feel like you are underwater. It's just unpleasant. It probably would have been better if I played on PC where I could skyrocket my mouse DPI, but still, after looking at some footage online, I would have probably had only a slight improvement. I also didn't love the puzzles. I figured out how to do them rather quickly. Some could also be a bit tedious to do. Also, when moving the models got a bit janky sometimes (this is little and I know it's an indie but I still have to mention it).
I'm rather disappointed. I didn't have any expectations going in and I still got disappointed. I wish the gameplay could have been better. It would have brought the game up like a full star.
Unfortunately, I can't give the game much else praise. My main issues are with the controls. They are pretty bad. It's a real chore to sit and wait for the camera to pan and you have to do it a good bit. Controlling the spheres was better, but it's only slightly better. There is momentum that makes it feel like you are underwater. It's just unpleasant. It probably would have been better if I played on PC where I could skyrocket my mouse DPI, but still, after looking at some footage online, I would have probably had only a slight improvement. I also didn't love the puzzles. I figured out how to do them rather quickly. Some could also be a bit tedious to do. Also, when moving the models got a bit janky sometimes (this is little and I know it's an indie but I still have to mention it).
I'm rather disappointed. I didn't have any expectations going in and I still got disappointed. I wish the gameplay could have been better. It would have brought the game up like a full star.
This review contains spoilers
I can see why people call this the greatest game of all time. It must have been such an experience to play this back when it came out.
There are so many good things to say about this game that I will get my issues out of the way. First off, and my main problem, some dungeons were a little boring at times. The main examples I think of are the bottom of the well, Jabu-Jabu, and certain parts of the Water Temple. The Water Temple was especially unfortunate as I wanted to love it. It provides a challenging dungeon that would be better if you moved faster underwater. The issue with the temple is that it takes so long to beat due to how slow you move. Some other minor things were that the overworld was a little barren, which is fine, I wasn't expecting a big sprawling open world, but it took a good chunk of time to traverse it. It gets better later on as you gain warping songs, but sometimes you still have to walk (or side-hop) your way through it. Another issue I had, was that some of the bosses were a bit on the easier side, I would have liked a bit more of a challenge but I still loved the designs and fighting the bosses.
Now, to talk positives. There is so much this game does right even with things that I don't think are as good. The bosses are designed wonderfully with my favorites being the final Ganon/Ganondorf fight, the Iron Knuckle mini-bosses, Dark Link, and Morpha from the Water Temple. I also liked Bongo-Bongo and Twinrova. The enemies are a lot of fun too and I enjoy fighting most of them (except for Keese, fuck those bats). I love the music in the game. Rarely will a game have so many tracks with staying power, especially a 25+-year-old game. My favorite song in the game is Lost Woods with the title theme and Goron City as some other fantastic ones. I love the feel of the game. It can be cheerful and happy but easily switches to creepy and atmospheric. I like the characters, even though the story and characters aren't really the main focus, they have personalities and interesting moments like how Darunia starts dancing when you play Saria's Song for him. It's not much but it's fun character moments.
The most important piece of the game though is the dungeons. I may have put Water Temple in my negatives but I still believe it has fantastic parts like the other dungeons (with the Dark Link fight and Morpha fight being the standouts). My favorites are Gannons Castle for combining all the temples into one showdown, Forest Temple for its creepy atmosphere, and Spirit Temple for its engaging puzzles and combat. Most temples are pretty fantastic because Shadow and Fire Temple are great too. The child section dungeons and the mini-dungeons aren't as good, but they serve their purpose of tutorials/holding key items and I would still call them good (except for Jabu-Jabu).
Overall, this is one of the greatest games ever made and it deserves the adoration it gets.
There are so many good things to say about this game that I will get my issues out of the way. First off, and my main problem, some dungeons were a little boring at times. The main examples I think of are the bottom of the well, Jabu-Jabu, and certain parts of the Water Temple. The Water Temple was especially unfortunate as I wanted to love it. It provides a challenging dungeon that would be better if you moved faster underwater. The issue with the temple is that it takes so long to beat due to how slow you move. Some other minor things were that the overworld was a little barren, which is fine, I wasn't expecting a big sprawling open world, but it took a good chunk of time to traverse it. It gets better later on as you gain warping songs, but sometimes you still have to walk (or side-hop) your way through it. Another issue I had, was that some of the bosses were a bit on the easier side, I would have liked a bit more of a challenge but I still loved the designs and fighting the bosses.
Now, to talk positives. There is so much this game does right even with things that I don't think are as good. The bosses are designed wonderfully with my favorites being the final Ganon/Ganondorf fight, the Iron Knuckle mini-bosses, Dark Link, and Morpha from the Water Temple. I also liked Bongo-Bongo and Twinrova. The enemies are a lot of fun too and I enjoy fighting most of them (except for Keese, fuck those bats). I love the music in the game. Rarely will a game have so many tracks with staying power, especially a 25+-year-old game. My favorite song in the game is Lost Woods with the title theme and Goron City as some other fantastic ones. I love the feel of the game. It can be cheerful and happy but easily switches to creepy and atmospheric. I like the characters, even though the story and characters aren't really the main focus, they have personalities and interesting moments like how Darunia starts dancing when you play Saria's Song for him. It's not much but it's fun character moments.
The most important piece of the game though is the dungeons. I may have put Water Temple in my negatives but I still believe it has fantastic parts like the other dungeons (with the Dark Link fight and Morpha fight being the standouts). My favorites are Gannons Castle for combining all the temples into one showdown, Forest Temple for its creepy atmosphere, and Spirit Temple for its engaging puzzles and combat. Most temples are pretty fantastic because Shadow and Fire Temple are great too. The child section dungeons and the mini-dungeons aren't as good, but they serve their purpose of tutorials/holding key items and I would still call them good (except for Jabu-Jabu).
Overall, this is one of the greatest games ever made and it deserves the adoration it gets.
2022
This is a beyond-spectacular mod. It brings a classic game into the modern era and, when paired with a 3DS texture mod, currently provides the greatest way to experience this game. It has so many options and settings to screw around with including a bunch of QoL improvements and a randomizer. The most noticeable option is an adjustable framerate that makes the game look so smooth. Without it, the game would be stuck in a chunky 20 fps, which can be fine for older games like this, but it's hard to deny a stable 60 fps looking better. If you want to re-experience Ocarina of Time or especially if you want to play it for the first time, use this mod. Nothing else can really compete, not even Nintendo themselves.
This was a solid game. It has issues, but I still enjoyed myself.
The combat was pretty fun. I liked the available moves and how you had to vary them to combat certain enemies/bosses. The enemies in this game had interesting designs and all were sufficiently different than each other giving the game a lot of variety. The bosses were good, they weren't super difficult though. The one I had trouble with the most was King Darius who I had around ten tries against. For all of the other bosses, I beat them on my first try or at most my 3rd try. Some other standouts were the Orod, Vahram, and Azhdaha fights.
The movement in the game is fluid at times with some slight jank. I like the platforming and find it to be more challenging than some of the bosses at times. Some platforming sections took me many tries, but it was pretty satisfying once I did them. There is the jankiness though. Sometimes spikes creep out over edges when they shouldn't.
The story is the weakest part of the game. I didn't find any of the characters interesting. I wasn't impressed by any of their performances either. I know the story isn't the focal point of a game like this, but it is still part of it.
Overall the game was fun, but it's not the shining example of the genre.
The combat was pretty fun. I liked the available moves and how you had to vary them to combat certain enemies/bosses. The enemies in this game had interesting designs and all were sufficiently different than each other giving the game a lot of variety. The bosses were good, they weren't super difficult though. The one I had trouble with the most was King Darius who I had around ten tries against. For all of the other bosses, I beat them on my first try or at most my 3rd try. Some other standouts were the Orod, Vahram, and Azhdaha fights.
The movement in the game is fluid at times with some slight jank. I like the platforming and find it to be more challenging than some of the bosses at times. Some platforming sections took me many tries, but it was pretty satisfying once I did them. There is the jankiness though. Sometimes spikes creep out over edges when they shouldn't.
The story is the weakest part of the game. I didn't find any of the characters interesting. I wasn't impressed by any of their performances either. I know the story isn't the focal point of a game like this, but it is still part of it.
Overall the game was fun, but it's not the shining example of the genre.
2017
Asynch VR is a really fun concept and is good for a bit of fun. This game is not the best example, but it was still alright. It felt a bit weighted towards the hiders. Maybe everyone I played with was bad including me, but the seeker only won maybe one time. It also had more technical issues than usual VR titles.
I think this game was fun. It's not the best the series offers, but it is a good time with friends. I enjoyed working together in a team to solve Zelda puzzles, it wasn't something I had experienced before. The levels were fine mostly and the puzzles weren't overly easy or unreasonable.
Some of the levels were uninteresting or just lacking. Some puzzles and bosses were frustrating due to only being able to aim in eight directions. The game had some bugs that caused us to reset levels sometimes. I also don't love handheld gaming in general.
Overall I had a good time with this. I like co-op gaming experiences.
Some of the levels were uninteresting or just lacking. Some puzzles and bosses were frustrating due to only being able to aim in eight directions. The game had some bugs that caused us to reset levels sometimes. I also don't love handheld gaming in general.
Overall I had a good time with this. I like co-op gaming experiences.
2023
It's an alright party game. I don't love it or hate it. It's just ok. It's fun enough to do with friends but the minigames aren't super interesting and using your phone doesn't make much sense. The games you play on your phone are usually the same as when you play with Joycons but you have to hold your thumbs on the phone. There was only one game that we played which utilized something the Joycons can't do where you take pictures of a color to match the specified color. This minigame has a problem though because if you are working in a team you can take a picture of the color, as it appears on the phone. The other minigames are the standard affair for a party game.
2020
This review contains spoilers
This is the best Half-Life game and one of the best VR games I have ever played. I don't think anything can even compare to this level. The world of City 17 is so immersive and everything feels so fluid. The gunplay is so much fun, I love how reloading in the game works. The ending is fantastic and leaves me wanting so much more from the series. I loved the level design with "Jeff" being my favorite; the way it used the VR tools it had was so creative and Jeff himself is a palpable threat.
I had minimal issues with this game. I only really have a couple of things to say. The biggest issue I ran into was the technical issues. I started the game using a wired connection with the Meta Quest 3 and the game rendering on the TV so my roommates could watch me play. This caused the game to crash almost every time I loaded a scene meaning when I transitioned levels or died. The issue wasn't terrible though since I just had to switch to a wireless headset connection and stopped putting the game on the TV.
My more important issue is with Half-Life overall. I played through something revolutionary, but Valve doesn't care about it. I genuinely believe I will never play another VR experience like Alyx. The quality is leagues beyond most VR titles I have played. It is so unfortunate that Valve will never do anything with it though. They will say that they are working on it and that a follow-up to Alyx will happen, but there is no guarantee with Valve because they don't have to keep their promises when they own all of Steam. The income they make with any of their other games will always pale compared to owning the only digital games marketplace that people care about. I want Valve to do something they will never do or take years to do because I already liked Portal and I like Half-Life now, the worlds that Valve created fascinate me and I want to continue to be a part of them. It can't happen though because they won't make another game.
Despite my disappointment with Valve's status as a game maker, this experience was genuinely one of my favorites and I want more.
I had minimal issues with this game. I only really have a couple of things to say. The biggest issue I ran into was the technical issues. I started the game using a wired connection with the Meta Quest 3 and the game rendering on the TV so my roommates could watch me play. This caused the game to crash almost every time I loaded a scene meaning when I transitioned levels or died. The issue wasn't terrible though since I just had to switch to a wireless headset connection and stopped putting the game on the TV.
My more important issue is with Half-Life overall. I played through something revolutionary, but Valve doesn't care about it. I genuinely believe I will never play another VR experience like Alyx. The quality is leagues beyond most VR titles I have played. It is so unfortunate that Valve will never do anything with it though. They will say that they are working on it and that a follow-up to Alyx will happen, but there is no guarantee with Valve because they don't have to keep their promises when they own all of Steam. The income they make with any of their other games will always pale compared to owning the only digital games marketplace that people care about. I want Valve to do something they will never do or take years to do because I already liked Portal and I like Half-Life now, the worlds that Valve created fascinate me and I want to continue to be a part of them. It can't happen though because they won't make another game.
Despite my disappointment with Valve's status as a game maker, this experience was genuinely one of my favorites and I want more.
2014
Duck Game is a blast to play with friends. It's fast-paced and is so easy to keep playing over and over again. The competition is fun and everyone has a chance to win at least one game, there's skill involved but that doesn't guarantee anything. If you are looking for a competitive game, but don't want the seriousness of something like a fighting game, this is a good game to try.
2022
This review contains spoilers
It's a decent tech demo with Valve's special game feel. There isn't much else to say about it. It was nice to see Cave Johnson again.
2024
I have been trying to get this game over the hump of 4 stars in my head for a good while now. I finally did it when I looked through my favorite games list and really thought about my opinions on some of the older, more nostalgic games from my childhood. I fought back and forth about what was better than what. There was a lot of movement and paradigm shifts.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.
At least for now, this game gets bumped up to a 4.5 (along with two other previously 4-star games that I like more than this one). I am extremely invested in this game. I may not play it every hour of every day, but I do think about it a lot. I have done things for this game that I haven't for others. I have joined the official Discord server, bookmarked web resources about the game, and subscribed to a YouTube channel that keeps progress on the war. I even have a phone app that details what is happening in-game. The game is so much fun and is even better with friends. The stratagems all feel cool and have a unique way to use them. The enemies are challenging, but still satisfying to beat. The galactic war aspect is what's keeping me enthralled and I love how it is designed to make it feel like everyone is participating toward a mission.
My only negative is that once you find your build there isn't a lot of incentive to deviate from it. I settled into a loadout rather early and haven't changed it since. Rarely, I will do it if the mission dictates it, but otherwise no. I would like to see something that causes you to change equipment, but the dominant strategy exists for a reason. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Overall, this was a surprise hit for me. I don't usually want these games, let alone fall in love with them like I have. I am glad I took a chance on it and can fairly say that this will (probably) be my game of the year.
2024
I liked this. Every run feels unique with a gigantic amount of modifiers. There are so many different things to think about. You have card enhancements, editions, seals, decks, jokers, multipliers, consumables, hands, stakes, blinds, and tags that can all interact and affect each other. It's the perfect metagame. I can absolutely see how this game is addicting for some people. While I don't share that feeling and probably won't play this again, I still think this is a good game with a great game loop, and I wouldn't be surprised if this wins some Indie Game of the Year awards.
2024
It's exactly what it says on the tin, but with good puzzle variety. It's not too hard either. The sliding puzzle took me a bit, but aside from that, it was smooth sailing. Pretty fun.
2024
It's one of those element combination games like Doodle God, but using AI to live up to its name. Cool, but nothing crazy.