Landshark
2022
Overcooked with a bit of a roguelike spin. They've added just enough complexity to the simple cooking game formula that it feels less like a party game and more something you have to plan for.
Overall a fun little game with a surprising amount of depth. The main negative being the clashing visual aesthetics. I understand a lot of complexity would come from animating more detailed player models, but they could have at least been of a similar visual style to the rest of the game. The arm-flopping animation for all actions makes it look like a crossover with Humans Fall Flat and ends up looking a bit ugly.
Overall a fun little game with a surprising amount of depth. The main negative being the clashing visual aesthetics. I understand a lot of complexity would come from animating more detailed player models, but they could have at least been of a similar visual style to the rest of the game. The arm-flopping animation for all actions makes it look like a crossover with Humans Fall Flat and ends up looking a bit ugly.
2024
Intentional comedy in games seems to be incredibly difficult to get right but Helldivers did it by creating the perfect Starship Troopers game. The visual tone of everything is so serious that all the shouting about exploding insect monsters for "democracy" hits just that little bit harder.
The gameplay is very tight, with most of the silliness coming from how easy it is to shoot/launch an airstrike on your friends. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a co-op game this much (that wasn't Monster Hunter). Missions can be as long or as short as you want them to be, making it perfect for just jumping on for a bit.
There's also been the added benefit of people with no media literacy outing themselves as idiots when they go online to babble about not understanding the fascism satire in this and Starship Troopers.
The gameplay is very tight, with most of the silliness coming from how easy it is to shoot/launch an airstrike on your friends. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a co-op game this much (that wasn't Monster Hunter). Missions can be as long or as short as you want them to be, making it perfect for just jumping on for a bit.
There's also been the added benefit of people with no media literacy outing themselves as idiots when they go online to babble about not understanding the fascism satire in this and Starship Troopers.
2023
I love the SteamWorld setting, love city builders, and loved Lego Rock Raiders, so I assumed this game would be perfect for me. The aesthetics of the game are great but nothing about the gameplay got its hooks into me like other city builders have.
The above ground gameplay feels a bit weak, with basically no challenge. You need to have different types of workers close to an increasing number of services. That's as complex as it really gets. It really could have done with events effecting the city.
The underground part of the game has a bit more meat to it, combining exploration with factory building. However the late game mostly consists of waves of enemies which pose no threat.
The above ground gameplay feels a bit weak, with basically no challenge. You need to have different types of workers close to an increasing number of services. That's as complex as it really gets. It really could have done with events effecting the city.
The underground part of the game has a bit more meat to it, combining exploration with factory building. However the late game mostly consists of waves of enemies which pose no threat.
2016
What started as a fairly straightforward inventory object puzzle type game slowly becomes one of the most technically inventive games I've played. Oneshot uses the fact it's a PC game to its fullest effect to produce some great little puzzles.
The visuals are simple but appealing, with the simplicity making the gameplay surprises even more unexpected.
In terms of the story, the overarching narrative is fantastic. Becoming surprisingly heartfelt and bleak at times. Unfortunately the only character which you spend any time with is the player character, and while they're charming and well written the rest of the cast is on screen for a few lines of dialogue before leaving. It made the more dramatic moments fall slightly flat when I barely knew the characters in peril. Maybe if some of the side characters tagged along and had a bit more dialogue to flesh them out.
Right up until the very last moments I was ready to give Oneshot 3.5/5 but the final goodbye earnt it an extra half a point.
The visuals are simple but appealing, with the simplicity making the gameplay surprises even more unexpected.
In terms of the story, the overarching narrative is fantastic. Becoming surprisingly heartfelt and bleak at times. Unfortunately the only character which you spend any time with is the player character, and while they're charming and well written the rest of the cast is on screen for a few lines of dialogue before leaving. It made the more dramatic moments fall slightly flat when I barely knew the characters in peril. Maybe if some of the side characters tagged along and had a bit more dialogue to flesh them out.
Right up until the very last moments I was ready to give Oneshot 3.5/5 but the final goodbye earnt it an extra half a point.
In terms of visuals and story, it's an incredible step up from the original. The sense of scale it manages in certain locations is fantastic. The story went from being mostly text log based and in the background to way more prominent. The puzzles themselves are solid. Interesting new mechanics and a gradual complexity curve for each one.
The only major issue I have is the walking. The sense of scale is perfect in some areas, in others the actual scale is way too big. The maps all the puzzles take place in are all huge and some later ones have verticality which makes navigation quite difficult, especially as there isn't an ingame map for some insane reason. You'll love the majestic vistas initially, but if you're hoping to do all the harder puzzles you'll be sick of some locations after hours of wandering as you search for the stars required to unlock them. An easy solution would have been a map and the ability to teleport to any completed puzzle.
The only major issue I have is the walking. The sense of scale is perfect in some areas, in others the actual scale is way too big. The maps all the puzzles take place in are all huge and some later ones have verticality which makes navigation quite difficult, especially as there isn't an ingame map for some insane reason. You'll love the majestic vistas initially, but if you're hoping to do all the harder puzzles you'll be sick of some locations after hours of wandering as you search for the stars required to unlock them. An easy solution would have been a map and the ability to teleport to any completed puzzle.
Easily the best 2D Mario game I've played. I love how cartoony and painted all the characters and backgrounds look. The new art style was what convinced me to actually pick up the game in the first place and every new world looked beautiful and interesting in a new way.
In terms of gameplay the basic platforming is solid but each level has a "wonder effect" which mixes up the level fairly substantially. The wonder effects are easily the best part of the game and it seems crazy that almost every level has a unique control scheme or gameplay twist.
Each level has a difficulty rating, however I found the difficulty to be very all or nothing. Most levels I breezed through with zero challenge whereas some were extremely tough and required many, many attempts.
Overall Mario Wonder made me more certain that 2D Mario isn't for me. The fact it requires perfect execution when it gets hard makes me just prefer the freedom and forgiveness of the 3D games. Despite knowing it's not my thing I can appreciate the ridiculous level of quality and craft. The fact I still enjoyed it as much as I did is testament to that.
In terms of gameplay the basic platforming is solid but each level has a "wonder effect" which mixes up the level fairly substantially. The wonder effects are easily the best part of the game and it seems crazy that almost every level has a unique control scheme or gameplay twist.
Each level has a difficulty rating, however I found the difficulty to be very all or nothing. Most levels I breezed through with zero challenge whereas some were extremely tough and required many, many attempts.
Overall Mario Wonder made me more certain that 2D Mario isn't for me. The fact it requires perfect execution when it gets hard makes me just prefer the freedom and forgiveness of the 3D games. Despite knowing it's not my thing I can appreciate the ridiculous level of quality and craft. The fact I still enjoyed it as much as I did is testament to that.
Slightly unpolished but in an endearing way. Initially the fact the detective is played with a level of camp miles above the rest of the cast is a bit jarring, but as the game went on it grew on me. I'd 100% play a sequel to get some closure on some of the threads left unsolved.
The main issues came from the UI making investigation a bit overwhelming. After a few hours you have 20+ topics each with up to 6 subtopics you can accuse people with, with no way to search them. A search bar for keywords would have been appreciated.
A non-spoiler hint for a part which got my girlfriend and I stuck for over an hour: You only get to listen to the CD in the mirror room once. Pay attention to what it says.
The main issues came from the UI making investigation a bit overwhelming. After a few hours you have 20+ topics each with up to 6 subtopics you can accuse people with, with no way to search them. A search bar for keywords would have been appreciated.
A non-spoiler hint for a part which got my girlfriend and I stuck for over an hour: You only get to listen to the CD in the mirror room once. Pay attention to what it says.
2023
After a few years of switching to Valorant, coming back to CS has made it really show its age. Still a great game, but I'd gotten so used to the great quality of life features Valorant brought in like pinging a map for your team-mates to see, knowing how much money you'll have next round, and easily dropping weapons for teammates.
Hopefully they'll bring stuff like that to the game eventually. For now CS2 feels more like a remaster of Global Offensive than a proper sequel.
Hopefully they'll bring stuff like that to the game eventually. For now CS2 feels more like a remaster of Global Offensive than a proper sequel.
If you didn't spend the early 2000s watching Flash cartoons then this game is just a basic point and click game where every character speaks total nonsense. I did, so loved the endless ridiculously deep cuts to Homestar Runner cartoons.
2023
A cozy game with an unsettling aesthetic. Gameplay-wise there's not a huge amount to it, taking a few fishing minigames and mixing them with some inventory management, but I enjoyed my time with it.
The ending felt a little limp. Each of the two endings consist of a short cutscene with a few lines of dialogue. I wonder if this will get expanded on in the DLC.
The ending felt a little limp. Each of the two endings consist of a short cutscene with a few lines of dialogue. I wonder if this will get expanded on in the DLC.
2018
The first non-competitive RTS I've ever played and it was intense and engrossing. The stress of everything being on the brink of falling apart and everyone freezing to death when you're first learning the game and at the tail end of the main story was great.
The few issues I had with the game were mostly to do with the interface. Finding buildings with heaters still on requires you to manually check each one and finding all buildings of a specific type involves trying to build another and looking for the highlighted ones.
The few issues I had with the game were mostly to do with the interface. Finding buildings with heaters still on requires you to manually check each one and finding all buildings of a specific type involves trying to build another and looking for the highlighted ones.
A great remake of a fantastic game. The original game on DS was one of my favourite games on that platform and this remake almost flawlessly recreates it. It definitely controlled a bit better with a touchscreen, but it didn't take long to adjust to using a controller.
Ghost Trick takes the excellent writing and character design from all the Ace Attorney games and applies it to a completely new genre. The gameplay mechanics are quite simple, but the game is short enough that those mechanics never outstay their welcome.
It makes me desperate for Shu Takumi to make something new (not that I've not loved all the remasters).
Ghost Trick takes the excellent writing and character design from all the Ace Attorney games and applies it to a completely new genre. The gameplay mechanics are quite simple, but the game is short enough that those mechanics never outstay their welcome.
It makes me desperate for Shu Takumi to make something new (not that I've not loved all the remasters).
This review contains spoilers
A fantastic game which seemed to step up almost every aspect of Breath of the Wild. The dungeons felt closer to traditional Zelda dungeons (the Gerudo one especially), the story felt more fleshed out, and the shrine puzzles all felt satisfying to work out.
The only downsides I really experienced were The Depths being a bit sparse in terms of content. It's cool the map is replicated below ground but there's so little to do down there and traversing it isn't particularly fun. The other downside was the sages were either useless or actively a detriment. Accessing their powers by interacting with them was such a terrible design decision and Mineru's power just made combats harder and take longer. Thankfully you can just turn them off.
Despite those minor issues, one of the most fun games I've played in ages.
The only downsides I really experienced were The Depths being a bit sparse in terms of content. It's cool the map is replicated below ground but there's so little to do down there and traversing it isn't particularly fun. The other downside was the sages were either useless or actively a detriment. Accessing their powers by interacting with them was such a terrible design decision and Mineru's power just made combats harder and take longer. Thankfully you can just turn them off.
Despite those minor issues, one of the most fun games I've played in ages.
2022
A fun variation on the Vampire Survivors-like genre. For some reason it seems to actively want to hide necessary mechanics like runes and synergies.
I didn't even realise synergies were a thing until I paused the game 3 hours in, and even then if you want to aim for one you have to remember the names of the upgrades you already have because the pause menu only describes them.
I didn't even realise synergies were a thing until I paused the game 3 hours in, and even then if you want to aim for one you have to remember the names of the upgrades you already have because the pause menu only describes them.
2021
I went into it with expectations of a certain level of jank based solely on the word "simulator" in the title but it all works surprisingly well. The puzzles in the base game are enjoyable with 3 people, giving everyone something to do. I'm looking forward to trying some workshop rooms to see how complicated they get based on the variety of elements I've seen in the standard puzzles.