LesPaulLord
BACKER
2019
To me, Katana Zero was nigh perfection.
It is a simple game in some respects, but a very deep one at the same time. It bases itself on a Hotline-Miami-esque frame, and pushes it pretty far in how it constructs its combat machanics. It lasts exactly how long I wanted; just enough to fully use its ideas and tell a compelling narrative, and not long enough to become repetitive and tedious.
The style on display in how the dialogues unfold, how every character moves and expresses pain or slashes someone in half is just astounding as well.
The music might be the only thing that over promised a bit. It's a good soundtrack, but nothing that blew me away in the style it was going for.
Katana Zero is a fantastic game, a short but very tight experience that knows what it wants to do and does it superbly.
It is a simple game in some respects, but a very deep one at the same time. It bases itself on a Hotline-Miami-esque frame, and pushes it pretty far in how it constructs its combat machanics. It lasts exactly how long I wanted; just enough to fully use its ideas and tell a compelling narrative, and not long enough to become repetitive and tedious.
The style on display in how the dialogues unfold, how every character moves and expresses pain or slashes someone in half is just astounding as well.
The music might be the only thing that over promised a bit. It's a good soundtrack, but nothing that blew me away in the style it was going for.
Katana Zero is a fantastic game, a short but very tight experience that knows what it wants to do and does it superbly.
Armored Core VI really grew on me through the course of its runtime.
I wasn't sold at first on the short missions, repetitive destruction of simple enemies and cold atmosphere. But then, by some sleight of hand magic trick, I starting understanding the controls more. I started figuring out the customization. I got that all situations can be tackled in an almost limitless number of ways, that it's like jazz improv to adapt to each moment in a flash. I understood that you can sell back parts for the same price you bought them, thus encouraging experimentation. I found that replaying older missions can net you extra money and parts if you're ever stuck, or want to test out a build.
And so, everything clicked and I became totally obsessed. Add to that a fun story about corporate greed and dehumanizing hyper-technology, and you've got a tight package of mecha-sci-fi, ultra-polished bombastic goodness.
I'm officially a fan of Armored Core now, and can't wait to see what comes next after this !
I wasn't sold at first on the short missions, repetitive destruction of simple enemies and cold atmosphere. But then, by some sleight of hand magic trick, I starting understanding the controls more. I started figuring out the customization. I got that all situations can be tackled in an almost limitless number of ways, that it's like jazz improv to adapt to each moment in a flash. I understood that you can sell back parts for the same price you bought them, thus encouraging experimentation. I found that replaying older missions can net you extra money and parts if you're ever stuck, or want to test out a build.
And so, everything clicked and I became totally obsessed. Add to that a fun story about corporate greed and dehumanizing hyper-technology, and you've got a tight package of mecha-sci-fi, ultra-polished bombastic goodness.
I'm officially a fan of Armored Core now, and can't wait to see what comes next after this !
2015
A very very nice surprise of a game.
As I had been told by reading other reviews, the story of Soma is awesome. It's well written, thoughtful, well acted and doesn't overstay its welcome.
I also thought the gameplay was damn well balanced. It is a game with very few mechanics, and it really holds its cards to its chest for a long long time before letting everything rip. But it's absolutely a good thing. Since enemies are few and far between, you have time to start dreading what's coming next, and to never really expect where they'll crop up.
I'll also mention I never got stuck anywhere with surprising little tutorials, and nothing feels overly simplistic. It just reeks of good game design and I LOVE IT.
A great little underrated gem that, even if it doesn't reinvent the horror genre, could at least be studied by other devs to figure out what makes a great core experience for such types of games. Solid gameplay, an engaging and tight story... And that's about it !
As I had been told by reading other reviews, the story of Soma is awesome. It's well written, thoughtful, well acted and doesn't overstay its welcome.
I also thought the gameplay was damn well balanced. It is a game with very few mechanics, and it really holds its cards to its chest for a long long time before letting everything rip. But it's absolutely a good thing. Since enemies are few and far between, you have time to start dreading what's coming next, and to never really expect where they'll crop up.
I'll also mention I never got stuck anywhere with surprising little tutorials, and nothing feels overly simplistic. It just reeks of good game design and I LOVE IT.
A great little underrated gem that, even if it doesn't reinvent the horror genre, could at least be studied by other devs to figure out what makes a great core experience for such types of games. Solid gameplay, an engaging and tight story... And that's about it !
2021
Man did this not click with me.
It seems right up my alley with how weird and political it is, but I just find it frustrating and too inscrutable. I keep having to redo levels and repeating minutes of gameplay on a loop because it's so damn hard.
I'm not as in love with the whole aesthetic as I thought I'd be either. Some tiny things surprised me like how the characters say the same lines without much variety. It's also full of long corridors that connect parts of the levels inelegantly by having you walk in straight lines for soooo long.
I just thought the brilliance on display would be upfront here, and not buried in so much frustrating time-wasters and confusing elements.
It's definitely interesting though how it completely forgoes most design rules (mostly in the UI and game feel) to fit within its own world. I'll probably give it another shot someday when I'm more in the mood.
It seems right up my alley with how weird and political it is, but I just find it frustrating and too inscrutable. I keep having to redo levels and repeating minutes of gameplay on a loop because it's so damn hard.
I'm not as in love with the whole aesthetic as I thought I'd be either. Some tiny things surprised me like how the characters say the same lines without much variety. It's also full of long corridors that connect parts of the levels inelegantly by having you walk in straight lines for soooo long.
I just thought the brilliance on display would be upfront here, and not buried in so much frustrating time-wasters and confusing elements.
It's definitely interesting though how it completely forgoes most design rules (mostly in the UI and game feel) to fit within its own world. I'll probably give it another shot someday when I'm more in the mood.
Hands down one of my favorite games ever now that I've finished it.
I've never experienced a game that delved so deep, thoughtfully and intelligently in politics, addiction, the police, self-loathing, pain and a million other tangential topics.
It is erudite in its writing, and brilliant in its ludo-narrative consonance from the first sentence to the last. Most video games wish they had one character as compelling as anyone in Disco Elysium. And the game is packed full of standouts.
Truly a masterful piece of art made to be slowly savored and dissected to one's content.
LONG LIVE DISCO BABY !!
I've never experienced a game that delved so deep, thoughtfully and intelligently in politics, addiction, the police, self-loathing, pain and a million other tangential topics.
It is erudite in its writing, and brilliant in its ludo-narrative consonance from the first sentence to the last. Most video games wish they had one character as compelling as anyone in Disco Elysium. And the game is packed full of standouts.
Truly a masterful piece of art made to be slowly savored and dissected to one's content.
LONG LIVE DISCO BABY !!
2024
It's all about the mood.
Animal Well, to me, really distinguished itself with its atmosphere. The almost total absence of music, replaced by a myriad of sounds and wobbles. The sparkling colors and dancing smoke effects moving across the scan-line post process. The weird animal designs and encounters where random otters can jump on screen to mess with your plans.
It also has very interesting power-ups which are all thematically consistent as a toolkit and really creative in how they shape your relationship to the environment.
It's a bit of a bummer that the game offers almost no tools to hunt down all the remaining secrets once the game is over. I would have loved to get to the true ending, but there's no way I'm scouring every inch of a gigantic map (where it's tough to fast-travel) with no pointers to get to that point.
It still is a fantastic little game for what it is and I'll mostly remember it for it's unique art direction and thick ambiance.
Animal Well, to me, really distinguished itself with its atmosphere. The almost total absence of music, replaced by a myriad of sounds and wobbles. The sparkling colors and dancing smoke effects moving across the scan-line post process. The weird animal designs and encounters where random otters can jump on screen to mess with your plans.
It also has very interesting power-ups which are all thematically consistent as a toolkit and really creative in how they shape your relationship to the environment.
It's a bit of a bummer that the game offers almost no tools to hunt down all the remaining secrets once the game is over. I would have loved to get to the true ending, but there's no way I'm scouring every inch of a gigantic map (where it's tough to fast-travel) with no pointers to get to that point.
It still is a fantastic little game for what it is and I'll mostly remember it for it's unique art direction and thick ambiance.
Although I love the idea of this "Gold Master Series" of documentaries and its importance in video game history preservation, as a product, I feel like some improvements can be made in the future.
There hasn't seemed to be a lot of editorial choices in what to put or to omit from the game here. Everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in, which results in a lot of correspondences and interviews that are repetitive or flat out boring.
It generally feels like the story of Karateka is not that interesting to tell apart from a few fascinating tidbits.
I'm super glad this exists, and it is a polished product, but it did outstay its welcome since it didn't always aim for quality in historical content, but quantity and completeness.
On the upside, the next documentary appears to be about a game designer and a bunch of his games which seems like a fantastic idea. It might just fix all the gripes I had with this first experiment in innovative documentary by having a lot more material to go over.
There hasn't seemed to be a lot of editorial choices in what to put or to omit from the game here. Everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in, which results in a lot of correspondences and interviews that are repetitive or flat out boring.
It generally feels like the story of Karateka is not that interesting to tell apart from a few fascinating tidbits.
I'm super glad this exists, and it is a polished product, but it did outstay its welcome since it didn't always aim for quality in historical content, but quantity and completeness.
On the upside, the next documentary appears to be about a game designer and a bunch of his games which seems like a fantastic idea. It might just fix all the gripes I had with this first experiment in innovative documentary by having a lot more material to go over.
2020
What a fun time.
This is one of the first games of the style that I've played. Super Lo-fi inspired and relaxed. It delivers awesome writing across the board. All the characters feel fresh and engaging. There's also just enough mechanics to keep you engaged and pushing buttons as stuff moves forward.
It does feel a tad shallow though with the coffee mechanics being extra simplistic. The constant stream of dialogue also makes it a bit numbing after a while (maybe it's just me not liking to read on screens for long).
Anyhow, this is still a very good time and a story worth going through.
This is one of the first games of the style that I've played. Super Lo-fi inspired and relaxed. It delivers awesome writing across the board. All the characters feel fresh and engaging. There's also just enough mechanics to keep you engaged and pushing buttons as stuff moves forward.
It does feel a tad shallow though with the coffee mechanics being extra simplistic. The constant stream of dialogue also makes it a bit numbing after a while (maybe it's just me not liking to read on screens for long).
Anyhow, this is still a very good time and a story worth going through.
2023
Finally got around to playing Mario RPG !
This remake is charming as all heck. With this it makes up for its, at times, lackluster RPG mechanics. The fact that it's too easy isn't too bad, it's the repetitiveness of successive instant-win battles that really drags down the last third of the campaign.
Otherwise, my favorite thing has got to be the '90s writing here. Peach yelling "YOU IDIOT" at Bowser is an absolute treat that we wouldn't get nowadays, and I savor that experience.
So yes, a very fun time, and a game oozing with love and charm despite its faults.
This remake is charming as all heck. With this it makes up for its, at times, lackluster RPG mechanics. The fact that it's too easy isn't too bad, it's the repetitiveness of successive instant-win battles that really drags down the last third of the campaign.
Otherwise, my favorite thing has got to be the '90s writing here. Peach yelling "YOU IDIOT" at Bowser is an absolute treat that we wouldn't get nowadays, and I savor that experience.
So yes, a very fun time, and a game oozing with love and charm despite its faults.
2023
A good, yet flawed game.
I like Pikmin 4. But let's be real. The start is horrendous, and the ending is interminable.
The tutorials at the start hold your hand so tight for so long that it's hard to get into the fun afterwards. When the player gets through this is where the game shines.
Pikmin 4 is a super sturdy game. It's absolutely bug-free and you can feel the "Nintendo polish" everywhere. The presentation is cute, the music is good, though not super memorable or researched.
It all falls apart a bit too fast when you figure out the dominant strategies. Then, everything is way too easy to defeat and all challenges are trivialized. After that, the game stretches on and on. It does bring in new challenges, but they're almost all negated by the same old techniques the player's been using for hours at this point. The tedium of dragging stuff back to base sets in violently for what's left of the game.
And then there's also all the repetitive cutscenes and unengaging chattiness of the crew. I found myself skipping most of it since I just wanted to get back to the game.
All in all, it is a good game and a fun time for most of its duration. It just doesn't have enough depth in the gameplay to support what feels like a wayyyy too long game.
I like Pikmin 4. But let's be real. The start is horrendous, and the ending is interminable.
The tutorials at the start hold your hand so tight for so long that it's hard to get into the fun afterwards. When the player gets through this is where the game shines.
Pikmin 4 is a super sturdy game. It's absolutely bug-free and you can feel the "Nintendo polish" everywhere. The presentation is cute, the music is good, though not super memorable or researched.
It all falls apart a bit too fast when you figure out the dominant strategies. Then, everything is way too easy to defeat and all challenges are trivialized. After that, the game stretches on and on. It does bring in new challenges, but they're almost all negated by the same old techniques the player's been using for hours at this point. The tedium of dragging stuff back to base sets in violently for what's left of the game.
And then there's also all the repetitive cutscenes and unengaging chattiness of the crew. I found myself skipping most of it since I just wanted to get back to the game.
All in all, it is a good game and a fun time for most of its duration. It just doesn't have enough depth in the gameplay to support what feels like a wayyyy too long game.
2017
I played it for a couple of hours and I don't want to keep playing Rain World.
I'll say though, it was a very interesting game to read about ! The design idea is fantastic, and I applaud what this game does... But I can't be bothered to repeatedly get killed anymore to see what it has in store.
All the power to those who love this though !
I'll say though, it was a very interesting game to read about ! The design idea is fantastic, and I applaud what this game does... But I can't be bothered to repeatedly get killed anymore to see what it has in store.
All the power to those who love this though !
2005
Damn what a riiiiiide that was.
Killer7 is hands down one of the most unique and weird games I've played, and it is so in a very compelling way. Its borerline nonsensical at times plot-wise and has some game design flaws here and there, but it remains such a strong statement of «trying stuff and seeing what sticks» that it becomes eminently fascinating. It keeps this momentum going for a surprising amount of time as well without ever becoming the least bit tiresome.
Almost 20 years on, you'd be hardpressed to find something that even comes close to resembling Killer7, and that's quite a feat. It stands in a league of its own, and despite some minor hiccups, it quickly warmed up to being one of my favorite games of this edgy, mis-2000s era of games.
Very, very glad I gave this a shot.
In the name of Harman.
Killer7 is hands down one of the most unique and weird games I've played, and it is so in a very compelling way. Its borerline nonsensical at times plot-wise and has some game design flaws here and there, but it remains such a strong statement of «trying stuff and seeing what sticks» that it becomes eminently fascinating. It keeps this momentum going for a surprising amount of time as well without ever becoming the least bit tiresome.
Almost 20 years on, you'd be hardpressed to find something that even comes close to resembling Killer7, and that's quite a feat. It stands in a league of its own, and despite some minor hiccups, it quickly warmed up to being one of my favorite games of this edgy, mis-2000s era of games.
Very, very glad I gave this a shot.
In the name of Harman.
2023
An ever-evolving, graphic design treat of a puzzle game.
I really commend this game on sticking to its idea of shaping puzzles around a central story that makes sense and keeps a momentum going from beginning to end. It's much easier to make a puzzle game where levels chain without rhyme or reason, but this takes it to another level.
I rarely got stuck on a puzzle as they all felt quite challenging, but fair. Constant rewards kept things interesting and drove me to wanting to find all the secret Goldies.
And boss battles in a puzzle game that rock ???
A forward-thinking, great time all around ! Oh, and you play a dog. That's nice also.
I really commend this game on sticking to its idea of shaping puzzles around a central story that makes sense and keeps a momentum going from beginning to end. It's much easier to make a puzzle game where levels chain without rhyme or reason, but this takes it to another level.
I rarely got stuck on a puzzle as they all felt quite challenging, but fair. Constant rewards kept things interesting and drove me to wanting to find all the secret Goldies.
And boss battles in a puzzle game that rock ???
A forward-thinking, great time all around ! Oh, and you play a dog. That's nice also.
2019
Well... Kind of disappointing.
It's not a bad game by any means. The animation and character work is very pretty. The music is charming and frankly, I really enjoyed the locale. The huge hotel with all its disjointed floors of various themes really helps to keep things fresh as the game progresses.
The problem really is with the gameplay. The controls and mechanics are fine, but they get stale as the game hits the mid-point. Nothing is added after the first 3 to 4 hours, except for some one off tidbits of gameplay that never really shake things up meaningfully. For a game with such a huge variety of locations, it's surprising that it doesn't follow suite at all game design-wise.
One of the most frustrating examples is the money system. One of the most fun things in the whole game is sucking up money hidden everywhere. This serves no purpose until the shop is revealed to the player a bit later. And to my utter disapointment, all the shop affords is 1ups, and maps that give the locations of secrets... Which are just collectibles for the sake of collecting them.
In the end, Luigi's Mansion 3 is a cute game, and a fun time which loses it's steam way too fast for its ambitious runtime. It sadly ends up feeling quite shallow as a result.
It's not a bad game by any means. The animation and character work is very pretty. The music is charming and frankly, I really enjoyed the locale. The huge hotel with all its disjointed floors of various themes really helps to keep things fresh as the game progresses.
The problem really is with the gameplay. The controls and mechanics are fine, but they get stale as the game hits the mid-point. Nothing is added after the first 3 to 4 hours, except for some one off tidbits of gameplay that never really shake things up meaningfully. For a game with such a huge variety of locations, it's surprising that it doesn't follow suite at all game design-wise.
One of the most frustrating examples is the money system. One of the most fun things in the whole game is sucking up money hidden everywhere. This serves no purpose until the shop is revealed to the player a bit later. And to my utter disapointment, all the shop affords is 1ups, and maps that give the locations of secrets... Which are just collectibles for the sake of collecting them.
In the end, Luigi's Mansion 3 is a cute game, and a fun time which loses it's steam way too fast for its ambitious runtime. It sadly ends up feeling quite shallow as a result.
2023
So good. One of my new favorite stories about meta-narratives.
Everything really hinges on the story here. This game coils on itself again and again in a way that's deeply confusing at first, but very clear and legible in the end. It's truly a feat to take in all the levels on which this game operates.
The one weak point has got to be the gameplay, mainly the combat. Every other mechanic works well to fit within the theme of the story, and the gunplay should too. It's just wonky and never really amounts to something good as the game goes on. It's serviceable but that's about it.
Just about everything else fucking rocks. The artistic direction is immaculate, the humor and horror are on point. The pacing of it all and the story twists are meticulously crafted to a tee. And the sound design ? Maybe one of the best things about it.
I'll end on saying that one level in particular concerning music has got to be one of my favorite gaming moments of 2023. The ideas are so wild for such a big production... It's really a treat.
Everything really hinges on the story here. This game coils on itself again and again in a way that's deeply confusing at first, but very clear and legible in the end. It's truly a feat to take in all the levels on which this game operates.
The one weak point has got to be the gameplay, mainly the combat. Every other mechanic works well to fit within the theme of the story, and the gunplay should too. It's just wonky and never really amounts to something good as the game goes on. It's serviceable but that's about it.
Just about everything else fucking rocks. The artistic direction is immaculate, the humor and horror are on point. The pacing of it all and the story twists are meticulously crafted to a tee. And the sound design ? Maybe one of the best things about it.
I'll end on saying that one level in particular concerning music has got to be one of my favorite gaming moments of 2023. The ideas are so wild for such a big production... It's really a treat.