Lewisisphat
BACKER
Let down. Game has some real high and low moments for the first two thirds of the game but ends up going downhill after that point. There's some really interesting concepts and cool moments in this game that are just bogged down by the greater whole.
2013
Mario heaven. The stages in this are TONS of fun! The fact they were able to give each level a new gimmick, even up until the end of the game, is incredibly impressive. Multiplayer with up to four people is a blast and the secret world is a great. How can you NOT have fun???
Deadly Premonition has such a reputation for being either the best thing in the world or the worst thing in the world, so when I finished it for the first time I was shocked to find out that it's actually....good.
The characters, jank animations and swerve from twin peaks into anime bullshit at the end are big highlights. Deffo a game you can have a good time playing through with a pal. Also shout out to the surprising number of unique side quests as well.
Now if only the shooting segments weren't actual ass...
The characters, jank animations and swerve from twin peaks into anime bullshit at the end are big highlights. Deffo a game you can have a good time playing through with a pal. Also shout out to the surprising number of unique side quests as well.
Now if only the shooting segments weren't actual ass...
Never thought I'd say this about a Souls style game but DAMN, what a good ass action game!
The way sword combat is played in this game is thrilling and fast. I love how on your toes you need to be whilst playing this game, especially in boss fights. Sekiro took the offense-focused combat of Bloodborne but instead really made you go in on the enemy. Whilst in Bloodborne you were encouraged to be offensive, you could also hang back a lot and do pokes still. In Sekiro, the addition of the stamina meter for enemies means that if you want to beat guys, you need to be constantly in their face attacking and deflecting all at once. For normal enemies this can feel cool but when you fight a boss like Genichiro, the game reaches a whole other level.
Fantastic combat, great boss fights, some cool vertical level design to prop up the new movement and stealth options. The only things that bring the game down from being top tier is a lack of more fantastical areas, a lack of more adventurous world design and a lack of DLC. Think about it...a DLC with new expanded areas, some stuff to expand the lore, maybe some customisable costumes or a few new weapons....what could have been...
The way sword combat is played in this game is thrilling and fast. I love how on your toes you need to be whilst playing this game, especially in boss fights. Sekiro took the offense-focused combat of Bloodborne but instead really made you go in on the enemy. Whilst in Bloodborne you were encouraged to be offensive, you could also hang back a lot and do pokes still. In Sekiro, the addition of the stamina meter for enemies means that if you want to beat guys, you need to be constantly in their face attacking and deflecting all at once. For normal enemies this can feel cool but when you fight a boss like Genichiro, the game reaches a whole other level.
Fantastic combat, great boss fights, some cool vertical level design to prop up the new movement and stealth options. The only things that bring the game down from being top tier is a lack of more fantastical areas, a lack of more adventurous world design and a lack of DLC. Think about it...a DLC with new expanded areas, some stuff to expand the lore, maybe some customisable costumes or a few new weapons....what could have been...
The best version of a belter game. Has the pixel art, atmospheric OST and beefed up item/character pool improvements that the original flash game didn't have, whilst at the same time not being bogged down by the derivative new items and lazy endgame dungeon of the latter expansion packs.
If you don't know what Isaac is all about by now, you pick a character, you dungeon crawl through some dank depths and along the way you either turn into a one shotting invincible god or a miserable failed experiment that can barely shoot a tear correctly.
It's incredibly fun.
If you don't know what Isaac is all about by now, you pick a character, you dungeon crawl through some dank depths and along the way you either turn into a one shotting invincible god or a miserable failed experiment that can barely shoot a tear correctly.
It's incredibly fun.
2017
Pretty enjoyable. Possessing stuff is a neat gimmick, collecting moons is mostly fun and the movement on Mario with Cappy feels fantastic. Game is just kinda let down by having an inconsistent quality with it's levels and a post-game that feels pointless. They needed to cull about a third of the moons, OST is surpsingly weak for a Mario game outside of one standout song...oh my god that moon escape song is so terrible! oh my god! Jump Up Super Star 5eva.
2016
The only Souls games that, after I finished it the first time, I lacked any desire to replay. The game is Good: it handles fine, some of the environments look really nice, online works how it should, has some pretty hype boss fights...but that's all it really is to me. It's just a Good game.
The biggest problem with Dark Souls III is that there really isn't anything special about it. I mean, the Mound Makers are a really interesting idea for a covenant but even they're not enough to make me replay through it again! It has memorable moments and a overall consistent quality but there's nothing about Dark Souls III that makes me want to replay it over any of the other Souls games. Although I will say, that final boss fight...pretty dope.
The biggest problem with Dark Souls III is that there really isn't anything special about it. I mean, the Mound Makers are a really interesting idea for a covenant but even they're not enough to make me replay through it again! It has memorable moments and a overall consistent quality but there's nothing about Dark Souls III that makes me want to replay it over any of the other Souls games. Although I will say, that final boss fight...pretty dope.
2015
Carries over the amazing world building of Dark Souls into a new, gothicly seeped land with large cathedrals, werewolves, dancing witches and aliens (?).
The unique trick weapons and faster, offensive gameplay give it a more urgent "fight for your life" appeal that works really well and feels refreshing as an opposite to the Souls games that came before. The PvP may be lamer and the NPC stuff is a little less interesting but apart from that; everything about Bloodborne fuckin rules.
The unique trick weapons and faster, offensive gameplay give it a more urgent "fight for your life" appeal that works really well and feels refreshing as an opposite to the Souls games that came before. The PvP may be lamer and the NPC stuff is a little less interesting but apart from that; everything about Bloodborne fuckin rules.
2012
An incredibly memorable metroidvania. Wanna explore an ancient civilization's ruins? Want to feel like you're constantly treading around in unknown and unfamiliar territory and the fear and excitement that it brings? Then get out of my house and play La Mulana!!
Excellent music, wonderful pixel art, love how different and unique each zone is with their own style and gimmicks, love how they connect together in surprising ways but one thing I love that I particularly wanna point out is how the game really makes you feel like you're exploring somewhere unknown with it's puzzles. The puzzles in La Mulana can be tough to solve and sometimes require some out of the box thinking and hints for a lot of the puzzles are written on stone tablets that litter the ruins. So what do you do as an explorer? Well you write 'em down and keep a little journal of all your discoveries...except you're doing it in real life in a paper booklet or word document and it's so cool going around zones, noticing strange pieces of the environment or blockades and getting your note book out to try and see if there's anything to help you. I know this isn't the first game to do that stuff but it's a really unique feeling that I had with this game that really elevated it to me.
Also I really appreciate that despite how harsh and punishing the game can be to you, it still has a good sense of humour about itself so that it never feels like it's laughing at you sadistically and more that it's trying to sweeten the punishment that you've been handed. Whatever I've talked a lot about this: La Mulana is amazing. Play it.
Excellent music, wonderful pixel art, love how different and unique each zone is with their own style and gimmicks, love how they connect together in surprising ways but one thing I love that I particularly wanna point out is how the game really makes you feel like you're exploring somewhere unknown with it's puzzles. The puzzles in La Mulana can be tough to solve and sometimes require some out of the box thinking and hints for a lot of the puzzles are written on stone tablets that litter the ruins. So what do you do as an explorer? Well you write 'em down and keep a little journal of all your discoveries...except you're doing it in real life in a paper booklet or word document and it's so cool going around zones, noticing strange pieces of the environment or blockades and getting your note book out to try and see if there's anything to help you. I know this isn't the first game to do that stuff but it's a really unique feeling that I had with this game that really elevated it to me.
Also I really appreciate that despite how harsh and punishing the game can be to you, it still has a good sense of humour about itself so that it never feels like it's laughing at you sadistically and more that it's trying to sweeten the punishment that you've been handed. Whatever I've talked a lot about this: La Mulana is amazing. Play it.
2018
A damn fine sequel. A game that started with me feeling a little bummed out that I wasn't going to have the same experience as the first game, due to me going "hey! that's that thing from the first game that needs that other thing!" within my first hour, soon turned into a similar experience of pure, amazing, metroidvania mystery.
When the game starts going, it really starts going. Giving you a bunch of areas to explore immediately, puzzles and objects that are newly added to the series and just that same pang of exploration and discovery that only a La Mulana game can give you. The middle third of this game was one of my favourite sections in games.
The new portrait art is fantastic, it gives NPCs a bit more of a personality and also is a good excuse for the team to show off their amazing artist that works for them (i forget his name sorry!!). Movement feels better, game flows pretty nicely and the areas all have their own distinct styles still.
The only things really keeping this game back from being as good as the first one for me is maybe an over reliance on mantra spells for puzzle solutions, a pretty insane (by la mulana standards) puzzle two thirds of the way through that left me utterly stumped even after its solution and a sloppy ending, where the last dungeon is just a mini-boss rush with hell dungeon rooms from the PREVIOUS game stapled in between...and then the final boss is also very similar to the final boss of the first game with no real surprises. Also, no hell dungeon??? C'mon!....BUT, those issues aside, I can't help but heavily recommend this game and the original for people who love good metroidvanias.
When the game starts going, it really starts going. Giving you a bunch of areas to explore immediately, puzzles and objects that are newly added to the series and just that same pang of exploration and discovery that only a La Mulana game can give you. The middle third of this game was one of my favourite sections in games.
The new portrait art is fantastic, it gives NPCs a bit more of a personality and also is a good excuse for the team to show off their amazing artist that works for them (i forget his name sorry!!). Movement feels better, game flows pretty nicely and the areas all have their own distinct styles still.
The only things really keeping this game back from being as good as the first one for me is maybe an over reliance on mantra spells for puzzle solutions, a pretty insane (by la mulana standards) puzzle two thirds of the way through that left me utterly stumped even after its solution and a sloppy ending, where the last dungeon is just a mini-boss rush with hell dungeon rooms from the PREVIOUS game stapled in between...and then the final boss is also very similar to the final boss of the first game with no real surprises. Also, no hell dungeon??? C'mon!....BUT, those issues aside, I can't help but heavily recommend this game and the original for people who love good metroidvanias.
2008
dude, it's my music!
2018
Pretty cool game. Really like the idea of the game, where you have 8 different characters and you travel across the world meeting them and going through their stories. Want to say I was a fan of at least half the cast character wise, OST is great, enjoy the fact that most characters have a unique action associated to them (my favourite one being H'aanit's duel a.k.a beat the SHIT out of this random guy) and I had a lot of fun with the combat, especially with Primrose and her Bewildering Grace!
The reason I dropped this game, despite enjoying it mostly, was the fact I had hit 40ish hours in, was leveled ten levels higher than the highest zones available and still had to go through at least 4 chapters each with 6 other characters. Because of how the world works, completing the early chapters for a character means going through low level zones, which meant that I was a level 50ish party going against level 20 guys...for hours...because I needed to play through most people's chapter 2 segments...and by that point the combat kinda became trivial and the little bits of story and character development unfortunately weren't enough to keep me hooked on playing it through all the inessential combat.
It's a shame, cus the base of this game is really cool and would happily finish a more refined version of this game.
The reason I dropped this game, despite enjoying it mostly, was the fact I had hit 40ish hours in, was leveled ten levels higher than the highest zones available and still had to go through at least 4 chapters each with 6 other characters. Because of how the world works, completing the early chapters for a character means going through low level zones, which meant that I was a level 50ish party going against level 20 guys...for hours...because I needed to play through most people's chapter 2 segments...and by that point the combat kinda became trivial and the little bits of story and character development unfortunately weren't enough to keep me hooked on playing it through all the inessential combat.
It's a shame, cus the base of this game is really cool and would happily finish a more refined version of this game.
what a piece of garbage
2017
Mario kart 8 Deluxe has three dials named Colour, Content and Fun and they are all turned up to eleven. This game is a blast!
okay so design wise the game is a bit of a downgrade from the first, there's too many instances where you're going through the level the first time and you get blasted in the face by a dude through a window and you die and he was like the 87th guy out of like a hundred enemies and it's annoying like I get it BUT
In defense of Hotline Miami 2. The art is upgraded and the portraits on characters and the pixel art in general look better than ever. The OST is more than doubled in size since the first game, with every level now having a unique track associated to it and the expected quality of a hotline miami soundtrack still holds true in 2 (the main title theme and the abyss level theme being a few favs). Also, the universe of Hotline Miami gets expanded in 2 with a continuation of the story after the first game, showing the effects that Jacket's actions in the first game had on the world through a decently sized playable cast of characters who all have their own stories and motivations weaved into this Tarrantino-esque narrative. As someone who was surprisingly engaged in what little the first game told of the world story wise, I was eating well with the narrative of the second game and found it to be pretty pleasing. The hotline miami universe is pretty cool!
And I'll go as far as even spinning positively about the level design! Like I said it sucks when you're going through the game the first time because you're approaching the game a lot slower and treating it more like a puzzle game but genuinely, going through the game a second time with the layouts of the level more familiarised in my mind, lead to me having a really good time playing 2. Endurance runs start turning into skillful mowing downs of hordes and the satisfaction of beating a large level + the click of the music finally matching the gameplay style was pretty gratifying.
All in all, the game definitely has flaws but there's plenty of stuff put into this sequel that makes it a worthy successor to the original.
In defense of Hotline Miami 2. The art is upgraded and the portraits on characters and the pixel art in general look better than ever. The OST is more than doubled in size since the first game, with every level now having a unique track associated to it and the expected quality of a hotline miami soundtrack still holds true in 2 (the main title theme and the abyss level theme being a few favs). Also, the universe of Hotline Miami gets expanded in 2 with a continuation of the story after the first game, showing the effects that Jacket's actions in the first game had on the world through a decently sized playable cast of characters who all have their own stories and motivations weaved into this Tarrantino-esque narrative. As someone who was surprisingly engaged in what little the first game told of the world story wise, I was eating well with the narrative of the second game and found it to be pretty pleasing. The hotline miami universe is pretty cool!
And I'll go as far as even spinning positively about the level design! Like I said it sucks when you're going through the game the first time because you're approaching the game a lot slower and treating it more like a puzzle game but genuinely, going through the game a second time with the layouts of the level more familiarised in my mind, lead to me having a really good time playing 2. Endurance runs start turning into skillful mowing downs of hordes and the satisfaction of beating a large level + the click of the music finally matching the gameplay style was pretty gratifying.
All in all, the game definitely has flaws but there's plenty of stuff put into this sequel that makes it a worthy successor to the original.