Modkiq
BACKER
I am very torn on Another Crab's Treasure.. On one hand, it is a great looking game, with charm and love put into every aspect of the game, personality oozes from ever crevice, and the jokes constantly land. Scanning a random QR code in the main hub of the game only to get sent to a youtube video telling you that you've been "coconut malled" (mario kart wii) was honestly a highlight.
On the other hand, the combat is clunky, targeting does not always work, the camera does not cooperate, multiple actions share the same button (despite there being free buttons on a standard xbox controller), certain actions in the skilltree are straight downgrades (and there is no way around these upgrades if you want the later upgrades in the skilltree), frequent game-breaking glitches such as being teleported off the map, or bounce-pads shooting you at the speed of light to the other side of the map, and certain levels being big (and empty) just for the sake of being big makes for a game where you're constantly a little bit annoyed at something while you play.
The game also suffers from multiple quality of life issues. For example, when you make it to certain checkpoints, you probably want to take a step back and spend your currency to buy new upgrades, shells, and level up. Instead of having one hub world where you can do all of this, the game has 4 (though two of them at least connected). That means that you will have to fast travel to hub 1, walk to the second hub, then teleport to the third hub, and finally to the fourth hub just to get your daily shopping done. You will do this frequently, and it is such a big waste of time. This ties into how you upgrade your character; If you want to level up, you do that at any shell you find in the world. If you want to upgrade your skills, however, you need to go to a vendor. If you want to level up the skilltree, you need to go to another vendor. Why can't this be done in the shell? This would cut down on two of the hub worlds that you constantly need to visit. I am almost surprised you can lvl up your character at the shell, and that there is not a 5th hub world that only houses a character that is not relevant to the story at all, whose only purpose if to teach you that you can look into yourself to get stronger.
The gameplay itself, is serviceable. It is fine. It does not have particularly interesting movement for the platforming section, and the combat itself is watered down "fromsoft" type combat.
The issue with making combat so similar to something else, is that you invite direct comparisons, and unfortunately Another Crab's Treasure does not win any of the direct comparisons. Combat feels worse than Dark Souls, the parry mechanics are worse than Sekiro, and you don't have a lot of ways to mix up your gameplay as you are locked to one weapon for the entire gamel
That said, what makes this game stand out is once again the humor. You will fight a character that will pick you up, put you in a portable guillotine, your character will beg for his life, and it will instantly kill you. A character will look through random trash, find a magic wand vibrator, exclaim that "I have no idea what this even is" and try to whack you with it. Other enemies will be armed with tic tacs and try to shoot you with them, while others still will try to use a plastic fork and knife to eat you up.
It is fun, it is whacky, and you get to partake in this whackyness by equipping all sorts of trash as your shell. Use an F key from a keybard to defend yourself, or maybe a gacha capsule is more your style, or some used used medicine containers with some scraps left for you to consume. Or screw it, just put the amogus impostor on your back and call it a day, it for some reason has a ridiculously high defense stat.
Then you get to all the "packaging" surrounding this game. The story, the characters, the jokes, the music, it's all fantastic. I found myself just vibing to the music multiple times, not even playing the game or doing anything in particular, just enjoying the moment. This is why I am so torn on this game. I am so glad I got to experience all the charm, funny moments, attention to detail, passion and love put into this game, but at the same time itself I always felt like the gameplay itself wasn't that fun. At least it was easy and straightforward (compared to most soulslikes), so it never felt like a drag, but now that I have completed it and seen most of the game, I feel no drive to play again. I am kind of glad it is over, but I am also very glad it happened.
In conclusion, this is a very charming game with witty writing, funny jokes, great music and overall a fun adventure, however it is held back by not doing anything special in the gameplay department. The gameplay itself is just fine, but nothing to write home about. So if you are looking for more Soulslikes for the sake of great soulslike gameplay, I would not recommend this game; however if you are looking for a game to kick back, relax, and go on a witty adventure with, I recommend this game.
On the other hand, the combat is clunky, targeting does not always work, the camera does not cooperate, multiple actions share the same button (despite there being free buttons on a standard xbox controller), certain actions in the skilltree are straight downgrades (and there is no way around these upgrades if you want the later upgrades in the skilltree), frequent game-breaking glitches such as being teleported off the map, or bounce-pads shooting you at the speed of light to the other side of the map, and certain levels being big (and empty) just for the sake of being big makes for a game where you're constantly a little bit annoyed at something while you play.
The game also suffers from multiple quality of life issues. For example, when you make it to certain checkpoints, you probably want to take a step back and spend your currency to buy new upgrades, shells, and level up. Instead of having one hub world where you can do all of this, the game has 4 (though two of them at least connected). That means that you will have to fast travel to hub 1, walk to the second hub, then teleport to the third hub, and finally to the fourth hub just to get your daily shopping done. You will do this frequently, and it is such a big waste of time. This ties into how you upgrade your character; If you want to level up, you do that at any shell you find in the world. If you want to upgrade your skills, however, you need to go to a vendor. If you want to level up the skilltree, you need to go to another vendor. Why can't this be done in the shell? This would cut down on two of the hub worlds that you constantly need to visit. I am almost surprised you can lvl up your character at the shell, and that there is not a 5th hub world that only houses a character that is not relevant to the story at all, whose only purpose if to teach you that you can look into yourself to get stronger.
The gameplay itself, is serviceable. It is fine. It does not have particularly interesting movement for the platforming section, and the combat itself is watered down "fromsoft" type combat.
The issue with making combat so similar to something else, is that you invite direct comparisons, and unfortunately Another Crab's Treasure does not win any of the direct comparisons. Combat feels worse than Dark Souls, the parry mechanics are worse than Sekiro, and you don't have a lot of ways to mix up your gameplay as you are locked to one weapon for the entire gamel
That said, what makes this game stand out is once again the humor. You will fight a character that will pick you up, put you in a portable guillotine, your character will beg for his life, and it will instantly kill you. A character will look through random trash, find a magic wand vibrator, exclaim that "I have no idea what this even is" and try to whack you with it. Other enemies will be armed with tic tacs and try to shoot you with them, while others still will try to use a plastic fork and knife to eat you up.
It is fun, it is whacky, and you get to partake in this whackyness by equipping all sorts of trash as your shell. Use an F key from a keybard to defend yourself, or maybe a gacha capsule is more your style, or some used used medicine containers with some scraps left for you to consume. Or screw it, just put the amogus impostor on your back and call it a day, it for some reason has a ridiculously high defense stat.
Then you get to all the "packaging" surrounding this game. The story, the characters, the jokes, the music, it's all fantastic. I found myself just vibing to the music multiple times, not even playing the game or doing anything in particular, just enjoying the moment. This is why I am so torn on this game. I am so glad I got to experience all the charm, funny moments, attention to detail, passion and love put into this game, but at the same time itself I always felt like the gameplay itself wasn't that fun. At least it was easy and straightforward (compared to most soulslikes), so it never felt like a drag, but now that I have completed it and seen most of the game, I feel no drive to play again. I am kind of glad it is over, but I am also very glad it happened.
In conclusion, this is a very charming game with witty writing, funny jokes, great music and overall a fun adventure, however it is held back by not doing anything special in the gameplay department. The gameplay itself is just fine, but nothing to write home about. So if you are looking for more Soulslikes for the sake of great soulslike gameplay, I would not recommend this game; however if you are looking for a game to kick back, relax, and go on a witty adventure with, I recommend this game.
This is the best turn based/tactical RPG I have ever played, without a doubt. The world truly feels vast and lived in. Every NPC you encounter has something to say and a few items to trade. Every corner of the map is filled with details, loot to find, enemy encounters (often with their own small mini stories and motivations), and fun interactions. You'll find a random statue in the wild, you discover you can solve a small puzzle to interact with it, and boom, it's one of the most memorable and funny parts of the game, just out there, randomly in the wild. You could have easily missed it (and I am sure many does!). Small things like this really make every moment feel special.
The story is filled with interesting characters, with their own motivations, stories, history, and have their own things going on completely detached from what the player is doing, making the world feel a lot larger than what you see. You'll help these characters, they will help you, and depending on your choices, and the people you help, the crew you make, the story will change.
It all feels larger than the sum of its parts, and there are a lot of parts.
The combat revolves around an "Action Points" (AP) economy system, and a special armor system where you can deplete either someone's magic armor or physical armor. This means that different encounters feel more unique, as a mage enemy might be really strong against magic, but weak against physical hit, it makes every encounter feel unique. There are many fun combos and synergies you can discover, and sometimes it really feels like you are cheating, only for the game to throw yet another curve ball at you, making what was previously an "insane combo, the devs probably didnt think you'd be able to do this" into a "Oh yeah, I totally need this, the enemy combos are way stronger!".
There is something so satisfying about doing a combo like "Okay, I will save some AP for the next turn, then the turn after I can do a move that spawns blood under me, making my blood moves stronger, then I can hit them with a move that removes their armor, then a move that makes them bleed, then finally a move that uses that blood to totally destroy them". It all synergizes so well, and the more you look into it, the better it gets.
With you being able to spec into as many classes as you want and learn pretty much any spell you can imagine, there are countless of ways to play the game, and a ton of strategies for you to discover. You can't see it all in one playthrough. For example, I used a combo that made it so when enemies walk, they take very heavy damage, then I used another spell to make them "Terrified", which will force them to run away on their next turn. These combos belong to different classes, and there are plenty of examples like these ones, there is so much to discover, use and abuse.
You can play as an assortment of different characters (or make your own), all of which have different main stories, different interactions with characters, and ways to play the game. Your party can be 4 of these characters, or you can make your own party from hired characters you find in the game. Depending on the characters in your party, characters will react differently to you. Some places might not welcome an undead character, while others may let you pass because one of your characters are a royal lizard. Some will straight up pick fights with you because you are an elf, and if you were to talk to that same character with a different character they might be all friendly and even have a quest for you. The world truly reacts differently to your characters, which is fun and must have taken a lot of development time.
All of this on top of a fantastic skill system, crafting system, exploration, character affinity, stealth systems and more. It is a complete video game, that has all the video game things, maybe except for the now common DLCs and Microtransactions (remember when those were controversial?). There is so much to this game that I know for a fact that if I were to play it again, I would have a whole different experience, despite my 170 hours of playtime.
For example, I barely engaged with the crafting system in the game, and the few times I did use it, I found I could craft incredibly powerful armor.
The only thing really holding this game back is some quality of life for certain things. There are many small frustrations all over the game, and they can sometimes add up. You have an endlessly large inventory with things you need to keep "just in case" (after all, did you use that key yet or was that for something you'll need in the future?), but no search bar. Some characters especially in the town squares repeat the same voicelines way too quickly, truly making them feel like bots, and sometimes the combat can be quite frustrating because the game does not properly predict what will happen (it might say your move costs 1 AP, but it spends 2, meaning you can't afford to do your move). Furthermore, enemies sometimes just cheat. They straight up don't follow normal game mechanics like cooldown for moves, or they can't be stunned despite not having stun immunity, or they can't be targeted from where you're standing but they can target you. It can sometimes make the game feel frustrating. This is mixed with the game giving you very exciting abilities near the end, which you never get to use. For example, near the end I received a "Control Voidwoken" spell, but I only ever encountered Voidwoken twice after that point, which was a huge shame.
My main other gripe with the game, which is quite funny considering I spent 170 hours to beat the game, is that there isn't more of it. I really wanted more, and I wish they would spend more time to flesh out certain aspects of the game. You have seen and probably learned all the spells you will need by the time you're halfway through the game. I wish the game would let you discover more spells as you get stronger. Some spells also require you to multi class, but it's literally "ehh, put two points into this other class".
Some story elements also get glossed over a bit near the end. There is a huge voidwoken build up and attack, but you don't really see any voidwoken. They tease you with giant voicwoken you never get to fight, and you almost have to wonder what happened to them all considering theyre a world wide threat. A certain important story character you meet near the end of the game is also just... glossed over. You have one conversation with them, then you fight, then the game is over. For such an important character it is very weird that they get so little screen time. I wish there was more. And hopefully there will be more in a Divinity 3.
My gripes aside, this is still such a fantastic game, and Larian have shown that they are truly the masters of turn based RPGs. My dream Larian game would be a game with Divinity's combat, but with even more spells, mixed with Baldur's Gate's cinematic camera and quality of life features like a searchable inventory.
Needless to say, this game is absolutely fantastic, I recommend it to all.
The story is filled with interesting characters, with their own motivations, stories, history, and have their own things going on completely detached from what the player is doing, making the world feel a lot larger than what you see. You'll help these characters, they will help you, and depending on your choices, and the people you help, the crew you make, the story will change.
It all feels larger than the sum of its parts, and there are a lot of parts.
The combat revolves around an "Action Points" (AP) economy system, and a special armor system where you can deplete either someone's magic armor or physical armor. This means that different encounters feel more unique, as a mage enemy might be really strong against magic, but weak against physical hit, it makes every encounter feel unique. There are many fun combos and synergies you can discover, and sometimes it really feels like you are cheating, only for the game to throw yet another curve ball at you, making what was previously an "insane combo, the devs probably didnt think you'd be able to do this" into a "Oh yeah, I totally need this, the enemy combos are way stronger!".
There is something so satisfying about doing a combo like "Okay, I will save some AP for the next turn, then the turn after I can do a move that spawns blood under me, making my blood moves stronger, then I can hit them with a move that removes their armor, then a move that makes them bleed, then finally a move that uses that blood to totally destroy them". It all synergizes so well, and the more you look into it, the better it gets.
With you being able to spec into as many classes as you want and learn pretty much any spell you can imagine, there are countless of ways to play the game, and a ton of strategies for you to discover. You can't see it all in one playthrough. For example, I used a combo that made it so when enemies walk, they take very heavy damage, then I used another spell to make them "Terrified", which will force them to run away on their next turn. These combos belong to different classes, and there are plenty of examples like these ones, there is so much to discover, use and abuse.
You can play as an assortment of different characters (or make your own), all of which have different main stories, different interactions with characters, and ways to play the game. Your party can be 4 of these characters, or you can make your own party from hired characters you find in the game. Depending on the characters in your party, characters will react differently to you. Some places might not welcome an undead character, while others may let you pass because one of your characters are a royal lizard. Some will straight up pick fights with you because you are an elf, and if you were to talk to that same character with a different character they might be all friendly and even have a quest for you. The world truly reacts differently to your characters, which is fun and must have taken a lot of development time.
All of this on top of a fantastic skill system, crafting system, exploration, character affinity, stealth systems and more. It is a complete video game, that has all the video game things, maybe except for the now common DLCs and Microtransactions (remember when those were controversial?). There is so much to this game that I know for a fact that if I were to play it again, I would have a whole different experience, despite my 170 hours of playtime.
For example, I barely engaged with the crafting system in the game, and the few times I did use it, I found I could craft incredibly powerful armor.
The only thing really holding this game back is some quality of life for certain things. There are many small frustrations all over the game, and they can sometimes add up. You have an endlessly large inventory with things you need to keep "just in case" (after all, did you use that key yet or was that for something you'll need in the future?), but no search bar. Some characters especially in the town squares repeat the same voicelines way too quickly, truly making them feel like bots, and sometimes the combat can be quite frustrating because the game does not properly predict what will happen (it might say your move costs 1 AP, but it spends 2, meaning you can't afford to do your move). Furthermore, enemies sometimes just cheat. They straight up don't follow normal game mechanics like cooldown for moves, or they can't be stunned despite not having stun immunity, or they can't be targeted from where you're standing but they can target you. It can sometimes make the game feel frustrating. This is mixed with the game giving you very exciting abilities near the end, which you never get to use. For example, near the end I received a "Control Voidwoken" spell, but I only ever encountered Voidwoken twice after that point, which was a huge shame.
My main other gripe with the game, which is quite funny considering I spent 170 hours to beat the game, is that there isn't more of it. I really wanted more, and I wish they would spend more time to flesh out certain aspects of the game. You have seen and probably learned all the spells you will need by the time you're halfway through the game. I wish the game would let you discover more spells as you get stronger. Some spells also require you to multi class, but it's literally "ehh, put two points into this other class".
Some story elements also get glossed over a bit near the end. There is a huge voidwoken build up and attack, but you don't really see any voidwoken. They tease you with giant voicwoken you never get to fight, and you almost have to wonder what happened to them all considering theyre a world wide threat. A certain important story character you meet near the end of the game is also just... glossed over. You have one conversation with them, then you fight, then the game is over. For such an important character it is very weird that they get so little screen time. I wish there was more. And hopefully there will be more in a Divinity 3.
My gripes aside, this is still such a fantastic game, and Larian have shown that they are truly the masters of turn based RPGs. My dream Larian game would be a game with Divinity's combat, but with even more spells, mixed with Baldur's Gate's cinematic camera and quality of life features like a searchable inventory.
Needless to say, this game is absolutely fantastic, I recommend it to all.
2023
Despite the 3.5-star rating I do want to recommend this game. It is fun for what it is. I enjoy the cocky and straightforward lines of the Dealer, and the first few runs of the game is a lot of fun, and it's great to see more games that remind you of Inscryption, though much darker.
The items offer more strategy other than just probability, though they can be pretty OP at times, especially when you combine them.
That said, this is very much a "minigame". You play it for a few rounds, and you've seen everything. Other than that, the game offers great atmosphere, a hard party, and chasing high scores.
Still, I recommend you give this one a shot. It is fun and worth experiencing. The main reason behind the 3.5 star rating is frankly because there is very little to this game. It is simple, and finished quickly.
The items offer more strategy other than just probability, though they can be pretty OP at times, especially when you combine them.
That said, this is very much a "minigame". You play it for a few rounds, and you've seen everything. Other than that, the game offers great atmosphere, a hard party, and chasing high scores.
Still, I recommend you give this one a shot. It is fun and worth experiencing. The main reason behind the 3.5 star rating is frankly because there is very little to this game. It is simple, and finished quickly.
2024
Balatro is cruel, addictive, satisfying, soul crushing, exhilarating, and every other description associated with gambling... except for "regret".
2021
This is definitely one of the best co-op games to come out. The quality overall is through the roof, with an incredible attention to detail in every aspect of the game.
The platforming is smooth, the voice acting is fantastic, and the environments are fun, unique, and are changed up very often. The game effortlessly mixes comedy with more serious relationship issues, and never drops a beat.
The gameplay, while a platformer most of the time, changes it up so often that it's almost like playing a succession of minigames. In
one moment you'll play a plaformer, the next you're flying, then skating, etc, so the gameplay remains fresh throughout.
My main gripe with this game is that while I appreciate that the game wants you to constantly move forward, the puzzles the game gives you can feel like they drag a lot, especially when there are multiple puzzles in quick succession. "Activate 6 of these things, by doing the exact same thing but slightly different 6 times", it is not really fun, and slows down the pace of the game.
Furthermore, while it is great that every chapter gives you new abilities to play with, some chapters leaves one player doing almost nothing. This is especially the case in certain chapters where Cody's abilities boil down to "hold the door so May can play the game".
Despite these flaws, the game is still a blast throughout, and should be at the top of the backlog for any couple looking for something to play together. I highly recommend it.
The platforming is smooth, the voice acting is fantastic, and the environments are fun, unique, and are changed up very often. The game effortlessly mixes comedy with more serious relationship issues, and never drops a beat.
The gameplay, while a platformer most of the time, changes it up so often that it's almost like playing a succession of minigames. In
one moment you'll play a plaformer, the next you're flying, then skating, etc, so the gameplay remains fresh throughout.
My main gripe with this game is that while I appreciate that the game wants you to constantly move forward, the puzzles the game gives you can feel like they drag a lot, especially when there are multiple puzzles in quick succession. "Activate 6 of these things, by doing the exact same thing but slightly different 6 times", it is not really fun, and slows down the pace of the game.
Furthermore, while it is great that every chapter gives you new abilities to play with, some chapters leaves one player doing almost nothing. This is especially the case in certain chapters where Cody's abilities boil down to "hold the door so May can play the game".
Despite these flaws, the game is still a blast throughout, and should be at the top of the backlog for any couple looking for something to play together. I highly recommend it.
Do you remember watching these stick fight animations like 10 years ago? You ever thought "Man, I wish there was a game that would let me do this". Well, here it is.
Stick fight does not only look crazy like these animations we look back so fondly on, it plays like a dream too. "Fighting games are turn based" has long been said in the community, "you just need to know when to take your turn". The developer Ivy Sly took this literally and created one of the most innovative fighting games we've seen in a long time.
Both players doing their turn at the same time, having to guess what the opponent is going to do, confuse them with movement, react to the moves they throw out... it's all so familiar. It really plays just like a fighting game, but your reaction time is instant because of the turn based nature of the game.
If you're a greedy player, you'll throw up stupid moves and get punished, if you're scared, you'll get backed into the corner, and if you're too defensive, you will get grabbed. It's all here, just in a turn based coating.
What really takes this game to the next lvl are the mechanics it borrows from other fighting games. Being able to influence the direction you fly when you get hit, guessing when the opponent is going to push you away with their burst, how different characters have different friction on the ground allowing for sliding moves and creative ways of hitting the opponent, fighting game fans will recognize all of this and be able to pinpoint what games they're being "borrowed" from, but ti just makes so much more sense in this game.
The level of control you have over your character in this game, even when you're being comboed by your opponent is astonishing.
This game manages to skip a lot of the issues traditional fighting games face. Telling your friend that they have to stick with a game for a while before they know if it's for them or not, it's not really a good selling point. "The game is fun, but you have to put in the work". This game skips all of that. Anyone can play this, and they don't have to spend hours in training mode to do awesome combos. Every time you press a button, you can see a preview of what is going to happen, before it happens. This means that you'll be able to see what moves will and will not work, and you can compare your moves to your opponent's, letting you know how big of a risk you're taking.
The main issue with this game is that some of the downsides of fighting games are even worse in this one. Fighting game players will complain having to "watch a cutscene" if your opponent combos you for more than five seconds. This game is even worse. While it is cool that you are also playing while you're being combod, by influencing the direction you get hit, your options are still extremely limited, and you're not exactly doing anything "cool".
Having to wait for your opponent to plan their incredibly cool 10+ hit combos can leave you waiting for upwards of five minutes before you're able to play again. But then again, when you actually get a hit, you'll be the one doing the most awesome sequence of moves you'll ever see for five minutes, so maybe it's worth it ;)
Overall, this game is incredible. It's a fighting game with all the depth and fun characters you'd expect, while also being incredibly accessible to the point where anyone that understands the basic principle of "You want to hit the opponent without getting hit yourself" to play and do awesome moves.
Regardless of if you win or lose, you'll be able to watch the whole match play at lightning speed once the round is over, and it looks just as cool every single time. I'll continue to play this a lot more for sure.
Highly recommend.
Stick fight does not only look crazy like these animations we look back so fondly on, it plays like a dream too. "Fighting games are turn based" has long been said in the community, "you just need to know when to take your turn". The developer Ivy Sly took this literally and created one of the most innovative fighting games we've seen in a long time.
Both players doing their turn at the same time, having to guess what the opponent is going to do, confuse them with movement, react to the moves they throw out... it's all so familiar. It really plays just like a fighting game, but your reaction time is instant because of the turn based nature of the game.
If you're a greedy player, you'll throw up stupid moves and get punished, if you're scared, you'll get backed into the corner, and if you're too defensive, you will get grabbed. It's all here, just in a turn based coating.
What really takes this game to the next lvl are the mechanics it borrows from other fighting games. Being able to influence the direction you fly when you get hit, guessing when the opponent is going to push you away with their burst, how different characters have different friction on the ground allowing for sliding moves and creative ways of hitting the opponent, fighting game fans will recognize all of this and be able to pinpoint what games they're being "borrowed" from, but ti just makes so much more sense in this game.
The level of control you have over your character in this game, even when you're being comboed by your opponent is astonishing.
This game manages to skip a lot of the issues traditional fighting games face. Telling your friend that they have to stick with a game for a while before they know if it's for them or not, it's not really a good selling point. "The game is fun, but you have to put in the work". This game skips all of that. Anyone can play this, and they don't have to spend hours in training mode to do awesome combos. Every time you press a button, you can see a preview of what is going to happen, before it happens. This means that you'll be able to see what moves will and will not work, and you can compare your moves to your opponent's, letting you know how big of a risk you're taking.
The main issue with this game is that some of the downsides of fighting games are even worse in this one. Fighting game players will complain having to "watch a cutscene" if your opponent combos you for more than five seconds. This game is even worse. While it is cool that you are also playing while you're being combod, by influencing the direction you get hit, your options are still extremely limited, and you're not exactly doing anything "cool".
Having to wait for your opponent to plan their incredibly cool 10+ hit combos can leave you waiting for upwards of five minutes before you're able to play again. But then again, when you actually get a hit, you'll be the one doing the most awesome sequence of moves you'll ever see for five minutes, so maybe it's worth it ;)
Overall, this game is incredible. It's a fighting game with all the depth and fun characters you'd expect, while also being incredibly accessible to the point where anyone that understands the basic principle of "You want to hit the opponent without getting hit yourself" to play and do awesome moves.
Regardless of if you win or lose, you'll be able to watch the whole match play at lightning speed once the round is over, and it looks just as cool every single time. I'll continue to play this a lot more for sure.
Highly recommend.
2023
I really needed a game like Alan Wake 2. After growing increasingly jaded with AAA titles and its repetition, Alan Wake 2 offers an incredibly creative experience that breaks the mold of what you would expect in a typical high budget game.
I love Remedy's storytelling. They present a lot of questions to you, but rarely answer them explicitly. In some cases, you are left to speculate, or wait for the next game in the series. The story is purposefully convoluted, full of references to a 10 year old game and mentions you need a very keen eye to truly appreciate. The story jumps back and forth in time, from one character to another, and sometimes it's questionable what is and isn't "real". While this can be somewhat annoying for some, it ensures for me that the game and its mysteries stay in my mind for a long time. It is a game that, if you get invested, it stays with you for a long time after you play it. Lore videos, discussion boards, making up my own theories, it's a lot of fun.
Alan's endless monologues, Saga questioning what is happening and what is real, characters seemingly knowing more than they let on, Athi the janitor, I just wanna dive deeper and deeper into the lore and discover as much as possible.
When it comes to the gamplay itself, it's good. Alan offers classic Survival Horror type gameplay, where you have to be careful with your resources, solve puzzles while pushing forward to continue the story. Alan Wake 2 fixes a lot of my issues with typical survival horrors. There are very few "annoying" things to deal with. No big unkillable AI that does nothing to improve the atmosphere, no running to the other side of the map to find what you need to solve a puzzle, and no boss fights where all you do is unload 3 magazines of every gun type into them before they die.
Saga's side of the game is similar, but focuses more on action, exploration, more long winded puzzles, and meeting characters to drive the plot forward.
While all of this is well and good, the game is not without flaws. Here are my main gripes:
1) Sometimes I would know the answer to a puzzle, get really confused as to why it wasn't working, second guess myself and run around the map like a headless chicken before realizing I forgot to put a picture in its place in the Mind Place. Bruh. Seriously? Sometimes I would even solve the puzzle, look in the correct spot, but the item isn't there because I didn't enter my head and "think" the item into existence. This sucks, and the Saga part of the story is especially guilty of this. It happens multiple times.
2) The optimization is god awful. Seriously? 4080, i7-13th gen, 32GB ram and I can't even get 60 fps at 1440p without DLSS? Even with DLSS it sometimes stutters. DLSS makes the game feel much heavier and clunker than it needs to be. What a shame. The anti aliasing is also really bad, you essentially have to choose between a jagged game or a blurry game. If you choose to play with DLSS, it is especially bad when anti aliasing is on.
3) Sometimes I would get lost. The map was not very good, and it was not always clear where the game wanted you to go. Especially in some of the open ended areas like when you explore the open world of the Dark Place, particularly when you look for something that hasn't appeared in the world yet, so you hyper focus on scouting for that one thing that doesn't exist. The map is also inaccurate multiple places in the Dark Place because walking into a room will technically teleport you somewhere else, so you take a left and on the map it looks like you took a right, and you also sprinted 200 meters (because you teleported).
In conclusion, I think this game is amazing, and definitely deserves all the praise it is getting. I am super excited for Remedy's next game, and I can't wait to dive back into this fantastical world of horror. I can only hope we don't have to wait 10 years for the next one.
I love Remedy's storytelling. They present a lot of questions to you, but rarely answer them explicitly. In some cases, you are left to speculate, or wait for the next game in the series. The story is purposefully convoluted, full of references to a 10 year old game and mentions you need a very keen eye to truly appreciate. The story jumps back and forth in time, from one character to another, and sometimes it's questionable what is and isn't "real". While this can be somewhat annoying for some, it ensures for me that the game and its mysteries stay in my mind for a long time. It is a game that, if you get invested, it stays with you for a long time after you play it. Lore videos, discussion boards, making up my own theories, it's a lot of fun.
Alan's endless monologues, Saga questioning what is happening and what is real, characters seemingly knowing more than they let on, Athi the janitor, I just wanna dive deeper and deeper into the lore and discover as much as possible.
When it comes to the gamplay itself, it's good. Alan offers classic Survival Horror type gameplay, where you have to be careful with your resources, solve puzzles while pushing forward to continue the story. Alan Wake 2 fixes a lot of my issues with typical survival horrors. There are very few "annoying" things to deal with. No big unkillable AI that does nothing to improve the atmosphere, no running to the other side of the map to find what you need to solve a puzzle, and no boss fights where all you do is unload 3 magazines of every gun type into them before they die.
Saga's side of the game is similar, but focuses more on action, exploration, more long winded puzzles, and meeting characters to drive the plot forward.
While all of this is well and good, the game is not without flaws. Here are my main gripes:
1) Sometimes I would know the answer to a puzzle, get really confused as to why it wasn't working, second guess myself and run around the map like a headless chicken before realizing I forgot to put a picture in its place in the Mind Place. Bruh. Seriously? Sometimes I would even solve the puzzle, look in the correct spot, but the item isn't there because I didn't enter my head and "think" the item into existence. This sucks, and the Saga part of the story is especially guilty of this. It happens multiple times.
2) The optimization is god awful. Seriously? 4080, i7-13th gen, 32GB ram and I can't even get 60 fps at 1440p without DLSS? Even with DLSS it sometimes stutters. DLSS makes the game feel much heavier and clunker than it needs to be. What a shame. The anti aliasing is also really bad, you essentially have to choose between a jagged game or a blurry game. If you choose to play with DLSS, it is especially bad when anti aliasing is on.
3) Sometimes I would get lost. The map was not very good, and it was not always clear where the game wanted you to go. Especially in some of the open ended areas like when you explore the open world of the Dark Place, particularly when you look for something that hasn't appeared in the world yet, so you hyper focus on scouting for that one thing that doesn't exist. The map is also inaccurate multiple places in the Dark Place because walking into a room will technically teleport you somewhere else, so you take a left and on the map it looks like you took a right, and you also sprinted 200 meters (because you teleported).
In conclusion, I think this game is amazing, and definitely deserves all the praise it is getting. I am super excited for Remedy's next game, and I can't wait to dive back into this fantastical world of horror. I can only hope we don't have to wait 10 years for the next one.
Traditionally when you write a story, you want to set the scene, slowly raise tension until your plot climaxes, and you can slowly build down to an ending.
Metal Gear Rising does not care, and starts the story at its peak, and never lets go for a single second. It is always do or die, and when you think the game can't reach new heights, it does. The game is extremely over the top and funny, while also having deep and nuanced political commentary. You'll laugh at how absurd it is, and cry at how accurate it is at the same time.
This is probably one of the most fucked up games I have ever played, and is one I will remember for a very, very, very long time. Highly recommend.
"Memes. The DNA of the soul."
Metal Gear Rising does not care, and starts the story at its peak, and never lets go for a single second. It is always do or die, and when you think the game can't reach new heights, it does. The game is extremely over the top and funny, while also having deep and nuanced political commentary. You'll laugh at how absurd it is, and cry at how accurate it is at the same time.
This is probably one of the most fucked up games I have ever played, and is one I will remember for a very, very, very long time. Highly recommend.
"Memes. The DNA of the soul."
2020
This review contains spoilers
While the pixel art is beautiful, the music is fitting, the game fails going anywhere beyond "ok".
The gameplay revolves around jumping puzzles. Make it to the other side of the screen, while pressing buttons to change the layout of the screen. This is fine, but never really requires you to think. Most of the time you can just start jumping and the layout will fix itself as you go. I think there are 3 puzzles in the entire game where I needed to think, but never to the point where I get the "ahhh, of course" moment where you finally realize how to solve the puzzle. It was more like "Oh, lol. I forgot to press this".
So the game is not satisfying in terms of puzzles, which is half the game. The other half, is a story.
The game tries to build this mystery of a hidden artifact on an island. You have to solve these puzzles to translate ancient text, and they will reveal the secret to immortality.
It seems these are incredibly simple to translate, because apparently everyone who sees them just know what they say after a short period of time, but the game never addresses this, they are ultra mysterious and "hard to crack".
You play as a character who follows Clover, who is looking for the ancient artifact that gives you immortality. He needs this to save his sister and himself from dying, but they do everything they can to make Clover as selfless as possible. He helps the old man do shopping, he helps the bullied kid get a hobby, he will even let a thief stay in his home. Clover put his home on the line to this thief when they make bets around a game. The thief obviously has nothing to give in return, so Clover asks that if the thief loses, he has to face what he is running from. Wow, so selfless. Or an idiot perhaps.
You on the other hand, plays as a character who knows nothing. You're on a mission to find a person that does not exist, but you find Clover instead. As you solve puzzles, you learn more about yourself and Clover. For some reason, people keep stealing stuff from you, and it is never explained how or why, and it really does not matter in the end. Seems mostly like an excuse for you to not be able to contact the outside world.
You discover that the island is actually the immortality artifact. You have been fed lies about what your mission is, you were actually sent there to meet Clover. Clover's sister has the same name as you, and as all of this is discovered, you all cry, and Clover dies at the perfect moment to die happy, because he has been terminally ill this entire time, and all of this was a setup by the thief who wanted to give Clover a happy ending.
This story is very convoluted, and needs a cast of idiots to work. The idiot plot of Clover, who will believe and do anything anyone asks of him. Oh sure, let me make the thief look after my baby sister while I look for the immortality trinket. Sure, let trust this random agent character and tell her about the only thing that could save my sister's life, and of course, let me trust this random guy who has been stalking everyone with my water bottle.
Let me then drink from the water bottle, which the stalker had poisoned just hoping and assuming Clover would die in the exact moment everything is revealed so he get a happy ending.
The character you play as, sure, send her on a secret mission, let he discover that she has the same name as Clover's sister, and let us just hope she decides to go with it and lie about being his sister so he can die a happy death. They couldn't tell this person they would have the same name as Clover's sister, because they wanted the emotions of discovering to be "real".
What if the poison killed Clover a little earlier? Or what if he died to his illness before discovering everything? What if he was unable to decipher the messages to begin with, or not know what the final message meant?
What is Clover didn't want to share his water bottle with a stranger, that way he would never have been poisoned? What if the main character never trapped the stalker to begin with, then he could never have poisoned Clover.
What if the main character wanted to tell Clover the truth, or didn't immediately understand she was there to lie to him?
Clover seemingly only spent a day or two on the island, and if the whole lie is that he can't feel the passage of time, sure, but he still needs to sleep and rest normally, he should have understood that it is impossible for 20+ years to have passed, his baby sister can't have aged this much in an afternoon. And if that is the case, would he not be curious as to what the world is like after this much time? His friend like the old man would surely be dead, and the kid he helped an adult. He has no questions regarding any of this?
There are so many things that has to perfectly line up for any of this to take place. The poison, the discovery, the timing, his blind trust in a thief who is actually an ex billionaire that could make all of this happen, the agent to break her contract and reveal who she is (after she goes on a long rant about how she only cares about money) etc etc etc. It doesn't make sense. This is not how people work
Also, you might have noticed, I didn't touch much on these ancient civilization messages. Neither does the game. It's just something that is there. And there's a water plant for some reason. Why? Who knows. There was an ancient civilization on a hidden island no one can find that no one lives on, but you don't need to know anything else about them.
So that's it. You have a story about a mystery and twist that does not feel earned, and mediocre at best puzzle platforming. It does not make for a great game, but at least it does not overstay its welcome. The game lasts about 3 hours, and it does have gorgeous pixel art. The conversations between the characters are entertaining enough, though it can feel pandering at times.
The game itself is somewhat enjoyable to play if you just need something for an evening, but overall I can't recommend that you buy it.
The gameplay revolves around jumping puzzles. Make it to the other side of the screen, while pressing buttons to change the layout of the screen. This is fine, but never really requires you to think. Most of the time you can just start jumping and the layout will fix itself as you go. I think there are 3 puzzles in the entire game where I needed to think, but never to the point where I get the "ahhh, of course" moment where you finally realize how to solve the puzzle. It was more like "Oh, lol. I forgot to press this".
So the game is not satisfying in terms of puzzles, which is half the game. The other half, is a story.
The game tries to build this mystery of a hidden artifact on an island. You have to solve these puzzles to translate ancient text, and they will reveal the secret to immortality.
It seems these are incredibly simple to translate, because apparently everyone who sees them just know what they say after a short period of time, but the game never addresses this, they are ultra mysterious and "hard to crack".
You play as a character who follows Clover, who is looking for the ancient artifact that gives you immortality. He needs this to save his sister and himself from dying, but they do everything they can to make Clover as selfless as possible. He helps the old man do shopping, he helps the bullied kid get a hobby, he will even let a thief stay in his home. Clover put his home on the line to this thief when they make bets around a game. The thief obviously has nothing to give in return, so Clover asks that if the thief loses, he has to face what he is running from. Wow, so selfless. Or an idiot perhaps.
You on the other hand, plays as a character who knows nothing. You're on a mission to find a person that does not exist, but you find Clover instead. As you solve puzzles, you learn more about yourself and Clover. For some reason, people keep stealing stuff from you, and it is never explained how or why, and it really does not matter in the end. Seems mostly like an excuse for you to not be able to contact the outside world.
You discover that the island is actually the immortality artifact. You have been fed lies about what your mission is, you were actually sent there to meet Clover. Clover's sister has the same name as you, and as all of this is discovered, you all cry, and Clover dies at the perfect moment to die happy, because he has been terminally ill this entire time, and all of this was a setup by the thief who wanted to give Clover a happy ending.
This story is very convoluted, and needs a cast of idiots to work. The idiot plot of Clover, who will believe and do anything anyone asks of him. Oh sure, let me make the thief look after my baby sister while I look for the immortality trinket. Sure, let trust this random agent character and tell her about the only thing that could save my sister's life, and of course, let me trust this random guy who has been stalking everyone with my water bottle.
Let me then drink from the water bottle, which the stalker had poisoned just hoping and assuming Clover would die in the exact moment everything is revealed so he get a happy ending.
The character you play as, sure, send her on a secret mission, let he discover that she has the same name as Clover's sister, and let us just hope she decides to go with it and lie about being his sister so he can die a happy death. They couldn't tell this person they would have the same name as Clover's sister, because they wanted the emotions of discovering to be "real".
What if the poison killed Clover a little earlier? Or what if he died to his illness before discovering everything? What if he was unable to decipher the messages to begin with, or not know what the final message meant?
What is Clover didn't want to share his water bottle with a stranger, that way he would never have been poisoned? What if the main character never trapped the stalker to begin with, then he could never have poisoned Clover.
What if the main character wanted to tell Clover the truth, or didn't immediately understand she was there to lie to him?
Clover seemingly only spent a day or two on the island, and if the whole lie is that he can't feel the passage of time, sure, but he still needs to sleep and rest normally, he should have understood that it is impossible for 20+ years to have passed, his baby sister can't have aged this much in an afternoon. And if that is the case, would he not be curious as to what the world is like after this much time? His friend like the old man would surely be dead, and the kid he helped an adult. He has no questions regarding any of this?
There are so many things that has to perfectly line up for any of this to take place. The poison, the discovery, the timing, his blind trust in a thief who is actually an ex billionaire that could make all of this happen, the agent to break her contract and reveal who she is (after she goes on a long rant about how she only cares about money) etc etc etc. It doesn't make sense. This is not how people work
Also, you might have noticed, I didn't touch much on these ancient civilization messages. Neither does the game. It's just something that is there. And there's a water plant for some reason. Why? Who knows. There was an ancient civilization on a hidden island no one can find that no one lives on, but you don't need to know anything else about them.
So that's it. You have a story about a mystery and twist that does not feel earned, and mediocre at best puzzle platforming. It does not make for a great game, but at least it does not overstay its welcome. The game lasts about 3 hours, and it does have gorgeous pixel art. The conversations between the characters are entertaining enough, though it can feel pandering at times.
The game itself is somewhat enjoyable to play if you just need something for an evening, but overall I can't recommend that you buy it.
This review contains spoilers
A Space for the Unbound is a heartfelt story wrapped around gorgeous pixel art, a nice soundtrack, but frustrating gameplay, extremely on the nose hints that ruin surprises, and padding.
Ultimately this is a "story game", it is the main focus, and as such is the most important thing for this game. Overall, the game tells a beautiful story about inner struggles, depression, anxiety, self reflection, abuse, loss, bullying, and more. The main character's struggles are sure to be relatable, especially if you play this while you're still in school.
The main issue I have with the story itself is that every hint is so on the nose, you'll know most twists and turns before they happen, while not really looking out for or thinking about trying to solve the game's story. This section will contain spoilers:
The game opens with the South Star Princess dying, yellow (warm colored) flower petals used for magic, and a dark colored cat. One chapter later you hear of the North Star Princess, but you don't know much about her. You then see Raya's light blue (cold colored) flower petals used for magic, and she has a light colored cat. Complete opposites, totally not the North Star Princess. You know Nirmala wrote these stories, so either you are in her story, or Nirmala has a new identity and taken on the role as the North Star Princess. The game reveales both of these are true. Shocker.
This goes for a lot of the twists in the story. They're always very clearly explained before they even happen, and the only sense of mystery the game has comes from the game realizing they're being too obvious, so they have a cat tell you very ominously that "You don't know what's happening, fool, I am very mysteryous, nothing is as it seems". Then in the end the cat just gives up and starts explaining that it didn't want to be mysterious after all, they're all just here to help. This part of the narrative just felt and still feels out of place even after completing the game.
The hints are so on the nose, that when you launch the game, the first thing you see is a trigger-warning list. "Animal death", I haven't even played the game yet, and my first thought is "The main character's cat will die, ok". This alone ruined any emotional impact this scene would have had otherwise.
Other than that, the story itself is mostly fantastic, and handles the heavy topics with grace. The only thing that really took me out of the immersion was that they made the teenage characters censor themselves during fights. A late teenager would not censor themselves and say "You're such a B-!" when they're in a fight. It's not how people would speak, especially not a high school jock who isn't afraid to beat up people he doesn't like. This happens fairly often, so I thought I should bring it up.
Writing aside, the game's biggest issue is the padding. Everything you do has padding. I think the developers were scared that just writing a good story wouldn't be enough, so they needed to insert a ridiculous amount of steps to do literally antything in the game, and it's simply not fun.
For example, you need to go buy a cake, but you need to run around every part of town to gather each of the ingrediants. Fair enough. Actually, this wasn't enough, the chef is having a mental breakdown, so you need to sabotage her dream-food by pouring oil into it. The steps finding the oil alone is:
Leave dream > Find Oil > Can't buy it, so you find a secret password to get free oil > You need your own container > Find container > Actually the container is dirty, find the one place in town you can clean it lol > Get free oil > Finally sabotage the dish.
This was one of three foods you have to sabotage before the chef will help you. So to get the cake you need to run around town a minimum of 3 times.
Doing this adds nothing to the story, you can barely call it gameplay, and it makes for an incredibly dragged out experience. It's simply not fun to run around the whole town looking for a random button to press, often with no hint. If it was just a few times, sure, but it happens almost every time you need to get anything done.
The worst part is that you can't pick up items before you need them. For example that container you need for the oil, I found that ages before I needed it in a quest, but I wasn't allowed to pick it up.
Adding these extra steps is something the game does any chance it gets. You need to break into the school? Cool, find a hammer to break wall (we'll skip every step it takes to find the hammer) > Run back to the wall > Break it > Actually you can't break it now, run for 3 whole minutes to the same wall in the past, then break it > Run for 3 minutes to get back > Finally, breaking it in the past made it decay, so it's broken for real now. What did this add? Another 6 minutes of holding left on the control stick? It wasn't a puzzle because the game literally told you to do it. It's just frustrating.
I think if you take away this padding, keep the missions and dialogue generally the same, but without all the extra steps that add nothing, you'd probably save 3 or 4 hours of the game, and nothing would be changed otherwise.
Something else that is baffeling to me is when the game introduces combat. You have a quest to beat the "Future Fighter" high score. This is the first time you will fight. Funnily enough, this high score is the absolute most difficult fighting you will do in the entire game. Why make the hardest fight the first? Everything after that is easier by a long shot. It is honestly ridiculous. Sure, you can try it once and skip doing the high score, but the high score isn't difficult to begin with, I did it first try, but it's still weird that they choose to make it the first fight the most difficult.
This review is getting quite long, so I will end it here. In conclusion, the game features a fantastic story, gorgeous pixel art, nice music, but ultimately fails in the gameplay department. They should have toned down the gameplay and settled for a shorter playstime more focused on the story instead of tedious tasks, and they should be a bit more careful with the hints. Not saying a game can't be "figured out" before everything is revealed, but it should not be figured out without trying to pay attention to the finer details and without giving it much thought. I am glad I played it, I overall enjoyed the story a lot, but I can only hope they learn from their mistakes when their next game comes out.
Ultimately this is a "story game", it is the main focus, and as such is the most important thing for this game. Overall, the game tells a beautiful story about inner struggles, depression, anxiety, self reflection, abuse, loss, bullying, and more. The main character's struggles are sure to be relatable, especially if you play this while you're still in school.
The main issue I have with the story itself is that every hint is so on the nose, you'll know most twists and turns before they happen, while not really looking out for or thinking about trying to solve the game's story. This section will contain spoilers:
The game opens with the South Star Princess dying, yellow (warm colored) flower petals used for magic, and a dark colored cat. One chapter later you hear of the North Star Princess, but you don't know much about her. You then see Raya's light blue (cold colored) flower petals used for magic, and she has a light colored cat. Complete opposites, totally not the North Star Princess. You know Nirmala wrote these stories, so either you are in her story, or Nirmala has a new identity and taken on the role as the North Star Princess. The game reveales both of these are true. Shocker.
This goes for a lot of the twists in the story. They're always very clearly explained before they even happen, and the only sense of mystery the game has comes from the game realizing they're being too obvious, so they have a cat tell you very ominously that "You don't know what's happening, fool, I am very mysteryous, nothing is as it seems". Then in the end the cat just gives up and starts explaining that it didn't want to be mysterious after all, they're all just here to help. This part of the narrative just felt and still feels out of place even after completing the game.
The hints are so on the nose, that when you launch the game, the first thing you see is a trigger-warning list. "Animal death", I haven't even played the game yet, and my first thought is "The main character's cat will die, ok". This alone ruined any emotional impact this scene would have had otherwise.
Other than that, the story itself is mostly fantastic, and handles the heavy topics with grace. The only thing that really took me out of the immersion was that they made the teenage characters censor themselves during fights. A late teenager would not censor themselves and say "You're such a B-!" when they're in a fight. It's not how people would speak, especially not a high school jock who isn't afraid to beat up people he doesn't like. This happens fairly often, so I thought I should bring it up.
Writing aside, the game's biggest issue is the padding. Everything you do has padding. I think the developers were scared that just writing a good story wouldn't be enough, so they needed to insert a ridiculous amount of steps to do literally antything in the game, and it's simply not fun.
For example, you need to go buy a cake, but you need to run around every part of town to gather each of the ingrediants. Fair enough. Actually, this wasn't enough, the chef is having a mental breakdown, so you need to sabotage her dream-food by pouring oil into it. The steps finding the oil alone is:
Leave dream > Find Oil > Can't buy it, so you find a secret password to get free oil > You need your own container > Find container > Actually the container is dirty, find the one place in town you can clean it lol > Get free oil > Finally sabotage the dish.
This was one of three foods you have to sabotage before the chef will help you. So to get the cake you need to run around town a minimum of 3 times.
Doing this adds nothing to the story, you can barely call it gameplay, and it makes for an incredibly dragged out experience. It's simply not fun to run around the whole town looking for a random button to press, often with no hint. If it was just a few times, sure, but it happens almost every time you need to get anything done.
The worst part is that you can't pick up items before you need them. For example that container you need for the oil, I found that ages before I needed it in a quest, but I wasn't allowed to pick it up.
Adding these extra steps is something the game does any chance it gets. You need to break into the school? Cool, find a hammer to break wall (we'll skip every step it takes to find the hammer) > Run back to the wall > Break it > Actually you can't break it now, run for 3 whole minutes to the same wall in the past, then break it > Run for 3 minutes to get back > Finally, breaking it in the past made it decay, so it's broken for real now. What did this add? Another 6 minutes of holding left on the control stick? It wasn't a puzzle because the game literally told you to do it. It's just frustrating.
I think if you take away this padding, keep the missions and dialogue generally the same, but without all the extra steps that add nothing, you'd probably save 3 or 4 hours of the game, and nothing would be changed otherwise.
Something else that is baffeling to me is when the game introduces combat. You have a quest to beat the "Future Fighter" high score. This is the first time you will fight. Funnily enough, this high score is the absolute most difficult fighting you will do in the entire game. Why make the hardest fight the first? Everything after that is easier by a long shot. It is honestly ridiculous. Sure, you can try it once and skip doing the high score, but the high score isn't difficult to begin with, I did it first try, but it's still weird that they choose to make it the first fight the most difficult.
This review is getting quite long, so I will end it here. In conclusion, the game features a fantastic story, gorgeous pixel art, nice music, but ultimately fails in the gameplay department. They should have toned down the gameplay and settled for a shorter playstime more focused on the story instead of tedious tasks, and they should be a bit more careful with the hints. Not saying a game can't be "figured out" before everything is revealed, but it should not be figured out without trying to pay attention to the finer details and without giving it much thought. I am glad I played it, I overall enjoyed the story a lot, but I can only hope they learn from their mistakes when their next game comes out.
2023
Orbo's Odyssey is one of those games that is just pure joy. The movement is momentum based and fast, creating one of the most enjoyable movement systems in recent memory. The writing is witty and funny, while characters are unique though short lived.
The game is only about an hour long, and I found myself spending another hour just running around, because just experiencing the movement is a game of its own. My only gripe with this game is that there isn't more of it. More difficult platforming challenges, stages built around completing them in a certain time, and maybe even more chapters is something I'd love to see.
Hope the game does well so the devs can make more! In the meantime, I see that the community has already made some sick modded content. I recommend this for anyone who likes to go fast.
The game is only about an hour long, and I found myself spending another hour just running around, because just experiencing the movement is a game of its own. My only gripe with this game is that there isn't more of it. More difficult platforming challenges, stages built around completing them in a certain time, and maybe even more chapters is something I'd love to see.
Hope the game does well so the devs can make more! In the meantime, I see that the community has already made some sick modded content. I recommend this for anyone who likes to go fast.
2016
It's really not great. The graphics are cute, it's fun to see new characters introduced, but overall there's no real game here.
Your decisions never really matter, you can't lose unless you intentionally try to, and even then the game comes up with some excuse as to why you're committing the right choice, or the game will just simply forget about it and move on.
90% of the time you will be greeted with repeated requests, sometimes even the same character with the same request multiple times per day.
The game keeps threatening that if you don't keep your happiness lvls up, your city will suffer, but I'm not sure it is even possible to get it so low anything bad happens? "You just reached X amount of citizens, it will be extra hard to maintain happiness now!". My town never dipped, ever. You can't lose happiness. They just get happier and happier.
They introduce characters which are mysterious, or have great plans, but then the game forgets about them. Sometimes even characters you have worked with for a long time, will just dip and disappear after one "no", despite you giving them a yes for every other request throughout the entire game, while others will continue to pester you throughout your entire playthrough despite you only ever giving them a no.
While the game is cute looking, the characters are flat, the game about decision making has no meaningful decisions to make, the results are always the same no matter what you choose, and there is only one music track that loops after 30 seconds.
Don't recommend.
Your decisions never really matter, you can't lose unless you intentionally try to, and even then the game comes up with some excuse as to why you're committing the right choice, or the game will just simply forget about it and move on.
90% of the time you will be greeted with repeated requests, sometimes even the same character with the same request multiple times per day.
The game keeps threatening that if you don't keep your happiness lvls up, your city will suffer, but I'm not sure it is even possible to get it so low anything bad happens? "You just reached X amount of citizens, it will be extra hard to maintain happiness now!". My town never dipped, ever. You can't lose happiness. They just get happier and happier.
They introduce characters which are mysterious, or have great plans, but then the game forgets about them. Sometimes even characters you have worked with for a long time, will just dip and disappear after one "no", despite you giving them a yes for every other request throughout the entire game, while others will continue to pester you throughout your entire playthrough despite you only ever giving them a no.
While the game is cute looking, the characters are flat, the game about decision making has no meaningful decisions to make, the results are always the same no matter what you choose, and there is only one music track that loops after 30 seconds.
Don't recommend.
2023
Mosa Lina does one thing, and while is does that thing well. While the game itself is fun, it does not take long before the game starts feeling repetitive.
The game, as it describes itself is "a hostile interpretation of the immersive sim, where nothing is planned, and everything works". It does this very well, and captures a lot of what makes immersive sims greats, the only issue is that it lacks a lot of the nuance and depth that make immersive sims interesting.
While it is clear that this game is a commentary on the state of immersive sims, whereas the genre used to be about creating systems and tools for the player to use in a sandbox environment tied together with missions, nowadays the missions are designed around a very specific problem. You use the "break the cracked wall" skill to break the wall before they can proceed with the mission, or you use the grappling skill to enter the top of the building and sneak in. The player never had much of a choice, the mission was never designed around letting the player figure it out in their own way. This is not really what immersive sims are about. The player should be given the agency to use their game knowledge, tools and tricks to come up with unique solutions to their problem. Two players should be able to play the mission and come up with completely unique solutions, many of which even the developer had not seen coming.
Meanwhile Mosa Lina flips it all on its head. You are given a set of skills, the dev has no idea what skills you are given, and a random stage is selected. With all of this randomness the dev ensures even they have no idea what challenges you will be given. There is no way for the dev to test every combination, so chances are you are playing something even they have not seen before. You have to figure it out, because the dev certainly can't.
This is fun, and is more in line with what an immersive sim should be. The devs hould not decide what the solution to a problem is, you should figure it out on your own using the tools and systems available to you in the game. This is great stuff. Devs of immersive sims should look to this design philosophy when creating their games.
If you play this game, you will certainly feel creative, and you certainly feel like you are overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. But despite this, the game struggles to keep me interested. Even after just a couple of hours I feel like "I get it". The gimmick of the random lvls with random items has kind of run its course, and I don't feel motivated to keep playing. There is no end to the game, no unlocks, no skins, high scores or stats. Playing the game, while it's fun enough, is kind of like solving today's Sudoku. It's fun for a little while but ultimately not something I see myself spending a lot of time on. I probably would not have done it if I wasn't bored in the first place.
I like what the game stands for, and I like the idea, but ultimately I fail to get into it.
The game, as it describes itself is "a hostile interpretation of the immersive sim, where nothing is planned, and everything works". It does this very well, and captures a lot of what makes immersive sims greats, the only issue is that it lacks a lot of the nuance and depth that make immersive sims interesting.
While it is clear that this game is a commentary on the state of immersive sims, whereas the genre used to be about creating systems and tools for the player to use in a sandbox environment tied together with missions, nowadays the missions are designed around a very specific problem. You use the "break the cracked wall" skill to break the wall before they can proceed with the mission, or you use the grappling skill to enter the top of the building and sneak in. The player never had much of a choice, the mission was never designed around letting the player figure it out in their own way. This is not really what immersive sims are about. The player should be given the agency to use their game knowledge, tools and tricks to come up with unique solutions to their problem. Two players should be able to play the mission and come up with completely unique solutions, many of which even the developer had not seen coming.
Meanwhile Mosa Lina flips it all on its head. You are given a set of skills, the dev has no idea what skills you are given, and a random stage is selected. With all of this randomness the dev ensures even they have no idea what challenges you will be given. There is no way for the dev to test every combination, so chances are you are playing something even they have not seen before. You have to figure it out, because the dev certainly can't.
This is fun, and is more in line with what an immersive sim should be. The devs hould not decide what the solution to a problem is, you should figure it out on your own using the tools and systems available to you in the game. This is great stuff. Devs of immersive sims should look to this design philosophy when creating their games.
If you play this game, you will certainly feel creative, and you certainly feel like you are overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. But despite this, the game struggles to keep me interested. Even after just a couple of hours I feel like "I get it". The gimmick of the random lvls with random items has kind of run its course, and I don't feel motivated to keep playing. There is no end to the game, no unlocks, no skins, high scores or stats. Playing the game, while it's fun enough, is kind of like solving today's Sudoku. It's fun for a little while but ultimately not something I see myself spending a lot of time on. I probably would not have done it if I wasn't bored in the first place.
I like what the game stands for, and I like the idea, but ultimately I fail to get into it.
2022
Backpack hero managed to be a masterpiece and a complete mess of a game at the same time, culminating in what is possibly my most frustrated experience in a long time.
Imagine you play a roguelite like Slay the Spire, Enter the Gungeon, Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain. You start a run, you have fun, you unlock things along the way depending on your actions. It's great, it's a fun time. Now imagine, in-between every run, if you want to unlock anything or even see later levels of the game, you have to run across a huge open field, talk to 10 NPCs randomly scattered along the map (the game won't tell you which one you need or in what order), sit through endless repetitive dialogue that goes nowhere about how your dad thinks it's dangerous to go into the cave over and over and over again. Not only that, but it wants you to build endless buildings, sell loot you've found in the dungeon (the game doesn't tell you if you'll need them for anything or not), and it constantly want you to check in on every single NPC to even receive missions or get the pleasure of going to the next floor in future dungeon runs.
Even if you know what you're doing, it takes forever to get anything done in the main hub.
Every item you ever collect in the dungeon (a lot, this is an inventory manage game after all) is collected in your hub inventory. An NPC may be looking for one specific item, you might even have it, but good luck finding it
* The game does nothing to tell you what is important in the NPC town, so you have to spam every dialogue and every option select for every character just to make sure you don't miss anything.
And to top it all off, the game is insultingly easy. If you have ever played a deckbuilder (roguelite or not) or any form of strategy game, it will be almost impossible to lose as long as you read the effects of what you are using. Heck, even when I completely failed to do that and I accidentally burned my only arrow during my an archer-only "challenge", where every other game would kill you for failing to have any synergy or ways to deal consistent damage, I was able to win because an enemy dropped a rose earlier, letting enemies take very small amounts of damage every time I blocked. I was able to win, including beating a boss, dealing 1 damage at the time. Absolutely ridiculous. After 5+ hours of gameplay, every run feels like this. It is so easy it is almost insulting. There is never any risk, never any challenge, nothing that makes you reconsider your choices, and once you get a powerful weapon or two, never any need to think. Click the same inventory slots every turn, and win for free. Never the need to swap anything out of your inventory, which is a shame because it's one of the main mechanics.
All of this, and I still found myself wanting to play. There is a fantastic game deep down somewhere. Inventory management is fun, and having your inventory slots tied to abilities you can freely use is creative and fun. It is such a shame it is held back by you never needing to engage with its systems due to the absolute lack of difficulty, to the point where I have won games by not adding or removing anything from my inventory. Furthermore, when the game forces you to engage with its systems in the hub world, it strips the game of everything that made it fun, including making the graphics look like Backpack Hero from Wish. It is tedious, stays in the way of what could be a fantastic game, and despite hours of gameplay, you are still stuck with the same starter loadout you begun with. It's a shame.
Imagine you play a roguelite like Slay the Spire, Enter the Gungeon, Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain. You start a run, you have fun, you unlock things along the way depending on your actions. It's great, it's a fun time. Now imagine, in-between every run, if you want to unlock anything or even see later levels of the game, you have to run across a huge open field, talk to 10 NPCs randomly scattered along the map (the game won't tell you which one you need or in what order), sit through endless repetitive dialogue that goes nowhere about how your dad thinks it's dangerous to go into the cave over and over and over again. Not only that, but it wants you to build endless buildings, sell loot you've found in the dungeon (the game doesn't tell you if you'll need them for anything or not), and it constantly want you to check in on every single NPC to even receive missions or get the pleasure of going to the next floor in future dungeon runs.
Even if you know what you're doing, it takes forever to get anything done in the main hub.
Every item you ever collect in the dungeon (a lot, this is an inventory manage game after all) is collected in your hub inventory. An NPC may be looking for one specific item, you might even have it, but good luck finding it
* The game does nothing to tell you what is important in the NPC town, so you have to spam every dialogue and every option select for every character just to make sure you don't miss anything.
And to top it all off, the game is insultingly easy. If you have ever played a deckbuilder (roguelite or not) or any form of strategy game, it will be almost impossible to lose as long as you read the effects of what you are using. Heck, even when I completely failed to do that and I accidentally burned my only arrow during my an archer-only "challenge", where every other game would kill you for failing to have any synergy or ways to deal consistent damage, I was able to win because an enemy dropped a rose earlier, letting enemies take very small amounts of damage every time I blocked. I was able to win, including beating a boss, dealing 1 damage at the time. Absolutely ridiculous. After 5+ hours of gameplay, every run feels like this. It is so easy it is almost insulting. There is never any risk, never any challenge, nothing that makes you reconsider your choices, and once you get a powerful weapon or two, never any need to think. Click the same inventory slots every turn, and win for free. Never the need to swap anything out of your inventory, which is a shame because it's one of the main mechanics.
All of this, and I still found myself wanting to play. There is a fantastic game deep down somewhere. Inventory management is fun, and having your inventory slots tied to abilities you can freely use is creative and fun. It is such a shame it is held back by you never needing to engage with its systems due to the absolute lack of difficulty, to the point where I have won games by not adding or removing anything from my inventory. Furthermore, when the game forces you to engage with its systems in the hub world, it strips the game of everything that made it fun, including making the graphics look like Backpack Hero from Wish. It is tedious, stays in the way of what could be a fantastic game, and despite hours of gameplay, you are still stuck with the same starter loadout you begun with. It's a shame.
2023
What a fantastic experience. A very meta game in a somewhat similar way The Stanley Parable is. There is a narrator, he tells you what to do, and you try every combination of options to change the outcome. I think the best way to describe this game is that it is exactly how you image, while also not being how you imagine it at all. You know things are going to get messy, you know it will be meta, but you can never quite predict how the game does it. It makes for a game that keeps you engaged, keeps you guessing, and holds your curiosity throughout your entire playthrough.
It is well executed, the writing is witty, funny, horrifying, and sometimes thought provoking. The voice acting is great, and the different personalities in your head make for some great dialogue. Despite the somewhat simple looking sketchbook artstyle, the game manages to do a lot with it. Your mind kind of fills in the blanks, and it overall works very well.
This is one of those games where you think you're just gonna play for a short session, and before you know it 3 hours have passed and you cannot fathom how it happened this quickly.
What holds this game back, is that it's somewhat slow on repeat playthroughs. It is kind of annoying to walk through the forest every time and go into the cabin before a real choice begins, and even then you kind of just wanna rush through the first few options to get to the new stuff. It gets somewhat old, especially when you have tried a good amount of choices and need to try different things on day 3. It can sometimes feel like a chore, and some sort of shortcut system would go a long way, instead of relying on the player to make multiple saves.
That aside, I think this is an incredibly unique yet well executed game that is worth playing for everyone. This game deserves to be one of those games everyone picks up for their steam libraries.
It is well executed, the writing is witty, funny, horrifying, and sometimes thought provoking. The voice acting is great, and the different personalities in your head make for some great dialogue. Despite the somewhat simple looking sketchbook artstyle, the game manages to do a lot with it. Your mind kind of fills in the blanks, and it overall works very well.
This is one of those games where you think you're just gonna play for a short session, and before you know it 3 hours have passed and you cannot fathom how it happened this quickly.
What holds this game back, is that it's somewhat slow on repeat playthroughs. It is kind of annoying to walk through the forest every time and go into the cabin before a real choice begins, and even then you kind of just wanna rush through the first few options to get to the new stuff. It gets somewhat old, especially when you have tried a good amount of choices and need to try different things on day 3. It can sometimes feel like a chore, and some sort of shortcut system would go a long way, instead of relying on the player to make multiple saves.
That aside, I think this is an incredibly unique yet well executed game that is worth playing for everyone. This game deserves to be one of those games everyone picks up for their steam libraries.