Questy
2021
Exo One is a short, abstract, flying marble from outer space game. Sounds intriguing, right? It's nice that the game doesn't overstay it's welcome and it was fun at times to just glide around and enjoy the weird atmosphere, but at times the controls can be finicky and I had no idea what I was, what was going on or why I was doing what I was doing.
You play as a sphere, that I think is supposed to be a spacecraft, that can change it's shape into a disc to glide around. You use the games physics to gain speed and get to the exit (a beam of blue light) as quick as you can. You also collect little balls of orange light that are said to upgrade you, but I'm not entirely sure I noticed the difference?
You'll glide around all kinds of under-developed planets and environments while breaking the speed barrier and seeing random flashes of photos and hearing random talk over a radio. The best I can guess is you're supposed to be some kind of remnant of the past that is remembering things that happened in space? Or maybe you are an alien craft that is picking up frequencies? I have no idea.
While in some levels, it feels like you're in a dream state as you glide and roll through these landscapes, but there were times where the controls just felt off. The game some times will force you to go one way and your ship starts to get all wonky like it can't decide which way to go. It really broke the immersion of being there.
As I mentioned, the game is short so you won't be frustrated long and you won't have time to figure out what is going on. But if you just want to glide around for fun, what the hey.
You play as a sphere, that I think is supposed to be a spacecraft, that can change it's shape into a disc to glide around. You use the games physics to gain speed and get to the exit (a beam of blue light) as quick as you can. You also collect little balls of orange light that are said to upgrade you, but I'm not entirely sure I noticed the difference?
You'll glide around all kinds of under-developed planets and environments while breaking the speed barrier and seeing random flashes of photos and hearing random talk over a radio. The best I can guess is you're supposed to be some kind of remnant of the past that is remembering things that happened in space? Or maybe you are an alien craft that is picking up frequencies? I have no idea.
While in some levels, it feels like you're in a dream state as you glide and roll through these landscapes, but there were times where the controls just felt off. The game some times will force you to go one way and your ship starts to get all wonky like it can't decide which way to go. It really broke the immersion of being there.
As I mentioned, the game is short so you won't be frustrated long and you won't have time to figure out what is going on. But if you just want to glide around for fun, what the hey.
2022
A quick little 3d adventure where you play as a bear that is also a lumberjack who is cutting down all of the local man made contraptions to reclaim his land. The game doesn't demand too much from you and has a "my first game" vibe to it but it does have a lot of personality. Sort of like a playable kids cartoon show, in a way.
The game is very cute and has a lot of personality. You destroy all the contraptions/buildings in a level with your axe and with the help of your woodland friends (like standing on a swimming turtle to reach certain objects, or escorting your porcupine friend through a structure as he knocks things down for you to destroy).
However, the gameplay itself is a bit limited. There are basically 2 kinds of levels. One where you destroy items around the environment, collect the debris and upgrade your axe that will help you destroy the bigger items.
The other type of level has you sporting a tennis racket and you use the physics in the world to bounce bombs around to destroy everything around you.
Both are a lot of fun at first but once you get through a couple levels, it feels very redundant. They do try to keep things fresh with new environments and new buildings/contraptions to destroy, but it would’ve been nice to have at least one more mechanic to spice things up a bit.
I think this will be a great first game for my son once he starts getting into gaming more. I think adults, especially if you're turned off by cutesy characters, will be looking for more than what this has to offer.
The game is very cute and has a lot of personality. You destroy all the contraptions/buildings in a level with your axe and with the help of your woodland friends (like standing on a swimming turtle to reach certain objects, or escorting your porcupine friend through a structure as he knocks things down for you to destroy).
However, the gameplay itself is a bit limited. There are basically 2 kinds of levels. One where you destroy items around the environment, collect the debris and upgrade your axe that will help you destroy the bigger items.
The other type of level has you sporting a tennis racket and you use the physics in the world to bounce bombs around to destroy everything around you.
Both are a lot of fun at first but once you get through a couple levels, it feels very redundant. They do try to keep things fresh with new environments and new buildings/contraptions to destroy, but it would’ve been nice to have at least one more mechanic to spice things up a bit.
I think this will be a great first game for my son once he starts getting into gaming more. I think adults, especially if you're turned off by cutesy characters, will be looking for more than what this has to offer.
2022
An absolutely ridiculous and silly adventure game. This game is basically if you took a point and click adventure game and made it really fast paced with different scenarios where you need to act quick (think Warioware) with a HUGE dash of immature humor.
Note: I played this on my Xbox Series, not WIndows PC but BackLoggd doesn't have that selection for some reason.
In this game, you play as McPixel who is supposed to be a humorous take on McGyver (for the kids out there, this was an old show where a guy could make any object to get himself out of a jam).
You get thrown into scenarios that run the gamut of "bomb in normal every day situation" to "bomb at a modeling show" or "monster attacking city" or "I'm an Amoeba". All the while, you will be making the worst decisions you can, as you click on objects. Not that you get a choice in the matter, you basically click a lamp post, or another person and McPixel will surprise you with whatever he does. Some times it helps the situation, most of the time it makes it worse!
This game is 100% based on the humor. If you don't like immature humor about pee, poo, hitting, getting hit, humping and all sorts of other craziness, you won't like this. I happen to like a lot of the humor in this game. It's not perfect and some of the gags I do roll my eyes at, but there were many times I giggled or out right laughed because it caught me off guard.
There are some solutions that are really tough to figure out and there isn't any sort of logic to it, so you just need to keep trying different things. So there are times where you just feel stuck and want to move on, but you can't. This happened to me more than a couple times and slightly soured my experience where I would have to walk away from it.
There were also some scenarios that were too long for their own good. Like some that had multiple stages of actions and others that were just several minutes long. These could take you a while to get to the point where you're trying to guess the solution again to break out of it and if you are stuck, then it becomes a bit frustrating.
I have to give the creator a lot of credit. Whether this game is for you or not, he's created a lot of different scenarios, artwork and gags that you can tell probably took him a good chunk of the full ten years or so between this and the last McPixel game. And for the most part, I had a hell of a time with this one! It really cheered me up. I just wish I didn't get stuck.
Note: I played this on my Xbox Series, not WIndows PC but BackLoggd doesn't have that selection for some reason.
In this game, you play as McPixel who is supposed to be a humorous take on McGyver (for the kids out there, this was an old show where a guy could make any object to get himself out of a jam).
You get thrown into scenarios that run the gamut of "bomb in normal every day situation" to "bomb at a modeling show" or "monster attacking city" or "I'm an Amoeba". All the while, you will be making the worst decisions you can, as you click on objects. Not that you get a choice in the matter, you basically click a lamp post, or another person and McPixel will surprise you with whatever he does. Some times it helps the situation, most of the time it makes it worse!
This game is 100% based on the humor. If you don't like immature humor about pee, poo, hitting, getting hit, humping and all sorts of other craziness, you won't like this. I happen to like a lot of the humor in this game. It's not perfect and some of the gags I do roll my eyes at, but there were many times I giggled or out right laughed because it caught me off guard.
There are some solutions that are really tough to figure out and there isn't any sort of logic to it, so you just need to keep trying different things. So there are times where you just feel stuck and want to move on, but you can't. This happened to me more than a couple times and slightly soured my experience where I would have to walk away from it.
There were also some scenarios that were too long for their own good. Like some that had multiple stages of actions and others that were just several minutes long. These could take you a while to get to the point where you're trying to guess the solution again to break out of it and if you are stuck, then it becomes a bit frustrating.
I have to give the creator a lot of credit. Whether this game is for you or not, he's created a lot of different scenarios, artwork and gags that you can tell probably took him a good chunk of the full ten years or so between this and the last McPixel game. And for the most part, I had a hell of a time with this one! It really cheered me up. I just wish I didn't get stuck.
A very short but fun little puzzle game! Imagine you're playing inventory management in Resident Evil and that's all there is to this.
You'll get all kinds of strange inventory grids throughout the game and move items around to fit them in there. You need to fit ALL the items in or use them up in some way to move on to the next level.
At first, you'll move guns around and then you'll be reloading those guns. Soon after, you'll be combining herbs to save space. But then you'll be eating those herbs and using first aid spray because you're hurt. Eventually to make room, you'll find yourself eating a rotten egg to hurt yourself, to combine an herb, to heal yourself and then combine ammo powder together to reload a gun that is then placed in your inventory... and it goes on from there. It can be a little mind bending at times and that's where it really shines!
It's very short, you'll finish these 40 levels in 1-2 hours, probably closer to an hour. And even though it's short, you may get tired of this one by the time you reach the level 20s. It depends on how much you like puzzle style games.
Also, if you haven't played Resident Evil before, the combining of the herbs and ammo may really confuse you. They could've had a little bit more explanation on that for newcomers.
And because it's based so heavily on Resident Evil, there isn't any mechanic (not that I can think of) introduced that isn't RE based, which is a shame.
Fun little puzzle game if you're looking for something a little different! Oh and it's pretty cheap on Steam. Big plus there.
You'll get all kinds of strange inventory grids throughout the game and move items around to fit them in there. You need to fit ALL the items in or use them up in some way to move on to the next level.
At first, you'll move guns around and then you'll be reloading those guns. Soon after, you'll be combining herbs to save space. But then you'll be eating those herbs and using first aid spray because you're hurt. Eventually to make room, you'll find yourself eating a rotten egg to hurt yourself, to combine an herb, to heal yourself and then combine ammo powder together to reload a gun that is then placed in your inventory... and it goes on from there. It can be a little mind bending at times and that's where it really shines!
It's very short, you'll finish these 40 levels in 1-2 hours, probably closer to an hour. And even though it's short, you may get tired of this one by the time you reach the level 20s. It depends on how much you like puzzle style games.
Also, if you haven't played Resident Evil before, the combining of the herbs and ammo may really confuse you. They could've had a little bit more explanation on that for newcomers.
And because it's based so heavily on Resident Evil, there isn't any mechanic (not that I can think of) introduced that isn't RE based, which is a shame.
Fun little puzzle game if you're looking for something a little different! Oh and it's pretty cheap on Steam. Big plus there.
This is a very interesting match up! SpongeBob meets Power Wash Simulator, you wouldn't think it would work, but I guess if there is something dirty to clean, then it can fit into this universe! I watched SpongBob more back when it was just beginning and it's crazy to see how big it's gotten over the years.
As far as the game goes, you will power wash some of the area within Bikini Bottom like Spongebob's house, the Krusty Krab and more. There are little details strewn about for fans of the show and they even added the extra detail of you playing as a fish from SpongBob's world. You'll see it when you are watching your replay.
My only real gripe with this one is that you're only getting a handful of things to clean for the $8 it costs. Maybe it's priced a little steep for what it is but I guess it depends on how you feel about the game and licensed DLC.
All in all, even if you're not a SpongeBob fan but you love Power Wash Simulator, you may still have a lot of fun with this one.
Oh, one other things to mention is that this is the first DLC to add new achievements to the game, so if you're looking for new ones to get, here you go.
As far as the game goes, you will power wash some of the area within Bikini Bottom like Spongebob's house, the Krusty Krab and more. There are little details strewn about for fans of the show and they even added the extra detail of you playing as a fish from SpongBob's world. You'll see it when you are watching your replay.
My only real gripe with this one is that you're only getting a handful of things to clean for the $8 it costs. Maybe it's priced a little steep for what it is but I guess it depends on how you feel about the game and licensed DLC.
All in all, even if you're not a SpongeBob fan but you love Power Wash Simulator, you may still have a lot of fun with this one.
Oh, one other things to mention is that this is the first DLC to add new achievements to the game, so if you're looking for new ones to get, here you go.
For some, no combat in a game may be a huge no. For me, as long as I’m having fun, that is all I care about. While Submerged: Hidden Depths is fun and has a very interesting world to explore, it’s a short adventure that I can’t help but feel like it could’ve had a lot more going for it.
I loved the original game that came out several years ago and I remember reading that this game was coming out and I was very excited. Then I found out it was a Stadia exclusive. So, because of that, I kind of forgot about it. Recently when I saw that it was now available on Steam, I was pretty excited to jump in!
If you liked the first game, this is really just a prettier update with a few more things to do. There is more to explore, more puzzles, more collectibles, and while still very abstract, a bigger story. It’s a 3D exploration game that doesn’t have any combat. You solve very light parkour puzzles and navigate your way around a world that is completely overtaken by the ocean.
This time you have 2 playable characters, a brother and a sister. The sister has some ailment on her arm, which shows as black vine type things. You’ll find giant black vine things all around the world as well. The siblings are in this sunken city to find large green seeds that will purify the area and hopefully rid her of this strange thing on her arm. Through little, graphical journal entries, you find that the siblings were shunned just about everywhere they went and eventually ended up here. I may have missed it but I’m not sure how they knew this place was the key to ridding them of this black overgrowth, but here we are.
You jump in your boat and search around for ruined buildings to explore that may house the seeds. You play as the sister for the longer parts when you collect the green seeds and the brother for the very short portions where you just collect a journal page. They both do the same parkour puzzle solving and navigation around the ruins but the areas for the sister are much larger and you’ll be spending most of your time playing as her.
As I mentioned, there are other extra things to do in the game a well. You can find different species of wildlife, find lookouts that give you a vantage point of the area and even collect speed upgrades for your boat. The extra things don’t affect progress at all. They also don’t help you find items on the map for the most part. When you find a lookout, it may uncover 1 or 2 things to find but there’s no real reason to seek them out besides achievements.
I also wish the lookouts that you find had more substance to them in an exploration sense. You kind of just find them, climb them and activate them. There really isn’t any kind of puzzle to them, which is disappointing.
There is a theme here with that though, things just not having much substance or point. The narrative portion of the game is straight forward and doesn’t have any gate keeping associated with it. This is a blessing and a curse in my opinion though. While I like the openness of doing things the way I want, I also wish there was a reason to collect the things in the world. Like, before you can do the ruins, make the player have to find the animal that lives in the area or when you find a lookout, have that uncover the area for you more. It doesn’t feel like there is any incentive to do the extra things.
If you do insist on collecting everything (like I did) you’ll be aimlessly wondering around, hoping you run into these places and items. I got bored and pulled up a guide very soon after finishing the story.
With all that said, during the main hours of the game, I had a lot of fun exploring and uncovering things. The game definitely has that OH ONE MORE thing mechanic going for it. Where you'll be thinking okay, just get this last thing and quit for now only to find yourself grabbing 4-5 items before you finally do.
There are also towering black vine giants that you eventually see walking around the seascape. They are really cool, but they pose no threat to you. You can boat right up to them and they don't care about you at all. I know this game is billed as a more relaxing, exploration game but it really would've been cool to have these monsters coming after you or at least taking a swipe at you. How about just acknowledge you?
While exploring, I got caught on the geometry quite a bit. It's not usually big boxes or things that are evidently in the way, it'll be like a floor board or a slightly higher ridge. This was very annoying when you see a ladder and you have to move like 6 inches over because the game won’t let you approach the ladder from that spot.
There are also these elevators that you can activate while you're on them or off of them and it's really annoying if you accidentally activate it while you're off because you then have to wait to activate it again and wait for it to come back and sometimes, these elevators are traveling an enormous height and it could take a bit of time!
The UI is not great. It looks misplaced and strange the way it’s laid out on screen. Like the boost for the boat was covered up by another graphic for some reason? It just looks strange.
All in all, I liked this game, but I didn’t love it. I think the collectibles should matter in some way and that the wildlife and black vine monsters should interact with you somehow as well. There is some jankyness with the game in that the UI isn’t great and some design decisions in the game I really am curious as to why they went that way. Overall, my biggest disappointment is how the overall gameplay loop doesn’t change much from what the first game was. I feel there was a lot of things they could’ve expanded on and they did do a little bit of that by making a slightly bigger world and expanding on the story a bit but Submerged has the capacity for more.
I loved the original game that came out several years ago and I remember reading that this game was coming out and I was very excited. Then I found out it was a Stadia exclusive. So, because of that, I kind of forgot about it. Recently when I saw that it was now available on Steam, I was pretty excited to jump in!
If you liked the first game, this is really just a prettier update with a few more things to do. There is more to explore, more puzzles, more collectibles, and while still very abstract, a bigger story. It’s a 3D exploration game that doesn’t have any combat. You solve very light parkour puzzles and navigate your way around a world that is completely overtaken by the ocean.
This time you have 2 playable characters, a brother and a sister. The sister has some ailment on her arm, which shows as black vine type things. You’ll find giant black vine things all around the world as well. The siblings are in this sunken city to find large green seeds that will purify the area and hopefully rid her of this strange thing on her arm. Through little, graphical journal entries, you find that the siblings were shunned just about everywhere they went and eventually ended up here. I may have missed it but I’m not sure how they knew this place was the key to ridding them of this black overgrowth, but here we are.
You jump in your boat and search around for ruined buildings to explore that may house the seeds. You play as the sister for the longer parts when you collect the green seeds and the brother for the very short portions where you just collect a journal page. They both do the same parkour puzzle solving and navigation around the ruins but the areas for the sister are much larger and you’ll be spending most of your time playing as her.
As I mentioned, there are other extra things to do in the game a well. You can find different species of wildlife, find lookouts that give you a vantage point of the area and even collect speed upgrades for your boat. The extra things don’t affect progress at all. They also don’t help you find items on the map for the most part. When you find a lookout, it may uncover 1 or 2 things to find but there’s no real reason to seek them out besides achievements.
I also wish the lookouts that you find had more substance to them in an exploration sense. You kind of just find them, climb them and activate them. There really isn’t any kind of puzzle to them, which is disappointing.
There is a theme here with that though, things just not having much substance or point. The narrative portion of the game is straight forward and doesn’t have any gate keeping associated with it. This is a blessing and a curse in my opinion though. While I like the openness of doing things the way I want, I also wish there was a reason to collect the things in the world. Like, before you can do the ruins, make the player have to find the animal that lives in the area or when you find a lookout, have that uncover the area for you more. It doesn’t feel like there is any incentive to do the extra things.
If you do insist on collecting everything (like I did) you’ll be aimlessly wondering around, hoping you run into these places and items. I got bored and pulled up a guide very soon after finishing the story.
With all that said, during the main hours of the game, I had a lot of fun exploring and uncovering things. The game definitely has that OH ONE MORE thing mechanic going for it. Where you'll be thinking okay, just get this last thing and quit for now only to find yourself grabbing 4-5 items before you finally do.
There are also towering black vine giants that you eventually see walking around the seascape. They are really cool, but they pose no threat to you. You can boat right up to them and they don't care about you at all. I know this game is billed as a more relaxing, exploration game but it really would've been cool to have these monsters coming after you or at least taking a swipe at you. How about just acknowledge you?
While exploring, I got caught on the geometry quite a bit. It's not usually big boxes or things that are evidently in the way, it'll be like a floor board or a slightly higher ridge. This was very annoying when you see a ladder and you have to move like 6 inches over because the game won’t let you approach the ladder from that spot.
There are also these elevators that you can activate while you're on them or off of them and it's really annoying if you accidentally activate it while you're off because you then have to wait to activate it again and wait for it to come back and sometimes, these elevators are traveling an enormous height and it could take a bit of time!
The UI is not great. It looks misplaced and strange the way it’s laid out on screen. Like the boost for the boat was covered up by another graphic for some reason? It just looks strange.
All in all, I liked this game, but I didn’t love it. I think the collectibles should matter in some way and that the wildlife and black vine monsters should interact with you somehow as well. There is some jankyness with the game in that the UI isn’t great and some design decisions in the game I really am curious as to why they went that way. Overall, my biggest disappointment is how the overall gameplay loop doesn’t change much from what the first game was. I feel there was a lot of things they could’ve expanded on and they did do a little bit of that by making a slightly bigger world and expanding on the story a bit but Submerged has the capacity for more.
2021
There's no story or real point to the game besides cleaning some old dirty stuff. Despite this, I find it super relaxing and finished it over the course of 6 months. Whenever I just felt the need to chill out and not sink myself into a narrative of another game, this was the comfort game I went to.
I only knocked off half a star besides some times there were some very annoying spots to try to clean. This would harsh my good vibes at times. Other than that, I still bounce in for the DLC when it comes out. I love it!
I only knocked off half a star besides some times there were some very annoying spots to try to clean. This would harsh my good vibes at times. Other than that, I still bounce in for the DLC when it comes out. I love it!
2021
Road 96 is an adventure game, very much inspired by the TellTale style. While the game earns merit for trying to do something unique with its story telling by putting you in the shoes of several runaways and it offers a lot of variety in what you’ll do on your adventures, the events and how they unfold are so unbelievable and comical (whether on purpose or not) that it took me out of the experience. For a game with a seemingly serious political message, it’s a strange design choice that doesn’t really gel for me.
In Road 96, you take on the role of several different teen runaways who are hitchhiking to cross the border into another country because their current one has become a totalitarian government where the police are crooked and everything is corrupt. The game is really reaching to try and make a statement about how there are good and bad people on all sides of the political spectrum, which is respectable… until you realize how zany this world and the characters who live in it truly are.
The best thing about Road 96 is the sheer variety of different things you get to do in the game. While on the road, you will run into all kinds of strange people who will request your assistance. While the majority of the game is conversational, you’ll find yourself robbing places, shooting nail guns, playing soccer, hacking transmitters, swerving around traffic and much more. I wouldn’t expect this much variety in this style of game, so the game definitely earns points for that.
It’s a double edge sword though because it makes a lot of the world unbelievable and silly. And that’s the main problem with the game. It wants you to take its political message seriously (I think?) while the rest of the game is completely silly. The tone is just all over the place.
For instance, you have two guys who wear bright jumpsuits and masks who go around robbing places and people, some times in broad daylight. They repeatedly shout their names together like a couple of numbskulls and always try to include these runaway kids in their crimes. So many questions come to mind! How do people not notice these guys from 20 miles away? How are they not in jail? They bumble every robbery, so who takes them seriously? Why do they try to get kids involved with their shenanigans? Why does one of them sound like a big, dumb, Looney Tunes character? It’s all very perplexing.
The game features a full roster of these characters and it’s truly a love ‘em or hate ‘em situation. You have the robbers, a serial killer, a cop, a trucker, a smart whiz kid, a red haired girl with ties to the government and a tv show host (I think that’s all of them?). You will run in to them randomly through your travels as you will play with 6 or 7 different teenagers to complete the game and each character seems to have several story points where you get to interact with them while the game tells its main narrative at the same time. I thought this approach was very unique and fun.
However, the fact that all of these strangers would trust someone they don’t know, who is also a teenager/kid, to do some of the things they request them to do is just kind of bonkers. Or even some of the super personal things these people will tell some teenage kid off the street is just crazy to me.
And after these encounters, which at times, can be pretty dark, there is this hilarity where you, you know, instead of running for your life down the road or into the wilderness form this event, you whistle and stick your thumb out to hitch hike. I laughed out loud several times when I did this.
Some of these characters you run into are pretty insufferable and I got to a point with a couple where when I would happen to come to one of their story points, I would roll my eyes thinking “Ugh, not this again…”
As I mentioned earlier, the game is mostly conversational. This becomes a big problem as a lot of the voice acting is not great. I know it’s an indie game, but jeeze, some line delivery in this game is just awful. But it must be hard to deliver some of these lines as the dialog isn’t great either. It’s passable but most of the time I feel like they’re either going for a joke that doesn’t hit or it’s “campy” funny, in that, I don’t think they intended it to be funny (or did they?)
Considering all of that, the graphics make the game look like a TellTale game was released on the N64. I’m exaggerating a bit but wow. Normally this doesn’t bother me but on XBOX Series X, I was kind of stunned by how bad it looked at times, how dark the game was in certain spots and how the models on the road (like billboards and trees) seemingly grow out of the ground as they appear.
The game gets points for being unique in certain ways but I just wish the execution was a bit better. It’s a decent game, it’s playable without many bugs and at times, I enjoyed the unique situations but it’s just unbelievable and too campy for me to take it seriously. I also wish this just looked a bit better on Series X.
In Road 96, you take on the role of several different teen runaways who are hitchhiking to cross the border into another country because their current one has become a totalitarian government where the police are crooked and everything is corrupt. The game is really reaching to try and make a statement about how there are good and bad people on all sides of the political spectrum, which is respectable… until you realize how zany this world and the characters who live in it truly are.
The best thing about Road 96 is the sheer variety of different things you get to do in the game. While on the road, you will run into all kinds of strange people who will request your assistance. While the majority of the game is conversational, you’ll find yourself robbing places, shooting nail guns, playing soccer, hacking transmitters, swerving around traffic and much more. I wouldn’t expect this much variety in this style of game, so the game definitely earns points for that.
It’s a double edge sword though because it makes a lot of the world unbelievable and silly. And that’s the main problem with the game. It wants you to take its political message seriously (I think?) while the rest of the game is completely silly. The tone is just all over the place.
For instance, you have two guys who wear bright jumpsuits and masks who go around robbing places and people, some times in broad daylight. They repeatedly shout their names together like a couple of numbskulls and always try to include these runaway kids in their crimes. So many questions come to mind! How do people not notice these guys from 20 miles away? How are they not in jail? They bumble every robbery, so who takes them seriously? Why do they try to get kids involved with their shenanigans? Why does one of them sound like a big, dumb, Looney Tunes character? It’s all very perplexing.
The game features a full roster of these characters and it’s truly a love ‘em or hate ‘em situation. You have the robbers, a serial killer, a cop, a trucker, a smart whiz kid, a red haired girl with ties to the government and a tv show host (I think that’s all of them?). You will run in to them randomly through your travels as you will play with 6 or 7 different teenagers to complete the game and each character seems to have several story points where you get to interact with them while the game tells its main narrative at the same time. I thought this approach was very unique and fun.
However, the fact that all of these strangers would trust someone they don’t know, who is also a teenager/kid, to do some of the things they request them to do is just kind of bonkers. Or even some of the super personal things these people will tell some teenage kid off the street is just crazy to me.
And after these encounters, which at times, can be pretty dark, there is this hilarity where you, you know, instead of running for your life down the road or into the wilderness form this event, you whistle and stick your thumb out to hitch hike. I laughed out loud several times when I did this.
Some of these characters you run into are pretty insufferable and I got to a point with a couple where when I would happen to come to one of their story points, I would roll my eyes thinking “Ugh, not this again…”
As I mentioned earlier, the game is mostly conversational. This becomes a big problem as a lot of the voice acting is not great. I know it’s an indie game, but jeeze, some line delivery in this game is just awful. But it must be hard to deliver some of these lines as the dialog isn’t great either. It’s passable but most of the time I feel like they’re either going for a joke that doesn’t hit or it’s “campy” funny, in that, I don’t think they intended it to be funny (or did they?)
Considering all of that, the graphics make the game look like a TellTale game was released on the N64. I’m exaggerating a bit but wow. Normally this doesn’t bother me but on XBOX Series X, I was kind of stunned by how bad it looked at times, how dark the game was in certain spots and how the models on the road (like billboards and trees) seemingly grow out of the ground as they appear.
The game gets points for being unique in certain ways but I just wish the execution was a bit better. It’s a decent game, it’s playable without many bugs and at times, I enjoyed the unique situations but it’s just unbelievable and too campy for me to take it seriously. I also wish this just looked a bit better on Series X.
Miles Morales a fun, polished game, but I feel the first Spider-Man is a better game over all. This one features virtually the same gameplay plus one new feature "Venom" and almost no interesting super villains to fight (Rhino, plus one new one that I'm sure most will not care about much). The story and characters are really what kept this one going for me. This really felt more like a side story to the first game, maybe a HUGE DLC or something of that ilk. Luckily, I really like the first game, so I didn't mind playing more of it.
2021
If you're looking for a pleasant 2D platformer that is a very quick playthrough and won't challenge you much (sort of a cozy, comfort food style game) this might be the game for you.
Hoa is a vibrant 2D platformer that's all about collecting butterflies. No joke! Some may balk and think the game is too childish for them and they may be right. I wish I could say that the gameplay would change your mind, but it's very simple and there isn't much substance. That is until the final level, which kind of comes out of nowhere as it will challenge you in ways that are almost experimental.
However, the game is competently made, it's unique in its setting and characters (I've never played as a little flower gnome thing that does favors for giant bugs before) and it's comfort food for those who like platformers.
Hoa is a vibrant 2D platformer that's all about collecting butterflies. No joke! Some may balk and think the game is too childish for them and they may be right. I wish I could say that the gameplay would change your mind, but it's very simple and there isn't much substance. That is until the final level, which kind of comes out of nowhere as it will challenge you in ways that are almost experimental.
However, the game is competently made, it's unique in its setting and characters (I've never played as a little flower gnome thing that does favors for giant bugs before) and it's comfort food for those who like platformers.
2020
This a great 3d platformer, even if it is kind of a gimmicky, tech demo for the PS5. It showcases the PS5 controller really well, especially the haptic tumbling and Astrobot is a very cute mascot who really needs his own full game. For a free game on PS5 though, this is a banger!
Play as Astrobot as you hunt for and uncover Playstation consoles and accessories. Why? To celebrate Playstation as a brand, I guess?
The game plays great, a buttery smooth, 3d platforming experience. Rarely did I have any issues with the camera, controls or anything else. The game offers more gameplay styles in addition to the 3d platforming as well, but give Astrobot suits and guns to use as certain points in the game.
Playing this game definitely makes me wish I had more nostalgia for the Playstation 1! I only had an N64 back then, so I never really got to spend any personal time with one.
The game only loses points for not really have much in the way of a story/motivation (I mean, you just collect Playstation stuff) and because it's entirely too short. You'll finish this in probably 2 sittings at most, and that's only if you going for the platinum trophy. You can probably finish it in an hour if you're just blasting through and not looking for collectibles. Great game otherwise!
Play as Astrobot as you hunt for and uncover Playstation consoles and accessories. Why? To celebrate Playstation as a brand, I guess?
The game plays great, a buttery smooth, 3d platforming experience. Rarely did I have any issues with the camera, controls or anything else. The game offers more gameplay styles in addition to the 3d platforming as well, but give Astrobot suits and guns to use as certain points in the game.
Playing this game definitely makes me wish I had more nostalgia for the Playstation 1! I only had an N64 back then, so I never really got to spend any personal time with one.
The game only loses points for not really have much in the way of a story/motivation (I mean, you just collect Playstation stuff) and because it's entirely too short. You'll finish this in probably 2 sittings at most, and that's only if you going for the platinum trophy. You can probably finish it in an hour if you're just blasting through and not looking for collectibles. Great game otherwise!
2020
In Maneater’s best moments, you’ll feel like the big bad shark that the game wants you to be. However, there are some things like repetitive quests, awkward controls and crashing that keep it from being the MEG it needs to be.
🦈 Maneater, on paper, is an amazing concept for a video game. I remember when this was revealed, I was ALL IN on it. You play as a shark that grows from baby to mega sized adult, all the while terrorizing humans and other ocean critters in an open world (ocean). What’s not to like?
📺 The game has a reality show/documentary style approach to the story where a guy named Scaly Pete, the shark hunter, is after you. Every time you finish a certain percentage of quests in an area, you get to see the newest episode where in Scaly Pete is trying to hunt you down. I thought this was a pretty fun approach to telling the story but I felt like it got old by the time we reached the end. Not so much because of the story beats, because some messed up stuff does happen on the show and I was into how deranged Scaly Pete seemed to be. It’s more the narrator of the show. The narrator was a funny joke for the documentary style at first but after a few hours, it gets old. AND it’s not because of his proper newscaster type voice on the show, it’s because he narrates almost everything you do in the game! The first time I hear him say something about me returning to my home, it's cute. After the 50th time, I’m over it. I ended up turning the volume down to 0 for that because luckily that was an option.
🃏 The developers really went all out on the jokes for this game, for better or for worse. There is a lot of humor in the reality show that I feel doesn’t hit. But the game itself is riddled with jokes all over. Everything from text puns like “Whale, there ya go!” or movie references to IT “We all float down here” or having a little Kaiju area -- it’s in here.
🪙 As I mentioned, this is an open world game and the first couple areas are very fun! But once you hit areas 3 and on, you realize the pattern of the quests and it’s the same thing every time. The quests and the collectibles are always the same. Luckily, the other creatures in the ocean do change from area to area, so that helps to keep some things fresh. Also, each area is a different environment from the last. The starting area is a swamp, then eventually you’ll make it over to more of a sea world theme park type area, which then eventually leads you out to the gulf.
🕹️ The gameplay itself is, again, super fun at first. And then towards the middle of the game, it gets better as you get bigger and more powerful with equipable evolution mods that change how badass your shark looks. Very cool! You end up fighting and eating fish, gators, turtles and even other sharks. And if you eat too many humans, you’ll bring out the hunters who want to take you out. This is a ton of fun for the first few hours but by the time you roll around to the last third of the game, predators and hunters become tougher and at times it feels like you’re really fighting the controls and camera instead of the enemies.
💧 The thing to keep in mind here is that this is an underwater game. Barely any games have controlled well underwater. Maneater gives you the ability to swim up and down, jump out of the water and even tail whip and ram into things. All of these things feel great at first but when things get more complicated as more tougher enemies are coming for you, you can easily lose track of the action. It was very common in the late part of the game to look around after attacking a boat, or after getting attacked by underwater hunters and not be able to see where it is to retaliate. Meanwhile, your health is dropping. Also, when you’re fighting boats, keep in mind as you rise in rank against them, your index finger will get tired biting over and over and over again. Mine did!
🫥 This might be more of a nitpick but searching for collectibles to 100% complete the map areas feels like a chore some times. In the first couple areas, collectibles are gated by the size of your shark. Like you can only break through when you’re big/strong enough. Those I don’t mind but some items are stowed in deep caves and it becomes a maze of looking for tiny open crevices to find certain items, which is not super fun. You do have the shark radar to help, but even that isn’t a big help for the really well-hidden items.
💬 Sometimes the UI text is misleading too. You’ll hit a certain level where you need to fight Scaly Pete to reach your next shark size. This annoying text/icon in the bottom right of the screen just says “Fight Scaly Pete” and doesn’t go away until you finally fight him. However, the game doesn’t tell you that you’ll be fighting once you have finished the quests in the area, so you might go looking for him right then (like I did) only to realize it’s not time yet.
😱 Oh, and the game crashed on me about 4 times during my sessions.
Despite all these things, I really liked the gameplay loop, no matter how samey it got. I had to see it through to the end and 100% it as well. I wanted to see the climactic ending with Scaly Pete and take out all the Apex Predators. And I may be biased because I really like giant monsters, so I have a soft spot for the shark. While I recognize the game has it’s flaws, I could overlook them for the fun I had and the fact that I got to play as a huge shark, eating everything in my path. I’m looking forward to checking out the DLC soon!
🦈 Maneater, on paper, is an amazing concept for a video game. I remember when this was revealed, I was ALL IN on it. You play as a shark that grows from baby to mega sized adult, all the while terrorizing humans and other ocean critters in an open world (ocean). What’s not to like?
📺 The game has a reality show/documentary style approach to the story where a guy named Scaly Pete, the shark hunter, is after you. Every time you finish a certain percentage of quests in an area, you get to see the newest episode where in Scaly Pete is trying to hunt you down. I thought this was a pretty fun approach to telling the story but I felt like it got old by the time we reached the end. Not so much because of the story beats, because some messed up stuff does happen on the show and I was into how deranged Scaly Pete seemed to be. It’s more the narrator of the show. The narrator was a funny joke for the documentary style at first but after a few hours, it gets old. AND it’s not because of his proper newscaster type voice on the show, it’s because he narrates almost everything you do in the game! The first time I hear him say something about me returning to my home, it's cute. After the 50th time, I’m over it. I ended up turning the volume down to 0 for that because luckily that was an option.
🃏 The developers really went all out on the jokes for this game, for better or for worse. There is a lot of humor in the reality show that I feel doesn’t hit. But the game itself is riddled with jokes all over. Everything from text puns like “Whale, there ya go!” or movie references to IT “We all float down here” or having a little Kaiju area -- it’s in here.
🪙 As I mentioned, this is an open world game and the first couple areas are very fun! But once you hit areas 3 and on, you realize the pattern of the quests and it’s the same thing every time. The quests and the collectibles are always the same. Luckily, the other creatures in the ocean do change from area to area, so that helps to keep some things fresh. Also, each area is a different environment from the last. The starting area is a swamp, then eventually you’ll make it over to more of a sea world theme park type area, which then eventually leads you out to the gulf.
🕹️ The gameplay itself is, again, super fun at first. And then towards the middle of the game, it gets better as you get bigger and more powerful with equipable evolution mods that change how badass your shark looks. Very cool! You end up fighting and eating fish, gators, turtles and even other sharks. And if you eat too many humans, you’ll bring out the hunters who want to take you out. This is a ton of fun for the first few hours but by the time you roll around to the last third of the game, predators and hunters become tougher and at times it feels like you’re really fighting the controls and camera instead of the enemies.
💧 The thing to keep in mind here is that this is an underwater game. Barely any games have controlled well underwater. Maneater gives you the ability to swim up and down, jump out of the water and even tail whip and ram into things. All of these things feel great at first but when things get more complicated as more tougher enemies are coming for you, you can easily lose track of the action. It was very common in the late part of the game to look around after attacking a boat, or after getting attacked by underwater hunters and not be able to see where it is to retaliate. Meanwhile, your health is dropping. Also, when you’re fighting boats, keep in mind as you rise in rank against them, your index finger will get tired biting over and over and over again. Mine did!
🫥 This might be more of a nitpick but searching for collectibles to 100% complete the map areas feels like a chore some times. In the first couple areas, collectibles are gated by the size of your shark. Like you can only break through when you’re big/strong enough. Those I don’t mind but some items are stowed in deep caves and it becomes a maze of looking for tiny open crevices to find certain items, which is not super fun. You do have the shark radar to help, but even that isn’t a big help for the really well-hidden items.
💬 Sometimes the UI text is misleading too. You’ll hit a certain level where you need to fight Scaly Pete to reach your next shark size. This annoying text/icon in the bottom right of the screen just says “Fight Scaly Pete” and doesn’t go away until you finally fight him. However, the game doesn’t tell you that you’ll be fighting once you have finished the quests in the area, so you might go looking for him right then (like I did) only to realize it’s not time yet.
😱 Oh, and the game crashed on me about 4 times during my sessions.
Despite all these things, I really liked the gameplay loop, no matter how samey it got. I had to see it through to the end and 100% it as well. I wanted to see the climactic ending with Scaly Pete and take out all the Apex Predators. And I may be biased because I really like giant monsters, so I have a soft spot for the shark. While I recognize the game has it’s flaws, I could overlook them for the fun I had and the fact that I got to play as a huge shark, eating everything in my path. I’m looking forward to checking out the DLC soon!
This would be a straight 5 star review if there weren't so many bugs still in it because, as it stands, you're getting a lot of decent games here for the money! I know the game came out in shambles when it was released, but in 2023, it's great.
Over the years, a friend and I played through Halo: Reach all the way to Halo 4 (we'll be jumping into 5 and Infinite soon here as well) and we had a great time playing through them.
However, there were several instances where the game booted us and we would lose progress and it was VERY annoying.
Also, ODST, what's the deal with you not being able to save your game where you're at and come back to it? Odd, choice.
Despite that, we had a really fun time playing all of these. Lots of jokes were told, many laughs were had, many enemies stuck with grenades and many vehicles ridden and destroyed. Very fun!
Overall, I have two critiques with Halo franchise itself:
1. First is that while the gameplay is a ton to play with a friend, these are not games I would play on my own. I tried playing a few missions on my own just to check it out and I found it to be pretty lonely and boring.
2. The story. I have played through all of these games and still don't fully understand WTF is actually going on.
Other than that, if you like FPS's, you should check the series out. I'm probably one of the few who played a little bit of Halo 1 on the OG XBox back around when it came out, and I wasn't super impressed. As a player of Quake, I thought it was sterile and kind of boring.
However, all these years later, while I still think that Halo 1 has some issues, we had a ball with all of these games.
Over the years, a friend and I played through Halo: Reach all the way to Halo 4 (we'll be jumping into 5 and Infinite soon here as well) and we had a great time playing through them.
However, there were several instances where the game booted us and we would lose progress and it was VERY annoying.
Also, ODST, what's the deal with you not being able to save your game where you're at and come back to it? Odd, choice.
Despite that, we had a really fun time playing all of these. Lots of jokes were told, many laughs were had, many enemies stuck with grenades and many vehicles ridden and destroyed. Very fun!
Overall, I have two critiques with Halo franchise itself:
1. First is that while the gameplay is a ton to play with a friend, these are not games I would play on my own. I tried playing a few missions on my own just to check it out and I found it to be pretty lonely and boring.
2. The story. I have played through all of these games and still don't fully understand WTF is actually going on.
Other than that, if you like FPS's, you should check the series out. I'm probably one of the few who played a little bit of Halo 1 on the OG XBox back around when it came out, and I wasn't super impressed. As a player of Quake, I thought it was sterile and kind of boring.
However, all these years later, while I still think that Halo 1 has some issues, we had a ball with all of these games.
This is the first Ratchet and Clank where I actually cared about the story and I'm interested to see where they're taking it with the next one. Also, graphically, I think this is the most gorgeous 3D platformer ever created!
While this is Ratchet and Clank through and through, I'm not sure it's the series at it's best? In presentation and fidelity, it definitely is. However, I almost felt like the Remake from 2016 felt better in a gameplay sense?
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's still a fun game but I feel like most fights were the same where I would throw out a couple Fungi's and a sprinkler and kind of just do some support and clean up in the back. It felt easy to cheese at times.
Also, enemies seemed to repeat a lot more throughout this game than in the 2016 remake. I felt like I fought the same enemies and boss types A LOT through out my play through. It kind of felt like "Oh, these guys again" a lot.
Despite that, the game does offer a lot of variety. Lots of extra mini game type stuff like riding the speedle, the virus tank missions and Clanks puzzle areas... I really appreciated the variety and how it broke up the main game. If this game was ONLY the shooting portion, I'm not sure I would've liked it as much.
There was another issue I had where I was on a certain level trying to mop up all the collectibles but I was having a hard time accessing certain parts. I wasn't aware that later in the game, these areas "officially" opened up and I could explore them to finish the level then. I wish they put something up, even like a little character to be say "Hey Rivet, we're all good here!" Or "Hey it's under construction over here" something to tip the player off that they can't go there just yet.
I also want to point out that the rumbling and feedback on the PS5 controller needs to be experienced in this game, it really does take it to another level. The feeling of some of the weapons with the controller was something I was not expecting and really enjoyed.
So, while this game may be a bit prettier than the 2016 remake, offer some variety with the gameplay and have a really cool "rumble experience" I do feel like the weapons and gunplay were maybe a half step back. I don't feel bad putting this game at the same rating as the 2016 remake because I think they're equals in certain regards.
However, I can't wait to see what they do in the next sequel because I think that they are going to absolutely nail it. At least, I hope!
While this is Ratchet and Clank through and through, I'm not sure it's the series at it's best? In presentation and fidelity, it definitely is. However, I almost felt like the Remake from 2016 felt better in a gameplay sense?
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's still a fun game but I feel like most fights were the same where I would throw out a couple Fungi's and a sprinkler and kind of just do some support and clean up in the back. It felt easy to cheese at times.
Also, enemies seemed to repeat a lot more throughout this game than in the 2016 remake. I felt like I fought the same enemies and boss types A LOT through out my play through. It kind of felt like "Oh, these guys again" a lot.
Despite that, the game does offer a lot of variety. Lots of extra mini game type stuff like riding the speedle, the virus tank missions and Clanks puzzle areas... I really appreciated the variety and how it broke up the main game. If this game was ONLY the shooting portion, I'm not sure I would've liked it as much.
There was another issue I had where I was on a certain level trying to mop up all the collectibles but I was having a hard time accessing certain parts. I wasn't aware that later in the game, these areas "officially" opened up and I could explore them to finish the level then. I wish they put something up, even like a little character to be say "Hey Rivet, we're all good here!" Or "Hey it's under construction over here" something to tip the player off that they can't go there just yet.
I also want to point out that the rumbling and feedback on the PS5 controller needs to be experienced in this game, it really does take it to another level. The feeling of some of the weapons with the controller was something I was not expecting and really enjoyed.
So, while this game may be a bit prettier than the 2016 remake, offer some variety with the gameplay and have a really cool "rumble experience" I do feel like the weapons and gunplay were maybe a half step back. I don't feel bad putting this game at the same rating as the 2016 remake because I think they're equals in certain regards.
However, I can't wait to see what they do in the next sequel because I think that they are going to absolutely nail it. At least, I hope!
2023
Planet of Lana is a 2D platforming, stealth, puzzle game that has you play as a young boy whose village has been over taken by mysterious, scary robots. As the sole escapee from the robots, he ventures out into the wilderness to find other dangers as well. However, he is soon joined by a little cat-like creature named Mui who helps him in his adventure to find out what happened to his village.
🎮 In Planet of Lana, you’re traversing beautiful environments while being challenged by a plethora of 2d puzzles. Many of them will have you stealthing around to avoid the gaze of creatures and robots. The main boy you play as, as you might suspect, is much slower and weaker than these robots. So, you’ll be taking your time, surveying the area to make sure you don’t get spotted. Much of the success you have is thanks to your little buddy Mui, who uses his agility and mysterious alien powers to help.
🤫 I may be biased because I am a big 2D platforming fan, but this game is right down my alley. While I’m not the biggest fan of stealth-based games, this game features a very light version of the mechanic. Solving a puzzle while avoiding or even taking out a robot feels very satisfying. As a puzzle fan, the puzzles in this game were mainly pretty simple to figure out but I will say that in the latter part of the game, there were probably two that I was pretty stumped on. You’ll have to really think a bit creatively about the abilities you have at your disposal to solve some of them.
🌙 For those who are fans of Playdead games (Limbo and Inside) and you’re looking for a game in that vein, you will not be disappointed. Planet of Lana’s atmosphere might be cheerier than those games, but the concept of your village being taken by killer robots is pretty dark. Then further on in the game, it’s revealed that some of things happening to the wildlife and people of the planet is even darker.
🤔 With all that said, this game expects you to solve everything the way it wants you to. There really isn’t much room for interpretation or open thought. If you’re not a fan of solving puzzles and you get stumped a lot with this type of gameplay, you’re probably not going to feel much different about this game.
🎨 The game has a gorgeous art style. Much of it takes place during the day, out in the open. Which is interesting because when you think stealth, you think night and darkness. The game has a couple of dark environments but the majority of the game is pretty bright. Regardless of it being day or night or bright or dark, all of the environments in the game look beautiful. It has this storybook feel to it, which I really like. However, I know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as most are not expecting a golden book style presentation when your story is about killer robots taking your family.
🙊 I did notice that there were some sprites that stuck out like a sore thumb. You can tell in many areas of the game, the developer was clumping sprites together to form clusters of grass and bushes, so I did see instances where the edges of the sprites would stick out and look really out of place. Considering how nice the rest of the environment looks, this is unfortunate. Most may not even notice it, but it was distracting for me.
🌟 The clothes/design of the character, audio cues and his life here on this planet definitely harken back to the beginning of the Luke Skywalker saga in Star Wars. It really feels like they said “What if we had a younger Luke and he lived on a nicer planet.”
🌞 The game also seems to take place during summer and I love the summer feel of this game. Running through areas of field and grass, just jumping from rock to rock… it just feels like summer and hits really nice during this time of year. Even though there is already a bit of it, I kind of wish there was just a bit more running through fields and platforming without enemies because it’s just wholesome and enjoyable.
📖 While the story of the game was mainly about the boy finding out what happened to his village and where the robots took his people, I do wish we got a little more insight as to why it was happening. I guess it's just because the robots were evil? I don't know, but that's all we're really given as explanation.
🐈 One nit pick I have with the game is that there are times where the puzzles and platforming required Mui to jump a far distance and it was some times hard to judge if he could make that jump or not as some puzzles were based on you trying to get Mui closer to the exit when he couldn’t quite get there in the first place. It would’ve been nice to have some kind of visual indicator of the jumps he could make.
🏁 This is a great little 2D puzzle game that isn’t perfect and isn’t going to be for everyone. Some might want a darker tone with their games or perhaps less puzzle gameplay and more action. As it stands though, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I could see myself playing through it again in the future.
🎮 In Planet of Lana, you’re traversing beautiful environments while being challenged by a plethora of 2d puzzles. Many of them will have you stealthing around to avoid the gaze of creatures and robots. The main boy you play as, as you might suspect, is much slower and weaker than these robots. So, you’ll be taking your time, surveying the area to make sure you don’t get spotted. Much of the success you have is thanks to your little buddy Mui, who uses his agility and mysterious alien powers to help.
🤫 I may be biased because I am a big 2D platforming fan, but this game is right down my alley. While I’m not the biggest fan of stealth-based games, this game features a very light version of the mechanic. Solving a puzzle while avoiding or even taking out a robot feels very satisfying. As a puzzle fan, the puzzles in this game were mainly pretty simple to figure out but I will say that in the latter part of the game, there were probably two that I was pretty stumped on. You’ll have to really think a bit creatively about the abilities you have at your disposal to solve some of them.
🌙 For those who are fans of Playdead games (Limbo and Inside) and you’re looking for a game in that vein, you will not be disappointed. Planet of Lana’s atmosphere might be cheerier than those games, but the concept of your village being taken by killer robots is pretty dark. Then further on in the game, it’s revealed that some of things happening to the wildlife and people of the planet is even darker.
🤔 With all that said, this game expects you to solve everything the way it wants you to. There really isn’t much room for interpretation or open thought. If you’re not a fan of solving puzzles and you get stumped a lot with this type of gameplay, you’re probably not going to feel much different about this game.
🎨 The game has a gorgeous art style. Much of it takes place during the day, out in the open. Which is interesting because when you think stealth, you think night and darkness. The game has a couple of dark environments but the majority of the game is pretty bright. Regardless of it being day or night or bright or dark, all of the environments in the game look beautiful. It has this storybook feel to it, which I really like. However, I know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as most are not expecting a golden book style presentation when your story is about killer robots taking your family.
🙊 I did notice that there were some sprites that stuck out like a sore thumb. You can tell in many areas of the game, the developer was clumping sprites together to form clusters of grass and bushes, so I did see instances where the edges of the sprites would stick out and look really out of place. Considering how nice the rest of the environment looks, this is unfortunate. Most may not even notice it, but it was distracting for me.
🌟 The clothes/design of the character, audio cues and his life here on this planet definitely harken back to the beginning of the Luke Skywalker saga in Star Wars. It really feels like they said “What if we had a younger Luke and he lived on a nicer planet.”
🌞 The game also seems to take place during summer and I love the summer feel of this game. Running through areas of field and grass, just jumping from rock to rock… it just feels like summer and hits really nice during this time of year. Even though there is already a bit of it, I kind of wish there was just a bit more running through fields and platforming without enemies because it’s just wholesome and enjoyable.
📖 While the story of the game was mainly about the boy finding out what happened to his village and where the robots took his people, I do wish we got a little more insight as to why it was happening. I guess it's just because the robots were evil? I don't know, but that's all we're really given as explanation.
🐈 One nit pick I have with the game is that there are times where the puzzles and platforming required Mui to jump a far distance and it was some times hard to judge if he could make that jump or not as some puzzles were based on you trying to get Mui closer to the exit when he couldn’t quite get there in the first place. It would’ve been nice to have some kind of visual indicator of the jumps he could make.
🏁 This is a great little 2D puzzle game that isn’t perfect and isn’t going to be for everyone. Some might want a darker tone with their games or perhaps less puzzle gameplay and more action. As it stands though, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I could see myself playing through it again in the future.