RKPrime
2022
Omaze is a mindbending puzzler that nails the perfect size and progression from thesis to execution of all its ideas. The challenge may have come from my own brain not properly adapting the crank rotations at a perpendicular plane to what I was seeing, but it still had me cheering when I reached the end.
Somehow there are also boss fights in here, very neat!
Somehow there are also boss fights in here, very neat!
2022
Very pleasant and sometimes challenging Match 3 game. The writing is snappy and funny, although hits close to home too often in this capitalist hellscape. The ending goes hard, couldn't have predicted it. Definitely a unique moment in gaming.
2018
Minit is super charming and stands out in writing and presentation. It manages to do a lot with very little visual presentation and includes lots of fun to discover secrets and extras just below the surface.
I'm more surprised than anything that I didn't mind retreading my steps so many times. The titular countdown was a fun limiter! It encouraged me to mentally map out the space, move deliberately and it never inhibited my enjoyment. It's through this that I can recognize the great world design.
I don't think I'll be taking the time to explore the world much past rolling credits, as the time limit curbs that. I also wish that since beating the game, the 'Continue' option sent me prior to the final boss encounter with everything I'd collected!
Minit is a great game and everyone should give it a shot.
I'm more surprised than anything that I didn't mind retreading my steps so many times. The titular countdown was a fun limiter! It encouraged me to mentally map out the space, move deliberately and it never inhibited my enjoyment. It's through this that I can recognize the great world design.
I don't think I'll be taking the time to explore the world much past rolling credits, as the time limit curbs that. I also wish that since beating the game, the 'Continue' option sent me prior to the final boss encounter with everything I'd collected!
Minit is a great game and everyone should give it a shot.
2017
Doesn't feel good to move, shoot, or do anything really. The single player was fine, boring final boss.
Weird Nintendo online stuff. Salmon Run rarely available. I definitely regret this purchase
Weird Nintendo online stuff. Salmon Run rarely available. I definitely regret this purchase
Ori is a very good video game. It's very pretty, moves very well, and is challenging at enough junctions to make you feel like a gamer.
Abilities come at a really good clip, the skill tree has some awesome stuff and opens the world well.
The Blind Forest is a great size in terms of game and world, beat it in under 8 hours with over 90% completion.
Only drawback was a couple sections that were incredibly difficult, hard to discern what to do and with some less than ideal checkpoints.
Abilities come at a really good clip, the skill tree has some awesome stuff and opens the world well.
The Blind Forest is a great size in terms of game and world, beat it in under 8 hours with over 90% completion.
Only drawback was a couple sections that were incredibly difficult, hard to discern what to do and with some less than ideal checkpoints.
2016
Don't sleep! High quality Housemarque
2023
Tchia's New Caledonia influence is more than a tagline for advertisement, it's something that's felt the whole way through. I haven't had a game experience quite like this one.
The loop and sheer number of collectibles can get a little exhausting, and it is a bit clunky to swap between the map for navigation. Though the experience remains very enjoyable throughout
The loop and sheer number of collectibles can get a little exhausting, and it is a bit clunky to swap between the map for navigation. Though the experience remains very enjoyable throughout
2022
Casual Birder is a great little romp that I didn't expect out of the Playdate, especially in its first season. It evokes adventure style gameplay while working in the novelty of crank-gameplay to deliver a charming story I enjoyed thoroughly. Animations are crisp, character portraits full of detail and the writing witty and comical. I recommend giving this a shot to anyone who can get their hands on it!
2021
Do not play Sable on the PS5. It runs too poorly!
I had been following the Shedworks team for year leading up to Sable's 1.0 release, and porting over to consoles. I previously played a couple hours through gamepass and fell out of it, before returning for a platinum run on the PS5. (See opening note).
Sable is a BOTW-like whose greatest strength is its writing quality, and that's not meant as a dig at any core mechanics. The exploration, climbing and overall intrigue of the world are intact and high quality.
Sable suffered for me as it ran abysmally on the PS5. I wanted to appreciate the color palette used to define each distinct region, and the options to turn on color blind modes and toggle line weights. I eventually gave up with any of it as it caused the game to run substantially worse.
I couldn't appreciate the intentional decisions by the devs to have Sable and other character models move at a lower frame rate than the world for an intentioned look, which never came off because the game never ran at a smooth frame rate of any kind.
Fishing compounded all of the game's issues. Inputs would be lost, it was a tremendous pain.
Sable commits the sin of having a day/night cycle in game with quests and other events occurring at times throughout the day, but no ability to advance time.
It bums me out to leave what could've been a genuinely profound and moving experience on such a sour note. There's a very quality game in here with better optimization and some quality of life improvements.
I had been following the Shedworks team for year leading up to Sable's 1.0 release, and porting over to consoles. I previously played a couple hours through gamepass and fell out of it, before returning for a platinum run on the PS5. (See opening note).
Sable is a BOTW-like whose greatest strength is its writing quality, and that's not meant as a dig at any core mechanics. The exploration, climbing and overall intrigue of the world are intact and high quality.
Sable suffered for me as it ran abysmally on the PS5. I wanted to appreciate the color palette used to define each distinct region, and the options to turn on color blind modes and toggle line weights. I eventually gave up with any of it as it caused the game to run substantially worse.
I couldn't appreciate the intentional decisions by the devs to have Sable and other character models move at a lower frame rate than the world for an intentioned look, which never came off because the game never ran at a smooth frame rate of any kind.
Fishing compounded all of the game's issues. Inputs would be lost, it was a tremendous pain.
Sable commits the sin of having a day/night cycle in game with quests and other events occurring at times throughout the day, but no ability to advance time.
It bums me out to leave what could've been a genuinely profound and moving experience on such a sour note. There's a very quality game in here with better optimization and some quality of life improvements.
2022
This review contains spoilers
This game fucks!
When you beat the game you go into the character generator from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. 9.8/10 Free.
When you beat the game you go into the character generator from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. 9.8/10 Free.
Guardians greatest struggle is that it’s too long and drawn out, while at the same time including a perfect amount of character writing and interactive dialogue. There’s nothing I’d cut from the story arc each individual character goes through, but the slow moving corridors and back-end loaded with monster closets really damper the ending of a stellar narrative.
Everyone is allowed room to breathe with an emotional crescendo of their own. It cannot be overstated enough just how funny the game is and enjoyable listening to the Guardians speak. There’s a herculean effort that succeeded in convincing me of the legitimacy of these Guardians.
By the final 3 chapters the narrative begins to drag, the writing missteps and the gameplay takes a dive. This unfortunately discolors what began as a delightful surprise in animation, fidelity writing and narrative.
The gameplay and mechanics are entirely fine, wholly inoffensive. It’s in their repetition towards the game’s end that creates the glowering missteps that they ultimately left me feeling. Guardians is a good game and 100% worth playing, but stings to see ways it could have been great.
Everyone is allowed room to breathe with an emotional crescendo of their own. It cannot be overstated enough just how funny the game is and enjoyable listening to the Guardians speak. There’s a herculean effort that succeeded in convincing me of the legitimacy of these Guardians.
By the final 3 chapters the narrative begins to drag, the writing missteps and the gameplay takes a dive. This unfortunately discolors what began as a delightful surprise in animation, fidelity writing and narrative.
The gameplay and mechanics are entirely fine, wholly inoffensive. It’s in their repetition towards the game’s end that creates the glowering missteps that they ultimately left me feeling. Guardians is a good game and 100% worth playing, but stings to see ways it could have been great.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a phenomenal game. It’s a drop-dead gorgeous marvel of language free storytelling that has cemented Ori’s (the character) story in my memory.
I played in Supersampled 6k running 60 fps, a benefit of playing nearly two years after initial release. The game sings at all times, seamlessly blending foreground and background art into a colorful world of a magnitude I’ve never seen painted onto a 2D plane.
Builds on the strong basis of its predecessor, not only through expanding combat abilities but focusing the main story rewards on traversal components. This doesn’t come as a hassle, Will of the Wisps hardly misses a beat by awarding Ori her double jump and dash abilities soon after the journey begins.
The Glade is a wonderful meeting place for the new cast of characters and Moki to occupy, and it feels like home. I’m a sucker for when a game includes a home base-like area, even more so when you’re able to build upon it. The characters are unique and charming in design, animation, personality. They fill the world, endearing it further as they travel beyond the Glade’s safety.
Side quests are a wonderful addition, for the first time in games I felt like I was able to complete a chain delivery quest with my own knowledge of the characters and world.
Not only this, you’re able to gather and equip Spirit Shards to gear Ori’s strengths to your playstyle. I was able to grab the triple jump rather early. This modification certainly helped to shape my journey and lasting impressions of the traversal challenges. I was able to game my way to upgrades earlier than expected, and move with a greater degree of freedom.
Even without a Platinum trophy (or full Gamerscore) at the end of the road I beat the game with 87% completion and am planning to go back and finish out the world.
Combat shrines were wonderful and usually challenging; races are the same. The boss fights are frantic in a way that I haven’t seen in many places before. Always difficult, they present constant threats that even an expanded combat arsenal cannot quell. There’s a distinct imperative to move deliberately (and constantly), pick your moments and get in close to scrap. The final boss kicks, as many of the boss fights are phenomenal, with their accompanying chase scenes swatting at perfection.
Checkpoints throughout fights and chases are made more generous and forgiving, as with platforming (especially in the endgame). The game is challenging but never feels punishing. The ending scenes are a gut punch that I’ll carry with me for a while.
The only detractor to this game’s otherwise undeterred momentum is in the story’s larger second act. A friend is gravely injured and the world expands, tasking Ori to traverse its 4 corners in search of Spirit Wisps to restore the land. This newly-opened world strikes as just an illusion, however. A quiet order exists that isn’t readily apparent to the player. It’s not a major issue thanks to generous fast travel points (an unlockable skill for its best use), but it smarts in a notable way. The cadence of exploring a new annal of the world, gaining a new ability, cracking that same area wide open then transitioning to a battle with a great chase is lost. It’s reduced to placing a pin in something to return later with losing the growing familiarity of the distinct regions.
I also felt that some of the areas dragged more than others. Where Moon Studios succeeds in creating a thrilling aquatic world, they counter it with a tedious underground region. As the thrilling ability to launch Ori as a projectile is acquired, it's challenged by another tedious and rather punishing platforming portion.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an enormous success mounting from the original's strong foundation. The hearts of its creators are felt in the world and their passion for perfection does not go untapped. This is a must play for video game fans of any background.
I played in Supersampled 6k running 60 fps, a benefit of playing nearly two years after initial release. The game sings at all times, seamlessly blending foreground and background art into a colorful world of a magnitude I’ve never seen painted onto a 2D plane.
Builds on the strong basis of its predecessor, not only through expanding combat abilities but focusing the main story rewards on traversal components. This doesn’t come as a hassle, Will of the Wisps hardly misses a beat by awarding Ori her double jump and dash abilities soon after the journey begins.
The Glade is a wonderful meeting place for the new cast of characters and Moki to occupy, and it feels like home. I’m a sucker for when a game includes a home base-like area, even more so when you’re able to build upon it. The characters are unique and charming in design, animation, personality. They fill the world, endearing it further as they travel beyond the Glade’s safety.
Side quests are a wonderful addition, for the first time in games I felt like I was able to complete a chain delivery quest with my own knowledge of the characters and world.
Not only this, you’re able to gather and equip Spirit Shards to gear Ori’s strengths to your playstyle. I was able to grab the triple jump rather early. This modification certainly helped to shape my journey and lasting impressions of the traversal challenges. I was able to game my way to upgrades earlier than expected, and move with a greater degree of freedom.
Even without a Platinum trophy (or full Gamerscore) at the end of the road I beat the game with 87% completion and am planning to go back and finish out the world.
Combat shrines were wonderful and usually challenging; races are the same. The boss fights are frantic in a way that I haven’t seen in many places before. Always difficult, they present constant threats that even an expanded combat arsenal cannot quell. There’s a distinct imperative to move deliberately (and constantly), pick your moments and get in close to scrap. The final boss kicks, as many of the boss fights are phenomenal, with their accompanying chase scenes swatting at perfection.
Checkpoints throughout fights and chases are made more generous and forgiving, as with platforming (especially in the endgame). The game is challenging but never feels punishing. The ending scenes are a gut punch that I’ll carry with me for a while.
The only detractor to this game’s otherwise undeterred momentum is in the story’s larger second act. A friend is gravely injured and the world expands, tasking Ori to traverse its 4 corners in search of Spirit Wisps to restore the land. This newly-opened world strikes as just an illusion, however. A quiet order exists that isn’t readily apparent to the player. It’s not a major issue thanks to generous fast travel points (an unlockable skill for its best use), but it smarts in a notable way. The cadence of exploring a new annal of the world, gaining a new ability, cracking that same area wide open then transitioning to a battle with a great chase is lost. It’s reduced to placing a pin in something to return later with losing the growing familiarity of the distinct regions.
I also felt that some of the areas dragged more than others. Where Moon Studios succeeds in creating a thrilling aquatic world, they counter it with a tedious underground region. As the thrilling ability to launch Ori as a projectile is acquired, it's challenged by another tedious and rather punishing platforming portion.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an enormous success mounting from the original's strong foundation. The hearts of its creators are felt in the world and their passion for perfection does not go untapped. This is a must play for video game fans of any background.
Against all odds this game succeeds by being exceedingly charming, incredibly funny and mechanically sound. All pillars combine to make a worthwhile game that I'm happy I made the time for.
To this game's credit, it compelled me to put my differences aside with Luigi to recognize his value for the team.
Some downsides that hold it back are the limited team composition options (Mario has to lead, you always need a rabbid), overworld puzzles became annoying, the Rabbids are overall just very gross.
To this game's credit, it compelled me to put my differences aside with Luigi to recognize his value for the team.
Some downsides that hold it back are the limited team composition options (Mario has to lead, you always need a rabbid), overworld puzzles became annoying, the Rabbids are overall just very gross.