Raxyz
2024
It's fun and innovative, but way too short for its price tag.
2015
Maybe my perspective is skewed because I'm playing this after Death's Door, but honestly, it's amazing that the team that made such an amazing game as Death's Door started with... This.
The aesthetic is unique, soundtrack is good, but as a game it's just boring or outright annoying. Shadow of the Colossus largely follows the same formula (the game even pays homage to it), but SotC does some things that Titan Souls doesn't:
1- Eye candy. As unique of an aesthetic as Titan Souls have it, you're just less likely to stop and admire the scenery. There's very little here to incentivize you to stop and wonder.
2- Bosses aren't as complex. In fact, some of them have achievements tied like "kill in 5 seconds". Imagine riding Agro for all that time only to reach a Colossus and finish the fight within the minute...
Titan Souls is disproportionate. It's a game that, for every 10 seconds you spend walking, you get 1 of actual, engaging gameplay. And when the entire thing offers around 3 hours of content, this means that you have 2 and a half hours of nothing and 30 minutes of gameplay. It's even worse if you go for a completionist run because this game is downright unfair at times. The dodge isn't as responsive as you'd expect it to be, and the attacks patterns sometimes feel like they're meant for a higher move speed that the one you're given.
All in all, this game doesn't offer much. Has an somewhat interesting idea while it fumbles on everything else. If you're not the type of person with a speedrunner's mindset to run the same things over and over again until you perfect it, then I can't really recommend this game.
The aesthetic is unique, soundtrack is good, but as a game it's just boring or outright annoying. Shadow of the Colossus largely follows the same formula (the game even pays homage to it), but SotC does some things that Titan Souls doesn't:
1- Eye candy. As unique of an aesthetic as Titan Souls have it, you're just less likely to stop and admire the scenery. There's very little here to incentivize you to stop and wonder.
2- Bosses aren't as complex. In fact, some of them have achievements tied like "kill in 5 seconds". Imagine riding Agro for all that time only to reach a Colossus and finish the fight within the minute...
Titan Souls is disproportionate. It's a game that, for every 10 seconds you spend walking, you get 1 of actual, engaging gameplay. And when the entire thing offers around 3 hours of content, this means that you have 2 and a half hours of nothing and 30 minutes of gameplay. It's even worse if you go for a completionist run because this game is downright unfair at times. The dodge isn't as responsive as you'd expect it to be, and the attacks patterns sometimes feel like they're meant for a higher move speed that the one you're given.
All in all, this game doesn't offer much. Has an somewhat interesting idea while it fumbles on everything else. If you're not the type of person with a speedrunner's mindset to run the same things over and over again until you perfect it, then I can't really recommend this game.
2023
Look, artistic-wise the game seems alright, which is a surprise. But Jesus Christ, this has to be the absolute worst PC port I've ever seen in my life. I got all the way to chapter 7 when I finally couldn't take anymore. Who the fuck still does shader caches in 2023 and on top of it puts it on a 10+ deep folder structure? This game has to be made by the most computer illiterate devs the industry has to offer. It's not even worth it through gamepass because the time spent will just infuriate you to no end. "Free" would still be too expensive.
Absolute disaster that only modern Sega could put out. Add insult to injury, instead of just making a terrible sequel, they built it on TOP of an actual good game and killed it in the process. This is an abomination almost comparable to Warcraft 3 Reforged.
2021
If you're ever curious to play this game, just play the demo and consider that the final version. I'm not kidding, the demo has all the parts that are actually worthwhile. The game derails and wrecks itself spectacularly midway through, I can make an entire essay about all the narrative and plot mistakes they made on a story-focused game, but just take my word on this one. It's not worth it.
2021
Bandai's anime games are like sports cars driven by teenagers. The potential is incredible, but you KNOW you're headed for a spectacular crash.
Snark aside, the game does have a few great beats and an overall great "PS2 era" JRPG feel to it. But it could've been much more.
Snark aside, the game does have a few great beats and an overall great "PS2 era" JRPG feel to it. But it could've been much more.
2022
So long, and thanks for all the puzzles.
2022
Solid game. Doesn't fully utilizes the potential of a cat's mobility as a game mechanic, but has a good enough plot and narrative to carry the experience. Also not enough cat puns 7.8/10.
In all seriousness though, it does what's expected of it. If you weren't convinced by the trailers and promotional material, the game won't change your mind. But if you're interested in the premise at all then I think it at least matches your expectation.
In all seriousness though, it does what's expected of it. If you weren't convinced by the trailers and promotional material, the game won't change your mind. But if you're interested in the premise at all then I think it at least matches your expectation.
2019
Quite honestly, it's a downgrade compared to the base game. The content isn't just irrelevant and completely superfluous to the themes of the game, they actively make it worse which is baffling to me. Gameplay improvements and a few touch ups keep you excited for what's to come, but the final stretch makes you regret not just keeping your memories of vanilla... Although maybe that's the real message of Royal: If you support needless extensions or DLC, you're gonna get screwed in the end.
2023
Solid survival horror title. I miss the kind of psychological horror they achieved with Dark Descent, but sometimes you have to try new things and let old formulas rest. This is basically a classic RE formula on a Frictional spin, it's very fun to play, and VERY replayable.
It's an excellent game, but not without its fair share of caveats. It's a prime example of everything japanese narrative gets right and wrong at the same time. I like at how they used rather heavy themes without being an outright tear-jerker and with an positive message overall. It also completely lacks subtlety in anything it does. Characters are sometimes trope-y to the extreme. Certain twists are very predictable. Sometimes it feels like the stakes aren't as high as it should be.
Gameplay-wise it also does the best and worst of the genre. Its tactical options are great in offering more than just raw DPS to roflstomp everything on your path. But the combat also overstays its welcome at times. Technically it has no "flaws" in the combat, but it still gets tiring.
And more importantly: WHY THE FUCK IS THERE AN SWIMSUIT DLC FOR THIS GAME? For crying out loud man...
Gameplay-wise it also does the best and worst of the genre. Its tactical options are great in offering more than just raw DPS to roflstomp everything on your path. But the combat also overstays its welcome at times. Technically it has no "flaws" in the combat, but it still gets tiring.
And more importantly: WHY THE FUCK IS THERE AN SWIMSUIT DLC FOR THIS GAME? For crying out loud man...
I have a love/hate relationship with both Fuga games so far. They're great, have undeniable passion put in making it, and can be a masterclass in artistic flair and writing when it want to... It also has an gameplay that overstays its welcome (it's not bad, just a tad unbalanced), can be quite trope-y at times and has some plot twists that actively make the story worse than not having them at all...
Other games I have similar pet peeves with (no pun intended) usually fall into the "underwhelming" category at best, but for some reason I can't outright say the game about Fuga. For me those are great games, even if they don't fully live to their potential.
Other games I have similar pet peeves with (no pun intended) usually fall into the "underwhelming" category at best, but for some reason I can't outright say the game about Fuga. For me those are great games, even if they don't fully live to their potential.
2023
An interactive album basically.
Ok, for real, the shoot'em up is kinda fun, but it's way too short.
Ok, for real, the shoot'em up is kinda fun, but it's way too short.
Was never attracted to the genre, but had this recommended as a good beginner level introduction to it. It's fun, although it doesn't really solve my major gripe with it that is: You can't really plan a city and have it be pretty or optimal. You just do whatever you need right now for people not to die and once you're stable enough you'll need days of grinding to slowly rebuild into the city you actually want to do.
Still, that's a purely subjective gripe. The game does exactly what it promises to do, but nothing more. I guess I'll try Frostpunk next and see how it compares to one that's notoriously punishing compared to this cozy one.
Still, that's a purely subjective gripe. The game does exactly what it promises to do, but nothing more. I guess I'll try Frostpunk next and see how it compares to one that's notoriously punishing compared to this cozy one.
2015
This game is a perfect example of "peerless ideas, lackluster execution". It's brilliant in both co-op mechanics and stealth design, but you can't really see that from the surface. It's a game I'd recommend, but with the caveat that you gotta have some jank immunity to really appreciate what it does right.