Penny’s Big Breakaway delivers exactly what I wanted from the developers of Sonic Mania. It is a well-designed 3D platformer that retains their vibrant visuals, smooth gameplay mechanics, and exceptional soundtrack that made Sonic Mania so beloved. However, it surpasses that game by consistently offering originality that was lacking in Sonic Mania, which unfortunately caused that game to fail in capturing my interest for multiple playthroughs or being deemed exceptional in my eyes.

It doesn’t dispute the fact that it was made by a very talented team, but shifting to a new IP has given them the freedom to break away from that restriction. It oozes with originality from start to finish, which finally makes me appreciate their meticulous craftsmanship without feeling like I'm just going through the motions.

I do have a couple of minor criticisms regarding this game. The structure of each world and the presence of a boss are really uneven. The toggleable simple control scheme is not very intuitive compared to the default pro control scheme; it feels like it wasn't specifically designed for this game. Lastly, there are instances where the collision doesn't feel polished, as I occasionally get stuck in certain areas or end up in places that seem unintended.

Aside from that, this is one of the most gratifying 3D platformers that I have ever played, with a ton of levels to beat and complete. Additionally, there are bonus levels to unlock, and all that for the reasonable price of 30 dollars?! This is Christian Whitehead’s magnum opus, alongside everyone at Evening Star who contributed their efforts to this game.

Upon booting up this game, despite learning about its reputation, I anticipated a Devil May Cry 2 or Mega Man X6 equivalent within the Yakuza series with this third installment. However, after playing it, I was pleasantly surprised and kind of enjoyed it. As I continue my Yakuza journey, I expect this to be the weakest entry, but if the worst Yakuza game I've played is still a 6-7/10, it's impressive how consistent this franchise is.

The story and characters continue to give me so much joy, whether it's during lighthearted or intense moments that the main storyline executes so well, keeping my attention and investment. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same excitement for the substories this time around, unlike in Yakuza 2. There were a few cool ones that caught my attention, but those were the exceptions.

I gotta say, the combat in this game, to me, is enjoyable despite the jank. The only thing that bugs me is how obsessed the enemies are with their blocking move. It can really drag out some fights. But other than that, I still enjoyed smacking down enemies, stringing together combos, and leveling up. Even though I've played Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1, and both versions of 2 before, I still had a blast with the combat in this game.

The graphics in this game have definitely aged, with blurry textures that are noticeable when it comes to things like clothing, backgrounds, or some character models. The one aspect that I do appreciate about the presentation is how the lighting and skyboxes look depending on the time of day (shoutouts to Kamurocho at night), but you can tell it's a PS3 game.

It feels kind of anticlimactic now that I have played this game, and my thoughts are not really aligning with its infamous reputation. I'm not going to argue if it deserves that or not, but from my point of view, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It turned out to be an alright game that I really enjoyed, despite its flaws. Hopefully, Yakuza 4 will be a smoother experience, regardless of how I feel about Yakuza 3.

Here are my other Yakuza reviews:

Yakuza Kiwami 2
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1444016/

Yakuza Kiwami
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Shamaboy11/review/1130270/

Since its initial reveal, this game has faced heavy backlash, but now it is widely regarded as the most creative & enjoyable title from Ubisoft in a while. Having played the game myself, I can confidently say that I share this sentiment.

Even though it has shifted in the genre, this new direction of PoP still manages to keep the three key PoP elements that I find to be very important: platforming, combat, and challenge. Despite being a 2D game, The Lost Crown takes these aspects to arguably a higher level, making it the most challenging game in the series since the classic 2D games. However, the controls are so smooth & precise that makes traversal as Sargon fun through platforming sections, and the clever level design ensures that it never gets stale.

I'm genuinely surprised by the combat; it's incredibly deep right from the get-go, even before unlocking new powers or finding items. I highly recommend taking on the training challenges to learn the mechanics and earn rewards. It's really useful to have a good grasp of the combos and the satisfying parry because enemies or bosses won't go easy on you if you mindlessly just mash buttons, even on normal difficulty. The platforming and puzzles, especially with the optional sections make this game much more challenging than any of the 3D PoP games. I'd say it's more in line with the difficulty of the 2D PoP games but without any unfairness or rough edges.

I wanted to emphasize how this game gets the essential elements of the PoP series so right & elevates it to another level. While it doesn't bring much new to the table within the Metroidvania it shifts into, that doesn't bother me because it is incredibly well-crafted and seamlessly incorporates the key PoP elements. The rewards such as amulets and powers that augment your abilities or arsenal, it ain’t just meaningless stat boosts like in many Ubisoft games. Additionally, discovering optional platforming sections, puzzles, and boss fights is highly rewarding, and the map is easy to navigate.

The memory shard feature in this game is a great addition though, allowing for screenshots taken during gameplay to be displayed on your map. However, the game doesn't offer much innovation to the Metroidvania genre outside of that. What stands out is how Ubisoft Montpellier incorporated PoP elements so well into that shift in genre on their first attempt similar to how Nintendo transitioned The Legend of Zelda franchise with Breath of the Wild. I would argue they did an even better job.

Let's talk about the presentation for a moment instead of focusing on the gameplay. I don’t care much for the character designs, but apart from that, the environments and animation are incredibly stylish and visually stunning. Combine that with the amazing atmosphere and energetic soundtrack created by the talented Ori composer Gareth Coker and newcomer Mentrix, and you've got a winning combination.

Now, I do wanna express a few complaints that I have about this game that I want to address to acknowledge its imperfections. The skins that you come across are quite disappointing, one minor character has a text-to-speech voice while others with less dialogue are voiced by actual people, and the pacing of the story in the middle is practically non-existent (although it does pick up again towards the climax). The last thing is that despite being well polished for the most part, the few bugs that I have encountered are noticeable.

To sum it up, I was expecting Ubisoft Montpellier to create a decent game at the very least when I found out about them making this new PoP game. However, it's not just good, it's exceptional. This talented studio known for bringing us Rayman 1-3, Origins, Legends, Beyond Good & Evil, Valiant Heart, and even the underrated gem Rabbids Go Home has once again delivered with The Lost Crown. It's great to see that this studio still possesses its magic touch and has brought Prince of Persia back to the forefront of high quality. I'll be genuinely surprised if this doesn't end up being my game of the year, and it's only the first month of 2024….

I was pleasantly surprised by this experience. Animal Well is a tightly designed metroidvania that focuses on clever puzzles that will test your knowledge of each item that you obtain, as well as your surroundings. The cherry on top is the amazing atmosphere that really draws you into this world excellently crafted by Billy Basso.

My only few complaints are that I find the fast travel system so tedious that I barely use it, which made going around the map back and forth just tedious eventually & the player's hit feedback could be better in certain moments that I don't want to spoil to rob your experience, but that is my overall advice.
Play this game as blindly as you can, similar to The Outer Wilds, which I have heard a lot of comparisons to (although I haven't played that yet). I am definitely glad to have played this and it will likely be in my top games of the year.

Sonic Dream Team is a really well-made mobile game and if that's all you wanted to know, I can say it succeeded on that front for most of it.

However, once I start judging this game as an overall video game experience and compare it to other Sonic games. It is still a good game, but something about the experience just doesn't quite fulfill me or leave a big impact to confidently say that it satisfied me more than Sonic Frontiers or Superstars which I know is gonna be a controversial opinion considering how many people seem to think that this is the best modern Sonic experience in a while.

I unfortunately don’t agree with that as I personally don’t see myself having the desire to eat up everything that Dream Team has to offer like how I felt with the other recent Sonic games.

This a very effective simple 3D platformer on Apple Arcade that is fun, but I wouldn't exactly sacrifice myself to play it if I didn't own an iOS device.

My first dive into the Bloodstained series, and it's definitely a worthy successor to Castlevania. Inti Creates did an outstanding job with Curse of the Moon. It is a love letter to the classic NES Castlevania games in every way but its name, while still managing to stand out as an amazing game on its own and not feel stuck in the past. Even if you haven't experienced the old-school Castlevania games, you will still likely enjoy this one.

The soundtrack made by Michiru Yamane (legendary Castlevania composer) & Ryusuke Fujioka is music to my ears that elevates this package. The cherry on top is the cool secrets to unlock that made me want to replay the game 2 more times, which does not take long to beat. It helps me not get tired of it. If this winning streak continues with Ritual of the Night and Curse of the Moon 2, I might not miss Castlevania if Konami continues to leave it in the dust.

If this forever remains the final Metroidvania entry by Koji Igarashi and his team for the Castlevania series, what an incredible swan song it is.

Order of Ecclesia is a breath of fresh air when it comes to difficulty, especially compared to the previous games which were a piece of cake. The boss fights in this game are genuinely some of the toughest in the entire series, but they are challenging in a fair way, unlike the bosses in Circle of the Moon.

The weaknesses for enemies and bosses in Order of Ecclesia are now much more important, which means I have to constantly switch between my equipment slots. This, combined with the glyph system that has been streamlined compared to the souls' system from the Sorrow duology but still has layers to it, adds a whole new level of strategy to the game and makes combat the most engaging in all of 2D Castlevania for me.

The game's structure pleasantly surprised me, especially the hub village that gradually becomes more alive as you rescue villagers from different areas. It reminded me of Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, but with a way better execution. Moving from one area to another feels like embarking on a journey through a vast land. The stunning visuals and incredible soundtrack, which is already a trademark of this series, further enhance the experience.

This journey is made even better by the emotional tale between Shanoa and Albus. Their story isn’t mind-blowing, but it's enough to make these two some of my favorite characters in the whole series. I genuinely care about their personal journey, even if the mystery surrounding it is predictable. Despite that, the end game is still incredibly satisfying.

I really believe that Order of Ecclesia is in my top 3 favorites in the series. However, I'm constantly debating whether this or Aria of Sorrow is my favorite Metroidvania game in the entire series. But one thing is for sure, it will go down as my favorite Metroidvania game on the Nintendo DS, and it's the perfect way to wrap up my Castlevania journey that I went through for over 2 years

This is my first time playing a Star Fox game, and I must say, it's a great introduction. The action is fast-paced and satisfying, the characters are charming, and the presentation are great. I finally understand why this series is so fondly remembered.

The only downside for me is that the sections set during the all-range mode aren't very enjoyable and can be a bit tedious to me. Besides that, I can still highly recommend this game if you're looking for a fun and replayable game with lots of personality.

Payday 3 at launch is like walking into a burger restaurant and instead of asking for the usual burger that they have improved & refined for years known as Payday 2, I wanna try the new burger that they just put on their menu recently which is Payday 3.

The chefs are getting it ready for me and after taking my first bite out of it. I’m stunned at how good it is & find it very delicious even if I’m sure that some sauces are missing known as smaller, but appropriate features from Payday 2.

Still, it doesn’t distract me enough from the fact that the new burger left me wanting to eat more of it. However, the waiter known as the server just grabs the new burger from my hands and throws it away, leaving me completely shocked and getting a bit mad. Now imagine this scenario but happening constantly and that is Payday 3 in a nutshell for me.

A very good game that the chefs known as the game devs should be proud of it, but they seriously need to fucking sort out their waiters known as the servers, and let me fully finish their damn new burger that I enjoy when the waiter isn’t being an asshole

Gravity Circuit is certainly one of my biggest surprises of 2023 so far with such smooth controls & flow that playing it never gets tiring, which helps by the solid level design that isn’t a breeze to go through, but you feel like a badass when you get through it with barely any scratches helped by the satisfying melee combat.

Double that with the chips & techniques that you can purchase when rescuing bots around each level that makes exploration feel very rewarding since most of them are pretty useful to get for levels or bosses. My only nitpick is that the lack of loadout slots makes switching to different chips & techniques take a bit too long and ruins the otherwise perfect fast-paced flow that the game exceeds.

Speaking of bosses, most of them are very engaging & surprisingly well balanced that even fully upgrading Kai won’t make all the boss fights a complete joke, especially at the finale, which outside of the obnoxious boss rush is a pretty satisfying finale both gameplay & where the story started to somewhat be interesting.

The overall story is the weakest aspect of the game. Until the finale rolls, I just found the plot to be pretty standard which I would’ve been fine with if the characters had cool or entertaining interactions, but it unfortunately lacks that. Kernel & one other character that I can’t spoil are only two that had a few memorable moments, but everyone else is unfortunately a blur to me. It's not the end of the world because outside of Mega Man Zero games, this kind of game tends to not focus on the stories. So if you don’t care about it, you won’t be affected by this too much unlike me.

The last few things I wanna highlight are the visuals & soundtrack. The pixel art in this is stunning due to the use of different color palettes that makes each level look distinctive, slick portraits that give it so much personality, and the overall UI is beautifully stylized. The soundtrack overall is full of energy I never got tired of listening to it.

Overall, this package is superb and one of the best modern action platformers that I have played in recent memory. I come back to replaying it, especially since it offers New game plus & Circuit mode that I want to give a try. For a game that costs under $20, this is a steal that I would recommend to anyone who is in the mood for an engaging action-platformer.

I was highly impressed by Joakim Sandberg's work on Iconoclasts, which led me to become curious about his previous project, Noitu Love 2: Devolution and I’m happy to say that his previous work is also excellent. This game offers an incredibly satisfying combat system with impactful sound design, adrenaline boss battles at every turn, and visually stunning sprite-work and character designs that are a treat to look at.

While the story didn't captivate me much, the game itself didn't seem to prioritize it either. Therefore, I won't dwell on that aspect too much. Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend Noitu Love 2: Devolution if you're looking for a short yet fulfilling experience.

At first glance, I thought Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was gonna be more of the same as the previous games when I first saw gameplay footage, but having fully 100% the game & getting the platinum trophy. I wasn’t prepared for how much of a transformation it is from previous games and its so many little improvements that I consistently noticed that it eventually morphs into a refined sequel that feels familiar but doesn’t sit on its ass and barely improves on anything like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (in my opinion).

Traversal movement feels so much faster than Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 that it looks like slow motion in comparison due to new moves like a slingshot, loop-de-loop, or corner tether which makes web swinging so satisfying to do, and web wing is also a nice addition that I was worried about outshining the web-swinging mechanics, but they thankfully balanced it because just using the web wing is so slow that I needed to use web-swinging mechanics if I want to main decent speed or flow. I can confidently say that this is my favorite traversal movement in any Spider-Man game.

The combat was something that I wasn’t anticipating to see such a big glow up. I love the combat flow in Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4, but everything else surrounding it such as the difficulty, enemy variety, or bosses was pretty easy or lacking even when the spectacles looked impressive. At first, I assumed Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was gonna do more of the same, but I was proven dead wrong. The combat is so much more aggressive with the difficulty ramping up, enemy variety is much better, boss fights feel like actual boss fights, and having the new parry mechanic has made me finally have to pay attention to what I’m doing instead of mashing buttons to win.

Lastly, the side activities feel so much more personal this time instead of feeling like I’m checking off a list. Don’t get me wrong, what you are doing is nothing mind-blowing, but each side mission as I dig through it becomes less about me getting the rewards and rather me wanting to see how each of the stories wraps up and most of them have a satisfying pay-off. I want to say as little as possible because they are so worth going through if you fall in love with Insomniac’s take on the Spider-Man universe in terms of the narrative & characters.

These 3 key pillars of the mechanics or content that I wanted to highlight have made me so happy that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 despite having a similar structure & familiar map is so much more fresh & refined compared to Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 or Miles Morales game than I was expecting when just looking at it. I didn’t even mention other things like much better pacing, non-Spiderman sections not making me depressed, or the skill tree being more rewarding to fill up.

The game isn’t perfect. Despite many improvements that I have noticed, the stealth unfortunately feels left behind because it is still so half-baked or pointless like the previous games. The new gadgets are just so lame compared to Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 & wall-crawling still feels so sluggish.

For the story, I’m mostly satisfied with it. However, I do feel most of the returning villains get shafted too quickly compared to the new ones appearing in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for the first time that do get enough screen time or dialogues for me to care about then when a big moment happens to then, it feels impactful to me. It isn’t as effective as when they pull the same card with returning villains except for one or two. I wouldn’t complain about this much if they already had a decent impact in Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4, but most of them didn’t and the sequel didn’t do anything to make me care about them this time.

Overall, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is an incredible experience that I wasn’t expecting to grab me this much since it looked more of the same at the surface level. I thought that luster would vanish for me eventually like I felt with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but Insomniac games have proven me wrong. I strongly recommend it if you want to play an engaging superhero game

Before the Final Horizon update comes out, I think now is a good time to talk about this game after I decided to replay it from scratch recently without any of the new game plus stuff this week.

With that being said, this game is the most fun I ever had with a janky game in recent memory. I can complain about how blatantly unpolished it is, the unacceptable pop-in, and the original finale being one of the most underwhelming climaxes in the entire series (please age poorly with the final update), etc.

I can easily see why people don’t vibe with this game at all. However, I can’t for the life of me because blazing through the open zone to collect or complete stuff at a consistent speed is such an addictive gameplay loop that I didn’t expect to enjoy so much, listening to an amazing soundtrack that tells it to own little story or tone, enjoying most of character interactions, and titan fights for as spectacle heavy as they are being franchise highlights.

This game despite how duct-taped together it feels reminded me why I love the Sonic franchise despite the bumpy roads it had to go through for god knows how long at this point I’m just not in the mood to spell it out. Regardless, Sonic Frontiers did enough for me personally to enjoy the overall package and it makes me optimistic for the future of the series.

‪A sequel that fails to capture the essence of what made the original Super Meat Boy so captivating and charming. The visuals are generic, the levels feel randomly thrown together because its randomly generated, and the soundtrack is easily forgettable. This combination creates an experience that either bores me or eventually frustrates me to the point where I lose interest halfway through.

The only redeeming aspect of this game is the fully animated 2D cutscenes. The animators truly did an excellent in that department. However, everything else about the game is simply terrible.