Shoechu
9 reviews liked by Shoechu
i love you ankou
This review contains spoilers
one of the worst things ever created. it's like if the concept of "fake deep" grew into an entity knowledgeable enough to develop and publish a video game from the ground up and yet couldn't manage to build more depth. i guess i'm meant to care about ame? i just felt so grossed out by her that i didn't want to acknowledge her existence anymore. and then the final ending tells me actually the player didn't exist. who the hell was she fucking then???
are half the endings meant to be gags? they're just not funny. here's ame fucking to death! here's ame jumping off a building while livestreaming! here's ame becoming a cam model! here's ame doing so many drugs she's now on a train! here's ame dumping you to date a guy in a horse mask! here's ame ghosting you because She Will Never Be Normal. okay take her to the psych ward then. the only thing these endings did was make me care less and less about her.
the game screen dims when you have *** (doing a self-harm minigame is allowed but tee hee we won't say sex!!! hahahahah!!!!) and little hearts fly from ame's webcam as the screen moves up and down. after you're done watching this unskippable pathetic performance, ame tweets on her private account that it feels good to do it from behind. who wants to read that? the game forces you into the aforementioned self-harm minigame if she's too stressed for two days in a row, where you press a button four times to make her cut her arm for every press, and i just had to roll my eyes. it's just so unbelievably unsubtle, and i don't think being subtle would make it better. i think it needs to go entirely.
like, wow. that finale? really? the max followers ending of the game is the most ridiculously pathetic "the internet has ruined us" thing ever. of course the internet has ruined you, look at you! look at yourself! you're playing NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD. and you LIKED IT, too. of COURSE the internet has ruined you, you have no sense of anything! and the secret ending??? the one you get for getting all other endings??? wow, so deep. just what we needed. the most unnecessary plot twist of all time.... you, the player, weren't real all along!!! wow!!! riveting stuff!!!!!!!
are half the endings meant to be gags? they're just not funny. here's ame fucking to death! here's ame jumping off a building while livestreaming! here's ame becoming a cam model! here's ame doing so many drugs she's now on a train! here's ame dumping you to date a guy in a horse mask! here's ame ghosting you because She Will Never Be Normal. okay take her to the psych ward then. the only thing these endings did was make me care less and less about her.
the game screen dims when you have *** (doing a self-harm minigame is allowed but tee hee we won't say sex!!! hahahahah!!!!) and little hearts fly from ame's webcam as the screen moves up and down. after you're done watching this unskippable pathetic performance, ame tweets on her private account that it feels good to do it from behind. who wants to read that? the game forces you into the aforementioned self-harm minigame if she's too stressed for two days in a row, where you press a button four times to make her cut her arm for every press, and i just had to roll my eyes. it's just so unbelievably unsubtle, and i don't think being subtle would make it better. i think it needs to go entirely.
like, wow. that finale? really? the max followers ending of the game is the most ridiculously pathetic "the internet has ruined us" thing ever. of course the internet has ruined you, look at you! look at yourself! you're playing NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD. and you LIKED IT, too. of COURSE the internet has ruined you, you have no sense of anything! and the secret ending??? the one you get for getting all other endings??? wow, so deep. just what we needed. the most unnecessary plot twist of all time.... you, the player, weren't real all along!!! wow!!! riveting stuff!!!!!!!
This 1700s Bavarian town has a surprisingly high density of lesbians.
Baldur's Gate 3
2023
i did not actually play this game i merely watched a cat play it over the course of two months. anyway this was very fun but i can't justify putting it over 4 stars because i didn't play it myself!!! my computer would explode if i tried. gorty you will always live in my heart
Class of '09
2021
This game is awesome bc it's about how being a terrible person is actually extremely funny! :D
Slow Damage
2021
There's so much I could say about this game, but the way it handles its themes of trauma, facing your past, and broken people finding solace in one another made me emotional over and over
Kino.
Kino.
Limbus Company
2023
have fun appealing to the lowest common denominator of incel mouth breathers lmao
"How could this get any worse?" I found myself saying this aloud time and time again throughout my playthrough of this game. And to my amazement, Rain Code always managed to outdo itself. It's incredible how the game is capable of pulling this off, I honestly must applaud.
Everything about this game is made to undermine something else, and it is one of the most brilliant ways of writing a story. Mysteries that seem difficult to solve? Don't worry, the core mechanic of the game, the Mystery Labyrinth, will spoon-feed the answers to you. Solving a mystery means killing the culprit, what a cool idea that could be used for some heavy moral decisions later! Not to worry though, most of the culprits are either petty criminals or already dead. Partner characters enter the Mystery Labyrinth with the protagonist, meaning a sizeable chunk of their screentime, and therefore development, happens there. Too bad they lose their memories of everything that happened within when exiting said Mystery Labyrinth! I could go on.
How could this get any worse? These mechanics being at odds with each other is bad enough, but how about some of the worst gameplay in a visual novel yet? Not only are the controls themselves incredibly sluggish, but there are horrendous copies of minigames that were in Danganronpa that serve little to no purpose other than to rehash things people seemed to like about those games. In-between these minigames are sections of nothing but mindlessly walking forward in a straight line until getting to the next one. There are boring and forced side-quests as well as points you earn that go towards a skill tree, both of which serve zero purpose other than to make the game longer and have the appearance of there being more to do.
How could this get any worse? All of Rain Code's problems culminate in one of the most absurd and atrocious final chapters of any story I have ever experienced. Every issue is dialed to the max, and Rain Code isn't afraid to jump the shark and go completely off the deep end. But in a strange turn of events, it was the most enjoyable part of the game. I didn't enjoy it for the reasons that the creator, Kazutaka Kodaka, wanted me to, however. This was an entertaining train wreck that somehow kept getting worse and worse, and I grabbed my popcorn and watched it go up in flames. I am astonished at just how bad it got, and because of that, I enjoyed laughing at everything this game tried to do.
With enough noise, anything can become a symphony. Rain Code conducts this orchestra with such fine attention to detail, making sure nothing is consistent and nothing is harmonious. It walks a thin line between the amazing bad, and the just bad. And what an orchestra it is. I found myself appalled at every twist and turn this game took, and I would once again repeat: "How could this get any worse?"
And yet, it does. After suffering through this piece of shit for hours on end, I reached an epiphany. Among the chaos, I became enlightened: "This is one of the worst games ever, which is why it's one of the best games ever." No game, nay, piece of media will ever achieve what Rain Code has done. While being one of the most inconsistent and infuriating things ever, with awful gameplay, minimal thematic tones, and ideas that constantly undermine themselves, Rain Code is able to use its absurdity to rise above the standards of what makes something "good" or "bad" and become something uniquely its own. The best part? It's not meant to be absurd. It's supposed to be serious. This game fucking sucks in every sense of the word, and at the same time, it is one of the most entertaining games ever. I laugh at this game, not with it. And it feels goddamn amazing.
So, Kodaka, I ask you: How could you get any worse?
Everything about this game is made to undermine something else, and it is one of the most brilliant ways of writing a story. Mysteries that seem difficult to solve? Don't worry, the core mechanic of the game, the Mystery Labyrinth, will spoon-feed the answers to you. Solving a mystery means killing the culprit, what a cool idea that could be used for some heavy moral decisions later! Not to worry though, most of the culprits are either petty criminals or already dead. Partner characters enter the Mystery Labyrinth with the protagonist, meaning a sizeable chunk of their screentime, and therefore development, happens there. Too bad they lose their memories of everything that happened within when exiting said Mystery Labyrinth! I could go on.
How could this get any worse? These mechanics being at odds with each other is bad enough, but how about some of the worst gameplay in a visual novel yet? Not only are the controls themselves incredibly sluggish, but there are horrendous copies of minigames that were in Danganronpa that serve little to no purpose other than to rehash things people seemed to like about those games. In-between these minigames are sections of nothing but mindlessly walking forward in a straight line until getting to the next one. There are boring and forced side-quests as well as points you earn that go towards a skill tree, both of which serve zero purpose other than to make the game longer and have the appearance of there being more to do.
How could this get any worse? All of Rain Code's problems culminate in one of the most absurd and atrocious final chapters of any story I have ever experienced. Every issue is dialed to the max, and Rain Code isn't afraid to jump the shark and go completely off the deep end. But in a strange turn of events, it was the most enjoyable part of the game. I didn't enjoy it for the reasons that the creator, Kazutaka Kodaka, wanted me to, however. This was an entertaining train wreck that somehow kept getting worse and worse, and I grabbed my popcorn and watched it go up in flames. I am astonished at just how bad it got, and because of that, I enjoyed laughing at everything this game tried to do.
With enough noise, anything can become a symphony. Rain Code conducts this orchestra with such fine attention to detail, making sure nothing is consistent and nothing is harmonious. It walks a thin line between the amazing bad, and the just bad. And what an orchestra it is. I found myself appalled at every twist and turn this game took, and I would once again repeat: "How could this get any worse?"
And yet, it does. After suffering through this piece of shit for hours on end, I reached an epiphany. Among the chaos, I became enlightened: "This is one of the worst games ever, which is why it's one of the best games ever." No game, nay, piece of media will ever achieve what Rain Code has done. While being one of the most inconsistent and infuriating things ever, with awful gameplay, minimal thematic tones, and ideas that constantly undermine themselves, Rain Code is able to use its absurdity to rise above the standards of what makes something "good" or "bad" and become something uniquely its own. The best part? It's not meant to be absurd. It's supposed to be serious. This game fucking sucks in every sense of the word, and at the same time, it is one of the most entertaining games ever. I laugh at this game, not with it. And it feels goddamn amazing.
So, Kodaka, I ask you: How could you get any worse?
Persona 4 Golden
2020
This review contains spoilers
i know i'm giving it 4 stars but that's purely because of emotional attachment. i like the original more. i did not expect this game to be this bad because i had fond memories of it... but it is, and not in a way i can really formulate.
anyway, good parts: the music hits, i like the presentation and the cast is endearing. that's kind of it, though. if they gave me the writers' pen i could make this better than 5 (not very hard at all). i never got why people hated marie and didn't care about her but now i do: she adds nothing. the original was fine without her. adachi is very very good though congrats atlus! a hit after two million misses oh my fucking god.
also they added a moment where you can kiss teddie but if you try to do that he runs away like what the fuck?????? get OVER here you bitch.
anyway, good parts: the music hits, i like the presentation and the cast is endearing. that's kind of it, though. if they gave me the writers' pen i could make this better than 5 (not very hard at all). i never got why people hated marie and didn't care about her but now i do: she adds nothing. the original was fine without her. adachi is very very good though congrats atlus! a hit after two million misses oh my fucking god.
also they added a moment where you can kiss teddie but if you try to do that he runs away like what the fuck?????? get OVER here you bitch.