Simple, well-executed comfy/unsettling game about fishing and the existential drea(dge) that comes from being on the open water. Nails the atmosphere it's going for and doesn't overstay its welcome. I could make a few complaints about how your days are ultimately too short or the storytelling falls a little flat on its face in terms of execution (it's fairly incoherent without reading the optional notes you can find, hate when games do this), but overall none of that detracted much from my enjoyment.

You know, there really should just be more games about exploring the open ocean, but I guess too many people (wrongly) complained about Wind Waker's sailing 20 years ago so now we're stuck in this reality. Dredge, to its credit, does a stellar job of filling that niche.

There's a moment near the very end of this game that I think really epitomizes Simon's Quest for me. You're going up to Dracula's Castle again.... and it's quiet. Nobody's home, just the eerie ruins of a place you once passed through long ago. There's no real twist to it either, it's just played straight. You walk in, unceremoniously kill Dracula, and that's it. It leaves this sort of hollow feeling, a deep reminiscence of the Castlevania that once was.

Simon's Quest is the most interesting kind of sequel to me, one that seeks to completely invert and upend the status quo of the original game. If the original Castlevania was about a methodical seige to defeat evil and save the day, then Simon's Quest is a showcase of the genuine aftermath shadowing such a task. Even after defeating Dracula, Simon doesn't have much of anything to return to. The world that he supposedly "saved" is completely dead looking, and he's left with a curse that's constantly eating away at his body. It's a premise that lies in stark contrast to the elating feeling that came with beating the first game, almost as if we've been kicked down and mocked despite our greatest efforts and supposed victories.

Simon's Quest is a game I'd consider to be genuinely brilliant and forward thinking, but not everyone seems to agree with me. Perhaps there couldn't be more fitting fate for it. A game reviled and dismissed by most, just as its hero is left with nothing but bitterness and decay.

Peak. Raw. Fire. Goated with the sauce. This is the best video game ever created. Team Cherry made this game because they love me, what I do, and everything I stand for. There are no flaws with this game.

"The combat! It's too hard!" Get better. If you're too stressed, go take a break. Maybe go watch some Mickey Mouse to ease the mind, then come back and try again.

"All the areas are blue! It looks the same!" You're lying. You played the game for one hour. You didn't even get to Greenpath. No one believes you. You are a fool. A moron.

"Where do I go? The map doesn't show anything!" What the hell??? Do you want Elmo and Cookie Monster and Big Bird to drop in and hold your hand throughout the world and point you exactly where you should go? Figure it out. Go find what's out there yourself.

"The music sucks" No one's ever actually said this. I made it up to make the review look longer.

"The death system" Stop dying. If that was too much then go back, you got there you can go there again. The evil scary ghost that reminds you of your horrific failure only takes 3 hits to kill. If it scares you too much and you wet your pants then go to the wizard magician at the end of Dirtmouth and hand over the Rotten Egg.

"I hate Zote! He's not attractive or charming!" Fuck you.

"The game is too big! I hate backtracking!" Why are you playing this genre? Are you too lazy to backtrack to the kitchen everytime you get hungry for a little snack maybe some popcorn or a granola bar? Do you refuse to shower because you don't want to backtrack to the restroom?

"The map sucks!" Go buy the markers at the map shop and equip the compass charm. Is that not enough? Do you want a cookie with that? Or maybe a Capri Sun juice? Fruit punch flavor?

"I guess I'm not into Metroidvanias" Fix that.

This game is wonderful and everyone should play it. Don't comment if you have Omori or a Persona game in your top 5.