TheGamingN00b
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How do I begin? First things first: Yes, the game is great. It's a great 2D Mario Game. I especially like how the power ups are entirely new, except for the Fire Flower, because that is, you know, a classic. And yet, everything feels so familiar nonetheless.
As a sidenote, however, it is praiseworthy how every single power up enhances the moveset, instead of just changing and/or overhauling it, leading to a more concise design.
And yet, everything here just feels sooo familiar. Yes, the Power Ups are new, but none of them really enhance the movement substantially or offer you any unique ways to play. The most important thing that every power up does, is allowing you to tank in one additional hit. And that's really telling.
And yes, the new Wonder Flower is a nice introduction, but I can count the instances when collecting it changes the level and the way you play it in any exciting and interesting way that immideatly catches your attention on one hand. Like the one where it changes the game to an isometric perspective, like a top down Zelda Game. That was actually really cool. Everything else just feels gimmicky. Like another reviewer noted, the.... let's call them "Wonder Passages" are akin to small Bonus Stages, that just got better integrated into the level so one wouldn't notice.
And the game is like that all the time. Gimmicky. The way some Level Goals are like "syke! This is not actually the goal, you need to try again!" are just gimmicky. You fight the same lame ass koopaling boss fights that almost all 2D Marios have, only this time it's just Bowser jr. (Yay!) and the developers just added some gimmicks to each fight, so it does not appear to be quite as stale and familiar. And yet it still does. Same goes for the different pins... badges... medals or whatever that you can equip your character with to enhance the movement options aside from the Power Ups. They are as gimmicky as the rest. They either give you one aditional, scarcely useful ability, one completely overpowered ability or one super-gimmicky ability that is basically entirely useless save for very specific levels and would actually be more distracting than practical aside from those.
So, to boil down all my feelings about this game into one tl;dr kind of statement: Super Mario Bros. Wonder is great. Yet, everything about it is familiar. This game feels not at all very different from some of the first "New" 2D Mario Games, like New Super Mario Bros. or New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Quite the contrary. And the developes use all kind of gimmicks, tricks and illusions to prevent you from noticing just that.
And that makes the entire game one big pantomime, which is, in the end, rather disappointing.
7/10.
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How do I begin? First things first: Yes, the game is great. It's a great 2D Mario Game. I especially like how the power ups are entirely new, except for the Fire Flower, because that is, you know, a classic. And yet, everything feels so familiar nonetheless.
As a sidenote, however, it is praiseworthy how every single power up enhances the moveset, instead of just changing and/or overhauling it, leading to a more concise design.
And yet, everything here just feels sooo familiar. Yes, the Power Ups are new, but none of them really enhance the movement substantially or offer you any unique ways to play. The most important thing that every power up does, is allowing you to tank in one additional hit. And that's really telling.
And yes, the new Wonder Flower is a nice introduction, but I can count the instances when collecting it changes the level and the way you play it in any exciting and interesting way that immideatly catches your attention on one hand. Like the one where it changes the game to an isometric perspective, like a top down Zelda Game. That was actually really cool. Everything else just feels gimmicky. Like another reviewer noted, the.... let's call them "Wonder Passages" are akin to small Bonus Stages, that just got better integrated into the level so one wouldn't notice.
And the game is like that all the time. Gimmicky. The way some Level Goals are like "syke! This is not actually the goal, you need to try again!" are just gimmicky. You fight the same lame ass koopaling boss fights that almost all 2D Marios have, only this time it's just Bowser jr. (Yay!) and the developers just added some gimmicks to each fight, so it does not appear to be quite as stale and familiar. And yet it still does. Same goes for the different pins... badges... medals or whatever that you can equip your character with to enhance the movement options aside from the Power Ups. They are as gimmicky as the rest. They either give you one aditional, scarcely useful ability, one completely overpowered ability or one super-gimmicky ability that is basically entirely useless save for very specific levels and would actually be more distracting than practical aside from those.
So, to boil down all my feelings about this game into one tl;dr kind of statement: Super Mario Bros. Wonder is great. Yet, everything about it is familiar. This game feels not at all very different from some of the first "New" 2D Mario Games, like New Super Mario Bros. or New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Quite the contrary. And the developes use all kind of gimmicks, tricks and illusions to prevent you from noticing just that.
And that makes the entire game one big pantomime, which is, in the end, rather disappointing.
7/10.
2019
Great Game! Would be even better if the controls weren't so fucking terrible.
2016
This review contains spoilers
Quantum Break is great, but it is kind of hard to exactly pin down why, beceause it is faulty in a lot, A LOT of ways. It lacks polish, the gameplay as severey undercooked as I have ever seen in a game with such interesting mechanics, the accompanying TV Show is actually rather bad and the gunplay is honestly some of the worst I have ever experienced in a pure cover based third person shooter.
But those very big minuses but they are outweighted by some other very, very big pluses.
The aspects where Quantum Break truly shines are its ambition, creativity, stage and scenery as well as story.
The main character Jack Joyce is honestly pretty weak, especially when compared to some of the other characters like Beth Wilder, Paul Serene and Liam Burke who basically steal every scene they are in. Jacks own brother William Joyce is far more memorable than Jack himself, despite barely being in the game. But the way the game tackles the subject of time travel, one of the most complex, risky and complicated when it comes to storytelling, in a scientifically convincing way is both fascinating and enthralling. It is a refreshing perspective om the subjective of time travel with barely any plotholes or contradictions and some very effective moments and reveals and injects the gameplay with some much needed ludonarrative synchronicity.
The ending and its implications are especially strong.
I have rarely seen such a convining and engrossing time travel plot.
That alone is very commendible.
If you like interesting and unique storys and settings and lukewarm gameplay that is as deep as a puddle does not bother you that much, you should really give this a try.
But those very big minuses but they are outweighted by some other very, very big pluses.
The aspects where Quantum Break truly shines are its ambition, creativity, stage and scenery as well as story.
The main character Jack Joyce is honestly pretty weak, especially when compared to some of the other characters like Beth Wilder, Paul Serene and Liam Burke who basically steal every scene they are in. Jacks own brother William Joyce is far more memorable than Jack himself, despite barely being in the game. But the way the game tackles the subject of time travel, one of the most complex, risky and complicated when it comes to storytelling, in a scientifically convincing way is both fascinating and enthralling. It is a refreshing perspective om the subjective of time travel with barely any plotholes or contradictions and some very effective moments and reveals and injects the gameplay with some much needed ludonarrative synchronicity.
The ending and its implications are especially strong.
I have rarely seen such a convining and engrossing time travel plot.
That alone is very commendible.
If you like interesting and unique storys and settings and lukewarm gameplay that is as deep as a puddle does not bother you that much, you should really give this a try.
2002
This game is a miracle.
2019
Control is good. Really good actually. But it is still my least favorite of all the Remedy Games I have played, and just barely managed to achive an 8/10. I almost gave it a 7 and decided at the last moment that this was too harsh.
But lets start with the positives. Remedys trademark hypnotic and almost psychedelic writing style is here and it is a good as ever. The cross references are always clever, amusing and engrossing and bridges the gap between the other works of Remedy. I especially love the out of nowhere inclusion of the Old Gods of Asgard. But even aside from all that frosting, Controls story is just great. It's greatly paced, has great reveals, great characters and a great conclusion.
The aethetic is great too! To focus on brutalism was a daring choice and it paid off! A lot of the enviorments look slick and stylish. Not as differentiable or diverse as I sometimes would have liked, but still commendible!
The gameplay of Control is the main issue. And no, the problem is not that Control is an undercooked third person shooter. Quantum Break was that. I could live with that. No, the problem is that the game wants to be more than an undercooked third person shooter and just fails at every turn. This game introduces an open map right away and wants to be a metroidvania, for some reason. And it just fails at every level, because the games mechanics, save for one or two exceptions, are just an awkward fit for a metroidvania and the games structure is way too linear, constantling steering you back the the main plot to put you on railroads. So here we have a game that wants to be a metroidvania, but whenever you want to try and play it like a metroidvania and explore, it kicks you in the teeth and makes you apologize. Also, in general, the gameplay is way too handholdy for a Metroidvania. It gives you the map right away, it drops an assload on questlogs and sidequests on your head and constantly shows you icons to where you need to go and interrupts you all the time with its awkward "emergency quests" that are time limited and way too similar to one another. It's just uncomfortable. I would have enjoyed this game a lot, a lot more if it just were a regular, linear third person shooter, especially since the gunplay is the best part of the gameplay by far and exploration is by far the worst.
Aside from this massive problem, the game does everything else quite well, it is polisihed, looks great, sounds great and has a great story that is greatly told.
But the gameplay mechanics is constantly at odds with each other and akward a lot of the time, so an 8/10 is the highest I could give.
But lets start with the positives. Remedys trademark hypnotic and almost psychedelic writing style is here and it is a good as ever. The cross references are always clever, amusing and engrossing and bridges the gap between the other works of Remedy. I especially love the out of nowhere inclusion of the Old Gods of Asgard. But even aside from all that frosting, Controls story is just great. It's greatly paced, has great reveals, great characters and a great conclusion.
The aethetic is great too! To focus on brutalism was a daring choice and it paid off! A lot of the enviorments look slick and stylish. Not as differentiable or diverse as I sometimes would have liked, but still commendible!
The gameplay of Control is the main issue. And no, the problem is not that Control is an undercooked third person shooter. Quantum Break was that. I could live with that. No, the problem is that the game wants to be more than an undercooked third person shooter and just fails at every turn. This game introduces an open map right away and wants to be a metroidvania, for some reason. And it just fails at every level, because the games mechanics, save for one or two exceptions, are just an awkward fit for a metroidvania and the games structure is way too linear, constantling steering you back the the main plot to put you on railroads. So here we have a game that wants to be a metroidvania, but whenever you want to try and play it like a metroidvania and explore, it kicks you in the teeth and makes you apologize. Also, in general, the gameplay is way too handholdy for a Metroidvania. It gives you the map right away, it drops an assload on questlogs and sidequests on your head and constantly shows you icons to where you need to go and interrupts you all the time with its awkward "emergency quests" that are time limited and way too similar to one another. It's just uncomfortable. I would have enjoyed this game a lot, a lot more if it just were a regular, linear third person shooter, especially since the gunplay is the best part of the gameplay by far and exploration is by far the worst.
Aside from this massive problem, the game does everything else quite well, it is polisihed, looks great, sounds great and has a great story that is greatly told.
But the gameplay mechanics is constantly at odds with each other and akward a lot of the time, so an 8/10 is the highest I could give.
2020
I have no words.
Also Karlach is best girl, it's not even a contest.
Also Karlach is best girl, it's not even a contest.
Remember all the gaming media hipsters who always keep telling you that this game truly pushes the medium forward, and that game is one true example of games as an art form?
This is the game where these pretentious remarks are actually true for once.
This is the game where these pretentious remarks are actually true for once.
Designing this around the DK Bongo Controller as the main interface was such an insane idea and I love how well it works.
This game rules so fucking hard.
This game rules so fucking hard.
This feels like a cash grab. It's rehashing the original Steam release of The Stanley Parable for a steep asking price with barely any upgrades, save for some irrelevant extra content where the developers do nothing but rub themselves off for how clever and funny they are.
I am not even convinced it looks any better. I would have to check side by side closely, which is not a good sign.
Maybe the Stanley Parable just lost its mojo to me.
The game is still better than the score I am giving this version, make no mistake, but this lazy, borderline insulting release deserves a big fat 5/10.
I am not even convinced it looks any better. I would have to check side by side closely, which is not a good sign.
Maybe the Stanley Parable just lost its mojo to me.
The game is still better than the score I am giving this version, make no mistake, but this lazy, borderline insulting release deserves a big fat 5/10.
2016
Worthless.
2023
I once stated in a review that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was the final evolution of the platforming genre.
Well... I was wrong.
Well... I was wrong.
2022
Oh, the game made it into the above average category after all.
"High on Life" is a decent game in the end.
I have to say, one thing this game is doing really really well is setting the tone for the overall experience.
I don't want to spoil the intro here, because it is awesome and genuienly refreshing, but after some shuffling around, it ends with some alien crime syndicate invading earth and enslaving humans as cattle. as they get high on them and start using and selling them as sentient drugs.
So the aliens literally get "High on Life"...
If this joke aligns with your sense of humor, then you should be able to enjoy this game. If not, well...
I have heard this game is from the creator of Rick & Morty and if you are into that show, you'd also enjoy this game. As someone who has never seen Rick & Morty, this game feels like 90s teen humor. With gross out humor and sex jokes and wordplays that reference gross out humor and sex jokes.
With meandering slang dialoge and some f-bombs here and there.
Some land, but the entire thing wears thin and gets annoying way too fast, since the humor also stays basically the same. The dialogue is usually the worst. It can be clever and funny, but characters usually take wayyy to long to get the point across, as the dialoge is... drawn out... for the sake of comedy... whatever.
It also doesn't help that "High on Life" is way longer than it has any right to be, given the concept it offers and the humor it is based around.
This is a 10 Hour long game (a lot longer if you take it slower), and it gets old at the half way point at best.
Make of that what you will.
Gameplay is fine. Textbook first persona arena shooter almost. It reminds me a little of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal (only a lot worse). It offers some variety here and there and the down time is actually not that bad. I'd advise you to chose a higher difficulty if you are looking for a challenge though. I played on normal and am really not the greatest fps player and I breezed through it more times than not.
Also it is unfortunate that the guns sorely lack any punch.
All in all, this is still good, and a lot better than some other fps I have played. Especially military shooters (seriously, fuck those).
The vocals performances are fine, but as I have already pointed out, the actual dialogue can get very tiresome.
Rest of the music and sound design are things I failed to notice at all during my playthrough, so they have to be perfectly serviceable. Not drawing attention in either sense or direction.
What else is there to say? .. Well, I can say this for a conclusuion:
Despite the fact that "High on Life" is competently made and entertaining enough, I couldn't help walking away oddly dissatisfied after I beat it. A feeling that only got stronger the more time had passed.
I guess the game just feels cobbled together from parts that barely fit.
It is a decent game.
But that's really all there is to it.
"High on Life" is a decent game in the end.
I have to say, one thing this game is doing really really well is setting the tone for the overall experience.
I don't want to spoil the intro here, because it is awesome and genuienly refreshing, but after some shuffling around, it ends with some alien crime syndicate invading earth and enslaving humans as cattle. as they get high on them and start using and selling them as sentient drugs.
So the aliens literally get "High on Life"...
If this joke aligns with your sense of humor, then you should be able to enjoy this game. If not, well...
I have heard this game is from the creator of Rick & Morty and if you are into that show, you'd also enjoy this game. As someone who has never seen Rick & Morty, this game feels like 90s teen humor. With gross out humor and sex jokes and wordplays that reference gross out humor and sex jokes.
With meandering slang dialoge and some f-bombs here and there.
Some land, but the entire thing wears thin and gets annoying way too fast, since the humor also stays basically the same. The dialogue is usually the worst. It can be clever and funny, but characters usually take wayyy to long to get the point across, as the dialoge is... drawn out... for the sake of comedy... whatever.
It also doesn't help that "High on Life" is way longer than it has any right to be, given the concept it offers and the humor it is based around.
This is a 10 Hour long game (a lot longer if you take it slower), and it gets old at the half way point at best.
Make of that what you will.
Gameplay is fine. Textbook first persona arena shooter almost. It reminds me a little of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal (only a lot worse). It offers some variety here and there and the down time is actually not that bad. I'd advise you to chose a higher difficulty if you are looking for a challenge though. I played on normal and am really not the greatest fps player and I breezed through it more times than not.
Also it is unfortunate that the guns sorely lack any punch.
All in all, this is still good, and a lot better than some other fps I have played. Especially military shooters (seriously, fuck those).
The vocals performances are fine, but as I have already pointed out, the actual dialogue can get very tiresome.
Rest of the music and sound design are things I failed to notice at all during my playthrough, so they have to be perfectly serviceable. Not drawing attention in either sense or direction.
What else is there to say? .. Well, I can say this for a conclusuion:
Despite the fact that "High on Life" is competently made and entertaining enough, I couldn't help walking away oddly dissatisfied after I beat it. A feeling that only got stronger the more time had passed.
I guess the game just feels cobbled together from parts that barely fit.
It is a decent game.
But that's really all there is to it.
2023
If you'd take all things that are awesome and make me happy in this world and make them all fit perfectly together somehow, you'd get Hi-Fi Rush.
2021
This is a nice game, but hollow, with "yes-man" encounters and not brave enough with its themes and subject matter.
Some brillant moments here and there get overshadowed by meandering dialoge and uninteresting busywork for at times annoying characters with annoying requests that your playable character(s) always says yes to for some godly reason (hence: "Yes-Man" encounters).
Some brillant moments here and there get overshadowed by meandering dialoge and uninteresting busywork for at times annoying characters with annoying requests that your playable character(s) always says yes to for some godly reason (hence: "Yes-Man" encounters).
2022
This is one of the better choose your own adventure game movies out there.
There are actually a lot of branching paths here that is not just lipservice.
The aesthetics and OST are also very pleasing and add to the experience.
What I am less enthusiastic about is the approach the devs took with the game/movie experience.
This does not have the feel of a playable movie, because it is not FMV like Poe & Munro or Bandersnatch, nor does it have the (a little) more hands-off version of the game/movie thingy kinda like Supermassive Games or David Cages works do.
As a result, the interactivity here is severely limited, without creating the excitement of a choose your own adventure movie.
... it did not draw me in as deeply as I would have liked and as deeply as it would have needed to in order to create a truly satisfying experience.
There are actually a lot of branching paths here that is not just lipservice.
The aesthetics and OST are also very pleasing and add to the experience.
What I am less enthusiastic about is the approach the devs took with the game/movie experience.
This does not have the feel of a playable movie, because it is not FMV like Poe & Munro or Bandersnatch, nor does it have the (a little) more hands-off version of the game/movie thingy kinda like Supermassive Games or David Cages works do.
As a result, the interactivity here is severely limited, without creating the excitement of a choose your own adventure movie.
... it did not draw me in as deeply as I would have liked and as deeply as it would have needed to in order to create a truly satisfying experience.