I enjoyed the demo I played for Next Fest and so I was quick to get this when it released in EA. Very solid shooter so far with its strongest attribute being its exploration as you can find substantial rewards if you backtrack now and then, one upgrade for the basic magnum was a huge help for the whole episode to me for example. The arsenal is small right now but you eventually unlock alt-fires that spice things up. Levels are expansive and are tied together in chunks kinda like Quake 2 or Hexen. For a good chunk of the first episode you primarily fight headcrab variants and the adult version that charges at you. You mainly fight them in swarms though there is a hive mind enemy you can find that will pacify the headcrabs if you so choose. The enemy variety expands once you get into the city area. Combat and movement both feel nice. There's not much of a plot so far, mainly its essentially Starship Troopers what with the incompetent fasc space corp and colony getting their shit rocked by alien bugs and the protag just wanting to escape. Overall, it has real promise and I'm looking forward to more.

Tales of Kenzera is mostly a pretty solid game, that while its mechanics aren't exceptional, its bolstered by its narrative and the clear passion in its creation. It leans slightly more as an action platformer than a full Metroidvania as the game doesn't make you really backtrack to unlock new areas with your abilities outside of some side content, but it does have the expansion of your movement abilities that the genre is known for and those feel good by endgame. Combat also takes a little bit to get going but it ultimately ends up being good too. You can style switch between the Moon and Sun masks, which are primarily ranged and melee focused respectively, and I recommend switching a bunch because the combat has a better flow that way. One flaw though is that one of the chase sequences is pretty trial and error, primarily the one before the second boss encounter, as there are multiple times in that chase where the game will just throw gotchas at you that the player has little time to react without prior knowledge, most notably poison gas spawning right in front of you as you're running away from the first cloud. Also unlike the rest of the game, which have pretty forgiving checkpoints, you got to do these segments in one go. Its not too bad, but it still is rather sloppy and its strange because the third boss also has a chase sequence that I managed to do in one go and felt much less trial and error. Really feels like just that second act chase needs another pass.

As I said the narrative is one of the game's strongest suits. Inspired by Bantu folklore and creator, Abubakar Salim's, own experiences, Kenzera's thematic core is dealing with the death of loved ones and the legacies parents can leave their children. These themes are expressed both in the main story of the shaman Zau accepting the god of death, Kalunga's, challenge to battle three tormented spirits in order for them to find peace and pass on to restore the lands in exchange for bringing his father back to life, and in the game's framing device of a young man reading Zau's story, which his recently deceased father had been writing. Each act of the game reinforces these themes as well as some of the side content, such as the health upgrades which are Zau reflecting on his past and his relationship with his father with Kalunga. All of this really aided by the quality voice-acting too, namely Zau and Kalunga who interact throughout much of the game. Overall there was just a clear passion in crafting the game's narrative and it has genuine heart.

While Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown may have overshadowed it when it comes to Metroidvanias, Tales of Kenzera definitely deserves some love as it was a labor of love that succeeds at what it sought to achieve.

Animal Well is a great puzzle-focused Metroidvania. Said puzzles tend to focus on movement and the different ways you can utilize the tools you uncover for said movement. Because of this the plot relevant puzzles tend to be intuitive and not obtuse. Animal Well also nails that feeling that a good Metroidvania should have of expanding your options and having movement through past areas feel quicker and easier. There's also hidden eggs to uncover that tend to probably lean more towards the obtuse, but I still managed to get a good amount through normal play and they are ultimately an optional challenge. I just missed marking down some of the optional puzzles on the map and don't feel like hunting around for them, I got my fill of the game. The game makes good use of its pixelated aesthetic and light and shadows well too. Even though he is a meme man who hates RPGs and plays League of Legends, Video Game Dunkman has a good eye for quality because this was definitely a game that deserved the support.