If Chrono Trigger was the most exhilarating roller coaster at the SNES RPG theme park, then Sea of Stars feels like a bumpy (albeit gorgeous) car ride, with cardboard cutouts stand at each side of the road to remind you that this is indeed a throwback videogame. The facade breaks early on though, to remind you that it only has a paper-thin understanding of what made those classic RPGs so revered in the first place. Sea of Stars regrettably lacks depth within its story, writing, and gameplay and therefore feels wholly artificial in areas that aren’t its visuals or sound (a feeling accentuated by the meme-y dialogue that instantly dated the game and the pirate character who speaks in JRPG tropes). The lack of any real stuff to do within the towns (of which there are maybe 5 real towns) and a repetitive “go meet [guy] so you can get this [magic item]” style plot makes the world feel like simple a vehicle for the hilariously underbaked characters (with one notable exception) to go on a RPG quest until it’s jarringly anticlimactic ending.

On a positive note, the presentation of Sea of Stars is stellar. The different food items have detailed art in the cooking menu, the environments and world map are all gorgeous and the music is consistently pleasant. Each island has a different room for the overworld camping and the main menu screen changes depending on where you are in the game. There are some ingredients for a great videogame present in Sea of Stars but overtime the repetition began to take its toll on me. I’ve brought up an issue I had with the plot structure but the gameplay never evolves because the best strategy for every boss encounter stays the exact same. One of the 4th party member’s skills is to delay the turn order of a single enemy, which can be further delayed with one of the 5th party member’s combos and their ultimate (which makes other ultimates completely redundant as it deals roughly the same amount of damage while healing the entire party and delaying the turns of the entire enemy field by 3). You rarely have to switch this up and it is almost always the easiest and most rewarding way through enemy/boss encounters. Not to mention that these skills/combos are among the easiest to time, removing the “risk” factor of other middling skills while still being rewarded heavily. The enemy positions system from Chrono Trigger just doesn’t work with the timing mechanics from Super Mario RPG, either. There isn’t a sense of improving one’s usage of a skill over the course of the game like with the Super Jump from SMRPG, because the timing is dictated by how close/far you are from the enemy, so it’s easier to just do a regular attack sometimes or use one of the character’s other skills. The Devs lifts mechanics from other games (something I’m not against) but failed to understand how those same mechanics were so successful, further reinforcing how SoS just felt so shallow.

I really did want to like Sea of Stars. I love all of its influences and I even enjoyed The Messenger (the dev’s other game) but it just never reaches the highs I really think it could have, so it just feels mediocre. I hope these devs have another shot at an RPG at some point but I really REALLY hope that they push themselves just that bit further. The individual parts of the game could be so much better with a little development, but SoS is complacent with how underwhelming everything feels. Sea of Stars teeters on the edge of greatness, but just misses the mark in so many areas.

The atmosphere is oppressive, the demons are more hellish than ever and the shifting architecture creates dynamic labyrinths which strike the perfect balance between stress and excitement, but I feel as if we’ve taken a step back from Doom 2. Doom 64 is felt like a standard doom game, fun and all in short bursts, but I didn’t find it all that interesting.

Definitely a case of “it didn’t do it for me” rather than a genuinely mediocre videogame. The moody ambient soundtrack is definitely well made but that combined with the somewhat samey feeling levels it made the whole experience blend together. I don’t think I could pinpoint any distinct levels from 64 but I could definitely with doom 1 and 2. The Unmaker is a fine new weapon with a cool gimmick but idk I’ve just come to expect a bit more from doom. It just never really switches it up enough like 2 did, which would throw unique level after unique level at the player. I certainly didn’t leave doom 64 feeling unsatisfied, but I never left feeling all too fulfilled.

TL:DR, pretty decent, just not for me. Maybe I’ll like it more in the future.

Both a “parody” game of the boomer-shooter genre and an earnest spin-off/sequel to Hypnospace Outlaw (a game which I adore), it’s miraculous how it’s funny, genuinely enjoyable and inventive, as well as successful in translating the themes of Hynospace.

I think what made Hypnospace so special was how so much detail was put into each and every one of the characters. Humanity is woven deep into practically every user in Hypnospace, who, on the surface, could be an old guy who likes bikes and is bad at Facebook, or an all-encompassing stereotype of every “edgy” 14 year old (now 15, his username hasn’t updated yet) that adores an in-universe cheesy emo rock band. Zane is (or was) an asshole: infamously recognised across teentopia as a tryhard cyberbully who’s loathed so much people create gifs of his avatar getting punched in the face. Although in Slayers X (and partially in Hypnospace) you can get the idea that beneath the surface he laments his upbringing to a degree, and has a genuine connection to his mother (who for the most part was presumably the only constant relationship he had throughout his life). A detail that stuck out to me was the area modelled after Zane’s childhood apartment, where his mother sleeps on a pull-out sofa so Zane can have his own bed. Even in the narration of the bonus levels you can generally ascertain that he had a turbulent upbringing, (such as when you visiting the Idaho Housing Association, Zane makes a remark about going there frequently) but also positively reflects on the more pleasant experiences in his life (fun childhood memories making videogame levels shaped like his favourite band member or visiting his uncle’s house). The game is a hilariously pathetic, self-aggrandising ego trip for a 16 year old who doesn’t have much else going on in life, but still manages to be somewhat pitiful because of the finer details Zane subconsciously creates and seemingly glosses over. Slayers X at times feels like evaluative piece about a nonexistent human’s psyche, but it always feels believable. It captures the brilliant duality of the hypnospace characters magnificently.

It helps that this game is actually well designed too. Levels are expansive without being confusing to navigate. They’re both hilarious and unique each time (An “Idaho potato festival”, a trailer park, a “snobby rich people” place etc). Moment-to-moment gameplay is fun (although I’m not a huge fan of how the dual pistols handle, and I think the wolf enemies take a bit too much damage before going down), with the particular highlights being the Rocket launcher and Glass shotgun, which feel punchy and are always my go to for a lot of encounters. The Glass shotgun is a surprisingly innovative idea which happens to be very fun in practice, and acts as an incentive to be mindful of the immediate area in each level. I love all of the intentionally-unintentional deadpan voicelines, the crude enemy designs and item names (glass shard being renamed to “glass shart”), smaller side gags like the friendly psykos in the first level or one that has been crushed by a door in the aforementioned trailer park level. I think wayyy to many devs think that because a game is trying to be “funny” or “a parody” it can afford to be bad “for the lols” when in reality you can have a game that’s both funny and is fun to play (I do wonder what “funny” bad crass modern shooter about sludge and goop I could possibly be referring to right now!)

To close this off, I think Hypnospace Oulaw is one of the best indies of the last 5 years that I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and Slayers X is an excellent companion piece as well as a fun game on its own. I’m eagerly anticipating dreamsettlers and anything else Jay Tholen and the team create. Slayers X is a very sincere experience (even with all the literal shit) that loves its genre, loves its source material, and loves you too.

Where “Doom” feels streamlined and elegant, its sequel plays like a romhack in both the best and worst ways. Undoubtedly more creative than its predecessor, Doom 2 features levels which cement themselves firmly into the player’s memory, with the unfortunate caveat being that a handful of maps are either underwhelming or annoying.

“Citadel” left a positive impression on me when I first played, which felt like an assault on Hell’s forces on earth before plunging directly into their home turf, and “The Living End”, was an excellent final battle through Hell before facing off against the Icon of Sin. Conversely a map such as “Barrels of Fun” stuck out to me as pretty uninspired and at times frustrating, or “Downtown” which was needlessly sprawling and visually unappealing. On a more positive note, additions are for the most part incredible (with the exception of Heavy Weapons Dude/Chaingunner) and add a lot more excitement to the already riveting gameplay.

Doom 2 is great at keeping you on your toes, and forcing you to make quick decisions with your equipment. Occasionally levels drop you in a room with a vast legions of enemies, pushing the player into making split-second choices. You might want to use the BFG to clear out a large cluster of enemies, or whittle away at them with the chaingun. Even using the shotgun over the almost infinitely superior super shotgun has its benefits, prioritising ammo usage and speed over damage. Knowing how to use the weapons also counts, you can get closer to the enemies for greater accuracy and some times greater damage, at the cost of putting yourself in a more dangerous position. The slight variations in how you play and the rapid decision making is what keeps Doom 2 thrilling throughout its 7~ish hour length, even when you’re killing the same handful of enemies.

The strength of Doom 2 lies within its memorability and willingness to innovate on the Doom formula. Though it doesn’t reach the consistent quality of the first game, it certainly has higher highs and moments I will remember for years to come.

Relogging after the PVE cancellation news. Absolutely hilarious how they listened to the complaints about Overwatch 2’s abysmal monetisation system, and said “oh yeah so what if we took our pitch (the PVE story mode campaign) and completely gut it, but oh don’t worry we’re adding stuff to our battle pass you all love that’s gonna be the best thing ever guys!”

Around just over half a year since Overwatch 2’s arrival and it’s still rife with the issues it had at launch. I have no idea how this game is still afloat, and I’m incredibly sorry for those who were effectively swindled into preordering the PVE.