A very short and sweet introduction to the Kirby series. Kirby's Dream Land is nothing mind-blowing, but it's a simple and enjoyable way to kill a lunch break's worth of time nonetheless. The sprite work and animation give the game a hearty dose of charm and character, and the moment-to-moment gameplay, while very simplistic, is generally satisfying enough to carry the experience despite the very low difficulty. And while it may be incredibly short (you're looking at half an hour, tops), it at the very least does a good job at not overstaying its welcome. A very pleasant time all around.

Solid 2D platformer with a cool visual style and great atmosphere. The level design is generally solid throughout, and the game introduces a lot of varied mechanics to keep things fresh without straying too far from the core platforming gameplay you're here for in the first place.

There's two things I didn't like here. First is the length. You can beat this in an afternoon, which is not really anything new when it comes to a lot of SNES games, but the levels here feel pretty short in of themselves, which makes the game feel shorter than it actually is. Secondly is the camera. I felt it was just a tad too close to the player in a lot of cases, resulting in several moments where I was blindsided by an enemy or projectile that hit me before I could see it coming. It's not a constant occurence, but it does happen more often than I'd like it to. Just a little bit of extra screen space would have gone a long way here.

Outside of a handful of complaints, Donkey Kong Country is solid and an easy game to recommend for fans of the genre. I might go back to reach 100% completion one day, but I'm satisfied with leaving it here for the time being. Definitely looking forward to playing the second and third games in the future.

Fun core gameplay (even if it is just diet Need for Speed), and the addition of split-screen is very much appreciated, but the progression system is absolutely miserable, even for free-to-play standards. It takes no time at all until you hit a brick wall and have to grind in order to get anything done. Reached a point in Chapter 2 where you need every single flag in order to progress and one of them requires you to win with a car that I need like nine more cards to even get, with no clear way to actually get those cards, and yeah, I think I'm done here.

Solid enough open-world super hero fun, but also a very flawed game that has aged incredibly poorly. The story is good, with karma choices that feel like they have a distinct effect on the world, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is very fun, with an enjoyable kit of super powers and parkour abilities that make platforming and combat a blast throughout. However, it suffers from an incredibly dull and colorless in-game art style, generally uninteresting side content, some very cumbersome to navigate areas such as the prison in the Warren, and copious amounts of the 7th-generation's specialty: terrible frame rates. Not amazing, but still worth a play.

Also, the fact that the 350 (!!!!!) Blast Shards scattered all across this big-ass game can only be found by clicking in the left stick (which is the most cumbersome button to map to this ability) to ping your mini map just so you can see the little blue dot that indicates its location for five seconds makes the process of collecting all of them absolutely miserable.

P.S.: Silent Melody is a banger.

I'm counting the act of clearing the last stage at the right end of the last Arcade world's puzzle list as "beating" it, but the game doesn't actually give you anything for getting to the end, not even a credits sequence. Lame.

A decent puzzle game, though one that can get downright infuriating at points in juxtaposition to its serene and calming aesthetics. Very detailed visuals, a soothing art style and excellent music give the game a very pleasant and comfortable zen atmosphere, and each new world introduces new mechanics and level gimmicks to keep things fresh, though not every addition quite sticks the landing.

Multiplayer's also a bit of a mixed bag. There's plenty of ways to play with both local and online buddies, and every mode is mechanically sound in of themselves, but having every single Arcade level in the mix, including the hardest and most frustrating ones, hampers this game's potential as a pick-up-and-play party game. If you play this with someone who's not familliar with it, you're gonna have to explain the world-specific gimmicks to them constantly and watch them struggle with the hard stages when the game inevitably pulls those late-game puzzles out of a hat.

Still, it's a good title and very much worth the $8.99 price tag. Just don't expect that calming energy to persist throughout all of these levels.