fntm
I've been complaining a lot about "cozy" games lately but I suppose that term is extremely relative.
1997
blocked everyone that gave this 3 stars or lower
2022
You won't get the joke unless you've played enough of The Witness to understand what that game is actually about, but this manages to be more than just a parody game by subverting your perception and expectations in other ways.
2020
This review contains spoilers
spioler
Best free game you will ever play
spoiler
Best free game you will ever play
spoiler
2003
First of all, props to Team Silent for having the guts to focus on a teenage girl protag. bowing emoji
At the same time, kinda feels like a bit of a vie for relevancy? Sorry. The original Silent Hill was very standalone and didn't need much of a continuation, it wrapped things up pretty nicely. SH2 somehow managed to be amazing by just being a completely different story set in a similar setting. Little to no connection really, but it also establishes the franchise as something that can be further expanded upon.
Now in with the amusement park and mall, etc. It may star a teenage girl but it also seems a bit geared towards teenagers as well. Euh, it's fine really, Silent Hill as a series had diminishing sales with each subsequent release, so changing the core concept of each story while polishing the gameplay was probably the best option, but it's also not super compelling. Shrug
Let's get this straight; I didn't like James Sunderland. I didn't feel sorry for him, a lot of his issues were his own damn fault tbh. SH2 is as much about the struggle of mental illness and trauma as it is the hubris of the male psyche and sexuality. He's not a very likeable MALE character when the credits roll. Heather on the other hand, is quite likeable. That's a double edged sword though, because it's ultimately a lot less compelling.
Oh well, the game is a bit more fun on the action side, if more labyrinthian.
At the same time, kinda feels like a bit of a vie for relevancy? Sorry. The original Silent Hill was very standalone and didn't need much of a continuation, it wrapped things up pretty nicely. SH2 somehow managed to be amazing by just being a completely different story set in a similar setting. Little to no connection really, but it also establishes the franchise as something that can be further expanded upon.
Now in with the amusement park and mall, etc. It may star a teenage girl but it also seems a bit geared towards teenagers as well. Euh, it's fine really, Silent Hill as a series had diminishing sales with each subsequent release, so changing the core concept of each story while polishing the gameplay was probably the best option, but it's also not super compelling. Shrug
Let's get this straight; I didn't like James Sunderland. I didn't feel sorry for him, a lot of his issues were his own damn fault tbh. SH2 is as much about the struggle of mental illness and trauma as it is the hubris of the male psyche and sexuality. He's not a very likeable MALE character when the credits roll. Heather on the other hand, is quite likeable. That's a double edged sword though, because it's ultimately a lot less compelling.
Oh well, the game is a bit more fun on the action side, if more labyrinthian.
2003
The lock is broken. I can't open the door.
1999
Why do I get the feeling the little monsters at the school used to be children???
I must say, if, like me, you hate tank controls, then playing tank controls on analogue isn't quite as bad. I'm actually enjoying this and I did not expect to at all.
I think what set this game apart from Resident Evil is the semi-openness of the town. It's not "open world" or anything but it is large enough to feel like an explorable space and also... get very lost in. For a PS1 game, Silent Hill is a fairly large town. The RE games definitely felt a bit more claustrophobic, but then you have perpetual fog and darkness which also add claustrophobia to this as well.
Most of the design philosophy that makes SH2 such a great experience is already prevalent in this game. It's certainly not quite as cinematic or weird, but nuances were harder to approach with early 3D (MGS certainly tried though). I view this as a very necessary stepping stone to the amazing SH2, Akira Yamaoka is there, the general gameplay feel is there, but it would all be perfected the next time. (Actually combat in SH2 is just as blah if not worse, but I could give a rat's ass about combat in that game, I would have been fine without it even)
I tried this game a long time ago and wasn't feeling it. After beating SH2 I wanted to dive right into SH3, but then of course I find out that that's a direct sequel to SH1, so I finally came back to this and wasn't particularly looking forward to it. But it's a solid game. I'm glad I could get over my initial impression of it.
Damn, that ending was pretty wild. Probably going to need to read a few plot analyses to fully grasp, but this game goes full on into the occult.
And finally, that "cast roll" at the very end is one of the greatest things ever. Cool game!
I must say, if, like me, you hate tank controls, then playing tank controls on analogue isn't quite as bad. I'm actually enjoying this and I did not expect to at all.
I think what set this game apart from Resident Evil is the semi-openness of the town. It's not "open world" or anything but it is large enough to feel like an explorable space and also... get very lost in. For a PS1 game, Silent Hill is a fairly large town. The RE games definitely felt a bit more claustrophobic, but then you have perpetual fog and darkness which also add claustrophobia to this as well.
Most of the design philosophy that makes SH2 such a great experience is already prevalent in this game. It's certainly not quite as cinematic or weird, but nuances were harder to approach with early 3D (MGS certainly tried though). I view this as a very necessary stepping stone to the amazing SH2, Akira Yamaoka is there, the general gameplay feel is there, but it would all be perfected the next time. (Actually combat in SH2 is just as blah if not worse, but I could give a rat's ass about combat in that game, I would have been fine without it even)
I tried this game a long time ago and wasn't feeling it. After beating SH2 I wanted to dive right into SH3, but then of course I find out that that's a direct sequel to SH1, so I finally came back to this and wasn't particularly looking forward to it. But it's a solid game. I'm glad I could get over my initial impression of it.
Damn, that ending was pretty wild. Probably going to need to read a few plot analyses to fully grasp, but this game goes full on into the occult.
And finally, that "cast roll" at the very end is one of the greatest things ever. Cool game!
2001
This review contains spoilers
One of several games that I know only through its OST, which is amazing (Top 5, if not #1 sometimes). But hearing all these sounds in context of the game makes it feel familiar in a creepy sorta deja vu way, like I personally have played this game before. I haven't. I played SH1 for about 20 minutes when they re-released it on PSP/PS3 and couldn't get over the tank controls, that's about my experience with the series.
Why did no one tell me how Twin Peaks-esque this is? I always thought it was just another Resident Evil clone. I mean it is, but it's more disjointed, weird. Leon Kennedy lookalike also has that typical 90s protag syndrome, not all the lightbulbs working properly.
Yeah it's interesting to see all the influence this game has had on the genre since. Kinda feels like a walking simulator at times, but aforementioned OST gives it such a great feel. Not sure how I feel about not being able to see more than five feet in front of me, it definitely makes me rely on my map too much.
Pretty cool that you can choose combat and puzzle difficulty separately and the puzzles completely change (or their clues and solutions change). You don't see these kind of options in games very often, or I haven't.
Has some very goofy adventure tropes, such as finding two combo locks and a key to open a chest and all you get is a strand of hair inside. But since you have said strand of hair, might as well use it right? It feels intentionally ridiculous, but I see it a lot in adventure games, the solutions to puzzles just being so arbitrary... like you couldn't have just used James' hair (or Maria's) or even just a random thread from a mattress or something.
Edit: Finished. What an amazing experience, even if it did get kinda tedious traversing the town, the atmosphere made up for pretty much everything. I got the "Leave" ending and I'll probably watch the others on Youtube. I wouldn't say the story is super amazing, but this does go somewhat deep into trauma and mental illness. Ahead of its time in a lot of regards to its subject matter, and very Lynchian presentation.
I always thought Deadly Premonition was that David Lynch style game, but I guess it's just more blatant there. Pleasantly surprised by this one. I don't know, you always hear about acclaimed games and sometimes they really are very interesting artifacts.
Finding out Akira Yamaoka not only did all the music but the sound effects too just makes me praise him 10 times more. Genius. Most of the feel of this game is attributed to the sounds imo.
Also Born From A Wish is a fantastic bookend and gives Maria a little more depth as a standalone character away from James' imagination. She also seems a bit smarter than him, but that doesn't seem very hard to do. Ol' Smoothbrain James.
Why did no one tell me how Twin Peaks-esque this is? I always thought it was just another Resident Evil clone. I mean it is, but it's more disjointed, weird. Leon Kennedy lookalike also has that typical 90s protag syndrome, not all the lightbulbs working properly.
Yeah it's interesting to see all the influence this game has had on the genre since. Kinda feels like a walking simulator at times, but aforementioned OST gives it such a great feel. Not sure how I feel about not being able to see more than five feet in front of me, it definitely makes me rely on my map too much.
Pretty cool that you can choose combat and puzzle difficulty separately and the puzzles completely change (or their clues and solutions change). You don't see these kind of options in games very often, or I haven't.
Has some very goofy adventure tropes, such as finding two combo locks and a key to open a chest and all you get is a strand of hair inside. But since you have said strand of hair, might as well use it right? It feels intentionally ridiculous, but I see it a lot in adventure games, the solutions to puzzles just being so arbitrary... like you couldn't have just used James' hair (or Maria's) or even just a random thread from a mattress or something.
Edit: Finished. What an amazing experience, even if it did get kinda tedious traversing the town, the atmosphere made up for pretty much everything. I got the "Leave" ending and I'll probably watch the others on Youtube. I wouldn't say the story is super amazing, but this does go somewhat deep into trauma and mental illness. Ahead of its time in a lot of regards to its subject matter, and very Lynchian presentation.
I always thought Deadly Premonition was that David Lynch style game, but I guess it's just more blatant there. Pleasantly surprised by this one. I don't know, you always hear about acclaimed games and sometimes they really are very interesting artifacts.
Finding out Akira Yamaoka not only did all the music but the sound effects too just makes me praise him 10 times more. Genius. Most of the feel of this game is attributed to the sounds imo.
Also Born From A Wish is a fantastic bookend and gives Maria a little more depth as a standalone character away from James' imagination. She also seems a bit smarter than him, but that doesn't seem very hard to do. Ol' Smoothbrain James.
gen z can simply call games like this and chrono trigger "ass" and think nothing of it. feeling my age for the first time.
it's basically duck tales but donald? really, how was one of the most popular 80s/90s disney shows about a rich old dude? why wasnt duck tales just mostly about donald................... anwyay
someone said this was a metroidvania but i think it might be... just barely? it just doesn't have typical platformer progression. level layouts are kind of a yawn.
someone said this was a metroidvania but i think it might be... just barely? it just doesn't have typical platformer progression. level layouts are kind of a yawn.
2024
Completed it and the ending kinda glitched out on me, oh well. Didn't play it for the ending, played it for the challenge. There are some issues for sure, such as some content not being complete yet, and not knowing if you can complete certain puzzles with your current load out. Despite all that I thoroughly enjoyed piecing this puzzle together. I figure some new content will be added later on; we'll see how substantial it is.
2023
I'm sure the word "cozy" has been used hundreds of times during this game's development. It's basically BOTW and Stardew Valley with maybe a little bit of Animal Crossing, no surprise then that the Switch version seems to work better than the PC version, as it might be the main focus.
You can hang out with friends like most MMOs but it is very single-player driven.
Did I say this is cozy? Guilty pleasure but there's certainly nothing wrong with it, even if the opening is so much like BOTW's that it may as well be an homage.
It feels weird saying this but you should actually play the Switch version if you're going to play this.
You can hang out with friends like most MMOs but it is very single-player driven.
Did I say this is cozy? Guilty pleasure but there's certainly nothing wrong with it, even if the opening is so much like BOTW's that it may as well be an homage.
It feels weird saying this but you should actually play the Switch version if you're going to play this.
1987
I played this as a kid and all I remember is a very weird experience. Playing it today and it's not very weird. Kinda wish it measured up to my memories of it, but what ever really does?
You collect items that you can use through out the stage and you also shoot balls at monsters. One of the items is a ladder, which is pretty self-explanatory (you climb it to reach higher spots); another lets you jump higher; there's a bomb which might be for blowing up enemies, I don't know. You also collect "K" blocks which are basically Mario coins. Not sure what they do, but I'm amazed they made all sorts of configurations out of them but still managed to never put three Ks in a row... ahem.
(I take that back)
It plays perfectly fine, you can get pretty powerful pretty fast if you collect three balls to shooty with. I think the weirdest aspect of this is that they brought this guy back as a boss in Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja and made him the last boss in Fighter's Destiny: Karnov's Revenge. For whatever reason y'know. Now I want to go play that and see if he still be shoot the balls.
I miss the days when wish fulfillment also included weird bald shirtless Russian dudes with handlebar mustaches.
You collect items that you can use through out the stage and you also shoot balls at monsters. One of the items is a ladder, which is pretty self-explanatory (you climb it to reach higher spots); another lets you jump higher; there's a bomb which might be for blowing up enemies, I don't know. You also collect "K" blocks which are basically Mario coins. Not sure what they do, but I'm amazed they made all sorts of configurations out of them but still managed to never put three Ks in a row... ahem.
(I take that back)
It plays perfectly fine, you can get pretty powerful pretty fast if you collect three balls to shooty with. I think the weirdest aspect of this is that they brought this guy back as a boss in Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja and made him the last boss in Fighter's Destiny: Karnov's Revenge. For whatever reason y'know. Now I want to go play that and see if he still be shoot the balls.
I miss the days when wish fulfillment also included weird bald shirtless Russian dudes with handlebar mustaches.
1999
Sokoban is one of the simpler puzzle genres that feels like something that could be approached in a very serious manner, instead of the more casual feel it typically exudes. There's a lot you can do with it, as long as pushy blocky is going on, you can add other rules and abilities. The Adventures of Lolo, Tricky Kick, even this new Void Stranger game I haven't played yet. Does Chip's Challenge count? (I think it expands on the rules A LOT, but there are definitely a few Sokoban-esque levels in it.)
Isles of Sea and Sky has yet to be released but the demo is phenomenal, and I think I just now found its biggest influence. Even the hero looks kinda similar. The first world/level to this game feels extremely easy but I'm looking forward to it getting harder.
Maybe the biggest draw to Sokoban is that it's extremely simple, even coding one takes little effort, the real genius is in the design. Creating a truly intricate puzzle out of these simple rules can give players moments where they feel like geniuses for beating particular levels.
The genre is certainly so simple it seems a bit archaic, but I would love to see a modern high-budget Sokoban title, albeit I'm not an avid fan of the genre, much more casual, and one may already exist.
If you want a solid Sokoban experience, this one has a lot of charm and only adds a few more abilities to the typical rules. Worth checking out.
Isles of Sea and Sky has yet to be released but the demo is phenomenal, and I think I just now found its biggest influence. Even the hero looks kinda similar. The first world/level to this game feels extremely easy but I'm looking forward to it getting harder.
Maybe the biggest draw to Sokoban is that it's extremely simple, even coding one takes little effort, the real genius is in the design. Creating a truly intricate puzzle out of these simple rules can give players moments where they feel like geniuses for beating particular levels.
The genre is certainly so simple it seems a bit archaic, but I would love to see a modern high-budget Sokoban title, albeit I'm not an avid fan of the genre, much more casual, and one may already exist.
If you want a solid Sokoban experience, this one has a lot of charm and only adds a few more abilities to the typical rules. Worth checking out.
always wanted to play this as a kid just bc of the word "babes." duke nukem third person action-adventure basically plays like tomb raider. even his movements seem weirdly effeminate in a lara croft kinda way.
i was mostly hoping this would be so awful that it's good, but it's just average.
i was mostly hoping this would be so awful that it's good, but it's just average.