346 reviews liked by gman
I love this dev. They come up with such smart and high concept ideas, and though this didnt hit in the way 7 Days did for me, I still enjoyed the time I spent with it. Normally, personality tests as a concept are something I don't particularly subscribe to (especially as a gameplay format), but in the case of Refind Self it works incredibly well. Playing as an android, simultaneously teaching her humanity while also exercising your own freedom of choice is a very endearing route of storytelling. The grief and kindness expressed through the options you chose, the limited amount of time you have to play reflecting the wind-up android's existence... as seems to always be the case, this dev is very careful and smart in the way they go about presenting their world. I love their artstyle, love the philosophy behind it. The only thing I could say these games lack is music, as each only has a few tracks (few meaning 2 or 3) that don't loop especially well. Highly suggest this dev's catalog for anyone looking for a unique and short, lovingly crafted experience. Really excited to see what they put out next ☆
Moshi Monsters
2008
I'm playing the Moshi Monsters Rewriteen in the moment, is almost the same but everyone is a Moshi Member, so it's way better. I'm playing things that I never saw as a kid.
Even if it isn't a masterpiece, this was my Club Penguin at the time with my sister, so it was amazing!
Even if it isn't a masterpiece, this was my Club Penguin at the time with my sister, so it was amazing!
Inscryption
2021
initially I thought this was going to be some boring card game but I was so wrong. This game is one of the most addicting roguelikes I have ever played. I love the art style, visuals and aesthetic of the game. I really like the feature where you have a chance to make your own cards because you can make them super op. Ultimately, this game made me appreciate card games and it's super fun, that's why it's 5 stars.
my favorite Resident Evil moment is when Chris gets sent to save Jill from drowning on a cruise ship only to go to the wrong cruise ship and the game makes you replay an entire level just to find this out
Balan Wonderworld
2021
Balan Wonderworld manages to mix the wondered questioning of how the Pyramids were built, with the morbid curiosity of a fatal car crash.
Balan Wonderworld
2021
This review contains spoilers
If you try to cut this game any slack, I have to assume you hardly played it. It's unbelievable just how terrible this game really is, it's as if the team behind it attempted to engineer the worst game imaginable. It spits in the face of game design, of fun, of anything one would expect from a 3D platformer.
There's like 80 different costumes, but a fourth of them are clones, another two-thirds are practically useless, and the remaining 4 or so are the only ones you'd ever actually use. Seriously, there's three separate costumes whose only purpose are to stand on these stages that appear in only 5 or 6 levels and play a 5 second cutscene. That is literally it, no bonuses or rewards or anything. There's THREE costumes dedicated to that. There's also only one button in this game, so if you have a costume whose main purpose is to attack, you can't jump. IN A 3D PLATFORMER YOU CAN LOSE YOUR ABILITY TO JUMP!!!!!
This game's progression is terrible; in order to unlock more stages you need to collect Balan statues. The way the Balan statues are littered throughout the game is disrespectful to the player's time, as many of them are completely inaccessible without costumes you cannot get until further in the game. This also means incessant backtracking is necessary to actually continue the game, so you're forced to play the same terrible levels over and over and over. That's just for the statues too; you also need to go back to stages to get costumes because if you get hit ONCE, you lose your costume. So it means if you want to play this game without losing your mind, you need to go back to World 8 and grind out Frost Fairy costumes so you can traverse the stages without wanting to tear your hair out.
Or, you could engage in the best part of the game: the hub world. Feed the little bird things called "Tims" these crystal drops (they're actually Balan's tears, which I am happy with. I am glad that he is sad) and do some convoluted steps to unlock the "Balan" costume that lets you fly. If you decide to play this game, unlock that costume ASAP.
I hate Balan. He looks stupid and all he does throughout the entire game is punch rocks in space during the lamest quick-time events ever created.
World 10 is awful, which is saying something considering the only level in this game I could genuinely say I thought was anything above "god-awful" was World 4. The (pretty uninteresting) character designs aren't enough to save this clunky, unfinished, impossibly boring garbage heap. I got the platinum trophy for this game because I thought it would be funny, and "there's no way it could be THAT bad!" No. It's not that bad, it's worse, it's so much worse. I am so glad Yuji Naka went to jail for this, he deserves it.
There's like 80 different costumes, but a fourth of them are clones, another two-thirds are practically useless, and the remaining 4 or so are the only ones you'd ever actually use. Seriously, there's three separate costumes whose only purpose are to stand on these stages that appear in only 5 or 6 levels and play a 5 second cutscene. That is literally it, no bonuses or rewards or anything. There's THREE costumes dedicated to that. There's also only one button in this game, so if you have a costume whose main purpose is to attack, you can't jump. IN A 3D PLATFORMER YOU CAN LOSE YOUR ABILITY TO JUMP!!!!!
This game's progression is terrible; in order to unlock more stages you need to collect Balan statues. The way the Balan statues are littered throughout the game is disrespectful to the player's time, as many of them are completely inaccessible without costumes you cannot get until further in the game. This also means incessant backtracking is necessary to actually continue the game, so you're forced to play the same terrible levels over and over and over. That's just for the statues too; you also need to go back to stages to get costumes because if you get hit ONCE, you lose your costume. So it means if you want to play this game without losing your mind, you need to go back to World 8 and grind out Frost Fairy costumes so you can traverse the stages without wanting to tear your hair out.
Or, you could engage in the best part of the game: the hub world. Feed the little bird things called "Tims" these crystal drops (they're actually Balan's tears, which I am happy with. I am glad that he is sad) and do some convoluted steps to unlock the "Balan" costume that lets you fly. If you decide to play this game, unlock that costume ASAP.
I hate Balan. He looks stupid and all he does throughout the entire game is punch rocks in space during the lamest quick-time events ever created.
World 10 is awful, which is saying something considering the only level in this game I could genuinely say I thought was anything above "god-awful" was World 4. The (pretty uninteresting) character designs aren't enough to save this clunky, unfinished, impossibly boring garbage heap. I got the platinum trophy for this game because I thought it would be funny, and "there's no way it could be THAT bad!" No. It's not that bad, it's worse, it's so much worse. I am so glad Yuji Naka went to jail for this, he deserves it.
Antes de visualizar la secuencia inicial con la que empieza Super Mario Bros. Wonder, el juego te permite seleccionar a qué personaje vas a querer controlar durante la partida. De entre todas las opciones posibles, más que en ningún otro juego de Mario, me llamó la atención la presencia de poder llevar a cuatro Yoshis distintos.
Miento, en realidad lo que me sorprendió no fue el siempre hecho de ver la opción ahí, sino que cuando seleccionabas al Yoshi rojo, el grito de ánimo que lo acompañaba, el clásico “Wa-hoo” de Mario para que nos entendamos, no tuviera nada que ver con el del Yoshi azul, ni tampoco con el de sus dinosaurios homólogos. Si cada Yoshi es distinto, no todos tienen por qué compartir las mismas voces.
Este y otros muchos detalles, como que las flores parlanchinas, dependiendo de tus acciones en un instante determinado, reaccionen con frases que transmiten buen rollo, sorpresa y miedo, que cuando Mario (yo siempre elijo a Mario) salga a través de una tubería a un plano situado al fondo del nivel, la música se escuche de pronto más baja o que cuando consigamos una nueva insignia, Florián, nuestro guía y acompañante durante el juego, automáticamente nos pregunte si queremos equipárnosla, hacen que jugar a Super Mario Bros. Wonder sea la experiencia tan satisfactoria que prometían sus tráilers.
Juan Puig dijo en uno de los directos de “Chiclana & Friends” que este Mario era mejor en la ejecución que en la concepción misma de su diseño y es una frase con la que estoy en gran parte de acuerdo.
Las novedades jugables de esta entrega quizá no estén a la altura del impecable trabajo a nivel de animaciones de la que hacen gala todos los elementos mostrados por pantalla, desde las simpáticas flores hasta el último de los secuaces de Bowser, recordando por muchos momentos al arte que presentaban los manuales y folletos de los años noventa. Probablemente, Mario en 2D jamás haya tenido tanta expresividad como aquí y ya le iba haciendo falta tras cuatro entregas bastante continuistas.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder fue convenciéndome más a medida que iba jugando y, aunque creo que tenga aspectos a mejorar: la escasa dificultad para encontrar la mayoría de sus coleccionables, lo poco épicos que se sienten sus jefes finales o los ya mencionados y aburridos power-ups, no puedo sino recomendarlo encarecidamente por haberme devuelto esa “magia” propia de los mejores juegos de plataformas.
Miento, en realidad lo que me sorprendió no fue el siempre hecho de ver la opción ahí, sino que cuando seleccionabas al Yoshi rojo, el grito de ánimo que lo acompañaba, el clásico “Wa-hoo” de Mario para que nos entendamos, no tuviera nada que ver con el del Yoshi azul, ni tampoco con el de sus dinosaurios homólogos. Si cada Yoshi es distinto, no todos tienen por qué compartir las mismas voces.
Este y otros muchos detalles, como que las flores parlanchinas, dependiendo de tus acciones en un instante determinado, reaccionen con frases que transmiten buen rollo, sorpresa y miedo, que cuando Mario (yo siempre elijo a Mario) salga a través de una tubería a un plano situado al fondo del nivel, la música se escuche de pronto más baja o que cuando consigamos una nueva insignia, Florián, nuestro guía y acompañante durante el juego, automáticamente nos pregunte si queremos equipárnosla, hacen que jugar a Super Mario Bros. Wonder sea la experiencia tan satisfactoria que prometían sus tráilers.
Juan Puig dijo en uno de los directos de “Chiclana & Friends” que este Mario era mejor en la ejecución que en la concepción misma de su diseño y es una frase con la que estoy en gran parte de acuerdo.
Las novedades jugables de esta entrega quizá no estén a la altura del impecable trabajo a nivel de animaciones de la que hacen gala todos los elementos mostrados por pantalla, desde las simpáticas flores hasta el último de los secuaces de Bowser, recordando por muchos momentos al arte que presentaban los manuales y folletos de los años noventa. Probablemente, Mario en 2D jamás haya tenido tanta expresividad como aquí y ya le iba haciendo falta tras cuatro entregas bastante continuistas.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder fue convenciéndome más a medida que iba jugando y, aunque creo que tenga aspectos a mejorar: la escasa dificultad para encontrar la mayoría de sus coleccionables, lo poco épicos que se sienten sus jefes finales o los ya mencionados y aburridos power-ups, no puedo sino recomendarlo encarecidamente por haberme devuelto esa “magia” propia de los mejores juegos de plataformas.
I fucking love this game so much. It's the game that saved resident evil and each time I replay it I just appreciate that even more. Re7 is an absolutely perfect game.
For a start the music is phenomenal, it does an amazing job at getting a response from the player whether that's Fear, sadness, or curiosity. Also the gameplay in biohazard is top notch, it is fun throughout. This is largely due to its fun and innovative puzzles, great gunplay, and horror elements.
For me at least the worst part about re7 is the Mia portion on the ship. Now this is by no means a bad portion it's just slightly tedious at times with you having to go up and down all the time. Another fantastic portion of this game is the story, in my opinion it is one of the best in the series, while it loses me a bit at the end due to its more actiony supernatural elements it still makes for a fun time.
I think one of the main reasons for this is the games antagonists for a good chunk of the runtime, the Baker family. They get introduced first at the dinner table scene, showing their dynamics with one another and being a family were the player can already tell something is wrong with them. It's by the end of the game that you realise that the bakers were kind people until they were infected by eveline. Which makes them much more compelling 'villians' then Mr X or Nemisis because they aren't evil tyrants created in some lab, they are just a normal family who's minds have been corrupted inadvertently by their kindness.
I could ramble on for ages about this game but in short, it's a terrific game that is a good entry point for new fans whilst reviving the series for the old fans. I can not recommend this game enough, if you haven't played it already what the hell have you been doing for the past 7 years! (Side note: how the hell was 2017 seven years ago)
For a start the music is phenomenal, it does an amazing job at getting a response from the player whether that's Fear, sadness, or curiosity. Also the gameplay in biohazard is top notch, it is fun throughout. This is largely due to its fun and innovative puzzles, great gunplay, and horror elements.
For me at least the worst part about re7 is the Mia portion on the ship. Now this is by no means a bad portion it's just slightly tedious at times with you having to go up and down all the time. Another fantastic portion of this game is the story, in my opinion it is one of the best in the series, while it loses me a bit at the end due to its more actiony supernatural elements it still makes for a fun time.
I think one of the main reasons for this is the games antagonists for a good chunk of the runtime, the Baker family. They get introduced first at the dinner table scene, showing their dynamics with one another and being a family were the player can already tell something is wrong with them. It's by the end of the game that you realise that the bakers were kind people until they were infected by eveline. Which makes them much more compelling 'villians' then Mr X or Nemisis because they aren't evil tyrants created in some lab, they are just a normal family who's minds have been corrupted inadvertently by their kindness.
I could ramble on for ages about this game but in short, it's a terrific game that is a good entry point for new fans whilst reviving the series for the old fans. I can not recommend this game enough, if you haven't played it already what the hell have you been doing for the past 7 years! (Side note: how the hell was 2017 seven years ago)
El principio es duro y la ostia te la pegas, pero tiene lo suficiente para engancharte y llegar al punto en el que el juego se vuelve MUY divertido. Y la historia es posiblemente de las mejores que he jugado. Me encanta.
Shadow of Chernobyl is a game that is frequently at odds with itself. If it's not impressive on the basis of its ambitions alone, then it's outright apparent that it's the result of two conflicting visions: that of a game studio eschewing its trappings to push boundaries others weren't willing to, even if the developers weren't getting paid very well, and that of a game publisher that was tired of waiting. The dichotomy between these camps sullies the experience the more you play Shadow of Chernobyl. So much of it feels so haplessly thrown together that it becomes hard to know what was kept in to make the experience feel as hopeless as it ultimately is and what just so happened to have that effect. The Ranking system, for example, is a unique concept that ties into the game's early fascination with NPC interactions. I looked at it once at the start of my playthrough, one more time out of curiosity after playing the game for ten hours, and never again. But if you scratch past these layers and try to see what the developers were trying to make behind the scenes... it still feels confused. The unfortunate reality is that, by trying to be as fresh as possible, there’s a significant chance your first attempt will end up clumsy.
The biggest problem Shadow of Chernobyl faces is that its mixture of non-linear exploration and linear set-pieces rarely coalesce. Instead, the game often feels like it’s trying to be three things at once. In one hand, it’s a game about stats and MMO-lite questing/looting for the best equipment you can get with your limited inventory space. In the other, it’s a linear shooter with a high level of difficulty that occasionally goes full-corridor and will have you quicksaving every five seconds. By the feet, it’s a sci-fi-flavored mystery that tries to pull you in on the basis of its landscapes alone. The resulting mixture is a game that expects you to explore and do side-questing to understand several of its key mechanics in its opening moments while a giant arrow in the top-left corner of the screen is telling you to do anything else. Paired with how limited exploration can be, and it quickly becomes an experience that feels more distracted than it should be.
Thankfully, there are still aspects of it that hold up. Although it’s occasionally held back by grating, repetitive sound effects, and voice lines, it’s the intoxicating atmosphere and art direction that keeps the experience from falling apart. There is a damn good reason that this is what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has become synonymous with. From the moody, blocky grays of the bar area to the ways in which the metal roofs of a couple of warehouses split apart, everything about The Zone feels authentically oppressive. Vast and typically quiet stretches of land are hardly the oases they would be in another game, as they’re often doused in hardly bright hues. Other creative decisions, such as non-diegetic music in the bar area, cause each space to feel lived in. Pair that with the convincing behavior of AI opponents, such as roaming dogs, and it’s almost never a question of if you’re safe in an area. Despite being a game full of bombastic action, its best moments are usually its quietest and most unnerving. While these short moments last, Shadow of Chernobyl remains an engrossing experience.
While they last...
It could be said that the mystery underpinning Shadow of Chernobyl’s main narrative is undermined by its nearly interminable lack of quiet time, which causes the game to outstay its welcome should you find yourself forced to grind in order to progress to more difficult areas (as I did!). And while this is true to an extent, there are far more pressing issues holding it back. One, the quest structure (both main and secondary) rarely evolves throughout. Even at its most interesting, Shadow of Chernobyl is content to have the player kill or loot, and that’s pretty much it. But most damning of all, its characterization is borderline one-dimensional, if it's there at all. I revisited Clear Sky pretty soon after I finished my playthrough of this, and immediately, it struck me as a game with more character and confidence. There are a handful of memorable faces in Shadow of Chernobyl, but it should say a lot that the one I (and many others, apparently) associate the most with this game never leaves the first room you’re in. In twenty hours of playtime, I saw one backstory, and it was only a paragraph in length. While the grand reveals are interesting and do leave some room for interpretation, by the time I reached them, I was no longer interested in finding those answers. Unfortunately, the solid atmosphere that permeates the experience can’t stop its confused and occasionally amateurish structure from wearing you down as it progresses. If you can beat Shadow of Chernobyl in under twelve hours, it’s probably worthy of four stars. But take my advice: don’t revisit it too often.
Having finally finished Shadow of Chernobyl, I can absolutely see where the insane modding scene for this series comes from. Shadow of Chernobyl feels like the coolest roughdraft ever while it’s in your hands. No other game has had me dragging bodies full of half-functioning guns so I could afford new armor. Despite the compromises and slipshod focus that went into its creation, it has all of the markings of an all-timer. I desperately want to love it again, and I kinda do? But even at its most compelling, it’s a hard sell.
I'm just hoping the new one isn't a Shadow of its former self. (had to do it)
The biggest problem Shadow of Chernobyl faces is that its mixture of non-linear exploration and linear set-pieces rarely coalesce. Instead, the game often feels like it’s trying to be three things at once. In one hand, it’s a game about stats and MMO-lite questing/looting for the best equipment you can get with your limited inventory space. In the other, it’s a linear shooter with a high level of difficulty that occasionally goes full-corridor and will have you quicksaving every five seconds. By the feet, it’s a sci-fi-flavored mystery that tries to pull you in on the basis of its landscapes alone. The resulting mixture is a game that expects you to explore and do side-questing to understand several of its key mechanics in its opening moments while a giant arrow in the top-left corner of the screen is telling you to do anything else. Paired with how limited exploration can be, and it quickly becomes an experience that feels more distracted than it should be.
Thankfully, there are still aspects of it that hold up. Although it’s occasionally held back by grating, repetitive sound effects, and voice lines, it’s the intoxicating atmosphere and art direction that keeps the experience from falling apart. There is a damn good reason that this is what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has become synonymous with. From the moody, blocky grays of the bar area to the ways in which the metal roofs of a couple of warehouses split apart, everything about The Zone feels authentically oppressive. Vast and typically quiet stretches of land are hardly the oases they would be in another game, as they’re often doused in hardly bright hues. Other creative decisions, such as non-diegetic music in the bar area, cause each space to feel lived in. Pair that with the convincing behavior of AI opponents, such as roaming dogs, and it’s almost never a question of if you’re safe in an area. Despite being a game full of bombastic action, its best moments are usually its quietest and most unnerving. While these short moments last, Shadow of Chernobyl remains an engrossing experience.
While they last...
It could be said that the mystery underpinning Shadow of Chernobyl’s main narrative is undermined by its nearly interminable lack of quiet time, which causes the game to outstay its welcome should you find yourself forced to grind in order to progress to more difficult areas (as I did!). And while this is true to an extent, there are far more pressing issues holding it back. One, the quest structure (both main and secondary) rarely evolves throughout. Even at its most interesting, Shadow of Chernobyl is content to have the player kill or loot, and that’s pretty much it. But most damning of all, its characterization is borderline one-dimensional, if it's there at all. I revisited Clear Sky pretty soon after I finished my playthrough of this, and immediately, it struck me as a game with more character and confidence. There are a handful of memorable faces in Shadow of Chernobyl, but it should say a lot that the one I (and many others, apparently) associate the most with this game never leaves the first room you’re in. In twenty hours of playtime, I saw one backstory, and it was only a paragraph in length. While the grand reveals are interesting and do leave some room for interpretation, by the time I reached them, I was no longer interested in finding those answers. Unfortunately, the solid atmosphere that permeates the experience can’t stop its confused and occasionally amateurish structure from wearing you down as it progresses. If you can beat Shadow of Chernobyl in under twelve hours, it’s probably worthy of four stars. But take my advice: don’t revisit it too often.
Having finally finished Shadow of Chernobyl, I can absolutely see where the insane modding scene for this series comes from. Shadow of Chernobyl feels like the coolest roughdraft ever while it’s in your hands. No other game has had me dragging bodies full of half-functioning guns so I could afford new armor. Despite the compromises and slipshod focus that went into its creation, it has all of the markings of an all-timer. I desperately want to love it again, and I kinda do? But even at its most compelling, it’s a hard sell.
I'm just hoping the new one isn't a Shadow of its former self. (had to do it)
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