hotpoppah
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Desert Bus
2011
Desert Bus is a game that has you holding down one button for a really, really, really long time.
That's it. That's the game.
Oh, but you also can't just put a weight on a button and call it a day, you have to constantly steer it so it doesn't go offroad.
Well, it's a shitty game that was made shitty on purpose. Go figure, right?
Colorblindness Rating: A
Good news, the pain of this game can be shared even to the colorblind.
Don't bother with this game, just go play something else.
That's it. That's the game.
Oh, but you also can't just put a weight on a button and call it a day, you have to constantly steer it so it doesn't go offroad.
Well, it's a shitty game that was made shitty on purpose. Go figure, right?
Colorblindness Rating: A
Good news, the pain of this game can be shared even to the colorblind.
Don't bother with this game, just go play something else.
Pretty sure my guy turned racist cuz i hit a negative on a 73% perception roll... and died after listening to bird noises. I'm built like silk fr... I don't remember ordering a yappaccino but it's all good tho I managed. These characters are written so masterfully I'm actin like a schoolgirl just thinking about it, makes me wanna throat a glizzy out of happiness. Bitches will have a bumper sticker with a picture of Harry Du Bois and it says "NOT MY PRESIDENT" no he's clearly not?? On the other end, people will have Kim Kitsuragi plastred on their main bathroom mirror like "men... remember what you're striving for. Can we get an amen?" love this man. Absolute delight writing of a cop duo, the best in fiction bitches say.
There's no higher praise I can give to the setting than it feels like we're truly living in a simulation, one pumped up with a syringe with the full spectrum of human complexity. But do not forget: the fog is coming. Yeah, there is a fog. While more of a metaphor than a literary device, it is very scary. To sum up the game's world in a few wise words, I'll quote this tweet I came across "Great time to be a hater, many things suck and many people are stupid". That's kind of how it works in La Revacholière! Nobody minces any words. It truly feels like a complete map, with a lot of interior places to explore, too. I don't think I have forgotten a single area. Then again, a lot of dialogue! Makes you go "honk mimimimii" in other games but in this game no such thoughts of "a mimir".
"My child will not drink himself into a stupor and have me clean up his mess for over 30 hours of gameplay" type story. Kinda cool. Hope they do that again! It seems ill-fated, as it stands... Quite thankfully, other RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 seem to be boasting the same amount of care, but I can't be too sure. Anyways, what happens in Disco Elysium in the gameplay department? Fetch quests. Stat tree. Exposition. It's peak. You have many, O so many voices in your head, everything that makes you you. You'll end up rolling and either end up in a Florida Man news headline or summoning the pot of greed. It's so very disco. But it is quintessential for a CRPG, is it not? The entire genre has been a public speech and Disco Elysium is its closing statement. Very brilliant.
I don't remember any of the problems I had with the game, except one, that hinges on a massive choice. Put on your best clickbait material (THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING) (YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THESE) (FREE TWENTY DOLLAR FORTNITE CARD IN DESCRIPTION) but no more mr. unserious guy. Really, this might make the rest of the game have a completely different feel. And in either case, the epilogue could have used a bit more... matter to it. Bone to its meat on bone the meat fuck. This is a Danganronpa 2 reference. Seeing a cinematic trailer of this game definitely does not do justice to what you're actually gonna experience. There is barely any action scenes in it, regardless. Communist copaganda at its finest. Ahah. No seriously, you'll get it. Trust the process.
There's no higher praise I can give to the setting than it feels like we're truly living in a simulation, one pumped up with a syringe with the full spectrum of human complexity. But do not forget: the fog is coming. Yeah, there is a fog. While more of a metaphor than a literary device, it is very scary. To sum up the game's world in a few wise words, I'll quote this tweet I came across "Great time to be a hater, many things suck and many people are stupid". That's kind of how it works in La Revacholière! Nobody minces any words. It truly feels like a complete map, with a lot of interior places to explore, too. I don't think I have forgotten a single area. Then again, a lot of dialogue! Makes you go "honk mimimimii" in other games but in this game no such thoughts of "a mimir".
"My child will not drink himself into a stupor and have me clean up his mess for over 30 hours of gameplay" type story. Kinda cool. Hope they do that again! It seems ill-fated, as it stands... Quite thankfully, other RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 seem to be boasting the same amount of care, but I can't be too sure. Anyways, what happens in Disco Elysium in the gameplay department? Fetch quests. Stat tree. Exposition. It's peak. You have many, O so many voices in your head, everything that makes you you. You'll end up rolling and either end up in a Florida Man news headline or summoning the pot of greed. It's so very disco. But it is quintessential for a CRPG, is it not? The entire genre has been a public speech and Disco Elysium is its closing statement. Very brilliant.
I don't remember any of the problems I had with the game, except one, that hinges on a massive choice. Put on your best clickbait material (THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING) (YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THESE) (FREE TWENTY DOLLAR FORTNITE CARD IN DESCRIPTION) but no more mr. unserious guy. Really, this might make the rest of the game have a completely different feel. And in either case, the epilogue could have used a bit more... matter to it. Bone to its meat on bone the meat fuck. This is a Danganronpa 2 reference. Seeing a cinematic trailer of this game definitely does not do justice to what you're actually gonna experience. There is barely any action scenes in it, regardless. Communist copaganda at its finest. Ahah. No seriously, you'll get it. Trust the process.
Pikmin 4
2023
This review contains spoilers
It still feels unreal to me that this game exists. I can barely believe that I'm here writing a review about it, let alone that I played it.
Ever since I played Pikmin 3 Deluxe in 2020 and loved it to pieces, I've been craving more Pikmin in my life so, so bad. I wanted to get my hands on as many of these games as I could. However, things weren't looking great for the series at that point. Series sales were always underwhelming for Nintendo, and even the Switch port for 3 wasn't a big success (it sold pretty well from what I gather, but not super well). Pikmin's future was still not certain. Miyamoto's infamous Pikmin 4 interview all the way back in 2015 poured salt in the wound of said future. That's a really big rabbid hole that I would rather not get into, but safe to say, no one had any idea if the game was still in development, had been cancelled, or if anything in between had happened. This was the case for about 8 years. As much as I deeply wanted it, I never really expected to play a new Pikmin game in my life.
But then, the September 2022 Nintendo Direct aired. That was one of the best days of my life. Pikmin 4 was actually real, and it was coming out soon. The joy I felt after receiving those news is honestly hard to describe. I probably looked like a maniac to anyone that witnessed my reaction to the reveal while we were in high school, but I didn't care. One of my favorite games ever made was finally receiving a follow up, and I thought I couldn't be happier.
Fast forward to 2023, and not only was the series finally getting a new mainline entry, but the first two games were also getting ports for the Switch. At that moment, I realized that Pikmin was undergoing a comeback the likes of which I haven't seen often. The series was truly coming back, and with a bang. As I said, I thought before that I couldn't be happier, but at that moment, I was. Later on, seeing that Pikmin 4 became the best selling game in the series by a good margin after just a few months was immensely relieving. This series that I love so much, that I feared was close to extinction, actually had a future now. Good time to be alive.
To actually talk about the game though: surprise, surprise, I adored it. However, what was surprising was that the game didn't come out how I expected it to. What I thought I wanted more than anything was a faithful sequel to Pikmin 3 that possibly expanded on some of its ideas, and maybe also expanded on that game's multitasking potential. Instead of controlling 3 Captains all at once, maybe we could be in charge of 4. This is absolutely not what happenned. In fact, Pikmin 4 really doesn't play it safe, and instead is arguably the most experimental game in the whole series. This could've turned out bad, but it didn't. What this game accomplished is incredible, actually. It somehow managed to combine ideas from ALL previous Pikmin games, maintain what was so good about many ideas and improved on those that were more flawed. It did all of this while ALSO adding a bunch of new and exciting ideas onto the mix. Somehow, a cohesive game came out of that. It blows me away.
I'll start by addressing Oatchi, my boy. Not only is he adorable, but he alone completely changes the dymanic that existed between Captains and Pikmin in previous games. He is like a Captain and a really powerful Pikmin at the same time. He can either command Pikmin by himself, or act like a Pikmin by fighting enemies, interacting with obstacles or carrying treasure. He sounds broken in theory, and some people have said that he is, but I don't think so. The fact that Oatchi is this versatile works because even if he can do a lot, he can only perform one task at a time. The game's strategic potential rears its head when you have to choose if you want Oatchi to dig a patch of dirt, work towards breaking a wall, carry a really heavy treasure or command a group of Pikmin on his own while you do other stuff. This all synergizes with the usual Pikmin dynamic, because not only do you have to manage regular Pikmin like always, but Oatchi too. In theory, you can overcome most obstacles with Oatchi by himself, but that would be a colossal waste of time. You need to take advantage of both to play as efficiently as possible.
This becomes even more interesting through the fact that the main captain can ride Oatchi, or jump out of him. This is also really smart because while riding Oatchi, your whole army is with you and you're more versatile. However, this limits your multitasking options, so if you want to keep being more efficient, it's often ideal to split them up. This brings a cool risk vs. reward system to the mix, because the game can be more of a breeze when you're together, but playing better also makes things tougher.
It becomes even better when we take into account the fact that Oatchi can jump. This is crazy. Not only does this add more light platforming elements, and levels that can be designed with more verticality in mind, but it also serves to differentiate Oatchi from the regular Captain more. Since only Oatchi has this ability, you also have to keep track of which Captain has to take which path to maximize efficiency. Levels are well designed around the ability, so it's something that often has to be considered. Even where there's level elements that might not have been explicitly designed around the jump, if there's a tiny bump in the road or a small wall blocking the way, he can jump over it. It seriously elevates the depth of pathfinding to new heights for the series. It's genius.
Having this many interesting options to multitask wouldn't serve much of a purpose if the game didn't encourage you to multitask, but it does. There isn't a day limit like in Pikmin 1 or 3, so I feared that the game would run into the same problem that Pikmin 2 did, being that time management just really isn't important. However, this issue is circumvented through lots of smart design choices and additions.
To start somewhere, I will first address Dandori challenges and battles. These are beyond genius. They manage to integrate a mode akin to Pikmin 3's incredible mission mode into the main campaign by adding caves with missions. I could go on for hours about how both 3's mission mode and 4's Dandori challenges are incredible, but I will have to summarize. In essence, they instill the mere essence of Pikmin multitasking into more bite-sized challenges that do a great job of encouraging you to be more efficient through a ranking system. Having to put the work in to manage so much under a time limit to obtain a high rank is unbelievably engaging and addicting.
Also helping to encourage time management is the huge improvement the caves received from Pikmin 2. It's tough to know where to even begin here. I really didn't like Pikmin 2's caves because they completely stopped the time limit, had randomized level design, and you couldn't regrow Pikmin if you lost them. I understand that the time limit was stopped to allow players to take their time, but I frankly think that kind of misses the point. Pikmin is at its most engaging to me when I have to manage my time, and discarding that whole aspect makes things kind of boring. To be honest, I do think people give the randomization elements a bit of a hard time. Sometimes people say there just isn't any level design at play, when there is. Specific units of a cave were hand-crafted and the enemies that occupate each cave were also picked by hand. It's just that these elements are randomly placed and rearranged. I still don't like this or think that it works, but I have to be fair. Lastly, I also understand that you can't regrow Pikmin because the game wants to instill tension, and it at least kind of succeeds at doing that, but it also kind of sucks. This can lead you to get softlocked out of collecting treasure if you don't have enough Pikmin for it, leading you to exit a cave and come back in, backtracking floor by floor to retrieve the treasure. It sucks.
I'm super happy to say that literally every single one of these issues was fixed in 4. For one, even though time still doesn't progress in caves at the same speed than it does in the surface, it does move very slowly. Every single cave is also 100% designed by hand now, and every enemy and obstacle is deliberately placed. These two changes by themselves save caves for me. Even if time moves at a snails pace, just knowing that it moves at all re-engages my brain and continues to encourage me to play quickly. This is also helped because caves are designed with shortcuts in mind, unlike in Pikmin 2, which makes it satisfying by itself to go through them quickly. However, they become even better because of the addition of Glow Pikmin. After obtaining glow seeds from night expeditions, you can take them out inside of caves to grow your squad. This means you essentially have a reserve squad of Pikmin, which nullifies the softlock issue. It's great.
I already spent most of this essay talking about like, three things, so I'll summarize whatever is left with bullet points. This is both for your sake and mine.
- Night expeditions were an awesome new tower defense-like mode, which did a great job of spinning the usual Pikmin day timer on its head and encouraging you to split Oatchi from the Captain to defend bases.
- Raw materials are a great form of currency that can be obtained through lots of means. They're really fun to obtain, and having to choose whether you want to spend them on building a bridge or buying items/upgrades added another extra layer of depth to the game.
- NPC sidequests are a brilliant recontextualization of the achievements introduced in Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Instead of being separate achievements, they're integrated into the main campaign by rewarding raw materials when you complete one. This really drives you to complete as many of them as possible.
- The fact that they decided to add a mini campaign with Olimar that serves as a reimagining to Pikmin 1, which does have a day limit, blew my mind. This really didn't need to be in the game, but I'm still ecstatic that it is. It's also a really great side mode.
- Character customization was another really cool innovation on the Pikmin formula, even if customization options are pretty limited.
I'm sure there's even more that I could've said here, but I need to draw the line somewhere. All in all, Pikmin 4 is a tremendous game. It managed to meet my extremely high expectations while being very different than what I was expecting. It didn't exactly give me what I wanted, but what it gave me satisfied me just as much. Also one of my favorite games ever made. Please play Pikmin 4.
Ever since I played Pikmin 3 Deluxe in 2020 and loved it to pieces, I've been craving more Pikmin in my life so, so bad. I wanted to get my hands on as many of these games as I could. However, things weren't looking great for the series at that point. Series sales were always underwhelming for Nintendo, and even the Switch port for 3 wasn't a big success (it sold pretty well from what I gather, but not super well). Pikmin's future was still not certain. Miyamoto's infamous Pikmin 4 interview all the way back in 2015 poured salt in the wound of said future. That's a really big rabbid hole that I would rather not get into, but safe to say, no one had any idea if the game was still in development, had been cancelled, or if anything in between had happened. This was the case for about 8 years. As much as I deeply wanted it, I never really expected to play a new Pikmin game in my life.
But then, the September 2022 Nintendo Direct aired. That was one of the best days of my life. Pikmin 4 was actually real, and it was coming out soon. The joy I felt after receiving those news is honestly hard to describe. I probably looked like a maniac to anyone that witnessed my reaction to the reveal while we were in high school, but I didn't care. One of my favorite games ever made was finally receiving a follow up, and I thought I couldn't be happier.
Fast forward to 2023, and not only was the series finally getting a new mainline entry, but the first two games were also getting ports for the Switch. At that moment, I realized that Pikmin was undergoing a comeback the likes of which I haven't seen often. The series was truly coming back, and with a bang. As I said, I thought before that I couldn't be happier, but at that moment, I was. Later on, seeing that Pikmin 4 became the best selling game in the series by a good margin after just a few months was immensely relieving. This series that I love so much, that I feared was close to extinction, actually had a future now. Good time to be alive.
To actually talk about the game though: surprise, surprise, I adored it. However, what was surprising was that the game didn't come out how I expected it to. What I thought I wanted more than anything was a faithful sequel to Pikmin 3 that possibly expanded on some of its ideas, and maybe also expanded on that game's multitasking potential. Instead of controlling 3 Captains all at once, maybe we could be in charge of 4. This is absolutely not what happenned. In fact, Pikmin 4 really doesn't play it safe, and instead is arguably the most experimental game in the whole series. This could've turned out bad, but it didn't. What this game accomplished is incredible, actually. It somehow managed to combine ideas from ALL previous Pikmin games, maintain what was so good about many ideas and improved on those that were more flawed. It did all of this while ALSO adding a bunch of new and exciting ideas onto the mix. Somehow, a cohesive game came out of that. It blows me away.
I'll start by addressing Oatchi, my boy. Not only is he adorable, but he alone completely changes the dymanic that existed between Captains and Pikmin in previous games. He is like a Captain and a really powerful Pikmin at the same time. He can either command Pikmin by himself, or act like a Pikmin by fighting enemies, interacting with obstacles or carrying treasure. He sounds broken in theory, and some people have said that he is, but I don't think so. The fact that Oatchi is this versatile works because even if he can do a lot, he can only perform one task at a time. The game's strategic potential rears its head when you have to choose if you want Oatchi to dig a patch of dirt, work towards breaking a wall, carry a really heavy treasure or command a group of Pikmin on his own while you do other stuff. This all synergizes with the usual Pikmin dynamic, because not only do you have to manage regular Pikmin like always, but Oatchi too. In theory, you can overcome most obstacles with Oatchi by himself, but that would be a colossal waste of time. You need to take advantage of both to play as efficiently as possible.
This becomes even more interesting through the fact that the main captain can ride Oatchi, or jump out of him. This is also really smart because while riding Oatchi, your whole army is with you and you're more versatile. However, this limits your multitasking options, so if you want to keep being more efficient, it's often ideal to split them up. This brings a cool risk vs. reward system to the mix, because the game can be more of a breeze when you're together, but playing better also makes things tougher.
It becomes even better when we take into account the fact that Oatchi can jump. This is crazy. Not only does this add more light platforming elements, and levels that can be designed with more verticality in mind, but it also serves to differentiate Oatchi from the regular Captain more. Since only Oatchi has this ability, you also have to keep track of which Captain has to take which path to maximize efficiency. Levels are well designed around the ability, so it's something that often has to be considered. Even where there's level elements that might not have been explicitly designed around the jump, if there's a tiny bump in the road or a small wall blocking the way, he can jump over it. It seriously elevates the depth of pathfinding to new heights for the series. It's genius.
Having this many interesting options to multitask wouldn't serve much of a purpose if the game didn't encourage you to multitask, but it does. There isn't a day limit like in Pikmin 1 or 3, so I feared that the game would run into the same problem that Pikmin 2 did, being that time management just really isn't important. However, this issue is circumvented through lots of smart design choices and additions.
To start somewhere, I will first address Dandori challenges and battles. These are beyond genius. They manage to integrate a mode akin to Pikmin 3's incredible mission mode into the main campaign by adding caves with missions. I could go on for hours about how both 3's mission mode and 4's Dandori challenges are incredible, but I will have to summarize. In essence, they instill the mere essence of Pikmin multitasking into more bite-sized challenges that do a great job of encouraging you to be more efficient through a ranking system. Having to put the work in to manage so much under a time limit to obtain a high rank is unbelievably engaging and addicting.
Also helping to encourage time management is the huge improvement the caves received from Pikmin 2. It's tough to know where to even begin here. I really didn't like Pikmin 2's caves because they completely stopped the time limit, had randomized level design, and you couldn't regrow Pikmin if you lost them. I understand that the time limit was stopped to allow players to take their time, but I frankly think that kind of misses the point. Pikmin is at its most engaging to me when I have to manage my time, and discarding that whole aspect makes things kind of boring. To be honest, I do think people give the randomization elements a bit of a hard time. Sometimes people say there just isn't any level design at play, when there is. Specific units of a cave were hand-crafted and the enemies that occupate each cave were also picked by hand. It's just that these elements are randomly placed and rearranged. I still don't like this or think that it works, but I have to be fair. Lastly, I also understand that you can't regrow Pikmin because the game wants to instill tension, and it at least kind of succeeds at doing that, but it also kind of sucks. This can lead you to get softlocked out of collecting treasure if you don't have enough Pikmin for it, leading you to exit a cave and come back in, backtracking floor by floor to retrieve the treasure. It sucks.
I'm super happy to say that literally every single one of these issues was fixed in 4. For one, even though time still doesn't progress in caves at the same speed than it does in the surface, it does move very slowly. Every single cave is also 100% designed by hand now, and every enemy and obstacle is deliberately placed. These two changes by themselves save caves for me. Even if time moves at a snails pace, just knowing that it moves at all re-engages my brain and continues to encourage me to play quickly. This is also helped because caves are designed with shortcuts in mind, unlike in Pikmin 2, which makes it satisfying by itself to go through them quickly. However, they become even better because of the addition of Glow Pikmin. After obtaining glow seeds from night expeditions, you can take them out inside of caves to grow your squad. This means you essentially have a reserve squad of Pikmin, which nullifies the softlock issue. It's great.
I already spent most of this essay talking about like, three things, so I'll summarize whatever is left with bullet points. This is both for your sake and mine.
- Night expeditions were an awesome new tower defense-like mode, which did a great job of spinning the usual Pikmin day timer on its head and encouraging you to split Oatchi from the Captain to defend bases.
- Raw materials are a great form of currency that can be obtained through lots of means. They're really fun to obtain, and having to choose whether you want to spend them on building a bridge or buying items/upgrades added another extra layer of depth to the game.
- NPC sidequests are a brilliant recontextualization of the achievements introduced in Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Instead of being separate achievements, they're integrated into the main campaign by rewarding raw materials when you complete one. This really drives you to complete as many of them as possible.
- The fact that they decided to add a mini campaign with Olimar that serves as a reimagining to Pikmin 1, which does have a day limit, blew my mind. This really didn't need to be in the game, but I'm still ecstatic that it is. It's also a really great side mode.
- Character customization was another really cool innovation on the Pikmin formula, even if customization options are pretty limited.
I'm sure there's even more that I could've said here, but I need to draw the line somewhere. All in all, Pikmin 4 is a tremendous game. It managed to meet my extremely high expectations while being very different than what I was expecting. It didn't exactly give me what I wanted, but what it gave me satisfied me just as much. Also one of my favorite games ever made. Please play Pikmin 4.
Pikmin 1
2023
All of my reviews are extremely long, and I really have to exercise some restraint for this one especially.
Now that I have played Pikmin 1, I can say with confidence that is easily one of my favorite games ever made, and when I say that I mean very, very favorites. I adore it to bits. It is one of the most mechanically engaging games I have ever played, and also has a super simple but engaging narrative (that of which I think is the best out of any Pikmin game).
To start off, I will talk about the port job this game recieved. I don't really have much to say on it because it's a pretty barebones port of the game. All it really does to improve on it is spruce up the quality of UI assets (which do look a bit nicer) and add some small quality of life improvements that the Wii version already included. It probably is one of the better versions of the game, but not by much. I would normally complain more about it keeping in mind that this port is being sold at $30, but dude, it's Pikmin. This is as much as I personally ever needed for this game. Just having the original game be accessible is great.
The game itself is kind of a masterpiece in my eyes, especially considering that it is more than 20 years old. The premise of the game revolves around Captain Olimar and his first unfortunate crash on PNF-404. When he encounters the Pikmin, they willingly choose to help him collect all the ship parts he lost before he dies. Very simple on paper, but the story is so effective because of how personal it is and how high the stakes are for Olimar. The game characterizes him really well through logs that he writes at the end of each day, and you really do get endeared to him. Since you know that he will die if you fail, his fate lies on how well you perform at the game. This applies pressure onto you. It works amazingly to motivate you to to actually finish it.
The gameplay formula that this game established is one of the most unique and weird that I've ever seen to this day. Even now, there's nothing else that plays quite like Pikmin. Beyond simply establishing such a creative formula, it astounds me how much this game got right on its first attempt. I could write all day about every single design choice the designers made to create something this wonderful, but I have to draw the line somewhere, so I will try to not get to deep into the weeds.
The game is most comparable to an RTS (Real Time Strategy game), but it's unique to the extent that I don't quite want to call it that. You control Captain Olimar and the whole group of Pikmin that he leads (which can go up to 100) all at once. To avoid making the game too convoluted, you really only control the captain to move around and then use specific actions to command the Pikmin, like throwing, swarming and dismissing them. They managed to make a control scheme that could've been really hard to grasp into a very simple one that's easy to understand. In fact, they made it so simple that they ran into the risk of making the game boring. They avoided this mistake by focusing on one of the game's most important elements: time management.
The game's individual mechanics are seemingly not complex, but things change when you're under pressure. Because this game has a set day limit (which means you can just lose if you take too long), you're constantly encouraged to hurry up and manage your time appropriately. Performing individual tasks isn't always hard or super engaging, but they do become moreso when you have to juggle multiple of them at once. In fact, because you're trying to complete every task efficiently, the game's mechanics reveal just how deep they are in the process. Throwing Pikmin is a very simple action in theory, but throwing accurately towards your target can be more challenging (especially when said target is moving). If you manage to do so, you often save more time than you would after throwing poorly. Swarming is a little more complicated because it allows you to maneuver your entire squad with precision, either to ambush a creature, dodge a hazard or grab a collectible. Doing so very accurately while you're moving your Captain also saves you time. This philosophy applies to the entire game.
One argument I've heard against the time limit is that it's really forgiving, and it's true. You can beat the game in a very small number of days if you're skilled enough. I've managed to do so in 9 days, and people that have truly mastered the game to its core have done so in 6. When the maximum leeway that the game gives you is 30 days, it can seem like it gives way too much time and ends up not really mattering. However, I will make an opposing argument as to why it still works. I think it's a brilliant system.
Unlike me (someone that plays games more than he honestly should), not everyone playing this game will have an immediate understanding of how it works. Particularly with the Switch port, lots of people are playing Pikmin for the first time and have no prior experience with these games. Losing during a playthrough and having to start all over to win can be a huge blow to anyone, and especially these types of players. Because of this, I think the 30 day limit hits the perfect balance. It's very forgiving to accomodate for people that might struggle with the game, but its presence is constantly looming over you. It's lenient to the extent that it's not likely that you will lose if you play well enough, but just the fact that it's there creates anxiety and dread that prevails throughout the playthrough and goes hand in hand with the game's design. You can't stay still doing nothing in this game, so some amount of time management is heavily encouraged from you.
Additionally, this system also meshes perfectly with how replayable the game is. An average playthrough can take you anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, if less. This by itself makes it really easy to play multiple times, but it helps that the game also keeps track of your scores (the amount of ship parts you collected, days it took you to beat the game and how many Pikmin you propagated/lost). At its core, Pikmin is a score-chasing game, and it works perfectly as one when the game constantly nudges you to improve if you want to. It doesn't reward you with anything outright, but it's innately fun to lower your day count and lose less Pikmin the more skilled you become.
I have my issues with the game, sure.
- Like pretty much everyone has already said, Pikmin AI is pretty janky and the worst out of any of these games.
- Some Pikmin behaviors, like slower movement speeds when not flowered and tripping, are just annoying and only serve to waste your time.
- Level design is mostly really good, but enemy placement isn't always very well thought out.
- Blue Pikmin don't always take advantage of their main trait by taking shortcuts through water.
All of these negatives are worth mentioning, but I frankly don't really care about them. These are all tiny blemishes in the experience for me and are heavily outweighed by all the positives.
All in all, Pikmin 1 is seriously incredible. Whenever the argument of videogames as an art form shows up, Pikmin is now one of the first games I think of. It is what I believe to be a perfect example of the advantages this medium has over other ones. A story this simple wouldn't work as well if you weren't placed in the protagonist's shoes, literally. Because you want Olimar to be safe and you're in control of his fate, you're driven to play efficiently. Since you're driven to play efficiently, you're constantly seeking higher scores and improved performance. It's one of those special experiencies where nearly all of its elements were designed to mesh with each other and even improve each other. So much depth hidden behind a cartoony and seemingly childish facade. Astounding game.
I could've written even more about it, but I honestly agree with most of what Arlo said in his Big Fat Review of this game, so go watch that instead if you want more. I highly recommend it.
Now that I have played Pikmin 1, I can say with confidence that is easily one of my favorite games ever made, and when I say that I mean very, very favorites. I adore it to bits. It is one of the most mechanically engaging games I have ever played, and also has a super simple but engaging narrative (that of which I think is the best out of any Pikmin game).
To start off, I will talk about the port job this game recieved. I don't really have much to say on it because it's a pretty barebones port of the game. All it really does to improve on it is spruce up the quality of UI assets (which do look a bit nicer) and add some small quality of life improvements that the Wii version already included. It probably is one of the better versions of the game, but not by much. I would normally complain more about it keeping in mind that this port is being sold at $30, but dude, it's Pikmin. This is as much as I personally ever needed for this game. Just having the original game be accessible is great.
The game itself is kind of a masterpiece in my eyes, especially considering that it is more than 20 years old. The premise of the game revolves around Captain Olimar and his first unfortunate crash on PNF-404. When he encounters the Pikmin, they willingly choose to help him collect all the ship parts he lost before he dies. Very simple on paper, but the story is so effective because of how personal it is and how high the stakes are for Olimar. The game characterizes him really well through logs that he writes at the end of each day, and you really do get endeared to him. Since you know that he will die if you fail, his fate lies on how well you perform at the game. This applies pressure onto you. It works amazingly to motivate you to to actually finish it.
The gameplay formula that this game established is one of the most unique and weird that I've ever seen to this day. Even now, there's nothing else that plays quite like Pikmin. Beyond simply establishing such a creative formula, it astounds me how much this game got right on its first attempt. I could write all day about every single design choice the designers made to create something this wonderful, but I have to draw the line somewhere, so I will try to not get to deep into the weeds.
The game is most comparable to an RTS (Real Time Strategy game), but it's unique to the extent that I don't quite want to call it that. You control Captain Olimar and the whole group of Pikmin that he leads (which can go up to 100) all at once. To avoid making the game too convoluted, you really only control the captain to move around and then use specific actions to command the Pikmin, like throwing, swarming and dismissing them. They managed to make a control scheme that could've been really hard to grasp into a very simple one that's easy to understand. In fact, they made it so simple that they ran into the risk of making the game boring. They avoided this mistake by focusing on one of the game's most important elements: time management.
The game's individual mechanics are seemingly not complex, but things change when you're under pressure. Because this game has a set day limit (which means you can just lose if you take too long), you're constantly encouraged to hurry up and manage your time appropriately. Performing individual tasks isn't always hard or super engaging, but they do become moreso when you have to juggle multiple of them at once. In fact, because you're trying to complete every task efficiently, the game's mechanics reveal just how deep they are in the process. Throwing Pikmin is a very simple action in theory, but throwing accurately towards your target can be more challenging (especially when said target is moving). If you manage to do so, you often save more time than you would after throwing poorly. Swarming is a little more complicated because it allows you to maneuver your entire squad with precision, either to ambush a creature, dodge a hazard or grab a collectible. Doing so very accurately while you're moving your Captain also saves you time. This philosophy applies to the entire game.
One argument I've heard against the time limit is that it's really forgiving, and it's true. You can beat the game in a very small number of days if you're skilled enough. I've managed to do so in 9 days, and people that have truly mastered the game to its core have done so in 6. When the maximum leeway that the game gives you is 30 days, it can seem like it gives way too much time and ends up not really mattering. However, I will make an opposing argument as to why it still works. I think it's a brilliant system.
Unlike me (someone that plays games more than he honestly should), not everyone playing this game will have an immediate understanding of how it works. Particularly with the Switch port, lots of people are playing Pikmin for the first time and have no prior experience with these games. Losing during a playthrough and having to start all over to win can be a huge blow to anyone, and especially these types of players. Because of this, I think the 30 day limit hits the perfect balance. It's very forgiving to accomodate for people that might struggle with the game, but its presence is constantly looming over you. It's lenient to the extent that it's not likely that you will lose if you play well enough, but just the fact that it's there creates anxiety and dread that prevails throughout the playthrough and goes hand in hand with the game's design. You can't stay still doing nothing in this game, so some amount of time management is heavily encouraged from you.
Additionally, this system also meshes perfectly with how replayable the game is. An average playthrough can take you anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, if less. This by itself makes it really easy to play multiple times, but it helps that the game also keeps track of your scores (the amount of ship parts you collected, days it took you to beat the game and how many Pikmin you propagated/lost). At its core, Pikmin is a score-chasing game, and it works perfectly as one when the game constantly nudges you to improve if you want to. It doesn't reward you with anything outright, but it's innately fun to lower your day count and lose less Pikmin the more skilled you become.
I have my issues with the game, sure.
- Like pretty much everyone has already said, Pikmin AI is pretty janky and the worst out of any of these games.
- Some Pikmin behaviors, like slower movement speeds when not flowered and tripping, are just annoying and only serve to waste your time.
- Level design is mostly really good, but enemy placement isn't always very well thought out.
- Blue Pikmin don't always take advantage of their main trait by taking shortcuts through water.
All of these negatives are worth mentioning, but I frankly don't really care about them. These are all tiny blemishes in the experience for me and are heavily outweighed by all the positives.
All in all, Pikmin 1 is seriously incredible. Whenever the argument of videogames as an art form shows up, Pikmin is now one of the first games I think of. It is what I believe to be a perfect example of the advantages this medium has over other ones. A story this simple wouldn't work as well if you weren't placed in the protagonist's shoes, literally. Because you want Olimar to be safe and you're in control of his fate, you're driven to play efficiently. Since you're driven to play efficiently, you're constantly seeking higher scores and improved performance. It's one of those special experiencies where nearly all of its elements were designed to mesh with each other and even improve each other. So much depth hidden behind a cartoony and seemingly childish facade. Astounding game.
I could've written even more about it, but I honestly agree with most of what Arlo said in his Big Fat Review of this game, so go watch that instead if you want more. I highly recommend it.
Super Castlevania IV
1991
Now THIS is the epitome of classicvania. A sort of reimagining of the first Castlevania, this game perfects the formula that is known as classicvania.
All issues I had with the last 3 games are addressed here. The controls are PERFECT. Simon controls so well it doesn't feel like you're controlling a brick anymore. You now have directional whipping which is a godsend and made otherwise difficult scenarios more manageable.
The difficulty is just right. If you're somewhat familiar with this games, you should be able to beat this on your first playthough without any struggles, but you will still die and face some challenges. Only bullshit section is the final boss. I felt like that was even harder than Castlevania 1's final boss. But every other level and boss is just well balanced and designed, nothing feels too cheap when you die. This game has some of the coolest and most creative looking levels in the series.
The music and graphics are phenomenal. Some of the best most hype music in the series so far. Especially when you are in the castle and a lot of the tracks are just throwback remixes. So good. The game itself looks great and effects when whipping and killing enemies are so crunchy and satisfying.
Super Castlevania IV is easily my favorite of the classicvania games (of which I've played so far), and of my now top 10 SNES games of all time.
All issues I had with the last 3 games are addressed here. The controls are PERFECT. Simon controls so well it doesn't feel like you're controlling a brick anymore. You now have directional whipping which is a godsend and made otherwise difficult scenarios more manageable.
The difficulty is just right. If you're somewhat familiar with this games, you should be able to beat this on your first playthough without any struggles, but you will still die and face some challenges. Only bullshit section is the final boss. I felt like that was even harder than Castlevania 1's final boss. But every other level and boss is just well balanced and designed, nothing feels too cheap when you die. This game has some of the coolest and most creative looking levels in the series.
The music and graphics are phenomenal. Some of the best most hype music in the series so far. Especially when you are in the castle and a lot of the tracks are just throwback remixes. So good. The game itself looks great and effects when whipping and killing enemies are so crunchy and satisfying.
Super Castlevania IV is easily my favorite of the classicvania games (of which I've played so far), and of my now top 10 SNES games of all time.
Oh, what a cute game! But I'm sure it won't have a soundtrack that will fill me with nostalgia and hit me right in the feels of- This starts playing... fuck.
After the emotional rollercoaster that was Inmost and being busy with college stuff, I figured it would be the perfect time to play something short and relaxing, and Builder's Journey seemed like exactly that! Plus, I was curious about this one, since the LEGO videogame realm has been monopolized by Traveller's Tales style of gameplay, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with, those are pretty fun games, especially in co-op, but I did have the itch for some variations in my LEGO, and BOY is it different.
The way the game presents itself is, and pardon me the outrageous vocabulary I'm about to employ, FUCKING ADORABLE. All the levels feel like little dioramas that could be replicated to perfection in real life, everything is constructed from LEGO pieces, even the characters are made from blocks instead of being the usual figurines. It all just has this homemade feeling that it goes really well with the vibe it's trying to achieve, and even better with the music. I made a joke about it at the start but yeah, it's criminally good, and it all just comes together to form this calm sensation that, even tho Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker did a very similar thing with its levels, I like how it’s done here a bit more honestly, it just fits so nicely with the LEGO aesthetic, it's... perfection.
All of these levels are built (no pun intended this time, I swear) around a puzzle, and I adore how the game keeps building (I SWEAR) on top of itself, slowly introducing new elements and ideas that just feel right at home with the world of LEGO, it never gets difficult or too complex, but I like that, it keeps thing simple and it’s just sweet to find the solutions to the problems the game poses, and they are all extremely creative. However, while placing the pieces feels satisfying and it makes the movement all the more rewarding, I sometimes found it hard to determine where to put a piece, or what even is a piece you can use in the first place. The few times I got stuck were because I just didn't notice something I needed because it blended into the background and not having a free camera it's truly a shame, the main shot of the level is usually all that you need but it would be nice to have the option for the sake of being able to distinguish everything more easily, especially in levels with less light or where more stuff is going off. I also didn't really like the last sections and types of puzzle the game throws at you, which it's a shame because as I said, all the new ideas are usually extremely innovative and fun, but even tho the final sections consist in you basically building and creating new pieces at yours heart content... I don't know, it felt too unclear and even a bit unsatisfying, and it just seemed like I was doing random stuff and I didn't feel smart or like I overcome a challenge when I beat one of those levels. Thankfully they are far from being the bulk of the game, but it's kinda sad that one of the last notes the game leaves on is not a good one...
But even more than that, what makes me even sadder is that the game didn’t quite go all the way in with its narrative. LEGO games have always been characterized by their irreverent humor, and that’s were Builder’s Journey differs the most when compared to its family. At first it feels like an extremely sweet and sincere story about a parent and their kid, travelling and exploring together, all without words yet so much is told, and I would lie if I said it kinda made me feel a bit emotional at the beginning, it all just was so happy and the music elevated it even more. And when you thought the game was going to take and even more interesting route with this concept, it sadly doesn’t deliver. I never expected it a profound story or anything like that, and the game never really changes in tone, but its sad to see that it sacrifices the messages and narrative it could have gone through in favor of a more average adventure that doesn’t even give full context to what was happening. I sometimes thought some things were product by the kid’s imagination, but … nope, it’s all real and while it doesn’t clash with the rest of the game, it just feels like excuses to have MORE puzzles in an already pretty short experience. I would have honestly preferred a story with less steaks in favor on something more personal like the beginning promised, but, oh well, the ending its pretty sweet.
That’s how I can sum up this game: sweet. A sweet little journey that could have been a little bit more if it tried, but it’s just adorable and really charming nonetheless. I really recommend it, mainly because of how different and creative it is, the only bad thing is that it made me want to spend money on LEGO, and GOD they are expensive holy shi-
After the emotional rollercoaster that was Inmost and being busy with college stuff, I figured it would be the perfect time to play something short and relaxing, and Builder's Journey seemed like exactly that! Plus, I was curious about this one, since the LEGO videogame realm has been monopolized by Traveller's Tales style of gameplay, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with, those are pretty fun games, especially in co-op, but I did have the itch for some variations in my LEGO, and BOY is it different.
The way the game presents itself is, and pardon me the outrageous vocabulary I'm about to employ, FUCKING ADORABLE. All the levels feel like little dioramas that could be replicated to perfection in real life, everything is constructed from LEGO pieces, even the characters are made from blocks instead of being the usual figurines. It all just has this homemade feeling that it goes really well with the vibe it's trying to achieve, and even better with the music. I made a joke about it at the start but yeah, it's criminally good, and it all just comes together to form this calm sensation that, even tho Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker did a very similar thing with its levels, I like how it’s done here a bit more honestly, it just fits so nicely with the LEGO aesthetic, it's... perfection.
All of these levels are built (no pun intended this time, I swear) around a puzzle, and I adore how the game keeps building (I SWEAR) on top of itself, slowly introducing new elements and ideas that just feel right at home with the world of LEGO, it never gets difficult or too complex, but I like that, it keeps thing simple and it’s just sweet to find the solutions to the problems the game poses, and they are all extremely creative. However, while placing the pieces feels satisfying and it makes the movement all the more rewarding, I sometimes found it hard to determine where to put a piece, or what even is a piece you can use in the first place. The few times I got stuck were because I just didn't notice something I needed because it blended into the background and not having a free camera it's truly a shame, the main shot of the level is usually all that you need but it would be nice to have the option for the sake of being able to distinguish everything more easily, especially in levels with less light or where more stuff is going off. I also didn't really like the last sections and types of puzzle the game throws at you, which it's a shame because as I said, all the new ideas are usually extremely innovative and fun, but even tho the final sections consist in you basically building and creating new pieces at yours heart content... I don't know, it felt too unclear and even a bit unsatisfying, and it just seemed like I was doing random stuff and I didn't feel smart or like I overcome a challenge when I beat one of those levels. Thankfully they are far from being the bulk of the game, but it's kinda sad that one of the last notes the game leaves on is not a good one...
But even more than that, what makes me even sadder is that the game didn’t quite go all the way in with its narrative. LEGO games have always been characterized by their irreverent humor, and that’s were Builder’s Journey differs the most when compared to its family. At first it feels like an extremely sweet and sincere story about a parent and their kid, travelling and exploring together, all without words yet so much is told, and I would lie if I said it kinda made me feel a bit emotional at the beginning, it all just was so happy and the music elevated it even more. And when you thought the game was going to take and even more interesting route with this concept, it sadly doesn’t deliver. I never expected it a profound story or anything like that, and the game never really changes in tone, but its sad to see that it sacrifices the messages and narrative it could have gone through in favor of a more average adventure that doesn’t even give full context to what was happening. I sometimes thought some things were product by the kid’s imagination, but … nope, it’s all real and while it doesn’t clash with the rest of the game, it just feels like excuses to have MORE puzzles in an already pretty short experience. I would have honestly preferred a story with less steaks in favor on something more personal like the beginning promised, but, oh well, the ending its pretty sweet.
That’s how I can sum up this game: sweet. A sweet little journey that could have been a little bit more if it tried, but it’s just adorable and really charming nonetheless. I really recommend it, mainly because of how different and creative it is, the only bad thing is that it made me want to spend money on LEGO, and GOD they are expensive holy shi-
Dark Souls
2011
Dark souls. A game with Full of soul but with a little bit of daring hollowness inside it
In my journey to play souls titles, I played dark souls 3 first but didn't finish, then played bloodborne, then demons souls and now this. Dark souls.
Just like demon's souls, I find this game still worth experiencing. It doesn't do everything great unfortunately but one thing it does great, it really does GREAT.
You see, souls titles in it's core is just a cliche fantasy game with lots of monsters to fight something like castlevania, but what makes it carry to next point, the castlevania symphony of the night if you will... The World that is.
There are tons of 2d metroidvania's in the gaming, but 3d ones are hecking rare. But this game, with it's connected world, actually managed to give me that feeling again. The cohesive world that expands and connects with every step of the way. Especially it's first half with you somehow be able to go wherever you want from the world and not just that come back to it again and again and again... It's so good that in fact that, it's gets twice more disappointing the moment it stops doing that.
Yeah I am talking about the last 1/3 of the game unfortunately.
Before the whole franchise became just a boss tier list titles, it cared about it's world before the most and this game is the result of that idea. But like I said there are soooo many shortcomings as well.
First 1/3 of the game is about ringing the bells but it's so open that you can go wherever you wanted and it's the best part of it and I can easily give 5/5 for it. For example myself went to new londo ruins first, get f####, return to hub, find the right way, ring the first bell, don't know where to go next, go down and find out catacombs, go there and arrive tomb of the giants, realize there is no shortcuts back to hub, get stuck, get f####, get raped, finally manage to return back to hub with barely be able to breath, look up a guide, learn the right way, go to more boring version of swamp, ring the second bell
Second 1/3 is about getting the lord vessel and there are small bumps that takes it down to 4/5 but still enjoyable, go to the boring ass forest, barely stay alive from the boss and get the ring, go to awesome fortress and get killed to traps bazillion amounts of times, finally go to anor londo, then hidden painting and then back to anor londo and... Other than the excellent boss fights, enemy reusage starts to show itself, anyway game is still great and we get the lord vessel.
Then last 1/3 happens and game becomes a mess. You need to get to 4 zones with gimmicks, be it lava, curse, darkness etc. While this in itself not a bad thing, where it gets ridiculous is there is almost no shortcut or almost no connectedness between them. Game gets linear as it gets and boss runs gets longer as it gets, also enemy variety gets lower as it gets.
I am gonna be honest even tho late bosses are mostly easy, variety and boss runs to them really soured me from the experience and resulted me almost leaving the game. I mean I finished it but for what cost?
You see, I always find souls titles endgame areas to be quite lacking and dark souls is no exception. But unfortunately dark souls is much much worse for it. Because it breaks it's consistency of level design. And the world feels more the worse because of it
At least dlc is cool tho?... I finished the dlc as well(but I find out I miss kalameet dragon boss... Dang it) and it was cool.
Unfortunately it reuses the bland forest area in the first zone, but the moment you finish that rest is great. It's especially good when it comes to level design with you somehow find yourself at the bonfire every single time with shortcuts just like in the main game. But one thing almost ruined everything for me and that is, it's last boss Manus.
You see, I made a full on light equipped fast rolling stamina heavy character, say glass cannon dps if you will. But Manus is like a dark souls 3 boss(also it's the first one that with the trend that unending combos). He is fast, super aggressive and just Does. Not. Stop.
It's the first time in the entire game I felt hopeless. I managed to beat him after god know how many tries but felt nothing but fatigue(also my new job internship stress adds to it tenfold). Unfortunately because of it I am mixed when it comes to the dlc but at least it's still worth it just for the high quality areas you traverse
So yeah this was dark souls. Quite the polarizing game for me with every step gets best to worse. It's a game where I can't find it's awesome connected world anywhere else, but never had that much frustrating moments in any game. So because of that I give to base game 3 stars, but with the dlc it goes up to 4 for me
So what can I say... one can only wish a better second half when it comes to consistency because even it's older cousin demon's souls shows it's value more and more to me.
In my journey to play souls titles, I played dark souls 3 first but didn't finish, then played bloodborne, then demons souls and now this. Dark souls.
Just like demon's souls, I find this game still worth experiencing. It doesn't do everything great unfortunately but one thing it does great, it really does GREAT.
You see, souls titles in it's core is just a cliche fantasy game with lots of monsters to fight something like castlevania, but what makes it carry to next point, the castlevania symphony of the night if you will... The World that is.
There are tons of 2d metroidvania's in the gaming, but 3d ones are hecking rare. But this game, with it's connected world, actually managed to give me that feeling again. The cohesive world that expands and connects with every step of the way. Especially it's first half with you somehow be able to go wherever you want from the world and not just that come back to it again and again and again... It's so good that in fact that, it's gets twice more disappointing the moment it stops doing that.
Yeah I am talking about the last 1/3 of the game unfortunately.
Before the whole franchise became just a boss tier list titles, it cared about it's world before the most and this game is the result of that idea. But like I said there are soooo many shortcomings as well.
First 1/3 of the game is about ringing the bells but it's so open that you can go wherever you wanted and it's the best part of it and I can easily give 5/5 for it. For example myself went to new londo ruins first, get f####, return to hub, find the right way, ring the first bell, don't know where to go next, go down and find out catacombs, go there and arrive tomb of the giants, realize there is no shortcuts back to hub, get stuck, get f####, get raped, finally manage to return back to hub with barely be able to breath, look up a guide, learn the right way, go to more boring version of swamp, ring the second bell
Second 1/3 is about getting the lord vessel and there are small bumps that takes it down to 4/5 but still enjoyable, go to the boring ass forest, barely stay alive from the boss and get the ring, go to awesome fortress and get killed to traps bazillion amounts of times, finally go to anor londo, then hidden painting and then back to anor londo and... Other than the excellent boss fights, enemy reusage starts to show itself, anyway game is still great and we get the lord vessel.
Then last 1/3 happens and game becomes a mess. You need to get to 4 zones with gimmicks, be it lava, curse, darkness etc. While this in itself not a bad thing, where it gets ridiculous is there is almost no shortcut or almost no connectedness between them. Game gets linear as it gets and boss runs gets longer as it gets, also enemy variety gets lower as it gets.
I am gonna be honest even tho late bosses are mostly easy, variety and boss runs to them really soured me from the experience and resulted me almost leaving the game. I mean I finished it but for what cost?
You see, I always find souls titles endgame areas to be quite lacking and dark souls is no exception. But unfortunately dark souls is much much worse for it. Because it breaks it's consistency of level design. And the world feels more the worse because of it
At least dlc is cool tho?... I finished the dlc as well(but I find out I miss kalameet dragon boss... Dang it) and it was cool.
Unfortunately it reuses the bland forest area in the first zone, but the moment you finish that rest is great. It's especially good when it comes to level design with you somehow find yourself at the bonfire every single time with shortcuts just like in the main game. But one thing almost ruined everything for me and that is, it's last boss Manus.
You see, I made a full on light equipped fast rolling stamina heavy character, say glass cannon dps if you will. But Manus is like a dark souls 3 boss(also it's the first one that with the trend that unending combos). He is fast, super aggressive and just Does. Not. Stop.
It's the first time in the entire game I felt hopeless. I managed to beat him after god know how many tries but felt nothing but fatigue(also my new job internship stress adds to it tenfold). Unfortunately because of it I am mixed when it comes to the dlc but at least it's still worth it just for the high quality areas you traverse
So yeah this was dark souls. Quite the polarizing game for me with every step gets best to worse. It's a game where I can't find it's awesome connected world anywhere else, but never had that much frustrating moments in any game. So because of that I give to base game 3 stars, but with the dlc it goes up to 4 for me
So what can I say... one can only wish a better second half when it comes to consistency because even it's older cousin demon's souls shows it's value more and more to me.
Baldur's Gate 3
2020
I want to preface this by saying that through the first 2 acts this game was in contention with octopath traveler 2 for GOTY. Act 3 is probably the singular worst experience I've had with a game like this.
After hours of buggy quests, questionable storylines/challenges, and losing up to 8 hours of savefile progress after my game crashed and my saves became incompatible I can't even truly recommend this game.
It will suck you in and I mean I cannot truly be upset about around 70 hours of great entertainment. Just beware that as it stands the third act is somewhat unplayable unless you are fortunate enough to dodge all the bugs I've encountered.
After hours of buggy quests, questionable storylines/challenges, and losing up to 8 hours of savefile progress after my game crashed and my saves became incompatible I can't even truly recommend this game.
It will suck you in and I mean I cannot truly be upset about around 70 hours of great entertainment. Just beware that as it stands the third act is somewhat unplayable unless you are fortunate enough to dodge all the bugs I've encountered.
Yakuza 0
2015
If there's ever a time where you're out of ideas on what to play just play this game. Yakuza 0 will provide you with so much stuff that it'll be impossible to get bored even through 60+ hours (at least for me). Combine with the incredible music and an amazing story and this game is easily a top 5 game of all time to me.
Psychonauts 2
2021
A marked improvement upon the first Psychonauts game while still having amazing writing and a very interesting take on mental worlds. Very glad I got to experience it and a joy to 100% for people who like collectathons.
I get it. This is a mid-to-low-tier, bargain bin PS2 game released on the 9th generation of consoles with a severe lack of technological polish and about two decades too late to cash in on the craze of the Peter Jackson trilogy. All stuff that is deeply unacceptable in this day and age. Yet, between the budget-caliber Prince of Persia knockoff platforming and surprisingly compelling moral decision-making, I remained invested enough to see the journey through to one of its possible conclusions and even have some fun with it despite the bugs, occasional infuriatingly designed segments, and at times remarkably unfinished graphics.
The real star of the show, though? Undoubtedly developer Daedelic Entertainment's rendition of Middle-earth. It carries just the right mix of the mature, dark tone and look of the Jackson films paired alongside hints of the more fantastical, whimsical nature found in the Rankin/Bass animated adaptations. It did a better job of recapturing the magic of this world that I've missed for me than the live-action Hobbit movies. They also got the titular character himself very right. Really encapsulating what a sad, tragic, pitiful, and strangely sympathetic creature he is. The tale itself, outside of getting a little outlandish even for this fantasy universe in its final act, is a neat little prequel expansion on the protagonist’s history prior to the books. Choosing between which of his two warring split personalities to side with at critical junctures doesn't radically alter where the adventure ends by the time the credits roll due to canonical lore reasons, but still adds some cool little personalized wrinkles to the path up to that point regardless that I really enjoyed seeing.
Having said all that, it nonetheless remains hard to recommend that people look past its incredibly negative reception and try it out for themselves, as only an extremely small portion of players of whom I just so happen to be able to count myself among will be able to look past the significant number of aspects that don't work like they should or were intended to, and find the traces of good buried underneath. One takeaway everyone will receive however, is that we need more Lord of the Rings games. We need more that explore unique characters or corners of the novels, and feature different gameplay styles than that of your usual hack 'n' slash or RTS efforts the way this tried to do. You see, the biggest disappointment of Gollum is that it exhibits truly good, intriguing ideas, but fails to capitalize on them in ways that are fully satisfying or completely functional.
6.5/10
The real star of the show, though? Undoubtedly developer Daedelic Entertainment's rendition of Middle-earth. It carries just the right mix of the mature, dark tone and look of the Jackson films paired alongside hints of the more fantastical, whimsical nature found in the Rankin/Bass animated adaptations. It did a better job of recapturing the magic of this world that I've missed for me than the live-action Hobbit movies. They also got the titular character himself very right. Really encapsulating what a sad, tragic, pitiful, and strangely sympathetic creature he is. The tale itself, outside of getting a little outlandish even for this fantasy universe in its final act, is a neat little prequel expansion on the protagonist’s history prior to the books. Choosing between which of his two warring split personalities to side with at critical junctures doesn't radically alter where the adventure ends by the time the credits roll due to canonical lore reasons, but still adds some cool little personalized wrinkles to the path up to that point regardless that I really enjoyed seeing.
Having said all that, it nonetheless remains hard to recommend that people look past its incredibly negative reception and try it out for themselves, as only an extremely small portion of players of whom I just so happen to be able to count myself among will be able to look past the significant number of aspects that don't work like they should or were intended to, and find the traces of good buried underneath. One takeaway everyone will receive however, is that we need more Lord of the Rings games. We need more that explore unique characters or corners of the novels, and feature different gameplay styles than that of your usual hack 'n' slash or RTS efforts the way this tried to do. You see, the biggest disappointment of Gollum is that it exhibits truly good, intriguing ideas, but fails to capitalize on them in ways that are fully satisfying or completely functional.
6.5/10
Maneater
2020
For years I avoided playing this game because it looked so stupid and silly that I thought there was no way I could have fun. I have no idea why I decided why to go ahead and pull the trigger and start playing it. Turns out it is stupid but it was also very funny and a nice game to be able to turn off your brain and just play. Its weird to say about a game where your a shark that can fly 50 feet out of the water and your sole purpose is to eat everything in sight can be relaxing but it truly was for me.
The best part of this game by far is the narration, voiced by Chris Parnell. Maneater understands its game is off the rails and uses this opportunity to give Parnell some incredibly off the wall and funny lines. The gameplay at first is very fun but it does quickly become a game of hitting the same few buttons to eat anything whether it be a fish, seal, human, great white shark, a boat, or a sperm whale. To be honest though that was part of what I enjoyed about it in a way. I just sat back, turned off my brain, got collectables, attacked humans, and listened to Parnell say funny things. Its not a great game by any means but if you've just played some challenging games or a few long RPG's I think this game is a good option to kind of reset you mentally to get ready for your next challenge or long adventure.
Also fuck Scaly Pete.
2024 games played ranked.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/DVince89/list/games-i-played-in-2024-ranked-1/
The best part of this game by far is the narration, voiced by Chris Parnell. Maneater understands its game is off the rails and uses this opportunity to give Parnell some incredibly off the wall and funny lines. The gameplay at first is very fun but it does quickly become a game of hitting the same few buttons to eat anything whether it be a fish, seal, human, great white shark, a boat, or a sperm whale. To be honest though that was part of what I enjoyed about it in a way. I just sat back, turned off my brain, got collectables, attacked humans, and listened to Parnell say funny things. Its not a great game by any means but if you've just played some challenging games or a few long RPG's I think this game is a good option to kind of reset you mentally to get ready for your next challenge or long adventure.
Also fuck Scaly Pete.
2024 games played ranked.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/DVince89/list/games-i-played-in-2024-ranked-1/
Outer Wilds
2019
That is a hard pill to swallow, this could be one of the greatest game of all time, and it is for so many people thankfully. But some things I cannot ignore. No it's not the game being woke because they have blue skin and no pronouns. The quintessential space experience is discovery, the game opting to offer most of it in the form of text archives. Now, I understand the limited ressources of the team, but none of the in-game people writing these texts nor the content itself were anything to write home about. I just wanted a space bunny I guess. I love bunnos. Unrelated. The lack of wildlife hits you like a stinky pussay, but there's really no problem with a different scope. Kicking down on indies for their lack of budget and manpower would just be stating the obvious, while at the same time admitting being showered in creativity under limitations stops being enough and you want the paws of capitalism on a product to fully realize... mechanics, at the cost of the vision. Nah we ain't fuckin with that.
The planets were dope, they're small yet you're not allowed to view much, so you have to walk around, jump around, whatever burn some calories man (you're gonna need it in space, bucko!). After landing on a few surfaces, you realize they are surface level LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER NOISE ignore my lame joke BUT still, the scope means the planets have to be small and there is some cool spectacle discovered once you land on a given planet. Nothing as daunting in other media as the storms on Giant's End and the sand pillar on Twin Peaks (idr the name). But das what im sayinnn the wonders cease early on and the rest is grabbing enchantment table ahh texts like they're collectibles. You'd lose some of the disorientation if you made planets bigger, would anyone actually want not to jump a little too high and leave orbit like a child being dropped on his first day of school? No! They tried atleast.
The realistic space movement is genuinely amazing. It really propels up the joy of exploration. Before you even get the hang of it, it just feels cool, that's how I control in my dreams and so do you. Lemme SWOOOSH and THUMP--THUMP--THUMP and YIPPEEEE and demolish my ship, as I deserve for my travesty of a flight. It's a roguelite that's self-aware of being one, just like Hades. But this really isn't a roguelite at all, moreso... slow burn Die & Retry feat walking simulator? We get too caught up in labelling things. It's an arena fighter now. You're fighting the physics and raycasts. A guide to the qintessential indie experience once said "indie games are famous for their lack of set gender" as they mistranslated the french "genre" which both means "genre" (shocker) and gender. The marketing team should go to the MARKET to see which bitches are up for sale, the localization industry is fucked as fuck
The ending's impact landed better on some other people, I do think other scenarists have found less clumsy ways to reach that conclusion. But these people probably did drugs, so you go Outer Wilds!
The planets were dope, they're small yet you're not allowed to view much, so you have to walk around, jump around, whatever burn some calories man (you're gonna need it in space, bucko!). After landing on a few surfaces, you realize they are surface level LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER NOISE ignore my lame joke BUT still, the scope means the planets have to be small and there is some cool spectacle discovered once you land on a given planet. Nothing as daunting in other media as the storms on Giant's End and the sand pillar on Twin Peaks (idr the name). But das what im sayinnn the wonders cease early on and the rest is grabbing enchantment table ahh texts like they're collectibles. You'd lose some of the disorientation if you made planets bigger, would anyone actually want not to jump a little too high and leave orbit like a child being dropped on his first day of school? No! They tried atleast.
The realistic space movement is genuinely amazing. It really propels up the joy of exploration. Before you even get the hang of it, it just feels cool, that's how I control in my dreams and so do you. Lemme SWOOOSH and THUMP--THUMP--THUMP and YIPPEEEE and demolish my ship, as I deserve for my travesty of a flight. It's a roguelite that's self-aware of being one, just like Hades. But this really isn't a roguelite at all, moreso... slow burn Die & Retry feat walking simulator? We get too caught up in labelling things. It's an arena fighter now. You're fighting the physics and raycasts. A guide to the qintessential indie experience once said "indie games are famous for their lack of set gender" as they mistranslated the french "genre" which both means "genre" (shocker) and gender. The marketing team should go to the MARKET to see which bitches are up for sale, the localization industry is fucked as fuck
The ending's impact landed better on some other people, I do think other scenarists have found less clumsy ways to reach that conclusion. But these people probably did drugs, so you go Outer Wilds!
Wii Party
2010
It really was a Party, wasn't it? Everybody was invited. That one uncle, too. What a joyous event to recall. I wanna play a board game while I 666 my way into literal Hell for my lack of foresight and expertise. This 666 could come in handy again though. Wasn't it the number of minigames? I could swear not, but there were a lot. I do still remember most of them. Oh, but I mean "microgames" if I wanna be precise as a hoe. There were microgames, and minigames with microgames in it, and megagames- "There is another" doesn't work here, sorry. But still, that's a dogload of content.
Notice to the faint of heart, Wii Party is highly competitive! We mano a mano in this household. I was never losing, and if I was, it was by a hair's breadth (I'm a filthy liar). It's actually bittersweet that I can't remember who was leading the charge between my bro and myself. We didn't care, we were just having fun. I was given a run for my money on certain minigames, that much I can admit. My pizza delivery days are done and dusto. No mucho gusto. No, I am not mocking italean language, also this is the part where I follow suit to discuss the globetrotter minigame and a bunch of others. I'm not built for this. Let's say the globalization of mii tomfoolery has had an impact on tourism rates for certain countries: it is good. I get the start my journey in France... There have been luckier fellows.
Miis really were lightning in a bottle for Nintendo, weren't they? Let's take a look at what we squabbling to. Most of these are 4-player ones because we want everybody to catch a stray. Zombie Tag made me feel so wise beyond my ears, while my peers were already hopping on Dead Space and the likes. Flag Fracas was my downfall fr ik the opps were in on it cuz aint no way I was shaking the remote early. I was unstoppable when I got going though. Risky Railroad was hilarious to me idk why and it didnt take skill to pull off to boot. Shutter Pup often concluded in Epic failure, and I guess to compensate I was kinda good at Cry Babies? I was closer to their age than I now am to my middle school days, gosh Wii Party need a Switch 2 entry alongside Tomodachi Life.
Find somebody and play these damn games mane. Don't let miis filter you... they're so cool comeon... the definition of nostalgia clouding your common sense... and they put spring in my step, and it is spring, and so happy spring!
Notice to the faint of heart, Wii Party is highly competitive! We mano a mano in this household. I was never losing, and if I was, it was by a hair's breadth (I'm a filthy liar). It's actually bittersweet that I can't remember who was leading the charge between my bro and myself. We didn't care, we were just having fun. I was given a run for my money on certain minigames, that much I can admit. My pizza delivery days are done and dusto. No mucho gusto. No, I am not mocking italean language, also this is the part where I follow suit to discuss the globetrotter minigame and a bunch of others. I'm not built for this. Let's say the globalization of mii tomfoolery has had an impact on tourism rates for certain countries: it is good. I get the start my journey in France... There have been luckier fellows.
Miis really were lightning in a bottle for Nintendo, weren't they? Let's take a look at what we squabbling to. Most of these are 4-player ones because we want everybody to catch a stray. Zombie Tag made me feel so wise beyond my ears, while my peers were already hopping on Dead Space and the likes. Flag Fracas was my downfall fr ik the opps were in on it cuz aint no way I was shaking the remote early. I was unstoppable when I got going though. Risky Railroad was hilarious to me idk why and it didnt take skill to pull off to boot. Shutter Pup often concluded in Epic failure, and I guess to compensate I was kinda good at Cry Babies? I was closer to their age than I now am to my middle school days, gosh Wii Party need a Switch 2 entry alongside Tomodachi Life.
Find somebody and play these damn games mane. Don't let miis filter you... they're so cool comeon... the definition of nostalgia clouding your common sense... and they put spring in my step, and it is spring, and so happy spring!
booting up this remake for the first time felt like being a little kid during christmas again. paper mario the thousand year door is a game i have a very long history with. it was one of 3 console games that were in a set of the first home console games i ever owned alongside super mario sunshine and luigi's mansion which i got for my 4th birthday. afterwards, the thousand year door was my favorite game of all time for my whole life up until my late teens. in that time, i've played this game front to back upwards of 20 times with a few 100% runs sprinkled in there as well.
needless to say, i have a lot of history with this game and it's very special to me, so a remake like this is something i was going to keep my eye on, even as someone who's usually disappointed when a remake actually comes out. this time is different though. it feels like it harkens back to the super nintendo and playstation 1 days of when remakes actually cared about the art direction and intent of the originals, with the art direction finding a beautiful middle ground between the originals texture and sprite work and the papercraft aesthetics that were only hinted before on the gamecube but brought to life on the wii u and switch, and with that middle ground sitting very firmly closer to the original gamecube side. npcs are actually expressive this time around as well, making the world feel just a bit more vibrant and alive and i couldn't be happier. other than some indoor locations not having the best lighting and some screen rotations that were seamless in the original going to black screens instead i have absolutely no complaints about this game visually, especially when there's already 60 fps patches. audio wise might be a different story, though.
the music in this remake is redone, given a more "origami king" esque jazz band flare to it which i don't feel fits the game well at all. the soundtrack definitely leans into the more "boingy" sounding ost ttyd and super had and the redone ost is definitely better than the poor showings we got in trailers, but i still prefer the original soundtrack. there is a badge that restores the original soundtrack, but i've yet to test to see how it reacts to the new songs added for the remake and to be honest i'd really like to hear them this time around so someone else will have to let me know about that eventually lol.
even with its few minor flaws ttyd for the switch is a truly a masterful remake of a classic, and i can't wait to reexperience this cornerstone of my history with video games with this loving remake going forward. the new localization that makes things more accurate to the original while keeping much of the 2004 localization in tact alone makes me prefer this version until someone inevitably patches it back in to the original, but even beyond that they took a world near and dear to my heart and miraculously brought it back to life again more vibrant than ever and that is always going to be deeply special to me. this game is still a very entry level jrpg and the remake doesn't change that so i definitely can't recommend it to everybody, but to anyone who loves the mario series at all or wants to get into rpgs with baby steps this game, and especially this new version, is a must.
needless to say, i have a lot of history with this game and it's very special to me, so a remake like this is something i was going to keep my eye on, even as someone who's usually disappointed when a remake actually comes out. this time is different though. it feels like it harkens back to the super nintendo and playstation 1 days of when remakes actually cared about the art direction and intent of the originals, with the art direction finding a beautiful middle ground between the originals texture and sprite work and the papercraft aesthetics that were only hinted before on the gamecube but brought to life on the wii u and switch, and with that middle ground sitting very firmly closer to the original gamecube side. npcs are actually expressive this time around as well, making the world feel just a bit more vibrant and alive and i couldn't be happier. other than some indoor locations not having the best lighting and some screen rotations that were seamless in the original going to black screens instead i have absolutely no complaints about this game visually, especially when there's already 60 fps patches. audio wise might be a different story, though.
the music in this remake is redone, given a more "origami king" esque jazz band flare to it which i don't feel fits the game well at all. the soundtrack definitely leans into the more "boingy" sounding ost ttyd and super had and the redone ost is definitely better than the poor showings we got in trailers, but i still prefer the original soundtrack. there is a badge that restores the original soundtrack, but i've yet to test to see how it reacts to the new songs added for the remake and to be honest i'd really like to hear them this time around so someone else will have to let me know about that eventually lol.
even with its few minor flaws ttyd for the switch is a truly a masterful remake of a classic, and i can't wait to reexperience this cornerstone of my history with video games with this loving remake going forward. the new localization that makes things more accurate to the original while keeping much of the 2004 localization in tact alone makes me prefer this version until someone inevitably patches it back in to the original, but even beyond that they took a world near and dear to my heart and miraculously brought it back to life again more vibrant than ever and that is always going to be deeply special to me. this game is still a very entry level jrpg and the remake doesn't change that so i definitely can't recommend it to everybody, but to anyone who loves the mario series at all or wants to get into rpgs with baby steps this game, and especially this new version, is a must.