quaintt
2001
A strange anomaly of a game. It's not really a so-bad-it's-good type of game, but it has its moments for sure.
2024
A pretty fun first-person speedrun platformer. It's rough around the edges, but it's still a good time if you're into this kind of game.
The developer's record times aren't holding back and are a fun challenge to beat.
The developer's record times aren't holding back and are a fun challenge to beat.
My first run in this game was spent chuckling at all the booba beach activities and casually trying to give gifts to the other girls. At the end of it, all the girls' enjoyment levels were low but mine was relatively high. For my second run I wanted to reach a win condition -- some sort of "good ending" for one of the girls. By the end of this run, the girls' enjoyment levels were high but my enjoyment was crushingly low.
The game feels dead-set on parting you with either your time or your money. And it's banking on PS4 titties and one-way conversations with virtual women being enough to keep you playing.
The optimal way to play this game requires spending a lot of time grinding in the casino. Most of my playtime in this game was at the poker table. The skill curve of this game is determined by how optimally you can gamble.
As a side note: The inclusion of the manager mode is confusing and barely relevant. Swapping to "Manager Mode" feels like a weird choice to always have as a gameplay option when it'll barely ever have a beneficial effect on your run. It feels like it only exists to watch the AI play minigames and to sell you DLC outfits.
Maybe by having most of the game's playtime in a casino, the game is trying to make some sort of statement about dating? "Love is a gamble"? Maybe "To find true joy you'll experience loss along the way"? Or perhaps "Relationships will rarely be a walk on the beach. They'll mostly require hard work, time commitment, and disposable income"?
The game feels dead-set on parting you with either your time or your money. And it's banking on PS4 titties and one-way conversations with virtual women being enough to keep you playing.
The optimal way to play this game requires spending a lot of time grinding in the casino. Most of my playtime in this game was at the poker table. The skill curve of this game is determined by how optimally you can gamble.
As a side note: The inclusion of the manager mode is confusing and barely relevant. Swapping to "Manager Mode" feels like a weird choice to always have as a gameplay option when it'll barely ever have a beneficial effect on your run. It feels like it only exists to watch the AI play minigames and to sell you DLC outfits.
Maybe by having most of the game's playtime in a casino, the game is trying to make some sort of statement about dating? "Love is a gamble"? Maybe "To find true joy you'll experience loss along the way"? Or perhaps "Relationships will rarely be a walk on the beach. They'll mostly require hard work, time commitment, and disposable income"?
A relatively standard 7th-gen first person shooter with some standout funny moments. It's a decently fun time if you treat it as a so-bad-it's-good game.
The Fear Master:tm: Gun Controller is a fun novelty, but it feels like an afterthought. Playing through the campaign using the Fear Master adds an extra layer of difficulty and tediousness that I'm not sure I'd recommend.
The Fear Master:tm: Gun Controller is a fun novelty, but it feels like an afterthought. Playing through the campaign using the Fear Master adds an extra layer of difficulty and tediousness that I'm not sure I'd recommend.
It's a Wii minigame collection. It ultimately would be entirely forgettable were it not for the personality of the Rabbids.
The minigames themselves are pretty mixed in quality; some passible, some bad. The majority of the difficulty comes from the rough use of motion controls.
Tip for "Bunnies Never Close Doors": the hitbox for slamming doors is actually the rabbid, not the door.
The minigames themselves are pretty mixed in quality; some passible, some bad. The majority of the difficulty comes from the rough use of motion controls.
Tip for "Bunnies Never Close Doors": the hitbox for slamming doors is actually the rabbid, not the door.
2023
A bit of a gem in the rough.
It's got some issues with visual clutter and readability. It's also missing a few key options like mouse sensitivity. But it's still an incredibly impressive game for solo developer -- and the soundtrack bangs.
It's got some issues with visual clutter and readability. It's also missing a few key options like mouse sensitivity. But it's still an incredibly impressive game for solo developer -- and the soundtrack bangs.
2023
It's strange being nostalgic for a nearly 10 year old game that's centered around nostalgia for a decade my parents grew up in. Life's weird like that.
The game's fun. I really enjoyed that most of the characters had unique moves for you to discover and exploit.
While clearly designed for co-op, Broforce's co-op experience is pretty repetitive. It heavily leans into the chaos, making levels even less predictable and restarts more common. It's unfortunately one of those co-op games that you'll play for maybe 2 hours and then switch to something else.
Weirdly enough, I think single player is where the game can really shine. The game's really at it's most fun when you're speedrunning through levels, abusing movement mechanics, and skipping everything. Unfortunately, the game feels at it's worst when you're playing a level for the first time in single-player, and repeatedly dying in the chaos. So it's kind of a difficult recommendation.
As a bit of side tangent: Most of the single-hero-restricted 1-life "covert" missions aren't fun. However, the one with time bro is easily the best level in the game.
The game's fun. I really enjoyed that most of the characters had unique moves for you to discover and exploit.
While clearly designed for co-op, Broforce's co-op experience is pretty repetitive. It heavily leans into the chaos, making levels even less predictable and restarts more common. It's unfortunately one of those co-op games that you'll play for maybe 2 hours and then switch to something else.
Weirdly enough, I think single player is where the game can really shine. The game's really at it's most fun when you're speedrunning through levels, abusing movement mechanics, and skipping everything. Unfortunately, the game feels at it's worst when you're playing a level for the first time in single-player, and repeatedly dying in the chaos. So it's kind of a difficult recommendation.
As a bit of side tangent: Most of the single-hero-restricted 1-life "covert" missions aren't fun. However, the one with time bro is easily the best level in the game.
Little Hope utilizes its setting much better than Man of Medan. A fun playthrough, but falls short of matching the quality of Until Dawn.
There's a remarkably little amount of content in this $30 game -- and I'm regarding to both the traditional and less traditional meanings of "Content".
There are only 2 maps (pinball layouts) in the game. The only difference between the game's 5 "stories" is the visual-novel-styled cutscenes that appear between rounds of pinball. After playing through only two of the stories, I had already scene everything the game had to offer.
It's not the worst pinball game, but I wears it's gimmick pretty thin after around 3.5 hours.
There are only 2 maps (pinball layouts) in the game. The only difference between the game's 5 "stories" is the visual-novel-styled cutscenes that appear between rounds of pinball. After playing through only two of the stories, I had already scene everything the game had to offer.
It's not the worst pinball game, but I wears it's gimmick pretty thin after around 3.5 hours.
Forgotten Land is a good Kirby game, but I feel like there are a few things holding it back from being a great Kirby game.
For me, there are a few key aspects that the best Kirby games share:
- Banger soundtrack
- A surprisingly high skill ceiling
- Fast gameplay loop
- Optional hidden secrets
- One of the main bosses is a terrifying godlike being
Forgotten Land delivers on nearly all of these.
The main area that consistently bugged me was the game's performance. I understand that a lot of sacrifices need to be made to run on the Switch. However, this game feels pretty lacking when compared to other first-party Nintendo releases. While the environment art is quite impressive at times, I don't think it was worth the restrictive camera and low framerates.
Another area that bugged me was the music. The vast majority of the level music all heavily relied on the same leitmotif. To the point where tracks didn't feel original, but instead felt like you were listening to remixes of the same song. There were some solid original tracks and reinterpretations of classic themes, but these appeared much less frequently.
Regarding the game's approach to copy abilities:
I'm really trying stop myself from writing a full essay on "Forgotten Land's approach to copy abilities is really cool and smart but also really limiting and sometimes dull". So I'm just going to leave it at this: they're good.
I didn't think I'd have so much to say about the funny pink puff game.
For me, there are a few key aspects that the best Kirby games share:
- Banger soundtrack
- A surprisingly high skill ceiling
- Fast gameplay loop
- Optional hidden secrets
- One of the main bosses is a terrifying godlike being
Forgotten Land delivers on nearly all of these.
The main area that consistently bugged me was the game's performance. I understand that a lot of sacrifices need to be made to run on the Switch. However, this game feels pretty lacking when compared to other first-party Nintendo releases. While the environment art is quite impressive at times, I don't think it was worth the restrictive camera and low framerates.
Another area that bugged me was the music. The vast majority of the level music all heavily relied on the same leitmotif. To the point where tracks didn't feel original, but instead felt like you were listening to remixes of the same song. There were some solid original tracks and reinterpretations of classic themes, but these appeared much less frequently.
Regarding the game's approach to copy abilities:
I'm really trying stop myself from writing a full essay on "Forgotten Land's approach to copy abilities is really cool and smart but also really limiting and sometimes dull". So I'm just going to leave it at this: they're good.
I didn't think I'd have so much to say about the funny pink puff game.
2021
Unpacking does a wonderful job of telling a story in ways that can only be done through the medium of games.
2022
This game botches the delivery of it's jokes by giving the dialog zero room to breathe. The game also excludes a lot of standard accessibility options like an FOV slider.
An insufferable experience. Not even so-bad-it's-good.
An insufferable experience. Not even so-bad-it's-good.
2022
A little rough around the edges, but I appreciate it for what it is: A fun and experimental game with a fantastic aesthetic. Could benefit from a balance patch or two.
The difficulty selection has three options: casual, normal, and gamer. I knew from that screen alone that this was going to be a so-bad-it's-good game.
The clunky combat is pushed to it's limits on gamer difficulty. Large difficulty spikes are littered throughout the story. Some of the missions are nearly impossible without carefully micromanaging your companion, abusing weapon hotboxes, and constantly disengaging to heal.
The story for this game is wild. I don't want to spoil anything, but just know that the villains' motivations are hilarious.
If you're looking for a so-bad-it's-good anime game, then consider picking this one up.
The clunky combat is pushed to it's limits on gamer difficulty. Large difficulty spikes are littered throughout the story. Some of the missions are nearly impossible without carefully micromanaging your companion, abusing weapon hotboxes, and constantly disengaging to heal.
The story for this game is wild. I don't want to spoil anything, but just know that the villains' motivations are hilarious.
If you're looking for a so-bad-it's-good anime game, then consider picking this one up.
2013
It took me a bit for the combat to really click. The stealth, gunplay, and puzzles are all serviceable -- none of them particularly excel. However, you don't really play The Last of Us for the gameplay; You play it for the extraordinary character writing and performances.