I've been following this game for a few years and now that I've finally gotten to play it? I really liked it! That being said, there's definitely room for improvement.
It's a really solid soulslike with charming characters, an interesting world, and a pretty good story. Where Lies of P started great and slowly fell victim to an identity crisis, Another Crab's Treasure knows what it is and commits to it the whole time. This is reflected in so many aspects, like how combat takes inspiration from Sekiro with stagger and parrying, while maintaining its own identity with the shell system, or how areas are clearly inspired by common soulslike locales and design philosophies but take their own shape and form and become unique landscapes to conquer. This game is unabashedly itself and that carries a lot of the charm for me.
Not everything is perfect, though. I think damage values are a tad too overtuned, as fodder enemies kill you in 2-3 hits and you take years to kill them. This is more of an issue in the early game, but it takes ages to resolve through levelling, which doesn't feel very impactful overall. Also, while I love the world designs overall, I think some areas are a little too open-ended in terms of level design while failing to build themselves around that design philosophy, meaning extra exploration is implied but not always fun to do. Also, minor nitpick, ending felt a little weightless with how the game sets it up, and some story beats fall a little flat.
Overall, a really fun time, but probably could've used some tweaks to make an even stronger experience.
It's a really solid soulslike with charming characters, an interesting world, and a pretty good story. Where Lies of P started great and slowly fell victim to an identity crisis, Another Crab's Treasure knows what it is and commits to it the whole time. This is reflected in so many aspects, like how combat takes inspiration from Sekiro with stagger and parrying, while maintaining its own identity with the shell system, or how areas are clearly inspired by common soulslike locales and design philosophies but take their own shape and form and become unique landscapes to conquer. This game is unabashedly itself and that carries a lot of the charm for me.
Not everything is perfect, though. I think damage values are a tad too overtuned, as fodder enemies kill you in 2-3 hits and you take years to kill them. This is more of an issue in the early game, but it takes ages to resolve through levelling, which doesn't feel very impactful overall. Also, while I love the world designs overall, I think some areas are a little too open-ended in terms of level design while failing to build themselves around that design philosophy, meaning extra exploration is implied but not always fun to do. Also, minor nitpick, ending felt a little weightless with how the game sets it up, and some story beats fall a little flat.
Overall, a really fun time, but probably could've used some tweaks to make an even stronger experience.
1994
I would pay any amount of money to see a kid in the 90’s experience Giygas for the first time
Earthbound is a game I’ve tried and failed to play for almost a decade at this point, but I finally sat my ass down and really enjoyed myself. It’s insane that this game came out when it did, because so much of its identity translates perfectly to the gaming scene of today. After playing so many games inspired by what Earthbound does, it’s really endearing to go back to the source and see why it’s such a cultural touchstone for the indie community. The world and characters are really charming, and despite the sometimes clunky and old nature of the combat, I think it holds up really well.
I was actually kind of surprised by the combat, as I always thought it was pretty basic JRPG fare. While that’s true near the start, the game quickly evolves little by little and becomes a fun combat loop. Each character has a unique role, and minor conveniences like auto battle and instant killing weaker enemies makes fights much less tedious, something JRPGs still struggle with today.
In terms of criticisms, I still don’t like how limited the inventory is, even though that becomes much less of a problem in the later game. I wish Escargot express was more accessible and less tedious to use, but it is what it is. Also, it feels easy to get lost in some parts of the game where directions are ambiguous and solutions to puzzles aren’t implemented as well as they should be, but it’s not terrible at all.
Really happy I finally saw this one through, looking forward to playing Mother 3
Earthbound is a game I’ve tried and failed to play for almost a decade at this point, but I finally sat my ass down and really enjoyed myself. It’s insane that this game came out when it did, because so much of its identity translates perfectly to the gaming scene of today. After playing so many games inspired by what Earthbound does, it’s really endearing to go back to the source and see why it’s such a cultural touchstone for the indie community. The world and characters are really charming, and despite the sometimes clunky and old nature of the combat, I think it holds up really well.
I was actually kind of surprised by the combat, as I always thought it was pretty basic JRPG fare. While that’s true near the start, the game quickly evolves little by little and becomes a fun combat loop. Each character has a unique role, and minor conveniences like auto battle and instant killing weaker enemies makes fights much less tedious, something JRPGs still struggle with today.
In terms of criticisms, I still don’t like how limited the inventory is, even though that becomes much less of a problem in the later game. I wish Escargot express was more accessible and less tedious to use, but it is what it is. Also, it feels easy to get lost in some parts of the game where directions are ambiguous and solutions to puzzles aren’t implemented as well as they should be, but it’s not terrible at all.
Really happy I finally saw this one through, looking forward to playing Mother 3
2023
GOD PLEASE MAKE THIS A FULL GAME I'M BEGGING YOU
It was a really promising demo experience; I need to see this concept fleshed out more. I think it's a great concept, but I'd love to see some improvements in a full release, like more improved combat and a less floaty feeling in general.
It was a really promising demo experience; I need to see this concept fleshed out more. I think it's a great concept, but I'd love to see some improvements in a full release, like more improved combat and a less floaty feeling in general.
2021
Close enough, welcome home SUPERHOT 2!
2024
I felt a pit in my stomach as the game came to a close. It was so beautiful but so destructive as well. I think this could've been my favourite of the Persona games I've played so far, but it's held back in certain spots.
While I think the story and characters came together beautifully by the end, I think the first half-ish of this game is super weak. The story isn't that interesting, and the characters all feel a little too disconnected, and the game doesn't really give you opportunities to remedy that until the back half. I understand this was probably intentional, so this isn't a major sticking point for me, but I think I'm also just getting tired of the typical persona character antics (ala Junpei's IM A SEX OFFENDER shtick). That being said, this is easily my favourite cast now, though I can't say I loved most of the external social links, most of them felt pretty weak.
I still vastly prefer palaces to 3 and 4's dungeon structures, so Tartarus didn't do this game any favours. I appreciate that they put in a lot to keep it refreshing and prevent repetitiveness, but I don't think anything could've made 266 floors any more enjoyable. I can't say I hated it, but I definitely didn't love it.
Will always cherish this experience, just wish it could've come in a slightly improved package to really take it the extra mile for me.
While I think the story and characters came together beautifully by the end, I think the first half-ish of this game is super weak. The story isn't that interesting, and the characters all feel a little too disconnected, and the game doesn't really give you opportunities to remedy that until the back half. I understand this was probably intentional, so this isn't a major sticking point for me, but I think I'm also just getting tired of the typical persona character antics (ala Junpei's IM A SEX OFFENDER shtick). That being said, this is easily my favourite cast now, though I can't say I loved most of the external social links, most of them felt pretty weak.
I still vastly prefer palaces to 3 and 4's dungeon structures, so Tartarus didn't do this game any favours. I appreciate that they put in a lot to keep it refreshing and prevent repetitiveness, but I don't think anything could've made 266 floors any more enjoyable. I can't say I hated it, but I definitely didn't love it.
Will always cherish this experience, just wish it could've come in a slightly improved package to really take it the extra mile for me.
What a sleeper hit out of nowhere! This is a really novel and unique concept, super fresh for the Metroidvania genre. I really appreciate that this is a Zelda/Metroid hybrid; it makes a really strong experience. The world is fun to explore, with robust and helpful mapping tools and completion trackers to ensure you don't spend late game hours searching the overworld for an item you couldn't get three hours ago. The gameplay is smooth and fun, with a great drip feed of upgrades. It even has a surprisingly dense post-game. Just a great game.
2022
By no means a bad game; it's got a charming artstyle, a fun story, and a great idea behind it. However, I'm not a fan of how it feels to move around. It feels like you're constantly fighting with the controls for more accuracy as the player character feels surprisingly heavy, and the grapple and movement, in general, feel just a little too rigid. I would've loved a more free-flowing game feel similar to something like Sanabi.
VERY unique idea for a 3D platformer collectathon. Not having a traditional jump opens up so many possibilities, and I think this game takes full advantage of that. The controls take a little bit to get used to, but once you get it, you GET it. Only complaints are that getting 100% seems like a chore, and some gears (stars, basically) are a little too out of reach and expect a really deep understanding of the game's mechanics, which isn't inherently a bad thing, but it isn't very casual friendly.
2022
It works for the first like 15-20 minutes, and then it slowly unravels. I like to think I'm pretty good at rhythm games, but this one is just straight-up unfair in some cases. The ring already isn't interesting enough to last a whole game, but when the distance between notes is inconsistent, and they start slapping them in random spots, it feels like the game's trying to trick you. Also, not a very interesting story, which is the main appeal of the game. Just pretty weak overall
2024
A fun, stylish, grungy puzzle game with a really unique concept. It felt like it built naturally, and I never felt helpless or too stupid to figure out the solution. Cult stories are always really interesting, and you feel the damage you do with each shot. My only complaint is that the bubble cultists were kind of annoying to deal with, as they overcomplicated paths just a little too much, but I overall really loved this game.
2023
Just didn't click with me. Less a survival horror and more a chore simulator as you loop through the same boring objectives ad nauseam until something important off-screen happens. You constantly feel just a tad bit overpowered with a built-in time stop, gravity gun, and a full arsenal of weapons in your inventory, so the aliens are never THAT threatening. Resource management also feels almost nonexistent with the abundance of items, and weirdly enough, shops are on this abandoned spaceship. Just doesn't click as a survival horror experience, would rather play RE4 through again.
By no means is this a "perfect" game. It has things that I wasn't a fan of and moments where I was dragging my feet to get to the next story beat. In most cases, I'd give the game an accurate, maybe more cynical score for these shortcomings. But as I neared the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I slowly started to get sadder and sadder as I imagined a world where I wouldn't wake up to chip away at this masterpiece of a game. No more Queen's Blood intermissions, no more running around the different regions with Chadley yapping in my ear, and no more time spent with these characters. That creeping future made me feel an intense sadness and helped me decide that this was, definitively, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a lot of things. It's an action RPG. It's a racing game. It's a surprisingly robust card game. It's an open-world sandbox experience. It's a narratively driven story experience. It's a punch-out clone. It's a rhythm game. It's a mission-based combat challenge simulator. It's all of these things in one package. It's genuinely insane how much is stuffed into this package, and even more insane that, for the most part, it all works so fucking well together. This is in no small part due to the amazing characters you journey with, and the beautiful world these characters inhabit.
One of my biggest gripes with Remake was that Midgar was nowhere near interesting or detailed enough to warrant being stuck in its narrow hallways for 20+ hours. This issue is entirely gone as the world of FF7 both literally and figuratively opens up completely. The humble fantasy village of Kalm, the corporate desert wasteland of Corel, the jungles of Gongaga, all available to the player and all fully explorable. I see a lot of people complain about the "Ubisoft-ification" of the open world activities, but this is a rare case in which I think these open-world tropes are entirely welcome, as it's just an excuse to explore each varied location. Sure, it gets old here and there, but you're able to take it entirely at your own pace, and the game does everything in its power to make sure you aren't bored for long with the extensive amount of side content on display here. I've slowly been learning to abandon the completionist mindset that I usually go into games with, but I did almost everything the game offered because I was just that engrossed. I ended up finishing the game without completing all of Chadley's combat challenges and the second wave of Gold Saucer minigames, but I did literally everything else, which should speak to the quality of the content.
My absolute favourite thing about this game is the cast. I've never played the original FF7, so this remake trilogy is my introduction to the world. I already fell in love with this universe in Remake, but this game goes a step further and makes this ragtag group of terrorists my favourite group in gaming EVER. Barret's arc in Corel, Red XIII's arc in Cosmo Canyon, my fucking GOD. The character growth and interactions make this game SO much more enjoyable than any other similar RPG attempting the same thing.
Combat, which was the shining star of my experience with Remake, is somehow even better here. Everything I wanted to be added (air combat, a more integrated synergy system, more character variety) is here, and everything I wanted to not get lost in translation (forced party compositions, basically everything about Yuffie's kit) made it through. All of this combined makes this the best action RPG gameplay I've ever played. I also really appreciate that each character got all 4 magic elements as unlockable abilities rather than being limited to spells. This let me free up my materia slots for other abilities or stat boosts, and really made me feel free to build the characters as I saw fit. This game might even dethrone Kingdgom Hearts 2 for me, which I never thought was possible. Every character is distinct from one another, and while I obviously prefer some over others, I can't definitively say there was a character I didn't like, and I can't wait to play as the full party in the next game.
There's just magic here, man. Everything fits together so well, and waking up and playing the game made me feel like a kid again, getting engrossed in a completely new world. I feel like I've slowly lost that feeling as I aged, but it came back with a vengeance here. That's why I have trouble viewing and rating this as a game rather than a full experience. Admittedly the ending left me super confused, and I'm not entirely sure how the last game of this trilogy is gonna top the finale of this game, but I absolutely cannot fucking wait.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a lot of things. It's an action RPG. It's a racing game. It's a surprisingly robust card game. It's an open-world sandbox experience. It's a narratively driven story experience. It's a punch-out clone. It's a rhythm game. It's a mission-based combat challenge simulator. It's all of these things in one package. It's genuinely insane how much is stuffed into this package, and even more insane that, for the most part, it all works so fucking well together. This is in no small part due to the amazing characters you journey with, and the beautiful world these characters inhabit.
One of my biggest gripes with Remake was that Midgar was nowhere near interesting or detailed enough to warrant being stuck in its narrow hallways for 20+ hours. This issue is entirely gone as the world of FF7 both literally and figuratively opens up completely. The humble fantasy village of Kalm, the corporate desert wasteland of Corel, the jungles of Gongaga, all available to the player and all fully explorable. I see a lot of people complain about the "Ubisoft-ification" of the open world activities, but this is a rare case in which I think these open-world tropes are entirely welcome, as it's just an excuse to explore each varied location. Sure, it gets old here and there, but you're able to take it entirely at your own pace, and the game does everything in its power to make sure you aren't bored for long with the extensive amount of side content on display here. I've slowly been learning to abandon the completionist mindset that I usually go into games with, but I did almost everything the game offered because I was just that engrossed. I ended up finishing the game without completing all of Chadley's combat challenges and the second wave of Gold Saucer minigames, but I did literally everything else, which should speak to the quality of the content.
My absolute favourite thing about this game is the cast. I've never played the original FF7, so this remake trilogy is my introduction to the world. I already fell in love with this universe in Remake, but this game goes a step further and makes this ragtag group of terrorists my favourite group in gaming EVER. Barret's arc in Corel, Red XIII's arc in Cosmo Canyon, my fucking GOD. The character growth and interactions make this game SO much more enjoyable than any other similar RPG attempting the same thing.
Combat, which was the shining star of my experience with Remake, is somehow even better here. Everything I wanted to be added (air combat, a more integrated synergy system, more character variety) is here, and everything I wanted to not get lost in translation (forced party compositions, basically everything about Yuffie's kit) made it through. All of this combined makes this the best action RPG gameplay I've ever played. I also really appreciate that each character got all 4 magic elements as unlockable abilities rather than being limited to spells. This let me free up my materia slots for other abilities or stat boosts, and really made me feel free to build the characters as I saw fit. This game might even dethrone Kingdgom Hearts 2 for me, which I never thought was possible. Every character is distinct from one another, and while I obviously prefer some over others, I can't definitively say there was a character I didn't like, and I can't wait to play as the full party in the next game.
There's just magic here, man. Everything fits together so well, and waking up and playing the game made me feel like a kid again, getting engrossed in a completely new world. I feel like I've slowly lost that feeling as I aged, but it came back with a vengeance here. That's why I have trouble viewing and rating this as a game rather than a full experience. Admittedly the ending left me super confused, and I'm not entirely sure how the last game of this trilogy is gonna top the finale of this game, but I absolutely cannot fucking wait.
2024
A short and sweet high-octane platformer. Obviously, I would've loved more of what this game offers, but I think the game is paced perfectly and has just the right amount of content.
Blazing through levels is super fun, and getting into the groove of the game is an amazing feeling, and luckily, most of the game is built around maintaining this feeling. The boss fights are also pretty fun.
The game has some sore spots in the non-drill-focused levels, mostly because they act like huge pace breakers. They're still fun, but not nearly as fun as the other 90% of the game. The mech, for example, seems really cool at first, but its so much more clunky to control that it feels like you're playing a different game. The length of the game makes this contrast a little worse than it would've been otherwise.
That all being said, this is an amazingly fun game that I highly recommend.
Blazing through levels is super fun, and getting into the groove of the game is an amazing feeling, and luckily, most of the game is built around maintaining this feeling. The boss fights are also pretty fun.
The game has some sore spots in the non-drill-focused levels, mostly because they act like huge pace breakers. They're still fun, but not nearly as fun as the other 90% of the game. The mech, for example, seems really cool at first, but its so much more clunky to control that it feels like you're playing a different game. The length of the game makes this contrast a little worse than it would've been otherwise.
That all being said, this is an amazingly fun game that I highly recommend.
2023
It's really fun for what it is, with some solid combat, but it's WAY too short. If they took the game and fleshed it out to a full-on game with a consistent narrative, I'd be all in, but as it stands, it kind of shoots itself in the foot here. I love the combat feel, but it's not the most intricate I've seen from this genre and the last few encounters kind of suck. If you want to get through a game in a day, this is a pretty good option.
2023
I think there's a lot to love here, but I don't think everything really comes together that well.
I love the bungee cord and the platforming it provides, but once you get it, that's kind of it. I would've loved some upgrades or more unique uses for the bungee cord, but you're kind of doing the same thing with it 2 hours in as you were 5 minutes into the game. Not that this is a bad approach, but I think for something like a Metroidvania, that drip-feed of evolution is important, and this game feels like it lacks that. You'll mostly be collecting trinkets which modify the gameplay in minor ways, and I was looking for some full upheavals. I appreciate the dedication to the genre, but I can't help but feel that a different approach to the cord's development and level design was needed to really suit it properly.
The different guns are a nice addition, but for the most part, they're completely missable and don't feel that fleshed out. They don't really do that much in conjunction with the bungee cord, which feels like kind of a wasted opportunity. Shotgun boosts and rocket jumps are always welcome additions, but the game isn't built around EVERY player having found them, so they feel like toppings on the cake rather than ingredients in the batter.
The combat is honestly one of the game's stronger suits, though, and I appreciate that the guns add some variety to how you approach each encounter. Wasn't a huge fan of the story and how the world is presented, but I think it's serviceable enough for what this genre is.
Overall, a pretty good game that starts to lose steam after a while.
I love the bungee cord and the platforming it provides, but once you get it, that's kind of it. I would've loved some upgrades or more unique uses for the bungee cord, but you're kind of doing the same thing with it 2 hours in as you were 5 minutes into the game. Not that this is a bad approach, but I think for something like a Metroidvania, that drip-feed of evolution is important, and this game feels like it lacks that. You'll mostly be collecting trinkets which modify the gameplay in minor ways, and I was looking for some full upheavals. I appreciate the dedication to the genre, but I can't help but feel that a different approach to the cord's development and level design was needed to really suit it properly.
The different guns are a nice addition, but for the most part, they're completely missable and don't feel that fleshed out. They don't really do that much in conjunction with the bungee cord, which feels like kind of a wasted opportunity. Shotgun boosts and rocket jumps are always welcome additions, but the game isn't built around EVERY player having found them, so they feel like toppings on the cake rather than ingredients in the batter.
The combat is honestly one of the game's stronger suits, though, and I appreciate that the guns add some variety to how you approach each encounter. Wasn't a huge fan of the story and how the world is presented, but I think it's serviceable enough for what this genre is.
Overall, a pretty good game that starts to lose steam after a while.