sumatran
Every year that passed the announcement of a BOTW sequel made me wonder...What could they possibly be working on for so long? What ultimately became a similar development cycle to the open-world precursor, ended up (mostly) justifying its long wait with incredible new functionality and an even opener world than BOTW.
The only issue I have with the game is the re-use of Hyrule. While the surface is modified, it's still very familiar. I was not met with the same sense of wonder as I scaled mountains, crawled into caves, and visited villages, as I was in my first outing à la BOTW. While TOTK is arguably bigger and better in every way, it ironically suffers from the series' prior accomplishments. It didn't do quite enough to surprise me in the same way.
The only issue I have with the game is the re-use of Hyrule. While the surface is modified, it's still very familiar. I was not met with the same sense of wonder as I scaled mountains, crawled into caves, and visited villages, as I was in my first outing à la BOTW. While TOTK is arguably bigger and better in every way, it ironically suffers from the series' prior accomplishments. It didn't do quite enough to surprise me in the same way.
2022
Arcade Paradise is a fun, yet uneven trip through the 80s/90s arcade boom. Whether it was a laundromat, pizza shop, or gas station, you could count on there being at least one arcade cabinet to kill some quarters. While this game captures the aesthetic of that time quite well, it decides to strangely pull you out of that capsule with bizarre cabinets that had no analog from the inspired time period.
The game is split into 2 halves - the arcade business simulator and the mini-games found within. Yes, there is the laundry to contend with from the outset, but you will quickly find yourself ignoring those responsibilities as the arcade revenue grows. The sim management side of the house is a means to an end. There is little value is re-organizing the arcade throughout your business adventure, so it's really just there to move the narrative forward.
And everything in-between comes down to the arcade games. Yes, you can play every cabinet you purchase and home within King Wash Laundromat. But the enjoyment is hit-and-miss. Because almost every game is different, there are disparate systems that all had to be developed and shipped into this game. Which means the quality of some suffer. Various games have poor controls, poor physics, or both. Things like air hockey and table football are painful to play. Even one of the game's flagship cabs - Knuckles and Knees, plays worse than something like TMNT or Simpsons arcade - not to mention any modern contemporaries that are even more finely tuned.
Despite the uneven fun factor of the cabs, there are still plenty that you'll go back to. I was confused why the developer opted to include cabinets that had no obvious analog to the time period. Something like Zombat 2 could maybe be compared to NARC or Smash TV. But why not just go all in? There are hundreds of cabinets to model after; I don't get why certain machines were crammed in here. Entries like Line Terror, Attack Vector, Cyber Dance, and Barkanoid have prominent inspirations that feel right at home.
All of these mentioned games have Goals that you can work on to drive up popularity. The issue is that the systems are not all balanced. Your cabinets make cash to purchase more arcade games and building expansions, but you need to complete daily To-Do tasks to build a separate currency for upgrades and music. This didn't really make any sense. You can only do up to 3 To-Do tasks in a day. So your extra currency was significantly capped. Worse yet, the To-Dos did not de-prioritize games you already completed all Goals on, so you often were forced to play a few minutes of something you didn't want to. A better option would have been to remove To-Dos and just reward Goals with the extra currency.
As a 90s kid, I definitely vibed with Arcade Paradise. It has the decor, the music, and (for the most part), the games. It just doesn't have the balance or the consistency to be excellent.
The game is split into 2 halves - the arcade business simulator and the mini-games found within. Yes, there is the laundry to contend with from the outset, but you will quickly find yourself ignoring those responsibilities as the arcade revenue grows. The sim management side of the house is a means to an end. There is little value is re-organizing the arcade throughout your business adventure, so it's really just there to move the narrative forward.
And everything in-between comes down to the arcade games. Yes, you can play every cabinet you purchase and home within King Wash Laundromat. But the enjoyment is hit-and-miss. Because almost every game is different, there are disparate systems that all had to be developed and shipped into this game. Which means the quality of some suffer. Various games have poor controls, poor physics, or both. Things like air hockey and table football are painful to play. Even one of the game's flagship cabs - Knuckles and Knees, plays worse than something like TMNT or Simpsons arcade - not to mention any modern contemporaries that are even more finely tuned.
Despite the uneven fun factor of the cabs, there are still plenty that you'll go back to. I was confused why the developer opted to include cabinets that had no obvious analog to the time period. Something like Zombat 2 could maybe be compared to NARC or Smash TV. But why not just go all in? There are hundreds of cabinets to model after; I don't get why certain machines were crammed in here. Entries like Line Terror, Attack Vector, Cyber Dance, and Barkanoid have prominent inspirations that feel right at home.
All of these mentioned games have Goals that you can work on to drive up popularity. The issue is that the systems are not all balanced. Your cabinets make cash to purchase more arcade games and building expansions, but you need to complete daily To-Do tasks to build a separate currency for upgrades and music. This didn't really make any sense. You can only do up to 3 To-Do tasks in a day. So your extra currency was significantly capped. Worse yet, the To-Dos did not de-prioritize games you already completed all Goals on, so you often were forced to play a few minutes of something you didn't want to. A better option would have been to remove To-Dos and just reward Goals with the extra currency.
As a 90s kid, I definitely vibed with Arcade Paradise. It has the decor, the music, and (for the most part), the games. It just doesn't have the balance or the consistency to be excellent.
Completely busted achievements. Need I say more?
Okay, I'll say a little more.
While I appreciate the various horror movie references scattered amongst the costumes, Gore Packs, and movie titles, I was often annoyed by the Roblox-like characters lumbering around on screen. I just don't get it. Why try to make horror look cute. Or whatever the hell the intention was.
Ultimately, this should have stayed a mobile game. Or not even existed to begin with.
Okay, I'll say a little more.
While I appreciate the various horror movie references scattered amongst the costumes, Gore Packs, and movie titles, I was often annoyed by the Roblox-like characters lumbering around on screen. I just don't get it. Why try to make horror look cute. Or whatever the hell the intention was.
Ultimately, this should have stayed a mobile game. Or not even existed to begin with.
Anything Three Kingdoms related is so boring at this point. The characters are indistinguishable and incredibly lame. Lu Bu is cool. But anyone who has cut their teeth on Dynasty Warriors knows that already.
The game wants to tell a story. But for how bad the cutscenes are, there are far too many of them. The game is only worth paying attention to during its hectic combat scenarios. But even when you dig into those, you find too many flaws.
The game is heavily balanced around parrying and fatal strikes. Ultimately, you're rewarded for patiently holding your sword, and baiting an enemy into fatal strike opportunities. It's effective, yet boring. Because you can't cancel out of regular attacks, you're often punished for going on the offensive. You are given other tools to unleash damage in the form of Wizardry and Martial Arts, but neither feel satisfying. Character builds are tedious and ultimately disappointing. The loot system is a huge waste of time. Prepare to send mountains of equipment to the salvage yard.
The game wants to tell a story. But for how bad the cutscenes are, there are far too many of them. The game is only worth paying attention to during its hectic combat scenarios. But even when you dig into those, you find too many flaws.
The game is heavily balanced around parrying and fatal strikes. Ultimately, you're rewarded for patiently holding your sword, and baiting an enemy into fatal strike opportunities. It's effective, yet boring. Because you can't cancel out of regular attacks, you're often punished for going on the offensive. You are given other tools to unleash damage in the form of Wizardry and Martial Arts, but neither feel satisfying. Character builds are tedious and ultimately disappointing. The loot system is a huge waste of time. Prepare to send mountains of equipment to the salvage yard.
2017
A game so bad, they had to release a "New" version of it, instead of patching the original.
In between my Tears of the Kingdom sessions, I've been finishing up achievements for Super Lucky's Tale. I was reminded of how torturous the game can be. You have to really negotiate with the camera. Like a flaky friend, you'll be chilling with the camera in one level, and then wondering where the heck they went in the next.
Ultimately, it's a totally forgettable 3D platformer. Look elsewhere for mascots, Xbox.
In between my Tears of the Kingdom sessions, I've been finishing up achievements for Super Lucky's Tale. I was reminded of how torturous the game can be. You have to really negotiate with the camera. Like a flaky friend, you'll be chilling with the camera in one level, and then wondering where the heck they went in the next.
Ultimately, it's a totally forgettable 3D platformer. Look elsewhere for mascots, Xbox.
The team went through development hell to refresh the Lego video game series into...this? I'm afraid it was not time well spent.
An emphasis was placed on the new combat system, which ultimately amounts to nothing. Does it have combos? Sure! Does it have damage numbers popping out? You bet! Does it have proper 3rd-person shooting mechanics! Pretty much! Does it change the game at all? Not one bit!
Feel free to hack your way to victory, as that's all that's ultimately required. But where this game really falls apart is the bloat. There was no reason to stuff 9 movies into one game. There's barely any room to tell a story, instead bursting at the seams with horrific side missions and collectibles.
It's all about as much fun as stepping on a lego barefoot in the middle of the night.
An emphasis was placed on the new combat system, which ultimately amounts to nothing. Does it have combos? Sure! Does it have damage numbers popping out? You bet! Does it have proper 3rd-person shooting mechanics! Pretty much! Does it change the game at all? Not one bit!
Feel free to hack your way to victory, as that's all that's ultimately required. But where this game really falls apart is the bloat. There was no reason to stuff 9 movies into one game. There's barely any room to tell a story, instead bursting at the seams with horrific side missions and collectibles.
It's all about as much fun as stepping on a lego barefoot in the middle of the night.
2021
Round and round we go on a unique rogue-lite adventure. Loop Hero spins an interesting narrative that tries to explain the nature of a rogue-lite, but it's mostly carried by its outstanding music and satisfying game loop (ha).
After your 50th Expedition, the opening minutes of a run become a tiring exercise. Everything is almost scripted to success. But there's still plenty of room to experiment across the 3 classes.
After your 50th Expedition, the opening minutes of a run become a tiring exercise. Everything is almost scripted to success. But there's still plenty of room to experiment across the 3 classes.
2022
This franchise has been dragging my corpse around for the last 8 years or so. Deep down, I knew I wasn't having fun - that the games maybe "weren't for me". Which is a tough realization when it's a video game series you've played your whole life. More than that, it's a series that actually got you into gaming. And now it's not for you. Yet I pushed through, hoping I'd find something worth playing. And in this particular entry I found that this wasn't "the best Poke'mon has ever been." It's actually quite the opposite.
Arceus created an iterative blueprint for Poke'mon in an open world. And S/V tried to expand that. Arceus had its problems, but the snappy gameplay made S/V perform like a slug.
That's the first problem with S/V. It plays so slowly. Battles are sluggish and you're inundated with text prompts that offer no value. The game doesn't treat you like a kid - it treats you like an idiot. At the very least, where is a setting to disable all the text? Abilities are back and further slow down momentum. The battles are so slow, that the Let's Go mode can actually get you more EXP, despite the penalty.
Which leads me into the next issue - game design. Nothing in this game fits together. The open world is wretched - it's ugly and boring. Trainers randomly stand around and Poke'mon pop in 2 feet in front of your face. Any potential for discovery is neutered by the amount of pop-in. To take out some binoculars and spot a rare Poke'mon on the horizon - boy that would have been nice.
There are no HMs, but your riding Poke'mon essentially replaces that. You eventually get to swim, fly, and climb. But these features do not actually gate the player. Poke'mon levels make no sense. You can climb a mountain that is only accessible in late game and find Level 10 Poke'mon up there. The gym leaders suffer the same issue. Because they don't scale with the player or # of badges, you will most likely dominate the competition or be dominated yourself. The game lacks any meaningful balance.
Most of the other features are padding or cruft. Picnics aren't fun; gym leader challenges make me think bad things; Team Star bases are embarrassing; and the Elite 4 are pushovers.
The previously mentioned pop-in is one of many disparate issues culminating in a horrendously-performing video game. Slow-down is frequent and textures load-in often. Something as simple as switching a Poke'mon could end up taking ~5 seconds. And the premier co-op experience - raids - only kinda work.
The only spark of legitimate joy I saw in the 25~ hours was the final battle. And the music was good too.
So yeah, I guess I'll give into the main criticism for people who don't like these games anymore. It's not for me. I'll be back when a Poke'mon title wins GOTY from multiple major publications.
Arceus created an iterative blueprint for Poke'mon in an open world. And S/V tried to expand that. Arceus had its problems, but the snappy gameplay made S/V perform like a slug.
That's the first problem with S/V. It plays so slowly. Battles are sluggish and you're inundated with text prompts that offer no value. The game doesn't treat you like a kid - it treats you like an idiot. At the very least, where is a setting to disable all the text? Abilities are back and further slow down momentum. The battles are so slow, that the Let's Go mode can actually get you more EXP, despite the penalty.
Which leads me into the next issue - game design. Nothing in this game fits together. The open world is wretched - it's ugly and boring. Trainers randomly stand around and Poke'mon pop in 2 feet in front of your face. Any potential for discovery is neutered by the amount of pop-in. To take out some binoculars and spot a rare Poke'mon on the horizon - boy that would have been nice.
There are no HMs, but your riding Poke'mon essentially replaces that. You eventually get to swim, fly, and climb. But these features do not actually gate the player. Poke'mon levels make no sense. You can climb a mountain that is only accessible in late game and find Level 10 Poke'mon up there. The gym leaders suffer the same issue. Because they don't scale with the player or # of badges, you will most likely dominate the competition or be dominated yourself. The game lacks any meaningful balance.
Most of the other features are padding or cruft. Picnics aren't fun; gym leader challenges make me think bad things; Team Star bases are embarrassing; and the Elite 4 are pushovers.
The previously mentioned pop-in is one of many disparate issues culminating in a horrendously-performing video game. Slow-down is frequent and textures load-in often. Something as simple as switching a Poke'mon could end up taking ~5 seconds. And the premier co-op experience - raids - only kinda work.
The only spark of legitimate joy I saw in the 25~ hours was the final battle. And the music was good too.
So yeah, I guess I'll give into the main criticism for people who don't like these games anymore. It's not for me. I'll be back when a Poke'mon title wins GOTY from multiple major publications.
2018
Another approximate simulator to add to the pile. The Home Alone and Castle scenarios were a fun diversion, but the bulk of the game is just Sims without the Sims.
There is a weird lighting bug where lights are only on when you're actually in the room. It created a jarring effect while moving throughout a home.
I also see that Game Pass tax on the DLC. Shame.
There is a weird lighting bug where lights are only on when you're actually in the room. It created a jarring effect while moving throughout a home.
I also see that Game Pass tax on the DLC. Shame.
2022
Chained Echoes is a reflection on a lifetime of JRPGs. You can see the inspiration pouring from almost every character, location, item, and system. It's a combination of many great things, which builds up into a phenomenal experience.
While the writing is predictably corny at times, the story has fun twists and surprisingly solid cutscenes for a game presented in this style. The Act structure is well-formed and breaks up appropriate story beats. A particular Act introduces a radical change to the game world, giving the player an all-powerful feeling that is hard to come by.
The turn-based combat is practically perfect. On standard difficulty, you will have to depend on strategy to succeed. The progression system does not especially reward grinding, so you'll need to depend on your equipment and skills.
One additional area where you can get ahead of the competition is the Crystal system. And this is unfortunately an under-developed feature. The menus are clunky and it takes some time and error to fully find its potential.
Speaking of clunky - I can forgive the efforts of a solo dev, but I do need to call out the occasional bugs and stutters that creep up. I had to restart the game a few times to correct some funny issues.
But like previously mentioned, this is an indie title developed by a single guy. And yet it exudes big budget studio energy, making its contemporaries look like the indie titles in comparison. Someone please get Matthias Linda some money and a studio and see what he can do.
While the writing is predictably corny at times, the story has fun twists and surprisingly solid cutscenes for a game presented in this style. The Act structure is well-formed and breaks up appropriate story beats. A particular Act introduces a radical change to the game world, giving the player an all-powerful feeling that is hard to come by.
The turn-based combat is practically perfect. On standard difficulty, you will have to depend on strategy to succeed. The progression system does not especially reward grinding, so you'll need to depend on your equipment and skills.
One additional area where you can get ahead of the competition is the Crystal system. And this is unfortunately an under-developed feature. The menus are clunky and it takes some time and error to fully find its potential.
Speaking of clunky - I can forgive the efforts of a solo dev, but I do need to call out the occasional bugs and stutters that creep up. I had to restart the game a few times to correct some funny issues.
But like previously mentioned, this is an indie title developed by a single guy. And yet it exudes big budget studio energy, making its contemporaries look like the indie titles in comparison. Someone please get Matthias Linda some money and a studio and see what he can do.
RPG fans have long been used to the trope of fetch quests. But you are still not prepared for this game. Your whole existence for being is to fetch on quests. And then get bombarded with notifications as your city develops, your EXP grows, and your wallet gets fatter.
The dialogue that drags you through the never-ending delivery is painful. I actually started skipping the cutscenes in the back-half because I was hurting so much. So why continue? The combat was simple, yet satisfying. And the art was pleasant. All resulting in a mediocre experience.
The dialogue that drags you through the never-ending delivery is painful. I actually started skipping the cutscenes in the back-half because I was hurting so much. So why continue? The combat was simple, yet satisfying. And the art was pleasant. All resulting in a mediocre experience.
2021
I will admit I don't understand the GOTY aspirations this title seems to inspire, but it's a fun little game.
Once you solve a few different builds, the game essentially plays itself, compounding into a cacophony of lights and sounds. It makes you feel a little bubbly, but it mainly succeeds at being a convenient time-killer.
Once you solve a few different builds, the game essentially plays itself, compounding into a cacophony of lights and sounds. It makes you feel a little bubbly, but it mainly succeeds at being a convenient time-killer.
2020
This is a tiny adventure best played with friends. Even better - create a shared world that you can explore asynchronously. It was a treat to jump in and find new items and structures that my partner had built. And even more rewarding was when we could explore the game together.
The world is novel and interesting and the exploration is rewarding. There are so many secrets packed into the backyard. The combat was more of a utility than a fun gameplay mechanic, but nailing parries was a decent reinforcement.
I would have liked a bit more enemy variety. Don't get me wrong - spiders are the devil spawn - but there are plenty of other gross creepy crawlies to frighten a player (uh centipedes anyone?)
The world is novel and interesting and the exploration is rewarding. There are so many secrets packed into the backyard. The combat was more of a utility than a fun gameplay mechanic, but nailing parries was a decent reinforcement.
I would have liked a bit more enemy variety. Don't get me wrong - spiders are the devil spawn - but there are plenty of other gross creepy crawlies to frighten a player (uh centipedes anyone?)
I appreciated the snappy flow to the game. Everything moved so smoothly compared to previous entries. It finally advanced the core gameplay in a meaningful way and I'm more excited about the future of Poke'mon than I've ever been. But the novelty of the open world faded after reaching the third area. And Elden Ring all but closed the door on this title for me.
I anticipated coming back to finish it, but with Scarlet/Violet around the corner, I'll have to forfeit. It's a good Poke'mon game, but in the grand scheme of things, it still doesn't reach greatness.
I anticipated coming back to finish it, but with Scarlet/Violet around the corner, I'll have to forfeit. It's a good Poke'mon game, but in the grand scheme of things, it still doesn't reach greatness.
2017
There was the notion of something really interesting here. I got the intent of a subversive character plot which could have been carried out in a much more interesting way.