tangysphere
BACKER
A remaster that improves upon the original in every possible way so successfully that it makes the original almost redundant outside of a passing curiosity.
There are still some issues here and there - I like the overall story and feel but the characters feel a touch underbaked, and normal encounters can end up playing themselves in a way where it's almost more interesting to run around them - but then I'm drawn back in by the various hunts and tactics needed for fights against way more powerful enemies and one of the series' most overlooked soundtracks.
There are still some issues here and there - I like the overall story and feel but the characters feel a touch underbaked, and normal encounters can end up playing themselves in a way where it's almost more interesting to run around them - but then I'm drawn back in by the various hunts and tactics needed for fights against way more powerful enemies and one of the series' most overlooked soundtracks.
2022
Really enjoyable little choose your own adventure story with an interesting pathway mechanic. Would have liked to see this expanded on a little bit more than it was, but that slight disappointment was countered by fun characters and a twisty, interesting story
2022
Dripping in atmosphere and a narrative that manages to claw itself into your head hours and days after playing. There are a few design choices which could have been worked differently (I like limited inventory in games but the back and forth can get a touch laborious here) but the experience allowed me to pretty much completely overlook them.
Charlotte McBurney really knocks it out the park as Amicia here - she was good in the first game but steps it up to another level for Requiem.
The game itself is pretty much Innocence but more - if you didn't like the original game then I don't think there's anything here that'll suddenly convert you - thankfully as someone who really liked the first game, more of the same but bigger and better is just more of a good time. For me at least, it's probably a bit rough if you're someone in-game.
The game itself is pretty much Innocence but more - if you didn't like the original game then I don't think there's anything here that'll suddenly convert you - thankfully as someone who really liked the first game, more of the same but bigger and better is just more of a good time. For me at least, it's probably a bit rough if you're someone in-game.
2022
Everything is held together by dry spaghetti and scotch tape but the underlying Pokemon experience is the best it's been in years (well, maybe - depends how you define Arceus Legends in terms of mainline games).
If you can get over the (admittedly very large and noticeable) performance and graphical issues, there's a fun time waiting for you in Paldea.
If you can get over the (admittedly very large and noticeable) performance and graphical issues, there's a fun time waiting for you in Paldea.
Everything I loved about A Good Snowman is Hard to Build but better. Solid puzzle design, a finely crafted world and whimsical museum exhibits detailing human life in Englandland all add up to one of my favourite puzzle games in recent memory.
2020
There's something I really like about games where you have to figure out the rules yourself with very little guidance other than some symbols and despite a few pitfalls (a couple of the puzzle themes fall a touch flat) Understand does an admirable job with its very minimalist pallette in this specific puzzle sub-genre.
2017
It's a fun audiovisual experience but not nearly enough meat for a puzzle box experience.
I guess as VR was in mind when the game was made they didn't want to make things too difficult in case you spend hours on the same level but even then, outside a couple of level that required a little thought, it had the complexity of a Fisher Price toy.
I guess as VR was in mind when the game was made they didn't want to make things too difficult in case you spend hours on the same level but even then, outside a couple of level that required a little thought, it had the complexity of a Fisher Price toy.
Outside of the Pokemon league, it's just a bit too easy and not helped by quite a bland selection of Pokemon. Also disappointing that these pretty much ignore a ton of improvements that were made in Platinum and adding not a lot, really feels like a regression in the remake series when you play through.
1999
Definitely a shame that compatibility with the GB games isn't possible here, but using rentals is not nearly as awful as I'd been expecting based on internet reaction (though to be fair I haven't tried playing through the Gym Castle a second time) and the mini-games are a nice little time waster.
2022
I mainly play this series in co-op career and it's fun, but so many random and annoying bugs just keep cropping up - not being able to setup the car for a grand prix, AI overtaking the safety car without penalty, end of race classifications which don't match the timings, cars DNFing but staying on the circuit for the whole race and slowly moving across the track (and in Monaco to add to the mayhem). And this happens every single year, it's getting a bit tiring.
And then there's the addition of Supercars which isn't bad, just completely unnecessary when there's other things that people buying focusing on open-wheel racing would much prefer they work on.
And then there's the addition of Supercars which isn't bad, just completely unnecessary when there's other things that people buying focusing on open-wheel racing would much prefer they work on.
2023
I know it's a slow paced game (I went in expecting that), but everything takes just a little bit longer that it should. Things like turning keys and opening doors are a bit of a chore, and the transition delay from picking something up to be able to move again really did affect my desire to wander around what is a very beautiful world.
Narrative wise, I think the game fares a lot better in the story it sets in the past. It does wrap up quite suddenly and not entirely satisfactorily at the end but it was an engaging tale. The adult sections on the other hand are incredibly barebones and seem to exist solely as a bridge to move time forward a few days in your flashbacks.
Narrative wise, I think the game fares a lot better in the story it sets in the past. It does wrap up quite suddenly and not entirely satisfactorily at the end but it was an engaging tale. The adult sections on the other hand are incredibly barebones and seem to exist solely as a bridge to move time forward a few days in your flashbacks.
The new content doesn't really add anything, and some of the audio levels are a bit off compare to the original but that doesn't matter as the core We Love Katamari experience remains, and that core is truly exceptional.
2023
The superfluous '1' they've added onto this HD port is the only negative thing about the game. Other than that Pikin remains absolutely wonderful, no notes.
2023
The core of Pikmin is excellent so this is still a good game, but most of the decisions made for the sequel really don't work for me. On the positive side, I like the addition of White and Purple Pikmin (even if the latter are a little bit broken in battle) which add a little more strategy to your daily loadout and what you need to take into caves. The variety of enemies also gets a little boost, with some expert planning required in order to limit your losses as much as possible, while the Pikmin themselves get a nice little improvement in AI and no longer feel like they have the IQ of a rock. Also the Piklopedia, treasure descriptions and Louie's recipes add a lot of humour and charm to the series, so much so that I think a good hour of my playtime was purely down to reading every entry and regularly chuckling to myself.
I don't mind the overall timer being taken away (even if I prefer it), but I'm not a fan of the cave system and there being no kind of time limit there at all. To me, Pikmin always needs some kind of urgency, whether that's an in-game day limit, needing to get your Pikmin to a safe space by nightfall or just through challenges and missions. Once you enter a cave, all that evaporates and the game becomes something very different, something more survival focused. Not necessarily bad, but not what I was expecting or hoping for. The first Pikmin was a shorter and smaller game, but I felt like I was exploring a world. Here, the overground sections felt like I was walking through a large menu to get to the next cave.
In isolation I could deal with that, but with non-curated levels, random enemy placement and the occasional bomb falling from the ceiling with no warning, my enjoyment levels did start to take a slight hit. It hits its nadir when all of the above combine with having treasure nearby - not because of the gameplay of collecting them but due to the incessant and incredibly annoying chirping of the treasure radar. It's distracting mid-battle, and the ringing just won't stop even after that point until its deposited safely - the only way it will go away is by turning all in-game sound effects off which isn't a great solution.
But as I said at the start, this is still Pikmin. They're still a bunch of little guys working together in a big world to collect objects and dissolve bulborbs. The review sounds quite negative but I still had a good time playing through - I just don't think I'll be returning to this entry in the series much compared to the first and third.
I don't mind the overall timer being taken away (even if I prefer it), but I'm not a fan of the cave system and there being no kind of time limit there at all. To me, Pikmin always needs some kind of urgency, whether that's an in-game day limit, needing to get your Pikmin to a safe space by nightfall or just through challenges and missions. Once you enter a cave, all that evaporates and the game becomes something very different, something more survival focused. Not necessarily bad, but not what I was expecting or hoping for. The first Pikmin was a shorter and smaller game, but I felt like I was exploring a world. Here, the overground sections felt like I was walking through a large menu to get to the next cave.
In isolation I could deal with that, but with non-curated levels, random enemy placement and the occasional bomb falling from the ceiling with no warning, my enjoyment levels did start to take a slight hit. It hits its nadir when all of the above combine with having treasure nearby - not because of the gameplay of collecting them but due to the incessant and incredibly annoying chirping of the treasure radar. It's distracting mid-battle, and the ringing just won't stop even after that point until its deposited safely - the only way it will go away is by turning all in-game sound effects off which isn't a great solution.
But as I said at the start, this is still Pikmin. They're still a bunch of little guys working together in a big world to collect objects and dissolve bulborbs. The review sounds quite negative but I still had a good time playing through - I just don't think I'll be returning to this entry in the series much compared to the first and third.