I didn't expect much from Nox even though it received great reviews on GOG, but I was really hooked when I started to play. I went to work with only a few hours of sleep for a week because of Nox. It is a fun action RPG that is interesting and rewarding. Exploring and finding secrets is exciting. The best part is the battle mechanics which is fast. You can get a variety of weapons and equipment by buying or finding them. The weapon and equipment depreciation and repair system adds some strategy because you don't get a lot of gold in this game. The story is good, but not great. The music is also good, but not memorable. After you finish one path for a class, you can choose two other classes for some replay value. But, there are some negative points. First, the game is very linear. You cannot go where ever you want, whenever you want. You'll be locked in a area after you enter it and once a chapter ends, you cannot go back to that area again. I also felt the run and walk controls by the mouse was a little hard to control sometimes. Also there were some bugs or glitches. FMV had some black pixelation and the game flickered especially at the main menu. These bugs where not game-breaking, but just annoying. Overall I loved playing Nox. It was exciting, charming and easy to play. Not 100% perfect, but worth a play through.
Raiden 4 Overkill is a shoot 'em up game with great graphics and music. The graphics are very clean, colorful and animates well. The music is very good and goes well with the game, but it is nothing memorable. It fully supports the X-Box controller and works well with no problems. I didn't think the difficulty was very hard on Arcade Mode. Any real pro at these games who knows how to maneuver their ship around the bullets and know the right time to use the smart-bomb will not have much problems. The Arcade Mode may be too easy for experts, but the Overkill Mode will challenge them. Casual players should definitely start with the Arcade Mode. The Additional Mode is the Arcade Mode with a few more levels. The Overkill Mode uses a different point and level up system, but plays similar to the other modes. I have not unlocked the Secret Mode yet so I have no opinion on that. My only complaint is that this game does not introduce anything new or innovative. It is basically like the old Raidens with better graphics and some minor differences. Enemies and bosses are nothing really special and I've seen better in older shoot 'm up games. What I mean is that nothing is really outstanding in this game. Overall it is a great game and fun for any shoot 'em up fan and they should add it to their library. Newcomers will also enjoy it since there is a wide variety of difficulty levels. It is nothing different or innovative like Radiant SilverGun, but any shoot 'em up fan from casual to pro will enjoy it.
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is an action RPG that was inspired and borrows elements from Nintendo's Zelda games, in particularly, Wind Waker. It's a fun game with great graphics, OK music and OK story. The graphics has its own charming style and the best part of the game. The characters remind me of the Rankin and Bass stop-motion animation characters. The world is colorful and uses a 3D cubic design which helps make platforming easy. The overall design blends well together. The music is good, but not memorable. It is not very epic sounding and you probably won't be humming it after you finish the game. The story was interesting at the beginning and really made me excited to play. After a while the story never really reaches a climax or any excitement and I was less interested in it after 25% of the game, but it ended up being just OK. The gameplay mechanics are great, but not deep. The controls are a little stiff at first, but you get use to it. Because of the cubic design it felt like a 2D game in 3D. It plays very similar to Zelda with the weapons, items and heart containers. I felt it was a Zelda-lite game which borrows from Zelda which never really reaches the same gameplay. I wish there was more to do with the weapons and items like finding secrets or finding new areas and get that "wow" moment. Most of the puzzles are easy, but there are a few which are challenging. The game is easy enough for everyone to play and advance gamers may enjoy it only for its charm. Overall it's a good game which is an improved IOS port which everyone should try. This is a first attempt by the developer with this type of game, so I'm giving it some credit for what it is. But, if there is a sequel I expect deeper gameplay, better music and story.
Dust: An Elysian Tail is a side scrolling, hack n' slash platformer with RPG elements and uses the metroidvania style format. What will captivate you are the graphics, audio and (maybe)story. They are all done very well. The animation is also fluid with great style and tone. The music is done well and complements the game style. The story may be great for some, but just good for others and will probably be interesting enough for all. There is also a lot of voice acting that may range from great to average. I particularly felt the voice actor for Dust was over-acting and his side-kick, Fidget, was annoying. If you explore enough you will find cameos from other indie game characters and the music and audio creator of the game, HyperDuck Soundwork's duck mascots (Not ducks from Ducktales!). Also it has a charming reference to the NES Castlevania 2 game...Can you spot it? The game has interesting play mechanics and elements, but are not done perfect. The controls are very responsive and tight, but at times could be hard to control for some players. There is a crafting system that allows the player to craft items by materials dropped from enemies, but it is easy to do and no strategy is necessary, so it feels meaningless to have it. Your character levels up by XP by killing enemies, finishing quests and talking to NPC. The level-up system feels unbalanced. At the beginning of the game it has a nice pace, but around 75% of the game you will level-up too quickly. Most of the enemy AI is very dull. Some enemies will dance around you or stand next to you for a moment before attacking. Some small unpolished things in the game are text going off the menu and unbalanced paragraph spacing. Also sometimes standing in a shrine to save and talking to the item vendor takes too long which is annoying. Overall, Dust: An Elysian Tail is a title worth playing despite it feeling unpolished. It is fun to look at, listen to, and play.
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human(TAAOTLH) is an exploring game with some elements of action that uses the metroidvania concept for level design. Fans of exploring may like this, but it lacks any real depth and balance. I'm a fan of pixel art and really admired the look of this game. Also the theme of underwater exploring was enticing. I watched some YouTube videos and thought I would enjoy it. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot to do in TAAOTLH. You just explore, find upgrades to your ship in order to explore more areas(metroidvania), fight some bosses and find memos from the last civilization that existed to put together the story of the game. That's it! There is no fighting during the game and there is no accumulating items. There really isn't anything to do, but explore. During the game I was killing the fish and other creatures, but realized that they were not a threat, so I stopped killing them...What's the point? Maybe that was the developers' intention, but that idea doesn't belong in a game because it makes the game boring. There is no incentive, but collecting memos to piece together a story. So if you don't care about the story then it's meaningless. No coin collecting, no item collecting, but only upgrades to your ship which main purpose is to access areas which were inaccessible before. The extensive exploring of the game paired up with sudden boss fights makes the game unbalanced. At least give the player some enemies to practice on before the boss fights. During the boss fights, expert gamers will have no problem after a few tries, but newbies and casual gamers will be crushed. As for the global warming elements, I didn't feel like the game was preachy, but just the developer's opinion, so I just accepted it as the game's story and didn't get annoyed by it. Exploring fans may like it, but spending a majority of the time just exploring made me feel like I was wasting time. 1 star for action gamers and 4 stars for exploring fans. So, 2.5 stars.
Vertical Drop Heroes HD is a fun, addictive, arcade and rogue-lite game. It's easy to pick-up and play, but takes time to master. You pick from 3 randomly generated heroes and can re-shuffle for different heroes for a cost of 5 coins. Then you go through 10 levels while collecting coins to power-up your character's stats which are attack power and HP and buy abilities within levels. When you die you must start from the beginning, but you will keep your coins and abilities which you unlocked during the game. The graphics and music are good, but not great. The main feature are the controls and co-op play. It has great controls that anyone can use. Really worth playing at an affordable price. The only thing I wish I could do is create a hero by choosing the abilities that I want. I really love the game, but I ran into some bugs: game crashing, freezing and getting trapped or stuck in part of the level with no way to exit and have to either do suicide or quit the game. Also where is the Halloween DLC? I really hope that comes to GOG.
Hotline Miami 2 brings more of the same top-down shooting action from the first one, but adds more. The game graphics and controls are the same as the first. The music is still great, but I think the first one had better music. The biggest differences is the developed story and character styles. The story is more fleshed out and explains more with a conclusion. It is very thought provoking and will leave you thinking about it after you play or search YouTube for the meaning of the story by others' points of view. It is told in a "Pulp Fiction" style which is chronologically out of order. You will be assigned a character to play rather choosing from a variety of characters/masks in the first one. Each of the characters have a unique way to play. Sometimes you can choose between two masks on some levels. I think this is because of how the game relates to the story. If you liked HM1 then you will enjoy this one as well. Some players complain that the level designs are for more gun-fights than using melee weapons. I disagree because I played about 85-90% of the game using a melee weapon, so you can still play through the game with a melee weapon. But, some parts of levels will require you to use a gun, but this is very minor.
Hotline Miami is a 2D top-down action shooter. The pixelated graphic style may turn you away, but you don't want to miss what is underneath. The graphics is a really drug-tripping experience and that is part of what the story is about. The graphics may not be award winning, but it fits the game and that is what matters most. And The first time I saw the bloody killing animations made me cringe, but after awhile I got use to it. But, this is not a mindless shooter. You will need to think of what is the best way to take out all of your foes by either mowing them down with a machine gun or pick them off with a pipe. A good variety of weapons that unlock during the game. The controls are very responsive and it needs to be with all of the fast action in the game. I recommend using a gamepad, but some may find that using the mouse is better. The music is goes well with the game and is very catchy. You'll be humming it after you stop playing. It really absorbs you into the game. The story is lacking, but is leaves room for interpretation. More of the story is fleshed out in the 2nd game. I really enjoyed playing the game. It has great music, addictive game play and a story with metaphors that leaves interpretation of the story to the player. The game demands great reflexes, so it may be rather hard for casual to amateur players.
Guacamelee! Super Turbo CE is a hardcore MetroidVania type platformer. The abilities that you gain during the game will give you the ability to enter specific areas that were not accessible during a previous encounter. It is similar as to having a "key" to open a door to a new area. The graphics and style of the game is charming with a Nickolodeon or Cartoon Network cartoon style. The animations are OK, but really don't matter in this game. The controls are some of the best I have ever experienced and on the level of a Super Mario game. The music fits right in with the Mexican style of the game. During your journey to save your girlfriend, you will need to pick up heart pieces and stamina blocks from chests and get money from enemies to buy those parts and special move upgrades. Also if you want the best ending, you will have to collect all orbs which are really pieces of your mask. The combat is easy to learn and control. The best part is how to use them to beat a set of enemies. And the throw moves are fun to do. There is a significant amount of platforming in the game that range from easy at the beginning to super hard at the end. Some of these really hard platforming are in the optional El Infierno part of the game. After you beat the normal mode, the hard mode will be available. I really enjoyed playing Guacamelee! STCE. It was really challenging and fun. The style of the game is inspired by the old NES classics and references them by posting pictures of them throughout the game's background graphics. Those who don't have the patience for precise platforming will not like it. Those who do like it will enjoy this game and will be brought back to the days of the 8 and 16 bit era. My only complaint is the game's ending. For all of the effort put into the game I wish the ending was more satisfying than a short animation and some pictures at the end. This is the type of ending that was in the 8-bit days, but is still not welcomed with me.
