The Quest is a first-person, open-world, tile-based, turn-based RPG. It does an excellent job of managing to capture the old-school dungeon crawl feeling, while adding some new-school refinement. The game takes heavy inspiration from both Daggerfall and the Might and Magic games. The heaviest inspiration comes from Daggerfall. The game’s graphics, overall look, sound, and character creation are highly reminiscent of Daggerfall to the point where you almost feel like you are playing a tile-based version at times. I consider this a great asset, but some players may not. The combat can be difficult in the beginning levels, but not overwhelmingly so, and the game does not hold your hand. There is no “GPS tracker” to each quest. You must find the locations yourself. There are signposts on the roads, and you can leave notes on your map, but that is it. Unlike Daggerfall, The Quest does not have a large open world, so finding the quest locations is not very difficult. The game includes a fun card mini-game that is somewhat inspired by Arcomage from the Might and Magic series. You can choose from three different fixed decks, and the goal is to whittle your opponent’s life points to zero. While the game is fun, it would have been nice to see a little more customization to the decks. Regardless, it is strategic and provides more enjoyment than most card games found in RPGs. The graphics are smooth, and the game runs very well. The graphics have the hand-drawn look to them, and are suitable, but not amazing. Overall, this is an excellent game. It is fun, and provides an old-school RPG feeling without the clunkiness and blocky graphics. If a turn-based, tile-based, Daggerfall-esque game sounds up your alley, then you will probably get a lot of enjoyment out of The Quest.
Graphically, this game is a complete joy. If you are a fan of 30s animation or hand-drawn graphics, Cuphead's look will more than satisfy you. With that said, the difficulty level is high enough that you should not buy it solely on its graphical merit. If you lack both the patience and the skill for highly difficult, "twitch" style games, then you should pass this one up. I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The presentation is top-notch, the controls are tight, and with the exception of a level with randomized clouds for a platforming section, Cuphead is completely fair. The game's overworld map, boss levels, and run-and-gun levels evoke the spirit of classic games such as Contra, Super Mario World, DuckTales, and Megaman. If you enjoy the aforementioned games, then Cuphead will surely delight.
Jotun is not a game for everybody. To those players it will appeal to, they will find a wonderful gaming experience. The animation is top-notch, the music is fantastic, the game's story is excellent, the Norse Mythology theming is phenomenal, and the voice work is superb. This is a beautiful game that definitely furthers the concept that video games are an art form. With all of those positive aspects mentioned, where the game may not find reasonance with players is it's actual gameplay. The gameplay is reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC). For a game that is billed as part of the action genre, there is not a whole lot of action. Like SOTC, the bosses are the main show. With the exception of one level, you will not fight any enemies until you faces the bosses, the titular Jotuns. The bosses are fantastic. They are huge spectacles that are wonderfully animated, and provide a tough challenge. After beating the game, you can play the Valhalla Mode which is a boss rush with tougher versions of the Jotuns. As a fan of difficult boss rushes like Cuphead, this is highly appealing to me. The bosses are pretty much all of the action though. Even with the aforementioned level that has some fighting in it, even that level is still low on action. This game is more about exploration and enjoying the excellent environment that the game provides. If a game that is about 85% exploration of a beautifully done hand-crafted world, with a smattering of intense boss fights thrown in here and there is appealing to you, then Jotun will be right up your alley. If you want your action games to be action all the way through, and a heavy focus on non-combat exploration does not appeal to you, then steer far away from Jotun.
Easily one of the best RPGs I have ever played, if not the best RPG I have ever played. The atmosphere, dialogue, and story are some of the most unique I have seen in a video game. While most RPGs focus on combat and grinding, with leveling up being one of the sole focuses to keep playing, Planescape: Torment steers away from this concept. The game relies on its strange world, characters, and interesting story to compel you to keep exploring. It also moves away from the typical "your character is the person destined to save the world" archetype that can be found in almost every RPG. Instead your character is on a quest to figure out who he is. I do not want to go into too much detail, because I do not want to risk ruining any of the aspects of this amazing game. Believe the reviews. There is a reason why this game has almost perfect reviews from over 10,000 players on GOG. It is simply that good.
