Shadow Tactics is a tactical stealth game that's a bit different from action oriented stealth games (such as MGS series, Batman Arkham series, etc.). The game requires clever use of various game mechanics in order to get through the game, and is an amazing stealth game, overall. Pros: - The stealth parts are like puzzles and you need to be clever and creative in order to get through the game. It's a nice change of pace from many stealth games where you're Big Boss or Batman, who can just mindlessly brute force your way through. - Shadow mode is a feature where the player programs the party to perform certain actions in order to create a customized team attack. This allows the characters to do some amazing things that are otherwise impossible to accomplish alone. - The missions are very fun and varied, with many optional things to do. Cons: - You cannot lock the camera onto the character. Even when you press down, it'll constantly unlock instead of following the character. - You can't just use the right analog stick to rotate the camera like almost all other 3D games. You have to hold RT in order to rotate the camera. This is clunky since it goes against just about every 3D game out there. - You can only use characters assigned to the mission. I would have loved to be able to play all characters in all missions after beating the game.
This demo is perfect. It isn't 10 minutes short like some demos out there. I'm an hour into it and I only just started the 3rd mission (which is likely longer than an hour). There's also plenty of replay value by replaying missions and performing different objectives. It gives you plenty of game time to get a good feel for how the final game plays. In fact, the demo for Shadow Tactics (Mimimi's previous game) is the reason I bought that game and tried this demo out. Without such great demos, I wouldn't have even checked this game out (I never even heard of this series). The game seems to be every bit as good as Shadow Tactics. It's an awesome stealth game where you have to think your way around, using various skills from each of your party members, and using customized team attacks in certain situations. The camera can feel clunky at first, but once you get used to it, it's actually incredibly well done. If you're a fan of stealth games, definitely check this out.
Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania style game where the focus is on combat with some precise platforming gameplay. While the game's combat is very fun, there are many flaws and quality-of-life issues that make it very annoying and tedious to explore. Despite the huge size of the world, there are no ways to display the locations of all items needed for 112% completion. This forces the player to constantly refer to 3rd party maps throughout the game. The result is a very polarizing experience where the game can be very fun one moment, and extremely tedious another. Fortunately, the vast majority of cons only apply on your first progression. Pros: - Fun and challenging combat. Some bosses are especially fun and hectic. Sisters of Battle and Pure Vessel are pure fast paced combat and my favorite bosses in the whole game. - Controls are fast, fluid, and responsive, well suited for a fast paced action game. - Huge world to explore. - Graphics are cute. - Creating builds with charms is fun. Cons: - Despite the huge world, the game does not do a good job of displaying everything needed for a full completion. This forces the player to constantly refer to 3rd party maps in order to see what is where. - The map system is clunky. You start with no map, and the map doesn't dynamically update as you explore. - Progression is too vague, even for a Metroidvania game. - Level design is bad. Many zones are just mazes. - Some zones are too dark, making it difficult to play. - It can be frustrating trying to see enemies and projectiles due to visual clutter. - If you die, you must get back to your corpse to retrieve your money. If you die on the way to your corpse, you lose all your money. - Too much backtracking, even for a Metroidvania game.
