Gravity Circuit is a short, but great combat platformer that is clearly a tribute to games like Mega Man, even down to the level selection screen. It's fun and has a fair challenge. It's not a cake-walk, but it's not impossible either. The difficulty curb really kicks up a notch at the last two levels. Pros: - Great gameplay - Really good mechanics - Good controls - Solid platforming - Banger sountrack - Charming & cool artstyle - Fair challenge - Runs really well - Fun boss fights - Level selection is a nice touch - New Game +, Speedrun, and Circuit Mode help add some replay value to the game Cons (mostly nitpicks) - Bosses and platforming can be annoying - Game suffers from a slight frame rate dip at times - Story could've been more interesting Gravity Circuit is one of my favorite platformers (and games in general) of this year along with Pizza Tower and Super Mario Wonder. It's a great indie game too. Also, it's definitely worth the money. If Capcom isn't willing to make another Mega Man game, then some indie developers will.
Trepang2 is pretty impressive for an indie shooter. It's also a good successor/love-letter to the quite fantastic F.E.A.R. However, it's not as scary and more action-packed than F.E.A.R., but it's still really good. The game is really fun to play when you get used to the mechanics and controls. It's definitely up there with games like Turbo Overkill as one of my top favorite shooters of 2023. Pros: - Fun combat and gameplay - Dual wielding weapons are so satisfying to use - Great weapons including the shotgun, minigun, and more - Really good graphics - Fine enemy types - Interesting locations/environments - Good mission variety - Backrooms reference was cool - Side missions are a nice change of pace - Okay voice acting - Autosaving is a life saver - Lots of replay value Cons: - Bosses are usually really cheap, especially the final boss - Stamina is very annoying - A lot of the missions have the tendency to turn into a wave shooter - (Nitpick, must be the version of Proton I used) The pre-rendered cutscenes don't show up; it's just the color test screen, but at least they're skippable - The story and dialogue could've been better - The evil supernatural entities are not as iconic and don't have the same impact as Alma - $30 is a bit much for a game like this, but at least it's not overpriced disappointing garbage The game is pretty much F.E.A.R. on steroids. It's really good, but not great since it has some annoying flaws. However, I highly recommend it if you love horror FPS games, F.E.A.R., and shooters that have high octane action. I'm glad we live in a time where it's possible for small developers to make really good successors/love-letters to great, classic games of the past.
Turbo Overkill is honestly a blast to play. It's definitely one of my favorite shooters (and games in general) of this year. It's also worth $25. I highly recommend it if you enjoy boomer shooters and FPS games. Pros: - Great, fast gameplay - Fun, creative weapons - Challenging, but fair boss fights - Good level design - Nice gore factor - Really good soundtrack - Entertaining cutscenes - Cool characters and enemies - Interesting mechanics - Blast to play - Really rad action set-pieces - Good graphics and artstyle - Solid controls - Okay story Cons: - Dialogue is a bit meh at times - Cloud save is not supported - Some parts of the game can be really annoying, especially some of the platforming and last few missions (don't get me started on the last boss) - $25 is a bit much for a game like this, but it's really good (much more of a nitpick) - Like another review stated, this version doesn't have the level editor & downloader This game has a few problems, even though they're mostly nitpicks, but I still think this is a fantastic game and an absolute blast to play. Like I said earlier, if you enjoy boomer shooters and FPS games in general, you'll enjoy this game. Good thing I got the game when it was released out of early access. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 if I could.
This game is an okay platformer that is pretty short, but fine for a $10 game. It does offer solid gameplay and a fair challenge with some annoying parts here and there. The story is alright, but this game is gameplay focused, which more than fine by me. This is a pure platformer like the ones of yesteryear. Pros: - Gorgeous artstyle and pixel art - Good soundtrack - Solid gameplay - Decent boss fights - 9 lives is a nice change of pace - A fair challenge - Pure platforming action - Somewhat interesting characters and enemies - Short but sweet - Alright stages - Dash move and jump hitting through the air are useful - Not bad for $10 Cons: - Game can be quite boring at times - The mine cart stage is annoying - Whole game is kind of a cake-walk - Level design could've been better - Platforming and gameplay could've been improved - Story is mid Overall, the game is quite solid, but just another reviewer said, I would give this a 3.5/5. It's not a bad game at all. I just thought it could've been better and less boring. However, I recommend this game if you like indie games, platformers, and games with anthro-animal characters.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is really in the top five of my favorite games from 2023 along with Pizza Tower, Hi-Fi Rush, and Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. It's not perfect as I would later detail in this review, but if you enjoy Jet Set Radio/Future or any cult classic games in that style from the early 2000s, this one is for you. Pros: -Great gameplay -Excellent presentation -Charming art-style reminiscent of games from the early 2000s -Really good soundtrack -Decent story -Good controls -Plays and runs really well -Interesting characters -Fun mechanics -Cool maps Cons: -$40 is a bit much for this game, $25-$30 max would have been better, but thank goodness it was a good game -Some challenges can a bit annoying, but it's not a deal-breaker or anything -As mentioned in another review, the keybind is a bit messed up (however I didn't deal with this issue much since I used a controller to play this game, but still) -Day 1 DLC, even though it's not here along with the soundtrack. Seriously, why put content that could easily be an unlockable behind a paywall; I thought indie games are supposed to deviate from the greedy, anti-consumer practices of modern AA/AAA companies -Some of the songs were meh to me -Story was a bit generic/boring for me at times Although there were some flaws with the game, like some of the blatant anti-consumerism, it is quite impressive that an indie studio is able to make a surprisingly great game inspired by Jet Set Radio. It's even almost identical to Jet Radio Future if you take a quick glance at it. I would suggest buying this game to support the devs, but I honestly recommend buying the game on sale. Despite all of that, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is definitely one of my favorite games of 2023, and I'm glad I bought and played this game.
Absolutely brilliant, unforgettable puzzle game that's pretty mind-bending- don't be scared of using video walkthroughs for some of the puzzles. It's a little short, but that's ok in this day and age. Works great on Linux.
