I really enjoyed playing through Toem. The whole experience was relaxing with full of charm and the difficulty of the puzzle challenges were just right (except for one-two pretty vague ones). After the game ended, I immediately wanted to experience it again - which is something that rarely happens to me in the world of video games. The levels, the characters you meet, the puzzles you solve, the music, the ambient sounds are all very memorable and they will stick with you for a while. If you enjoy games that are about a playful, relaxing exploration (perhaps A Short Hike would be another good example), then look no further - this is a must-play!
I had a lot of fun playing through Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated! I've never played the original game nor was I familiar with the cartoon but nevertheless, if you are looking for a great collectathon game (reminiscent of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era platformers), then look no further. The animation and movement is fluid, the graphics are pretty good and colorful, and all of the levels (with their own gameplay mechanics) feel unique. I enjoyed it a lot and I guess I can say that as an adult, it also felt like a relaxing game. I couldn't really find any faults other than some achievements related to collecting things not unlocking - which is a shame when it comes to this kind of games. But still, this is an awesome, classic platformer and I can easily recommend it!
I had a lot of fun playing through Forgive Me Father and I am in the middle of my second playthrough with the other playable character. The game does many things right: the gunplay is satisfying and intense, the awesome music kicks in just at the right moments, and there are some pretty cool levels to play through. Also, the comic book style of the game is unique and pretty well done! I know that usually the story is not the most important aspect of boomer shooters but I felt that the game started out really well when it came to storytelling. It dropped some good hints as to what was happening and I was genuinely curious to uncover the mystery... but unfortunately, the climax of the story fell pretty flat. I thought this was a missed opportunity. Nevertheless, Forgive Me Father is an excellent FPS with a good replay value and in my opinion, it is one of the best shooters of 2022.
Death's Door is a fantastic action-adventure game that totally got me by surprise. It is a healthy mix of the developer's previous game Titan Souls and the classic Zelda games. Everything about it just flows really well: the gameplay with tight controls, the music, the animation, the level design...the amount of polish on display here is great. I also appreciated its charm and emotional storytelling. You can expect some emotional storylines but also a healty dose of humour while playing the game. Overall, Death's Door is a lot of fun and it easily earns my wholehearted recommendation!
I really enjoyed playing through Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Everything about it feels great. The controls and movement are snappy, the gameplay is unique, the music is memorable and the art style is just filled with charm. Seriously, it's like playing a 90s kids show! I also appreciated the somewhat dry humor and the fact that the game didn't take itself too seriously. Now, mind you, this is really my first entry to the Wonder Boy/Monster Boy franchise so I can only compare this to other, similar games. Perhaps, the only gripe I had was the occasional hiccup in the progression. I would say that around 95% of the time, the puzzles were clear and the game had a surprisingly good flow. However, 5% of the time, some of the areas were so ambiguous that I had to look up a walkthrough to proceed. Nevertheless, for the fans of the metroidvania genre, this game is a very easy recommendation. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series!
I played for 60+ hours, experienced all the different endings, and completed most of the side quests. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly for Cyberpunk 2077 (1.06.): The Good: - The writing is great, the characters are memorable, the emotional attachment for the main story is definitely there - Mature themes - definitely 18+ (very rare for mainstream games) - Night city and the world itself is fantastic - Many side quests (that are not gigs) are also great, some of them having multiple outcomes - The visuals (when they are not bugged out, and if you have a medium/high-tier PC) are amazing - Most of the music is excellent The Bad: - An illusion of choice. Your lifepaths, your looks or whether you choose to be combat- or stealth-focused simply don't matter at all. Yes, if you complete some optional story arcs, you can influence the ending of the game but that's pretty much it. - The open world elements are shallow. Nothing to do besides the quests. They even have lots of arcade machines and you cannot interact with them! Pedestrian and police AI is almost non-existent. - Same thing with the romances. Once you finish a side quest with a romance option, that's pretty much it apart from 1-2 extra dialogues. - Some of the storylines feels rushed. In one side-quest, you stumble upon a huge conspiracy...and it just ends there. The Ugly: - Contrary to the promotional material, this is an action-adventure immersive sim and NOT an RPG, not even a fully realized GTA-like game. This is a huge fault of the marketing department. - Many immersion-breaking bugs, barely functional collision detection - "Runs surprising well on current-gen consoles" and "we leave greed to others" certainly didn't age well. Considering what Cyberpunk is mostly about, the irony is astounding. All goodwill from Witcher 3 is simply lost. So yeah, apart from the bugs, I enjoyed the game for what it was and felt really immersed in its world...which is obviously held together by duct tape.
A game from a much simpler time for many. I fondly remember the many hours spent with this classic in my childhood. Surprisingly, it is still a lot of fun to play. I took it with me on a laptop for a family holiday and I had a great time still. The graphics, the animation, the way Jazz shouts to the player "Hey, come on, what's up?!" during one of the idle animations, it's all great. Alexander Brandon's music is on another level, and if you played the original Unreal and Unreal Tournament, his style will be easily recognizable. I encountered some small bugs and crashes using Win7 so my advice is to save the game at the beginning of each level and just before exiting a level (going past the exit sign).
I had a great time with this expansion: it introduced a new, open-worldish map and it continued with the strengths of the main game - good characters, interesting story and a really immersive world. I actually enjoyed it so much that I completed it twice already to see what I missed in the first run. Man, seriously, just sitting down in this post-apocalyptic world to play some country songs on the harmonica was already a great moment for me. However, I got this DLC with the Metro Exodus Gold edition so I didn't purchase it separately. Had I done that, I would have found the price to be too high. 10 EUR/USD would have been a better price.
While The Two Colonels might be on the shorter side, its story, characters and atmosphere really makes up for its length. Highly recommended!
The Metro series is a unique gem in the shooter genre and I highly enjoyed Exodus. The open-world parts are great: the game encourages exploration without resorting to needless collectible hunting and each level does not outstay its welcome. I was worried that the crafting would be too cumbersome but it turned out to be a good addition to the gameplay. The story and the characters are very memorable and you grow a strong bond with them over the course of the campaign. Immersion is just outstanding: the whole world simply swallows you and there is nothing like it out there. The shooting and the movement can feel clunky at times but it didn't bother me too much to be honest. One thing the game could have done better is to tell you when you are entering a point of no return in the open world sections. While it is great that the game does not hold your hand when it comes to exploration, it would have been nice to somehow indicate to the players that they will not be able to return to previous sections. Overall, I really enjoyed Metro Exodus and its expansions. The story will stay with me for a while and I am looking forward to the next installment!
