I thought I'd give this a try before taking on the main game. It was a fun, a bit short and the ability to configure controls would've been nice but still a good experience! As others have said: it ends very abruptly.
So I took about 45 minutes or so to enjoy the techo demo that this essentially is. It's definitely impressive technology and will make even beefy GPUs break a sweat (I played using an RTX 2080 and got >90 fps in 1080p). It's pretty alright but it's more exciting in theory than in practice. If you have the hardware, I encourage giving it a go!
I decided I needed some old school fun in my life and played through this game. Honestly, it is probably the weakest Wolfenstein game made. Stiff, dull and looks like dog shit.
I sadly have to admit that I finished Braid with some help from online guides as certain puzzles were simply too difficult for me. They are definitely well made, as is the game as a whole, but sometimes you can't help but wishing the game explained certain mechanics better. The art style is great and the 2D characters looks good (with the title character Tim being exceptionally well animated) while the music is wonderful. It's too bad the OST isn't available on GOG as it truly is a gem.
I'm still wiping tears as I write this. I don't think any other game has made me cry like a baby like Spiritfarer has. It is a game about death and acceptance where you lead characters to their final destination. You do this by steering a boat on a curious sea where you can visit about 2-3 dozen islands to meet people, find spirits to help and gather resources. Spiritfarer has a lot of tedious chores that needs to be done in order to advance the game forward and they mostly focuses on either mining metals, harvesting crops and fishing. Certain more exotic things can be collected in various mini-games involving platform jumping and these are basically the only "challenges" that Spiritfarer offers besides the emotional one. The game is sometimes rather vague about where you need to go or what you need to do and I got stuck about 2-3 times. It is a bit curious that a game that is all about the narrative still has trouble conveying what it wants you to do. It's too bad that so much time is dedicated to tedious activities since the game would've been even easier to recommend with better pacing. It still is a gem though.
I just finished DD on Xbox and I have to say that it was a pleasant journey although the challenging gameplay might not be for everybody. You play as a crow that reaps souls in this top down-action adventure (or whatever it's called) that focuses on quick attack swings and a dodge mechanic besides the occasional platforming session and a few puzzles. Story, atmosphere, visuals and music are all great and it truly is satisfying when you finally beat the tougher boss fights. It can be a bit frustrating but it never feels cheap or unfair when you die (and you probably will, frequently). A solid recommendation, especially considering the wallet friendly price tag!
Ape Out doesn't have an official soundtrack but the ending theme is a real gem if you like jazz. This visually pleasing top down-brawler (or whatever you want to call it) puts you in the "shoes" of an escaping gorilla that has to plow through maze-like levels in order to find the exit. Your controls are limited to pulling/grabbing, shoving and, well, running. Humans armed with different firearms will try their best to stop you and you therefor have to eliminate anything standing in your way using brute force. You can either push your foes into hard objects (or each other) or, you can grab onto them, using the unfortunate enemy as a human shield before sending them hurling into the nearest wall. This has the added bonus of making the enemy involuntarely discharge their weapon in whatever direction you are heading, thus giving you ample opportunity to turn the pesky homo sapiens weapons against them and every kill is accentuated with drumstrokes in Ape Outs jazzy yet minimalistic soundtrack. The levels are randomized, thus making it impossible to remember a perfect route and during the later, more open levels, it really boils down to a mix of reflexes and luck whether or not you will beat said level or not. The game intentionally obfuscates your view so you usually won't see enemies around the corner before they spot you. You will die a lot in Ape Out and sadly, a lot of the times those deaths feels kinda cheap. This feeling is reinforced by dumb AI that sometimes get stuck and who usually doesn't care if they hit other enemies as well. This becomes especially frustrating during the final chapter (of four) where enemies armed with RPGs have no problem shooting you at point blank range with complete disregard to themselves. A dodge mechanic that lets you avoid at least some incoming shots would've made the game a lot less frustrating. Still, the visuals, style and music makes this a joy to play. I just wish we could have more tunes like the ending theme.
As the title of my review states, Gorogoa is just as short as it is a great experience. This artistic puzzle game helps you leading a boy through mazes that tickles the imagination while showing off impressive artwork that would fit in many childrens books. The soundtrack is nice but not exactly breath taking. The whole ordeal is over in about an hour or two and the puzzles usually aren't very challenging. The only times when the game indeed does becomes a tad difficult it's usually because of the game not being very clear about what it wants from you. This complaint can of course be applied to many puzzle games but I do think it still counts as a flaw, as well as a constraint of the basic game premise that doesn't really open up for more complex challenges once you grasp the underlying logic of it. My only real criticism is however the price when considering the lenght of the game. Deciding a price on a video game is always a bit tricky but when you fork out ~15 euro for a game you really would expect an experience longer than this. All in all, Gorogoa still makes for a solid recommendation for those that enjoys puzzles and beautiful art!
I finally decided to play through Bombshell yet on a modern rig (RTX 2080) the framerate remains lackluster with all the bells and whistles enabled. Not exactly impressive considering that the game isn't very good looking by any standard. Then again - fun games are still fun games, right? Bomshell is an average shooter - straight forward and seldomly offering variation on the basic concept of shooting anything that moves. Bombshell navigates through sprawling maze-like levels, occasionally meeting up with human soldiers but par from this and a few jumping sequences it's non stop alien-killing. Is it fun? Well, kind of - when it works. On average difficulty, the game is a pure breeze in 90 % of the time but Bomshell is buggy with a capital B. I had to restart at least two levels due to progress-halting bugs and sometimes the weapons decides to stop doing damage to your numerous foes. The game offers a dozen weapons that can all be upgraded, except the bowling grenade-thing which just stopped me from upgrading after two levels - another bug I would assume. All in all - I could recommend Bombshell if you want braindead entertainment when the game is on sale. Don't expect too much though.
