You won't see much of anything new in this Action-Adventure, but like Wild Arms before it, what it does is take elements from many other games and put them together into the ultimate experience. Many would compare it to a 3D Zelda, but where Zelda is lacking is mobility and combat. Darksiders takes that from the likes of Devil May Cry, so the exploration and puzzle solving feel really good. It doesn't stop there, either; there are tons of different sets of collectibles to find, but their numbers are very reasonable, and unlike your typical Collect-a-Thon, each item has value of its own; not just a prize waiting for you once you finally collect the whole set, though you'll usually get that, too. There are some light RPG elements, mainly upgrading your weapons by damaging enemies with them, and while that does get grindy at times, maxing them out is fairly reasonable overall, especially with certain exploits. I highly recommend those exploits, too, because where the grinding ceases to be reasonable is the shop; you're going to need a LOT of scratch to get everything. The controls are also a bit unresponsive at time, and sometimes the challenge has weirdly high spikes, but you know where the challenge isn't? Bad minigames. You'll have a Rail Shooter section, and a few places where Third-Person Shooter mode is highly recommended, and that's about it; would've been nice to be able to switch to mouse and keyboard just for those, but they weren't terrible. The music isn't that memorable, and the story is so GRITTY GRIMDARK that it's unintentionally silly at times, but never quite reaches the level of God of War. If you're into Action or Action-Adventure, I highly recommend this.
There are tons of LEGO Platformers that follow this formula, but it's super satisfying. You have big, puzzle-filled stages to explore, and gather studs. Take those studs back to the hub and use them to purchase new characters and superpowers; the superpowers make your life easier, but new characters often have abilities that let you reach new areas. It's technically a collect-a-thon, but with a very reasonable amount of things to collect. Overall, the game is pretty easy, too, since it's targeted toward a younger audience. This particular entry is based mostly on the Batman animated series from the '90s, so the environments are dark and gritty. Despite that, it's a LEGO game, so the tone is completely goofy, which is more reminiscent of the old Adam West series. It knows what it is, and it just wants to have some fun, which to me, is what Batman should be about. The music is alright, but there isn't all that much of it. I don't often say fun for all ages, but this is it; I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't need a punishing challenge in every game they play.
This is a Platventure, but the hook is that you have Fighter moves as both attacks and ways to reach new areas. It starts out simple enough, and does a very good job of easing you into new moves and what to do with them. That said, it gets to be quite challenging by the end, especially if you're trying to grab all of the game's treasures. This leads to some really cheap moments, and some of the move inputs clash a bit with general design, so there is the occasional frustration. The combat gradually gets harder, too, especially if you're trying to rack up big combos. Though the time between hits is very forgiving, and you can get extra hit bonuses for killing enemies or hitting them with special moves, take one hit and your combo ends. Luckily, they're mostly for personal gratification, and if they do increase the amount of money that you receive - I didn't take notice - it doesn't matter much, because you'll likely have enough to buy all of the upgrades by the end, so long as you're diligent. The humor's a little hit-or miss, unfortunately. It's a pretty funny game, overall, and when a joke lands, its over-the-top presentation really makes it pop; by the end, I was still chuckling every time I got a new ability. A lot of it, though, is semi-funny, but mostly pop culture references (the majority of which are to video games) that don't make any sense here. Sure, with the luchador theme, a Strong Bad reference makes sense, but there's a broken wall with exposed bricks in the shape of a Mega Man sprite at one point. Every once in a while, they're funny, just because they come out of nowhere, smack you upside the head, and fly off into the distance before you even figured out what happened, but there are so many that they start to just seem out of place. All in all, a few unreasonable expectations aside, there isn't anything wrong with it; if you're looking for a fresh experience, and don't mind a challenge that's a bit higher for this subgenre, then give this a go!
In this Action-Adventure, you run a shop, and to get the items to sell, you dive into randomly-generated dungeons. The dungeon part is fun, even if the combat takes a bit to get used to, but what really surprised me is how much fun it is to run the shop. You set prices based on customer reactions and relative worth of similar items, beat the snot out of thieves, and take custom orders. As you progress, you upgrade your shop, and use some of the materials you findd to craft better gear and make it deeper into the various dungeons. It's pretty simple, but oddly satisfying. The bells and whistles are really great, too. Naturally, there isn't much story in a game like this, but there's a very rich lore for those willing to dig into the game and inspect every item. The graphics are pretty good, and the items and environments are varied and interesting. Especially impressive are the animations; a LOT of talent and effort went into the surprisingly smooth animations of just about everything. Perhaps my favorite is the soundtrack, though; it's largely orchestral, but unlike most orchestral soundtracks that are bland and fade into the background, this one was deep and emotional at times; moody, even. The Between Dimensions expansion isn't bad, but unless you're really screaming for more Moonlighter after the main adventure is over, I think it'd be okay to pass on this one. It's one new dungeon, which has new items, and allows you to craft new gear, of course, but the 5 new items in each category each look the same. You also have a new barter mechanic, but you never know what's going to be offered or what you'll need to trade for it, so it's hard to prepare until you get the new vendor, who simplifies the whole process. In terms of challenge, the new dungeon is pretty long, but you can unlock shortcuts, and the final boss isn't too difficult.
The basic mechanics are pretty solid; you have both guns and your trusty wrench. The guns can be charged, but will have a longer cooldown time after firing charged shots. The wrench can be used for striking, swung at the right time to reflect projectiles, twirled for a good DPS attack, twisted to crank knobs to move pieces of puzzles the size of an entire room, and can even attach to grapple points. To summarize, the game plays like a combination of Metroid, Bionic Commando, Castle Excellent, and Monster Party; it's quite a mash-up, and tests your brain just as much as your reflexes. The bosses are no exception, and since there aren't many upgrades, you often have to think about all of your skills before you can find a solution that works. Many of the boss fights are quite engaging and fierce - it's rare for a game to expect you to be a good fighter and a good puzzle solver - but there are a select few that are stupidly easy or just plain obnoxious. Unfortunately, this does have the side-effect of bringing you times when you'll have no idea what to even do, making the challenge weirdly inconsistent. The visuals are made entirely of pixel art, but it's not the low-detail variant that screams indie at the top of its lungs. This is high quality, and has a very unique aesthetic. The characters all have excellent visual designs. The scenery is also unique, both in its shape and its coloration; in the very first area, you have trees with little cubes on them for leaves. The music complements all of this fairly well, and while there are only a handful of standout tracks, few of them are bad. This is heavily story-focused, and while the story does take some interesting turns, and has some good philosophy behind it, a lot of the characters are unlikeable, or go back-and-forth between whether or not I could stand them. Overall, if you like this style and are up for a challenge, this game's merits do outweigh its flaws.
I can think of very few games that are as special as Anodyne 2. At a glance, it looks like a 3D Zelda, but with 2D Zelda dungeons, but the influences are so much wider than that, creating a very unique experience. There are many residents who need healing, and you shrink down to explore the dungeons inside of them and help them overcome their problems. These dungeons are generally more puzzle-focused, but there is a lot of variety across them, and you'll find quite a few throughout the game. The 3D overworld is a little buggy, but if you've thoroughly explored the first game, you'll know that that's kind of the point, and it's no great hindrance anyway. The visuals, despite using that low-poly look are absolutely stunning; the way the game creates atmosphere is something to behold. The denizens are abstract and weird, and I love them. It's a world I feel like I could live in for the rest of my days, and it even does a little visual storytelling. The 2D bits are brighter and more colorful, as well as very abstract. Put it all together with a soothing, meditative soundtrack, and you have an unbelievable experience. Perhaps best of all is the writing. Certainly, the story has a lot of lovely things to bring, but like Soul Blazer, almost every NPC is a philosopher, and has something thought-provoking to say. There's a lot that will get you thinking about all aspects of life; truly pondering them. It's all bathing in something abstract enough to be truly unique as well. No matter what kinds of things you like in your games, this comes very highly recommended.
Before I get into the review, I have to mention that this game crashed constantly for me, sometimes after less than a minute of gameplay. I found a few fixes online, and they didn't seem to work; your mileage may vary. This sequel is pretty similar to its predecessor in most ways, so I'll be talking mostly about its new elements. The weapons are technically different, but functionally very similar, and a lot of the plasmids are the same; like before, you won't have to worry about Adam too much, because there aren't enough useful upgrades that you're likely to run out. The main difference is that you'll have moments where you have to defend a character while enemies swarm you. It's not an escort, exactly... tower defense, I guess? I don't typically like these kinds of things, and you'll be doing this A LOT, but I wasn't as bothered by it as I thought I'd be. The biggest difference is in the story, and without getting too much into spoiler territory, the central theme is just the exact opposite of that of the first game. That doesn't sound like much, but it does lend itself to more moral ambiguity, and so most of the debate is worth having. My main gripe is that the counterpoint isn't as strong as it could be, and part of that is that the character making it doesn't show the work that brought them to that conclusion. Yes, the main antagonist does some horrific things in the name of her ideals, but that discredits the character; not the ideals. You have a few more moral choices than you did throughout the first BioShock, but none of them are terribly complex. All summed up, I'd say it's exactly on par with the original, but more grounded; fewer highs and lows, but same total score.
I was pretty late to the party, but this Shooter was pretty good. It takes a while to get going, but once you get yourself established, it's fun and enjoyable. Weapons have 3 different types of ammo each, and most are useful. You can also gain magical powers and perks throughout your adventure, and build your own customized loadout. It straddles the line between horror and action well, so it's not just straight twitch, swarms of dudes, bunny hop or die, but you also don't move like all of your limbs are broken. Money and crafting components seem pretty generous, so keeping your ammo stocked up is rarely a problem. There isn't much open exploration, as the game is fairly linear, but the world is visually beautiful and absolutely worth taking in, making what exploration you do have a great pleasure. Then, we get into the writing... Yes, I remember this era of game development, where every game had to have a major plot twist (I saw this one coming about 2 areas in) and a "profound" message for everyone to gush over. The message is made clear from the very beginning, but it's executed as such a ridiculous straw man argument that it sounds like a college freshman's rant paper written right after learning about all of the injustices of the world. It's also a bit funny hearing such a blatant, "BAAAAAH CAPITALISM BAD!" cautionary tale from a publisher like 2K, but that's a bit beside the point. The moral choice system is also completely pointless; there's no reason to take the selfish path. The writing lacks any kind of subtlety, so as a work of art, it falls more than just a bit flat, but as entertainment, it does manage to hit the mark. The tale gets dark and twisted toward the end, and coupled with the half-horror framing of the experience, it all comes together pretty well, even if not as intended. If you want a fun Shooter in a beautiful world with a twisted story, you'll find it here, but don't go in expecting a masterpiece.
I had almost no experience with the series prior to this - watching a friend adjust the camera to get the best shot of the goods in a demo on one of those Playstation Underground discs doesn't really count - and this made a very good first impression. I usually don't like Third-Person Shooters, because the controls never feel like they were programmed by a sane person, but these work very well. I can't aim very well with a gamepad, but using WASD to control Lara in a 3-dimensional environment with complex platforming puzzles was much easier than I could've hoped! What starts out as a series of quick-time events and a lot of spectacle over substance gradually gives way to a very solid experience. You have experience, but instead of just gaining it from killing enemies, you also build up from solving puzzles and finding artifacts; they remembered that she's a badass action heroine, but an archeologist, first and foremost. Finding relics was neat, too, because she'd give some historical context, and you could inspect them, sometimes finding additional information. Experience is used to learn different skills, and though you'll have them all by the end, you have a chance at some customization until you get there. You also salvage scrap, which can be used to add parts onto your weapons to enhance performance; though you only have 4 weapons, they're all fun to use and build. That said, I killed most of my adversaries with archery, because it works very well; yes, I was a basic bow. Combat isn't super common, but it often unfolds something like a puzzle; there are plenty of solutions, often involving environmental elements. Puzzles can be challenging at times, but only once did I need to consult a walkthrough, because there was a thing I didn't even know I could do, and it was never explained; everything else was pretty intuitive.
You can tell just by looking at the screenshots that this seeks to pay homage to oldschool games. and it comes with some oldschool challenge, as well. Now, I'm not one who insists on having every game I play punish me for anything less than pixel-perfect movements, and I say that the challenge here is almost perfect. It's tough, sure, but it's Mega Man X tough, where you have lots of great movement-based techniques, and just getting around feels so good! The very first technique you learn is the cloudstep, which allows you to jump again in midair if you strike something while airborne, which you can repeat infinitely, as long as you're still hitting something. It's such a simple mechanic, but SO satisfying, and mastering it makes the level design flow so beautifully. As you continue on, you'll get more abilities to expand your moveset even further, and everything just gets even better. The bells and whistles are lovely, too; you can see the great NES-style 8-bit artwork, and from beginning to end, it's beautiful and very detailed. You probably couldn't do a lot of what you see here on actual NES hardware because of memory limits and such, but who cares? It looks great, and still evokes that classic style! The music does a great job of that, too; the soundtrack is pretty faithful to the NES soundchip, and will keep your blood pumping! You probably wouldn't expect much out of the story and characters, but there is a fairly detailed plot, and the writting is genuinely funny, especially your smartass sidekick, Quarble. There's also a free expansion called Picnic Panic, which is absolutely worth your time.
