A little while in, my heart sank, because I realized that it was true: this is a kids' game. It's here to remind us of 3D Platformers on the N64, of which I've never been fond. It has the goofy characters, the grunts-and-gurgles "voice acting", and that bland auto-platforming you get in a 3D Zelda. And yet... The story is surprisingly well thought out: the citizens of the eponymous city all distrust each other, and the goal is to bring them together with the power of yeah yeah, but the WAY it all unfolds is a very believable development of the unity between the different species that live there. "Racism is bad" isn't that unusual or profound a message, but it's a very good one, and if you're going to be a kids' game with a lesson, teaching your audience to just get along instead of worrying about what group everyone belongs to is a fine lesson to be learned. Showing the value of working together is a good way to teach the message, too, and that's important; a great message is worthless when it comes off as naive idealism, even to a child. When you're exploring a world and solving puzzles, it's easy to forget what it's all for, but this game does a good job of weaving it into the very design of the world you're trying to save. The world is extremely praiseworthy, too. SO MANY games take place in "a world much like our own, but with way more ninjas and dragons and zombies and stuff," but this world was designed like they actually cared about it. You're not just treading the same grasslands, forests, deserts, etc. that you have a million times before. There are a few familiar biomes, but they've been decorated in a unique visual style that doesn't really look like anything else. There are also quite a few towns to explore, each of which would be distinct even without the coloration.
An excellent follow-up, this takes the wild, imaginative worlds of the original Psychonauts and brings them to you with increased graphical fidelity; this is the kind of visual design more modern games need! This isn't a gritty, colorless wasteland; and it isn't the old grasslands, desert, jungle, forest, fire world, ice world, boss; it's all kinds of creative worlds with their own look, feel, and rules. The gameplay has been tightened up a lot, too; it's not nearly as janky as the original. There are some nice updates, too, like the teleport menu showing you which areas are 100% clear, so you have a better idea of where to go looking. Collectibles are easier to find, as well; not only is the increased draw distance able to show you items very far away, but the figments don't just completely vanish anymore. There's more story this time, and it's not bad; it has some interesting twists that might be a little hokey, but it does some really cool things with them. It does have some moments that are uncharacteristically serious and wholesome for a Psychonauts game, but overall, the story and characters are pretty good. Sure, a lot of the new characters are total jerks at first, but most of them did really grow on me as the adventure went on. Sam is best girl. I highly recommend this to anyone; like with the original, I'm not the biggest 3D Platformer fan, especially with lots of collectibles, but this absolutely transcends that.
If people ask me what kind of game proves that video games can be artistic, I'd point to this 3D Platformer. It starts out like a Saturday morning cartoon, and not one that you'll particularly enjoy into adulthood. You get thrown into an open hub with the usual collect-a-thon stuff, and it's a little janky on top of it all. The first stage isn't even all that interesting, and has some pretty frustrating sections. It doesn't make a very good first impression. That's okay, though, because some of my favorite games get off to a bad start. Things start to get a bit better once you get to the second stage, but as time goes on, you start to notice all of those collectibles improving your basic abilities! That's right: they don't exist just for their own sake, and the reward isn't just one extra area at the end if you've wasted hours of your life getting EVERY SINGLE ONE; they have value that helps you out along the way. The main premise of the game is to explore the minds of others, which can range from creepy to downright hilarious. It's all really well written, though, and some of the areas are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It even touches on mental illness a bit, and while it's in kind of a goofy way, there's still something to it. I'm not a big fan of 3D Platformers, but this is a worthy exception.
If you're expecting another Guerilla, this isn't that; you're back to plain old Shooter, and this one's very linear. That said, as a plain old Shooter, it works pretty well, with destructible environments and tons of crazy weapons. The star of the show here is the magnet gun, which shoots magnets that stick to things; once you've fired 2, they'll slam together. Stick one to the foundation of a building, and another to the top to THROW THE WALL THROUGH THE ROOF. It works great on enemies, too; you can brain them against a wall, or even just gib them, if the object is far enough away. Beyond that, you've got some staples, like the rail gun, but also weapons that disintegrate matter or just turn whatever they touch to ash. The intro mission even gives you what is basically the X Buster from the Mega Man X series, and one well-placed shot will take down a 3-story building. You've got a perk system that lets you upgrade your character with enough salvage, and while nothing there is too exciting, they're nice buffs to your character. Even the vehicle sections are fun, putting you in all kinds of different vehicles that do a great job wrecking everything in their path. The story is that of a big, dumb Action game, but that's because this is a big, dumb Action game; it does exactly what it needs to do. This one does come with a bit of a caveat that it's pretty unstable; it took almost a month for me to get it working, and even still, cutscenes have a nasty habit of kicking you back to the main menu. Luckily, the autosave triggers right before the cutscene, so you just hit Continue, and you're back in the action. Manually saving now and again wouldn't be a stupid idea, though.
The first time I played Yume Nikki, I explored every nook and cranny, just because I wanted to experience it all, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. When I finally finished everything, I stopped playing, and went through actual psychological withdrawal; for at least a week, I wanted nothing more than to go back to that beautiful world. I only played Broken Reality once a week, making progress as I went, and I still experienced this kind of withdrawal; this world is a masterpiece. You start in a beachside pastel Hell that's absolutely wonderful; I tried the demo, and even though I never left this area, I spent 2 hours before realizing that I had. It all starts out just blasting the Internet, particularly social media, and how it's been a virtual approval collect-a-thon. You start out with just a liker, which you use to slap a thumbs-up on everything you can to collect those precious likes and earn badges. The whole time, I was laughing at how ridiculous it all was... but, I wasn't not doing it. From there on, you get other tools, such as a camera, a bookmarker, a credit card, and more. Each tool had some clever uses, and though there aren't many puzzles in the traditional sense, there are a lot of exploration puzzles (i.e. how do I reach this area). The neat thing about exploration is that it's pretty open; each different area requires a certain badge level to enter, but most of them can be reached relatively easily, and some even have back doors. Completionists need not worry, either, as I missed a decent amount of likes, and even botched a couple of things, and I was still able to reach the maximum rank without much trouble, not that you even need to. This isn't for you if you want something straight-forward or action-packed, but if you enjoy exploring surreal worlds that occasionally throw some irreverent humor and well-written story bits at you, then I can't recommend this enough; it's an unforgettable adventure.
This game has a lot of questionable design elements, starting with the new monster card system. You can equip up to 3 of the 50 different cards for perks, and most of them are dropped by enemies. See where this is going? Castlevania gets away with this sort of "kill enemy; reenter screen; repeat 500 times until you get what you want" gameplay, because what you're getting is a cool new flaming sword or something; the cards are just perks, many of which are minor, like being able to climb ropes faster. Whee. There are some excellent cards, but most aren't dropped by monsters, so you're farming for HOURS for very minor "rewards". On top of that, dances are used in specific areas, but for half of them, there's no real hint as to where to use them, so you just use them on EVERY SCREEN. Oh, and they cost magic, too, so progress is slow and tedious, if you don't want to miss anything. So, halfway through the third dungeon, I gave up and started over in Full Deck Mode, which starts you with all of the cards. Add two hours to my old playtime (38% completion) and I finished the whole game; cards were just wasting my time. I'd also forgotten to turn off hints, and you know what I got? Things to tell me where to use the dances and nothing else, so keep hints on, too. Game's great if you play the right mode. Aside from that, mechanics are tight as ever, you've got all kinds of new skills and dances, and even some new magic. The world is an absolute joy to explore, with an engaging main world and very well-designed dungeons. They didn't get Jake Kaufman, but the soundtrack is still really good, and not far off the mark. Characters are the usual for a Shantae game, so fun and very lovable. I had an absolute blast with this one, once I got on the right track.
This is actually more of a map-based Platformer than a Platventure, like the earlier titles. The mechanics were still tight, and even though I wasn't really sure about this entry at first, it won me over before long. You get TONS of transformation dances and lots of other upgrades, not to mention that magic is back; you get lots of options, and every stage is your own personal playground. There are quite a lot of other modes, if you're into that sort of thing; they vary in quality from great to "this entire mode is made up of mechanics from the worst of Steam trash WHY!?" You're traversing the same stages in each mode, though, for the most part, so it's not a huge deal if you skip any of them. There is a fair amount of backtracking even in the main mode, but I didn't mind that at all; it carries that giddy sense of anticipation, wondering what your new abilities will nab you this time. The visual style took a bit to get used to, but the animation is a lot better than it seems at first, and everything is very expressive, even enemies. The music has some arrangements of old tunes, and I was worried when the first section threw a vocal track at me, but some of the later tunes are excellent. As for the characters and story, it's a Shantae game; if you've played any of the others, you know exactly what you're getting into, and it more than lives up to that. Overall, this is a great entry in the series!
Like the other Shantae games, this does its thing very well, but differently enough that I still don't have a favorite. This one has a nice mix of action and puzzle-solving, and aside from a few incredibly frustrating moments - the final dungeon comes to mind - it's yet another great entry in the series. The dungeons, unfortunately, are a bit on the shorter side, which wouldn't be so bad were it not for the fact that you spend more time in gimmicky activities, like an obstacle course and a long stealth section, the latter of which takes longer and is more intricate than the actual dungeon in its area. The upgrades are also a bit more traditional, but still pretty interesting. It looks and sounds mostly like Risky's Revenge - KILLER soundtrack, too; Jake Kaufman does it again! - and the writing is genuinely funny, and I don't say that easily.
The second Shantae game improves upon the original in many ways. The hit detection and combat are much better, everything (including world exploration and items) is streamlined, and even though many songs are just arrangements of tunes from the first game, they're great. There are a lot of design choices that threw me for a loop; not in a good or bad way, but certainly unexpected, which is kind of cool. My only real gripe was the lack of inn, but potions are cheap.
In this Action-Adventure, you have one minute before you die, and then start over, though you do get to keep any items you've found or other progress you've made. It sounds annoying, but since it's only one minute, you're not required to go very far, and a failed attempt doesn't waste much time for you, the player. It's fun and interesting, and has a good soundtrack with a lovely monochrome aesthetic. Short game (duh), but definitely worth a shot, if you can get it cheap.
