What I mean with this is that the gamehad a great setting to showcase and demonstrate the differences between angels and demons, with you bringing chaos and destruction to the lands during your quest, while Nugget be disgusted and appalled by your actions. Instead you have a docile angel with you who's loyal to the teeth the moment you get him and his naive to a fault. There is no objection to what you do, there is no trying to stop, there is agitation. Nugget is supportive of you every step of the way and puts a positive spin on every level you play. The game tries to explain why he is that way and teases repercussions for his actions, but nothing comes from this. The same is actually true for other points in the game, where an obstacle is build up but then never materializes. I'm not saying that the game should go down the route of a Final Fantasy, but at least give me something. The second problem I have is that you don't really feel like a demon. You don't really do much evil during your quest and it doesn't help that the vast majority of characters you meet are morally grey at beast or evil themselves at worse. As for the game itself, it's fun. Granted, it feels a bit meh at first, but opens up quite a lot later on. Especially the platforming becomes very liberal and you can usually find alternative paths to the intended playstyle of the devs, especially after you gain more charges for your swing. The Hub worlds are also surprsingly large and the devs put a lot of care into them and gave each section their distinct flair. The game also rewards exploration, with you finding a hidden cave here and an alcove there, while keeping you engaged with the prospect of collectibles to unlock skill points or new abilities. I also liked the depiction of blood in the game. Unfortunately, it's no Conker and given the setting, there could have been more gorey and gruesome deaths, but it's nice that it's hear. On the other hand, I found the game a bit too easy.
I'm usually not an ARPG fan, but as someone who likes transformation, the game garnered my interest. And it was worth it. The game has it flaws, with the biggest two for me being that there is a lot of backtracking in the second half of the story, even with the fast travel system. Or rather that there isn't much visual variety compared to the areas beforehand. My second gripe is that you seemingly can't max out your skill tree with a casual playthrough, especially if you like switching between the different animal forms. You do earn passive XP for your human form when you are an animal and vice versa, but you don't earn any for the unequipped animals. Another pet peeve is that the main character is dumb as a brick when it comes to the main story. On the good side, you can play as an animal. There are some grievences as well, depending on personal opinion. Like the animations being a bit stiff, especially when it comes to stuff like breathing fire or spitting poison. And that all of them basically play the same. The water based Crocolisks are just as fast and agile on land like any other creature and the supposedly blind Rockers can move around just as easily as creatures with eyes. The same goes for combat where creatures that predominantly use ranged attacks as NPCs are just as viable in melee when you play as them. There are a few differences, but they are neglectible. Another thing I like is the aesthetic of the game. It has this Anthem vibe, where you are in a medieval orient like society, but they have futuristic technology. The story is also nice for what it is and while it isn't anything special, it kept me motivated to play. There is also some B plot which just gets introduced and then just fizzles out without any proper conclusion. The progression is also well done and while you feel like you're on the backfoot at first, you do become a killing machine when you return to previous areas. All in all I enjoyed my time with the game and recommend it.
As someone who played the REmake dozens of times by now, this game still offered me a fresh experience. I don't want to spoil anything, but lets just say that I played as Chris and I was constantly short on ammo and had to restart the game once because items weren't where I expected them to be from the Remake. It really plays with your nerves a bit. Like you enter a familiar corridor and brace yourself for the zombies breaking in, but then they don't or you think that this corridor should be save now after returning to the mansion only to have enemies waiting for you. It adds a new layer and even with the knowledge you have from the Remake, this game still has enough aces up its sleeve that make you go:" Ah crap!". As for the atmosphere, let's be honest, it's not scary at all anymore, especially given that the entire game is brightly lit and lots of cutscenes make you feel like you're playing a parody game. I know the franchises gets panned for its bad dialogue, but let me tell you, RE 2&3 are miles ahead of this one. "Here come the mooonsters!". Also the pose Chris makes after unlocking the doors at the PC later in the game, it's just golden. But also, the mansion has an entirely new feel to it. It's sparsely furnished and it feels a bit more obvious that this is just a cover up. And the connection from the mansion to the lab also feels more logical for me than in the remake. So yeah, if you've never played this game, go
Let me start with saying this: El Matador is not a casual game. You might think that, given that slowmo and cool looking jumps is this game's entire gimmick, but no. Enemies hit hard, jumping around in slowmo only gives you small buffs (if any at all) and jumping blindly into the action or one false move can either deplete your health really bad or outright kill you. Which is fine, since you and your enemies are on a mostly equal power level. Their guns hurt as much as yours do and so it comes down to utilize the environment to your advantage, peak around corners and become good friends with the F5 and F9 keys. Unfortunately, this whole system comes crashing down with boss battles. Some of them feel good, but most of them are an excercise in frustration, since they do way more damage than regular grunts, they take a lot more hits and ressources are sparse. And while you slowly get a good feeling about how to play the game and what you can get away with, when you should save and when you should go looking for a medic bag, bosses destroy that flow entirely and rely on you cheesing the fight. That said, they, and the AI in general, are not that stupid. Enemies relocate during a fight, they try to flank you, some try to rush you and bosses usually start throwing grenades when you camp on the other side of the map. It feels a bit like the FEAR AI and can catch you off guard, when an enemy suddenly moves in a different direction after a reload. Content wise, there is enough. You have 6 chapters with multiple levels each, giving the game around 20 levels. Weapon wise, you have the usual suspects. A regular pistol, a Deagle, a Mac 10, an Uzi, an MP5, M16s and AKs, a shotgun and rare special weapons like an LMG or an RPG. Which leads to another criticism of mine, because only the assault rifles feel viable, because they have the best mix of accuracy and fire rate. Every other gun is lacking in one of those and even the Jackhammer has an abysmall fire rate. Still fun.
I must say that I didn't get warm with Akimbot at first. It was well made, with good visuals and solid gameplay, but it didn't really catch me. Then I reached the twist in the story and oh boy, my opinion changed immediately. Seriously, the level after this is basically Jeff Goldblum saying:"Your developers were so obsessed with the thought if they could that they never bothered to ask if they should.". Not everyone will like that section, but I was constantly smiling and saying:" What were they thinking?!" And the game itself also becomes better after this. The levels become better, there are longer and more intricate plattforming sections and the enemy composition becomes less stressful. Despite of being a kids game, it's still challenging as an adult, because a lot of enemies will lead their shots and you will do a lot of jumping and dashing to dodge them. Weapons don't have ammo, but an overheating mechanic and you can wield one of four special weapons, which gain ammo by killing enemies. As for the gameplay itself, there is a good variety. The vast majority of the game are 3D action platformer levels in the style of Ratched and Clank or Jack and Dexter, but there are also several minigames spread throughout, like a 2D fighting section, turret sections, rail shooter like vehicle sections or a game of memory. I really have to critisize the vehicle sections though. The first fighter level is fun, because it has awesome visuals and there is a lot of fighting going on, but the rest is annoying. One is more of a glorified loading screen with not much action and the last one is fighting turrets for 90% of the mission. The main issue is, that you can't really evade hits, which is true for most vehicles. And the car is just awful, especially because it does a 90° turn when you barely touch the stick and later in the game, there is a race over a bottomless pit (hello stickdrift). All in all, Akimbot has flaws, but I would still recommend it for the price.
I don't think that I watched the movie, but damn, this game is fun. It's an over the top action shooter similar to Max Payne and Total Overdose, where you mow down bad guys by the dozens while everything around you crumbles and explodes upon the slightest touch. The story of the game is pretty light and cliché, but serviceable and gives you some context about the destruction you unleash. While it starts simple, the later levels become more puzzle like, both in terms of pure survivability, but also from the level design itself. Especially the penthouse level, while pretty silly from a logical point of view, is a fighting puzzle and was a nice change of pace. All in all though, the game is pretty repetitive from a gameplay point of view, because all you do is jumping around like an angry grasshopper while shooting your guns non-stop. There is one turret section, but aside from that, there are no sections that would add variety and it does get a bit old towards the end. It also doesn't help that the game suffers from Pain Killeritis, meaning that you often walk from arena to arena, instead of having proper levels. Your weapon arsenal is also compact and I think it may should have had one or two more weapons, but it was fine. You have a pistol, a Deagle, a Shotgun, an Assault Rifle, an SMG and the rare Rocket Launcher and MG, with all one handed weapons being able to be dual wielded. What I have to give the game credit for is how smooth it plays. No matter if you just want to jump to the side, jump off a wall, glide down a handrail or take a stroll on a serving cart, I was able to do them very easily without much of a hassle, although railguards sometimes bring you to a full stop when they take an angle. Another great thing is the presentation. You fight through regular Hong Kong streets, through a Triad casino, stilt houses or a museum while enemies have overly dramatic screams or death animations, especially if you use the precision shot. So yes, get it.
I basically agree with all the other reviews here. Cavern of Dreams is a cute little plattformer that creates its own charm. While it surely does take inspiration from other games, it's its own thing, with its own lore and story. As for the premise, you are the little dragon Fynn, whose parents has disappeared and who has to rescue his kidnapped, unhatched siblings. Just like with other games in the genre, you have your hubworld that opens up to the different worlds and has secrets of its own and then the different sub-worlds. They are somewhat based on the archetypes we see in other games, but some of them, like the one with Mr.Kerrington, are somewhat unique or at least not seen as often. As for the tone of the game, it's as cheerful and colorful as you would expect. A lot of inanimate objects have eyes and smiles, textures change to happy faces when you solve puzzles and even objects that are usually harmful are given a positive spin. That said, there are also spooky areas in the game and while they are appropriately child friendly, they do feel eery and foreboading even got a little jump out of me. Overall there seems to be a somewhat darker history in the world that isn't explicitly shown, but hinted at at various places. But still, this isn't something like Happy Game or Conker's Bad Furday, it's all child friendly. As for the gameplay itself, Fynn learns all of the usual moves you expect from this genre and a dragon, except of being able to spit fire, which makes sense, given that he's a small child at best. There is a cool touch in that all upgrade change Fynn's visual appearance over the course of the game. The puzzles are pretty well done and while they start simple, the ones in the third and fourth world can get a bit tricky. They don't get overly complicated, but require good timing and precise plattforming. Especially the final under water puzzle is a bit tricky and the hints on how to solve puzzles get less obvious. All in all, it's a good game.
On paper, Total Overdose is the perfect child of Max Payne and Saints Row. You have over the top situations, a too cool for school main character, cheesy music, stereotypical drug lords and gangbangers, horns that hunk melodies, whacky special abilities and the Max Payne like shooting. And yet, it doesn't really hit the mark. It should be a surefire hit, but it isn't and I honestly couldn't tell you why. The shooting is fine, the characters are fine, the story is fine, the missions are fine, the driving is horrible (your cars constantly drift around corners, there is no way to turn in a normal way), the devs had the right ideas and all in all, objectively speaking, it isn't that worse than Saints Row 1, yet it somehow doesn't click. The Max Payne mechanics in the game are ok, though a bit random. While dolphin diving works 100% of the time, running up against a wall is a hit or miss. Sometimes you can do it, a few cm down the same wall you suddenly can't do it anymore. There isn't much rhyme or reason when you can perform wall jumping and when you can't and the move gets interrupted way too easily, like when the ceiling is too narrow. It also doesn't help that the PC controls feel somewhat clunky. The game can also be deceptively difficult. It's fine for 75% of the game, but the last 25% really ramp up and you have to you jump around like a rubber ball on crack and have to be more deliberate with your gun selection in order to survive. The devs also made the weird decision to only play music when you have a combo going. I get the intend, because it encourages you to stay in the action, but it removes any sense of awesomness and atmosphere when there are no enemies around, which is a real shame because the music is actually good.
I must admit, Dread Templar is pretty generic at the start. You wake up in a cave, only have your Akimbo Pistols and Dual Katanas and fight some Undead enemies. It builds up a little, but in my opinion, it takes up until the second half of game, before Dread Templar really becomes it's own thing. But when it does, it really does. You get a good variety of enemies, the locations get nice (especially the desert level), you have a good variety of weapons (Akimbo Pistols, Akimbo Mac10s, two shotguns, a bow, two types of explosives and a demonic revolver) and the music gets really good. I also like the enemy design a lot. Most of the demons really look like demons and not just like humans with wrinkled skin or black eyes. You have floating sacks of flesh, insect like bodies with human torsos sewn onto them, large ice insects or floating skull like creatures. Humanoid enemies still exist, but it is a good variant. What is a bit weird though is, that the game seems to have copied several ideas from other games. The character already looks like a wannabe Dante, the pistols lool like Ebony and Ivory, one of the enemies looks very, very similar to the Nobodies from Devil May Cry, the exploding enemies look like the exploding aliens from Earthfall etc. It's not bad, but some inspirations seem to be a bit too on the nose. That said, Dread Templar does some own things as well. The boss battles are nicely designed, you have an upgrade system with some runes altering the playstyle of your weapons and instead of secret levels, the game has optional side paths. On the other hand, it also has some problems. For example, said side paths have parkour elements and environmental hazards, like moving saw blades, that are absent from regular levels, the difficulty spikes can be brutal and there is a general problem with themeing, like Ice Mages appearing in the desert or the ice insects appearing in a forest. But overall, it's a fun game that I would recommend.
