NyxQuest is a pretty fun game if you want something to pass a boring day with. It's pretty short, I've beaten all the levels with all the relics (this game's collectibles) and its extra stage in about four hours, but I liked it and with the game priced at just $3 outside of sales you can't go wrong with it. You basically control Nyx and lead her to the end of a dozen 2.5D levels to rescue Icarus who only flew too close to the sun in order to dodge the literal end of the world, illustrated in the game as Greek ruins in a vast desert. And she has to do this with the help of the Gods, who are powerless in the face of Helios. She starts out with nothing but the clothes and wings on her back, letting her fly up and glide for a decent amount of time, and the platforming mainly revolves around this. She also gains a few abilities on the way, like seeking Zeus to give her the power to move things around such as pillars, rocks, or even fireballs. Different objects use up different levels of power, so she can't fling a big rock across the level, adding more depth. A fun little twist is that she's not capable of defending herself with melee attacks but must find other ways to deal with the minions standing in her way, like with said objects, meaning that even "combat" is essentially another puzzle. The physics are fairly subdued and besides around two to three instances, they're fairly manageable. To make up for the game's short length, almost every level introduces a new mechanic or something else so it always feels fresh and never gets boring, and the difficulty curve is reasonable, peaking at the last few levels. Although the game won't spam the levels with checkpoints so yes you'll repeat a few long sections a few times, you will eventually figure out how things work and make it to the next checkpoint, I believe they were fairly spaced overall. The game looks gorgeous and runs at maximum settings with rare stuttering on a 2014 laptop, although you'll spend most of the time looking at the golden sands, the sky, and of course Nyx - there normally isn't a lot of variety. However, a bonus point is that in the last level, the background itself becomes something you have to take into account so Nyx can survive successfully. Music is definitely great but I wouldn't call them earworms, another bonus point is that the music switches to a more intense track whenever things get hectic, otherwise it's fairly relaxed. One word of advice is to never quit in the middle of a level. Do so when you start a new one, so you don't have to repeat half the level. Or maybe the game actually keeps track of your last checkpoint if you don't go to the select level area, but better be safe than sorry. If all this sounds good to you, $3 outside of sales is certainly not a lot and you get something pretty neat to play for the day. Just go for it. EDIT: One more thing - the game has a manual PDF in its installation folder. Do check it out :)
Haven Park doesn't have you on a grand quest fraught with peril, rather, it's a pretty chill game. You help Flint take care of the titular park after his grandmother entrusts him with it, then go around exploring it to scavenge resources to renovate camps you find with things like tents, cabins, pools, food trucks, ferris wheels, decorational fences and more to name a few. While you do that, campers move in and although most of them have a few lines of dialogue at most, it's still pretty fun to talk with them and go out on their quests, and almost everything is pretty charming. Even though I'm no longer a kid, I still had fun with it. It's very good at this relaxing vibe where you're not in a rush to build something or finish a quest, and nothing is trying to sneak up on you. The days are pretty colorful and bright, while the nights get really quiet. I recommend playing it with a controller, it's so much better this way, but it's doable with a keyboard.
Alwa's Awakening is pretty good as just a little, NES-inspired metroidvania game. The controls are simple and tight, swing with the staff to hit enemies, use spells you find in the game's world to help you get to inaccessible areas. Really, the only problem at this point is that the main character, Zoe, doesn't run that fast. The plot is also simple: Vicar took over the land of Alwa, stole its holy artifacts and handed them over to the Protectors. Nearly 200 years later, Zoe gets summoned into the land to defeat the bad guys. This is not the game if you want deep lore, backstory, character development and the likes, but pretty neat due to its NES-like brevity. The horizontal middle of the map is Alwa's plains, while everything above and below are dungeons, which are progressively more difficult than the last. You'll be able to traverse most of them without problem, but some rooms use killer spikes which can send you back to the nearest checkpoint - not much of a big problem... until you show up to the final dungeon, which is mercilessly brutal and a major difficulty spike. The map is pretty huge when combined with Zoe's slow walking speed, so there are warps in most locations, and even then, expect to walk a bit if you have a specific room in mind. The slow travel is mostly why I took a star off. Oh, not only is the music catchy and actually made in FamiTracker (which is a program that produces NES sounds and music), but also it's available as a NES ROM, for free, from Elden Pixel's website. What a banger. Finally, the game has a few secrets to investigate! They include cryptic hints, hidden rooms, items that (seemingly) do nothing, and mysterious stuff. They don't actually add to the gameplay, but it's fun to learn about or do the tremendous task of making sense out of them. Check your GOG library, chances are you already got the game for free. If you haven't, the game goes on sale for very cheap and worth a try if you're into NES-style metroidvanias.
Slipstream got a lot of what arcade racing games were best known for. Alongside the lovely pixel art and 80s-styled music, you get a couple of game modes. Grand Tour is the one any Outrun fan is looking for, with the familiar mechanic of forks determining where you're headed next, the timer ticking down, and rivals to beat. Grand Prix is basically the tournaments popularized in later games, and Battle Royale is about not being in last place lest you get eliminated. Cannonball is a customized single race across several tracks of your choosing, with traffic and rivals as options. Time Trial and Single Race are the usual fare. The controls are simple but require getting used to, mainly the drifting, which requires you to let go of the gas, brake and then hit gas again. The other thing is slipstreaming, where you stay behind a car to gain speed. The game is forgiving in its punishments, as you will magically land back when you fly off the road, with nearly half your top speed gone (rather than all of it with a delay on top). Only issue right now is the leaderboards being non-functional for the GOG version, which I am taking a star off for. In any case, if you're looking for an arcade, old-timey but modern racing game, Slipstream is it.
As a player of other Worms games, I can say this is the best one for multiplayer. Not only is the game loaded with weaponry and customization is great (as long as you don't crave for the hats in later games), but its multiplayer is also client independent, meaning you can play with people owning the Steam or disc versions just fine. You can generate your own maps using the predefined themes or download maps from online (hell, even make your own), create game different game rules, control weapon and health crate drops, all the magic for a multiplayer game is there. For almost 20 years later, not only is this game still alive, but it is still the best Worms game you can get for the multiplayer. For the best single player Worms experience, you can perhaps go for Worms Forts, available here on GOG.
Cuphead's usage of the art style is unusual for a video game, and in a good way. You can appreciate the level of detail that went into making the game really feel like a classic cartoon, from trippy encounters to the occasional creepy imagery cartoons were known for. But the game doesn't hold back any punches. It is not impossibly hard, however it is definitely harder than your usual platformer. Taking the time to analyze boss patterns and react to them appropriately is key to proceeding in the game. That is in addition to fast movements in certain boss fights. The music and the audio in general also gets extra scores for fitting the old-timey feel of the game, that in addition to the fact they're catchy and lighthearted. The controls are tight, even on a keyboard (but you may need to remap some of the buttons for easier reach). That said, the game isn't without its issues. For one, you can't play as Mugman unless you mod the game or go co-op, despite both Cuphead and Mugman driving the story together. In addition, some bosses are unfairly difficult. The penultimate encounter comes to mind, or the encounter with Grim Matchstick. Finally, the platforming levels aren't as fun as the boss fights. In closing, the game takes up 11GBs once installed. On Windows, if you access the game's folders properties, click Advanced in the General tab and check "Compress contents to save disk space" and hit OK, the game then only takes up 4GBs of space. Just thought I'd mention this.
The setup for the game is interesting in the first place. You play as an Irishman in Nazi-occupied Paris who seeks revenge from the Nazis and has several skills at his disposal to do so, from climbing buildings to using explosives to disguising as the enemy. And it holds up to that well. Paris is gorgeous and never feels small with enough city and countryside and many of its famous landmarks, the Nazis are ruthless once they start chasing after you, and there's hundreds of Nazi installations on the map that you can sabotage. The story will keep you looking forward to what is next and will highlight the movements of the Resistance, the Nazis and British Intelligence. Only the optional missions may feel weak, but even then, they play a role in liberating Paris which will help you tremendously when escaping from the Nazis as they aren't as common in liberated (or colored) areas, and the Resistance will come to your aid in these areas. While there aren't several radio stations with tens of tracks like you'd expect from a GTA game, what few there is can keep you glued to your car just listening to them (even though they weren't composed in the time of the game). Even the background music when the Nazis chase after you or during infiltrations will highlight the severity of the situation well. The game is fun, and I don't regret plunking 60 hours into it. However, EA's meddling is immediately obvious in the game, even more so that this is Pandemic's last game before EA shut them down (that's why one star off). Stationary machinery may spawn in a way that kills its guards or explodes, the getaway strike may never properly arrive or be stuck in the ground, crate debris may kill you from their momentum, the last gear in most cars have quieter engines...who knows what the game would've been like if it wasn't for EA's meddling? However, don't let them discourage you from experiencing this masterfully crafted game and its depiction of Paris!
The game starts you off in a noir world with you controlling a boy looking for his sister. For the record, he can only do a few actions. Move, jump, push and pull or press buttons. Facing you is a horde of dangers, both environmental and artificial, and puzzles that will force you to make the best out of your mind if you wish to continue in the game. Talking more about it would be spoiler-ific. Let's say the art style is quite good and adds to the eeriness of this limbo of a world. Let's say the audio matches with that environment to tell you just how this place desperately wants you dead. Let's just say it doesn't require an extravagant computer to enjoy it. The only problem is its shortness, but it lives up to this with the puzzles, either you finish it so fast you won't even notice or spend days until you figure out the solution to a puzzle. It's a sweet game.
Returning to the formula of the original and improving on the short-lived Risky's Revenge, this is the best you can ask for in the series. Between cool and strong visuals (art and sprites alike), catchy and lovable music, and the metroidvania style gameplay that remains just as strong, and a powerful cast and story with some humor (and cringe), and a sizeable adventure, you have a strong game here. The game is challenging at the start, something Risky's Revenge missed and the original did well. You can't easily skim through enemies, you have to be careful around them as they will actually attempt to overwhelm you and corner you. Even more so due to the fact that jumping on the enemies will occasionally knock your protagonist onto the ground and disable her temporarily much like in fighter games. The dungeons are much more and expanded than before, with more puzzles and more to do and search, and that's with the challenge factor added in. The game is less frustrating on some manners: each important area is broken into 'islands', and those islands have an indicator on what you're missing of the items that you need to collect (Heart Squids and Dark Magic). Gone is the relentless walking through a lot of areas to enter just one area, and instead you get to that one area immediately. The story is the deepest and most packed of the series, going for elements from the original and expanding on Risky's Revenge, fleshing out the cast and their backstories. That's a thing you'll have to see for yourself. The music is the best in this game. Fast, upbeat and catchy, you're going with many a favorite track, both new and fresh remixes of great tracks from the original. Basically, if you loved the original more than Risky's Revenge, this is a love letter to the original. If you are new to the series, it is suggested to start with the original then Risky's Revenge and then this. Only nitpick? The interface is inefficient. But that shouldn't distract you from this great game!
Entering the game with the expectations of a Portal-like experience, I wasn't disappointed. The mechanics of magnetism are interesting (Although I'll stop here and point out that opposite magnet charges attract while same magnet charges repel. In the game it's the reverse which doesn't make sense), and the setting even more so, starting from Portal-like testing chambers to a horrific and eldritch nightmare, and making use of magnetism to survival. You'll find puzzles that'll test your ability to think around the environment. That said, the graphics are getting in the way most of the time, but I think that's intentional. It takes some time to wrap your head around the landscape and making use of that landscape to figure out how to get to the next room, because of the graphics. Loading screens are quite often so be prepared to spend a little time being interrupted by loading. Hopefully they are accompanied with hints and reminders about the game and its mechanics. Really do note that some things seem rough. For example, if you're coming for an epic final boss, sorry. The enemies end-game, while worthy of jumpscares, don't move naturally which makes for some sort of disconnect. Also the game would do better with the main character's animations. However the game does make a point, that you are powerless against these abominations. As for the other non-gameplay things, the graphics are good if you're a graphics guy, the music is sort of good, but the story is where things get weird, however it doesn't shy from Lovecraftian works. It embraces them. Also the story does get its horrific moments, but might lack in tastes sort of. Also, your main character's mentor, Gamaji, is one cool character. And that's it for the day. Four stars for excellent gameplay and the setting, one star off for rough things.
