Astalon nails the aesthetic it's aiming for. Game looks great in the way a modern game aping retro-game sensibilities should. Gameplay-wise, controls are fine and level design is quite impressive as well. Difficulty is on point for the for the first 3/5 of the game before falling off hard due to the upgrade/rpg system at work. I don't like stats progression in these types of games because they rarely work well and it doesn't here either for the most part. There's also a fair bit of bonus content in alternate game modes and a boss rush. The game forces to use manual switch between characters and it's rather annoying, but before long you can freely switch between them during gameplay and it makes the enforced campire switching feel entirely pointless or more likely a vestigial element of the game. Campires feeling vestigial is something I'll touch on the next section, which is the probably the most disliked aspect of the game. Astalon uses a lot of mini-shortcuts in lieu of less and more significant ones, and this would work well if not for the game's big bugaboo, that being the death penalty. For whatever reason, you start at the beginning of the game whenever you die. Yes, there are elevator shortcuts but there aren't enough of them, or they aren't placed well enough to not be frustrating. The micro shortcuts only accomplish so much and the game runs into a serious problem when it's just simpler for the player to die and respawn at the beginning of the game rather than navigate through a dozen rooms to reach an elevator. That kind of thing is clearly a design problem. The game has campfire rooms that 100 percent feel like they were supposed to be checkpoints/warp points but aren't for whatever reason and only serve as save points. Simply making these room additional warp points would nudge this toward being a five-star review. In short, Astalon is a very good metroidvania that is hampered from being great by some questionable design decisions.
The Good -Loop Hero looks great and the sound design is decent enough. I was very impressed with art design. The Bad -I don't play idle-games/clickers, so I don't know if this is just par for the course for this type of game, but Loop Hero's actual gameplay elements are incredibly boring and grind intensive. There is very little player skill or strategy involved. -Game promotes a very safe and passive play-style since character power is strongly influenced by building additions to the campsite, which are expensive and you lose a ton of resources if you get ko'd while on an expedition. You're better off just retreating and playing it safe for the most part, which is bad since each expedition feels too much like the last. -The campsite UI is weird and finicky compared to the rest of the game's UI. -Using cards to create combos feels cool at first but not enough is done with it. Conclusion -Loop Hero is fine if you want to play a good-looking grindy game with minimal player input. Look elsewhere if you're looking for some kind of strategic or tactical thinking.
Not a terrible game, but not a good one either. Doesn't excel in any particular aspect and the one thing that is most positive, the visuals, is hindered by the monochrome art design which causes a lack of discrepancy between visual elements at times. Gameplay is okay at best, There's very little reason to bother with fighting normal enemies unless forced to since they don't drop health pick-ups or the like aren't particularly fun to engage with. The cat-only sections can be a bit of a pain due to the one-hit death mechanic associated with them. Boss fights are a bit better. Game is only a couple of hours long, which I consider a plus since I wouldn't have finished it if it was longer. Writing/humor is bad, though thankfully there's not a ton of it. There are a ton of similar games in the genre that are better. I can only imagine this has such high reviews because of cats. People on the internet like cats, so good market testing by the developer at least.
Paradise Killer is a mystery investigation game and has some interesting concepts but doesn't quite stick the landing. First off, I was impressed at the beginning of the game where you're basically given free reign to investigate the case. The island's scope impressed me and I really wondered if the whole area would be explorable and I can tell you that it is. This was cool and a point in its favor. The downside to this is that the world is largely empty and boring to traverse. Yes, the beginning hour or two walking around was exciting but after that, finding your one millionth blood crystal or lore trinket loses any sense of satisfaction. Normally, I wouldn't track down these largely useless collectables but the game's fast travel system is linked to them, which is incredibly annoying. I respect the developer wanting the player to foot around the island to get a sense of scale and how things connect, but at some point in the game you should have received a free fast travel upgrade since there is very little to see and do after you make your initial trek around the island. Exploring simply isn't very fun or as rewarding considering how much time you spend doing it. Gameplay and storytelling are...okay. I'm not a fan of the All Proper Nouns, All the Time aspect of the writing but it's decent enough though none of it really grabbed me. The writing in general feels too lore-focused which is something I'm not a huge fan of. The central mystery is nothing I haven't seen before but it avoids any serious pitfalls. The hieroglyphics puzzle are not used in any interesting manner. Some quick hits. -Character designs are very flash and can be hit-or-miss. -Music and UI are good. -There's some annoying pixel-hunting for certain investigation leads. -It's cool that you can begin the trial at any time. Recommended for mystery fans and people that are cool with visual novel-type games with some basic gameplay elements like 3D platforming.
Cuphead is as on point from a visual and audio perspective as any game I've played. It also features great boss-centric gameplaly. The vast majority of gameplay features one screen boss encounters with multiple phases and they are excellent across the board. There are some run and gun platforming sections strewed in as well, but they by far the worst aspect of the game and the devs at least seemed cognizant of this, as they are all optional. Pacing is great as there is no fat or padding outside the optional run and gun sections. Difficulty curve is well-done, as the first few bosses show you the ropes before gradually ramping up. The game features a ranking system that grades your fights which encourages repeated engagements and is fun for people that are interested in high-score type gameplay. There is also an extra difficulty mode unlocked after beating the game that slightly remixes all the boss fights. I can't get over how good this game looks in motion. I've been playing games for a long time and this is without a doubt of the best-looking ones I've ever seen. If you have even the slightest appreciation for classic cartoon artstyle, you're in for a treat. Cuphead is an outstanding game for anyone that enjoys challenging 2d action games and a visual feast to boot.
Definitely the best visual novel I've read. Fata Morgana is a gothic suspense story and I'll not say much more than that, since the storytelling is best experienced blind. Hell, I'd suggest not even looking at the store page or reading the game description at all since it gives some of the plot away. If you are the slightest bit interested in vn's just buy it now and look forward to reading it. I usually can't get into vn's that don't have some type of gameplay element, mainly due to a mix of the writing not being good enough to stand on it's own and my aversion to high school settings, wish fulfillment scenarios, bland lead characters, dating game stuff, etc that make up 90 percent or more of the genre. The soundtrack is great and very different, though a bit overwhelming at times. The game frequent uses tracks that feature vocals and it can take a while to get used to reading text while hearing vocals. It's definitely worth it since the soundtrack is top-notch and adds a ton to the experience. The art is a mixed bag. Character design is quite impressive, though some have some weird sprites, like various characters' "shouting" model. Background are a different matter. They look like real-life pictures with a ugly filter applied to them. They're very basic and and stand out as the game's weak link. In short, Fata Morgana is a visual novel that's great for people that don't like the basic stereotypes associated with the genre. Great writing, excellent translation, awesome soundtrack and solid art make it a must read for anyone that's interested in linear video game storytelling.
