Due to the mass popularization of games like soulslikes and roguelikes, it might be easy to dismiss Arzette as a rather easy game. Sure, on casual it might be. However, on the normal difficulty the game is indeed a bit more taxing. Sure, you don't have lives or continues, but the enemies will still find a way to become a thorn in your side. Almost every one of them has some sort of projectile homing attack as well, especially when they get the shields a bit later in the game and you'll need to use a special weapon to even be able to damage them. So it isn't exactly a cakewalk, even though it might not be quite as difficult as some of the souls type games of today. There's also quite a bit of platforming, though so far nothing too crazy in those regards. Despite it's CDI influenced silliness, which is right on the mark if you'd ask me - this is a game that greatly encourages exploration. You'll be looking at every nook and cranny, while making sure you have enough bombs, lantern fuel and rope, because these areas are much larger than you think they are and several are walled off with by magic tapestries, which can only be destroyed by the sacred candles that you'll see littered throughout the map. There are also hidden coins and other such secrets, so there's quite a lot to see here. The fact that there was just so much hidden in each area is what kept me playing, eager to explore newly opened areas as well as going back to make sure I didn't forget anything in previously explored ones. Even though I thought I'd at least explored half of the game, within just two hours I found that I had only explored a mere twenty percent of it! So there's quite a lot here to find for players willing to do that level of exploration.
Alright, yeah so there's some new endings. But what I really want to state here is that these aren't just endings and added spicy scenes, they can instead be looked at as alternate story routes. You'll even have some epilogues. None if it is truly essential, but if you want more game, it's there. These endings will give you something more to work for (some of these endings can be tough to get) and they do in fact add replay value to what I'd consider the spiciest AVN around. So if you finished FL3 and you're still hungry for more, here's some more. If you're good on the FL series and want to move onto Taboo Academy or other fine AVN, then you won't need this. But you can expect the same level of quality here as you got for the first DLC which was already included in the base game. Rest assured, buying this thing will help the dev survive while continuing to make the other seasons in the Taboo Academy series.
No, I don't own the game but I watched an entire longplay of it last night. It's only an hour or so and doesn't add anything to the story. My problem focuses on the change in gameplay elements. We're now given what amounts to a 7th Guest style adventure with no real chase elements (minus the final act, which is a straight line to the exit littered with previous puzzles) There's no need to hide either as you're confined in small rooms with barely any freedom of movement. There's no need to get away from anything in the game. The mannequins have been relegated to jump scares, they don't do much of anything either. The only purpose of this game is to give you a slew of logic puzzles that in the end only convolute the mystery further. The ending also made things even muddier than the original ending to the first game where at least it was up to the player to decide what happened. This feels like an unnecessary DLC to a game that should have been a one and done. If the developers wanted to make a puzzle game based on a series of murders, it would have been better as a standard IP. Everything in this game should have been divorced from David, Mr. Franklin and those established characters. I feel that the developers insulted my intelligence with this game, there's no way I'd actually waste money on it. While the first game is a truly horrifying well-planned experience, the only people I can recommend this to are people who enjoy puzzlers with the occasional jump scare. Additionally, the photo/fingerprints puzzle was unnecessarily convoluted. I have no idea what these devs were trying to accomplish here, but this is just not what I would have had in mind for a sequel to an indie gem. Once again, there are more puzzles and generally walking around than anything else here.
Returning To Mia is a completely different kind of experience in the visual novel medium and very different for Inceton Games. The writing is different, you have a girlfriend now. She moves in with you and you are encouraged to be loyal to her. So the game will put you in situations where your loyalty is tested. Sure, you can get with other girls, even your own therapist. But the game puts that decision in your hand and you are held accountable for any flings you get into. Towards the end of the game, you will discover that your actions have consequences. If that sounds too much like reality, you may want to look somewhere else. There is an unskippable Mia scene in the game that I didn't want and complained to the writer personally. He apologized and says it does not affect your choices for the rest of the game. Be forewarned, you will be tested and punished accordingly in this game. Your actions hold weight and they matter.
Barely Racing is a top-down racer similar to Rock N Roll Racing. We'll never get the remake of that here, but it's amazing and much better than this. Not that this is bad, of course! Barely Racing does do some fun things. Your cars can have rockets, mines and machine guns and you have a choice of several different tracks to race at instead of just one at a time. It's very grindy though, as well as rough around the edges. The entire game soundtrack is made up of royalty free albums that I recognized because I bought them in a bundle years ago. The character portraits aren't that special either. It definitely is a "you get what you pay for" kinda deal. But to be honest, the credits for the game are so small that they can be shown with just one or two screens. Fragile Games is a VERY small dev team, so we do need to consider that. Maybe if this one does good, they'll make another with more cars, tracks, features and perhaps an original soundtrack.
Fetish Locator doesn't beat around the bush about what it is. It's porn. I know a lot of these games can have one or several scenes, but Fetish Locator would be closer to a nukige than the rest of them. Due to the app challenges in your phone and the constant need for points, you will be trying to have as much sex with the characters as you can. There are some story parts here and maybe a few character relations, but at the end of the game you are treated to a beach of just straight up fornication. Yes, I won't deny that the Lydia relationship dynamic is a thing and there are attempts at storytelling with some of the other characters, but this game goes out of it's way to give you sex scenes. Especially if this is the extended version (1.40) of the game, which was Patreon only for quite a while. Week One is short, hopefully we'll get Week Two and Week Three here as well. It might be porn, but the story bits tie it together to make for good porn, so to speak.
I happened upon this review from Steam and it has me iffy. I like the idea of the game, but not all this padded out grind. From The Review: "Cons -The grind! This game requires an incredible amount of grinding. Keeping track of hunger/sleep/shower means you're repeatedly clicking through the same five options every 3 minutes. Raising stats for love interests also requires constantly selecting the same options quite literally over 100 times for each love interest. -Progression is confusing, and you need to consult the wiki to understand how to progress most of the time. If you don't constantly follow the wiki, you'll find yourself stuck behind soft locks for love interests and missing many crucial events. -Confusing progression means constant saving, which is a lot to keep track of. Trying to 100% the game without cheats probably means hundreds, if not over a thousand, saves. Overall, this is a great VN that suffers from monotonous and confusing gameplay along with an absence of key quality of life mechanics. I actually think watching a playthrough of the game would be more enjoyable than trying to play it yourself. This is a game that I'd recommend with those fixes, but can't recommend in its current state." So if the idea of sitting there following a wiki while tapping the same choices every three minutes sounds fun, have at it. This is a very long game. Another user said they spent 50+ hours in only three or four weeks of the game. I just think there might be better options out there with less grind and padding.
This was great. If you're looking for a game that isn't a Metroidvania or a Soulslike, Super Catboy is what you're looking for. Yes, it is short. But a lot of classic platformers are short. You can't expect the dev team to make some twenty hour platformer. What we have here is more than enough. Not only are there standard platforming stages, but also a motorbike mini game, a minecart stage ala Donkey Kong and more. Every stage has it's own unique identity and doesn't feel like a rehash of the previous. You'll never play the same thing twice and you'll have a blast. Not knowing what the next challenge entailed kept me playing. Will it be a mansion, train, frozen tundra, or a secret lab? That's what made this game worth it to me. If you're looking for a real platformer, give this one a shot. I bought it on a whim and absolutely do not regret it. Without question, one of the best platformers I've played since the SNES console. Also, let's be honest - I didn't come to this for the writing or story. The gameplay is what I paid admission for and that's where it shines.
The GOG version of the game encounters an error in the engine that prevents progress past the main base. As soon as I step in the teleporter for one of many missions, the game locks and throws up a type error. The steam version does not do this. Until the game is fixed, I can only give it one star.
