Let's get the complaints out of the way: I have none. I went in to it expecting a creepy story with a bunch of jump scares and that is, coincidentally, what I found. Now, on to why I gave it 5 stars... The graphics- Fantastic. Because of the linear nature of the game I had absolutely no lag or anything. The Story- Sad, depressing, unsettling. Game-play- Walk, open stuff, read stuff, piece together the main character's situation... or should I say the result of his actions. There is no avoiding monsters here, just getting caught by a couple of phantasms and waking up after a black-out. Jump scares ABOUND- So many jump scares in this game... Even though I expected them they still freaked me out. Sound and atmosphere!- This was my favorite part... Every aspect of the atmosphere is creepy as heck and hand tailored to scare the poop out of you. Everything from background whispering, crying, distorted music, phone ringing, creeks in the floor, phantom footsteps, and doors that pound as if someone wants to come in... It's all there. All in all, those who are disappointed by this game must not have actually read the game description. This game delivers everything from the description, so it deserves 5 stars. (P.S.- for anyone who would call this game a "walking simulator" or any other thing like that... whenever you read "story driven" in the description the game probably isn't for you, because it's going to be more of the same stuff you hate. Never go into a game expecting more than what the description says, you will be disappointed... and then you'll leave a 1 star review claiming the game was boring, and that doesn't help anybody.)
This was an absolutely perfect experience. Perfect pixel art. Great writing for characters. Just the right amount of exploration to where it doesn't feel overwhelming. I actually feel like i can 100% this game. It only took a little over an hour to get to the top, and then it feels like the game opened wide to let me go even further around the island. So rewarding. Lots of stuff to collect, lots of treasure maps and riddles to solve. A handful of tasks to try to complete to earn gear that helps improve your ability to explore. It's like a super mini version of an open world exploration RPG... Minus the leveling up and stuff. Add great relaxing music, great sound effects, and lovable characters and you have a home-run of a game. Also... You should try using the pick axe when playing Beachstickball... That's all I'll say about that. Let's just say it's fun. The Dev's thought of everything here.
I was pulled in to this game first because of the graphics. It is very reminiscent of A Link to the Past for SNES. Plus, the town building, farming, crafting, decorating, gathering, etc... It was a no-brainer for me to try this game out. First off, I love that if you don't do anything other than talk to people then time stands still. You can also move buildings, terra-form the landscape, decorate interiors or exteriors, build stuff, all without any consequence to your "Day." However, pursuing your your skills... like wood cutting, farming, etc., those things use energy. And, as your energy is slowly depleted your time passes. So, by the time you have no energy left, you rest and start your new day. There are plenty of upgrades to be had as well... You can eventually upgrade your energy level, what each building offers, how many crops/what kind of crops you can plant or farm. Also, you have a level of relationship with every character in the game as far as I can tell. Now, one small concern... I know this may appeal to many, but it's confusing if you aren't aware. You just design your character, not selecting boy or girl, but just choosing hair and clothing. Now, every other character in game uses words like "him" or "her"... "he" and "she"... when referencing others, but your character is open to interpretation regardless of how you look. Any character in the town is available to start a romantic relationship with... So be careful, if you have a preference, who you compliment! You might end up with someone fawning over you that makes you uncomfortable. Last, but not least, is the card game!!! It's amazing. Once you unlock the card shop it's a thing that will likely take up a LOT of your time... (It has mine anyway). Customizable deck and all. 5 elements, lots of cards to collect, and everyone plays so you're not lacking any opponents. Brilliant, relaxing, and totally worth the money. (I paid full price and am NOT sorry...)
I have been a Terarria Fanboy for a few years now. When I first saw this game I thought "what a rip-off! Nothing can compare to Terarria!" However, the more I watched the trailers and read the comments I slowly became enticed by the idea of having an actual storyline and having a space adventure... So... I got it on sale. Just saying, for me, Terarria has been dethroned. I will always love Terarria, but this game is so much more polished in ways that Terarria can't touch. -First off, the graphics. Slightly more polished. Larger trees, characters, and such. A little more cartoonish, and rightfully so. (Though some of the aliens resemble some Pokemon...) -Second, the music is actually much more my taste. It's more instrumental. I think it suits the "I'm alone on a strange planet trying to survive" theme. -Third, there's an actual storyline! With Terarria you wake up in a strange place and there's a guide who tells you that you need to survive, and a little of how to do so. In Starbound there's a TUTORIAL and a storyline that involves your character ending up on a strange planet all alone, with the ship's A.I. system telling you how to proceed. -Starbound has spaceships, boats, and mechs... enough said. -Mechanics feel smoother, too. Your character can crouch because of the larger character models. -There's multiple races. This adds a lil sci-fi flare to the whole thing. Each race has it's own history and such, which makes the lore feel better all around. -Gardening is actually fun. (And necessary if you play in survival mode, where hunger can kill you. However you can play on casual mode and hunger isn't a threat.) -The building aspect feels smoother because of the larger graphic design. I'm not dealing with tiny little squares anymore. I have the option to place 4 in a block if I want. I could go on, but I'm working with limited characters here and getting close to the cap. I'll just end by saying I love this game and wish I'd tried it sooner.
Ok, so I owned the original MoTN which I purchased previously from GOG. The video CLAIMED it was the Special Edition, but it turned out not to be. Apparently they actually did used to sell the Special Edition, but that got pulled a while back leaving many of us with a false positive and playing through the regular edition with no special content... Then they drop the Re-Mastered version, which contains all the Special Edition content I never got to experience. It was a free update for those who had somehow got the Special Edition before it was pulled... But for those of us who got lied to we got a discount... A great discount, actually. I got it for $5. Now I'm getting to experience all the Special Edition content, which is wonderful. More missions, more of the mechanics I love. More items. Even though I feel I got shafted for having to pay anything for getting this game I still give it 5 Stars, because that's what it freaking deserves! I'm not reviewing my treatment, but the game. And the game is awesome! -Great Stealth mechanics. -Wonderful story of madness and betrayal. -Intense platforming that will test even the most seasoned gamer. -Multiple outfits and play styles as you unlock them throughout the game, which enhances your ability to play the ninja you want to be. Do you like the shadows and silence? Or do you like plowing through your enemies? Earn the suit that fits you best and play the heck out of it! -Great music and atmosphere. You're a ninja in modern times that has the skills to stay hidden... perhaps. I seriously can't recommend this game enough. Now that this version is out I have no qualms. It has all the content you could want, and it looks/sounds/feels better than the original. GET IT! You won't regret it. I certainly don't.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS- Ok, so there's a huge elephant in the room with this game. It's low rating? It's because of one of the main plot-points. *MINOR SPOILER*- There's a romance between a 16 year old and a older pedophile. Now, I'd like to say that the big misconception of the game is that the relationship seems to be promoted as a good thing because of the word "love." I do not believe this to be the case. Yes, one of the characters seems to be upset because of Rachel's alleged suicide, and rightfully so I might add. Suicide is not a fun topic or experience for those left behind. I don't want to give everything away here... But to quell the taboo about this game let me say that I did not get the feeling that the whole point was to condone pedophilia. I think it actually was a pretty good message about how NOT to treat the victims of pedophilia. The victim DOES have a voice in the game, it just isn't in a way that is expected. *MAJOR SPOILER*- The game does not try to cause you to sympathize with a pedophile. It makes you feel sorry for a girl that got killed because of her terrible relationship with a pedophile. Murder isn't ok. The girl is not painted as a victim, so it rubbed people the wrong way. I do not approve of pedophilia, but I can appreciate a game that causes you to think about all the facets of who gets hurt when such horrible things occur. As far as actual game-play goes it's a great atmosphere. Yes, a walking simulator with a couple of terrible scary moments, but mostly just creepy old hotel rooms and such. It creeped me out. Pretty badly actually. Graphics were great and voice acting was great. I only docked it a star because of the abruptness of the transitions between days. Other than that I think it was a fun game. Those who enjoy a good story might enjoy this game as well.
Essentially it felt like I was playing The Walking Dead game that I've always wanted. Instead of a point/click/decision making game... *cough*... You get to actually get to try and survive the apocalypse based on your skill as a gamer. -Platform through beautiful, dismal surroundings that show the desolation of the zombie hordes. -Low color intensifies the shadows making the zombie hordes that much creepier. -Intense chase scenes and run-away from the zombie scenarios. -Minimal weapon usage thanks to a stamina bar, so most of your escaping is run and climb or duck and slide. -Minimal puzzles mean most of the game is action packed. I didn't struggle with any of the few puzzles that were presented. Most of it involved timing. Very similar to INSIDE. -Fun emotional story of regret and hope. -Short, intense romp that doesn't overstay it's welcome. The bad? Yes, there are some drawbacks... But I don't feel they take away from the game. Most of my complaints would be based on a lack of interaction with the environment. Other than a few specific areas you can't really do much but explore or run for your life. I feel like adding a few more interactive elements might have increased my enjoyment a bit. Other than that it's great. I didn't run into any bugs as other reviewers have claimed, so I can't speak to that. I used a controller and had a blast the entire time. Smooth, responsive controls throughout. I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants a fun zombie story in a few hours time. (Lots to go back and try to discover, also. Lots of hidden items and Easter eggs which do motivate some replay.)
I wanted so bad to love this game! On the outside it's got everything right: -Haunted House Sim. What's not to love about that idea??? I pictured The Sims but with monsters. But, unfortunately that was not the case. -The music is great, too. It gives the vibe of old horror films. -Lots of monsters to work with/train to do their various jobs, and cute pixel graphics to go with them. HOWEVER... Though the premise is absolutely amazing, the execution falls flat on its face: -The resource gathering element kills this game. It simply takes too long before you can do anything fun. And, while you are still gathering, you are forced to make sure your monsters don't starve and get enough rest. Also, the game expects you to somehow progress while still in this process. Really you shouldn't be prompted to progress for a long time into the building phase. I barely had one room when I was being told I had to do certain things that required many resources to do. -There is a serious lack of instructions. I was required to build a specific item, and I was being told to that I lacked certain resources... but I got no information as to WHERE to gather those resources. Wood? Trees... Obvious. Stone? The giant rocks... great. Metal? No clue. Gold? No clue. Evil Wood? Good luck because your monsters are too weak and will die trying to fight the evil trees this early in the game. It's a waste of time and energy. This game would have been fantastic if the resource gathering aspect had been left out completely. I wish it would have focused on the building and money collecting, like The Sims, and left the resource gathering out of it. Buy your furniture and whatnot from stores and be done with it. Instead you're gathering and building, which takes time, and your monsters are starving for people, which you can't get until you build a house and other objects. It's just too much too soon. Sorry, but I can't recommend this game, even though I absolutely love the premise of it.
I've played all 4 installments in the Shovel Knight saga. I loved them all. However, something about this one's story was more moving for me. A perfect mix of humor an seriousness. Something you'd expect from a character that looks like the Grim Reaper. Mechanically, also, this title shines with Specter Knight's amazing move set. Wield your scythe and a set of magical curios with abilities that fit the character perfectly. Difficulty wise, this one seemed a bit easier than it's predecessors, and even it's successor. I actually enjoyed that because when you it gets really tiring once you've tried to fight a final boss more than three or four times. However, that's not to say it doesn't take some skill to succeed in this game. The platforming is fast paced and interesting due to Specter Knight's move set, so be prepared to do a good amount of jumping, wall running, and blade slashing objects in the air. The "hub" world was unique, too. This is the only game in the series where you aren't playing on a Super Mario 3 inspired map. You spend all your in-between time in a creepy tower with cooky evil characters. There's also a little side-story romance between some skeletons that may melt your heart. All in all this game is a bit shorter than the others, but I enjoyed that aspect as well. When a game drags on too long it can overstay it's welcome, and this one left me wishing there were more, which just encouraged me to revisit levels and try to get everything unlocked. A quick side-note- some reviewers are saying, very vaguely, that they experienced bugs, but don't explain what they are... I personally experienced no bugs. Just polished and challenging game-play with no hic-ups. If you have any skill in platformers you shouldn't run into any issues. Again, the whole series is a gem, but this one in particular stands out from among them. *I always recommend getting the Treasure Trove edition, which has the 4 campaigns and the fighting game. Not a bad deal!
This really did bring back memories of the old MediEvil Series from Playstation. This game is so impressive on so many levels it isn't even funny! I had an absolute blast playing through this. So... Let's hit the pros and cons and I'll tell you why I had to dock a star: Pros- -Beautiful graphics and soundtrack! So atmospheric. This aspect of the game was PERFECT. Would not change a thing. -Gameplay was amazing. Mechanics were spot on. Platforming was fun. I personally didn't run into any bugs, and I haven't installed the new patch to fix the ones others had found. -Levels were well thought out and mini-puzzles were fun and did not overstay their welcome. -Character design was wonderful. As well as the purchasing of new skins throughout the game. Every Jack skin is great in it's own way. Ok, now for the cons... Or rather THE con- -Marketing and story direction! That's it. I don't feel that many people realized that the Jack from Pumpkin Jack was actually the same Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack the Giant Killer shines here in all his glory... and most people won't make the connection. Why? The marketing of this game is horrific. "Do the will of the Devil" and "Eliminate the Good and help the Evil" are not the taglines that should be used to promote this game. Simply destroying goodness doesn't fit the original narrative of Jack, anyway. He doesn't actually best the Devil in any way in this game, which one would expect having been at all familiar with the Jack Tales. (There are references in game to his past exploits from the stories) He simply does the Devil's will. Aesthetically this game is a gem. Everything about this game screams perfection... I only wish that the marketing had made the connection to the Jack tales, rather than promote a game that is all about just being evil for evil's sake. I also wish there had been some sort of redeeming value from the story, but I still really enjoyed the game. Great game! Made my Favorites list. Get it!
