I really like the parts of this game I like. I really don't like the parts I don't like. Hard combat, I like (Sekiro, Bloodborne, Dark Souls) but in those games, permanent loss (of souls, or whatever) doesn't usually cause you to completely lose an hour. A boss can be very hard, but because you can try multiple times in quick succession, you can get better without too much frustration. Critically, you can usually make a few mistakes and survive. The combat in Dead Cells is very well-done for the most part, but you are punished WAY too much for a single mistake. A perfect run three levels in can be cut short by one second of bad luck, on top of the other obstacles: -Malaise (get hit too many times in a run and die, regardless of your health) -Constantly teleporting enemies at high levels -Builds that work well throughout the rest of the game are not effective against bosses -Unlike e.g. Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, you can't customize and become very familiar with your build. Runs are random, which is fun - I loved that aspect of Binding of Isaac, for example - but at high difficulties in Dead Cells bad RNG will end your run. -Some weapons and skills are objectively WAY better than others. -Massive enemy damage scaling at higher levels. -High difficulties REQUIRED to unlock all content Any one (maybe two) of these would be fine...altogether they make the late game not-fun. I loved the level design and varied routes you could take. The music is fantastic. Exploring and finding new zones, enemies, items, and secrets was a LOT of fun...until around difficulty 4. Then it very suddenly became a massive chore. I'm still going to find out what is behind the max-difficulty-door at the end (well...the achievements interface spoiled that, but still), but what would have been a 4-star game has since dropped to a 3 because of how fast the fun vanishes. The game would have been much more fun if it didn't punish you SO heavily for one mistake. It's still worth getting on sale.
Braid is definitely not the worst game I've ever played, but it might be the most overrated. It exemplifies the worst parts of the Indie game scene. After having it on my wishlist for years, I finally went ahead and bought it, ready for the experience of a lifetime based on all the amazing reviews I'd read. I like platformers and puzzle games, and I'd heard the story is amazing. What could go wrong? Boy, was I disappointed. The gameplay is not very original, and the platforming controls are super loose. The graphics are nothing special (I don't understand why so many people rave about them), though I admit the soundtrack is decent. The rewind mechanic and time control elements have been done better in other games. The enemies are boring. Parts of this game were obviously designed to be frustrating. The one missable star...the hidden star in level 1 that you have to wait TWO HOURS to get, for no good reason. The key you can't reverse in...I forget, one of the early levels. There's just no reason for these design decisions. Worst of all is how full of itself this game is. The story is nothing special, but it sure piles on the ambiguity and symbolism. The "plot twist" at the end of the game is sort of clever, but not nearly as mind-blowing as I would have thought based on the reviews. TL;DR, this game deserves a solidly mediocre rating, maybe 3/5 if you enjoy this type of thing. It's definitely not worth $15. Worst of all, the creator obviously did not design this game to be fun. Playing this game is like rereading an essay you got an A+ on in senior year of high school ten years later and realizing how dymb you were at the time.
I like horror games, shooters, and horror shooters. I hate this game. Not once was I scared or even apprehensive. I spent almost the whole game bored, literally from the beginning, when you have to wander around several set pieces at Alan's slowpoke walk. The whole theme of the game is that "darkness is scary," but there is no darkness in the game. No matter how dark it's supposed to be (night, overcast, indoors...), everything is very well-lit. It's obviously nighttime, there's just an invisible floodlight illuminating everything. The antagonist is boring. It's supposed to be a scary darkness-based entity pretending to be an old woman, but all it does is throw objects at you and tell you to turn around, go back, you can't win...over and over. Combat is very boring. Enemies have shields which you have to deplete with your flashlight and health you deplete with your revolver. Every fight begins with a slow-mo scene in which they say one random sentence like "fishing can be a hobby and a job" or "we get up early at the farm," then throw hammers and axes at you. Driving sequences are clunky and irritating and appear to have been just dropped into the game. The protagonist is an ass. He is abusive to his wife, agent, fans, and random people he just met - and doesn't bat an eye at killing every adult male in town, Rambo-style. Did I mention he's an out-of-shape writer who can barely jog 20 feet before having to rest? Voice acting is emotionless and bland. Characters (except the underused Sherriff Breaker) are idiots with no common sense, including you. Worst of all, the game tries and fails to be smart about all this. It's *constantly* comparing itself to the work of Stephen King and Lovecraft. Alan notes that the power company has a lot of flash-bangs. Unlike other games, the meta-awareness is not done well. Everything is told, nothing is shown, and the story is derivative and not well-executed anyway. Don't waste your money.
