So basically, it's an abridged version of the Swamp level, but as a Voodoo sorcerer instead of a cowboy. The new magic theme and items are clearly the focus and make for an interesting alternate take on the universe. That alone is enough to carry it and make it worth playing, but don't expect much in the way of level design. And although there are a lot of new monsters, they didn't really feel all that different except for the new "birds" that nest in the trees above, those are a cool and creepy addition. It's a bit disarming at first (literally and figuratively) to learn that you're basically starting from scratch and won't be able to depend on any of the advantages you've earned in the main game. If you had trouble starting out, get ready to have trouble again, but make the most of it and it can be a refreshing return to form. There were so many things I'd taken for granted by the end of the first game and it was kind of nice to have to be more strategic again and use items to my advantage. For example, I had completely forgotten that you can throw stones to distract enemies. It's one of the first things they teach you and yet it becomes so redundant as you get more powerful, but now I found myself depending on it again to land my sneak attacks without getting ganked. By the end however, you'll be a badass Bokor chasing house-sized demons around foreign planes, daring them to try and keep you from taking their soul. I really loved the new items and abilities and had a great time, albeit short.
I aint gonna pretend I'm one of those people who "likes difficult games", though I did my dime beating games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. To tell it straight: this game can be down right annoying and you'll probably cuss it out several times before you enjoy it. But stick it about 3 hours, learn the ropes, and you'll get addicted to clawing for every inch of ground.
Like all good sequels, it takes the groundwork laid by he first and brings it to a new level. This one focuses the story (and storytelling itself) around one particular subject, her quirks and her journey. For example, the Codex no longer just lists monotonous details of the world's elements, this time they're written from the main character's perspective and with her unique attitude. I actually like having a character who isn't just a blank slate but unfortunately, for all the better design decisions, the main character in this is kind of annoying and doesn't have many redeeming qualities. Your choices are pretty much limited to different ways of being snarky and entitled, while inexplicably nonchalant. It does balance this at least when most of the Camarilla treats her like she's useless, but I couldn't bring myself to feel all that sorry for her. Then unfortunately this set up leads to some pretty unbelievable leaps to get things rolling which often felt fan-fictiony. Without spoiling anything, at least one of the endings feels like an absolute fever dream it's so bizarrely unearned. All in all, if they tried this concept with a variety of characters it could be amazing and this could just be that one character I didn't like, but unfortunately she's all you get and she's not star material.
Like all good sequels, it takes the groundwork laid by he first and brings it to a new level. This one focuses the story (and storytelling itself) around one particular subject, her quirks and her journey. For example, the Codex no longer just lists monotonous details of the world's elements, this time they're written from the main character's perspective and with her unique attitude. I actually like having a character who isn't just a blank slate but unfortunately, for all the better design decisions, the main character in this is kind of annoying and doesn't have many redeeming qualities. Your choices are pretty much limited to different ways of being snarky and entitled, while inexplicably nonchalant. It does balance this at least when most of the Camarilla treats her like she's useless, but I couldn't bring myself to feel all that sorry for her. Then unfortunately this set up leads to some pretty unbelievable leaps to get things rolling which often felt fan-fictiony. Without spoiling anything, at least one of the endings feels like an absolute fever dream it's so bizarrely unearned. All in all, if they tried this concept with a variety of characters it could be amazing and this could just be that one character I didn't like, but unfortunately she's all you get and she's not star material.
Game blew my mind, manages to build an entire fantasy world over the course of some simple dungeon crawling. Criminally underrated.
This was a rare "indie" NES game, but had a lot to offer. Combination flight sim and stealth game. It came out a year before Metal Gear, and you have to sneak around this facility finding ID cards and knocking out guards without setting off alarms. Not as great a game as Metal Gear by any stretch, but very innovative for the time and technology and worth checking out.
It takes balls to charge money for the same game with a black/white filter on it. Kinda feels like something that should have just been under Options. But while I might admire their sheer chutzpa, this one seems somehow even buggier than the original. Catwoman's character model wasn't even showing up in some of my QTE cutscenes.
Sounded like a unique idea so I gave it a shot. Full disclosure: I'm not a weeb, but I don't think that should be a factor in whether or not a game is any good. The 'game' is just tediously dragging colored cans around the screen to make drinks, usually several times per ingredient so it wears thin after about the first drink. There doesn't even seem to be anything clever or unique about the drinks, they're all just made from the same 5 interchangeable ingredients with nonsense names thrown into a mixer. They somehow made a video game about mixing drinks less fun than actually mixing drinks. That'd be fine if, as I understand it, the drink mixing is meant to be secondary to the writing, but the writing may actually be the worst part. The dialog mostly varies between painfully flat, uninteresting, or repetitive. It has that sort of classic video game scroll, so you can really feel the pace as you're pounding through 10 lines of a journalist explaining that he likes money so he writes articles that make money, because articles make money, and that’s what he likes. Game seems to think that if they write a character into existence, I’ll instantly find them adorable (kawaii?) and be super interested in them and their relationships, despite having no reason to do so. I can overlook a bit of that, but this game really comes at you hard and fast with it, which just leads me to wonder who this game is meant to appeal to… plucky toddlers who are inexplicably into dystopian bartending? The obvious answer is “weebs” but I have to think even they have better standards. This game got as far as having a neat concept and then phoned in the rest.
