I'm still a little undecided on where I stand with Dusk. When you look at the individual ingredients, there's really great stuff here. The movement and the gunplay feels excellent. The music and the overall sound design is amazing. Several levels have memorable moments, either visually or because of a gameplay mechanic. The very-low-poly art style, I don't know.. sometimes it does feel like a deliberate choice and it works well; other times it comes across as low-effort. The main thing I find lacking is world building. On the one hand, all the different levels in the game work well on their own; they each have something unique. On the other hand, they're so distinct it makes it hard to suspend your disbelief that these levels should exist in the same world. Whenever a new enemy type is first introduced, they'll fit in with the theme of that level.. and then they reappear in later levels with a different theme, eventually resulting in this nonsensical mishmash of enemies: soldiers running among mages, welders, scientists, horror creatures, etc. Gameplay-wise, who cares; it all fits together.. but it breaks the game's atmosphere. There's the ominous voice and the red messages on the walls, trying to tie the levels together and alluding the game is building towards something, but this just didn't work for me. So overall, I definitely had fun in the moment-to-moment gameplay, but then I look back and can't help but think I would've liked it so much better if there was more up-front world design to tie all these moments together into a cohesive whole.
I tried playing Blood many moons ago, but got turned off by its initial difficulty spike. What made it click for me this time is that I now approached the game differently: instead of running and gunning, I played it a lot slower and more methodical. Blood often gets paired up with Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior as "the holy trinity of Build engine games". There's a lot of similarities among the three games: tongue-in-cheek humour, a protagonist that talks in catchy one-liners, creative level design with lots of interactivity and explosions, ... The mistake I made was thinking that Blood would also have a similar play style as D3D and SW, i.e. you can usually run around guns blazing. I tried, but the cultists got me fast! (They're the hitscanning enemies littered throughout the entire game + they react very fast + throw explosives.) The game becomes really enjoyable once you figure out how each weapon works, which weapons to use in which situations .. and peek around every. single. corner. The enemy placement can be pretty sadistic sometimes :) With this in mind, there still will be an initial difficulty spike, so you'll be quick-saving & -loading a lot at first. A big part of it is that you start out with some unconventional weapons: a pitchfork, dynamite, and a flare gun where you have to wait a few seconds before your shot has any effect. (Oh, but once it takes effect, it's supersatisfying!) The game doesn't explain anything, so it takes some trial and error to get the hang of these weapons. Once you make it through the first few levels though, you can make it to the end. Apart from the uneven difficulty curve and some small quirks, I enjoyed Blood a lot; satisfying gameplay loop, great level design and atmosphere. A cultist classic.
I played the original Abe's Oddysee way back when. It's a timeless classic, and New 'n' Tasty pretty much improves on it across the board. If you haven't played the original, you're in for a treat! It's a pretty unique game; I have a hard time thinking of any game (outside the Oddworld series) that comes close to it. I'd describe it as a cinematic sometimes-stealth,sometimes-action puzzle platformer, with a personality that's a blend between goofy and grim. First things first, many of the older reviews here mention the game being buggy. I guess most of them have been ironed, as the game has been rock solid for me throughout. (Except for this one section: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/topic/227349-anyone-else-stuck-in-scrabania-on-hard-possible-bug/ ) As for how New 'n' Tasty stacks up to the original: - The obvious improvement is the graphics. What I actually find more impressive is that the original game was already developed as a cohesive 3D world back in 1997, but they had to pull tricks combining 2D and cinematics to create the illusion of a 3D world. No more need for such tricks now, so you can experience the (odd)world how it was always intended + with an extra level of polish. - The music has been polished as well. It was amazing in the original, and it still is here. - The gameplay remains very faithful, but you get some additional conveniences like quicksaves and talking to multiple Mudokons at once. - One thing I wasn't sure about is the way Abe controls. In the original, platforming was "unit-based". Now, Abe can move wherever he wants. It feels more modern/slick, but less precise sometimes. It's a minor thing though; you get used to it fast. (Also: if you're used to the original, you may like the "Sideways hop" option in the settings!) - Finally, I love the added banter/voicework of the mudokons and sligs; it adds even more personality to the game! Whether you've played the original or not, I strongly recommend giving New 'n' Tasty a try!
Love the sequel just as much as the first Guacamelee! In the first game, I immediately started playing on hard immediately after finishing my playthrough on normal; the same thing happened for Guac 2. Usually I'm glad when I beat a game and it's finally over, but this is one of the few series where the gameplay is that good you just want to keep going. The closest other series it reminds me of would be Rayman Origins, both in terms of gameplay and its fun, colourful atmosphere. In comparison to the first game, Guac 2 has upped the ante of its gameplay: it feels more refined and extensive, and its platforming challenges are more creative and inventive in finding new ways to exploit the game's mechanics. Likewise, its graphics have an extra level of polish (really like the lighting effect that was added) and exude the same kind of personality and charm as the first game. Same thing for the music; really amazing! My one gripe is the story. It feels like there are lots of good ingredients to work with, in terms of the characters that were introduced in the game, but they're haphazadly cobbled together to form a story. The story involves convoluted nonsense around "jumping between timelines", but it ultimately doesn't affect the game much and is mainly used for inserting fairly cheap timetravel jokes. I would've liked it better if the timelines stuff was removed, to focus on a simpler and more cohesive story. All in all, you don't really play Guacamelee for the story though, so it's just a minor gripe. In short, if you're in for platformer with loads of action and personality, you'll love both Guacamelee 1 and 2! Some of the platforming challenges can be frustrating, but it's the good kind of frustration where it feels immensely satisfying once you get into the rythm of the game's mechanics.
I grew up with the Apogee/3D Realms games and both Duke Nukem 1&2 are among my favourite 2D platformers. Even looking past my nostalgia goggles, I still think they are very solid, fun games today: The levels, as well as the enemy types, are varied and distinct; the controls feel just right and the sound effects/music are all very catchy and memorable (even though DN1 only has PC speaker sounds). While I don't mind it much, the level design does rely quite a bit on looking for keys/cards and the matching doors/forcefields. As with all games that use this mechanic, it can slow the gameplay down sometimes, but on the upside, levels are non-linear and you are encouraged to explore. What I enjoy most though are the little, silly gameplay details: For example, Duke can regain health by picking up cans of Coke. If you're a little too trigger-happy though and accidentally hit a can, off goes your health pickup as it fizzes up in the air! Both DN1&2 have lots of little details like that; they don't always make sense, but that often makes it even better. Finally, if you only know Duke from Duke Nukem 3D and/or later games, it's fun to see how his character evolved from the action hero who watches Oprah and wears pink shirts, into the one-liner spewing, ego-tastic babe magnet we know and love.
Without a doubt, Raptor: Call of The Shadows is one of my all-time favourite games; whenever I feel like playing something that's just plain old fun, I dig up my Raptor floppies. (It's quite amazing that those floppies still work after 16 years..) I'm quite glad that Raptor now is available on GoG for everyone to enjoy. Back in '94, Raptor came and went a bit unnoticed: Platformers still reigned supreme and first-person shooters were on the rise. Additionally, Raptor's tech was outdated when it was released, seeing as Doom was already released a year earlier. None the less, Raptor is a hidden gem that is definitely worth checking out! Despite its older tech, Raptor was and still is a polished and great-looking game. I still remember my friends ooh-and-aah'ing over the short ending cinematic after each mission, where you see your ship landing in its hangar. What stands out for me however are Raptor's sound effects: Next to the endless rattling of your machine guns, rockets and lasers being fired, there quite literally isn't a single second in this game where you're not hearing an explosion, all of which sounds nothing short of awesome. Puts Michael Bay's movies to shame really. :) This orchestra of weaponry and explosions continues throughout the entire level, until you reach the level boss ..and you will know when you're about to reach a boss when you hear something that I can only describe as a muffled version of the MGM lion's roaring. Once you hear that ominous sound, you know you'd better get ready for a fight. As for the music, you'd think that hardly anyone would ever notice the music with this constant barrage of explosions. And yet, Raptor does have music. What's more, it has great music! Even though it's hard to consciously pay attention to it while playing, the music seems to feed you courage as you fight your way through wave upon wave of enemies. Then there is the actual gameplay: Raptor has a surprising amount of depth for a vertical scrolling shoot'em up. Everything you blow up, be it enemy ships, ground turrets or harmless buildings, gives you cold, hard cash. After each level, you'll be able to spend your money on energy, shields and, most importantly, weapons. From the beginning of the game, you can already see all the different weapons that are available, so you can look forward to getting that next bigger, better, more bad-ass weapon once you've saved up enough cash. And there will be a grin on your face the first time you lay your hands on the ultimate weapon, Raptor's version of the BFG: the Twin Laser. :) While some weapons are more powerful versions of others, there also is a lot of variety in Raptor's weapons, which is necessary to cope with the various types of enemies in the game. Some weapons are better suited for fast moving enemies; some are better for enemies on the ground; some are better for enemies in the air; ... Because of this, the ability to switch quickly to the right tool for the job is of the essence, especially when playing on the higher diffulty settings. Speaking of difficulty, Raptor is an expertly paced game. Every time you get a new weapon, you get to feel overpowered for a short while, but you'll soon realize that you're going to need all this firepower, as your enemies get more powerful and have new tricks up their sleeves. The game feels just challenging enough and it never got me even close to the point of frustration. Raptor doesn't ever play nasty tricks on you, such as sending in enemies from the sides or behind you; if death comes, it comes from above. You can even tell where enemies will be coming from, because you can already see their shadows moving in from the top of the screen. This will come in handy once you encounter enemies that you'd better avoid rather than trying to shoot them down. In the event that you do get killed, you're actually in for a treat. Yes, even dieing is fun in Raptor! As your ship is on its last bits of energy, you will first start to lose your weapons one by one. Once your energy is depleted completely, your ship will go down in a trail of explosions. Move your ship towards the guy that took you down and take him down with you! Now that's how you die in glory. :) Raptor's controls also are spot-on. If you get hit, you'll only have yourself to blame. However, I do recommend playing the game using the mouse. Using the keyboard or gamepad controls also works just fine, but you can actually move your ship a lot faster if the controller type is set to use the mouse. Your ship will feel much more nimble and you can now weave through enemy waves more easily. You may even want to crank the difficulty setting up a notch, just to make things more interesting. All in all, Raptor is an excellent game that is just great fun to play. In fact, it's even a great stress reliever; just play a short burst of Raptor to clear your mind, or rather fill it with the sweet sound of explosions. :)
