Bioshock Infinite is a linear, story driven fps game unlike it's more open world predecessors. Because of that the story plays a big part of the game, and the story is where the greatest flaws are. The gameplay is good, but flawed thanks to a poor UI and proper explanation of the systems. I beat the dlc thinking that you could only use two weapons when there is a 'hidden' menu that allows you to switch between all of them. The fact that it is possible to miss something so important is unacceptable. The other major gameplay flaw is the save system which is check point based and largely out of your control. While the game is linear it allows you to backtrack to find extra stuff. The problem is that there isn't always a checkpoint when doing that and you face losing all of your progress. I found myself playing way longer than I wanted to trying to make sure I hit a checkpoint so I wouldn't lose my progress. This is bad design. The game is also a little unbalanced and throws you into practically unwinnable situations where you are so overwhelmed that you have no option but to die. Spoilers: The story aspect of the game is also flawed in that it seems the writers tried to get too fancy with time travel and stuff like that. The main driving force behind the story is a father trying to do right by his lost daughter. When he eventually finds her though there is no emotion whatsoever. The daughter reacts in kind and literally nothing is made of the fact that they both finally found each other. To make matters worse the daughter ends up killing her own father in order to 'fix' things, and she seems to relish it. In the DLC the daughter sacrifices herself for some little girl that no one knows anything about. She sacrifices herself even though the game presents her as some genius who has omniscience and time travel powers. It's clear they wanted to kill her off because they made her too powerful and needed some excuse.
I skipped the last Shantae game because it was linear and didn't resemble the games of the past. With Seven Sirens Wayfoward has returned to the classic Metroidvania style that fans have grown to love. Why they went linear is beyond me, but I'm glad they had enough sense to get back to true Shantae style. This game is packed with style and charm, as usual, but it is accentuated now by the cartoon art style. The anime style opening doesn't seem to fit the rest of the art style though. The classic gameplay is here and intact with towns, finding squids and earning money to power up Shantae as much or as little as you like. There is a mini game that I didn' t see the point of and was pretty difficult, but at least they tried. For as great as the game is though, it feels like a rushed game by the bare bones nature. There is only one special mode and very few unlockables, and the unlockables are tied to clear time which is a bad idea since not many people are into speedrunning. The game lacks that little bit extra attention that would have gotten it a full five stars, but it a great romp in the lovable Shantae wolrld that I hope we'll see more of soon.
Great little horror adventure game that really gives you a choice about how to play. Also getting the different endings involves different gameplay scenes and puzzles so it feels fresh and not just rehashed. It could have been a little longer, but it is worth a purchase if you love adventure games.
I love Samorost, and I have the first two games. The first two were small flash games so it was understandable that they were short experiences. Samorost 3, however, is a supposed to be a full blown adventure. I mean, that is what anyone paying $20 should expect. Unfortunately it isn't. Samorost 3 is a very short game that is dragged out by tedious travelling and transitions. Going from one area to the adjacent area can sometimes take forever, and it is extremely tedious and frustrating. For example, in the last area there is a boat that you have to use to get to a tower, and it takes forever to get in the boat and be taken across the small pond. I know Amanita want to retain the artsy feel of the game, but at some point you have to realize that this is still a game and it has to be playable and not frustrating. Getting in and out of your ship can sometimes feel like an eternity. The same goes for travelling to different celestial bodies. The puzzles are nothing to write home about either. A lot of them are music based which just serve to aggravate the musically challenged, and the rest just leave you scratching your head after you've done what you think you're supposed to do. At least they included a cheat sheet which gives you a better idea of what you're supposed to do, but even then there are times when it's still not clear. Samorost 3 is nothing like the first two games in terms of fun and adventure. In spite of it's HD visuals and Amanita styling it manages to miss the mark and loses a lot of the Samorost charm they built up with the previous games. Besides being a very short game (for which they want a lot of money), the level of tedium that you have to endure drives the charm and fun away. By the end I was just clicking away just to get it over with and I don't think that is what Amanita was after.
If you like Harvest Moon games then you will love Stardew Valley. They are the same type of farm management game, and Stardew Valley manages to create it's own charming universe that easily sucks you in. The only problem with this game is that it is shallow and does not have the same amount of content you would expect from a game like this. The dialogue between characters and even your spouse is repetitive. You have a dog or cat that you can't play with. The festivals are lifeless and have no real point except breaking the monotony of working on your farm for a few minutes. You can easily make millions of dollars that you can't spend because there is nothing to buy outside of farm buildings. The combat is very clunky and unintuitive even though the monsters can take off a ton of damage in a few seconds. You spend the whole game restoring a community center that adds absolutely nothing to the game once it's finished. There are just so many content holes that the game really feels unfinished. Thankfully the developer is still adding content, but this is stuff that should have already been in the game from the beginning. Adding dialogue after the game is "finished" and out for sale isn't a good sign. I hope this game turns into the full package, but right now it is lacking in a lot of areas even though it is fun.
Pixel Piracy is a fun game where you get to do pirate things in a side-scrolling 2D world. You go up levels like an RPG and you command your mates like a strategy game. You can build your own ship or steal others, and have huge sea battles. Overall the game is fun and there is a lot to explore. That said the game is unpolished and needs some more work. The first sign of trouble was the fact that I couldn't remap the controls. That's a big no-no on the PC. I had to use a hotkey program to play the way I wanted. The next biggest issue is the fact that your guys, and even you, don't always go where you want them to. Your pirates have a mind of their own, and a lot of times that is fun and interesting to watch, but at other times you just want your guy to be at the spot you want doing what you want and it's not always easy. There are also some little bugs and glitches here and there. For example, my captain got stuck in a part of the ship he used to have easy access to after I remodeled it. I had to break my ship up so he could get out. Also my guys stopped performing their skills for no reason (my cleaning guy stopped cleaning). The game has a lot of charm, but it needs another layer of depth and some serious attention to the interface along with bug fixes.
