Elisha Deogracias's Reviews
A love letter to the NES era of platformers, Cyber Shadow scratches the retro itch just right. With some amazing gameplay elements and a killer presentation, this is an adventure you need in your life right now.
Super Meat Boy Forever is a game that suffers from inconsistent difficulty and some counter-intuitive mechanics. While the cutscenes and bosses are charming as always, this is one game that die-hards of the previous installment might want to skip. It’s still a fun time for those willing to overlook its flaws, however.
While I appreciate the crushing difficulty later in the game, it’s unfortunate that Rhythm Fighter equates “harder” with “more damage and cheap attacks”. It got to the point where if I ended up getting the Chonki boss (a literal chonky statue of a cat) after my second stage, I ended up resetting my run due to the fact that the boss’s move patterns are unpredictable and there’s barely an opening to hit back.
Tanuki Justice is a throwback to the run and gun games of the 80s and 90s, for better or for worse. While it does sport some challenging difficulty and a distinct pixel art style, some of it goes into unfair territory and ends up being an exercise in frustration.
Override 2’s combat is drastically changed from its predecessor, acting more like a fast-paced 3D arena beat-em-up than a slower mech fighting game.
Outcasters is an outrageously fun Stadia exclusive with an innovative shot mechanic and wacky graphics. If you can get a party for four together, it's an amazing time, but even playing solo with online randoms is a great treat too.
Perhaps the only real issue I have is the overall length of the game, which can be excused since it’s, well, free. The game lasts under about two hours on a casual playthrough, though there’s tons to explore (with a platinum trophy requiring a little more thought when replaying levels for collectibles), as well as special online time trials you can participate in for the best time. Do I want more of Astro’s Playroom? Definitely, and if we could get a full-fledged sequel that could utilize the DualSense controller like this one, it would be a masterpiece.
Ponpu is a decently fun Bomberman clone that has a distinct art style and some cool multiplayer modes. While the single-player content is nothing to write home about, you can definitely have a clucking good time with the right friends locally or online.
While Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise hosts a number of improvements that will complement your workout, there are a host of technical issues that make this a worse performing experience. If you can get past the underwhelming music and slight slowdown, however, you'll find a wonderful exercise program if you stick with it.
Coming out of seemingly nowhere, Touhou Spell Bubble is one of the best puzzle games I've played all year. The mix of rhythm gameplay and a reimagining of the Bust a Move formula is wrapped up in a Touhou presentation, and it's an addictively fun experience that diehard Touhou fans should definitely check out.