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Ian Howarth

Queensbury, UK
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Favorite Games:
  • Spelunky
  • Celeste
  • SSFIV

106 games reviewed
65.2 average score
70 median score
50.0% of games recommended

Ian Howarth's Reviews

Graduate of Games Programming, now a Solutions Architect in Mexico. I play too many games - board, video, and role-playing.
8 / 10 - Star Stuff
Jun 18, 2024

There’s a ton of depth that is often lacking in such bonny titles and plenty to keep you engaged for well over ten hours. Plus the difficulty is absolutely perfect for a real hungry brain-teaser lover such as myself. The only negative thing I can even really say about it is that it’s not exactly a novel concept as there are many other games that will have you programming bots. Human Resource machine is incredibly similar with its drag-and-drop command layout, I got quite addicted to Bitburner a year or so ago which uses a real programming language to have you level-up in a sort of an idle game, and I’m very excited for Linkito that lets you build out entire systems with logic gates and bits of hardware. That doesn’t stop Star Stuff being great, though – it actually means there’s somewhere to go from here if you want more. Give it a shot.

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The story is told and then it ends, but it makes you feel like there should be more, leaving not a craving for another entry but slight disappointment that your curiosity isn't fully satiated.

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Apr 23, 2024

More interesting abilities and skill trees that don't boil down to just controlling enemy movements or taking them out from a distance would go a long way – maybe the ability to create shadows to cross gaps or manipulate light, which could be used for combat and exploration.

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Apr 5, 2024

Quite the double-edged sword I'd say.

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8 / 10 - Balatro
Mar 10, 2024

Though I have no doubt anybody who likes cards, poker, video games, or joy will have a great time with it, I feel I should also note that it does wear itself out significantly faster than most of its brethren.

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Feb 11, 2024

We need more of this.

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Dec 24, 2023

Though the developer himself has expressed disappointment in its reception, they should still be incredibly proud of what they've accomplished largely by themselves.

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Nov 30, 2023

It's unfortunate then that whilst it does start off as a gruesome bit of fun to play from the other side, the experience hurriedly becomes monotonous and somehow manages to outstay its welcome in spite of the already brief ninety-minute playtime.

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The only problem is we still want more! Don't get me wrong, I'm always grateful to see a new deeply cooperative game release as, as mentioned, they are often few and far between, but the We Were Here games are special.

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8 / 10 - Remnant II
Aug 29, 2023

And this is what I was referring to right at the beginning.

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Feb 17, 2023

All of All of these details come together to form a fairly lifeless game – one with all the fixings and foundation of another epic showcase but without any of the polish or love that is so evident in the team's previous undertaking.

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7 / 10 - Bayonetta 3
Nov 27, 2022

Is Bayonetta 3 worth playing? If you're already a fan, absolutely.

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Nov 11, 2022

Unfortunately for the development team's usual crowd of fans, there is no single-player mode here.

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Sep 25, 2022

The way Cult of the Lamb smoothes this out is by affording constant upgrades, skills, side missions, new NPCs, mini-games, and more.

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4 / 10 - 心Soul
Aug 9, 2022

I think I've made it clear that the whole experience is a bumpy ride.

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Jul 11, 2022

I still say it’s worth giving a shot if you’re into this style of retro horror, more so because of how exceptionally cheap it is, as long as you’re aware of the few clumsy design choices that all too often get in the way of the experience.

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Jun 22, 2022

This simple set of manoeuvres is full of nuance, allowing for incredible plays and some serious mind-games, making it more like a fighting game than anything else.

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May 31, 2022

Sadly, I don't think Collection 5 is the best so far.

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May 21, 2022

It does a good job of gelling these two halves together and the mystery is more than enough to pull a player through the trials of chaotic shooting, even when the levels can start to feel repetitive.

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May 11, 2022

I'm aware that this review may come off as particularly negative even though I've really had a lot of fun with the game so far.

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