Leonardo Faria's Reviews
I guess that what made me feel so disappointed about Shotgun Cop Man was the fact that I had just played a vastly superior game with the same gimmick, but no control issues whatsoever. In Sacre Bleu, I could perform small jumps before blasting myself with the recoil of my bunderbluss. Combat was fun there. It wasn’t here. Shotgun Cop Man ended up being a torturous patience test, with a control scheme that just didn’t fit in with the level design, really poor presentation, and a level of difficulty that never felt like I was being tested; I felt I was being made fun of.
I had a fun time with Captain Blood even if it’s clearly dated. For a forgotten game that should have been released back during the end of the Bush administration, the idea still feels fresh to this day. A pirate-themed God of War clone was appealing back then, and still is now. Just bear in mind the quality of life enhancements you’d expect from the 2020s aren’t featured in this game, and that it wouldn’t have even been a masterpiece for its intended generation of consoles.
My summarised answer as to whether or not you should pick up Haste is: “yeah, duh”. Do it right away. It stands out from a sea of generic roguelites by being completely focused on just a few core concepts, namely momentum, speed, and platforming. Thankfully, Haste delivers in all of these aspects, so what we have here is an incredibly charming game that is easy to pick up, hard to master, and even harder for you to stop playing.
I think this is the best way to sum up KIBORG: a neat premise that just ended up feeling like a mixed bag. For every admittedly interesting aspect, such as its visuals, ultraviolence and combat, there’s something else that brings it down a handful of notches, such as the awful voice acting, difficulty spikes, and bugs.
Despelote is not awful… it’s just very confusing. I appreciate the interesting premise and presentation, but it’s just somewhat devoid of elements that make it a proper “game”. Even the football-related gameplay (or what little of it is present) feels clunky and shallow. I also think the story could have been more focused on the innocence and lack of urgency in the life of a child – it would have made it a lot more relatable.
I still fail to understand the idea behind dropping these terrible Neptunia spinoffs every six months or so. Is this Idea Factory’s plan to keep the franchise under the spotlight at all times? Because I don’t think we are constantly being reminded of them for the good reasons. Neptunia Riders Vs. Dogoos is yet another example of an unfunny, uninteresting, short and lazy spinoff that relies way too much on fanservice to mask how shallow it really is. I don’t get who this is for, and I really struggled to have any kind of fun with it.
Both Lunar and Lunar 2 are utterly adorable JRPGs with lovable characters and great plots you can’t help but want to experience as much as possible. To have them available in an accessible and polished remastered package is more than just a lot of bang for you buck, but also a great way to preserve two cult hits from the 90s, finally making them easily accessible to a wider audience. It’s a good thing they are charming as hell, as their gameplay is grindy and dated. If you can put up with the clichés and limitations of old-school JRPGs, then Lunar Remastered Collection is a very easy recommendation.
It is still janky, occasionally ugly, and featuring some inexcusable bugs, but the core game is so good, so damn immersive and entertaining, you will keep on playing it for hours on end. It’s an updated and (ever so slightly) improved way to experience a classic RPG that doesn’t feel like it’s already 19 years old. Grab an axe, improve your charisma stats, completely ignore the plot and the urgency behind the main critical path, and immerse yourself in the land of Cyrodiil.
Sacre Bleu is a silly but lighthearted adventure with some inventive platforming and level design. I loved how the game managed to progressively teach me all of its mechanics through some organic difficulty growth, and also gave me reasons to replay each level by adding little secrets and unlockables here and there. It’s just occasionally hampered by some less than spectacular combat sections, but the puzzle-solving more than makes up for it. At the end of the day, even if it’s not spectacular, it’s a pretty fun game, of très bonne qualité.
There’s quite a bit of content, and the gameplay itself is sound enough, but City of Wolves felt less like Fatal Fury and more like a smaller The King of Fighters outing with a different (and by that, I mean smaller) roster. Speaking of roster, the baffling celebrity inclusions didn’t feel entertaining, they felt like a desperate and distraction attempt to draw attention. If I had to choose, I’d certainly suggest picking up KoF XV or even KoF XIV instead; even if City of Wolves is fully functional, with great rollback netcode and decent controls, I feel like SNK’s other outings felt more cohesive and entertaining in comparison.
It’s a funny little puzzler with a very creative and innovative gameplay loop. When it works, it works oh so well. It’s just way too punishing and demotivating due to its lack of either a rewind function or some kind of mid-level checkpoint. If this could be added later down the line in an update, then ignore my complaints and pick it up right away. As for now, just be aware of some harsh consequences for your mistakes; if that’s something you can deal with, then go for it and give this little indie title a go.
Bionic Bay features some of the best and most creative platforming I’ve experienced in a good while, coupled with some fantastic graphics, and most importantly, really tight controls. I was really impressed by the level design, the puzzles being thrown at me, and the fact I very rarely complained about a roadblock being way too difficult to solve – the game never felt overly easy, but rarely, if ever, made me want to ragequit.
Again, it’s not that #Drive Rally is a bad game; it’s just yet another arcadey rally game. What disappointed me the most was the fact that the original #Drive felt unique enough back then. Removing the auto runner aspects from the game, and just making it feel like yet another indie racer inspired by Sega Rally just made it look like everybody else.
Some might say that Ninja Gaiden 2 Black feels a bit pointless as a remaster, considering the existence of the (cheaper and still highly enjoyable) Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection. If you’re just a casual fan of the franchise, I’d argue that Ninja Gaiden 2 Black isn’t a must-own. It is, without a doubt, the best version of this game, but it didn’t feel like a complete game changer. With that being said, it’s still Ninja Gaiden II, so it’s still fun, visceral, and challenging.
The amount of new gameplay elements and improvements featured in The Talos Principle: Reawakened are just enough to warrant its existence as a fully-priced, full-fledged remake. Beautiful graphics, a brand new expansion, and a scenario editor to pretty much ensure that the game will have a near neverending supply of new levels to enjoy.
Croc isn’t, and has never been the most amazing 3D platformer in existence, but I can’t help but appreciate the fact it is back, and that its original creators have dedicated their time to completely revamp what was once a very clunky title into something that, sure, is still flawed, but 100% accessible and enjoyable by modern audiences. A true labor of love from the development team, you can clearly see that from the remastering efforts and sheer amount of extras.
All in all, if you want absurdity, you’re getting absurdity. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii sees the franchise in its most ridiculous, over-the-top, and self-aware. At the same time, it’s still a phenomenal pirate simulator, an engaging story to unravel, a fantastic sandbox to explore. It’s not a simple pirate mod plastered on top of the usual Yakuza formula: RGG Studio took its time to make what’s possibly the best pirate game I’ve ever played.
As previously mentioned, I’m still in shock it took this long for Koei Tecmo to publish a Musou roguelike. Warriors: Abyss might possibly be the most fun I’ve had with a Musou game at least since Hyrule Warriors. It’s just a phenomenal fit, perfectly mixing the franchise’s “braindead-but-enjoyable” combat system with the replayability and arcadey vibes of a roguelike.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a collection of games that appeals to a very specific niche of millennials longing for the good old days, but I can’t deny, I am that target audience, and I have been playing it non-stop for the past days. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop anytime soon. There’s no way to defend a lack of extras or some tutorials to help newcomers out, but when it comes to preserving a specific niche in Konami’s catalogue, as well as providing us with a near-endless amount of nostalgic fun, this collection is just outright magnificent.
It can be annoying, frustrating, rage-inducing, but as far as titles in the microcosm of “rage-bait meme games” go, I honestly think that Driving is Hard is the best of the bunch. It features fine production values, but above all else, good controls; the game feels like an actual challenge, and not just a test to see how much you can stomach it. Would I call it amazing and a must-have? Absolutely not. Still, I had a fun time with it, especially on the ROG Ally, and that’s way more than I could say about some of its peers…