But that makes giving an opinion on Wax Heads a bit difficult, because clearly, it had effective messaging overall. It got through to me on some level. I think its approach to retail is really creative. It’s full of likeable characters. It’s just the narrative is trite and idealistic to the point of being saccharine. And that was enough to turn me off it completely. I appreciate Wax Heads, but I don’t see myself playing it again, and I don’t know that I recommend it. It’s time to find a different job.
I wasn’t hating my time with MOLE. Getting from beginning to end was mostly breezy, barring a few encounters with that pointless monster. It’s just I don’t feel I got a lot of nutrition from it. While it doesn’t outright copy anyone, its adherence to its inspirations is so stark that it seems like it doesn’t have its own voice. It’s buried somewhere in there. Deep down. I’ll get my shovel.
It’s somewhat of a high pricetag for four simple arcade experiences that you can burn through in a couple of hours. That’s often the nature of arcade ports, though. However, all four of these games are worth playing, two of them allow you to rope a friend in, and they’re all readily replayable. Personally, I think Space Gun alone makes it all worth it. It helps that most of these are relatively obscure. Except Operation: Wolf. Everyone’s heard of Operation: Wolf.
And if you haven’t played R-Type III before, you absolutely should. This is a solid way to do it, if only because it removes the slowdown endemic to the SNES version. R-Type Dimensions III is a loving renewal of an outstanding shoot-’em-up. I do wish that they found a balanced middle-ground for easing the difficulty beyond its all-or-nothing approach. As it is, you either feel pain or nothing at all.
The console release gave me a terrific excuse to replay this fantastic compilation. Having it on Switch feels like being able to take one of my favourite books along with me. Anthology of the Killer is just something special, and while this compilation has the feeling of finality to it, I kind of hope that this isn’t the last we see of BB or the world she exists in. But, if you haven’t yet played Anthology of the Killer, then count yourself lucky because there’s still so much to experience. And then you should play it. You should play it right now.
Retro Rewind accomplishes small things with accuracy. It doesn’t lean heavily on asset stores to fill out its world (though, I would like to talk to whoever made the arcade cabinets 3/4 scale on risers, wtf), it’s not as janky as a lot of its peers, and it maintains a tight scope. There are places where it can grow (they’re adding video game rental in the future), but not a whole lot to complain about. It might not blow you away, but it might suck you in. And it might also make you pine for the days of Blockbuster Video. We didn’t know how good we had it.
Crabmeat’s horror atmosphere is breathable. Its crabbing manages to claw its way out from under the darkness without compromising it. Its outstanding work-a-day gameplay alongside a great attention to detail creates a very involving experience all around. The restraint it shows in certain areas, especially when it comes to narrative and runtime, allow it to succeed in just about every facet. I can’t remember the last time I found a horror game so satisfying, which is a weird thing to say about horror. I’m a little afraid.
Which means you should probably check it out. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and there’s a substantial chance we’ll never see anything like it again.
Anyway, that’s a long way of saying that I appreciate that the gen-AI art has been ripped out, but the rest of the experience should have been left alone. Still, as it stands, should you play Future Racer 2000? Yep. It’s short, it’s relatively cheap, and it still manages to be a unique horror experience in many ways.
There are glimmers of brilliance in Dead Format, and a lot of it shines through. Unfortunately, the whole thing is uneven. Parts of it needed more refinement, or rather, needed to be rethought. Just brought entirely back to the drawing board. It’s breaking my brain trying to reconcile the high highs and low lows. I’d like to compare it to a B-movie, but it’s difficult. It’s mostly like Street Fighter: The Movie where I’m glued when Raul Julia is on-screen and then pull out the Rubik’s Cube every time he isn’t.
It lacks some of the frills that would normally make a roguelite into a long-term experience. There isn’t a tonne of unlockables, and it barely has a story, which also means no side diversions. While it lasts, it’s entertaining. It doesn’t know any tricks, but it’s still a good boy (or girl). Yes it is. Oh, yes it is!
A solid remaster of a decent game. I’m not going to make a The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly reference, but here’s a fistful of review points.
It’s a fun game to see, even if the whole thing is sloppy and dumb. Its humour certainly isn’t sharp, but it’s entertaining enough to stand out. The brevity is, at least, offset by the rather reasonable pricetag that Ratalaika has given it. $6 greenbacks or $9 Canadian loonies (fewer loonies on Steam for some reason). That’s, like, a Blockbuster rental circa 2005. I miss game rentals, but I… Sorry, I got distracted there. You could treat this like a rental for that price, is what I’m saying. Make it a bakage night.
But regardless of how other people might feel about it, Chulip is among my favourite games. I can hear and understand the criticism toward it, but I don’t care. And that’s how I feel about Stray Children. I’m not ready to put it among my favourite games. That will become clearer with time. For me, I know that despite all the trials, I walked away feeling I gained something. I’m not happy. I’m moved. The walls of my heart have been broken.
If GameMill had taken the Cruis’n Blast approach and added extra challenges and cars, it would be much easier to recommend. If they had tuned the game to offer something more than what you’d get with a pocketful of dollars at the movie theatre, it might be worth it. As it is, the fun in Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition is gone in sixty seconds.
I’m just here to tell you that The Procession to Calvary is the strongest. Four Last Things is in between. Death of the Reprobate is the weakest. Not by a measurable amount. In fact, based on this site’s rating system, all the games are getting the exact same rating, that’s how consistent they are in quality. But I’m a millennial. I was raised with the internet, and on the internet, we like ranked comparisons, so there it is.
I think that, perhaps, roguelite isn’t a great genre for Swery and Suda to be collaborating on. I get the feeling that the genre was just a means to get an idea that they put together across. That might be okay if the roguelite was at least enjoyable or benign, but it’s really unpleasant to play. The slow, gluey controls, repetitive enemies and environments, and overall clunkiness turn it into a really abrasive experience. On one hand, I hope this isn’t the last we see of Justine and Dr. Carnival. On the other, I kind of just want to forget this ever happened.
While there isn’t anything wrong with Easy Delivery Co., what I find irksome is that it’s clearly made with a love of something I find so appealing, and while it delivers in some aspect, it’s breathing on the neck of greatness. It has all the mechanics down – it feels great to drive the Kei Truck through the snow – but when it comes to conveyance, it lacks a punch. One might say, it doesn’t quite nail the delivery. Oh, wait, I made that joke already.
Yet, having completed the game, I can’t say I feel anything very strong about it. Certainly, I appreciate that it’s about robots surrounded by literal garbage who still find positivity in life. The art style and music is fab. But I don’t feel calmed, I don’t feel entertained, I don’t feel inspired. It’s clear that a lot of love went into it, and it kind of sucks to look at that and a bunch of bright-eyed robots and shrug. But, that’s what I have to do. It’s a positive shrug, though. It does a lot of cool stuff. So, if you were to play it, it would still be a net positive.
However, I love the character of Francis Morgan, and, as such, I love a lot of the insight into him that Deadly Premonition 2 gives (even though some of it isn’t particularly well-executed). He’s the most convincing reason to play this game at all, and it’s really great as a character exploration. That got me through to the end credits. And it could maybe get me through it again if I feel like reconnecting at some point. But the game itself is a bland, joyless slog. It’s almost unreal. And not in a good way.