Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
What makes Return to Castlevania better is that it essentially allows you to turn Dead Cells into a Castlevania roguelike, and a damned good one. The DLC serves as a fantastic love letter to one of the series that helped inspire Dead Cells, and that love absolutely comes across. I honestly wish that more games would let me just turn them into a Castlevania spin-off. What’s the matter, Mario? Think you’re better than Castlevania? Well, you’re not, so put on this leather cuirass and carry this whip. Wait, that sounded weird.
I’m legitimately surprised by how 24 Killers manages to be so closely related to its influences yet still provide a unique experience. A studio’s philosophy is an intangible thing to try and mimic, but Happy Shabby Games seems to have taken 24 Killers protracted development period and nailed it. It feels like a spiritual successor, directly related to Moon. It features the same askew artstyle, a strange but relaxed soundtrack, and an atypical narrative with off-kilter dialogue. Meanwhile, it’s more player-friendly without being overly modernized or sterile. It’s great to see other developers pick up the torch, as the world could use a bit more love in it.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
For being a rather unique premise, Flooded offers a very tight and polished experience. It’s the sort of thing where I’m afraid that if you either add something or take it away, it will stop working. Just a terrific execution of its thesis. I’m not certain it will necessarily soak your socks like some more expansive builders might, but your time spent stranded will be worthwhile.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with Taito Milestones 2. It has a few games I’m already well acquainted with, alongside a few other obscure titles that I might not have tried on their own. It gives me the comfort of familiarity and the thrill of exploration. Sure, some of the games aren’t very good, but they’re at least bad in an almost impressive way. It’s a lot like Taito and Hamster put together a mix tape specifically for me and left it in my locker.
Gunbrella is a rather easy recommendation. It’s a solid platformer with a lot of charm. I’m not sure it will be at the top of my mind when I think of my favorite games, and I don’t think I’m going to be eager to scoop up a physical copy sometime in the future, but I undoubtedly enjoyed my time with it. It’s worth keeping for a rainy day.
The actual gameplay of El Paso, Elsewhere didn’t really impress me. It’s an interesting twist on Max Payne, but it falls short in a lot of ways. Its story, though? Hoo, gosh. I’m going to be chewing on this for a while.
World of Horror seems to hit all its goals. While its approach to horror is rather derivative of Junji Ito, it’s applied in a creative way and with a vision of its own. I can’t say I was blown away because it really is exactly the game that it claims to be. However, I was immensely satisfied. It’s a wonderfully modular experience, but if you’re deathly afraid of numbers, then that’s where you’ll find the real horror.