Kingdom Eighties seeks to create a standalone experience for newcomers and longtime fans alike, and it achieves this in some facets. It’s beautiful, it sounds amazing, and the animated cutscenes and character archetypes fit the 80s bill to a T.
But, for the most part, Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine does exactly what it needs: it tries something new with the Super Meat Boy franchise and does it well. It’s tricky, it’s gory, it’s exciting and it carves new thinking pathways. There’s fun to be had and it’s got gorgeous animation, a bopping soundtrack and is perfect to pick up and play here and there.
It’s tight in execution, just like a noose, but without the satisfying release after you say the safe word. It’s as grim as it should be and unapologetic, and that’s admirable.
Let players who enjoy the indies find this game and have a good weekend with it. Let people who backed it on Kickstarter sing its praises and argue with other fans about who the real villain is. Let it exist in the same realm where I still hold Robotrek as one of my favorite RPGs ever. But, for me, Bat Boy has taken its last swing.
For most people, getting Etrian Odyssey II HD means purchasing it in a triple decker sandwich with the predecessor and the sequel. You can enjoy the first one and then use that to expand on what’s great about this game, namely that everything is better while still being similar. It’s not nearly the departure that comes in subsequent games; it’s almost like playing a fan mod of the first with QoL improvements from basement devs. If you’re not looking for something that changes your life but does make it a little more fun, then Etrian Odyssey II does a fine job of being a fantastic dungeon crawler.
Yes, I have many complaints about Etrian Odyssey HD, but I still continued to play it. It’s not an easy game to passively play. You really do need to focus on the map creation, and mislabeling an area can result in hours of backtracking to figure out where you accidentally labeled a wall that’s actually a door. But it’s got a flow to it, and the placement of storyline at bookends means you can get into a playstate and not worry about missing crucial moments of plot.
As off kilter of a “game” as this might be, it’s nonetheless a heady dose of high strangeness, a cafe blend of Twin Peaks meets Watamote with a fair dash of When Our Journey Ends and just a touch of existential crisis. Like a great book, it leaves you filled, curious, and eager for more. The yearning for explanation, for connection, and the very real taste of loneliness cloaked in dry humor is what will keep me waiting at the station. The next train will surely bring me home.
If this is your jam and you have been waiting, you’re a truly fascinating individual and I’m glad you can get this title for less than a movie ticket. Enjoy it, unlock all the hidden achievements, have fun because it’s a cute and simple game. For everyone else… I don’t know what to tell you. I’m at the point where I don’t know how I got here and I need to call an adult. The sheep made me do it.
Maybe when I just want to have a pulpy storyline with a bunch of turn based combat, I pick up a short RPG and blast away at mutated animals and doomsday cultists and call it a day. Perhaps, when I’m hungry for it, For A Vast Future is just the snack I need. Sadly, today, I was looking for something a bit more filling, and this left me just a bit dissatisfied.
It’s hard to sell an arcade game beyond what a trailer might tell you, but Formula Retro Racing – World Tour has a sincere veneer about it that keeps you coming back for more. This isn’t just some random cabinet in a smoky arcade in Glendale, this is a lovingly crafted homage that begs you to try and walk away once you get the hang of it. There’s precision, there’s enjoyment, there’s actually fantastic design that promises a fun time and delivers in spades.
Fans of Fairy Fencer F should get in on this title and get in now. Drink deep of this lore and excellent scripting before it becomes bloated with extra noise, and enjoy it as such. If you’re scared by the change in approach, don’t be: a good IP can wear any hat as long as it fits. Refrain Chord wears the helmet of SRPG well, and players will honestly feel so much better being able to enjoy this new storyline without also wondering when their console/PC is about to crash.
Whether you have only touched upon the Playstation 4 and later titles or dabbled in mobile game hijinks; if you’ve owned every Nintendo title since inception and still have four Gameboy Advance adapters for your Gamecube; if there’s even a shred of you that remembers brute forcing through the original with a party of four Fighters, then I have to let you know: this game is for you.
Mugen Souls is a fun trek, and you might as well do it right if you’re that determined to assist this pink haired demon in taking over the universe.
That is my feeling, my awful, heavy feeling about Arcana of Paradise ~ The Tower. If I had gotten exceedingly lucky with my first roll of characters, maybe I would have been hooked by the grindloop and joyfully gotten bread for my fellow kids. Instead, I just felt disappointment and disinterest grow like a fungus in my heart. I kept trying to play so I could find more, figure out what it is that makes it tick, and I found nothing. This isn’t worth my time, and I can’t say, with any confidence, that it’s worth yours.
What players are left with is something similar to my experience with Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition. If you love the source material, it’s going to be a grand expansion of the world and, truly, this is a great entry to the Tron pantheon. It’s a very competent if short visual novel, and it’s engaging in a bite sized sort of way. I do wish that Disney had thrown some money at it to get voice work, but I’m fine that there’s just ambient electronica and the proper synthesized sinister feel that carries the read text.
In an ocean of games both great and small, Mr. Sun’s Hatbox breaks the surface and gives an astonishing display of joy, irritation, irreverence, and nuanced detail. I am deeply pleased to have played, and sincerely hope that I find even more reasons to continue plumbing the depths of these mad missions.
It’s got a great set of characters, some solid gameplay and a lot of heart. It’s engaging, maybe more tower defense than true strategy, but still a great time sink for upwards of an hour at a time. I highly encourage players to take a look at this stunning update to a classic game and see what happens in a magic school where at least someone is competent.
While it’s only on PC for now, console players should fully prepare for a dive into Hunt the Night later this year as a serious contender for a 2D soulslike that brings the ambience, the horror, and the satisfaction that can only come from an excellent experience.
You can enjoy some explosions, and there are additional elements to unlock with the challenge mode. You actually have a lot of fun when you find cute combinations that trigger cutscenes between the soldiers, and there’s satisfaction from destruction at a grand scale. The pixel art is lovely and detailed without losing some of that chunkiness, and the opening is a banger, even if the remaining score is a snore. I say if you’re determined to having something hit that dopamine switch, there’s a good chance you’ll have enjoyment with Marfusha.
Mato Anomalies is relatively short, looks good but not amazing, and loads like I just caught it sneaking in after curfew and asked what it was doing. The voice work is okay but not fantastic, combat is good, card game is awful. It’s just a bit of everything but not enough of something, if that makes sense.