Maximum Utmost
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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.
Without my son, I wouldn’t have ever bought Astronook, and I certainly would not have powered through the last handful of puzzles. The game is cute, for sure, but the puzzle difficulty and clunky controller controls begin to betray the coziness at times. My son probably gives this game a 10/10, and we have revisited it many times since beating it. I love it because I love seeing him happy, but I am mostly hoping that we move on to something new soon.
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.
As a means of crafting a narrative I could connect with, many books accomplish with ease what inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories attempts. As a konbini simulator, you’re better off grabbing Convenience Stories from Kairosoft. From my experience, self-described cozy games strike out far more often than they hit, sounding nice in theory but fumbling the execution. inKONBINI avoids most of the pitfalls of its contemporaries, but that is a low bar to hurdle. All in all, it’s a perfectly nice game. An average one, but certainly nice.
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.
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 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.
There are honest strategies for maximizing your sales each day, from updating your book selection to redecorating your exterior to fit the area, but making money really isn’t the point of Tiny Bookshop. It’s establishing yourself a member of this community, and as you’ll find out, it’s not the sales that matter, but the difference you make in the lives of your customers. As Roger Mifflin put it, “…when you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue—you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night—there’s all heaven and earth in a book…”
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.
Nonetheless, at least Irem Collection Volume 3 is a compilation of three good arcade titles. Okay, maybe I didn’t really jive with Mr. Heli, but I don’t think it’s a bad game… probably. I just don’t think the price tag is representative of the package. If I had to guess, it’s because they want to keep parity with the physical release. But when you’re looking at it on a digital storefront between Taito Milestones and Capcom Arcade Stadium, it doesn’t look very tantalizing, regardless of how much you like Mr. Heli.
Clock Tower is one of those games where I’m not sure I really liked it much, but I’m glad I played it. I’m not even talking from a historical perspective. Yeah, it’s an important game, but it’s also a very unique one. An SNES game with such a dark presentation and such heavy atmosphere isn’t all that common, and Clock Tower does an impressive job of it. I just wish it was less of a chore to play.