MonsterVine
HomepageMonsterVine's Reviews
Roboquest is a fantastic shooter that’s chock-full of secrets and seemingly endless enjoyment. It can be a bit harder to play at a frantic pace on a console, but it doesn’t take long to get fairly accustomed to it. All-in-all, this is a must-play roguelite that nails essentially everything it does, with style.
Monster Train 2 delivers a smart, wildly creative, and compulsively replayable roguelike deckbuilder that builds meaningfully on its predecessor. The mechanics—particularly its verticality, floor-based strategy, and layered factions—make for exhilarating and varied runs. The writing’s energy reflects how fun the game is in motion, with just a few complexities that may slightly overwhelm newcomers. But for fans of roguelikes and deckbuilders, this is a masterclass in chaos and cohesion.
Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer takes everything from the first game and improves it, with stronger puzzles and an intriguing story. Fans of point-and-click adventure games will find an enjoyable experience here, and fans of the first game should enjoy seeing how Kathy’s murder investigation unfolds.
If you enjoyed the first Duck Detective, you'll likely enjoy the sequel as well, and if you're new to the series, this is a fine place to begin. This short mystery adventure game might not be packed with thrills, but it's filled with charm and leaves one to wonder what stories might await in the duck detective's future.
Between the performance, gadget usage, and open world issues, Deliver At All Costs still manages to pull it out and make an incredibly satisfying game. Difficult in all the right places and fun the whole way through.
Blades of Fire is a misfire, attempting to mix elements of soulslike games with its own action ideas in an oil and water result. The story is bland, and the characters are deeply unfunny despite constantly trying to be, resulting in a tone that matches the worst of the Xbox 360 era. Obtuse and confusing level designs combined with the choice not to have objective markers create a frustrating experience, which is only furthered by the unique combat system feeling out of sync with the hardcore third-person combat games it wants to emulate.
Onimusha 2 might have some odd pacing and distances itself from its predecessor's survival horror trappings, but it's a great game with a lot to offer, and the remaster further improves it with some nice bonus features and quality-of-life improvements. I couldn't be more excited for the future of Onimusha, and Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny further proves this series deserves its revival.
While it was lovely to be able to see a world bursting with color and full of culture, it didn’t feel fitting to the overall theme of Detective Dotson, and instead felt like it was a bit all over the place.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a stellar collection of some of Capcom’s most acclaimed fighters, both the well-known and the overshadowed. The range of titles is diverse and exciting, the added features are useful, and the additional content is always a welcome bonus. Once again, Capcom has proven itself to be excellent at remastering its many unique titles.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is another fantastic entry in possibly the greatest FPS franchise of all time. Brutal, hardcore, and metal as hell.
Drop Duchy has a clever and engaging tile-based strategy concept blending Tetris and deckbuilding, with strong combo potential and rewarding planning. However, its steep learning curve, lack of in-game clarity, reliance on RNG, and grind-heavy progression hold it back from reaching greater heights. It’s a niche but appealing experience for players who love complex systems and board game-style strategy.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a fantastic update to one of Bethesda’s most classic titles. Almost everything that needed to be revised or fixed has been, while everything else – every bit of goofy charm and jank – has been kept intact. This is a brilliant example of how to remaster a dated game, and I hope the same process is applied to Fallout 3 and New Vegas in the future.
StarVaders is a creative and polished fusion of roguelike, deckbuilder, and arcade-style mechanics. While it’s built on a familiar formula, the vibrant design, strategic depth, and sheer fun of chaotic, combo-driven gameplay make it an easy standout in the genre.
Nothing it does truly elevates itself to the greatness of the Southern Gothic look it’s going for, and in a lot of ways, gets in the way of truly enjoying the beautiful locales that are shown. There are only so many times you can enter a circular combat chamber and fight the same enemies over and over with subpar abilities before it gets droll. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the area outside of that arena is.
You clearly appreciate Moroi’s unapologetic weirdness and commitment to its aesthetic. The world-building, puzzles, and writing are engaging if you're on the game's wavelength. But the frustrating combat mechanics, occasional bugs, and unclear progression logic (especially with doors and puzzle gating) create a high barrier to enjoyment. It’s a fascinating mess, but it is best suited for players with patience and a taste for the bizarre.
Many Nights a Whisper offers a contemplative experience that acts as a meditation that might help you in your own life. Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbor have worked together to forge a masterpiece that can be experienced in a single sitting. Don’t pass this up.
Mechabellum is an onion with many layers, but once you get to the core of the gameplay, you really begin to understand what’s going on in every battle. And depending on the match you’re in, you can really start to see the pitfalls of its design. And even still, I cannot stop playing, warts and all.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered lets the best parts of the original game shine, while sanding out some of the rough edges that can detract from the player experience. The story shines as one of the best ones in the franchise, and the addition of new types of combat keeps things feeling pretty fresh. This is a full featured remaster, and I hope we continue to see the SaGa series get this kind of love and care from Square Enix; it deserves it.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not only deftly improves upon the idea of active turn-based combat, but delivers it in a gorgeous and realized world. The characters are incredible, it dodges some of the more grating aspects of turn-based RPGs, and delivers a mature, and at times haunting, story, without falling into the traps of too much violence for the sake of maturity. A big narrative turn flattens the experience, and a few too many rough edges keep it from masterpiece status, but it is still an incredible experience.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is an excellent mix of tactical RPG action and visual novel goodness from two of gaming’s most fascinating minds. From the extreme amount of content to the fascinating story, this is an impressive offering all around. If you want a truly unique story along with some flashy tactical combat, you can’t go wrong with this one.