Level Down Games
HomepageLevel Down Games's Reviews
It’s hard to ignore the flaws and genericness that is present in MUSYNX. While it’s an average rhythm game to pickup on the Nintendo Switch if you’re looking for something to mindlessly pass the time, the average gamer is not going to find any enjoyment out of this whatsoever.
Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is an otome visual novel unlike all the others we recently played. And trust us, we have played a ton.
NBA Playgrounds will absolutely fill the void left behind by NBA Jam in regards to a strict 2-on-2 basketball experience. However, there isn't enough here to really keep gamers coming back for more after the initial newness period wears off. It can be fun in extremely short bursts, but the boredom kicks in quick.
Although with all of this being said, if you are looking for an adventure/point-and-click style detective game, this is definitely one to take into consideration. The main issue I have with The Silver Case is that it shows its age all too well. You can easily tell by looking at and playing the game that it was originally released over 17 years ago. No amount of remastering is going to make this any better, unless the entire game was to be remade from the ground up, which just isn’t feasible at the moment. However, fans of Suda51 should absolutely pick this up and digest it at some point, as it is extremely fun to go back and see where his career with Grasshopper Manufacture all began. Everyone else should probably think hard before jumping in.
I’d like to see Ender Lilies thrive during its Early Access period, and I hope that a lot of these problems and balance issues can be worked out quickly because I do think there’s a promising game to be had here. At this stage of Early Access though and with so many other options available on the market that feel almost identical to this game, it struggles a bit to keep its head above the water. The graphical style and unique presentation will certainly set it apart from the more realistic looking offerings out there, but for now, I think the early consensus can be to wait for some updated and additional content before jumping in.
Super Meat Boy Forever has for many years been one of my most anticipated indie releases, and to say I didn't enjoy it would be disingenuous. Nevertheless, I feel there's an expectation from Team Meat to make an impressively difficult and worthy sequel to their 2010 smash hit. The problems present aren't the type that can be patched out - they're fundamental to the design of the game and, unfortunately, we may be waiting another ten years should they ever decide to travel the road of Meat Boy ever again. If you like Super Meat Boy, then you'll probably enjoy much of what Forever offers, but a patient gamer will likely find this as a free offering from Epic Game Store before long.
Mad Rat Dead offers small amounts of rhythmic gameplay fun, but will quickly grow old for even the most dedicated genre fans.
Even though it may sound as if the game is avoidable after reading through this review, there’s still some fun to be had, especially for the hardcore Watch Dogs fans if that is such a thing. Going into this, I was craving another Ubisoft style, check-box frenzy of a game, and this just didn’t do it for me in the slightest. It didn’t help that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla released just a handful of days after this and is exactly the style of game we were looking for. So should you jump in? That largely depends on you. If you played the first two games, I can certainly recommend a go at this one just to stay fresh on story elements and be prepared for the hopeful revitalization of the franchise when we get Watch Dogs: Black Flag. For everyone else, you can probably look away this time, especially with so many things releasing right now in the new generation of console gaming.
My spooky investigation of The Suicide of Rachel Foster was overall enjoyable, and being compared at all to some of its obvious influences is a compliment in its own right. Nevertheless, I walked away feeling like the story could’ve had more to give. I spent just over three hours at the Timberline Hotel, which could have been extended some to prevent feeling rushed in the final act. Retailing at $17.99 USD, the money-to-time investment ratio could be fairly compared to purchasing a movie. If story-driven or horror-themed walking simulators are your preferred brand, this shouldn’t be a game you miss. Otherwise, a Steam sale sometime this year will likely feature this game at a nice discount.
While I cannot compare to previous entries in the MechWarrior series, I have to wonder if this is a giant leap forward for the franchise, or more like a lateral move. It has some fun moments, but these are quick-lived and generally get overshadowed by some of the more glaring issues present in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Newcomers to the franchise may have a hard time digesting this as I did, but fans clamoring for more Mech goodness will likely find a lot to enjoy in Piranha Games’ latest outing.
If you’ve played any of the previous Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games releases, there isn’t a ton of new content to be had with the Tokyo 2020 version. If you’re looking for something to pass the time and have a couple of good gaming sessions with friends, you’ll find that here. If you’re looking for something with some staying power that will last you until the official Olympic Games happen next Summer, you’re going to be disappointed. I’d be surprised if this lasts anyone until the end of the year, let alone a full 8 months from now.
BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! is a fun and interesting game concept that could have been a wonderful entrance for the characters onto Nintendo’s new platform, but falls short in game length and exploration of its mechanics. I enjoyed the time I spent with the game, but did not ultimately feel that the total experience justified the $9.99 price point. With Nintendo’s recent foray into mobile games, I can’t help but wonder whether these characters and this franchise wouldn’t be more appropriate to represent Nintendo in that market.
Don’t expect to come in to this and see an epic mascot-style story or any type of replayability. The story is about as lame as you’d expect, and only exists at the beginning of the experience and then again at the end with very short cutscenes. This is a one-and-done type of game, but during the 8 to 10 hours it’ll take to complete the journey, especially if you stick it out and go for all of the Arnold levels, you’ll easily find some levels of enjoyment out of Accolade’s latest bobcat adventure. Bubsy: Paws on Fire is definitely the best Bubsy experience released in quite some time, and while this isn’t saying a lot, it definitely doesn’t deserve to be completely skipped over.
Damsel is a mixed bag of emotions for me. I came into this really excited for another experience like Katana ZERO and games of a similar fashion, especially because that is still one of my favorite releases in 2019. While there are elements that I enjoy, I can’t get behind the game as much as I initially expected I would. The odd technical issues and way too repetitive missions holds this back into the good department, instead of thrusting it forward into the great department.
Overall, Strange Brigade felt like a game chalk full of good ideas and decent gameplay mechanics that never was able to pull things together all at once.
In the end, Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy falls into a lot of the same traps that other first-person dungeon crawling roleplaying games also find themselves in. While the new gameplay mechanics and cast of characters remain a strong point, the overall design of the dungeons themselves and the lack of a compelling story make it hard to stay engaged throughout the 25+ hours needed to complete the game. For those that don’t have any experience with these types of games, the learning curve required might be enough of a frustration to avoid purchasing it. But, if you feel like you can either figure things out easily, have enough patience to really understand the mechanics, or have played through other Experience Inc. games like Demon Gaze and Operation Abyss, then certainly look at Operation Babel as another solid entry into this genre.
The two genres that Touhou Genso Wanderer is tackling have seen a bit of a resurgence in recents months and years. This is an enjoyable entry into either one, and while it is far from perfect and has quite a few flaws, there still is enough to find exciting about it and to wonder what will be next in the Touhou project. Unfortunately though, there’s just a bit more negative aspects that really hindered our experience from the positive aspects.
New Frontier Days ~Founding Pioneers~ is one that I would recommend if you own a Nintendo Switch and are into farming/city building mechanics with a bit of a challenge. This is a great mix of all of those elements combined. Those that are easily put off by the simplistic style, or aren’t fans of the farming and city building genres may want to steer clear of this release. It’s a fun game, but I can say with certainty that it won’t be for everyone.
Batman – The Telltale Series Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham definitely has a lot of good going for it, being a part of one of the best series Telltale Games has crafted to date. But it is definitely the weakest episode up to now for this otherwise stellar game.
All in all I thought Root Letter was okay. Again it was a great idea of a story but I finished all the endings and I am still confused about a few things that I wish were cleared up. I would say this game is for you if you’re into visual novels along with mysteries, but if you’re looking for a great story due to the fact that this is a visual novel, I think you will be slightly disappointed.