Gamer Escape
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I was relieved to find a fun and funky game that just wants to have fun and let the player wade in its weirdness. It might have its annoyances (of which there are a few), but Antonblast is a fine example of a solid indie action platformer. It doesn’t hit many of the heights of its influences and contemporaries, but is a game that’s worth plowing through in its own right. If you can handle some of the rougher aspects of the game, this is something that I can reccommend. Platformer junkies, indie fans, and people who enjoy weird and wacky platformers will find Antonblast be something worth blasting through.
This compilation is easily one of the best I’ve played and experienced in quite a while. Which makes for an easy reccommendation for anyone interested in doing a deep dive into one of the premier lynchpins of the industry.
For fans of the franchise who aren’t usually RPG fans, this one is going to be fun. Tactical RPG fans who don’t generally play run-and-gun platformers are going to have fun with it. And if you’re a fan of both? This is a must-buy. It’s a sign of how you can do interesting things in a familiar space with novel implementation.
In a way, Life is Strange: Double Exposure felt like returning home. While it doesn’t quite overshadow the original, it delivers more of what made the series so special in the first place while having its own identity.
Really, Hella Remastered is probably the best example of a video game that knows that it’s a video game and runs with it to the point where it almost falls off a cliff. The involvement and expertise of Mikami and Suda prevents it from careening towards the ground, but it’s still a solid game at the end of the day. The gameplay has aged surprisingly well, and the visuals have finally outgrown the limitations of its seventh generation console bretheren. Just be sure to leave any high brow notions at the door and enjoy the ride.
The successful execution of these elements is almost enough to distract you from the game’s highly basic and low-impact gameplay for a while, but not entirely. Even with the introduction of more minigames and narrative situations, the game remains a highly consistent experience for better and worse. Still, if Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town looks like a game for you, chances are good you’ll have a great time settling in and immersing yourself in its simplistic charm.
Atlus clearly decided to mark their 35th anniversary with a bang. With Metaphor, they took one of their most fan-favorite formulas and transitioned it to an engaging, top-notch fantasy experience, with only a few, quite minor, stumbles along the way. JRPG fans the world over will delight in this well-crafted experience, even if a few of the most die-hard Persona fans might find issues with the battle system.
If it weren’t clear by this point, I did not care for Card-en-Ciel as an aggregate. Not because it’s a bad game, because the core game parts are actually pretty good… but every single part around that game makes me not want to bother engaging with it any further. I like the ideas on display but I also do not want to play this game. The annoying stuff makes it feel actively hostile and unappealing. It’s easier to just not.
Still, at the end of the day this is an approachable and enjoyable entry into a genre that doesn’t really get a lot of love these days. If they manage to optimize things enough to fix the performance issues you could probably consider it a 9 from me, but as it is I can only mostly recommend it.
What we have is still a beautiful experience with both heart-warming and -rending moments. A game that is just as solidly built as Nomada's previous work, with some new twists that show them sticking a few toes out of their comfort zone. But it's impossible to not compare it to Gris, a game that still rings in my mind to this day, and I don't think Neva quite reaches the same heights.
Celestia: Chain of Fate has a bland story that throws the most important elements of the genre out the window. It strips you of your feelings of connection and accomplishment with your love interest due to there not being dedicated routes, and even the base story does a poor job of standing on its own. The characters can be fun to get to know, as long as you keep your expectations of them low. Add on to that the visuals and music are nothing to write home about and it’s just one big chore. Honestly, there are so many titles out there for the same price tag that I’d suggest leaving this one for the Steam sale or something.
While not every pack is loaded with hit after hit, Naughty Pack brings enough solid content to players that some might excuse the fact that they’re leaning into reliable properties. It may not be an evolution of the concept, but it is a fun and goofy aside to the main games that will satisfy those looking for a little spice in their party game repritoire. My hope is that this will be a jumping off point for more spicy shenanigans in the future.
There’s an awful lot of content and mechanical ambition in Outlaws with its reputation system, and it’s fun enough to experience most of it, but it still isn’t able to prevent things from blending together once you’ve spent an extended amount of time with Kay and her crew.
Overall, Love, Ghostie is exactly what it looks like on the tin: An adorable little slice of life full of charming characters you’ll get to know over the course of your adventure. While it doesn’t take long at all to reach the credits, the real fun comes from seeing all the various combinations, which greatly increases the run time. It’s not especially deep or demanding, but not everything needs to be that way. It’s cozy, and sometimes that’s precisely what one needs.
Some of the difficulty is good, and some of it is bad. If you’re into games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, you will probably have a good time with this. But if you’re new to the “Soulslike” genre and looking for a challenge, you might want to start with one of those games first, lest you be frustrated too easily by the unfortunately fairly numerous stumbles Deathbound takes. It leans more good than bad, with a creative party system and mostly satisfying combat, but ultimately, I think only existing fans of the genre are going to last long enough to complete it.
I don’t think Cat Quest III is going to blow anyone away, but I think it is entirely worthy to be in this franchise. Do you like fun action RPG games that focus on solid, simple game mechanics? Do you like cats? Do you enjoy exploring and finding things to do in the world, searching around for a bit, and then going through the game again? Then you’re going to get your money’s worth and more from Cat Quest III.
Volgarr the Viking II is straightforward, challenging, and addictive. Its levels and mechanics are sharply honed to allow players to perfect their usage of Volgarr’s limited toolkit while traversing stages that ask them to utilize it in a myriad of different ways. There’s more variety, more for the player to earn and discover, and perhaps most importantly, more options than ever for players to tailor the experience to a level of difficulty they’re more comfortable with.
Aero the Acro-Bat shows flashes of a good platformer, but the foundation laid by its original developers might be too big of an obstacle for some modern gamers. The door price may be low, the rest of the franchise is on the way, but this game isn’t going to please everyone. If you can stomach the rough edges it comes with, there is enjoyment to be had. Just don’t go in expecting it to meet the level of the more legendary platformers of the era.
If you’re looking for an engaging science fiction story about identity, mind, and personal values in a society that seems to value none of the above? I would recommend this one without reservation. Good work, Minds Beneath Us. You impressed me.
When I first went into the Riven remake, I really wasn't sure if I would enjoy it or not. I had only played Myst once back when I was ten or so, and I couldn't make heads or tales of it back then. Seeing fans of the game talk about its difficulty had me nervous as well. But once I found myself immersed in the world, everything just kind of...clicked. Riven isn't an obstuse puzzle box like I expected. It's a surprisingly fleshed-out world. One of seeming loneliness, one of mystery, one that wound up being absolutely enthralling. One that absolutely won't be for everyone, but if it manages to hook you in, good luck getting it to let go. Riven is a game that demands your full attention, occasionally to its detriment. If you aren't locked in and focused, it is easy to lose the trail the game is gently leading you on. But if you can give it your time and attention, it will take you on an unforgettable ride.