Noisy Pixel
HomepageNoisy Pixel's Reviews
Iwaihime plays the long con with its narrative and convinces readers that it’s not the unique horror thriller they were promised. However, that all changes when it shows its hand, and you are taken through some gripping story scenarios that will send several chills up your spine. This worked well with the game’s presentation, aesthetic, and blend of romance and horror. I couldn’t recommend this more.
Uppers was almost the game that got away, but now that’s it’s here, I can’t say that I’m completely excited about it. What’s important is that it features a robust battle system and a zany story that will satisfy the developer’s fans. Furthermore, as perverted as they are, the game mechanics can be an insanely fun distraction as you button mash your way through each level. Thankfully, this PC port is clearly the best way to experience this four-year-old brawler for those who waited.
Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is a relatively harmless licensed anime arena fighter. Superfans may enjoy its presentation, but nothing is here to rewards them for their time. The fighting system lacks any real depth of engagement, which boils down to a mindless button-masher until there’s a winner. Like the franchise, for me at least, Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is just forgettable.
Scourgebringer offers a challenging and chaotic roguelite experience that manages to be as addicting as it is frustrating. The mechanics are sound with a responsive combat system and intense battles, even with the limited enemy variety. You may suffer many deaths, but Scourgebringer is just one of those games that you can’t help accept the punishment and then jump back in for revenge.
Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing is a great experience for fans of the series as it doesn’t over-promise what it is, a Broom Racing VR game with Little Witch Academia characters. You know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, and there’s a decent customization system added for good measure. It’s a simple experience that doesn’t push itself too hard but does enough to be fun for a few laps around Luna Nova Magical Academy.
My experience with Remothered: Broken Porcelain was brought to a halt several times after I had to restart my game and figure out a way to progress without soft locking it. On the surface, this is a beautiful, moody horror game, but once you look deeper, you’ll see that the real horror is the game’s mechanics, pacing, and plot. I had such high hopes for this game, but after a few hours, I was looking to check out of the Ashmann Inn early.
Tears of Avia attempted to present a larger-than-life indie SRPG but bit off way more than it could chew. Creating a world that players don’t care about and a battle system that is broken after the first hour is a huge misstep for any title in this genre. There are some great ideas here, though. Character designs, animations, and writing make for some of the best moments, but all at the cost of an unmemorable adventure. Score:
Though 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a faithful recreation of 70s kung-fu films, it doesn’t contain the same fun factor that its influences provide. There are some aspects that fans of beat em’ ups may enjoy, but it definitely doesn’t move the genre in any unique direction.
Re:Turn: One Way Trip is a standout indie horror adventure that absolutely understands atmosphere and pacing. The narrative gets a bit flimsy in some areas due to a lacking supporting cast, but it ends up nailing important gameplay systems that will make you swear to never ever aboard a ghost train in your life.
Hatsune Miku VR is an experience for diehard fans, but those who can’t play it aren’t missing out on anything of real substance. The rhythm gameplay provides a decent arm workout but gets old and repetitive right around the time your arms feel like they will fall off. If you have the Oculus and want to hang out with Miku for a personal concert, then don’t let the score of this review keep you from doing that.
Crown Trick is a roguelike that isn’t afraid to make you feel overpowered through its systems. However, it’s also not afraid to test your skills by introducing powerful enemies and traps. No matter what, though, there are plenty of ways for the player to take on the challenge. It’s this design that makes Crown Trick a must-play for both dungeon-crawler and roguelike fans.
Aquanox Deep Descent is a beautiful follow up to a series that many may have forgotten about over the years. However, it was clearly made on a budget, which seemed to hurt a few of the game’s more necessary modes. Boring supporting characters, lacking enemy environment, and a subpar coop mode won’t make any new series fans. However, those who truly dive into what this game offers will find a responsive and atmospheric submarine shooter with a deep level of strategy.
Ring of Pain takes a mashup of genres and brings them together for a dark and challenging adventure. The most important takeaway is that it works and provides some great gameplay moments for hours with many new ways to approach encounters. Sure, there are a few high moments of difficulty, and a few systems aren’t completely newcomer friendly, but there’s definitely enough here to keep you entertained for hours of dungeon-crawling and deck-building.
Onee Chanbara Origin is a hack-and-slash that does nothing more than any other hack-and-slash available. It’s best moments are the fluid and fast action when you’re cutting through hordes of enemies at a smooth frame rate with oceans of blood spraying all over. The series seems to be having an identity crisis about how it wants to continue. It needs to make a choice, keep the bikinis and have a bit of more campy fun with these characters, or lose them entirely and create a more polished action experience.
Torchlight III is a great entry in the series as it doesn’t explicitly try to be exactly like its predecessors. Instead, it attempts to do new things using classes and relics to personalize the adventure along with a few accessible leveling systems and skill trees. It all works for the most part, but it’s a design that doesn’t allow for the deepest amount of customization. Sure, building a fort and collecting loot with my friends is fun, but there has to be some balance and short term goals that make each level up and new area discovered worth it.
Foregone offers some fast-paced, and at times, downright frantic gameplay moments providing a sense of accomplishment as you reach level transports or take out massive bosses. The adventure hits a few different high moments but does suffer from some repetitive design choices and enemy variety. Still, I’m left impressed with how Foregone took some chances on a heavily saturated genre and even managed to stand out through its beautiful level design and unique systems.
I Am Dead takes players on a whimsical journey through a colorful and cute narrative that plays on themes of death and discovery. Each chapter gives us a new piece of the puzzle, making it tough to put the game down, even if the game’s systems become repetitive across long play sessions. You’ll get the most out of this adventure by taking your time, and you’ll be glad you did as you splice through each new object to uncover all the secrets hidden within.
This is the Zodiac Speaking is a decent psychological thriller significantly hurt by the Switch’s underpowered hardware. The narrative is there, but everything else falls short in terms of visuals, graphical glitches, and sound. There are some nice features here, but I urge you to play the PC version if you can.
Piofiore: Fated Memories is a game that drips in style and premise, but unfortunately doesn’t really know what to do with it, so it ends up making base appeals to those who like dark, edgy, and more morally questionable entertainment.
During my time with Genshin Impact, I fell in love with it. After only a few hours, my thoughts about what this adventure was faded away as it truly evolves into a unique experience. There’s a fine level of detail that went into crafting this beautiful world, and you can’t help but want to see every inch of it. Although the grind and the gachas systems are present, this is a game that I will gladly return to again and again. Regardless, all of this is available for free, so nothing stops you from finding out for yourself.