LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
If you have never played a visual novel type game, Jisei: The First Case HD is an excellent start, as there are not a ton of options to confuse someone new to the genre and it is has a very interesting story line. It is also a very short game, as I spent under three hours in the game from start to finish and this included me taking detailed notes about the game. Someone simply focusing on the game could probably complete the game in two hours or less. Jinsei: The First Case HD was my first visual novel game and it definitely has me more interested in the genre and trying out some other games. I will be continue the series as the games come out!
Starlit Adventures Golden Stars is a great game for the whole family. It’s a casual adventure with very little stress and some guaranteed laughs. The addition of co-op for up to 4 players is most welcome and the enormous amount of content on offer easily justifies the game’s jump to consoles. Plus, it’s not often that you play a game where you ride a giant mole who kills enemies by farting fireballs at them (provided you’re wearing the right suit). I think that in itself sells me on this charming title… but that’s just me.
If Panzer Paladin was an episode of Voltron, I would re-watch it every week. Since it’s not, I’ll just settle for keeping this additive retro-inspired title on a regular gaming cycle. Panzer Paladin has won me over with its soundtrack, its sci-fi demons design, and general retro quirkiness. It’s the sort of game that makes me want to be a paladin every single time!
Along the way, one can grab drinks from a Dream Soda vending machine (including the humorous Baking Soda), pull fire alarms, empty fire extinguishers, and find blueprints. Actually, acquiring every type of Dream Soda is an unlockable achievement. Finishing the entirety of Superliminal in a 30- or 60-minute time frame is too. But I haven’t personally accomplished either as of this writing, after two full playthroughs. I found myself chuckling out loud a lot while playing Superliminal. All in all, the forced-perspective gameplay is a quality experience for those who enjoy head-scratching puzzles. Conceptually, this title from Pillow Castle’s small development team rivals some mainstream titles in the puzzle genre. Yet, the grand puzzles with a dash of wit are marred by less-than-ideal execution of creative ideas. And story-wise, important questions went unanswered. For this reason, I struggled with how to rate this game.
Also, during the game, you have various challenges that can enhance the characters’ stats with various conditions, like jumping a certain amount of times in a stage, or length of time spent in a dungeon with a certain character as the party leader, or pulling off combo attacks, among other things. These challenges have various levels, and it can take a while to max out these challenges. So the gameplay can be a bit of a grind, but those who love grinding will have a really fun time! Megadimension Neptunia VII is a very fun game, but the very wonky and unoptimized performance leaves me scratching my head, especially since certain spots show that the Switch can handle this game just fine. But hopefully these issues will get fixed. Aside from that, I have had a fun time with the gameplay and the wacky, lighthearted story filled with fanservice, fourth-wall-breaking, and meta video game and anime jokes.
Though this Paper Mario: The Origami King isn’t an RPG, and more of an Adventure game it is still a brilliant game. It is a game full to the brim with delightful writing, lots of humour, bright vibrant colours, old faithful characters and laugh out loud moments for the player. While it follows the Paper Mario formula in some aspects, it does more to re-imagine the series then not. Paper Mario: The Origami King is a worthy contender in the Paper Mario series, and is the perfect game to immerse yourself in for a wonderful crumpled, creased and folded adventure.
My biggest hope is that someone picks up this game and becomes just a bit more respectful and tolerant of people, or groups, that they may not have understood before. I honestly think that this is the kind of game that can do that. And who doesn’t want a world where discrimination is no more, right? I’d recommend this game to ANYONE who likes good storytelling, and compelling characters. It isn’t all doom-and-gloom either, there are a butt-load of fun, kooky, fantasy characters as well that are a blast to learn about (I’m looking at you robot-assistant and lady-from-the-future-where-the-world’s-population-has-been-ravaged-by-a-disease… SO TOPICAL AMIRITE?!) Anyway, as we should all know by now Raw Fury is amazing, they make amazing games happen. Night Call is no exception to the rule.
Essentially the more you play, the more you unlock and the more the game opens up. It’s just a little slow getting to that point. Neon Abyss has got the right roguelite moves, while it feels like a bit of a grind to unlock new things in the game. Those that decide to stick with it will be rewarded with a fun and addictive shooter that will have you returning run after run. Grab your glow sticks, get your best 90s outfit, and prepare to dance. Once you’ve worn yourself out though, you can still play another few rounds of Neon Abyss.
I originally played this game on PC because you could get a copy of the soundtrack. A music score that I have to say is brilliant in that funky retro way. Unfortunately not a lot has really been done to upgrade the game to Switch. I guess they added some art to the border which you can see in the screenshots. The controls have also been mapped better on Switch whereas the PC seemed to favour keyboard controls over a controller. Other than that its a pretty plain port. Clash Force is a fun simple coffee game that has the nostalgia of the ‘80s but won’t do anything to particularly surprise you. If you’re looking for a simple fun, run and gun platformer this will scratch that itch at a nice price to boot. But if you’re looking for something with more depth you can give this one a miss. Much like an episode of He – Man it won’t cause any harm if you miss one episode. There’s always next Saturday!
I have really enjoyed playing Conjurer Andy’s Repeatable Dungeon for this review and I will continue to play the game as I’m no where near the end of the dungeons. In fact, when writing the review, having to check something in the game, I found it extremely hard to set the game aside to continue writing. I love ‘the push your luck’ mechanics in the game and having to decide if I should risk one more floor of the dungeon when my team is low on HP. Yes, there is repetitive gameplay but it’s not the sort of game that is meant to be played for hours on end. It’s a fantastic quick fix game, the sort you would play in between something more heavy. Conjurer Andy’s Repeatable Dungeon should have pride and place on everyones Nintendo Switch.
The game may not have a lot of replay value but I think I can see myself revisiting in when I want to play something casual and nice. I never felt stressed playing the game. It felt like just the right balance of challenge for a relaxing gaming session. Sometimes you just need a game that’s casual, simple and makes you smile. Ultra Hat Dimension easily fits that bill. The cute graphics and sounds are a very original concept for a puzzle game. The lesson I learned is no matter how many times I got punched, I could still make it through. Maybe a life lesson we all need sometimes.
Ultimately, I’m grateful I own Towaga: Among Shadows. Honestly, the game came into my life at precisely a sorely needed time. For real. Unfortunately, the gulf between the three other Modes and local Multiplayer is made painfully clear comparatively. Something to consider. Not recommended for more than one player. On the other hand, I’m fond of the compelling albeit repetitive game play, splendid visuals, and treasure trove of in-game unlockables Towaga: Beyond Shadows offers players. Admittedly, I do speculate that the total individualized mileage may probably vary. Hopefully this ported game that was once a Kickstarter project will resonate with others as well!
This title feels like it probably would’ve been right at home being released on the Mega Drive. It feels inherently retro, which is both good and bad. Good, because the graphics work, the gameplay is great fun, and I enjoyed the simple design of just getting to the end of a level and progressing to the next. Just like the old days. However, it also seemed to fail to learn some lessons. Traps were placed in horrible places, leading to cheap one-hit deaths. The platforming felt quite awkward at times, and I also encountered a few bugs where traps got stuck in the environments. Spartacus sometimes started a level moving slowly like a snail (his alter ego: Snailacus), which was only fixed by reloading the save. I was compelled to finish the game, but this port really needs some patching. Swords and Sandals: Spartacus won’t take you to the field of Elysium, but it will undoubtedly still entertain. Something retro fans or those looking for a simple to-the-point action platformer should keep an eye on. While the later half of the game felt disappointing, it’s hard to ignore how much fun I had running around, slashing my sword and screaming “I’m Spartacus!” (no, I’m Spartacus!)*
Void Terrarium is a very interesting title. It has a unique mix of gameplay styles that are coated in gorgeous artwork and an impressive soundtrack. My advice would be to not go in expecting Disgaea levels of content or Atelier customization and you will have a much better time. Taken as a quickplay rogue-lite title it is a great little distraction and is priced reasonably for the content on offer.
For The House of Da Vinci 2 I feel that the developers Blue Brain Games have certainly improved on the game from its first outing. Though I didn’t actually count the number of puzzles in this game (who would?) it felt like there where more puzzles to solve. And it didn’t feel as much like a clone of The Room game as the first House of Da Vinci game did to me. All in all if you like The Room games, do yourself a favour and try out both the House of Da Vinci games. I’m sure you will find them fun and enjoyable with many fulfilling puzzles to puzzle over. One last word of advice: don’t be like Paula….remember to use the Oculus Perpetua!
This game has seventy levels, but by the time I’d finished fifteen, I was worn out. The gameplay is overly simple and repetitive. If there were other types of gameplay to break up the incessant platforming, I could imagine getting further into it. However, I didn’t feel any compelling urge to platform using the same two basic controls for fifteen more consecutive levels, much less fifty-five more. The StoryTale is family-friendly and accessible to children, so if you’re looking for a game that will entertain a child without overwhelming them, this may be a good fit! However, unless you yourself have a passion for platforming, I wouldn’t suggest picking this one up. The story seems to run alongside the game rather than pushing it forward, and the gameplay itself is repetitive and monotonous.
One of the biggest features of Quest Hunter which deserves a lot of praise is that you can play online and cross-platform with PC, Xbox, and Switch players. This is a huge deal and definitely under-praised. For this review my wife was able to play on the Switch in handheld mode while my friend from America and myself were playing on PC. We were able to set up a private game with a password, save, and enjoy the game together. Not only was it simple to set up but the game ran well across all systems. I loved searching for treasures and then stopping now and then to do a little dance with the various in-game emotes. This game will easily hold a special memory for me because of these small quirky moments. Quest Hunter is a fun little dungeon crawler. I enjoyed it alone, but playing with friends across other platforms really brought this game to life. Hunting for treasure with friends never felt so good. Now where did I leave my shovel?
West of Dead reminds me of Dark Souls a little bit in that it made me feel like I was leveling up my own ability to play the game, rather than just leveling up a stat and then all of a sudden being able to stomp. I haven’t really played many roguelike games, but if this is what they can be like, then sign me up. I loved the fact that every level was procedurally generated and thus different every time I entered it. This is especially good because you will (likely) die a lot, and when you die you have to go back to the beginning. You get to keep any upgrades you’ve unlocked, like the health potion, but any guns, buffs, and items you had must be re-collected throughout the levels. The point: after dying a lot, it’s nice to start back at the beginning and basically be playing a whole new game again. I would highly recommend this game to anyone, even if you’re not a fan of the genre. I honestly wouldn’t have counted myself among the fans of the genre and probably wouldn’t have gone out of my way to pick this one up. BUT, I would have missed out on a truly amazing game that is worth a purchase and worth a play. So no matter who you are, consider giving this one a go. It comes out on the Switch on August 5th, don’t let it pass you by. Raw Fury knows what they’re doing when they publish a game, after all.
I’m slightly disappointed in The Great Perhaps. The game expands no further on Kosmos’ feelings that lead to his declaration at the start of the game of not wanting to live. I think it’s a missed opportunity. The non-responsive controls when switching off the lantern can quickly turn into a very frustrating experience, while watching Kosmos die through no fault of your own. The story, while interesting, comes to an abrupt halt at the end of the 3 hours or so it takes to complete the game. I guess that leaving the story on a cliffhanger at the end leaves the door open for a Great Perhaps 2. We shall have to wait and see on that one.
There are glimmers of fun here. I do not wish to ignore those. Driving down the open road, delivering your cargo in the night-time rain can be a relaxing experience. However, these moments are so few that they simply do not warrant the price being asked of by this title. The real problem here is that the game is clearly unfinished. Were the publishers asking a lower price of the title then many of the problems above could be overlooked. Currently though the price remains worryingly high and therefore not something I can recommend.