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Init Creates and IGA did not have to go to this extent to make this backer stretch goal. The music is really good, even if it’s not quite as memorable as some other 8-bit retro games like Shovel Knight. And the enemy designs and general artwork are second to none in the retro space. If this game actually came out during the NES era we would still be talking about it today. But what it also does amazingly well is build up the anticipation for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night far above what it already was. I am not alone among the internet in expressing the sentiment that if this is what they produce with the prequel game, I cannot wait to see the final product. This is some next level advertising for a game, any way you think about it. While this game was free to backers, it is also only selling for $9.99 to everyone else. That is absurd value even if the game only takes about two hours to run through your first time. And like I said, there is quite a bit of replay value to be had even before you are just going through it again for fun (which is also very likely). I have zero intention of ever deleting this game from my Switch, not only because it takes up very little space (15MB), but it will just be fun to pull it up and start from the beginning when I’m taking a flight somewhere.
Fox n Forests has some issues but I can’t say the game isn’t enjoyable. The two flying stages in the game are pretty annoying since you die in one hit, but at least they give a good amount of checkpoints. You do have to spend gold to use them throughout the game, but its not enough to make it annoying. The melee combat is a bit finicky. It seems to kinda work when it wants to at times, when you get the spread arrows it pretty much fixes this issues but its annoying at the start of the game. I think the most glaring issue with this title is its length. You can beat the entire game in around 5 hours and collect everything in around 7. This makes the $19.99 price tag a bit hard to digest, but if you love 16 bit adventures and Metroidvania style titles, you’d likely find a lot to enjoy here.
To wrap up this review, I really want to like Subaeria. The concept of tricking enemies into killing each other is really good and something that I haven’t seen before. The fact that it can be translated into some sort of puzzle only made it more interesting for me, but personally I feel that if it was a more traditional puzzle game with predefined levels, it would have been better than going for the Rogue-like crowd. In the end since you have to be able to play the game with any App you can just play the game with no Apps at all—that’s what I did for most of the game, which I feel defeats the purpose of having different runs with different items.
There are some minor graphical improvements and the music seems to be a bit more clear. But the largest improvement in that department is the fantastic opening cinematic and a few scattered cinematic scenes that were added in this version. You can easily tell which scenes were from the original by how grainy they are. But they are still functional. The new demons, some completely new to the series, all have wonderful art. It might be a negative to some that there is no English dub, but frankly I always play SMT games in Japanese so that doesn’t effect me at all. And the voice acting is quite good, especially for a portable game. This is a very long game, it took me just over 110 hours to see as much as I could with one playthrough. But there are additional regions you can go to in New Game+, also additional demons that you can battle and then fuse. So 110 hours is probably about half of what I will end up spending, especially if I want to finish out my Demon Compendium (it’s at 94% currently). I definitely consider this game well worth the $39.99 whether you played the original or not. They took a game that was really good, but rough around the edges, and made it what it always had the potential of being. I enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse slightly more, but they are both masterpieces and two of the greatest games on the Nintendo 3DS regardless of genre. I’m not sure when the ATLUS SMT team will make a genuinely bad game, but it’s not this one. They are on an amazing streak and should be applauded for it.
Overall I think this game is a bust. Sure the visuals are pretty, the puzzles are fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic, but it’s just not enough to distract from the fact that this game is really bland and has a lot of really glaring problems. At $19.99 you get about 10 hours worth of content which is good for the price, but I can’t in good conscience recommend this game unless you really enjoy the puzzles.
In the end Garage is a really good concept bogged down by some dicey design choices. The visuals and audio set up the atmosphere nicely, but the gameplay has so many issues it makes it not fun to play at times. The last boss here is the most unfair and cheapest boss I have faced in years, and really made me dislike this game when I finally beat him. It took me around seven hours to get to the final boss and another three to actually take him down. While the game is pretty inexpensive at $14.99, I could only recommend this one to avid fans of top-down shooters.
In the end, while the puzzles are fun, and combat is simple, what really sells The Fall is the story, even if you’re not a huge fan of adventure games. I feel that this one captures a good balance between combat and puzzles so it never feels tedious and can work as a good introductory game to the genre. This review is based on the Switch version which doesn’t add anything new to be honest. If anything you lose the achievements available on other versions. But if you want portability it’s a good option over the PC, PS4 or Xbox versions. The game is out for $10 and as mentioned above, give it a try even if adventure games aren’t your thing, the story is worth it.
Dragon’s Crown Pro remains a great package that holds up five years later. It’s all about these delicate elements that make a cohesive whole that can now be experienced on more modern hardware. Make that double if you have access to a 4K TV and PS4 Pro, where Vanillaware’s artistry shines brighter than ever. It’s also one of the most accessible Vanillaware titles available, a hack-and-slash whose mechanics are mostly easy to understand and there’s no chaff distracting you from the main story. Ignoring some dated aspects and some divisive character design choices, if you have an itch for brawlers and action RPGs, Dragon’s Crown Pro is still worth checking out after all these years.
Truth be told, I loved Runner3. For $29.99, it’s offering a lot of value (though it’s 15% off for the next 4 days if you pre-order). Much as I enjoyed Runner2, this game provided a lot more incentive to keep on playing, and easily 10 hours of content just for beating the game, with plenty more required to 100% everything. The additional difficulty, though somewhat off-putting, also provides a great reason to keep on trying (especially the brutal Challenge stages). Best of all, there’s a ton of stuff to unlock, from new characters to diabolically well-hidden VHS tapes to snazzy new costumes. Runner3 is a celebration of platforming, and easily the best game I’ve played from Choice Provisions so far. If you want a fun challenge, look no further.
In conclusion, Cast of the Seven Godsends is aimed at a specific group of people. There is no innovation of the genre and the story is quite average, but if this sounds like something you would enjoy then you will have fun. It took me around 5 hours to beat the game on normal, but as I mentioned there are several difficulty levels and additional achievements for beating the game under certain conditions that will keep you busy. For $12.99 this seems fair in my book, but then again your enjoyment will be based on how much you like this genre.
All in all, I’m glad I finally got the opportunity to take this game off my wishlist. I did enjoy my time with EARTHLOCK, and felt I got a really solid little RPG for $29.90. Though there are some quirks that prevented this from a perfect score, there’s a lot more to enjoy, from the crafting to the combat to the characters. While I do wish the plot was a bit more elegantly crafted, since it mostly felt like a haphazard rollercoaster ride, what’s here is a worthy effort. If you are nostalgic for the RPGs of yore and want to play one on the go, you need to pick up EARTHLOCK on your Switch.
Overall, I don’t know if this game really has much to offer outside of seeing big weapons just mow down enemies. There is the other character you can play as, but the star of the show is clearly the main character. It’s fun for awhile, but the repetitive nature and the lack of a compelling story means it runs out of steam fairly quickly. I got a few hours of enjoyment out of it, though I don’t think I can personally recommend it. Still, it’s only $15, so that might be worth it for some folks.
Chuusotsu! 1st Graduation won’t take too long to clear. It took me about 11 hours to beat the game. There is only one ending as this is a kinetic novel. There are also Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards as well as Steam Cloud support for those that are interested. I enjoyed my time with Chuusotsu and found it to be a well-crafted experience. If you are a fan of slice-of-life or kinetic VNs I recommend picking this title up especially at the asking price of $19.99 for the digital version as well as $9.99 for the soundtrack. I’d be interested in more from this world and developer and high quality games like Chuusotsu! 1st Graduation which greatly help set the scene for more high-quality doujin VNs in the future.
The one word that comes to mind the most when playing this game was spectacle. There were amazing spectacles when just wandering around the world or rowing in your boat while Mimir relates the history of the Aesir. There was also amazing spectacle when you fight the massive bosses that you have come to expect from the God of War series. Surprisingly some of the greatest spectacle comes from the human sized bosses who quickly reveal themselves to be other Gods. You discover only a couple hours in that this game has the greatest superhero fights you’ve ever seen in a video game. This game takes around 20 hours for the main story, and around 15-20 more hours to finish everything else (over twice as long as previous God of War games even though it’s the same standard price of $59.99). During none of that time did I feel like I was just going through the motions. I never felt bored, I never felt underwhelmed, and I never felt like the game was taking control or agency from me. This isn’t just an amazing “experience”, this is an amazing game. So yes the other reviewers are correct that it’s a masterpiece. But it’s not a masterpiece despite being a God of War game, they didn’t leave us fans behind. It’s a masterpiece because they took Kratos and they made him even better. Not only did they make possibly the game of the generation, the anticipation for a sequel is rabid and will not abate until we have it in our hands.
Gone Fireflies was clearly made on a low budget with the best intentions. It uses RPG Maker as a vehicle for pure storytelling. Its asset-driven build shows all too well, with generic clip art balanced by a beautiful musical score. It’s a breezy experience you’ll finish in around an hour, but to its credit, its thematic depth at least warrants a playthrough, maybe two. Given it’s only $4.99 and takes around an hour to complete, it’s at least worth it to see Gone Fireflies‘ pathos-heavy story.
There’s a beautiful game in Regalia, but it’s sadly hidden behind a massively cumbersome and counter-intuitive interface. While I’ve been told that there’s an update in the works with numerous fixes planned, and even several for issues I mentioned, I’m not entirely sure though it will fix all of my complaints. Frankly, I’m a bit shocked the game got through Nintendo’s testers in this state. The game costs $24.99 on Switch and provided me at least 30 hours of playtime, and while I can see the good here, it’s currently outweighed by all the bad. I will note that if Pixelated Milk is able to fix the majority of the problems I mentioned, my score would likely be double what it is currently. I can respect the effort here, but it’s hard to recommend Regalia: Royal Edition in it’s current form. Here’s hoping it gets the loving care it needs soon.
I know this review sounds a bit like a glorified changelog, but I wanted to make it clear to everyone this isn’t just Megadimension Neptunia V-II with a new coat of paint and some VR slapped in it. Every system in this game has been redone or tweaked for the better. This game is a testament to just how much Idea Factory has learned over the years, and they have created a near perfect experience here. The DLC characters from the previous release being removed isn’t a huge loss, but the biggest hang up is the pricing. At $60 I find it hard to recommend this to everyone that has already purchased V-II this soon after its release. If you’re a fan of the series or you didn’t buy the previous release this is a must have title, but if you own V-II currently you may wanna wait for a price cut to jump in here.
In the end, I really loved PLAY WITH ME. It’s a really fun and challenging game that required me to use a lot of techniques to solve the different puzzles. For about $10 you really couldn’t find a better game. Despite its issues, I still had a blast playing and would gladly try it again to get a new ending. I played it for about seven hours, and with the multiple different ways to go about things it’s definitely worth the money.
Costume Pack costs $7.99 and I ended up spending about 4 hours with it, which is longer than any of the other DLC adventures (Pirate Queen’s Quest was 3 hours, Friends to the End was 2+). All in all, I feel this was a great sendoff to a game I was happy to crowdfund. Though I didn’t get 100% victory for every mode, it’s pretty good incentive, since the new victory art is pretty phenomenal. I may still feel that Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is the high point of the series, but Half-Genie Hero has firmly cemented itself as the next runner up. If you love platforming or just like retro, you can’t go wrong with Half-Genie Hero or Costume Pack. I’m happy WayForward is so dedicated to retro inspired games, and can’t wait to play my favorite genie’s next adventure!
iCEY is a brilliant idea abounding with ambition. The meta aspect is cleverly executed and the 4th wall breaking adds a ton of humor, as well as depth. The story is incredibly intricate and it leaves it up to us to think how it all fits together. It’s purposely vague, but perhaps too much so, as too many questions either go unanswered or plot points remain so tangentially out in left field that you don’t know how they’re relevant to begin with. Gameplay is noteworthy due to solid combat, but there is room for improvement and I wish there were more combos to unlock. Finally, the game is painfully short, only taking about 7-10 hours to fully complete. While making sense of the story and unlocking the true ending lends itself to many replays, I feel the game suffers from having everything crammed into such a short experience. Having said that, iCEY is definitely one to consider if you’re looking for quick bursts of destructive satisfactions or an incredibly intriguing story that challenges you to think outside the game.