AdorableLaurie
2018
Truly the SIGNALIS of boomer shooters
2022
This game is way too important and influential to me to put into words how much of a masterpiece it is just yet. I might need another replay to gather my thoughts and cook up a deserving review. All you need to know is: play it.
1994
One of the most quintessentialy laurie-core game. Early 3D pixel graphics fps? check. Extremely clunky and complicated interface? check. Good storytelling? check. Gameplay requires you to stop and consider your options carefully? check. Open ended MetroidVania progression? check. Masterpiece.
Extremely short and lighthearthed take on a Sonic the Hedgehog visual novel. I nice change of pace after reading hundreds of hours long VNs. Nothing deep but picking the wrong answers deliberately always leads to funny and endearing interactions between the characters.
2013
Relaxing experience. Cool 45min distraction but nothing special
2009
After the 4th attempt at forcing myself to clear this one out from my backlog, i can safely proclaim that this is the worst game I have ever played. There is not an ounce of fun in this souless attempt at a physics puzzle game.
Game is so unfathomably bad that I threw it in the toilet and took a piss on it when i was younger.
1994
Yup, still my favorite Final Fantasy to this day.
2001
Honestly surprised at how fun this entry is. I'm so mad they ditched the leveling system after this one cause it's far more interesting that just getting exp after battle. The dialog system is also very interesting. Overall a lot of good idea that have been dubiously executed
1997
Kino
2022
The best way to describe this game would be "what if your uncle came back from a trip to japan and bought you a used famicom game you never heard about". It somehow perfectly replicate the experience of having no idea or context about what you're doing and you have to learn by trial and error, as well as guessing what the pictures in the manual are trying to convey.
That being said it's not all perfect. First of all I think the combat system was ok for a Zelda-like game. Not very deep, not very difficult. Enemies are just there as a distraction and not really a challenge.... until the game wanted to bad to be dark souls that it starts throwing unfair stuff at you. You CANNOT attempt to have a difficult souls-like combat with absolutely none of the depth from the actual game. Your options are so limited and overcoming the challenge isn't satisfying in the slightest. I'd rather focus on the exploration and brain teaser.
Speaking of brain teaser: the alphabet system is really cool and I gave it a shot at deciphering it. However i simply couldn't do it for the life of me. After attempting it for hours I gave up and looked it up online. Not a big deal if it was just flavor text, but it really soured the entire experience when the last 2 secret treasures absolutely required it in order to 100% finish the game. There is no cheeky subtle hints to do without it like all the other puzzles.
Still, one of the best game I've ever played.
That being said it's not all perfect. First of all I think the combat system was ok for a Zelda-like game. Not very deep, not very difficult. Enemies are just there as a distraction and not really a challenge.... until the game wanted to bad to be dark souls that it starts throwing unfair stuff at you. You CANNOT attempt to have a difficult souls-like combat with absolutely none of the depth from the actual game. Your options are so limited and overcoming the challenge isn't satisfying in the slightest. I'd rather focus on the exploration and brain teaser.
Speaking of brain teaser: the alphabet system is really cool and I gave it a shot at deciphering it. However i simply couldn't do it for the life of me. After attempting it for hours I gave up and looked it up online. Not a big deal if it was just flavor text, but it really soured the entire experience when the last 2 secret treasures absolutely required it in order to 100% finish the game. There is no cheeky subtle hints to do without it like all the other puzzles.
Still, one of the best game I've ever played.
2020
PEAK FICTION I LOVE MEDFIA
2023
This review contains spoilers
Game start strongly with an interestingly unique gameplay mechanic where the main character is asked to retrace his steps from memory, and is able to change what happens in the past in order to get out from sticky situation in the present (think: i am being held at gun point, find a past where the guard doesn't have a gun so you can escape). The characters are likeable and the story starts very interestingly. I'm a sucker for stories where the player is canonically part of it in some way or another.
This would have been a clear 10/10 for me if the game actually stuck with this format. Unfortunately the more the games goes on, the less interesting the puzzlers ares. Instead of being asked question about what happened, you are the one tasked to ask people about their past despite you never being in their memory in the first place, and instead of solving intricate riddles by trial and error it boils down to "press orange switch in top left corner of the room, gate at bottom right opens". Not much happens in term of changing the past anymore. Game is very dull after the halfway point.
Story-wise it also dropped the ball. I feel like it setup some interesting points about morality and perspective. Got some strong umineko vibes especially with the whole spiel of "children are more susceptible to be able to use this power" etc etc.... Tons of plot points are left unresolved. I know Dominik said that he hates overexposition (and Andre in Evan's Remains was guilty of that at the end) but this is way too little explainations.
Maybe i'm missing something? Like extra scenes to add context in a second playthrough? Cause i really don't get it. Game definitely needed a little bit more cooking. Woudlnt' mind if all the chapters were as creative and interesting as the first 2.
The game is relatively short, which is usually what I prefer, but I think the game really needs a second playthrough where you can take a different path. The best way to do it would be, with the knowledge of what happens after finishing the game once, you would be able to gather enough to find a second way to go through the recall sections that leads to more elaborations on the lore and the characters, with a different ending at the end. I feel like time travel is the perfect setup to have something like this.
That being said, I hope to see more of that style of game from the dev. I'd love to see a follow up that adresses what felt lacking, because i see a lot of potential.
This would have been a clear 10/10 for me if the game actually stuck with this format. Unfortunately the more the games goes on, the less interesting the puzzlers ares. Instead of being asked question about what happened, you are the one tasked to ask people about their past despite you never being in their memory in the first place, and instead of solving intricate riddles by trial and error it boils down to "press orange switch in top left corner of the room, gate at bottom right opens". Not much happens in term of changing the past anymore. Game is very dull after the halfway point.
Story-wise it also dropped the ball. I feel like it setup some interesting points about morality and perspective. Got some strong umineko vibes especially with the whole spiel of "children are more susceptible to be able to use this power" etc etc.... Tons of plot points are left unresolved. I know Dominik said that he hates overexposition (and Andre in Evan's Remains was guilty of that at the end) but this is way too little explainations.
Maybe i'm missing something? Like extra scenes to add context in a second playthrough? Cause i really don't get it. Game definitely needed a little bit more cooking. Woudlnt' mind if all the chapters were as creative and interesting as the first 2.
The game is relatively short, which is usually what I prefer, but I think the game really needs a second playthrough where you can take a different path. The best way to do it would be, with the knowledge of what happens after finishing the game once, you would be able to gather enough to find a second way to go through the recall sections that leads to more elaborations on the lore and the characters, with a different ending at the end. I feel like time travel is the perfect setup to have something like this.
That being said, I hope to see more of that style of game from the dev. I'd love to see a follow up that adresses what felt lacking, because i see a lot of potential.
1991
Still the best and most charming 2D Sonic game in my opinion.
Like Sonic on the Master System but with extra content. Still wish they included an option to play through the original level layouts.