I first finished this game in 2021, and recently replayed it now in 2023 to get 100%. It's an adorable puzzle-platformer where you play as a jumping spider on an adventure to make friends with a whole forest of tiny critters, and to save your boyfriend from the clutches of the bower bird. The game features 1 basic mechanic: the ability to shoot webs, which can be used both for swinging and web weaving. It executes on this mechanic extremely well, and the only thing barricading your progress through any given area is simply your skill. You are free to explore the map and solve problems however you see fit, and with very forgiving reset mechanics the game really encourages you to throw caution to the wind and just have fun. My only small gripe is that sometimes web spam when carrying objects feels optimal due to their low strength, and that is a lot less elegant and satisfying as a solution to certain puzzles. Otherwise this is a flawless short little game that I think is well worth the asking price.

This is the game that made me realize I'm not a Tactical RPG fan, and I'm not even sure I'm a Fire Emblem fan. That said, I like this game. The story doesn't take itself too seriously, and is enjoyable. The gameplay is simple and fun, it's evidently a real celebration of the series. However, I have one major gripe: The Emblems™. They are very powerful, which makes sense within the story, but this is to a problematic degree. At a certain point it feels as though the emblem a character has equipped is more important than the character themselves. Especially when many of the characters have one-note personalities, it is very easy to boil many of them down to just being a pile of stats that is either worse or better than the other piles of stats you have - the character becomes the emblem ring they have equipped. This overshadowing of rings coupled with a neutered skill inheritance system leads to a feeling that there really is not a lot of room for creativity. This is a pretty drastic shift from the overwhelming wealth of options present in Three Houses in terms of build diversity, which did also have its drastic flaws, but overall I prefer that system. Three Houses characters were also just much more entwined with the overarching plot, and the fact that you were stuck with the same students over the course of the game meant you got to grow much more attached to them, rather than just replace them with the new recruit with better stats, personal ability, and higher starting SP like is encouraged in Engage. Engage is a good game, and it's probably a lot closer to the traditional Fire Emblem formula than other recent entries, but it's not my favorite.

I purchased the DLC but did not play it, may never.

Being my first FromSoft title I wasn't exactly sure what to expect going in. The first thing I did was spend 4 hours fighting the Tree Sentinel, I didn't do anything else before he was dead. The combat is extremely satisfying, as expected, and I love the level of player freedom both in terms of navigation and build choice. Having played the game three times, I'm going to say the same thing many people have said, in that, this game is amazing your first playthrough. The world feels massive, endlessly expansive, and actually kinda overwhelming at times. However, on subsequent playthroughs that magic is gone, you know what areas have absolutely nothing to offer you, a large majority of the game can be safely ignored. Perhaps that is a good thing, if you just want to assemble your weirdo build asap and have fun taking on the game's challenges like me then that's great, but it's worth acknowledging. The "open world genre," whatever that vagueness entails, has really soured for me over the years and Elden Ring is one of the few games that does so many things right. So much of Souls combat hinges on strong level design. it's not necessarily hard or novel to implement 'soulslike' elements into your combat system, but what so many games fail at is getting the level design right to properly compliment that system. While I do wonder if the game is inherently worse off for being open world, I think Elden Ring does a good job of intertwining open world and more close-quarters segments and succeeds at both, even if I do have a preference.

This was the first survival horror game I've ever played, unless you want to count Insaniquarium Deluxe, but what an amazing introduction to the genre. The aesthetic and character designs present in this game are so peak, and they are only propelled further by the story. Having played on keyboard and mouse on the highest difficulty, it felt just right - tho I can imagine the gunplay being even more tense on an analog stick. The menuing is very fluid, and I really didn't experience any issues with the inventory limitation of 6. It added to the fear, as often I had to leave weapons or healing behind and leave myself more vulnerable than I otherwise would have to. With proper management, I would have to leave behind some ammo every now and then, but I never felt the need to ferry items around. Especially since I conserved so much ammo given that enemies are extremely resilient on Survival. The puzzles which make up a large majority of the game feel satisfying and fun. Overall this game is an indie gem in the sea of bland walking simulators that plague the horror genre today.

I wish that the 1.2 patch provided separate options for flashlight and eidetic module inventory space. I think the flashlight should take up inventory space, but the eidetic module shouldn't as it encourages the player to just use external options.

Monster Sanctuary is a creature-capture metroidvania with a turn-based combat system. While the story itself is somewhat lackluster, the gameplay is absolutely phenominal. You find yourself exploring the world, battling and combating new and fun creatures. These new critters not only have unique uses in combat, but also grant you new overworld powers to allow you to progress through the game as you would expect from a metroidvania. Behind each monster's wonderful pixel art exterior they each have an in-depth skill tree as well as various other avenues for customization. While I don't think it's more intricate than the obvious comparison - Pokemon - it is far less esoteric and easily accessible. These combat intricacies are further explored in exciting PvP battles, as well as the fairly challenging PvE encounters. Along with a baked-in randomizer and other challenge modes, this game is jam-packed with content and easily worth the asking price of only $20 US.

I think I love this game less for what it is, and more for what it represents. This game is far from a good fit for everyone, and you have to be in a very specific headspace to get the most out of it. It is frustrating, time consuming, and extremely monotonous at times - but it is artful, and it is beautiful. It is brutal and punishing survival as a cute, soft, fleshy little pathetic thing ... an adorable slugcat. It is a brilliant example of videogames as an artistic medium. This game legitimately changed how I view art, videogames as art, and the world as a whole in some minor way. Every element of the game comes together in such a perfect way, not to craft a necessarily "good" experience, but a valuable experience nevertheless. I feel like this game is hard to recommend, but solidly worth it for those willing to plod it out.

Pseudoregalia is an extremely solid 3D metroidvania platformer. Moving around in this game just feels good, no butts about it. The way you steadily acquire movement options over the course of the game, progression aside, allows you to get used to the moves as you obtain them. The game is very approachable, but also has many chances for the player to express skill and mastery over it. The aesthetic is peak, I love the character and sound design, my only wish in this regard is for a little more enemy variety. In addition, the combat is a little bare bones, and enemies hardly pose a threat. The story is extremely sparse, cute npc dialogue and interactable texts are sprinkled throughout. Navigation can be a teensy bit headache inducing, but once they add a map like they plan to that problem should hopefully be alleviated. All in all, this is a short, very enjoyable experience that I think is easily worth the price tag.

After trying and failing to get into this game a couple times in the past, I finally hunkered down and finished it. As much as I want to love this game, it just doesn't quite get there for me. The music is stunning and the pixelated visuals are so, so pretty. Despite no words being spoken, the game is able to quite effectively tug at your emotions from time to time. The combat is extremely fun and fast paced, the mix of gun and sword play is something I really enjoyed. despite that, some deaths can feel a slight bit unfair as you can be stunlocked and take damage from consecutive attacks due to a vanishingly short invulnerability window. There is also some awkwardness with the 2.5D art style where you will collide or get hit with things that visually shouldn't be able to from that far away - especially when positioned above them. These two gripes are mostly minor though, my main problem with this game is the sheer amount of secrets that I feel don't really respect the player's time. There are some areas where you'll just want to run up against every single wall to see if there is an invisible gap you can pass through. A good amount of these passages contain items necessary to progression as well. This is somewhat alleviated by there being 8 total, and only needing 4 in each area to complete the game. However, it can still be time consuming and frustrating if you don't know the tells, which are not necessarily obvious and left for the player to figure out. The sheer number of them also deflates the feeling of discovery a bit, especially when the rewards are usually just 1/12th of an upgrade. Overall, I still think it's worth playing simply for the amazing art and fun combat, but don't stress too much over finding every single secret unless you really care about a recolor for your player character.

Luna Nights is absolutely stellar, probably the best metroidvania I've ever played. The elements are light, as most backtracking is just to acquire unnecessary stat upgrades. I actually appreciate this though, as it cuts down on monotony and put the focus on puzzle-solving and combat - which it greatly excels at. You play as Sakuya, a maid with the ability to manipulate time by slowing it, or stopping it completely. The game stays true to its bullet hell roots, especially in the phenomenal boss encounters. They really throw everything at you to balance out the power differential your time powers create. Having to juggle your time, health, and mana creates a fun gameplay loop that encourages you to take risks to recover them. This is the second time I've played through this game. The first being before the bonus level was released, and it's just as good as I remember. All this, and I haven't even mentioned the gorgeous pixel art and awesome Touhou jams that play throughout the game. I only have a two small issues with the game. One, towards the end they send a few too many spongey mobs at you, but they are at most a mild inconvenience and easily ignored. Two, you can get the ability to sprint in the bonus level, but it's a double tap input. The sprint is never necessary, and misinputting every now and then hurt me more than it helped. In the end, it's a short time, but damn if it isn't a good one.

Childhood classic. Not a lot going on here, but simple and entertaining. Looks good and plays well despite its age. Probably won't hold your attention for more than a couple of hours unless you really care about highscores, or the time attack mode. Surprised at the lack of fish variety compared to Feeding Frenzy 1. Lots of palette swaps and very few fish assets are actually new to this game, pretty disappointing. The combo system is fun, and can encourage you to take risks. I think it would be more effective if there was some sort of meta progression incentive, but ultimately this is an old, small game.

Calamity mod follows up base Terraria so well that it's hard to believe. I really appreciate that the art and items stick pretty close to vanilla theming for the most part. The bosses are challenging, fun, and lean more into the bullet hell tendencies of the game. Items are designed really well, it's hard to find too many that are outright disappointing or feel bad to use. It's also a really stable experience, even in multiplayer. The only bug me and my partner experienced was during one of the last boss fights. To my knowledge this is relatively new content, so it's forgivable. Terraria's model of progression is so satisfying I wish it could go on forever. I'm very much looking forward to what future updates have in store.

Resident Evil 4 is amazing. It's a pretty big shift from having just played Signalis, being much more linear and action based with extremely simple puzzles. Looking into the rest of the series, as this is my first Resident Evil game, I've learned this is a turning point in the series for those same reasons. I really love the old tank controls and shooting mechanics introduced in this game. They're really charming, and the awkwardness in getting used to them can ramp up tense situations. However, they become pretty comfy and satisfying once you get used to them. The management of supplies is really enjoyable and encourages you to be as resourceful as possible to conserve ammo and health amidst the hordes of enemies the game throws at you. This game does horror really well, and while a part of me wishes there was more of it, I appreciate it being well spread out between more action-based segments as to not wear out the player. Ashley isn't with you for too much of the game, but I found the parts where she is enjoyable. She gives you another thing to manage and those parts are among the more exciting ones in the game. While long at around 16 hours for a playthrough, the game is really well paced and I enjoyed the narrative thoroughly. Playing the previous games is not necessary to appreciate RE4's story. I really love Leon, he's just exactly what I wanted from the character. Little silly quips and stuff to break the tension every now and then. Graphics hold up really well for its age, and the sound design is peak - especially the music. One of the most solid and cohesive gaming experiences I've ever had.

Voidigo is a really charming little roguelite. First off the game's style is really adorable, it looks amazing and has good humor. I appreciate it for being goofy and fun, but not over-the-top and obnoxious. The characters and enemies have such playful designs, and the animation goes a long way to furthering that. I love the narrator's voice and the music does a fantastic job of elevating key moments. Now, onto how it actually plays. The core gameplay loop is fun and satisfying enough, but it can definitely get stale after you've beaten the final boss a few times. I played just enough to beat the last story challenge, but anything past that just seems like time sink tedium. I'm definitely not going to go for 100%, but it's definitely something I'll keep playing - at least for the multiplayer. The content that is available right now is solid, there are many fun weapons and awesome power-ups, and I especially enjoy the mechanic of jumping to dodge and stomp on enemies' heads. That said, this game isn't without its faults, some of the mechanics can be quite frustrating. Certain enemies can be annoying, and aren't necessarily hard but just take far too long to deal with. The stomping I love so much is pretty exploitable, as you can simply spam it endlessly and get pretty far without really trying. Maybe if a resource was tied to it it could better reward skilled play, but that may take away some of the fun. It would be nice if there was a HUD element to let you know when certain power-ups were off cooldown. Then lastly, when looping, enemy stats seem to increase dramatically and it feels hard to keep up. Most of this is just felt in the time it takes to kill them, which turns the game into a bit of a slog. Perhaps this is a skill issue for not figuring out a way to break the game more effectively in my 21 hours of play at the time of writing this. However, the game doesn't even necessarily seem to want you to do this in the first place. Looping doesn't feel like it gives any extra reward compared to just starting fresh, and it makes it harder to experiment and work towards the completion goal of unlocking the finale if you're trying to be optimal. I guess on one hand it's good that there's things to excite both completionists and gamers seeking challenge above all else, but to someone who enjoys both, the systems seem a little bit at odds. Also, I want to add that, while the pet system is a cute currency sink once you've bought everything else, I feel like it's a teensy bit lackluster. Overall though, it's a very well put together game that presented me with a fun challenge. I have my gripes, but the game only just came out last June after 2 years in Steam Early Access. There has already been a few updates after the initial release, and I hope and look forward to the devs continuing to support it.