Arthurplaysgames
2019
A charming and lighthearted little puzzle platformer. It never really does anything interesting with its gameplay, but it's cute and funny enough that I enjoyed my time with it.
2023
A nice little mini Metroidvania. More Metroid than Vania, which is what I prefer. Satisfying exploration and a weapon system that's fun to tinker with. The presentation is a little amateurish, but in a way that adds its own sort of charm. Sometimes I just want my Metroidvanias to be over in 2 or 3 hours, and this is a solid game that delivers on that bite-sized kind of experience.
2020
This would be a fairly unremarkable roguelike game even if it was more polished, but unfortunately it's far too janky and buggy for even that to be the case. It's short enough that I was planning on finishing it anyway, but after losing a run that I was most of the way through due to a glitch, I had to give up. A game-ending glitch can mean losing an hour or two of progress in this genre, so that's just a complete dealbreaker for me.
2022
Iron Lung gives you just enough information to allow your imagination to run wild inside your claustrophobic little sub, resulting in a clever little minimalist horror game.
The premise is also very metal in a way that I enjoyed a lot - a convict pressed into a suicide mission in a rusty little can at the bottom of an ocean of blood? That's good stuff.
However, as short as the game is, I don't think the somewhat tedious (intentionally so, to be fair) gameplay was enough to sustain the hour or hour and a half of playtime in this game, leading me to believe it would have been stronger as an even shorter microgame.
So, points for originality and atmosphere, but it overstays its welcome a little too much to be truly great.
The premise is also very metal in a way that I enjoyed a lot - a convict pressed into a suicide mission in a rusty little can at the bottom of an ocean of blood? That's good stuff.
However, as short as the game is, I don't think the somewhat tedious (intentionally so, to be fair) gameplay was enough to sustain the hour or hour and a half of playtime in this game, leading me to believe it would have been stronger as an even shorter microgame.
So, points for originality and atmosphere, but it overstays its welcome a little too much to be truly great.
2020
8.5/10
A very fun murder mystery with a killer soundtrack. The setting is so bizarre and out there that I never got tired of learning more about the world and the NPCs. There isn't much to the gameplay, just a lot of exploration and some light first person platforming, which does get old after a while, but thankfully I was almost done with the game by the time that happened.
A very fun murder mystery with a killer soundtrack. The setting is so bizarre and out there that I never got tired of learning more about the world and the NPCs. There isn't much to the gameplay, just a lot of exploration and some light first person platforming, which does get old after a while, but thankfully I was almost done with the game by the time that happened.
7/10
Love the art in this game, it definitely lives up to the promise of its Beksinski/Giger influences. The writing isn't quite as strong unfortunately, but it doesn't get in the way too much. The puzzles feel like they're in the sweet spot for adventure game puzzles, engaging enough that you're not bored, but not too much of a roadblock to seeing the next piece of cool art. Solid adventure game over all.
Love the art in this game, it definitely lives up to the promise of its Beksinski/Giger influences. The writing isn't quite as strong unfortunately, but it doesn't get in the way too much. The puzzles feel like they're in the sweet spot for adventure game puzzles, engaging enough that you're not bored, but not too much of a roadblock to seeing the next piece of cool art. Solid adventure game over all.
2020
7/10
A very short little surreal claymation experience. Nice atmosphere, and it seems to have multiple endings if you're willing to replay and experiment. I wasn't.
A very short little surreal claymation experience. Nice atmosphere, and it seems to have multiple endings if you're willing to replay and experiment. I wasn't.
2022
This review contains spoilers
6.5/10
A decent surreal first-person exploration game. I liked the quirky movement mechanics with the various items you can find, and the game's got a pretty good sense of atmosphere. Not a bad way to spend 45 minutes.
A decent surreal first-person exploration game. I liked the quirky movement mechanics with the various items you can find, and the game's got a pretty good sense of atmosphere. Not a bad way to spend 45 minutes.
2023
This review contains spoilers
7.5/10
A nice little throwback collectathon platformer. It's rare that I end up wishing these microgames were actually longer, but this one has really fun and satisfying movement, and I found myself wishing there were more levels to play around in. Once you've collected everything (which is doable in about an hour or so) there just isn't anything left to do but speedrun some of the levels, which I did do a little bit of, but I would have loved more content.
A nice little throwback collectathon platformer. It's rare that I end up wishing these microgames were actually longer, but this one has really fun and satisfying movement, and I found myself wishing there were more levels to play around in. Once you've collected everything (which is doable in about an hour or so) there just isn't anything left to do but speedrun some of the levels, which I did do a little bit of, but I would have loved more content.
This review contains spoilers
7/10
It's got evocative atmosphere and does a good job of utilizing that particular type of uncanniness that these retro PSX-style games can have. I thought it overstayed its welcome by just a little, and the writing is a little clunky and doesn't really live up to the mood set by the visuals.
It's got evocative atmosphere and does a good job of utilizing that particular type of uncanniness that these retro PSX-style games can have. I thought it overstayed its welcome by just a little, and the writing is a little clunky and doesn't really live up to the mood set by the visuals.
This review contains spoilers
8.5/10
My favorite of the Zelda games I've played so far, by a good margin. I played the Ship of Harkinian fan port, but I didn't change much from the original N64 experience aside from some minor graphical tweaks and making boots into toggleable items to reduce the amount of irritating menuing required in places like the Water Temple.
Hyrule in this game is just a joy to explore, with satisfying puzzles to solve, little secrets hidden everywhere, and NPCs with tons of personality to interact with. I didn't end up needing to resort to a walkthrough very often, although there were a couple of needlessly obtuse moments required for progression that felt like that old "subscribe to Nintendo Power" school of game design.
OoT also has a great soundtrack, and I was surprised to find out just how many of the Zelda themes I recognized from Smash Bros and elsewhere were from just this one game. It really contributes a lot to the atmosphere and helps to evoke the feelings of adventure and mystery that the game does so well.
The combat is one of the weaker areas of the game, but thankfully never becomes too difficult or tedious, so its one-dimensionality isn't too much of a problem, and the boss fights are mostly very well done with only a couple of misses.
My favorite of the Zelda games I've played so far, by a good margin. I played the Ship of Harkinian fan port, but I didn't change much from the original N64 experience aside from some minor graphical tweaks and making boots into toggleable items to reduce the amount of irritating menuing required in places like the Water Temple.
Hyrule in this game is just a joy to explore, with satisfying puzzles to solve, little secrets hidden everywhere, and NPCs with tons of personality to interact with. I didn't end up needing to resort to a walkthrough very often, although there were a couple of needlessly obtuse moments required for progression that felt like that old "subscribe to Nintendo Power" school of game design.
OoT also has a great soundtrack, and I was surprised to find out just how many of the Zelda themes I recognized from Smash Bros and elsewhere were from just this one game. It really contributes a lot to the atmosphere and helps to evoke the feelings of adventure and mystery that the game does so well.
The combat is one of the weaker areas of the game, but thankfully never becomes too difficult or tedious, so its one-dimensionality isn't too much of a problem, and the boss fights are mostly very well done with only a couple of misses.
This review contains spoilers
6.5/10
The gravity shifting mechanic is very unique and interesting, but unfortunately the mission design is pretty barebones and fails to do anything engaging with its mechanics. Combat in particular stands out as being dull and repetitive.
It does build a fairly interesting world, although it stops short of actually explaining what's really going on behind the scenes. Maybe that's something being saved for the sequel.
The comic book style cutscenes are very well done and a joy to look at. Even the character portraits when reading in-game dialogue are really nice to look at. However, the actual in-game environments don't live up to this standard, and are in fact pretty ugly.
Overall a solid game that's worth playing just to experience its unique movement mechanics.
The gravity shifting mechanic is very unique and interesting, but unfortunately the mission design is pretty barebones and fails to do anything engaging with its mechanics. Combat in particular stands out as being dull and repetitive.
It does build a fairly interesting world, although it stops short of actually explaining what's really going on behind the scenes. Maybe that's something being saved for the sequel.
The comic book style cutscenes are very well done and a joy to look at. Even the character portraits when reading in-game dialogue are really nice to look at. However, the actual in-game environments don't live up to this standard, and are in fact pretty ugly.
Overall a solid game that's worth playing just to experience its unique movement mechanics.
2018
This review contains spoilers
8/10
Cute little game. The 60 second gimmick is cool, and it's pretty satisfying making little bits of progress here and there across the game world. Music is surprisingly good as well.
Cute little game. The 60 second gimmick is cool, and it's pretty satisfying making little bits of progress here and there across the game world. Music is surprisingly good as well.
2021
This review contains spoilers
6.5/10
Decent little surreal walking sim. It's in the same vein as Hypnagogia but not really the same level of quality.
Decent little surreal walking sim. It's in the same vein as Hypnagogia but not really the same level of quality.
2020
This review contains spoilers
8/10
Pretty good. Does a great job of evoking a similar atmosphere to its inspiration, LSD Dream Emulator. Instead of being a randomized weirdness generator like its predecessor, it has more structure, with discrete levels and an actual narrative.
Pretty good. Does a great job of evoking a similar atmosphere to its inspiration, LSD Dream Emulator. Instead of being a randomized weirdness generator like its predecessor, it has more structure, with discrete levels and an actual narrative.