BillCravy
11 reviews liked by BillCravy
Balatro
2024
Balatro is the antethical to everything I've held dear to the medium in recent times: a near-completely artistically stripped down experience devoid of story, made to be repeated in perpetuity. Even the brightest jewels of the roguelike genre—Hades and Inscryption—I cherish largely in spite of their nature as roguelikes. Yet, after spending six hours playing through on release day, I was already hooked in deeply, just to have it embed deeper and deeper into my soul with every game.
There's an inherent trance that every run builds up, setting up the perfect hand with discards before firing off an insane chain reaction of multipliers. So many variables at play that it's pointless to crunch beyond a rough estimate, leaving each hand as something of it's own gamble. Sometimes that leaves you short of a win by only a fraction of the point threshold to hit, but sometimes that hand you thought would net you a few hundred thousand ticks all the way up to 20 million. This has happened to me on multiple occasions! And it's a glorious, visceral experience each and every time.
The biggest strength with Balatro, I feel, is the ease and variety of ways in which it feels like the game can be snapped in two. I have already beaten 7 or 8 runs of the game, more than any other roguelike I've played besides maybe Enter the Gungeon (which I dumped 100 hours into during high school), and am thirsting to do even more. From my experience, most other roguelikes make winning a run a far scarcer experience in order to help perpetuate the gameplay loop. But as it turns out, winning is really fun.
Not only that, every single winning run takes a completely separate angle to win: totally different Joker cards, deck compositions, and hands I aim for. It's so easy to feel like I've found the stupidest possible way to win the run, just to come around to the end 2-3 runs later with something far stupider. And even after each winning run, I feel inclined to continue in the endless mode, where the point thresholds start going up exponentially just to see how far the utter stupidity can take me. Many runs end up becoming less about whether or not I can win with my setup, but rather the far more interesting question of how far towards infinity I can reach with it. I'm prematurely a bit excited for the run I eventually get on that lets me pass my current wall, the 300 million point threshold.
It's pretty impressive how Balatro really just... doesn't have any issues. Thanks to being so stripped down, it manages to be absolutely airtight in its design while providing a cornucopia of variety. It's just an absolute masterpiece of design. A welcome surprise for personal game of the year contender.
There's an inherent trance that every run builds up, setting up the perfect hand with discards before firing off an insane chain reaction of multipliers. So many variables at play that it's pointless to crunch beyond a rough estimate, leaving each hand as something of it's own gamble. Sometimes that leaves you short of a win by only a fraction of the point threshold to hit, but sometimes that hand you thought would net you a few hundred thousand ticks all the way up to 20 million. This has happened to me on multiple occasions! And it's a glorious, visceral experience each and every time.
The biggest strength with Balatro, I feel, is the ease and variety of ways in which it feels like the game can be snapped in two. I have already beaten 7 or 8 runs of the game, more than any other roguelike I've played besides maybe Enter the Gungeon (which I dumped 100 hours into during high school), and am thirsting to do even more. From my experience, most other roguelikes make winning a run a far scarcer experience in order to help perpetuate the gameplay loop. But as it turns out, winning is really fun.
Not only that, every single winning run takes a completely separate angle to win: totally different Joker cards, deck compositions, and hands I aim for. It's so easy to feel like I've found the stupidest possible way to win the run, just to come around to the end 2-3 runs later with something far stupider. And even after each winning run, I feel inclined to continue in the endless mode, where the point thresholds start going up exponentially just to see how far the utter stupidity can take me. Many runs end up becoming less about whether or not I can win with my setup, but rather the far more interesting question of how far towards infinity I can reach with it. I'm prematurely a bit excited for the run I eventually get on that lets me pass my current wall, the 300 million point threshold.
It's pretty impressive how Balatro really just... doesn't have any issues. Thanks to being so stripped down, it manages to be absolutely airtight in its design while providing a cornucopia of variety. It's just an absolute masterpiece of design. A welcome surprise for personal game of the year contender.
Balatro
2024
makes me feel like an ai artist with all the fucked up hands i'm making
Sifu
2022
Never have I played a game that has demanded this much of me. From mastering the different enemy types, balancing defensive and offensive playstyles, and the variety of moves at your disposal, this combat system is a feast for the player. With the mechanic of aging with every death, the game tests your ability to put up with your understanding of the systems in front of you to the point where I myself began to test myself against the game's earlier levels again and again.
Balatro
2024
Lays bare (inadvertently or otherwise) the psychological and mechanical underpinnings of the roguelite in an honestly disturbing way. No thank you!
Balatro
2024
2nd day of playing: wanted to just play a tiny bit before bed, around 11:30pm...now its 3am...
honestly that this deckbuilder isn't fantasy/sci-fi based but rather plays on that "forbidden fruit" coolness of casinos, poker and slot machines is an immense alleinstehenungsmerkmal (i'm german and that word is way to perfect in this instance not to use it) and the reason why my extremely greedy -ss just said: f-ck it, i buy into the hype...and i don't regret it.
balatro sort of encaptures, atleast for me, slot machines and, in the players of balatro themselves, the mystical gaze of people playing with these machines in, for example, smoked in kneipen or even some kepab places of berlin (or any other place in the world). the sort of elegant but never tiring music, the brightness and shaking of the screen, the satisfying coin and card pop/draw sounds, the simple however extremely flashy art direction.
what i'm proposing here is sort of dark but:
knowing that games help with empathy, maybe this game isn't just a jolly good time killer. maybe it's a "risk-free" view into the mind of gambling addicts. those lost souls, staring into the grossly incadescent abyss of these obelisk-like machines, ad infinitum...
honestly that this deckbuilder isn't fantasy/sci-fi based but rather plays on that "forbidden fruit" coolness of casinos, poker and slot machines is an immense alleinstehenungsmerkmal (i'm german and that word is way to perfect in this instance not to use it) and the reason why my extremely greedy -ss just said: f-ck it, i buy into the hype...and i don't regret it.
balatro sort of encaptures, atleast for me, slot machines and, in the players of balatro themselves, the mystical gaze of people playing with these machines in, for example, smoked in kneipen or even some kepab places of berlin (or any other place in the world). the sort of elegant but never tiring music, the brightness and shaking of the screen, the satisfying coin and card pop/draw sounds, the simple however extremely flashy art direction.
what i'm proposing here is sort of dark but:
knowing that games help with empathy, maybe this game isn't just a jolly good time killer. maybe it's a "risk-free" view into the mind of gambling addicts. those lost souls, staring into the grossly incadescent abyss of these obelisk-like machines, ad infinitum...
Balatro
2024
this game should be labelled as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law
This review contains spoilers
100% completed outside of standee farming
At its core, Mario Wonder feels like a successful attempt to recapture the giddy whimsy of 2D Mario that the New Super Mario Bros. series has sorely lacked for the past 20 years. Gone are the enemies dancing to the ever-dreaded “bah”s heard constantly throughout the soundtrack, gone with the strangely janky looking animations on the playable characters, and gone with world 1 grasslands and world 2 deserts. Wonder manages to set itself apart with its inventive level design, interesting world biomes, amazing animation harkening back to 2D sprites/artwork of classic Mario, and a whole three brand new power-ups to play with in Elephant, Bubble, and Drill.
Elephant and Bubble steal the show to me, with Drill feeling surprisingly clunky and not all that useful compared to the other power-ups, but the former two carry their weight nicely with a surprising amount of depth to them for Mario power-ups.
The main new mechanic, the Wonder Seeds found in each level, range from mildly interesting to incredibly fun. There aren’t many stinkers that come to mind, although there are many that probably won’t linger in your mind too much afterward. My favorites are probably the Metal transformation (a cool call-back with interesting gameplay mechanics I desperately wish they messed around with more) and the rolling spike ball, which allowed for some really fun momentum-based speed platforming, with one Special World level especially dialing it up to 11. Overall, a fun mechanic that felt well-executed.
What I consider the other main appeal of Wonder, especially on replays, is the all-new badge system that allows you to equip a modifier before each level. These range from simply giving you a Mushroom at the start of a course to constantly locking you into a dash in return for an increase in speed, a speedrunner’s dream. I thoroughly enjoyed messing around with the badges, particularly the ones that altered movement in some way - special shoutouts to the Mario 2-style charge jump, which I shamelessly used to cheese countless gold flagpoles. Badges are an addition that I personally hope sticks around for 2D Marios to come.
Additionally, Nintendo has allowed for this game to be played with up to 4 players at once in local multiplayer, which has been a pretty fun time when I’ve gotten to try it. The tougher levels are certainly a struggle with more than one person, however, and it may be best left to the less-precise levels to reduce frustration. Thankfully, the characters that would normally be multiplayer-only in previous 2D Mario titles are playable for any player, and this game’s roster is packed with more characters than ever, which allows for some much-appreciated customization and variety.
However, it isn’t all wondrous - much of a Mario fan as I am, I still have some (mostly minor) issues with the game. Bosses feel rather uninteresting and easy with a surprising amount of waiting involved. I can’t think of a boss that really gets me thinking of how fun or interesting it was (besides maybe the final boss, but not much) - the Bowser switch bosses are particularly boring, being simple platforming rooms.
The music, while pretty nice at times, feels rather forgettable for a Mario game, and with the last main entry in Mario Odyssey having such an incredible soundtrack, it is slightly underwhelming to go down a bit in catchiness. Golden Falls probably has my favorite music, genuinely was caught off by its overworld theme.
Lastly, I do feel the difficulty was a bit too easy in even the Special World - turning Online Mode off helps to avoid reviving off of other players but the level design only felt genuinely challenging in a number of levels you can count on one hand. The levels that gave a challenge were really fun to crack away at and I hope Nintendo finds it in themselves to create more of these tough masterpieces for dedicated gamers going forward.
Overall, though, Mario Wonder feels like an amazing return to form for 2D Mario that I desperately would love to see more of in the future. A great game and a must-play for any Nintendo fan!
At its core, Mario Wonder feels like a successful attempt to recapture the giddy whimsy of 2D Mario that the New Super Mario Bros. series has sorely lacked for the past 20 years. Gone are the enemies dancing to the ever-dreaded “bah”s heard constantly throughout the soundtrack, gone with the strangely janky looking animations on the playable characters, and gone with world 1 grasslands and world 2 deserts. Wonder manages to set itself apart with its inventive level design, interesting world biomes, amazing animation harkening back to 2D sprites/artwork of classic Mario, and a whole three brand new power-ups to play with in Elephant, Bubble, and Drill.
Elephant and Bubble steal the show to me, with Drill feeling surprisingly clunky and not all that useful compared to the other power-ups, but the former two carry their weight nicely with a surprising amount of depth to them for Mario power-ups.
The main new mechanic, the Wonder Seeds found in each level, range from mildly interesting to incredibly fun. There aren’t many stinkers that come to mind, although there are many that probably won’t linger in your mind too much afterward. My favorites are probably the Metal transformation (a cool call-back with interesting gameplay mechanics I desperately wish they messed around with more) and the rolling spike ball, which allowed for some really fun momentum-based speed platforming, with one Special World level especially dialing it up to 11. Overall, a fun mechanic that felt well-executed.
What I consider the other main appeal of Wonder, especially on replays, is the all-new badge system that allows you to equip a modifier before each level. These range from simply giving you a Mushroom at the start of a course to constantly locking you into a dash in return for an increase in speed, a speedrunner’s dream. I thoroughly enjoyed messing around with the badges, particularly the ones that altered movement in some way - special shoutouts to the Mario 2-style charge jump, which I shamelessly used to cheese countless gold flagpoles. Badges are an addition that I personally hope sticks around for 2D Marios to come.
Additionally, Nintendo has allowed for this game to be played with up to 4 players at once in local multiplayer, which has been a pretty fun time when I’ve gotten to try it. The tougher levels are certainly a struggle with more than one person, however, and it may be best left to the less-precise levels to reduce frustration. Thankfully, the characters that would normally be multiplayer-only in previous 2D Mario titles are playable for any player, and this game’s roster is packed with more characters than ever, which allows for some much-appreciated customization and variety.
However, it isn’t all wondrous - much of a Mario fan as I am, I still have some (mostly minor) issues with the game. Bosses feel rather uninteresting and easy with a surprising amount of waiting involved. I can’t think of a boss that really gets me thinking of how fun or interesting it was (besides maybe the final boss, but not much) - the Bowser switch bosses are particularly boring, being simple platforming rooms.
The music, while pretty nice at times, feels rather forgettable for a Mario game, and with the last main entry in Mario Odyssey having such an incredible soundtrack, it is slightly underwhelming to go down a bit in catchiness. Golden Falls probably has my favorite music, genuinely was caught off by its overworld theme.
Lastly, I do feel the difficulty was a bit too easy in even the Special World - turning Online Mode off helps to avoid reviving off of other players but the level design only felt genuinely challenging in a number of levels you can count on one hand. The levels that gave a challenge were really fun to crack away at and I hope Nintendo finds it in themselves to create more of these tough masterpieces for dedicated gamers going forward.
Overall, though, Mario Wonder feels like an amazing return to form for 2D Mario that I desperately would love to see more of in the future. A great game and a must-play for any Nintendo fan!
Super Mario World
1990
Quite simply, one of the best video games ever made. I've lost count of the amount of times I've played this. Which considering it was the only game I had on my snes for years, means it's been a lot of times, I still enjoy it as much as I did 30 odd years ago.
Every level is impeccably designed, filled with bonuses and secrets, yet nothing feels like it's a chore. Even the more difficult levels are fun and rewarding. Everything fits perfectly. A perfect game, a 2d platformer that has yet to be bettered.
Granted, I always feel I've cheated myself if I don't finish this with all 96* levels. Which I didn't do this time. However, I want to keep playing more Mario games. I'm probably going to go with Yoshis Island next as that's Super Mario World 2. And I clearly hate myself.
Every level is impeccably designed, filled with bonuses and secrets, yet nothing feels like it's a chore. Even the more difficult levels are fun and rewarding. Everything fits perfectly. A perfect game, a 2d platformer that has yet to be bettered.
Granted, I always feel I've cheated myself if I don't finish this with all 96* levels. Which I didn't do this time. However, I want to keep playing more Mario games. I'm probably going to go with Yoshis Island next as that's Super Mario World 2. And I clearly hate myself.
After playing close to all of the Metroid series, I felt like I owed it to myself to try the other side of the "Metroidvania" coin. While it does have very ambitious pixel visuals melded with 3D models making a gorgeous-looking game, the heavy focus the game has on combat is not exactly the side of the titular genre that doesn't speak to me as much.
The base combat model and the variety of weapons available meant that I enjoyed finding new ways to fight the enemies throughout the game, but that kind of cuts into the platforming and movement side of progression. There are unfortunately only 5 major movement upgrades to help explore the castle, and once those are obtained there really isn't much change in the gameplay for the remainder of the playthrough. Because of this, rooms often don't feel as purposeful as those in a game like Super Metroid. The inverted castle in the latter half of the game truly stretches this problem even further; purely just a gauntlet of enemies and platforming made messy to where using the bat just becomes required to eliminate it entirely.
The base combat model and the variety of weapons available meant that I enjoyed finding new ways to fight the enemies throughout the game, but that kind of cuts into the platforming and movement side of progression. There are unfortunately only 5 major movement upgrades to help explore the castle, and once those are obtained there really isn't much change in the gameplay for the remainder of the playthrough. Because of this, rooms often don't feel as purposeful as those in a game like Super Metroid. The inverted castle in the latter half of the game truly stretches this problem even further; purely just a gauntlet of enemies and platforming made messy to where using the bat just becomes required to eliminate it entirely.
Pikmin 4
2023
feel so bad for final fantasy 16 getting released in between zelda and this game lol. nintendo the best to ever do it