I really wanted to like this game, I really did. The excitement I saw people have made me crave this as I love the era of platformers this game is trying to invoke. What I got is a game that I just ended up disliking the more and more I played. I will say the game does have two positives that I think are very strong.
The art direction is great and the music kicks ass. I still think this despite really being negative on the game elsewhere. The biggest annoyance in the game to me is the extreme lack of direction. I understand the game is not holding your hand but it expects you to go one path and instead of telling you to do that just shrugs and throws 5 different paths your way and has the correct one be a hidden 6th path. The gameplay also is not the funnest to me, the game seems to want you to do tight platforming but does not really provide the means to do said tight platforming. I don’t know I like platformers but this game got to the point where it was just making me mad with some of its expected platforming especially when combined with areas where it was unclear what I was even platforming too. Finally I get its going for an early 3D platformer feel but did it really need to have an awful camera as well? That thing just served to make the game even harder to navigate.
I think the game has a solid foundation and I think the devs can have a fun time, but this game just falls flat for me. It just ended up not fun to play and made me wish I was playing other platformers both old and new. I really hate to be this negative on the game since it was clearly made with heart but I just did not have a good time.

I was very surprised by this game, After being fairly mid on the first two games I found myself really liking this game. Its focus more on the resource element and not the dating mechanic made me enjoy it way more. The game being less obtuse on what you need to get to the various endings also made it very enjoyable. I also found the writing to be the best of the three, while not always good it had the most enjoyable writing. I do wish it had more locations and the hitchhikers were a little less random ( I regret getting the player character as hitchhikers dlc pack since they are all I get now) but honestly not a huge issue. That is where I would end the review and give this game a 4 out of 5 but then I got to the End of the Road update stuff. I do not want to spoil anything that happens in it so I will just say while I saw the media do what it did better the way it happens and the way it took me totally off guard made it an amazing experience. The fact that these are characters by now you have grown close too makes the emotional stakes actually hurt a little. Of all games I did not expect the monster prom series to make me feel so sad and depressed, and for that I have to applaud the game and the people that created it. I am very curious on how MP4 is going to be now that this was such a turn in direction (in a positive way)

I do think this game is an overall improvement from the first game. The writing is honestly better, it still has at times borderlands levels of humor based purely on knowing pop culture references but when it is not that its a pretty decent time. I do ultimately think I am not the biggest fan of the core concept of these games of making a dating game as a party game you can play with friends. By making each round at most an hour long I do not really get much out of it as I would an actual visual novel. Still I like the characters and art, and I would even say I far far like the cast here then the first game. I think the party game aspect is a little pretty here also though I do not like the drinking minigame at ALL. Ultimately still not a game that I am in love with in any way but I could see myself playing more of it if ever in a mood. Helltaker girl being a playable character took me by massive surprise.

This was a really fun time spender. I will say I did buy all the dlcs which added a lot of content so my view is including what I got with those up to the end of the base game. On some ways this is just a surface level item gather and then dine n dash cook game. The reason this game gets higher phase in my opinion is the Tohou art and characters really make the game shine further then it would otherwise. If you do not like Tohou at all? Yeah this game would not be for you but honestly I enjoyed greatly the over 100 hours I somehow spent in it.

In many ways I think this is a golden standard on what a game collection should be. Instead of just throwing a pile of emulated games at you and calling it a day, this game is more akin to a pop culture museum where you can walk though the eras of the company and experience the growth in gaming culture. The always present elephant in the room is yeah, almost all of these games either suck or age so poorly it's really not worth playing them for more then maybe 10 minutes, so if you purely just want to play some games there are countless better game collections out there. That being said, this game really is wonderful. I loved seeing the history of Atari and how they began the gaming industry only to struggle due to being the first to the point they fell out of any good graces. The only real complaint I have is at times I wish it went more in detail, I know there is just only so much it could do but like I wish there were more old ads, and talked more about the issues working for Atari behind the scenes of the games. I am glad it at least showed some of the drama and Atari mishandling their talent. Overall I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a gaming history lesson.