Even a decade later, "Dark Souls" can still be recommended as a solid action RPG with fascinating art direction and remarkable level design. I was planning to play it on Switch to make my train rides more tolerable, but I literally couldn't take my hands off it.

Exploration is what motivated me the most: figuring out how all areas are interconnected and playing around with the loot you find at each corner really makes you feel like you are allowed to approach the game the way you like. While "Demon's Souls" had six separate areas with their own linear progression, "Dark Souls" lets us enjoy free-roaming across a continuous map made of different biomes. Even though you are technically allowed to get anywhere, keys dropped by bosses are needed to open most locations, probably as a way to make sure you won't get into the most dangerous areas too early. I wish fast travel could be unlocked earlier, though. The only way to figure out the best way to go without a walkthrough is to travel across the map multiple times and assess the difficulty of each area, so fast travel would have definitely smoothened the process.

It would be impossible to objectively assess the game's overall difficulty, as everyone's hardest Souls game is always their first. It just takes some time to learn how to play and, especially, how to spend your experience points. Still, "Dark Souls" felt like one of the easiest in the series - I could tank the hell out of most enemies with the possible exception of the DLC bosses. For the most part, it's dodge, double hit, back off, repeat. The game requires trial and error and careful risk assessment, but most areas were relatively smooth to clear. Just make sure to buy curse healing items before getting into The Depths and farm poison healing items before Blighttown. Those debuffs nearly caused me a nervous breakdown.

The only thing that actually felt unfair is how enemies manage to hit you through walls and doors while you can't. The combat and gameplay are almost the same as "Demons Souls" (clumsiness included), with "humanity" acting as a more accessible debuff than the "soul" form, and the possibility to refill your healing flasks at checkpoints so that you won't need to farm for herbs and potions.

The setting and lore are incredibly fascinating, but there is not much plot going on as you play. The ending, in particular, felt a little too underwhelming after all the time spent on the game. The NPC quests are also way too hard to understand unless you search for tips on the internet.

The user interface is, as always, too cryptic. It's true that most people (including myself) wouldn't even bother reading tutorials even if they were available, but figuring out the meaning of each stat and symbol can really help overcome most challenges. Of course, it's never been a huge issue as lots of guides and resources are available online, but what if the Souls series stayed a niche sensation?

The Switch port was alright, even though I only played in handheld mode. The framerate is not rock solid, but it hardly ruined my experience.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a fucking masterpiece.


This game is a work of art, a masterpiece from beginning to end, as a sequel to Returns it improves and every category, the levels are even more explosive, daring, and far more unique, the game looks fucking incredible, even better than how beautiful returns was, the soundtrack is even more peak shit, all of it was absolutely beautiful, and the controls are basically perfect.

The levels in Returns were already really good, but god damn they’ve been improved here tenfold, every level is brimming with personality and creativity, I can say this, the previous games have all had at least like a few levels that were not really that good, but there is not a single bad level in this game, not even a single mediocre one in it either, they’re all great.
There is never a moment in this game where the fun dies down, not only are level themes and general worlds improved and much more varied, even the mine cart and rocket barrel levels are really fun, the game just never loses your attention.
The controls are vastly improved here from Returns, gone is any bullshit with Wii remote controls, now you can play like a normal person and it’s great, controls are tight and precise while still carrying that same DKC weight that all these games have had.
In the switch version, there’s also Funky Kong, and he controls wonderfully, they did not need to go that hard for what is essentially an easy mode character, like he controls so well that we could easily have a whole game designed around him.

It also helps that in terms of the visuals, this is by far one of the best looking 2D platformers ever made, and in my opinion, one of the best looking games ever made, it has style, it has grace, and a good amount of the enemies have a funny face.
Every level is brought to life with just how damn good the game looks, even when levels have the same theme, they are made distinct thanks to just how good they can look.

The soundtrack man, THE SOUNDTRACK, David wise returned here and it shows, every single level has the funkiest music you can imagine, the water levels especially GOD DAMN, it adds more atmosphere to everything, just like the og trilogy.

My complaints for this game are very minimal honestly, even though I do like the variety with your kong buddies, Dixie is just the objectively best one, her little float and upward movement is much better than Diddy’s hover, Cranky is unique enough to be his own thing and I’ve seen speed runners do crazy shit with him, but I always just stuck with Dixie.
Another complaint is that, while they are better and more dynamic than they were in returns, the bosses are still just decent at best, and both games final bosses are a far cry from K. Rool and his multiple alter egos.

Those gripes though just absolutely can’t take away from how great this game is, it’s incredibly fun all the way through and not only is it easily one of Nintendo’s best games, not only is it my favorite 2D platformer, it’s also one of my personal favorite games of all time.


And so ends the DK series, you know, considering that games like Metroid and Pikmin have made a comeback on the switch, I think it’s time for Donkey Kong to make his comeback, just make K. Rool and the kremlings the main villains again, it was nice to have some new villains but I also think it’s time for them to make their return.

And after basically 14 years without a DKC game, Nintendo suddenly blessed us with this game.


Donkey Kong Country Returns is a fantastic game, the levels are great, the game looks fucking beautiful, the soundtrack is another absolute masterpiece, the game is just so good.

The amount of shit that can happen in just one level is insane, you can start off at a nice normal pace, then you’ll be blasting yourself out of barrels and completely destroying ancient ruins in the blink of an eye, shit is wild, and this energy is kept all throughout the game.

Speaking of, the game looks beautiful, so many little details in the animation of things, the way levels are structured so there are no random floating platforms, it makes the world feel so much more natural, and it makes you feel like you’re a god damn ape.

And of course, the soundtrack, a complete fucking bop, every level every boss every thing has an absolute jam of a soundtrack behind it, keeping this game every bit as funky as the og trilogy.

This game does have one problem, now the controls, they are great, Donkey Kong’s weight is really felt in gameplay, the way they use Diddy more as a companion who makes your life easier is much better than the original games where the secondary character is just there, the roll has been improved in terms of motion, the blowing mechanic is neat, and the beating on the ground is pretty funny and fun to do………….now here’s where the problem is, those last three thing I mentioned are locked behind the forced Wii remote waggle system, and it’s like legitimately insane, WHO THE DECIDED THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA.
Now admittedly the beating on the ground and just punching the shit out of bosses after you beat them is pretty cathartic with the waggle, I don’t mind the motion controls being used there, but who in the fuck decided to lock the roll behind it, it’s almost a necessary move to get through some levels and bosses, and you need to waggle the controller every time, like why not just use the B button?

Now the thing with the motion controls is that they can easily be fixed, the 3Ds version allows you to play like a normal human being by actually making it so that you play with buttons, so I could definitely see a switch port of this game doing the same, with that said, if it’s technically a minor gripe, then why don’t I give this game a five star?
Well the answer is pretty simple, it’s actually a pretty similar reason with why I gave portal 1 only a 4.5, and it comes down to this: the game’s sequel did literally almost everything exponentially better, and speak of the devil.

The next (and final) game I’m gonna play for this DK marathon is Donkey Kong Country: Tropica Freeze.

The best 2D platformer ever made. This game is meticulously crafted to a degree I didn't even know was possible for a linear sidescroller. Similar to DKC2 before it, Tropical Freeze subtly reinvented the principles of platformer level design in ways that people sadly seemed to overlook through the years, but it's absolutely set a new standard that future developers and games in the genre should be compared to.

To this day, this is only level-based platformer I've ever seen that specifically prioritizes the individual LEVELS as its main design focus. Each and every level in this game is so distinct and fleshed out from one another, from both an environmental and mechanical standpoint, that I'd even go the length to say that any of this game's individual levels contain just as many ideas as you'd find in an entire WORLD of any standard platformer. Alpine Incline, for example, takes you on an entire journey from the base of a mountain to the skies. This massive level is just ONE of the nine levels in world 2, all of which live up to the same degree of scope and design genius.

To this day, I feel that Tropical Freeze is the only example of a true "AAA" 2D platformer, one that gives the genre a level of production, craft, and attention to detail that rivals any of the biggest blockbuster games from the modern era. It truly is the next evolution in platformer level design, but it's one that can only be executed by the most creative minds in the industry.

Also, thank you David Wise for blessing my ears. Love you