ClevClearly
2001
I'm not sure how much of this game's problems are related to the poor translation quality. That definitely has something to do with it, but generally it compares very poorly to Hollow Ataraxia and also has Nasu wilding out a lot more. There's an axiom that women go to therapy and men make their sexual disorders into books or movies, and this really makes me think about that concept because there is so much neurotic id on display here. I don't hate Nasu for it, I just think this isn't that interesting of a story, despite some good moments.
2021
This game is meant for who it's meant for. Mechanically it's almost flawless, and it has a charming little story with funny writing. I have two main complaints. The first is that the bonus missions don't let you use your own equipment from the campaign, and I really wish they would. If I wanted a challenge run I would go to the challenge run menu. But that is a nitpick, you don't have to do the bonus missions, and maybe I'm just being a scrub, I don't know.
My real gripe is that, while the game auto-cleaning pieces after you get most of the dirt is a very welcome feature, sometimes it was a bit finicky. Most of the time it was perfectly balanced. Sometimes it would delete whole sections of dirt because it registered as being clean too quickly. More often, and more frustratingly, it would require extraordinary exactness in the cleaning long after it was hard to find any extra dirt no matter how many times you tap that tab button.
It never got frustrating, though. It's a very well made game overall, and one I'm glad I played.
My real gripe is that, while the game auto-cleaning pieces after you get most of the dirt is a very welcome feature, sometimes it was a bit finicky. Most of the time it was perfectly balanced. Sometimes it would delete whole sections of dirt because it registered as being clean too quickly. More often, and more frustratingly, it would require extraordinary exactness in the cleaning long after it was hard to find any extra dirt no matter how many times you tap that tab button.
It never got frustrating, though. It's a very well made game overall, and one I'm glad I played.
2015
I'm not really sure what to make of this game. The premise is interesting, the central mystery and twist is interesting, but I don't think the mechanics are there. I found myself jumping to what felt like the endgame right away, and based on a bit of looking at other people's playthroughs, I'm still not sure what the intended experience is. Maybe that's the point? It just feels a bit unsatisfying, I feel like this could have worked better as a movie with controlled pacing.
Definitely not a bad game by any means. In its context it is an experiment in gameplay and narrative formatting for video games. I definitely think it's kinda a weak effect in the end, so I'm interested in checking out Immortality to see what an evolved version of this looks like.
Definitely not a bad game by any means. In its context it is an experiment in gameplay and narrative formatting for video games. I definitely think it's kinda a weak effect in the end, so I'm interested in checking out Immortality to see what an evolved version of this looks like.
2000
shiki gotta be the most white woman spotted character of all time
2020
Very charming game. You can tell most of the budget went into the voice cast, it's really star-studded for an indie game, and they really make the most of it. The gameplay can be kinda janky at times but it's pretty serviceable, outside of some pretty annoying enemies in the Boiling Bay.
A very solid game that feels like an evolved form of Crash Bandicoot. Slick, stylish, and fun.
2007
Story, writing, and character: 10
Gameplay: like 7-8
Driving around on samey planets looking for cobalt or whatever: 5
Menu design: -1
Gameplay: like 7-8
Driving around on samey planets looking for cobalt or whatever: 5
Menu design: -1
A game that's got strong writing but the core gameplay loop of replaying the same content over and over again is a bit boring. I know that's par for the course with VNs but the life-management elements and a lack of QOL for getting through stuff faster makes things a bit too tedious for me, but I can understand people who love the dialogue so much they get past all that.
In terms of a finale to the original Shovel Knight, this game pulls out all the stops. They have the biggest setpieces, the biggest bosses, and a whole Triple Triad style card game. I guess I just think that, when they kept trying to top themselves, they also kept trying to top the difficulty and there are some parts in this campaign that are downright annoying. Also I hated Joustus but your mileage may vary, I did not like Triple Triad either.
The best Shovel Knight campaign. This one REALLY mixes it up with a bunch of really exciting and interesting weapons, the coolest hub area with lots of hidden secrets, and some rad boss fights. This is everything a DLC campaign should be, a fresh spin on a classic. I wasn't really vibing with the music remixes, though.
The weakest Shovel Knight campaign, IMO. You can tell they were just dipping their toes into the water with it, and you're just kinda playing the original levels and fighting the original bosses with a clunkier character. The cipher coins were also very annoying to get. It's still the same base they're building off of, so it's still a fun game, and I like the cute little story here.
This game is so refined I can't really think of a flaw. The second best of the Shovel Knight campaigns, a strong baseline for the rest of the series. Great music, great art, great controls, great gameplay, a combination of extreme polish and presentation with a really tight solid core. One of the great kickstarter successes.
If I had ONE complaint it's that you can't do the body swap mode in other campaigns. And I guess I just wasn't feeling a 10 with it. But it's probably one of the best sidescrolling platformers out there.
If I had ONE complaint it's that you can't do the body swap mode in other campaigns. And I guess I just wasn't feeling a 10 with it. But it's probably one of the best sidescrolling platformers out there.
2021
An amusing little game that's nice for what it is but doesn't hold interest long.
A very cute game with a nice story with a good message. It's fun to paint all over everything and if you really get into the art aspect then it really is perfect for that. Towards the late-game when there started to be more of an emphasis on platforming I started to get frustrated because the platforming was very finicky and I kept botching jumps I was sure I should have made easily. This is just part of the game so I can't complain too much but it did hamper my experience.
I also swore I would take a whole star off for the horrible "paint the balloon until it pops" puzzles, I hated them so much and I swear they were just not responsive.
I also swore I would take a whole star off for the horrible "paint the balloon until it pops" puzzles, I hated them so much and I swear they were just not responsive.
2020
Really frustrating game for me. Extremely long loading times (upwards of a minute 30 seconds) meant that the core gameplay loop of trying to optimize your route was very tedious, and the primary missions (timed heist mission) get very repetitive after a while. However, I do love the destruction mechanics. I kept on playing despite large amounts of slowdown from unclear sources (looking at the ground made it faster), but Act 2 suddenly hit me with several frustrating missions based around environmental hazards and invincible armed guards and I realized that the missions were frustrating me rather than entertaining me.
I can still recommend this game for its sandbox mode but the missions just become a chore.
I can still recommend this game for its sandbox mode but the missions just become a chore.