Devixicus
2021
Not really a "video game" in the traditional sense, "walking simulator" is apt though I don't like that phrase to describe a type of adventure game that existed long before 3D graphics and mouselook. If you don't want to play a game like that, this isn't for you. If you're still reading, this has some of the best dialogue and voice acting I've ever experienced in a video game period.
It's short and extremely heavy and dense with characterization. I went back to try different dialogue options just to hear everything, knowing it wouldn't be much. I went to get all the achievements, I roleplayed my character in the scenes because I was so invested in what was happening. Maybe it's because I didn't know what was going to happen, or maybe it's that I knew exactly what was going to happen. There is a certain pain, an emotional truth of life itself this game captures so beautifully.
I first was introduced to this game because I read the writer's pieces on Medium (those are great too) and I expected this would be something I would like. What I didn't expect was the voice acting to be so amazing that I'm probably gonna struggle to take the drama heavyweights of the games industry seriously for a bit. If ANYTHING in this sounded like it's interesting to you I URGE you to try this one. Truly incredible stuff. Half a star deducted for the bad cooking minigame lol
It's short and extremely heavy and dense with characterization. I went back to try different dialogue options just to hear everything, knowing it wouldn't be much. I went to get all the achievements, I roleplayed my character in the scenes because I was so invested in what was happening. Maybe it's because I didn't know what was going to happen, or maybe it's that I knew exactly what was going to happen. There is a certain pain, an emotional truth of life itself this game captures so beautifully.
I first was introduced to this game because I read the writer's pieces on Medium (those are great too) and I expected this would be something I would like. What I didn't expect was the voice acting to be so amazing that I'm probably gonna struggle to take the drama heavyweights of the games industry seriously for a bit. If ANYTHING in this sounded like it's interesting to you I URGE you to try this one. Truly incredible stuff. Half a star deducted for the bad cooking minigame lol
I grew up with all the Animal Crossing games as they came out. Back when it was newest, it was my favorite one. These days I'm discouraged to even try again by how little they changed from Wild World. I also don't like the music from this era of Animal Crossing much, it got better after this but none of the soundtracks hold a candle to the original to my ears. Nothing against it but not my thing.
I love this series and this game deserves credit for the whole "world is a cylinder" thing which is actually really clever. Other than that I think this is a lousy sequel, cool that you could take it outside tho
If you want to play Sonic Adventure for the first time, buy this and then learn how to mod it to make it playable. It's a port of a broken remaster/port of a broken port of a broken remaster/port of a pretty fun game. If you're ever confused by the jank, remember this was first published in 1998 and not 2003 like some reviewers like to pretend.
They made it so ugly. So so so ugly. I never knew how beautiful the original game was until years later. Seriously how did they make it look so horrible.
60fps is nice I guess but this game is better when it actually works as intended
60fps is nice I guess but this game is better when it actually works as intended
1998
One time I played this game and I dissociated so hard I couldn't feel anything for like an hour
2013
This game is the definition of "That was good while it lasted", I forget I even played it a lot of the time. It was the first AAA game I played when I built my PC!
If only it happened...
2007
I was never good at multiplayer first person shooters but this was probably my favorite when I was trying. Schmoovement > bullet spray
2023
For those who have yet to play or hear about this, I recommend one blind playthrough before you ever look anything up about this. Great stuff.
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This game is a masterclass in horror pacing. The house is a strange beast that changes the more you wander about, eventually giving way to many strange and interesting places one might expect to find in a horror game... but also some surprises as well. This is as good as it gets with this style of "walking simulator" adventure game, but as a completionist experience it leaves a bit to be desired for me.
There are multiple "points of no return" when it comes to locations to visit. For the most part I don't mind this but I've spent hours redoing the first half of this game over and over again trying to get the one artifact at the end of the bathhouse. "Git gud" me all you want but the amount you have to redo after a small slip up like that is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Not a dealbreaker for the game itself but I am hard pressed to get the "true ending" in this one.
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This game is a masterclass in horror pacing. The house is a strange beast that changes the more you wander about, eventually giving way to many strange and interesting places one might expect to find in a horror game... but also some surprises as well. This is as good as it gets with this style of "walking simulator" adventure game, but as a completionist experience it leaves a bit to be desired for me.
There are multiple "points of no return" when it comes to locations to visit. For the most part I don't mind this but I've spent hours redoing the first half of this game over and over again trying to get the one artifact at the end of the bathhouse. "Git gud" me all you want but the amount you have to redo after a small slip up like that is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Not a dealbreaker for the game itself but I am hard pressed to get the "true ending" in this one.
2021
This isn't the type of game I thought I'd ever say this about, but the presentation is absolutely outstanding here. I've been following this series for quite some time (I think I came across it on Sonic Retro) and they're all very solid mechanically compared to a lot of the mediocre 2D platformers that end up on Steam. I always appreciated the musical and visual variety but this newest entry is on another level. Each level has its own song, all of them bright and cheery electronic that's a bit reminiscent of old video game jams if they were made with 90s analog synths.
Love is a very simple game in every sense of the word. The game has a trim color palette of one color for the level, black for the background, and white for the player and obstacles/interact-ables. The series was a bit confusing at first with communicating the difference between "hazardous white" and "helpful white" but the design language evolved in the second game and here things are more clear than ever. But the real impressive stuff is the level visuals. Each level really captures the imagination in representing spaces in these strict limitations, in ways I never would have expected.
Each Love game comes with more stuff and features the older games included. This one lets you go down memory lane with the new features and animations, or switch the style to be more classic if you wish. It's a great value proposition and also lets you appreciate how much these games have improved over time. But it also shows how solid the design always was. For a game trying to capture a fantasy history in which old PCs had platformers as smooth as the consoles of the time had, Love 3 nails that "rose tinted glasses" approach with such grace that it's convinced me to give more time and attention to the throwback indie movement I've been neglecting for a while.
Love is a very simple game in every sense of the word. The game has a trim color palette of one color for the level, black for the background, and white for the player and obstacles/interact-ables. The series was a bit confusing at first with communicating the difference between "hazardous white" and "helpful white" but the design language evolved in the second game and here things are more clear than ever. But the real impressive stuff is the level visuals. Each level really captures the imagination in representing spaces in these strict limitations, in ways I never would have expected.
Each Love game comes with more stuff and features the older games included. This one lets you go down memory lane with the new features and animations, or switch the style to be more classic if you wish. It's a great value proposition and also lets you appreciate how much these games have improved over time. But it also shows how solid the design always was. For a game trying to capture a fantasy history in which old PCs had platformers as smooth as the consoles of the time had, Love 3 nails that "rose tinted glasses" approach with such grace that it's convinced me to give more time and attention to the throwback indie movement I've been neglecting for a while.
1993
For the historical context this game was released in, I'd lean more towards a 3.5 star rating. But playing this game today is a test of patience. I've done it with both the original PS1 gamepad and the neGcon now, and while the analog input helps in the advanced part of the race course, the traction mechanics still feel like a crapshoot compared to anything even remotely more contemporary.
There's only one track in this game! Well, two variations of one track. And the ability to play them backwards with a different starting location after completing everything available. I'll give them credit in that it's generally quite the well designed course. The "advanced" segment is quite difficult to navigate for beginners, though the sporadic "on-off" nature of drifting makes it very difficult even for series veterans coming back to this one to have a sense of control over the cars.
Should you play this one? Only if you're still interested after reading all that. Should you buy it for a collection? Meh. Only if you're going for a full series, Playstation big box, full Playsation set, et cetera. It's more interesting to read about, watch, or research than it is to play unfortunately.
There's only one track in this game! Well, two variations of one track. And the ability to play them backwards with a different starting location after completing everything available. I'll give them credit in that it's generally quite the well designed course. The "advanced" segment is quite difficult to navigate for beginners, though the sporadic "on-off" nature of drifting makes it very difficult even for series veterans coming back to this one to have a sense of control over the cars.
Should you play this one? Only if you're still interested after reading all that. Should you buy it for a collection? Meh. Only if you're going for a full series, Playstation big box, full Playsation set, et cetera. It's more interesting to read about, watch, or research than it is to play unfortunately.
2014
You see, I grew up playing a flash game called "Dino Run"... so when this dinosaur time-waster game was the talk of the school, I was not impressed.
2021
Cute! I liked following the life of the woman this game oversees, the little stories you can piece together through the items she and her eventual partners brought from home to home. Though I am the type of person who prefers more self-expression in a game like this, I know it's not the point here but there were times I wasn't engaged.
This game is everything I hoped Ridge Racer 1 would be in terms of handling, tracks, visuals, and sound. It was a bit of a golden goose in my series collection, I'm guessing it sold quite poorly considering how uncommon these have been in retro stores or even online listings. Kind of like a "forgotten entry", relegated to series retrospectives from youtubers who aren't interested or wiki fodder for those interested in how Type 4 got it's name considering the it's often the 5th or 6th game listed. If you are looking for a really old Ridge Racer to play for fun, this is what you're looking for.
Firstly, the style here is just top notch. I'm not much of a fan of series mainstay songs like Rare Hero and Rotterdam Nation, but tracks from this game like Drive U 2 Dancing, Over The Highway, and especially Lords of Techno are absolute bangers. They channel the raw intensity and dance energy of Experience-era Prodigy fantastically, and I feel this is one of the most overlooked soundtracks in the series along with Rave Racer. The visuals also capture the early Playstation look just like the first game but much better emulate effects like the darkness of night and changing time of day.
This game also features the "one track that changes" feature of Ridge Racer OG, but the execution here is much cleaner and more interesting. Each of the three difficulties now has its own segments of track exclusive to it, and each one both challenges the driver in increasing intensity but also balances the readability much better than the advanced section of the original city course.
The real draw of this version of Ridge Racer is the handling model, and I'm bold enough to say this is when the series proper came into form gameplay-wise. The controls are much more precise and predictable than the first entry. Collisions are a bit more forgiving, with some side-swipes not causing the same speed-death as previously. This in combination with the easier-to-read track design makes for a much cleaner and more fun experience.
I didn't really expect to have this much to say about such a short and feature-trim game. But if you're able to play this one it's much more worthwhile than the first Ridge Racer. It's even got multiplayer apparently! Haven't tried it yet. It's also how I learned the PS1 has a console link cable.
Firstly, the style here is just top notch. I'm not much of a fan of series mainstay songs like Rare Hero and Rotterdam Nation, but tracks from this game like Drive U 2 Dancing, Over The Highway, and especially Lords of Techno are absolute bangers. They channel the raw intensity and dance energy of Experience-era Prodigy fantastically, and I feel this is one of the most overlooked soundtracks in the series along with Rave Racer. The visuals also capture the early Playstation look just like the first game but much better emulate effects like the darkness of night and changing time of day.
This game also features the "one track that changes" feature of Ridge Racer OG, but the execution here is much cleaner and more interesting. Each of the three difficulties now has its own segments of track exclusive to it, and each one both challenges the driver in increasing intensity but also balances the readability much better than the advanced section of the original city course.
The real draw of this version of Ridge Racer is the handling model, and I'm bold enough to say this is when the series proper came into form gameplay-wise. The controls are much more precise and predictable than the first entry. Collisions are a bit more forgiving, with some side-swipes not causing the same speed-death as previously. This in combination with the easier-to-read track design makes for a much cleaner and more fun experience.
I didn't really expect to have this much to say about such a short and feature-trim game. But if you're able to play this one it's much more worthwhile than the first Ridge Racer. It's even got multiplayer apparently! Haven't tried it yet. It's also how I learned the PS1 has a console link cable.