DynamicDonut
2006
Forgot to log this somehow - there's no real "completing" Tetris DS as its just a compliation of various modes, but I felt pretty proud of clearing 200 Lines in Marathon mode on my first attempt either way.
A fun and relatively well made version of Tetris, but admittedly does not feel as incredible now as it did for its time. There's something to be said for the charm the NES nostalgia provides for the theming, but if it doesn't work for you, Tetris Effect (and Apotris) tend to be much better versions of Tetris in my opinion.
A fun and relatively well made version of Tetris, but admittedly does not feel as incredible now as it did for its time. There's something to be said for the charm the NES nostalgia provides for the theming, but if it doesn't work for you, Tetris Effect (and Apotris) tend to be much better versions of Tetris in my opinion.
2024
Perfection. Life-changing. World ending in its gravitas.
Absolutely no notes.
Absolutely no notes.
2021
It definitely only feels like I've scratched the surface of this game, but this absolutely feels like "the" roguelike for me, in the way that many talk about one specific game that really got them hooked.
Its main mechanic of having your party members abilities represented as dice is novel but nothing new - this is excruciatingly common in the board game space and also somewhat exhibited inversely in Dicey Dungeons - but there's something to be said about the incredible use of UI space, really smart wording and language and amazing atmosphere the game utilizes to keep you incredibly invested.
There's plenty of smart and clever choices in its gameplay that I love, but simply put, there's such a smart reliance on letting the player optimize their turns (and the game experience as a whole) as much as possible and then enforce difficulty elsewhere, knowing the player has so much freedom. An incredible experience on both mobile and Steam, easily becoming one of my go-to regular games.
Its main mechanic of having your party members abilities represented as dice is novel but nothing new - this is excruciatingly common in the board game space and also somewhat exhibited inversely in Dicey Dungeons - but there's something to be said about the incredible use of UI space, really smart wording and language and amazing atmosphere the game utilizes to keep you incredibly invested.
There's plenty of smart and clever choices in its gameplay that I love, but simply put, there's such a smart reliance on letting the player optimize their turns (and the game experience as a whole) as much as possible and then enforce difficulty elsewhere, knowing the player has so much freedom. An incredible experience on both mobile and Steam, easily becoming one of my go-to regular games.
2017
Such an incredibly fun game, both while being a great package of content and a really good entrypoint to STG. While I probably would have enjoyed it still, I don't think I really would have understood how good it is without having played the GG Aleste games recently beforehand. (absolutely not required though.)
The mechanics are super straightforward, but feel incredibly rewarding once you really master them and also feel like genuine "training" and applicable skills to bring forward playing other shooters. Novice mode w/Auto Shield is a breezy 40 min playthrough, so maybe give more of the game a shot afterwards as well.
If you're struggling with the game, I highly recommend playing through the first couple of missions in Mission Mode. May seem counter intuitive, but it will explain how the game works incredibly fast and extraordinarily well.
The mechanics are super straightforward, but feel incredibly rewarding once you really master them and also feel like genuine "training" and applicable skills to bring forward playing other shooters. Novice mode w/Auto Shield is a breezy 40 min playthrough, so maybe give more of the game a shot afterwards as well.
If you're struggling with the game, I highly recommend playing through the first couple of missions in Mission Mode. May seem counter intuitive, but it will explain how the game works incredibly fast and extraordinarily well.
2021
For what quickly became one of my favorite mini golf game experiences in the first 90 minutes, easily became such a mixed bag once I tried to explore its additional content.
The main mode - its three various courses going through the "multiple ages of humankind" is amazing. Such a wide variety of art, humor and new mechanics shown throughout the courses, with a decent amount of challenge too. Wanting more however, I decided to delve into the games' Trips content - which became more frustrating than not.
The Trips are the game's method of adding in more levels and mechanics, without having to create a ton of new assets. All of it is creative, whimsical and enjoyable somewhat - but a huge burden when it comes to trying hit precisely due to the isometric view of the game or even its rather zoomed in camera. I found myself becoming so frustrated near the end, despite really appreciating the level design at play. (if admittedly tweaked to a much higher skew of difficulty than I'd prefer)
For the incredible sale price I got it at, it's a no-brainer even for just the main "story" mode. At full price, it's still a very fun golf game - just be content with the very short play time or bashing your head for that 100% completion label.
The main mode - its three various courses going through the "multiple ages of humankind" is amazing. Such a wide variety of art, humor and new mechanics shown throughout the courses, with a decent amount of challenge too. Wanting more however, I decided to delve into the games' Trips content - which became more frustrating than not.
The Trips are the game's method of adding in more levels and mechanics, without having to create a ton of new assets. All of it is creative, whimsical and enjoyable somewhat - but a huge burden when it comes to trying hit precisely due to the isometric view of the game or even its rather zoomed in camera. I found myself becoming so frustrated near the end, despite really appreciating the level design at play. (if admittedly tweaked to a much higher skew of difficulty than I'd prefer)
For the incredible sale price I got it at, it's a no-brainer even for just the main "story" mode. At full price, it's still a very fun golf game - just be content with the very short play time or bashing your head for that 100% completion label.
For what should be a great sequel to a really fun and relaxing initial title, this just feels so clunky and a bummer - all solely cause of its unrelenting dedication to the RE4 tone and not taking the concept into its own areas.
The interface and controls feel incredibly cumbersome - the hotkeys to move around the interface are welcome, but tiny things here and there that would be annoyances in other titles are a huge problem here, because the game is all UI. (Why is the game not more colorblind friendly? Why is the shop UI so large when you only click about 25% of the screen? Why do the items in the shop shuffle around level to level for little reason?)
I think the mechanics this game brings into the formula is rather welcome (the merchant herself, weapon upgrades, treasure assembly) but it doesn't showcase enough variety to even make you not feel tired around the Level 30 mark. For what is a 4/5 game in Save Room, this feel like how to fumble the experience entirely.
The interface and controls feel incredibly cumbersome - the hotkeys to move around the interface are welcome, but tiny things here and there that would be annoyances in other titles are a huge problem here, because the game is all UI. (Why is the game not more colorblind friendly? Why is the shop UI so large when you only click about 25% of the screen? Why do the items in the shop shuffle around level to level for little reason?)
I think the mechanics this game brings into the formula is rather welcome (the merchant herself, weapon upgrades, treasure assembly) but it doesn't showcase enough variety to even make you not feel tired around the Level 30 mark. For what is a 4/5 game in Save Room, this feel like how to fumble the experience entirely.
2021
Rather short but very enjoyable indie NES platformer. I really enjoyed how focused the experience was - the art style had flourish but conveyed exactly as needed, just enough mechanics to gather very quickly but feel fresh throughout the experience and a sizeable amount of difficulty welcoming to people just looking for a short playthrough or something to really speedrun or sink their teeth in.
It's short and free, absolutely give it a shot for yourself!
It's short and free, absolutely give it a shot for yourself!
1995
Preface: this is absolutely a salty review. The soundtrack is killer, the art direction and sprites are awesome - but holy fuck do I hate this game's level and boss design lol.
I do not miss the era when difficulty stemmed solely from either memorizing a mess back to front or powering through. (the timer sure won't let you slow down and play methodically) This, on top of dealing with enemies and boss patterns happening off screen with no indication and the incredible lighting system working against its benefit, (making it tough to discern most of the power-ups and some enemies in darkened areas) most of the back half of this game becomes a chore.
I do not miss the era when difficulty stemmed solely from either memorizing a mess back to front or powering through. (the timer sure won't let you slow down and play methodically) This, on top of dealing with enemies and boss patterns happening off screen with no indication and the incredible lighting system working against its benefit, (making it tough to discern most of the power-ups and some enemies in darkened areas) most of the back half of this game becomes a chore.
It's tough to expect a Japan only Wonderswan exclusive of a puzzle platformer series with an already small player base to get a ton of love, but wow - this game feels so unsung for what I expected on a 8-bit (color) platform.
I do agree with some of the other reviews I've seen that Moonlight Museum is definitely leaning toward the "easier" side of things. I would treat it (as I'm sure it was developed as such) as a predecessor to the GBA titles in both gameplay style and difficulty, as it tends to use much less mechanics in its levels comparatively as well. That said, its puzzles still feel incredibly rewarding to navigate through, and the last world still has a couple of moments that will give some pause to think.
Where Moonlight Museum shines however is the pixel art. I'm sure there's plenty of titles on the Game Boy as well that leave shock and awe, but never has a single color pixel art title leave me sitting on multiple screens, amazed at how someone was able to draw something so gorgeous. It absolutely looks stellar during the cutscenes, with the in-level graphics and music being just as great. The only miss the game has is the story - it's a bit all over and provides more fluff than not (tough to discern how much of that is the game vs. the available English fantranslation), even if it still provides plenty of charm.
The WonderSwan definitely tends to be a platform that's left to forgotten handheld lists or "weird game library" videos, but this is absolutely a gem of the platform more people need to experience.
I do agree with some of the other reviews I've seen that Moonlight Museum is definitely leaning toward the "easier" side of things. I would treat it (as I'm sure it was developed as such) as a predecessor to the GBA titles in both gameplay style and difficulty, as it tends to use much less mechanics in its levels comparatively as well. That said, its puzzles still feel incredibly rewarding to navigate through, and the last world still has a couple of moments that will give some pause to think.
Where Moonlight Museum shines however is the pixel art. I'm sure there's plenty of titles on the Game Boy as well that leave shock and awe, but never has a single color pixel art title leave me sitting on multiple screens, amazed at how someone was able to draw something so gorgeous. It absolutely looks stellar during the cutscenes, with the in-level graphics and music being just as great. The only miss the game has is the story - it's a bit all over and provides more fluff than not (tough to discern how much of that is the game vs. the available English fantranslation), even if it still provides plenty of charm.
The WonderSwan definitely tends to be a platform that's left to forgotten handheld lists or "weird game library" videos, but this is absolutely a gem of the platform more people need to experience.
2022
I initially went into this game really soured on it - for its asking price, it doesn't feel like "enough". However, after a chapter or two in, its charm completely wooed me.
Its puzzle difficulty is feels just right, and it has a bit more length to it than I was expecting as well. Its visuals are stellar and its soundtrack is amazing, immediately something I want to listen to over and over.
Really, the only issue I can fault it for is not picking a stricter lane with its narrative and direction. I don't think it needs to have a defined narrative like Unpacked (in fact, I think it's better for it), but with the later levels leaning a bit more surreal, I really wish I saw that earlier in the game. It would have elevated the existing whimsy of the title that much further.
Absolutely give this a playthrough on a weekend if you grab it in a sale or play it through Xbox Game Pass. It's a bit tougher to sell at full price, but if you enjoy light relaxing organization puzzles, it's absolutely worth it.
Its puzzle difficulty is feels just right, and it has a bit more length to it than I was expecting as well. Its visuals are stellar and its soundtrack is amazing, immediately something I want to listen to over and over.
Really, the only issue I can fault it for is not picking a stricter lane with its narrative and direction. I don't think it needs to have a defined narrative like Unpacked (in fact, I think it's better for it), but with the later levels leaning a bit more surreal, I really wish I saw that earlier in the game. It would have elevated the existing whimsy of the title that much further.
Absolutely give this a playthrough on a weekend if you grab it in a sale or play it through Xbox Game Pass. It's a bit tougher to sell at full price, but if you enjoy light relaxing organization puzzles, it's absolutely worth it.
It's been quite some time since playing a puzzle game has made me feel bitter. I want to love Klonoa 2 so much for what it is and how much complexity it crams into a single GBA cart, but it can be such a chore to play through entirely.
Feeling like a true evolution of Empire of Dreams' concepts - taking the console Klonoa experience and putting it to shorter handheld levels with a heightened puzzle focus - is awesome and I love all the new puzzle piece additions added here, whether new or pulled from Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil. It doesn't look bad, plus the story's charming as well. Everything else is a heavy burden though.
I didn't find myself as down on the underwater levels as others seemed to, but the alternative level types - the boarding and auto-scroller levels - are miserable. The game also decides to ramp up its puzzle difficulty much higher than the previous title ever does. The game designer in me lauds how amazing intricate some of the puzzle designs are here, but actually playing them leads to constant frustration and solutions that sometimes feel non-intended. (or maybe I'm just getting old)
For all the enjoyment I had throughout the first two and a half worlds, I let out the loudest possible groan when exploring the final puzzle platformer level in this game - which maybe tells all you need about the experience of what's only a 2-3 hour playthrough.
Feeling like a true evolution of Empire of Dreams' concepts - taking the console Klonoa experience and putting it to shorter handheld levels with a heightened puzzle focus - is awesome and I love all the new puzzle piece additions added here, whether new or pulled from Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil. It doesn't look bad, plus the story's charming as well. Everything else is a heavy burden though.
I didn't find myself as down on the underwater levels as others seemed to, but the alternative level types - the boarding and auto-scroller levels - are miserable. The game also decides to ramp up its puzzle difficulty much higher than the previous title ever does. The game designer in me lauds how amazing intricate some of the puzzle designs are here, but actually playing them leads to constant frustration and solutions that sometimes feel non-intended. (or maybe I'm just getting old)
For all the enjoyment I had throughout the first two and a half worlds, I let out the loudest possible groan when exploring the final puzzle platformer level in this game - which maybe tells all you need about the experience of what's only a 2-3 hour playthrough.
How incredibly charming. I always figured its humor and gameplay would be up my alley but just never got around to it.
The gameplay is a ton of fun, but your mileage may vary based on your patience, all things considered. I think knowing it was only 2 hours and being completely wooed by its charm and specific type of humor helped tide over any issues I had trying to precisely move or grab things.
Fuck that water shooting game in the Amazon Arcade though.
The gameplay is a ton of fun, but your mileage may vary based on your patience, all things considered. I think knowing it was only 2 hours and being completely wooed by its charm and specific type of humor helped tide over any issues I had trying to precisely move or grab things.
Fuck that water shooting game in the Amazon Arcade though.
2013
This review contains spoilers
What a wild fucking ride. I don't think the game is very flawed, but there's a whole lot of "good enough" elements here that limit it in some ways from being a favorite. Otherwise though, this is somewhat an unsung classic of the PS3/360 era I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did.
I think the story is a bit all over - I also have this issue with Uncharted, where I don't mind the slight sprinkling of "the mystical and unknown" but I think the adventure and globetrotting is enough to be exciting without it. Thus, I never fully was on board with the "Sun Queen" plot, along with the multiple other weird setups. (the hell was with the cannibal cave prison?) If anything, all the memes about this game's weird fetish for torture and survival was undersold - this game is a bit too weird about really putting Lara through it, to make a point about her "being a survivor". I do think her growth in mannerisms over the game is very interesting, but the method to get there felt over the top as a whole.
The gameplay though? God damn, stellar. I never felt like I truly "mastered" combat until basically the last two areas of the game, but I still enjoyed the flow of it nonetheless (+ it felt somewhat synonymous with the story). There's a fun fluidity you get with swapping between weapons, each having a very situational use. Using that in conjunction with the enviormental hazards ends up with a combat flow that feels amazing when you really get it right, but still good enough even beefing it. It's only flaw is not having a good way to deal with being surrounded - both with being aware of enemies behind you and having a combat solution for those situations.
More than the combat though, the open world was great. I always found myself super impressed with the openness of the map, yet its super smart guiding to lead the player exactly where the next plot point was. I never felt lost in the slightest - maybe to even the game's detriment, as I never felt much of an inkling to go out and hunt for scrap or hidden tombs. The tombs themselves are sadly a mixed bag. I find it kind of incredible these feel like a prototype or early implementation of Breath of the Wild's Shrines, but they also feel so much smaller and shorter in scope for it. Every time I finished one, I felt wanting more exploration of its specific "mechanic" or puzzle. They were still really rewarding moments regardless.
All in all, truly an amazing title I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did and really nails the Ubisoft "open map" gameplay style in a way that feels both a great homage to the original trilogy and truly setting a path for its own.
I think the story is a bit all over - I also have this issue with Uncharted, where I don't mind the slight sprinkling of "the mystical and unknown" but I think the adventure and globetrotting is enough to be exciting without it. Thus, I never fully was on board with the "Sun Queen" plot, along with the multiple other weird setups. (the hell was with the cannibal cave prison?) If anything, all the memes about this game's weird fetish for torture and survival was undersold - this game is a bit too weird about really putting Lara through it, to make a point about her "being a survivor". I do think her growth in mannerisms over the game is very interesting, but the method to get there felt over the top as a whole.
The gameplay though? God damn, stellar. I never felt like I truly "mastered" combat until basically the last two areas of the game, but I still enjoyed the flow of it nonetheless (+ it felt somewhat synonymous with the story). There's a fun fluidity you get with swapping between weapons, each having a very situational use. Using that in conjunction with the enviormental hazards ends up with a combat flow that feels amazing when you really get it right, but still good enough even beefing it. It's only flaw is not having a good way to deal with being surrounded - both with being aware of enemies behind you and having a combat solution for those situations.
More than the combat though, the open world was great. I always found myself super impressed with the openness of the map, yet its super smart guiding to lead the player exactly where the next plot point was. I never felt lost in the slightest - maybe to even the game's detriment, as I never felt much of an inkling to go out and hunt for scrap or hidden tombs. The tombs themselves are sadly a mixed bag. I find it kind of incredible these feel like a prototype or early implementation of Breath of the Wild's Shrines, but they also feel so much smaller and shorter in scope for it. Every time I finished one, I felt wanting more exploration of its specific "mechanic" or puzzle. They were still really rewarding moments regardless.
All in all, truly an amazing title I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did and really nails the Ubisoft "open map" gameplay style in a way that feels both a great homage to the original trilogy and truly setting a path for its own.
Charming puzzle platformer that doesn't overstay its welcome too long. The last level was a bit frustrating and I have qualms with the "Look Around" button being basically useless, but it does a great job with a core amount of puzzle mechanics and levels.
2023
While I happened to play this first over the span of a couple of weeks, this is absolutely a larger improvement on the dev's first project, Crowtel.
I do appreciate the more refined focus of welcoming core gameplay and wrappings, but allowing for a stronger, much more challenging post-game and completion. It admittedly is not for me, but I do think what is here will appeal a lot to fans of Cave Story and older PC indies that aim to emulate more arcade-y trappings.
I don't have much criticism on it - it could be longer, but I actually feel like it stays its welcome perfectly. There could be more "weapons" to pick up, but I feel the game is at its strongest as you learn your chosen character's attributes against levels you practice against over and over. I will say the "good ending" requirements are a bit much for me, but that's a tiny wrinkle in what is a incredibly delightful package most people should give a proper shot.
I do appreciate the more refined focus of welcoming core gameplay and wrappings, but allowing for a stronger, much more challenging post-game and completion. It admittedly is not for me, but I do think what is here will appeal a lot to fans of Cave Story and older PC indies that aim to emulate more arcade-y trappings.
I don't have much criticism on it - it could be longer, but I actually feel like it stays its welcome perfectly. There could be more "weapons" to pick up, but I feel the game is at its strongest as you learn your chosen character's attributes against levels you practice against over and over. I will say the "good ending" requirements are a bit much for me, but that's a tiny wrinkle in what is a incredibly delightful package most people should give a proper shot.