Metal: Hellsinger was a disappointment for me. I'm a huge fan of singleplayer FPS games like Doom Eternal (which this game clearly takes a lot of inspiration from), alongside really liking and being somewhat above average at rhythm games. I bought this game when it went on sale expecting it to be an easy home-run, but after beating it on the hardest default mode I came away from it feeling rather underwhelmed.

First off, the big selling point of the game is the music. I'm not a gigantic metal fan, but I can't deny that every single song in this soundtrack goes unbelievably hard. The song Dissolution was the reason why I bought the game in the first place and I stand by it being the best song in the game. The idea of syncing your shots to the rhythm of the song is neat, and occasionally makes for some badass moments. The lyrics only turning on after you get to the highest point multiplier is also an incredible incentive for you to actually play well.

However, outside of the music, the game is... kind of shallow. There are about four or five weapons that you can use, although you can only have two equipped per level. They aren't really anything to write home about, and do their job well enough. I also found the enemy variety to be rather limited; there are about a half-dozen unique enemies and a few of them have "upgraded" versions. Also, every boss (besides the final one) is the same enemy with a slight variation of both itself and the music, making each boss fight feel pretty repetitive.

I do think a reason why I didn't enjoy this game that much was due to me playing on the hard mode. The game clearly feels like it was meant to be played with "revives," but playing on hard mode gets rid of them. Every single level has zero checkpoints in it, meaning that if you die you have to do the whole level over again. Fortunately, they aren't THAT long, but it does feel like a slog to have to redo a 5-10 minute level after you died to the boss.

Metal: Hellsinger isn't a bad game, and in fact has some pretty awesome moments in it. Outside of the rhythm mechanic, though, the game's systems aren't interesting enough for me to ever want to replay it instead of just listening to the soundtrack by itself.

Tiny Rogues combines pretty much the best elements of many other roguelikes. Of course, it has all of the bullet hell goodness you'd expect from your Binding of Enter the Nuclear Hades, but adds onto it with the insane amount of run variety. Almost every single run you'll have will feel different one way or another. One run you'll be cleaving through enemies with a greatsword bigger than you, and in the next you'll melt off the final boss' face with DoT effects like that one scene from Indiana Jones. Almost all of the classes you can play as have specific builds they encourage, but you can pretty much build any class however you'd like if you really wanted to.

I would have given this game a good review even before the massive update it had in December but now it's even easier for me to recommend it. The fact that this game still has several updates planned for the future is ABSURD, since there's already so much content in this game.

Portrait of Ruin is certainly a step up from Dawn of Sorrow. They experimented with a lot of new things in this game and for the most part I think they all worked pretty well!

+ Partner system is done really well
+ The story is actually good!
+ I really liked the final boss! Great way to end a game
+ A lot of weapon variety, letting you use pretty much anything
+ Paintings have their flaws, but allow for a lot of new locations like Egyptian pyramids

~ A few catchy tunes, but the music is nowhere near as good as Dawn of Sorrow

- My least favorite version of Dracula's Castle so far
- Paintings make the castle feel a lot more divided, and are mostly linear
- Obvious filler towards the end of the game where you have to go through a sublevel for each painting
- The anime artstyle from Dawn of Sorrow remains and does NOT look good. Dracula especially looks like shit

As someone who has beaten every Dark Souls game and Sekiro this continues FromSoftware's streak of making banger after banger. This game is superb from start to finish and even though it's their longest game so far I never felt like I was wasting time. There's so much to do on your first playthrough and the sheer amount of weapon and build variety is enough to encourage further playthroughs of the game.

My only qualm is that I found most the bosses to be pretty underwhelming in terms of difficulty. Besides a handful of stand-outs, most didn't prove to be that difficult of a challenge to me. However, I understand that this is a very personal complaint; as stated before I have a good amount of experience in the genre so I'm not surprised that the fights weren't too difficult.

This game is both a treat for Souls veterans and newcomers to the genre, and is worth all of the hype it built up. I strongly recommend it, even if you've never played a soulslike before.

This game is good for the first half but falls off REALLY quickly for the second. I liked it quite a lot, but the final stretch really left a sour taste in my mouth.

+ As usual, the exploration is very well-done, and the soul system allows for some really cool synergies and playstyle opportunities.
+ A lot of neat "quirky" details that sweeten the experience and make the castle feel interesting
+ The music is pretty good
+ Visuals are very pretty, and are a serious step up from the other games

~ Bosses are quite the challenge and can often be pretty frustrating, but that makes it more satisfying when you finally beat them
~ Touchscreen "seal" mechanic is kind of stupid, but I respect it. I like the idea of making the player do something very precise in a frantic situation, but it usually just creates frustration when you get it wrong.

- Far and away, the most grind-heavy of the series so far. You have to grind for a variety of things: getting the true ending, leveling up the souls themselves, and making stronger weapons.
- Terrible final boss. I skipped it and watched the ending online because it was NOT worth it.
- Story might as well be nonexistent

While I wasn't too impressed with Castlevania III on my first run through, I had the sudden urge to replay it this week. This time, I played the Japanese version, which features a plethora of small little difficulty tweaks and other changes, alongside an improved soundtrack, and it changed my opinion of this game A LOT. This might be my new favorite Classicvania, with how much it improves on the formula of the first game.

A lot of the bullshit difficulty in the international release isn't found in the Famicom version, which makes for a much more pleasant experience. You can typically survive one or two more hits on later levels, one of the sub-characters has infinite ranged daggers, Dracula's final phase isn't stupidly difficult, and dying to Dracula sends you back to the beginning of the stairs leading up to the boss fight instead of in the middle of the level. Whether it be the game's lesser (but still quite present) challenge or my experience from a previous playthrough, I found myself using save states and rewinding nowhere near as often.

In addition, just playing through the game a second time really highlighted how unique this game is. All of the music (except the obligatory Vampire Killer) is original and quite catchy, and many tracks would go on to be used in a bunch of other Castlevania games. The ability to choose what path to go on makes for really cool repeat playthroughs, allowing you to see completely new areas and even bosses! The ability to play as multiple characters is also pretty cool, and although I played as Trevor 95% of the time the other characters are a great addition to the Castlevania formula.

Of course, it has a handful of flaws, but for a game on the NES (or Famicom, I suppose) you have to give it credit. If you're going to emulate it, find the Japanese copy and enjoy.

Code Vein is... pretty okay. Its gameplay loop starts out a little slow but gets more and more in-depth as you unlock new abilities, and the ichor and blood veil system adds a neat layer of complexity to combat that sets it apart from other soulslikes. Of course, it still has a lot of obvious inspiration from the Souls series, including one area that's practically a copy + paste of Faron Keep from Dark Souls 3.

However, the actual gameplay is about all I can recommend this game for. The story is nothing to write home about. There are way too many cutscenes throughout the game, and a lot of the character's backstory is told through "memory recollection" sequences, which are excruciatingly slow to go through. The characters themselves aren't too interesting, either, so there's not much motivation to watch all of the memories especially when there are so damn many of them.

In short, Code Vein's okay if you want to scratch your soulslike itch (or if you like excessive amounts of cleavage). Buy it on sale and give it a shot.

I've finally played all three GBAvanias, and this one is easily the best out of all three. It has a few flaws, but combines the good parts of its predecessors and is the only GBA Castlevania I'd seriously recommend.

+ Movement still feels great
+ Lots of different weapons to use
+ Soul system is a great idea, and is executed very well
+ Zero filler content
+ Graphics and sprites are a major upgrade from the other GBAvanias
+ Music is mildly catchy and is a significant step up from Harmony of Dissonance
+ Actual good level of difficulty

~ Story is kind of weird, and the "power of friendship" theme doesn't really work in a series as dark as Castlevania

- Final boss kind of sucks
- Surprisingly short. I suppose that's what happens when you don't have filler content, but still, this is the shorted of the GBAvanias by far

Harmony of Dissonance is very okay. While I don't think this game has quite the same level of magic as SotN I still think it's a decent game to play through and easily surpasses the previous GBA entry.

+ Movement's pretty good
+ Essentially no grinding required
+ Spells are pretty fun to use, good amount of variety
+ Lots of bosses that are pretty fun to fight
+ Furniture "side quest" is a fun collectible challenge
+ Good enemy variety

~ The "two castle" concept is obviously lazy, but makes exploring a little bit more eventful
~ Merchants exist, but are kind of useless

- Music is awful
- Spells make the game a cake-walk
- Really spread-out fast travel points so getting to places is often a chore
- Specific "warp points" between the two castles are annoying
- I wasn't a huge fan of the ending--it felt very rushed

I'm not a huge battle royale guy, but after seeing a few videos of this game I was hooked and wanted to try it for myself. Surprisingly, Rumbleverse lived up to my expectations after playing it for a while!

+ Mixes fighting games and the battle royale genre really well
+ Combat feel much more visceral than gunfights do in traditional BRs
+ Getting KOs always feels cathartic
+ Really cool combos that you can pull off
+ Perk system encourages you to fight other players as much as possible
+ Variety of special moves which allow for several playstyles

- Game has no tutorial (that I could find at least)
- Netcode gets on your nerves sometimes (moves miss when they should hit, others hit when they should miss)
- The game kind of looks like ass
- Battle pass system is to be expected in a BR game, but I still don't like it

Overall, if you have experience with fighting games or want a great entry into the genre, I'd recommend playing Rumbleverse for a few rounds.

I've now played all three versions of Metroid II, but this was the first of them that I played. AM2R is also the best of these, in my opinion. It encapsulates a lot of the good aspects of the original Metroid II and adds a bunch of new additions to it, such as new power-ups, banging music, and fun boss fights to make it a much better experience overall. It does a great job at surpassing the original in terms of fun and playability.

However, AM2R loses a lot of the things that make Metroid II what it is. The cramped screen and the weird ambient music are two of the things that made Metroid II so unique, and AM2R gets rid of them. Despite this, however, I still consider AM2R to be the definitive version of Metroid II and has warranted five separate playthroughs from me.

If you can find a copy, give it a try! It's both a treat for experienced Metroid fans and people who have never played a Metroidvania before.