Francca
2013
Pros:
+ Really unique concept for a metroidvania
+ Some good potential for speedrunning
+ Atmosphere, aesthetic and music are all on point
+ Pretty good story for a small indie game, and the cliffhanger leads well to the sequel
+ Fun and memorable characters
+ Excellent and reliable autosave system
+ Unlike its sequel, ores are a bit more randomly generated which makes subsequent playthroughs subtly different
Cons:
- Apart from the aforementioned, there isn't much interesting to say about replaying the game
- Quite short and is dragged a bit by sections where you have to manually climb back up the mines to empty out your inventory
- Due to the game being short, the upgrade system feels a bit wasted since you get quite a lot of extra money just in case you die and lose resources
- Extremely small hubworld/open-air region
- Final boss' origins aren't ever really properly explained
- Unless you're really a fan of the franchise, there's really no reason to come back to this game as its direct sequel does practically everything better. If you want to try Steamworld in general, Dig 2 and/or Heist are the best games to do that!
+ Really unique concept for a metroidvania
+ Some good potential for speedrunning
+ Atmosphere, aesthetic and music are all on point
+ Pretty good story for a small indie game, and the cliffhanger leads well to the sequel
+ Fun and memorable characters
+ Excellent and reliable autosave system
+ Unlike its sequel, ores are a bit more randomly generated which makes subsequent playthroughs subtly different
Cons:
- Apart from the aforementioned, there isn't much interesting to say about replaying the game
- Quite short and is dragged a bit by sections where you have to manually climb back up the mines to empty out your inventory
- Due to the game being short, the upgrade system feels a bit wasted since you get quite a lot of extra money just in case you die and lose resources
- Extremely small hubworld/open-air region
- Final boss' origins aren't ever really properly explained
- Unless you're really a fan of the franchise, there's really no reason to come back to this game as its direct sequel does practically everything better. If you want to try Steamworld in general, Dig 2 and/or Heist are the best games to do that!
2017
Pros:
+ Still some of the best shooter gameplay on consoles
+ New weapon classes - especially the Dualies - are fun and interesting
+ Music, atmosphere, theming and characters are all awesome
+ Splatfest maps were amazing
+ Sound design is impeccable
+ Salmon Run is excellent and one of the most entertaining zombie/horde modes in any shooter I've played
Cons:
- Doesn't necessarily innovate so much over the original, but is just slightly better in pretty much everything
- Nintendo really insisted on the scheduled game modes - and still does in 3, though to a lesser extent - meaning that you can't even play Salmon Run a lot of the time
- Had very little side content on offer aside from the scheduled Salmon Run and a paid DLC story campaign (though from what I've heard, Octo Expansion's pretty good)
- Not much reason to go back to playing outside from challenging yourself in Octo Expansion
+ Still some of the best shooter gameplay on consoles
+ New weapon classes - especially the Dualies - are fun and interesting
+ Music, atmosphere, theming and characters are all awesome
+ Splatfest maps were amazing
+ Sound design is impeccable
+ Salmon Run is excellent and one of the most entertaining zombie/horde modes in any shooter I've played
Cons:
- Doesn't necessarily innovate so much over the original, but is just slightly better in pretty much everything
- Nintendo really insisted on the scheduled game modes - and still does in 3, though to a lesser extent - meaning that you can't even play Salmon Run a lot of the time
- Had very little side content on offer aside from the scheduled Salmon Run and a paid DLC story campaign (though from what I've heard, Octo Expansion's pretty good)
- Not much reason to go back to playing outside from challenging yourself in Octo Expansion
2022
Pros:
A huge improvement over its predecessor in almost everything. Better...
+ control options with the new Squid Roll
+ weapon balancing
+ matchmaking and online
+ main story
+ Salmon Run stages, bosses, submodes and rewards. Really a complete overhaul of Salmon Run, as you can now also spend Scales you earn playing it in Salmon Run's own store system, and playing the mode isn't limited to a dumb schedule anymore
Splatoon 3 also adds
+ A completely new, fully interactable lobby where you can train while waiting for other players and do other fun things
+ Lots of new modes and modifiers to existing Turf War and Ranked modes
+ Tricolor Turf War, a three-team special match which you can play during Splatfests' final day
+ Tableturf Battle, a board game-like minimode where you can play specific cards to fill more space on the board than your opponent
+ A much bigger hubworld
Cons:
- One of Splatoon 3's only big misses is most of the stages' design, which has somehow degraded noticeably into samey Tetrimino-like shapes with usually very little verticality
- The first few Splatfests just had slightly modified versions of the usual stages, though the Triforce Splatfest thankfully marked a return to specifically tailored Tricolor battles at least
- Some online options are still missing, like the ability to just play specific stages with random people instead of just going through the schedule
- Big Run was slightly disappointing, as it doesn't permanently change stage layouts like many had hoped. The game mode is still fun, though, and Eggstra Work is as well!
A huge improvement over its predecessor in almost everything. Better...
+ control options with the new Squid Roll
+ weapon balancing
+ matchmaking and online
+ main story
+ Salmon Run stages, bosses, submodes and rewards. Really a complete overhaul of Salmon Run, as you can now also spend Scales you earn playing it in Salmon Run's own store system, and playing the mode isn't limited to a dumb schedule anymore
Splatoon 3 also adds
+ A completely new, fully interactable lobby where you can train while waiting for other players and do other fun things
+ Lots of new modes and modifiers to existing Turf War and Ranked modes
+ Tricolor Turf War, a three-team special match which you can play during Splatfests' final day
+ Tableturf Battle, a board game-like minimode where you can play specific cards to fill more space on the board than your opponent
+ A much bigger hubworld
Cons:
- One of Splatoon 3's only big misses is most of the stages' design, which has somehow degraded noticeably into samey Tetrimino-like shapes with usually very little verticality
- The first few Splatfests just had slightly modified versions of the usual stages, though the Triforce Splatfest thankfully marked a return to specifically tailored Tricolor battles at least
- Some online options are still missing, like the ability to just play specific stages with random people instead of just going through the schedule
- Big Run was slightly disappointing, as it doesn't permanently change stage layouts like many had hoped. The game mode is still fun, though, and Eggstra Work is as well!
Pros:
This remaster masterfully improves upon practically every single visual aspect of the original, as well as adds some new, very welcome tweaks and fixes.
+ Easily the best looking game on Switch, as of July 2023 (yes, better than Pikmin 4 in my opinion)
+ Insane lighting, textures, environmental effects, water physics, enhanced HUD elements and so, so much more
+ Buttery smooth and consistent 60 fps
+ Includes new control options, ranging from a beginner-friendly dual-stick setup, to the Trilogy version's motion-controlled option (my favorite!) and even the original's classic tank controls
+ Dedicated Spring Ball button from Trilogy is also back
+ While often overlooked in other reviews, I absolutely loved the change to Metroid Prime Hunters' shooting style, meaning that you always shoot 3 shots (or 1/2 if the Beam weapon is slower) before charging a Charge Shot. This means that you A. don't have to mash as frequently, and B. in compensation, Charge Shots themselves are much quicker to charge
+ Ignoring those, Metroid Prime is still the good ol' masterpiece it was over two decades ago. That can be to its benefit and to its detriment.
Cons:
- Most of the game design flaws from the original version persist. To find my thoughts on those, check out my review for Metroid Prime (2002).
- To compensate for the fact that the game has to run at a consistent 60 frames per second, it is capped at 900p in docked mode and only 612p in handheld. The difference, though - as opposed to 1080p and 720p, respectively - is genuinely so negligible that I probably never would have noticed it if I hadn't looked into it
- It's kind of a missed opportunity to not include a more accessible way to find items that you're missing. The only way to detect them (outside of directly seeing them, or scanning your surroundings) is through a tiny hum they make when you're close to the item in a room. It could've been interesting to add some scannable object to all the Pirate bases in each area to reveal that region's items' rooms, or if that's too complicated, just make that be a reward for scanning Tallon IV's planet model in the Phendrana Labs' Observatory.
- Almost no one reading this review actually cares, but it is still important to note that since this remaster is based on the Trilogy version of the game, it's missing some of the bigger speedrun glitches and exploits. It does have many others of its own, however, as it is still built upon the same engine
This remaster masterfully improves upon practically every single visual aspect of the original, as well as adds some new, very welcome tweaks and fixes.
+ Easily the best looking game on Switch, as of July 2023 (yes, better than Pikmin 4 in my opinion)
+ Insane lighting, textures, environmental effects, water physics, enhanced HUD elements and so, so much more
+ Buttery smooth and consistent 60 fps
+ Includes new control options, ranging from a beginner-friendly dual-stick setup, to the Trilogy version's motion-controlled option (my favorite!) and even the original's classic tank controls
+ Dedicated Spring Ball button from Trilogy is also back
+ While often overlooked in other reviews, I absolutely loved the change to Metroid Prime Hunters' shooting style, meaning that you always shoot 3 shots (or 1/2 if the Beam weapon is slower) before charging a Charge Shot. This means that you A. don't have to mash as frequently, and B. in compensation, Charge Shots themselves are much quicker to charge
+ Ignoring those, Metroid Prime is still the good ol' masterpiece it was over two decades ago. That can be to its benefit and to its detriment.
Cons:
- Most of the game design flaws from the original version persist. To find my thoughts on those, check out my review for Metroid Prime (2002).
- To compensate for the fact that the game has to run at a consistent 60 frames per second, it is capped at 900p in docked mode and only 612p in handheld. The difference, though - as opposed to 1080p and 720p, respectively - is genuinely so negligible that I probably never would have noticed it if I hadn't looked into it
- It's kind of a missed opportunity to not include a more accessible way to find items that you're missing. The only way to detect them (outside of directly seeing them, or scanning your surroundings) is through a tiny hum they make when you're close to the item in a room. It could've been interesting to add some scannable object to all the Pirate bases in each area to reveal that region's items' rooms, or if that's too complicated, just make that be a reward for scanning Tallon IV's planet model in the Phendrana Labs' Observatory.
- Almost no one reading this review actually cares, but it is still important to note that since this remaster is based on the Trilogy version of the game, it's missing some of the bigger speedrun glitches and exploits. It does have many others of its own, however, as it is still built upon the same engine
2017
Pros:
+ The perfect Mario Kart game in almost every way
+ Easily the best when it comes to
• visuals
• ease of access (controls)
• item balancing
• stage gimmicks
• vehicle customization
• amount (and arguably also quality) of stages
• music, which is also some of the best Nintendo's made, in general
+ Nearly all of the retro tracks are direct improvements from the original
+ Most nitro tracks memorable and really interesting, some specific highlights being tracks like Mount Wario and Big Blue
+/- the fact that many antigravity sections are so fluid that you don't even recognize that you may be driving on the ceiling is simultaneously really cool but also kind of lame, as there is no huge difference to driving in those sections. The only thing I can think of is that you can get small boosts from bumping into others' antigravity tires, but otherwise the physics are identical, which is some missed potential
Cons:
- A pretty lame character roster, with it missing classics like Diddy and Funky Kong, as well as the Koopalings and baby and metallic variants of characters littering the screen. Thankfully the Booster Course Pass is bringing back interesting characters, but it'll get a review of its own when it's finished, so I won't be getting into those here
- While MK8DX does have one of the better online services out of Nintendo's games (especially at the Switch's launch), its restrictions and connection issues can still get frustrating. At least you're not massively punished for getting disconnected during a game, like you do in Splatoon
- No Metroid DLC track :(
+ The perfect Mario Kart game in almost every way
+ Easily the best when it comes to
• visuals
• ease of access (controls)
• item balancing
• stage gimmicks
• vehicle customization
• amount (and arguably also quality) of stages
• music, which is also some of the best Nintendo's made, in general
+ Nearly all of the retro tracks are direct improvements from the original
+ Most nitro tracks memorable and really interesting, some specific highlights being tracks like Mount Wario and Big Blue
+/- the fact that many antigravity sections are so fluid that you don't even recognize that you may be driving on the ceiling is simultaneously really cool but also kind of lame, as there is no huge difference to driving in those sections. The only thing I can think of is that you can get small boosts from bumping into others' antigravity tires, but otherwise the physics are identical, which is some missed potential
Cons:
- A pretty lame character roster, with it missing classics like Diddy and Funky Kong, as well as the Koopalings and baby and metallic variants of characters littering the screen. Thankfully the Booster Course Pass is bringing back interesting characters, but it'll get a review of its own when it's finished, so I won't be getting into those here
- While MK8DX does have one of the better online services out of Nintendo's games (especially at the Switch's launch), its restrictions and connection issues can still get frustrating. At least you're not massively punished for getting disconnected during a game, like you do in Splatoon
- No Metroid DLC track :(
2015
Pros:
+ Very engaging, difficult and surprisingly lengthy gameplay for its price point
+ Many dozens of different color palettes to collect
+ Has a genius option to tilt your screen vertically on Switch so you can play on a single Joy-Con while utilizing the entire screen for this vertical action-crawler
+ Gameplay has extremely satisfying nuance that you'll just have to experience yourself
+ Many weapons and lots of items to play around with
+ Simple but tight controls
+ Final boss and its reward adds even more replayability to an already fun arcade game
Cons:
- After collecting the few dozen color palettes, there isn't much else to do but complete the game again just for the sake of it
- Some more added music could be nice
- At least on Switch, the game has a weird feature where it always tries to connect you to the Internet for a while when booting up the game, so it can directly save your score to an online leaderboard. To my knowledge, this can't be disabled in any way, meaning that if your Internet connection is weak or you don't even have one, one of three things will happen to the game: it stays as a black screen for multiple minutes as it tries to connect, it might even softlock or then you can just expedite the process and skip the leaderboard signup by putting your Switch in Airplane Mode. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it drags the experience of a quick arcade game down quite a lot
+ Very engaging, difficult and surprisingly lengthy gameplay for its price point
+ Many dozens of different color palettes to collect
+ Has a genius option to tilt your screen vertically on Switch so you can play on a single Joy-Con while utilizing the entire screen for this vertical action-crawler
+ Gameplay has extremely satisfying nuance that you'll just have to experience yourself
+ Many weapons and lots of items to play around with
+ Simple but tight controls
+ Final boss and its reward adds even more replayability to an already fun arcade game
Cons:
- After collecting the few dozen color palettes, there isn't much else to do but complete the game again just for the sake of it
- Some more added music could be nice
- At least on Switch, the game has a weird feature where it always tries to connect you to the Internet for a while when booting up the game, so it can directly save your score to an online leaderboard. To my knowledge, this can't be disabled in any way, meaning that if your Internet connection is weak or you don't even have one, one of three things will happen to the game: it stays as a black screen for multiple minutes as it tries to connect, it might even softlock or then you can just expedite the process and skip the leaderboard signup by putting your Switch in Airplane Mode. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it drags the experience of a quick arcade game down quite a lot
2023
TL;DR: While not a perfect game by any means, TRON: Identity is a must-play for any hardcore TRON fan, and also a formidable visual novel in its own right. While the story progression itself may lack in depth of gameplay, it makes up for it in sheer visual spectacle and the interesting puzzles.
Pros:
+ Absolutely phenomenal visuals, music and overall presentation
+ Really good writing for both the characters and the general narration
+ A few really intriguing characters that represent the different perspectives of differing kinds of programs in the Grid, with standouts like an administrator who idolizes the Users, and a young nonbinary program who cleverly challenges the binary concepts of the world
+ The puzzle gameplay is well-built into the gameplay story-wise, and is also fun in itself, which is why it's good that they've included a standalone mode for playing it with great customizability
+ The game's story (and lore specifically) has some huge and exciting ramifications for the future of the Grid, which I genuinely hope is utilized or at least hinted at in future movies and other media
+ Title screen is great (TRON fans will understand why)
+ In general, definitely a worthy addition to the TRON mythos
Cons:
- I don't know how long visual novels are usually supposed to be, but this one sure feels like it's way too short. It really feels like Bithell might've bitten more than they could chew with this one, so they had to squeeze their existing budget to a relatively breezy experience.
- While the single tower - where the entire game takes place - does have some fairly diverse and unique locales inside of it, it feels quite restrictive with there only being like 6 major rooms to go into.
- Very little replayability for a few reasons:
• First, the only two things you can "collect" are clickable lore nodes during dialogue boxes, all of which are very easy to get on your first playthrough, as well as the different fates for each character. At least you're forced to get those during multiple playthroughs - which isn't really an issue since the characters are so fun - but when some only have two different narrow paths to follow, it doesn't really add much more depth.
• Second, you get basically no rewards for playing through the game, and none after replaying it. You're just playing for fun at that point, something which the standalone puzzle mode is much better for.
Pros:
+ Absolutely phenomenal visuals, music and overall presentation
+ Really good writing for both the characters and the general narration
+ A few really intriguing characters that represent the different perspectives of differing kinds of programs in the Grid, with standouts like an administrator who idolizes the Users, and a young nonbinary program who cleverly challenges the binary concepts of the world
+ The puzzle gameplay is well-built into the gameplay story-wise, and is also fun in itself, which is why it's good that they've included a standalone mode for playing it with great customizability
+ The game's story (and lore specifically) has some huge and exciting ramifications for the future of the Grid, which I genuinely hope is utilized or at least hinted at in future movies and other media
+ Title screen is great (TRON fans will understand why)
+ In general, definitely a worthy addition to the TRON mythos
Cons:
- I don't know how long visual novels are usually supposed to be, but this one sure feels like it's way too short. It really feels like Bithell might've bitten more than they could chew with this one, so they had to squeeze their existing budget to a relatively breezy experience.
- While the single tower - where the entire game takes place - does have some fairly diverse and unique locales inside of it, it feels quite restrictive with there only being like 6 major rooms to go into.
- Very little replayability for a few reasons:
• First, the only two things you can "collect" are clickable lore nodes during dialogue boxes, all of which are very easy to get on your first playthrough, as well as the different fates for each character. At least you're forced to get those during multiple playthroughs - which isn't really an issue since the characters are so fun - but when some only have two different narrow paths to follow, it doesn't really add much more depth.
• Second, you get basically no rewards for playing through the game, and none after replaying it. You're just playing for fun at that point, something which the standalone puzzle mode is much better for.
2009
TL;DR: Easily one of the best Flash games out there, Super Mario 63 is jam-packed with both revamped and original content, masterfully combines gimmicks from across multiple 3D Mario games and is genuinely one of the most fun 2D Marios to play.
It's only dragged down by some unironed bugs and the web-browser, Flash-based limitations of its time. Some Mario 64 courses have also not adapted perfectly to the 2D style, but it's all forgivable due to the amazing overall experience that Runouw managed to create with this fangame.
(Side note: I've added this to my journal as having played on May 1st, 2013, as I'd assume I was approximately 9 the first time I did so. Also, since it's been so long since I last played it, I couldn't in good conscience write a full, serious review.)
It's only dragged down by some unironed bugs and the web-browser, Flash-based limitations of its time. Some Mario 64 courses have also not adapted perfectly to the 2D style, but it's all forgivable due to the amazing overall experience that Runouw managed to create with this fangame.
(Side note: I've added this to my journal as having played on May 1st, 2013, as I'd assume I was approximately 9 the first time I did so. Also, since it's been so long since I last played it, I couldn't in good conscience write a full, serious review.)
2022
One of the most artistically meritful video games I've ever experienced during my mortal lifetime. The graphics are cutting-edge, the gameplay is riveting and the voice acting is impeccable. Truly, no game will ever reach the height of J3SS1C4 again, I'm afraid. This title instantly improved my life in every measurable and immeasurable way, including curing my cat, paying for my uncle's medical expenses and doubling my student debt and giving it to the next person.
I promise you, if you ever decide to play through this masterpiece of a game, you will have the time of your life, and an experience you'll never forget, rivalling the feeling you get from a blind first playthrough of Breath of the Wild as a 13-year old in 2017. J3SS1C4 really can't properly be described, it's an event that you have to go through in your life to really absorb its deep meaning. It's short but extremely sweet, just like how mama used to make.
I promise you, if you ever decide to play through this masterpiece of a game, you will have the time of your life, and an experience you'll never forget, rivalling the feeling you get from a blind first playthrough of Breath of the Wild as a 13-year old in 2017. J3SS1C4 really can't properly be described, it's an event that you have to go through in your life to really absorb its deep meaning. It's short but extremely sweet, just like how mama used to make.
TL;DR: Being one of the best games of all time, you might be surprised why I've only scored it a 4/5. Well, it should be a 4.5, but I had to retroactively lower my score due to how well Tears of the Kingdom expands and improves upon basically every single little thing in Breath of the Wild. That'll be its own review, but this doesn't mean Breath of the Wild doesn't have its place in history, it does. And I'll treat it as such in my usual pros and cons below.
Pros:
+ One of the most interesting and content-filled open worlds in the entire game industry
+ Very engaging gameplay focused on experimenting with the physics and how Link's abilities work with them
+ Combat is multi-faceted in the way you can approach any given enemy encampment or encounter, as you can whack around the items close to a camp, or strike them head-on, or even lure some bees close by or drown them in a river. The possibilities are nearly endless
+ Amazing atmosphere and artstyle
+ Mostly great side quests
+ Tons of great shrine puzzles littered across the world
+ Underrated soundtrack that is mostly ambient but knows when to make a great entrance
+ Some of the coolest glitches - especially movement exploits - in the franchise
+ One of the best first playthrough experiences you could ever have with a game
+/- Even though I prefer the ideas for the Champion abilities in Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild's counterparts are much better executed, even if I don't really like how overpowered they are
+/- Honestly some underrated temple puzzles in the Divine Beasts as well, they just get a lot of deserved scorn for their simplistic, bland and repetitive art style
Cons:
- As expected for a Switch launch title, the performance is choppy and really could've benefited from a few patches down the line. Nothing awful though, it's still extremely playable for the most part and nowhere close to more recent atrocities like every single mainline Pokémon game released on Switch
- While I personally don't dislike the weapon durability system itself, I would definitely prefer if all weapons had at least double the durability, even more so for rarer weapons like the Champions' replicas
- Despite being a cool new addition to the franchise, the cooking system is sorely lacking in usefulness and depth it's faster, easier and more rewarding to just throw hearty food in a pot and instantly get full hearts. There also should've been some kind of restriction on when you can consume items during combat encounters
- A slightly weak story, and even weaker voice acting for most characters (specifically Zelda herself)
- Quite possibly the absolute lamest main boss designs in the entire franchise, with the only real standouts being minor ones like Stone Taluses and Lynels
- Lots of filler items that don't really have a use unless you use them as Master Cycle Zero fuel in the DLC
Pros:
+ One of the most interesting and content-filled open worlds in the entire game industry
+ Very engaging gameplay focused on experimenting with the physics and how Link's abilities work with them
+ Combat is multi-faceted in the way you can approach any given enemy encampment or encounter, as you can whack around the items close to a camp, or strike them head-on, or even lure some bees close by or drown them in a river. The possibilities are nearly endless
+ Amazing atmosphere and artstyle
+ Mostly great side quests
+ Tons of great shrine puzzles littered across the world
+ Underrated soundtrack that is mostly ambient but knows when to make a great entrance
+ Some of the coolest glitches - especially movement exploits - in the franchise
+ One of the best first playthrough experiences you could ever have with a game
+/- Even though I prefer the ideas for the Champion abilities in Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild's counterparts are much better executed, even if I don't really like how overpowered they are
+/- Honestly some underrated temple puzzles in the Divine Beasts as well, they just get a lot of deserved scorn for their simplistic, bland and repetitive art style
Cons:
- As expected for a Switch launch title, the performance is choppy and really could've benefited from a few patches down the line. Nothing awful though, it's still extremely playable for the most part and nowhere close to more recent atrocities like every single mainline Pokémon game released on Switch
- While I personally don't dislike the weapon durability system itself, I would definitely prefer if all weapons had at least double the durability, even more so for rarer weapons like the Champions' replicas
- Despite being a cool new addition to the franchise, the cooking system is sorely lacking in usefulness and depth it's faster, easier and more rewarding to just throw hearty food in a pot and instantly get full hearts. There also should've been some kind of restriction on when you can consume items during combat encounters
- A slightly weak story, and even weaker voice acting for most characters (specifically Zelda herself)
- Quite possibly the absolute lamest main boss designs in the entire franchise, with the only real standouts being minor ones like Stone Taluses and Lynels
- Lots of filler items that don't really have a use unless you use them as Master Cycle Zero fuel in the DLC
2021
TL;DR: Despite its simplicity, Pikmin Bloom is one of the better AR games on mobile. A more relaxed alternative to Pokémon Go, it focuses more on simply walking around and later checking what you found on your daily journey. No stressful, constant tapping on the screen while walking so you can get all of them pokeymans, Bloom is more about incentivizing your personal fitness goals and collecting some tiny little dudes on the side.
Pros:
+ Great character designs return from the mainline series to make this game feel authentic and worth playing
+ Daily and weekly goals are incredibly satisfying to complete, and the overall presentation is clean and nice to look at
+ There's not a single item you couldn't get by just playing the game, instead of buying microtransactions
+ Original flower models and other assets look incredibly crisp and downright beautiful even on a small screen
+ Completing different challenges and tasks with friends and random strangers are extremely gratifying and create a strong sense of teamwork
+ Weirdly enough, the game's world map is somehow easier to read than many built-in mobile maps, like Apple's iOS Maps and Google Maps (with default settings)
+ No ads
Cons:
- Quite possibly the first glaring flaw I noticed was how you can't send any helpful gifts to friends that have just started playing, except for specifically curated microtransaction boxes, of course
- While there are no ads and nothing about the game is blocked behind a paywall, all cosmetics and even storage upgrades are prohibitably expensive and don't properly match the amount of coins you could ever earn planting flowers. You'd have to walk over 20 000 steps each and every day to ever be able to purchase a significant amount of things in a timely fashion. (Just as an example, I've played for approximately 3 months now, walked around relatively often and can still only afford three cheap clothing pieces or the cheapest storage upgrade available.)
- This game might just have the worst player/community support out of all of Niantic's AR mobile games. No major updates in ages (even with Pikmin 4 having been released with new pikmin that definitely should be in Bloom, too), and there's no button in the settings to suggest new areas to add points of interest to, like there is in PokéGo and Ingress.
- Lack of PoI variety is also a problem, as points of interest are always just nearly useless Big Flowers (large flowers that you can make bloom to drop flower nectar by planting flowers around it alone or with friends), and different sizes of mushroom (where you and your friends can send your pikmin to attack them. Many players have vocally clamored for any kinds of original enemies from the Pikmin games that you could try and beat in some kind of timed minigame modes or otherwise, yet Niantic has remained characteristically (nearly) radio silent on the matter.
- A game-breaking bug that seemingly the entire veteran community knows by now: if you try to sign up with your Nintendo Account, your game freezes during the tutorial and won't let you progress even if you reinstall the game and continue with the same account. You have to sign up with any other account option instead, which will let you play the game. Insane how such a fundamental part about the game hasn't been fixed yet
Pros:
+ Great character designs return from the mainline series to make this game feel authentic and worth playing
+ Daily and weekly goals are incredibly satisfying to complete, and the overall presentation is clean and nice to look at
+ There's not a single item you couldn't get by just playing the game, instead of buying microtransactions
+ Original flower models and other assets look incredibly crisp and downright beautiful even on a small screen
+ Completing different challenges and tasks with friends and random strangers are extremely gratifying and create a strong sense of teamwork
+ Weirdly enough, the game's world map is somehow easier to read than many built-in mobile maps, like Apple's iOS Maps and Google Maps (with default settings)
+ No ads
Cons:
- Quite possibly the first glaring flaw I noticed was how you can't send any helpful gifts to friends that have just started playing, except for specifically curated microtransaction boxes, of course
- While there are no ads and nothing about the game is blocked behind a paywall, all cosmetics and even storage upgrades are prohibitably expensive and don't properly match the amount of coins you could ever earn planting flowers. You'd have to walk over 20 000 steps each and every day to ever be able to purchase a significant amount of things in a timely fashion. (Just as an example, I've played for approximately 3 months now, walked around relatively often and can still only afford three cheap clothing pieces or the cheapest storage upgrade available.)
- This game might just have the worst player/community support out of all of Niantic's AR mobile games. No major updates in ages (even with Pikmin 4 having been released with new pikmin that definitely should be in Bloom, too), and there's no button in the settings to suggest new areas to add points of interest to, like there is in PokéGo and Ingress.
- Lack of PoI variety is also a problem, as points of interest are always just nearly useless Big Flowers (large flowers that you can make bloom to drop flower nectar by planting flowers around it alone or with friends), and different sizes of mushroom (where you and your friends can send your pikmin to attack them. Many players have vocally clamored for any kinds of original enemies from the Pikmin games that you could try and beat in some kind of timed minigame modes or otherwise, yet Niantic has remained characteristically (nearly) radio silent on the matter.
- A game-breaking bug that seemingly the entire veteran community knows by now: if you try to sign up with your Nintendo Account, your game freezes during the tutorial and won't let you progress even if you reinstall the game and continue with the same account. You have to sign up with any other account option instead, which will let you play the game. Insane how such a fundamental part about the game hasn't been fixed yet
2014
TL;DR: While on the shorter, less replayable side, My Friend Pedro is a fun little sidescroller-shooter romp that is a joy to come back to every few years. Had a blast taking turns on executing insane slow-motion trickshots with a friend of mine on my local library's crappy office computer.
TL;DR: Not a game you can properly review with a rating. Not in this day and age, anyway.
The original Pocket Edition is truly a product of this time and nostalgic to look back to, though predictably it doesn't compare to modern versions of Minecraft. And it doesn't have to. It was never supposed to. It was a serviceably solid mobile port of the Minecraft version of its time, and it did it well. From hardware-restrictive workarounds like the cyan rose and the Nether Reactor, to the tiny worlds and small local multiplayer rooms that you were confined to, everything about this game screams "childhood". You can't put a price on that, much less a review score.
I remember one of my first notable builds being an upside down house that hanged from a cliff's underside with chains made out of cobblestone stairs, and another one built on the side of a natural hill to hide the secret vault room I'd constructed behind a painting to hide it from the only other friend who played in that world with me. To this day, I'm proud of myself for finding out that trick without an online video or some other source. All me, placing paintings on open doors.
The original Pocket Edition is truly a product of this time and nostalgic to look back to, though predictably it doesn't compare to modern versions of Minecraft. And it doesn't have to. It was never supposed to. It was a serviceably solid mobile port of the Minecraft version of its time, and it did it well. From hardware-restrictive workarounds like the cyan rose and the Nether Reactor, to the tiny worlds and small local multiplayer rooms that you were confined to, everything about this game screams "childhood". You can't put a price on that, much less a review score.
I remember one of my first notable builds being an upside down house that hanged from a cliff's underside with chains made out of cobblestone stairs, and another one built on the side of a natural hill to hide the secret vault room I'd constructed behind a painting to hide it from the only other friend who played in that world with me. To this day, I'm proud of myself for finding out that trick without an online video or some other source. All me, placing paintings on open doors.
2011
TL;DR: Had truckloads of fun with this game when I was younger, might just get the Deluxe version on Steam because of it. Even though it's a bit of a hassle to try and play it nowadays with Flash support dying out online, there are still some workarounds. And it's definitely worth it to try, because the game's simple but effective combat and platforming is still stupidly fun all these years later. Controls are also snappy and quick to learn, and the graphics have aged surprisingly well. Too bad there isn't much to do playing singleplayer, aside from a very limited "campaign" mode, and challenging yourself against seven CPUs that are all teaming against you.
As with Super Mario 63, this is one of the better Flash games of its genre. Highly recommend experiencing it with an equally skilled friend.
As with Super Mario 63, this is one of the better Flash games of its genre. Highly recommend experiencing it with an equally skilled friend.
2016
TL;DR: Easily the most fun roguelike I've ever played (and I've played like 3-4 so you know I'm qualified to say that), Enter the Gungeon excels in nearly everything that makes a bullet hell game fun. The stakes, the items, the characters, the risks, and the rewards. It's fun with a friend or just by yourself, and always feels equally fair for some reason. The only major criticism I have for the game that stops it from pulling me back to as often as it otherwise could is its utter lack of proper save points during runs.
Pros:
+ Such a fun and unique setting and overall idea for a literal bullet hell game
+ Combat is easy to get into but surprisingly deep and really engaging, with literal hundreds of different and interesting firearms and items to choose from. Many of them completely transform the way you play, for better or for worse. They're also distributed completely randomly doing playthroughs, which offers you a unique experience every single time you boot up the game
+ Enemy variety is great and most bosses are a really fun challenge, and their difficulty increase is mostly well balanced as well
+ Each chamber (level) is themed in a different way and includes unique hazards for that area
+ A detailed story and lore for each playable character and more
+ Very fun to play with an equally skilled friend in co-op
+ Replayability for literal hundreds of hours
Cons:
- You can only choose to Save & Quit at the end of every chamber, and not in the middle of completing it, for example. Since chambers can last for multiple tens of minutes and save points aren't properly accessible, I've lost many runs to friends asking me to come play another game while I was still in the middle of completing one, or if I simply wanted to play something else and had just accidentally entered the next chamber without saving and quitting in advance. I genuinely would've played this game for at least twice as much time if the very simple and standard feature of a pause screen save button existed.
- While the graphics are unique and fun to look at, the art style can get a bit jarring in its drab color palettes and simplistic character designs after a while. I know that's by design, and it's not a bad art style necessarily, it just isn't very interesting to look at for multiple hours, though that might also just be the bitterness from losing runs that's talking
- Kind of lame that the second player's character can't be chosen at all in singleplayer mode
- The last secret chamber isn't properly balanced so it's almost never worth it to try and beat it because you don't get the worthwhile rewards in return
- I wish more of the guns and items were able to be purchased through the hubworld's store and not unlocked via specific achievement-like methods, because the in-game currency becomes nearly useless after you've bought all available items
- Feels like they could've done a better job at porting the game over to Switch, as it doesn't feel very optimized with the incessant loading times that last for dozens of seconds and slight frame drops when tons of bullets really start going. The game really doesn't seem that graphically demanding even when there are multiple assets on-screen simultaneously, and I think that they could've done a better job
- No online co-op
(Note: The "Finished" date on my Journal stands for the date that I completed the game's main objective. I have comfortably played the game for hundreds of hours since.)
Pros:
+ Such a fun and unique setting and overall idea for a literal bullet hell game
+ Combat is easy to get into but surprisingly deep and really engaging, with literal hundreds of different and interesting firearms and items to choose from. Many of them completely transform the way you play, for better or for worse. They're also distributed completely randomly doing playthroughs, which offers you a unique experience every single time you boot up the game
+ Enemy variety is great and most bosses are a really fun challenge, and their difficulty increase is mostly well balanced as well
+ Each chamber (level) is themed in a different way and includes unique hazards for that area
+ A detailed story and lore for each playable character and more
+ Very fun to play with an equally skilled friend in co-op
+ Replayability for literal hundreds of hours
Cons:
- You can only choose to Save & Quit at the end of every chamber, and not in the middle of completing it, for example. Since chambers can last for multiple tens of minutes and save points aren't properly accessible, I've lost many runs to friends asking me to come play another game while I was still in the middle of completing one, or if I simply wanted to play something else and had just accidentally entered the next chamber without saving and quitting in advance. I genuinely would've played this game for at least twice as much time if the very simple and standard feature of a pause screen save button existed.
- While the graphics are unique and fun to look at, the art style can get a bit jarring in its drab color palettes and simplistic character designs after a while. I know that's by design, and it's not a bad art style necessarily, it just isn't very interesting to look at for multiple hours, though that might also just be the bitterness from losing runs that's talking
- Kind of lame that the second player's character can't be chosen at all in singleplayer mode
- The last secret chamber isn't properly balanced so it's almost never worth it to try and beat it because you don't get the worthwhile rewards in return
- I wish more of the guns and items were able to be purchased through the hubworld's store and not unlocked via specific achievement-like methods, because the in-game currency becomes nearly useless after you've bought all available items
- Feels like they could've done a better job at porting the game over to Switch, as it doesn't feel very optimized with the incessant loading times that last for dozens of seconds and slight frame drops when tons of bullets really start going. The game really doesn't seem that graphically demanding even when there are multiple assets on-screen simultaneously, and I think that they could've done a better job
- No online co-op
(Note: The "Finished" date on my Journal stands for the date that I completed the game's main objective. I have comfortably played the game for hundreds of hours since.)