GRYITH
It's such a shame that one of the best movement systems and most interesting combat systems in years is wasted on this boring world and dull story. I spent 80-90% of my time with the game just running around doing side content, and it was when I realised that that I decided to delete the game.
2014
After beating Spider-Man again I thought I’d turn back the clock and play this, and I can very solidly say that they saw Infamous 2 from Sucker Punch and they saw Saint’s Row 3 from Volition, and Insomniac said ‘hey, what if we did both of those’, and so they did. What came out was a game with the writing of Saints Row 3, the traversal of Infamous 2 and, least surprisingly, the combat of Ratchet and Clank.
I’ll do a quick rant about some observations on insomniac’s movement system evolution before talking about the game proper. One particularly interesting thing is using this as a direct connector between Infamous 2 and Spider-Man, at least with the movement systems. Every move you can do to get around in Infamous is in this game, but Insomniac went ‘nope too slow, not flashy enough’ and swapped climbing walls for bouncing off every other object, and they decided that the rail grinding in that game would be the primary movement mechanic now, thereby making it faster and smoother than Sucker Punch’s system. They then took what they did here, replaced rail grinding with web swinging, and bar swinging with web-zip, and put every single move from this game’s movement system into Spider-Man (they even directly re-use a lot of animations, just take a look at the front flip and wall riding animations as easy examples), and then gave Spidey even more movement options and abilities, as well as smoothing out the movement experience. Interestingly though, for spider-man they didn’t have there be a threat if you fail to take advantage of the movement system. Here, if you stop, you’ll quickly be swarmed or shot, in Spider-Man, if you fail, you just get embarrassed, but in my dark living room that doesn’t really mean much. I think they sacrificed this threat because Spider-Man’s movement is a lot more involved and input/timing heavy than here, so having enemies on top of that (which it admittedly does in the latter third of the game) would make it a bit much to handle in an open world setting. Ironically this makes spider-man a step forward in terms of complexity and depth but a step back to what was available in Infamous in terms of challenge.
Anyway, on this game; The story is. Non-existent, but the writing is fun enough to pull it through. It strikes that perfect balance that Saint’s Row 3 and 4, as well as Borderlands 2 does where the script is pandering and goofy but in a heartfelt and charming way, as opposed to just feeling cold and calculated in it’s pandering like, say, Borderlands 3 and Saint’s Row (2022) do.
In combat Insomniac takes a lot of cues from their previous Ratchet and Clank games with a variety of fun, interesting and meaningfully different weapons that I really had trouble choosing between, I do wish there was more of a variety of enemies to use them against, and the lack of enemy and environment variety in combat makes things feel stale sometimes, but the design of areas and arenas really takes advantage of the movement, which really heightens what you can do in combat. It’s a shame that the only other time Insomniac has used movement that’s as interesting as this is in Spider-Man, and even then it barely factors into combat, and the only other time they use it in a shooter is in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and even then it just flirts with jump pads and grind rails in some combat scenarios. It’s probably because they took this fast paced movement mixed with a shooter concept directly from this game’s biggest inspiration, Infamous 2, but seeing as it doesn’t look like we’re getting a new Infamous game any time soon, it’d be nice to see Insomniac, who largely do it better here than Sucker Punch did in Infamous 2, take on the torch.
I really liked this, but it feels like it’s close to greatness, only just missing the mark. Perhaps in the upcoming Spider-Man 2 Insomniac can finally figure out how to make an interesting open world (they got pretty damn close in rift apart) and go even harder on the gadgets from the first spidey game (make them combine with the hand to hand combat better and make them more aesthetically fun instead of just ‘web bomb, electric web, web drone, impact web’, you can do more there), and if they give that game the combination of the traversal and combat systems that they do here, it could be FANTASTIC.
Insomniac just seem cursed to make ‘really good’ games, always only just missing greatness.
I’ll do a quick rant about some observations on insomniac’s movement system evolution before talking about the game proper. One particularly interesting thing is using this as a direct connector between Infamous 2 and Spider-Man, at least with the movement systems. Every move you can do to get around in Infamous is in this game, but Insomniac went ‘nope too slow, not flashy enough’ and swapped climbing walls for bouncing off every other object, and they decided that the rail grinding in that game would be the primary movement mechanic now, thereby making it faster and smoother than Sucker Punch’s system. They then took what they did here, replaced rail grinding with web swinging, and bar swinging with web-zip, and put every single move from this game’s movement system into Spider-Man (they even directly re-use a lot of animations, just take a look at the front flip and wall riding animations as easy examples), and then gave Spidey even more movement options and abilities, as well as smoothing out the movement experience. Interestingly though, for spider-man they didn’t have there be a threat if you fail to take advantage of the movement system. Here, if you stop, you’ll quickly be swarmed or shot, in Spider-Man, if you fail, you just get embarrassed, but in my dark living room that doesn’t really mean much. I think they sacrificed this threat because Spider-Man’s movement is a lot more involved and input/timing heavy than here, so having enemies on top of that (which it admittedly does in the latter third of the game) would make it a bit much to handle in an open world setting. Ironically this makes spider-man a step forward in terms of complexity and depth but a step back to what was available in Infamous in terms of challenge.
Anyway, on this game; The story is. Non-existent, but the writing is fun enough to pull it through. It strikes that perfect balance that Saint’s Row 3 and 4, as well as Borderlands 2 does where the script is pandering and goofy but in a heartfelt and charming way, as opposed to just feeling cold and calculated in it’s pandering like, say, Borderlands 3 and Saint’s Row (2022) do.
In combat Insomniac takes a lot of cues from their previous Ratchet and Clank games with a variety of fun, interesting and meaningfully different weapons that I really had trouble choosing between, I do wish there was more of a variety of enemies to use them against, and the lack of enemy and environment variety in combat makes things feel stale sometimes, but the design of areas and arenas really takes advantage of the movement, which really heightens what you can do in combat. It’s a shame that the only other time Insomniac has used movement that’s as interesting as this is in Spider-Man, and even then it barely factors into combat, and the only other time they use it in a shooter is in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and even then it just flirts with jump pads and grind rails in some combat scenarios. It’s probably because they took this fast paced movement mixed with a shooter concept directly from this game’s biggest inspiration, Infamous 2, but seeing as it doesn’t look like we’re getting a new Infamous game any time soon, it’d be nice to see Insomniac, who largely do it better here than Sucker Punch did in Infamous 2, take on the torch.
I really liked this, but it feels like it’s close to greatness, only just missing the mark. Perhaps in the upcoming Spider-Man 2 Insomniac can finally figure out how to make an interesting open world (they got pretty damn close in rift apart) and go even harder on the gadgets from the first spidey game (make them combine with the hand to hand combat better and make them more aesthetically fun instead of just ‘web bomb, electric web, web drone, impact web’, you can do more there), and if they give that game the combination of the traversal and combat systems that they do here, it could be FANTASTIC.
Insomniac just seem cursed to make ‘really good’ games, always only just missing greatness.
It's a fun, arcadey little add-on for Alan Wake. The campaign is a good few hours that has some new enemies and weapons in some bigger arenas than the main game.
2018
Honestly I think I've figured out the reason I've rated this game 4 stars and not any higher on previous playthroughs, a lot of people accuse the game of being repetative, and they're right, but there is a way to make it not be repetative.
The problem is the open world, this playthrough I ONLY did the story missions and didn't do a single side-task or mission, and it was the best experience I've had with the game, to the point where I've even bumped it up a point, just for this playthrough. The open world is just full of slightly unsatisfying collectibles, ubisoft towers and combat encounters that are just fighting the same basic enemies over and over, so a lot of people won't bother to experiment with the combat and find all it has to offer, because these basic enemy encounters level you up to the point where it makes the more difficult enemies easy enough to take out with the same basic moves, the game sabotages itself.
You know what, I'm bumping it back down to four, the open world is 40% of this game, and it constantly tries to get you to explore it even if it makes the experience worse.
At the very least you get to use what I can now confidently call (only just) the best web-slinging in a spider-man game, it perfectly characterises a spider-man who's been doing this for a decade, you have a huge variety of input and timing based moves you can use to get around, and even if you literally can't fail or suffer in any meaningful way (other than losing speed and momentum), once you're stringing together moves in the right ways you enter a tetris-esque flow state. Compare this to the more challenge-oriented Spider-Man 2, which is much more basic in what is on offer in terms of traversal but pushes in on that speed and less on the momentum, that game asks you to reach a perfect and specific equelibrium in the exact correct way even in the open world, whereas this is more of a, as I said previously, flow state, a really fun and satisfying way to get around the open world, with the challenge that Spider-Man 2 offers only being available (and superceded in the later portions of the game) during the challenges and missions in the campaign and open world, and it's an approach I much prefer.
Playing only the campaign and no open-world tasks at all greatly improved my experience of the combat, and it makes me wonder if the level designers and the open world designers were even in communication, the speed and times that it adds new enemies and moves and the pacing is absolutely perfect when playing it this way. Just as I was wishing for more of a challenge with thugs it introduces the demons, whereas in previous playthroughs I was so sick of the thugs I'd roll my eyes when I saw them. Then, on beating Martin Li Sable is introduced and her fantastic multitude of ground and air enemies. Bosses are perfectly places throughout, as are setpieces, and again it makes me wonder if it's even worth playing the open world considering how great just blasting through the campaign feels.
From now on, and if I replay in future, I'll be treating the open world as post-game content, because this is the way to play.
The problem is the open world, this playthrough I ONLY did the story missions and didn't do a single side-task or mission, and it was the best experience I've had with the game, to the point where I've even bumped it up a point, just for this playthrough. The open world is just full of slightly unsatisfying collectibles, ubisoft towers and combat encounters that are just fighting the same basic enemies over and over, so a lot of people won't bother to experiment with the combat and find all it has to offer, because these basic enemy encounters level you up to the point where it makes the more difficult enemies easy enough to take out with the same basic moves, the game sabotages itself.
You know what, I'm bumping it back down to four, the open world is 40% of this game, and it constantly tries to get you to explore it even if it makes the experience worse.
At the very least you get to use what I can now confidently call (only just) the best web-slinging in a spider-man game, it perfectly characterises a spider-man who's been doing this for a decade, you have a huge variety of input and timing based moves you can use to get around, and even if you literally can't fail or suffer in any meaningful way (other than losing speed and momentum), once you're stringing together moves in the right ways you enter a tetris-esque flow state. Compare this to the more challenge-oriented Spider-Man 2, which is much more basic in what is on offer in terms of traversal but pushes in on that speed and less on the momentum, that game asks you to reach a perfect and specific equelibrium in the exact correct way even in the open world, whereas this is more of a, as I said previously, flow state, a really fun and satisfying way to get around the open world, with the challenge that Spider-Man 2 offers only being available (and superceded in the later portions of the game) during the challenges and missions in the campaign and open world, and it's an approach I much prefer.
Playing only the campaign and no open-world tasks at all greatly improved my experience of the combat, and it makes me wonder if the level designers and the open world designers were even in communication, the speed and times that it adds new enemies and moves and the pacing is absolutely perfect when playing it this way. Just as I was wishing for more of a challenge with thugs it introduces the demons, whereas in previous playthroughs I was so sick of the thugs I'd roll my eyes when I saw them. Then, on beating Martin Li Sable is introduced and her fantastic multitude of ground and air enemies. Bosses are perfectly places throughout, as are setpieces, and again it makes me wonder if it's even worth playing the open world considering how great just blasting through the campaign feels.
From now on, and if I replay in future, I'll be treating the open world as post-game content, because this is the way to play.
2004
I started playing this as a companion to replaying the 2018 game, because I've always heard this is one of the best movie tie in games from this era (a genre I have a sick fascination with) and this seemed like the perfect excuse to play it; as well as wanting to directly compare two of the best doc ocks in any spider-man media.
So, when the 2018 game came out there was a lot of discourse over weather the new game has a better web-swinging system or weather this one does, and as usual in conversations like this the answer is; they're both good.
The web swinging in this game is all about challenge, sadly in the challenges and story missions it's all about gaining the momentum to get from point A to point B in what is usually a straight line, which is disappointing, but in the open world you're free to move and swing around all you like, however you like. You can pull off some cool moves with multiple webs and charged jumps and web pulls, the three moves that comprise the entire moveset. It's simple, mostly consisting of holding R2 and X until you reach the best point to let go, but perfectly encapsulates the idea of 'easy-to-learn, hard-to-master' perfectly, mostly through the stakes added to the movement. once you reach full momentum you WILL slam into a wall eventually, and so you've got to balance your speed with your manuverability to create a nice balance.
The 2018 game, however, is all about reaching that maximum speed, in fact, where this game's movement consists almost entirely of holding R2, in the 2018 game if you're holding R2 for more than one or two seconds at a time you're doing the game a disservice. Timing jumps perfectly to launch into the air, zipping to points and zipping forward to gain speed, wall running and cornering buildings are essential to the movement of the 2018 game, it feels perfectly suited to a character who has been spidey for 8 years and is a lot more satisfying even though it has no real stakes, other than losing all your speed if you touch the ground.
They're very different, and it depends if you want a straight up challenge (Spider-Man 2) or want a more technically complex experience (Marvel's Spider-Man) more focused on being satisfying to use.
However this isn't me saying that you should play this game if you want more of a challenge, in fact the web-swinging is the best thing in this game. In fact, the games completely switch places when it comes to the combat. This game really flubs the combat, it's a three hit combo light attack, a launch attack, and a web attack that involves holding triangle and letting go to throw an enemy; and obstensibly that's IT, that's the entire combat system, those three moves. Compare this to the 2018 game, which takes the combat style of games like the Arkham series and ratchets it up to ten (pun intended). With all of the moves this game has (not that that's hard) as well as complex combos, items and gadgets that work perfectly with everying, status effects on enemies that meaningfully change combat. Ironically, webbing moves and hand-to-hand moves are on the same buttons as in the 2004 game, but the 1018 title inarguably outdoes that game in any and every concievable way in combat, so much so that it's not even worth talking about any more.
Sure it may be harsh to compare a game from 2004 to a game from almost 20 years later, however the 2018 game is an objectively better full package no matter what you want from the game, and I've literally been playing both of these games at the same time, so sue me.
Anyway, on this game; I really like the ways in which treyarch were free to expand the world and story, and the addition of all the extra spider man characters and villains and where that leads is genuinely interesting and fun (I especially liked the mysterio parts, the arena was good but then the theatre and circus are great, gimme that house of mirrors scene any day, so much fun). It adds an extra dimension that really sets this game apart from other tie-in games in the same way the web-swinging does. It’s just a shame that the city and mandatory missions are way too repetitive, and the throwing and precision landing, whilst not an issue 85% of the time, becomes way too finicky at times, considering the game is about 10 hours long, way too much of it feels like filler.
This is definitely the best of the movie tie-in games of this era, a massive and overwhelming genre of games, and is definitely one of the best spider-man games there is, it’s not aged as much as you might think, and generally it’s a good time.
So, when the 2018 game came out there was a lot of discourse over weather the new game has a better web-swinging system or weather this one does, and as usual in conversations like this the answer is; they're both good.
The web swinging in this game is all about challenge, sadly in the challenges and story missions it's all about gaining the momentum to get from point A to point B in what is usually a straight line, which is disappointing, but in the open world you're free to move and swing around all you like, however you like. You can pull off some cool moves with multiple webs and charged jumps and web pulls, the three moves that comprise the entire moveset. It's simple, mostly consisting of holding R2 and X until you reach the best point to let go, but perfectly encapsulates the idea of 'easy-to-learn, hard-to-master' perfectly, mostly through the stakes added to the movement. once you reach full momentum you WILL slam into a wall eventually, and so you've got to balance your speed with your manuverability to create a nice balance.
The 2018 game, however, is all about reaching that maximum speed, in fact, where this game's movement consists almost entirely of holding R2, in the 2018 game if you're holding R2 for more than one or two seconds at a time you're doing the game a disservice. Timing jumps perfectly to launch into the air, zipping to points and zipping forward to gain speed, wall running and cornering buildings are essential to the movement of the 2018 game, it feels perfectly suited to a character who has been spidey for 8 years and is a lot more satisfying even though it has no real stakes, other than losing all your speed if you touch the ground.
They're very different, and it depends if you want a straight up challenge (Spider-Man 2) or want a more technically complex experience (Marvel's Spider-Man) more focused on being satisfying to use.
However this isn't me saying that you should play this game if you want more of a challenge, in fact the web-swinging is the best thing in this game. In fact, the games completely switch places when it comes to the combat. This game really flubs the combat, it's a three hit combo light attack, a launch attack, and a web attack that involves holding triangle and letting go to throw an enemy; and obstensibly that's IT, that's the entire combat system, those three moves. Compare this to the 2018 game, which takes the combat style of games like the Arkham series and ratchets it up to ten (pun intended). With all of the moves this game has (not that that's hard) as well as complex combos, items and gadgets that work perfectly with everying, status effects on enemies that meaningfully change combat. Ironically, webbing moves and hand-to-hand moves are on the same buttons as in the 2004 game, but the 1018 title inarguably outdoes that game in any and every concievable way in combat, so much so that it's not even worth talking about any more.
Sure it may be harsh to compare a game from 2004 to a game from almost 20 years later, however the 2018 game is an objectively better full package no matter what you want from the game, and I've literally been playing both of these games at the same time, so sue me.
Anyway, on this game; I really like the ways in which treyarch were free to expand the world and story, and the addition of all the extra spider man characters and villains and where that leads is genuinely interesting and fun (I especially liked the mysterio parts, the arena was good but then the theatre and circus are great, gimme that house of mirrors scene any day, so much fun). It adds an extra dimension that really sets this game apart from other tie-in games in the same way the web-swinging does. It’s just a shame that the city and mandatory missions are way too repetitive, and the throwing and precision landing, whilst not an issue 85% of the time, becomes way too finicky at times, considering the game is about 10 hours long, way too much of it feels like filler.
This is definitely the best of the movie tie-in games of this era, a massive and overwhelming genre of games, and is definitely one of the best spider-man games there is, it’s not aged as much as you might think, and generally it’s a good time.
2001
Got recommended this after cold fear, this is a very similar game, but something about it just doesn't get me going. I really really like the gun construction mechanic, but I wish it was used more, HAS to have inspired Dead Space 3. This is another one you can finish in a long afternoon, but it doesn't have the same charm to it that Cold Fear had. (it's also a little repetitive.
2005
You know what? I fucked with this, my first instinct was RE4 clone but it came out only a couple of months after RE4 so either it was the fastest AAA game development in history or it's just coincidental thinking. It's very derivative of older RE games, other shooters and a few other things, but I can also see places where this could have been surprisingly influential, like RE: Revalations just being this exact same game (but better) and a lot of cutscenes and some plot beats being directly replicated in Dead Space a few years later.
It's not a must-play but I was plesantly surprised, and coming in at about 3-4 hours to play it squeezes a lot into a small package.
It's not a must-play but I was plesantly surprised, and coming in at about 3-4 hours to play it squeezes a lot into a small package.
2018
I'm a decent way through this now, will update when I've completed it, but at the moment this basically sums up my thoughts:
The devs of this game must have the Midas touch, not because this is gold, but because this is surprisingly mid as hell.
The devs of this game must have the Midas touch, not because this is gold, but because this is surprisingly mid as hell.
2022
Made the mistake of playing the PS+ trail knowing full well I can't afford it.
Genuinely one of the best feeling games in a year of great feeling games, between this and Neon White I'm being spoiled in my love of fast paced twitchy action games with complex yet buttery smooth movesets.
I WILL be getting this ASAP and it WILL be one of my top games of the year, I already can feel it.
Genuinely one of the best feeling games in a year of great feeling games, between this and Neon White I'm being spoiled in my love of fast paced twitchy action games with complex yet buttery smooth movesets.
I WILL be getting this ASAP and it WILL be one of my top games of the year, I already can feel it.
2022
I wish there was just a little bit more to the combat, it feels like it's ALMOST great but stays at just as good as it needs to be, but I think it's excusable as there are so many parts to this game that they're not all going to be fully fleshed out. Not to say this is bad, this is a great game, the art style and art design is great, the music is good, the story is surprisingly engaging.
Definitely recommend, it's a special little romp that is well worth doing, very moreish and well structured and designed. Probably one of my favorites this year!
Definitely recommend, it's a special little romp that is well worth doing, very moreish and well structured and designed. Probably one of my favorites this year!
I had to stop playing this because I realised I just wanted to get to the end, and couldn't justify continuing.
This is definitely a huge improvement on the last one, the story is more engaging and the characters are more interesting, but only because they're taken directly from BOTW, and are on the exact same level as them, which isn't exactly indicative of a writing powerhouse. In a way that's impressive seeing as this game has about a million hours of cutscenes. You'd think purely through sunk cost they'd end up accidentally adding character depth, but no, not in any meaningful way.
The combat is at least flashier in better ways than the previous hyrule warriors game, the characters feel like they do have meaningful, if minor differences in how they play. However it's still boring and lame and after a point turns from mind numbing to frustratingly tedious. That's a holdover from the previous game, I don't know if you can tell I haven't played any other warriors games, and I don't see why it matters, but I thought it could be worth mentioning.
Nothing else to say, I've had my fun, I won't be coming back.
This is definitely a huge improvement on the last one, the story is more engaging and the characters are more interesting, but only because they're taken directly from BOTW, and are on the exact same level as them, which isn't exactly indicative of a writing powerhouse. In a way that's impressive seeing as this game has about a million hours of cutscenes. You'd think purely through sunk cost they'd end up accidentally adding character depth, but no, not in any meaningful way.
The combat is at least flashier in better ways than the previous hyrule warriors game, the characters feel like they do have meaningful, if minor differences in how they play. However it's still boring and lame and after a point turns from mind numbing to frustratingly tedious. That's a holdover from the previous game, I don't know if you can tell I haven't played any other warriors games, and I don't see why it matters, but I thought it could be worth mentioning.
Nothing else to say, I've had my fun, I won't be coming back.
2021
I enjoyed Samus Returns more than I thought I would a couple of years ago, but when I started this game I remember thinking 'this doesn't feel like much of a step-up...'
How wrong I was. Well paced, good-looking, buttery smooth to play and with an engaging story, this may only be the 2nd Metroid game I've beaten but don't let that take the punch out of me telling you this is the best one I've played. I could even see myself replaying this in a couple of years.
To give you an idea of how much I was enjoying this, I've been playing it after work every day for the last week, and I've been excited to get home and play it, thinking about it actively at work.
It's not perfect, with some areas feeling largely the same outside of some surface-level aesthetic changes and some moves not being as responsive as they should (but that could just be me playing poorly and also other factors). This does lead to a couple of hours scattered throughout where exploration feels like a chore more than fun, but that's only by comparison to how purposful and clear the rest of the game feels in it's exploration.
All of the combat and mechanics are varied and interesting, and it's perfect at spacing out when it gives you items and abilities and on ramping up satisfaction levels with each new item and ability.
In short, it's really good!
How wrong I was. Well paced, good-looking, buttery smooth to play and with an engaging story, this may only be the 2nd Metroid game I've beaten but don't let that take the punch out of me telling you this is the best one I've played. I could even see myself replaying this in a couple of years.
To give you an idea of how much I was enjoying this, I've been playing it after work every day for the last week, and I've been excited to get home and play it, thinking about it actively at work.
It's not perfect, with some areas feeling largely the same outside of some surface-level aesthetic changes and some moves not being as responsive as they should (but that could just be me playing poorly and also other factors). This does lead to a couple of hours scattered throughout where exploration feels like a chore more than fun, but that's only by comparison to how purposful and clear the rest of the game feels in it's exploration.
All of the combat and mechanics are varied and interesting, and it's perfect at spacing out when it gives you items and abilities and on ramping up satisfaction levels with each new item and ability.
In short, it's really good!
To be clear, the only other kirby game I have ever played is the port of Kirby's Adventure on the 3DS.
This was fun!! I really liked it, I kept thinking about how brainless and simple the gameplay is, but then I had to remind myself that there literally isn't anything wrong with that and not every game has to be Bloodborne or God of War. It does affect my playing of the game, however, the fact that 90% of the game could be beaten by a blindfolded lab rat does mean that I'll probably forget this game exists and that I played it within the next month, and that's a shame, because it's a really fun and engaging time that's paced really well and knows when to shake things up and how to have puzzles that keep your brain in the game without ever having to have you actually think. This sounds negative, but I assure you, I'm just unbearable.
The moment I realised I did actually more than just 'like I guess' this game was when I realised the credits had rolled over two hours ago and I was still playing. On that note, during the post-game is where it goes wacko mode. There's a specific fight (hint - butterfly) where I was suddenly kicked into actually focusing on the fight, and it was a cool moment, and I'm glad it was saved for the post-game as it wouldn't have felt right in the main game.
The music is uplifting and suitably over-the-top, as well as just good listening. The art design is mixed, sometimes being a bit boring but other times being perfectly balanced between detail and atmosphere whilst still keeping it cartoony and simple. The copy abilities are varied enough and fun enough, but I'm not asking for each one to have a full 180 move moveset, but maybe more than just... tap and hold, would be nice. (beware hyperbole, before I get angry replies)
I really liked this game, I really can't think of anything 'objectively' wrong with it, however because the gameplay is so simple and basic I am genuinely sure I'm going to forget it exists within the month, which is a major issue.
Recommended.
This was fun!! I really liked it, I kept thinking about how brainless and simple the gameplay is, but then I had to remind myself that there literally isn't anything wrong with that and not every game has to be Bloodborne or God of War. It does affect my playing of the game, however, the fact that 90% of the game could be beaten by a blindfolded lab rat does mean that I'll probably forget this game exists and that I played it within the next month, and that's a shame, because it's a really fun and engaging time that's paced really well and knows when to shake things up and how to have puzzles that keep your brain in the game without ever having to have you actually think. This sounds negative, but I assure you, I'm just unbearable.
The moment I realised I did actually more than just 'like I guess' this game was when I realised the credits had rolled over two hours ago and I was still playing. On that note, during the post-game is where it goes wacko mode. There's a specific fight (hint - butterfly) where I was suddenly kicked into actually focusing on the fight, and it was a cool moment, and I'm glad it was saved for the post-game as it wouldn't have felt right in the main game.
The music is uplifting and suitably over-the-top, as well as just good listening. The art design is mixed, sometimes being a bit boring but other times being perfectly balanced between detail and atmosphere whilst still keeping it cartoony and simple. The copy abilities are varied enough and fun enough, but I'm not asking for each one to have a full 180 move moveset, but maybe more than just... tap and hold, would be nice. (beware hyperbole, before I get angry replies)
I really liked this game, I really can't think of anything 'objectively' wrong with it, however because the gameplay is so simple and basic I am genuinely sure I'm going to forget it exists within the month, which is a major issue.
Recommended.
1: 7/10
2: 6/10
3: 8/10
It took me SEVEN MONTHS to finish these, mostly because I just kept not playing them for long stretches, but I've done it now! And... They're fun, they're wacky, I did have a bit of an arc with these where the first was like 'oh... This is... Fine, it's a little basic but it's the first one so I'm sure it'll get into it'. Then the second was more of the same except much more tedious, seriously DMC 2 feels like a filler arc, so much of it just feels like they went 'yeah this will take x amount of time to complete, put it in' so I was really happy when DMC3 picked up, had more interesting art design, more interesting and involved combat changes, it brought it right back around.
I do find myself wanting to replay dmc5, because there's just more combat variety, it's more involved, and these feel a lot like you can just win by button mashing whereas 5 has you, you know, thinking.
Anyway I won't keep talking about a game that isn't included here. Now I just have to play 4, which is wierdly hard to get hold of.
2: 6/10
3: 8/10
It took me SEVEN MONTHS to finish these, mostly because I just kept not playing them for long stretches, but I've done it now! And... They're fun, they're wacky, I did have a bit of an arc with these where the first was like 'oh... This is... Fine, it's a little basic but it's the first one so I'm sure it'll get into it'. Then the second was more of the same except much more tedious, seriously DMC 2 feels like a filler arc, so much of it just feels like they went 'yeah this will take x amount of time to complete, put it in' so I was really happy when DMC3 picked up, had more interesting art design, more interesting and involved combat changes, it brought it right back around.
I do find myself wanting to replay dmc5, because there's just more combat variety, it's more involved, and these feel a lot like you can just win by button mashing whereas 5 has you, you know, thinking.
Anyway I won't keep talking about a game that isn't included here. Now I just have to play 4, which is wierdly hard to get hold of.
2013
Holy shit, what an incredible experience. With just the right level of gameplay to compliment the writing, the only things I can think to compare this to are other dialogue-heavy adventure games like Night in the Woods or Oxenfree, but this is entirely different beast.
On the level of writing, subtext and dialogue this was made explicitly for me to love it, with a perfect mix of surface narrative and visceral metaphorical surrealism. It's a story of delivering antiques, but also of loss, working class struggle, modern pastoral industrialisation fears and how the world late stage capitalism creates forgets and leaves behind the people who build it, amongst so many other things.
On the front of art and music this game blows you away, gameplay perfectly joins with stunning visuals that perfectly mix with music into this fantastic stew of a game that's everything I love in film and literature, with a pure, concerntrated southern gothic aesthetic over so many visual styles and locations.
However, I do say 'film and literature' because normally I do ask for a little more game from a game, but that's likely just my being spoiled by my love for fast, deep action games, and anything more than what it's doing simply would not work here.
The story of Conway especially really drives home the commentary on corporate debt in the lower classes, losing his very body in surprisingly literal ways, and being so downtrodden he does nothing about it, it's subtly pulled off but still has the emotional impact you'd want.
Shannon's story displays how the harmful effects of this awful cycle can go down through generations, affecting them forever.
The end of the game shows us this rotten society, destroyed by forces beyond it's control, and something new, 5 Dogwood Drive, that just maybe we can make something better from. The Zero itself is a loop, metaphorically representing the awful cycle of capitalist and corporate greed, and the only way out is by literally escaping. Conway represents this old world perfectly, and the scene in the factory was gut-wrenching, what should be a personal hell for a recovering alcoholic who hates his delivery job (delivering whiskey) but he is numb to it, and he is swept up and lost. The rest of our characters, young and willing to find the new; especially Ezra, who also represents a connection with this strange new world and all of it's... strangeness, are the only ones who can forge a new way.
This game has the same subtextual depth I'm always looking for in literature and film, but it's so rare to see this level and this well executed a version of that in a video game, and I'm so glad we're moving into a world where that is becoming the norm. This was an astounding experience and one of the finest video games I've ever played, once again part of me wishes there was more game, but I can't dock points for my childish need to have action action action jump hit boom.
On the level of writing, subtext and dialogue this was made explicitly for me to love it, with a perfect mix of surface narrative and visceral metaphorical surrealism. It's a story of delivering antiques, but also of loss, working class struggle, modern pastoral industrialisation fears and how the world late stage capitalism creates forgets and leaves behind the people who build it, amongst so many other things.
On the front of art and music this game blows you away, gameplay perfectly joins with stunning visuals that perfectly mix with music into this fantastic stew of a game that's everything I love in film and literature, with a pure, concerntrated southern gothic aesthetic over so many visual styles and locations.
However, I do say 'film and literature' because normally I do ask for a little more game from a game, but that's likely just my being spoiled by my love for fast, deep action games, and anything more than what it's doing simply would not work here.
The story of Conway especially really drives home the commentary on corporate debt in the lower classes, losing his very body in surprisingly literal ways, and being so downtrodden he does nothing about it, it's subtly pulled off but still has the emotional impact you'd want.
Shannon's story displays how the harmful effects of this awful cycle can go down through generations, affecting them forever.
The end of the game shows us this rotten society, destroyed by forces beyond it's control, and something new, 5 Dogwood Drive, that just maybe we can make something better from. The Zero itself is a loop, metaphorically representing the awful cycle of capitalist and corporate greed, and the only way out is by literally escaping. Conway represents this old world perfectly, and the scene in the factory was gut-wrenching, what should be a personal hell for a recovering alcoholic who hates his delivery job (delivering whiskey) but he is numb to it, and he is swept up and lost. The rest of our characters, young and willing to find the new; especially Ezra, who also represents a connection with this strange new world and all of it's... strangeness, are the only ones who can forge a new way.
This game has the same subtextual depth I'm always looking for in literature and film, but it's so rare to see this level and this well executed a version of that in a video game, and I'm so glad we're moving into a world where that is becoming the norm. This was an astounding experience and one of the finest video games I've ever played, once again part of me wishes there was more game, but I can't dock points for my childish need to have action action action jump hit boom.