While far from the first big hit indie, it can’t be understated the wave of attention that Shovel Knight brought about. There of course was the massively successful Kickstarter, but there’s a noticeable love and passion for platformers from older consoles. It’s crazy to think looking back that Shovel Knight released all the way back in 2014, and even though it was still an amazing game, we wouldn’t see the final form of this game until half a decade later with the release of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove. This version of course incorporating all 4 of the major campaigns, the original Shovel of Hope, and the bonus Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards. I first played Shovel Knight probably around early 2015, before any of the game’s additional campaigns were released, as I got it on my 3DS. Since I bought it early, that meant that I got all of the additional campaigns completely free. So every time one came out, I played them. I last played Shovel Knight sometime in 2019, around the time that the King of Cards campaign released, and I haven’t played since. So now that it’s been approximately 4 years since then, and I’m fundamentally a different person, I thought it would be a good time to revisit this game, and see what my thoughts are on it now.
Of course, since this is Shovel Knight, it makes sense to first examine Shovel of Hope. The Shovel of Hope campaign, as obvious as it is, is where you play as Shovel Knight. The best way I can describe is is that Shovel Knight, gameplay and movement-wise is the most ‘normal’ of the 4 playable characters. I really love how the game actively uses the idea of a Shovel as a main weapon extremely well. Being able to dig up treasure or soft dirt. Easily the best part of Shovel Knight’s basic abilities in the pogo. Being able to point your shovel down, and bounce off enemies or certain blocks allows for really fun movement. While this is fun in and of its own, Shovel Knight can find relics in levels that add to his list of options. Fishing for treasure in levels, shooting balls of fire, propelling yourself forward in the air with a dagger, Shovel Knight has a lot of options. Shovel Knight has some ridiculous versatility that allows him to move in practically any direction you want him to. This is not to ignore the upgrades you can get, either to your armor, or your shovel that can change how difficult levels can be. And another great thing about it all is that all of these are completely option, you can choose not to take any of these upgrades. I remember when I was younger trying to do a no-upgrade run, and while I remember being able to do it, it was extremely difficult.
The levels of Shovel of Hope are also great. A good handful of them are quite difficult, though those mostly consist of the game’s later levels. Though the game is really forgiving. Instead of having a lives system, whenever you die, you lose gold instead of losing a life. Which for a game such as Shovel Knight, where you will probably die a couple times on your first playthrough, is rather forgiving. But yet again, this is where Shovel Knight shines in how it designs its levels. Aside from 2 levels particularly, you can destroy every single checkpoint, giving you a reward of gold, though of course meaning you cant use that checkpoint for the remainder of the level. Shovel Knight has options for so many distinct ways to go through each level, which is so nice. I also enjoyed replaying each level in search of all of the major collectibles found in each level, I had a goal to go for 100% item completion for every campaign, so I had to replay a good number of levels.
The bosses of Shovel Knight are great as well. Though you don’t get much time with them, you get a real sense of the character of each member of the Order of No Quarter. Their personalities are perfectly integrated into the attacks they throw against you. Though it’s probably long forgotten muscle memory, very few of the bosses were actually challenging, as I could beat almost all of them on the first try. Another big positive I want to give to Shovel Knight is that it’s a game that makes me excited for Boss Rushes, as it does the one thing I wish other boss rushes did. That simply being, giving you a way to heal between fights. I also really love the roaming bosses that can appear, I might be wrong, but I remember hearing they were Kickstarter Rewards. Though ultimately a blip in the entire time of the Shovel of Hope campaign, they’re really nice to be there. I will say though, one particular aspect of certain bosses that made me like them less was the inclusion of death pits in them. For a game with challenging boss fights such as this, death pits at times feel like a form of artificial difficulty, and at least to me, don’t really feel fair.
The Shovel of Hope campaign is where all of Shovel Knight started, and it started at an amazing point. If this is all that there was, Shovel Knight would still be an amazing game. But this is only a quarter of what all of the Treasure Trove offers. And I’ll admit, I’m partially biased here somewhat. I am a sucker for a game featuring multiple playable characters. Allowing for different options in which characters I can play as is really fun, and full campaigns centered around these characters is just icing on the cake.
Plague of Shadows is probably the campaign I’m most conflicted about. It has some absolutely amazing aspects to it, but some unfortunate aspects as well. Though that’s in part to it being the first additional campaign to be released. What I mean by this is that where Plague of Shadows suffers most is its levels. The levels in Plague of Shadows are practically the same as Shovel of Hope’s, though with some including new sections. As you’d expect, since I went for 100% Item Completion, I had to play a number of these levels more than once, to find all of the collectibles within in each stage. I will also admit, some of the bosses are ridiculously easy when you play as Plague Knight. To me at least, a lot of the bosses are more accustomed to Shovel Knight’s movement, and not necessarily Plague Knight.
Though those are the weak aspects of Plague of Shadows, I can’t help but admit I really love this campaign. It probably has my favorite cast, and I love the duo of Plague Knight and Mona. But easily my favorite aspect of Plague of Shadows is easily Plague Knight himself. He’s probably the weirdest of the four playable characters, but that’s why I love playing as him. His main attack is throwing bombs, but you can also charge up an explosive bomb jump, and leap into the air. Those are your main methods of attacking through the game, but there’s an enormous list of ways you can customize it. There’s main three ways you can adjust the bombs themselves, Casing, Powder, and Fuses. Casing impacts trajectory, Fuses impact when they explode, and Powder can determine how a bomb explodes, and how many bombs Plague Knight can throw at a time. You can also adjust what occurs when you do a bomb jump, though I always default to the Float option, as I feel it’s the best for utility. Much like Shovel Knight’s relics, Plague Knight has Arcana, which gives him optional abilities to adapt to the situation. There’s a selection of tonics that can give Plague Knight status effects, a fishing bomb, and my personal favorite, the Vat, which works as a temporary platform. Plague Knight has so much weird to him, but once you get an understanding of how he plays, he becomes really fun to play.
It's really tough to say but Specter of Torment may be my favorite campaign of the four total. It’s really unique in a lot of ways compared to the other 3 campaigns, but I think what makes it my favorite overall is the story. While Plague Knight is my favorite character to play as, Specter Knight is my favorite character story wise. Learning the truth of how he got to the point his is is amazing, and reconstructs everything that was once believed about him. One of the big things about Specter of Torment that’s unique compared to the other campaigns is the lack of a world map. You travel to each level at a portal located in a central hub, and you have complete freedom to choose the order of the levels you go through. This level of freedom is really nice, I feel. As well, I really enjoyed exploring Specter of Torment’s hub, especially as it let me get attached to a number of characters I wouldn’t have otherwise. One thing I will say, Specter of Torment would’ve been the shortest of the 4 campaigns if I didn’t try a certain platforming challenge. It took me an hour to beat, but I’m really glad I took the time in order to do so.
Specter Knight probably has the sickest movement of any of the playable characters. His main idea is dash attacks, as whenever he’s in the air, he dashes towards an enemy in the closest diagonal direction. While this is absolutely fun for combat, it’s incorporating into platforming amazingly. It’s also well combined in another major aspect of Specter Knight’s movement, which is wallrunning. He’s able to run up a wall, and jump off to walls around him, which is really fun to pull off. Akin to Relics and Arcana, Specter Knight has his own set of items he can use, those being Curios. I think of the four campaigns, Specter Knight’s curios were the ones I used the most, though that’s because there’s an easy best item for me. Specifically, there’s one that just heals you, so why not use it? I feel like Specter Knight definitely has a difficulty ceiling when it comes to learning his moveset. He’s easy to play, but hard to master, since I played that platforming challenge, I had to learn to master his moveset in order to clear it.
On top of it all as well, I also really love Specter of Torment’s levels. I don’t know how exactly to describe it, but I love the aesthetic shift they gave to Specter of Torment. Something about the noticeably darker colors used is really pleasing to the eye. The use of colors is also really well done too, for moments where Specter Knight is reminiscing, the screen is a completely Sepia, which is amazing to look at. When combined with Specter Knight’s movements, the levels and platforming you have to do is really fun. Much like Plague of Shadows, a good number of the bosses in Specter of Torment tended to be rather easy. Though at the same time, a good number of bosses were remixed, and altered to feel like completely new bosses, even if you attack them the same ways. In turn, some of the bosses that were initially easy back in Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows are noticeably more challenging in Specter of Torment. Though with that in mind, I feel like the Final Boss of Specter of Torment was by far the easiest of the 4 campaigns, which is just sort of unfortunate. Even though, the list of bosses in Specter of Torment are amazing.
King of Cards was the final campaign released, and It’s by far the longest of the 4 major campaigns. Though, yet again, that’s because I focused on getting 100% completion, so while most campaigns took between 4-5 hours, this one took me almost 10 hours total. King of Cards brings back a world map, but levels are now short bursts, instead of long levels with multiple checkpoints. It’s honestly really refreshing to see it after the past 3 campaigns, and there’s good reason to replay them too. Many levels feature secret exits can lead to different levels, and each major level has 3 collectibles to collect. There’s also some random boss fights that you can encounter through the map, which provide really fun challenges. I’ll save boss fights for later though, as I have, well, thoughts.
King Knight is an amazing character to play as, and I love that it’s a basically balance between Dashing and Bouncing. King Knight’s main attack is a dash, but if he collides with an enemy, destructible objects, or most walls, he’ll begin to bounce. Bouncing is then his second form of attack, and as long as he bounces on a destructible object or an enemy, he’ll keep bouncing. Chaining bounces feels really good to do, especially when its on destructible objects, and gold continues to pop out. As well, after King Knight bounces off of something once, you can go into another dash. King Knight is similar to Specter Knight in this regard I feel. He’s a character whose abilities make him really easy to play, but it’s hard to master him. King Knight’s versions of Relics/Arcana/Curios are Heirlooms, and they’re probably the ones I used the least. I mainly used the Scorching Saber to get some upward elevation, but aside from that I rarely needed to use them. I think that’s because King Knight’s normal movement is already so good, I never needed them. I think a thing I’m rather uncertain about with King Knight is the fact that he fundamentally has less health in comparison to both Specter and Shovel Knight. While he has a similar amount of hearts, he doesn’t have half-hearts, so when he takes damage, a full heart goes away. Though this is balanced out by the fact that if he damages an enemy enough, they spawn a heart for him to gain health. It’s most conflicting when going into multi-stage boss fights, as that means that bosses have noticeably more health than you.
What makes King of Cards unique is the Playing Card Mini-Game the appears throughout the game, Joustus. I beat every single Joustus opponent, and I’ll be honest, I don’t fully comprehend how Joustus works. The main idea of Joustus is to push cards onto gem tiles. Cards cannot be placed on Gem Tiles, and you can only push cards with other cards, depending on which direction the arrows on the cards your placing point at. The game ends when all of the tiles on the board are filled, and the player with the most gem tiles wins. While that is the main idea of Joustus, there’s a large collection of additional mechanics that I don’t fully understand. For a lot of Joustus games, I just sort of lucked out and won. And for a lot of others, I struggled. But what makes things nice is that King of Cards is forgiving for those who aren’t good at games such as this, giving you optional cheats you can buy and use. While I don’t fully understand how exactly Joustus works, I find it really charming.
Now, a good number of bosses in King of Cards are similar to the ones that appear in Specter of Torment. Though one thing that I adore is the fact that the major story-focused boss fights are unique to King of Cards. Much like Specter of Torment though, they’re not really too much of a challenge, but that leads me into what I feel is personally my least favorite boss in the entire game. That particularly is the final boss of the King of Cards campaign. It goes back to a point I mentioned a good while ago in this review, which are the death pits. It’s a boss where it can just create death pits that never go away, and its second phase is a full death pit, with only 2 moving platforms. I really wish they used a portal mechanic that appeared a few levels prior, as the boss itself is really challenging, but the death pits feel unnecessary. The boss never killed me by bringing me to 0 health, it was always the death pits that killed me, which I feel is simply a bad design choice.
Though after all of this, I still loved my time playing through all of Shovel Knight. Getting 100% item completion in every single campaign was a fun challenge to go for, and I really feel like I learned a lot about each of the playable characters because of it. It’s a monument for a game to succeed as well as Shovel Knight, and be as good as it is. There’s stuff I haven’t even mentioned before, like the fighting game mode that the game has, all the secret codes, and the numerous achievements that you can try to get. I’m not sure if I’d every try to do every single thing this game has to offer, but I have no doubt in saying that I’ll easily replay Shovel Knight over and over again. It’s a game really deserving of its fame.

To be honest it might have been a bad idea to save Xenogears for last. I started out with the Xenosaga trilogy, cause I really wanted to learn about KOS-MOS. Then afterwards due to the Summer of Sequels, I wanted to have the Xenoblade games on the Wheel, so I played through all of them. This all leads to now, where I finally got to the game that started everything off. I found myself really enjoying a lot of Xenogears, the story is probably my favorite part of the game, but even still I find there to be some general issues with the game, though not all are issues due to the game itself.
One thing that was immediate to notice in comparison to the later Xeno games was that Xenogears features Random Encounters. It being the only one of the games to feature it, it was somewhat jarring, though of course I wouldn’t be as surprised if I played it first. Though I do have one peeve when it comes to the random encounters though. In particular, there’s like an odd delay that occurs? The music cuts out, and the random encounter starts about a second or two after. But you’re still able to act in that small window of time, and you’re able to interact with objects like doors and chests, though the interaction only occurs after the random encounter. Often, I moved over to open a door to make progress in a dungeon, but even though I interacted with the door, a random encounter interrupted me. It’s not the biggest thing really, but it was just a minor annoyance that never went away.
When it comes to the Dungeons of Xenogears, my feelings generally fluctuate throughout the game. There are some pretty solid dungeons in the game, I honestly really like the Kisvet Sewers, and especially Zeboim. When it comes to the dungeons I like though, the random encounters yet again were a bit of a nuisance, but yet again that’s just me. Though further I got into the game, the more I decided that it was best to fight every random encounter. Full Health healing items were really cheap to buy, and even though they can only be used outside of battle, they were really helpful. I will say though, the dungeons I don’t like, I really don’t like. Particularly I found myself really hating the Tower of Babel and Anima Dungeon 2. For the former, the issue comes from the game’s platforming, and the enemies you find while in the dungeon. Xenogears’ platforming isn’t all that good, and neither is my depth perception, which for a dungeon like the Tower of Babel, is really bad. One missed jump and it’s highly likely you’re brought down to the start of the long platforming segment, and have to do it all over again. Not only that, but the enemies that you have to fight before you get on an elevator respawn if you go through a room transition, and there’s one in the middle of the platforming segment. Most of the enemies that spawn in the Tower of Babel cannot be fled from, which makes the dungeon drag on a lot longer than it feels it should. Overall I just found that dungeon frustrating. On the other hand, I found the puzzles in Anima Dungeon 2 really bad. One of the puzzles broke and I had to restart it, and the other puzzle was just really lackluster. Me going into details on these 2 aside, most of the dungeons in the game weren’t bad and were honestly fun to go through, but I really disliked these 2 in particular.
Combat in this game comes generally in 2 forms. I don’t know if the actual types of combat have names, but it’s easy for me to describe them as “Human” and “Gear”, depending on whether or not you’re riding in your gear. Overall, the combat of the game is really fun, though I think of the 2, I prefer the Human combat for the gameplay, but the Gear combat for the spectacle and presentation.
Human Combat is primarily focused on performing combos. The Triangle, Square, and X buttons all use differing moves of differing powers, and the stronger the move, the more AP it requires. From what I remember, you start out the game with 3 AP, but the further you progress in the game, the more AP you get. By the end of the game, my characters had 7 AP, and I’m under the assumption that that is the maximum. But the more AP you get, the longer your combo can become, and if you do certain combos, eventually you’ll be able to learn Deathblows. I wish there was a moment where it explains how deathblows are learned, though it might be a case of me just missing it. Deathblows are really fun to use, especially as later on the Deathblows you get can be tied to specific elements, which I find really fun. Though at the same time with all of this, actually learning every Deathblow became a hassle. I found myself grinding not to get levels, but to learn Deathblows, as they are integral in combat, both in Human, and Gear combat. It made me prioritize using characters where I have already grinded out their Deathblows, instead of using the ones who haven’t learned theirs, and for Human combat, I actively avoided characters who didn’t have Deathblows. Even though I’ve said all of this, when you don’t have to worry about grinding out Deathblows, they’re really fun to use, especially when they do massive damage.
I really like Gear Combat, though I do have some peeves with it, which is based around Fuel. In actual combat, I think Fuel is a really good mechanic. Every attack uses up an amount of fuel, and you can do certain actions, like healing or using specific attacks. It adds a form of strategy based upon the limited resource. On top of that, there’s an option you can do where you can activate a booster, which speeds up your gears, but costs fuels in order to do so. All of this My issue when it comes to Fuel occurs outside of battle though. I just wish there was a way to restore Fuel outside of battle easier, especially in later dungeons, and points in time where you have to fight multiple bosses in a row. I think the reason why certain bosses are much harder than they would otherwise be is because restoring fuel outside of battle is limited. The actual combat with Gears is pretty solid though. There’s not really combos like in Human combat, and most of the time you’ll only do one attack per turn. Though each attack you use raises your level, and depending on your level, you can use certain levels of Deathblows. Later on, you gain Infinity Level Deathblows, which are absolutely sick when you’re able to pull them off, but there’s a factor of luck for when they activate.
The Boss Fights are really fun, and are probably when the combat is at its best. That’s primarily due to them being noticeably longer than random encounters, so the groove of combat is really able to develop. I definitely think some bosses are noticeably harder than others. One boss very early into the game, Calamity, was really hard when I first ran into it, though that was at a point before I understood how Deathblows worked. Once I did, the fight was noticeably easier. A lot of the late game fights, primarily in disc 2 were noticeably difficult, though I never lost to them. They’re primarily difficult for the reasons I listed in the previous paragraph, back-to-back boss fights on top of limited fuel. But even then, the general presentation and fighting of bosses is really good.
Now after all of this, I finally can talk about the story of Xenogears, which while I have some conflicting feelings with it, I still think the story of Xenogears is amazing. Xenogears has a lot of themes and symbolism, and while I absolutely love it, I can acknowledge the fact that I don’t fully understand everything going on in the game. I really love the cast of Xenogears, though I wish there was a bit more time with them. Billy was one of my favorite characters in the game, though after his main arc, he takes a noticeable step back, not having as much relevance as other characters. I definitely think the character who was hit hardest with this was Emeralda, who seemingly barely got any spotlight even when she was an important character. Looking at the events of the story as well, I really like the game’s actual story, alongside the world of Xenogears. Though with that in mind, I find it unfortunate that Disc 2’s pacing was noticeably a lot faster than Disc 1’s. I’ll explain my thoughts on Disc 2 sometime later though. Most of Disc 2’s events are done through exposition, but the most important parts are the ones that are actually playable. Even still, they’re rather short segments. For general reference, Disc 1 took me about 45 hours, while Disc 2 took me only 10 hours.
Now, Disc 2 is an unfortunate thing to really examine, I feel. By that I mean that Xenogears’ Disc 2 was meant to be a lot more, but due to the meddling, budget and timing restrictions placed upon the team by Squaresoft, they had to minimize what Disc 2 was. From what I’ve heard, all of the exposition that was in Disc 2 was originally planned to be all playable segments, and I would’ve loved to actually play those. Though I want to say, knowing the reasons why Disc 2 is the way it is, I can’t bring myself to knock on the game too much for this. On top of that, I find there to be a bit of charm in the way they present the exposition in Disc 2, though again, the pacing takes a hit due to most of it being solely through exposition.
Even though I have some gripes with Xenogears, I really find myself mesmerized with the game as a whole. Its strengths are absolutely strength, and most of its flaws are excused to Squaresoft’s meddling. The story is amazing, and though I wish some of the main cast had more time to shine, when they do, they’re really great characters. It feels odd finally being done through the Xeno series. I started this whole thing back in February with Xenosaga Episode 1, because of how I spaced them out, it took ten months to finally play through them all. It feels somewhat odd finally being at the end of the road, but that just means I can find a new road to take.

While I played solely Pokemon Ultra Sun, with the nature of how Pokemon games are, and my history with them, I think it fair for this to be a review of both Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. With that in mind, my feelings of these games are conflicting. While I absolutely loved the experience of playing these games, I also continuously questioned why these games exist, and whether or not they should. I’ll further explain why later on in the review, but the game’s changes from Sun and Moon just don’t feel substantial enough for me to say it’s any better, in fact, there’s a certain, major aspect of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that’s ultimately worse.
Now, I didn’t hate playing Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In fact, much like the original Sun and Moon, these games are super fun and refreshing. But that’s also when the game isn’t interrupting you. This is mainly an issue on the first island of the game, but there were so many interruptions that just kept breaking the flow of the game. It’s important to give the player tutorials, which is what the purpose of the first island is, but too much and too often just ends up being frustrating. It gives the player little time to breathe, especially for someone like me, who has beaten this game multiple times before. After beating the first island though, it really relaxes on this, and you’re more left to your own devices which is so nice, but it’s just hard to ignore the interruptions of the first island.
And the trials are still just as good. Though I’m gonna be honest here, a lot of them are about the same overall, and I can only remember one trial actually changing. One of the big changes as well is that certain totem Pokemon change as well, though only 3 totem Pokemon change, leaving the other 4 exactly the same. On top of this, the game adds one final trial near the end of the game, and it acts as a sort of remembrance of every trial you faced prior which is really nice. Seeing all these people you met along your journey as its soon to meet its end is a really nice touch, and I’m glad it was added to these games.
And one thing I can definitely give to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is the increase in difficulty. While practically every Pokemon game is easy if you know what you’re doing, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are some of the harder Pokemon games, and I really like that. Most of the difficulty came from the Titans themselves. They start the battle with certain stat boosts, sometimes all of their stats are raised, like Totem Mimikyu. On the other hand, they can summon Pokemon that can make your battle harder, like how Totem Lurantis can summon Comfey, a Pokemon that can heal allies. Of course, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have one of the hardest boss fights in all of Pokemon, but part of me feels like it’s a bit too hard at the same time. What I mean by that is that it’s a boss with ridiculously high stats, higher than any other Pokemon at the time, and all of its stats are boosted by one. While it makes for a difficult battle, it also at the same time just feels like a bit of overkill. I was lucky enough to beat on my first try though, thanks to Toxic damage, and using a lot of revives. It provided for a really tense battle, especially since I was only able to get the Toxic to hit thanks to a Quick Claw activation. Of course my team probably wasn’t the best. My team was an Incineroar, Ribombee, Lurantis, Toxapex, Pallosand, and Kommo-o. One of the big challenges I had was definitely with flying types, which made certain late game battles really difficult, but really fun at the same time.
Now, I want to get into why my conflicting feelings with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon exist. Particularly, even though I had a lot of fun with these games, why do I feel at the same time, that they shouldn’t exist? I think it’s ultimately due to how very little the game changes from Sun and Moon. Aside from a couple Totem Pokemon changing, alongside the addition of (I believe) 100 pokemon, there’s very little that changes in the general flow of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon until the final parts of the game. Compared to other third versions of Pokemon games, Emerald changes up every Gym Team, and takes you to new locations such as the Magma Base. Crystal noticeably remixes the encounter table, while changing the story to be more about Suicune. Yellow incorporates a Pikachu that follows you, which changing major teams, such as the rival and the elite four. Platinum changes the flow of gyms, gives gym leaders new teams, and changes the entire look of the Sinnoh region. And of course, Black 2 and White 2 are just entirely different games, just occurring in Unova. The changes in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are so little, and with how this is a set of 2 games, instead of just 1, it feels even worse. The story itself is actively worse than Sun and Moon. It mainly ruins an entire character, who was one of the best villains in the entire series, but for some reason they tried to give her some sort of redemption arc in this game which just feels wrong. What made her such a good character was how irredeemable she was, and I just find it somewhat unfortunate. I think my issues here with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon would be lessened if it was only one game, the fact that this is a dual set of games makes the lack of change more apparent to me.
I don’t hate Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, in fact I really enjoyed my time playing through Ultra Sun again. I finally got around to trying out an Incineroar for the first time, and the challenge of this game is something very few other Pokemon games replicate. But with a weaker story compared to the original, and very little changes to the general flow of the game, I just find that I’d rather play the original Sun and Moon instead. I’ll definitely revisit these from time to time though, because there is an appeal to the difficulty of these games. However at the same time, I still see myself more likely playing the original Sun and Moon games.

What can I say about Silent Hill 2? I’m not asking that due to how often Silent Hill 2 is talked about. Rather, I ask it because the game has left me utterly speechless. Somehow I avoided a majority of spoilers for Silent Hill 2, meaning I had gone into the game almost entirely blind. I already had a general feeling I would love the game. I played the original Silent Hill over a year ago at this point, and I absolutely loved the game. The environment, atmosphere, and music were all stunning. And I feel that Silent Hill 2 perfects it all, making an utter masterpiece.
Now, I played on the PC Abandonware version of Silent Hill 2, with upgrades from the enhanced edition patch (you have to use it anyway, since the patch allows the game to actually open). I was suggested to use the abandonware version as a friend of mine mentioned difficulty with emulating the PS2 version. I could’ve tried out the PS2 version, but hey, better safe than sorry. Now, I bring this up because I think it’d be important to know that the version of Silent Hill 2 I had will most likely not provide the same experience someone reading this may have.
Now onto Silent Hill 2 itself, I don’t really know what all I can speak of it. Particularly, I don’t want to go into the spoilers of Silent Hill 2, as I think it’s a game that’s worth experiencing. To be specific, I don’t want to say what the exact details of the story are, but it’s one worth experiencing. One thing I’d like to mention that’s only tangentially related to the story is the voice acting. The voice acting the characters have is absolutely wonderful! What I mean by that is that there’s something so unnatural about the line delivery that it makes everyone feel off. In most other games, this would be a bad thing, but for a game and setting like Silent Hill, it makes perfect sense. It’s a minor detail that adds to the overall unsettling nature of Silent Hill.
I Think what is ultimately my favorite aspect of Silent Hill 2 is is the atmosphere. The fog that surrounds you in Silent Hill 2 is perfect for the kind of atmosphere Silent Hill should have. The best way I kind describe the fog is “suffocating”. You’re surrounded by it, and you can barely see through it. Any possible threat will only be seen when it’s almost right next to you, leading to things seemingly jump out towards you. And when things aren’t foggy, they’re cast in a deep darkness. This darkness has a similar effect to the fog, but with the fact a small portion of it can be illuminated by a flashlight, it makes the dread even stronger. And when it comes to the actual graphics of the game, I absolutely love how grimy the game looks. Everything looks rusted and dirty, and that idea of being broken down really works, I feel. Much like the fog, I think another perfect aspect of Silent Hill 2’s atmosphere is the sound design and music that’s used. I absolutely love the droning ambience of the game, it’s as if there’s a sense of emptiness alongside some sort of dread. And to coincide with those drones, there’s also loud metallic clangs, scrapes, and bangs. It creates such a strong sense of tension, as if there’s a threat that’s far out of sight, especially if it occurs in places that it wouldn’t make sense for those sounds to occur. And the fact that the sound that signifies if enemies are close to you is static, it creates such a unique atmosphere that very few games can replicate.
I want to give a frame of reference here, for the next topic about the game I want to discuss. Particularly, the feelings of horror, and fear. While I love horror games, I find myself not often terrified by them. I get scared sometimes, but few games ever terrify me. I bring this up to express how terrifying Silent Hill 2 is. Even just hearing the game’s ambience was dreadful, but there were so many terrifying moments on top of it. I particularly remember an area early on in the game, where I was still getting used to things. I was running by an area I had already been to, after doing stuff somewhere else. And suddenly, a scream rang out from across the hallway, completely startling me. In that same general sequence, going to the end of the hallway, Pyramid Head appeared on the other side of a barred off wall, and all he did was stand there. I don’t know how better to describe it, but just seeing him stand there filled me with so much fear.
I also really adore the actual puzzles found in Silent Hill 2. One thing I hope for whenever I find games that feature complex puzzles is the need to write things down. I think it’s a compliment when a game requires me to journal hints to puzzles, and write down reminders to help solve future puzzles. I wont go into details about the puzzles I absolutely loved, but my favorite puzzle in the game was one with a riddle and three coins. I had to read the riddle over and over to figure it out, as it took me so long to understand what the riddle was trying to say. When I did figure it out, and solved the puzzle, I felt genuinely proud of myself, especially knowing I figured it out without a guide. Another similar puzzle also involved a riddle, and 6 people. Yet again, solving the riddle itself felt amazing to do.
I wanted to save him as a topic for last, as I felt he’s important to talk about. And by that, I’m referring to Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head is absolutely an amazing character not only by Silent Hill standards, but all of horror in general. In the realm of Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head has a really narrative unique purpose that you’ll only ever find out by the end of the game. And once you realize why Pyramid Head exists, it makes his existence so much stronger. And outside of Silent Hill 2, it may be exaggerative to say, but I feel like Pyramid Head is comparable to that of famous horror slashers. Not only does Pyramid Head have a similar level of iconicity, but the presentation, threat, and overall execution of Pyramid Head feels so similar, and I love it. Pyramid Head is such a unique threat for any horror property, but he feels perfectly crafted for the world of Silent Hill 2.
The more I think and type about Silent Hill 2, the more I end up totally enamored by it. The atmosphere, terror, and just general flow of Silent Hill 2 is outstanding. And though I only glossed over it, the story is really something unique, that few games are able to replicate with the same level of quality. I only got one of the endings, since I felt like the ending I get is my ending. Though I can definitely see myself replaying the game to try and get the other endings at a later point. Aside from that though, I’m so glad I finally got to play Silent Hill 2, it’s an absolute must play. From what it sounds, the remake of Silent Hill 2 sounds like it’s going to be bad, so if you want to play Silent Hill 2, just play the original.

I’ve been meaning to get to Splatoon 3 for quite a while now. I’ve had it for months, but it was just never the top of my priority list, so it just sat in the backlog. Only because I promised my friends I would play with them in the upcoming Splatfest did I finally get around to playing it. It’s been a good while since I played Splatoon 2 and the Octo Expansion, and because of that, I forgot how much fun I had playing the games. And on top of it, I finally got a chance to experience a Splatfest, and actual Turf Battles this time around, which I think elevated the overall experience.
Now, when it comes to the games I play, I typically prioritize the single-player experience. Multiplayer games just aren’t what interest me, so I typically don’t focus too much on them. In that regard, I want it to be known that my review of the game will also focus primarily on the single-player campaign of the game. Though unlike with Splatoon 2, I did play the multiplayer mode as well, so I will be able to talk about it this time around.
First and foremost, I think Splatoon 3’s main campaign is probably my favorite campaign of the three campaigns I’ve played (2, Octo Expansion, and 3). The general structure of the campaign is really fun, and I really felt motivated trying to get as much as I could done. Particularly, my favorite aspect of the game’s campaign is the explorable overworld. While it’s not the first to have one, it really feels like it placed an emphasis on it this time around. Hidden treasures and secrets are littered throughout each major section of the game, and areas that you cannot traverse unless you pay a fee. It’s also really nice how the game remembers where in the level you’ve splatted. It in some odd way makes it feel really personal, as a showcase of the time you’ve put in.
Some of the treasures you can obtain through exploring the overworld, or beating bosses helps you upgrade your character in specific ways. Either increasing the power of Little Buddy, increasing the power of your weapon, upgrading ink capacity, or even increasing movement speed while in squid form. I ended up completing the entire skill tree, though it’s honestly not too difficult to do, it kind of just happened naturally. Regardless of that though, I honestly just really like skill trees, as it’s a really fun way of customizing and personalizing your character.
While the explorable overworld is my favorite aspect of Splatoon 3’s campaign, what I think shines just as strongly is the level design. Splatoon 3’s level design is top notch, and I think there’s only one level out of the over 70 that I’ve played that I don’t particularly care for. That level particularly was “One Way Ride Through Target Town”, which compared to the other levels in the game, was noticeably much harder. Especially if you tried to do it with the weapon the game suggests. Regardless of that level, every other level of the game was super fun. I’m really glad that Splatoon 3 took the same general structure of levels that Octo Expansion did. In particular, it’s not just “reach the goal” kinds of stages, instead there’s unique ideas in each level. Some levels you can only use sub-weapons, in other stages there’s a thick fog covering the stage, and in some you have to survive. I still don’t really care for the fact that certain levels cost power eggs to access, but it was never that big of an issue. What makes up for that though is that practically every level aside from a small handful are completely optional. Beating each level gives you an enormous amount of Power Eggs the first time you beat it, but every subsequent level clear rewards you with not as many. Particularly, a first level clear gives you about 1400 Power Eggs, but every time you beat it after that it only rewards 300. You could beat the same level over and over to get Power Eggs if you’re struggling at a specific level. The game is really forgiving in this regard. There is a level you gain access to once you beat everything else which is much harder than the rest of the game. I did not play that level.
In a similar vein as well, the overall selection of bosses in Splatoon 3 are probably my favorite of the overall series. The first few bosses are really fun, and while I was challenged, I beat them all on my first try. What makes the bosses really fun to me is the dialogue and banter that occur, as it felt like that was a bit lacking in the previous campaigns. In particular, I think the boss on the fourth island is probably my favorite. Though with that in mind, I feel like the game’s final boss is probably my least favorite boss of the game. It’s a really fun concept, but I think it could’ve been done a bit better, especially the second half of it.
When it comes to the main campaign of Splatoon 3, yet again I think overall it’s probably my favorite campaign of the three I’ve played. But unlike my time with Splatoon 2, I was able to get a shot at playing the multiplayer, and I participated in my first ever Splatfest. Turf Battles in Splatoon were really addictive as I played them. When it comes to the turf battles, they seemed to be about 2 and a half minutes in length. I honestly couldn’t see what the total time for each match was, as I was too focused on the game to see how long each round was. But I feel like the short length of each match is really good, especially for a game like Splatoon. I probably played about 100 matches total, which I think is enough for me to at least have some form of opinion on. I also particularly like that the goal of each match is to cover the most terrain with ink, it provides a really unique goal, and methods to achieve it.
I’ll be honest I’m probably not that good at Splatoon? I won a lot of matches, and I top-scored a lot, but I also was absolutely destroyed in other matches. I was told by a friend that casual games don’t have skill-based match making, which would explain for something like this. Regardless, I had an absolute blast with the game. I particularly found myself using the Dualies, and I ended up playing really aggressively because of it. I found myself often charging into enemy bases, and using the Crab Tank to splat their base. In the rounds I was doing good in, I splatted so many people on the opposing team.
I’m also really happy that I was able to participate in a Splatfest this time around. It was something that I entirely missed out on when I played Splatoon 2, since Splatoon 3 was already out by the time I played it. There’s a unique atmosphere to being in the game while a Splatfest is happening, and I’m glad I was able to experience it firsthand. I was on Team Ghost for anyone was curious.
Of course there’s more stuff I’ve yet to do in Splatoon 3 that maybe I’ll get to at a later point. Particularly, I haven’t played Salmon Run yet, as that feels like something I should play with friends instead of playing with random people. I definitely want to try it out at least once, but I haven’t yet, and I planned to review it once the Splatfest ended. Side Order still isn’t out yet, and I definitely want to play it when it comes out. I’m not done with Splatoon 3, but I think I’m at the point where I can properly review it.
And in the end, I absolutely loved my time in Splatoon 3. Maybe due to the fact I was able to play with friends this time around, it became my favorite of the series. Though then again, I haven’t played the first title (I don’t have a Wii U though). The main campaign is amazing, and the competitive mode is really fun now that I’ve had a chance to play it. One of my friends kept getting jokingly upset that I haven’t played Splatoon 3 yet, and now I understand why.

Cave Story is arguably one of the most important indie titles to exist. I first played the game a long time ago, on my 3DS, but I don’t remember too much about my time with the game. It’s just been that long. But I was thinking about the game again recently, so I decided “why not?”, and I started up Cave Story again. I was able to play through the entire game in a single sitting, getting the best ending possible as well. And through that, I really enjoyed playing the game again, and I feel like I fell in love with the game again.
Now before I get into the review proper, I want to add a little fun tidbit before anything else. The timing of when I played Cave Story is rather interesting. With the version of Cave Story I played, I didn’t realize there were seasonal events that could occur. In particular, since I was playing the game close to Halloween, the characters, enemies, and parts of the environment were dressed up in Halloween costumes. I found it really charming, and I thought it’d be fun to mention.
Now getting into the game proper, I really love exploring the world of Cave Story. Particularly, the level design of Cave Story is really good. It’s so good, that even after all these years, I remembered each of the locations you have to go to, and the structure of each level. The platforming also feels great. Even though the character you play as is a robot, Quote is very light, which feels really great when platforming. Quote’s movement gets even better when you get the booster. Since Quote’s movement never changes throughout the game until the Booster, it’s a breath of fresh air actually getting it. Also, it really feels like the Booster is the only thing that Quote needed to make his movement perfect, and I really like that.
Quote’s weapons are probably the best part of the game, and there’s a lot of really fun things seen through them. First off, each weapon has an experience bar tied to them, and you gain experience occasionally when beating enemies. The higher level the weapons get, the stronger they get, but if you take damage, the weapons lose experience. It creates a really good balance so that weapons don’t get too powerful, and to try and incentivize the player to switch between weapons. Though then again, I do feel like there is one objectively best weapon. To the weapons themselves, the actual weapons you get are really good. The Polar Star is your basic gun, then you go another staple, a Missile Launcher, a strong gun with limited ammo. Then there’s some really fun weapons as well. One of my favorite weapons in the game is the bubble, and while it seems bad at first, but gets really good as it goes to Level 2 and 3. The sword is also a really fun weapon, though I could rarely keep level 3 on it. I also find it really cool that some weapons you can can only be obtained by trading them for weapons you already have. It creates choices that the player has to make, thus making their run of the game unique. Though then again, there is arguably a best weapon, and I don’t know why someone wouldn’t go for it.
Now, when it comes to the story and characters of the game, I really love them. There’s a unique charm that’s found with the characters, and even though you’re with the characters for a very little time, they’re all really memorable. Misery and Balrog are some really fun characters especially. When it comes to the story of Cave Story, I didn’t realize how much worldbuilding there was in the game originally. There’s so much that the game just mentions offhand, but never makes a big deal of things. For example, it seems there was a war before, but we never really learn much about it.
The bosses of Cave Story are really fun as well. Aside from one boss, I was able to beat all of the bosses on the first try. But even then, I found a good number of them challenging, and because of that, really fun. There’s a sequence in the game where you have to fight 4 bosses back to back, and it was both tense and really fun. The final boss of the game is the only one that I died on, but it was easily the hardest boss in the entire game. Maybe it was because of the Halloween cosmetics, but the weak point of the second phase felt off.
One of the big things about Cave Story for me is the method in which you get to the true ending. In simplest terms, the way you get the true ending of the game is really complicated. You have to go through a lot of optional steps, alongside making sure you don’t mess up anywhere along the way. I don’t know entirely how I feel on this, on one hand, I really like that you have to put in the effort to get the best possible ending. On the other hand, I wish there was just a bit more direction in how you get to it. Once you get the path to the best possible ending, you’re brought to the hardest part of the game which then immediately leads into the final boss of the game. It’s a noticeable difficulty spike, and yet again I’m kind of conflicted on it. Particularly, part of me wishes there was a save point right before the final boss. Though then again, I really like how you have to go through hell to get the chance to fight the final boss.
I’m glad I finally got around to replaying Cave Story. It’s not that long of a game, which is why I was able to beat it in a single sitting. I loved exploring through the entirety of the game, and fighting the bosses is really fun. The music of the game is another stellar part of the game, and there’s some absolute earworms in it. Cave Story is still probably one of the most important indie titles to exist, and I’m glad I finally got to play the game again.

Earthbound, once a cult classic, now probably one of the most influential RPGs to ever exist. This isn’t my first time playing it, I played it on my 3DS back in 2017 I believe, but I don’t remember much of my original experience with the game. Since I played Mother 3 last year, and I played the original Mother a couple months ago, I thought it was fitting to replay Earthbound. Earthbound is a complicated game I feel. Is it an amazing game that deserves the status it has today? Of course! But at the same time, there were certain aspects of the game that I just never liked. Even with those aspects in mind though, Earthbound is still a spectacular game that is worth anyone’s time.
Earthbound’s combat is really something to me. I saw some reviews call it simple or basic, but I don’t really see it that way. Particularly, I really love the rolling HP system. Instead of HP immediately dropping from say, 200 to 150, it slowly rolls down from 200, to 199, 198, 197, etc, etc, all the way down to 150. What that means is that on the next round of combat, if you’re fast enough, you can heal that health before it gets to 150. This also works if a character takes enough damage to go down to 0, if you heal them before it reaches 0, they don’t die. This system is so unique, I’ve only ever seen it in Earthbound and Mother 3, and it’s still one that amazes me. There’s a unique sense of saving a character before they die, instead of just reviving them. The PSI abilities in combat are also great, though I primarily just used the healing and offense ones. I like the differences in how fire, ice, and thunder skills work, alongside the unique skills of Rockin’ and Star Storm. I probably should’ve used the support PSI abilities more often, as they would’ve given an edge in combat, though balancing PSI I always found a bit tough, so I often saved it for when it was most useful.
Another outstanding aspect of Earthbound is the general environment. I love how absolutely colorful it is, alongside each area having its own unique vibes. Either from a color palette, or what you actually see as you explore towns, dungeons, or just other locations, you can get the sort of vibe of that location. And I love the settings that the Mother games take place in. Mundane suburban environments, mixed in with some weird and fantastical elements, it’s all super fun and charming. While they had some of the frustrations I’ll explain later, Zombie-Infested Threed and Moonside were some of my favorite locations in the game visually. And adding even more to that, the music really adds to the entire environment too. Typing this right now, I have the store theme playing in my head, and though it appears throughout the entire trilogy, Snowman is still one of my favorite songs in the entire series. There’s something about the song that points to the beauty and the loneliness in a place such as Winters.
Earthbound itself doesn’t have an outright spoken story. It has moments that are, especially in the beginning and endings of the game, but most of the story of the game is written by you. The paths you take, the battles you fight, the hardships and the victories. The journey is yours to take, your path to walk on, your story to write. And I find beauty in that. Earthbound, though having an overarching plot, feels more focused on the journey which I think is another thing to point. Sure, Giygas exists and is threatening to destroy the world, but it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey to get there. You get to see so much of the individuals that make up the world, their daily lives, their struggles, and the general mundane and weird aspects of life. Dungeon Man is one of my favorite characters, especially in this aspect. This guy just wants to become a dungeon, and he’s able to, and there’s something really fun about that. And I think the hardships in the game are another point to the game’s strength (at times, yet again I’ll explain later). The game has noticeable jumps in difficulty, but honestly I find some charm in them. Having to struggle against difficult enemies, but never giving up. Trying again and again until you eventually succeed. And it gets to a point where the things that beat you are now just a pushover. There’s something to that that I really appreciate.
Now, I want to elaborate on what I foreshadowed multiple times already, those being the frustrations I had with Earthbound while playing it. To me, Earthbound is a near perfect game. It does so much right, and so much perfectly, but the things that I found frustrating were really frustrating. I think particularly the thing that frustrated me the most while playing the game was constant status effects that were happening. Now this is obvious exaggeration, but it felt as if every other turn one of my party members was afflicted with a status of some kind. I don’t know if I missed important information that would help me counter status effects, but unless I had the right level of PSI Healing, there wasn’t really a way for me to counter it. And most of the status effects in the game are just really annoying. Crying and Feeling Strange were the most common ones, where accuracy is lowered and attacking wrong targets respectively. Those are fine, but can be a little annoying, especially the latter. I found the most frustrating one to be Possession, as not only can it hurt your party members, but it can prevent a party member from acting one turn. And in cases where it prevents your healer from healing, you’re just screwed for that turn. I think ultimately the thing is that the status effects themselves are fine in isolation, one of the final bosses, Diamond Dog, had a really nasty status effect which works as basically an instant kill, but what made it work was the environment in which it was found. With random encounter enemies constantly using status effects on you, it becomes a lot more frustrating, and at least for me, not in a good way. This leads into my second general frustration, which is the nature of enemy encounters. I think Earthbound improved upon Mother’s method of enemy encounters. Gone are random encounters, but now enemies appear in the overworld, and if you collide with an enemy, combat begins. I found myself unlucky, and constantly found swarms of enemies, and since enemies are faster than the player characters, you can’t escape from them easily once they see you. I ultimately think either lessen the amount of enemies that can spawn, or make it easier to flee from them before battle, and the problem is solved. My last frustration is one that isn’t exclusive to Earthbound, as it’s a pet peeve that I find persists through nearly every RPG I’ve played. Being unable to flee from combat I just find bad, innately. I make this point every time, but there’s already a built in punishment to fleeing battles, since you won’t get any items or experience points. Punishing the player by allowing the enemies free attacks on them is just insult to injury at that point.
I want to make a point with my frustrations though. With what you can probably imagine, they’re all chance based occurrences. Status Conditions, Encounter Rates, Flee Rates, all of these are things that are all tied to chance. While these are frustrations I had, and I can’t discount them, I also imagine I just ended up being really unlucky during my time playing it. It was to the point that I was worried I was playing a pirated version of the game somehow, though that wasn’t the case. I can’t guarantee anyone who plays this game will run into the same issues I did, and hey, maybe you’ll be able to overlook what I couldn’t.
At the end of the day, even with the frustrations I had, I still love and appreciate Earthbound. Its charm, music, environment, everything about it aside from a small list of things is absolutely amazing. It’s no wonder that so many games get this inspiration from the Mother series, let alone Earthbound. The ending of the game is absolutely beautiful, and I’m glad I stuck through it to the end. Though of course this isn’t my first time playing Earthbound, I’m glad I revisited it after so long.

Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion is a game I always generally appreciated. While I never played the game until now, I really loved its concept, its simplicity, and its execution. For a game with a simple concept, it does what it does really well. And I feel as if the game gets better with the additions of the Karamari Hospital and the Dollhouse DLC expansions. I chose to play the HD Renovation solely because it came with the DLC added, and I wanted the most recent version of the game. I really like the game, now that I’ve played it proper, and I do have some thoughts on it.
As I explained moments ago, I find Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion to be of a simple concept. As the game tells you as you start it, you have to go through 1000 rooms, and the game isn’t lying there. You will find yourself running through 1000 rooms of a mansion, dealing with threats along the way. While that sounds like a daunting task, to get through those 1000 rooms, it only takes about 2 hours of time. Even then, I messed around for a little bit, so if you focus solely on beating the game, it’ll take even less time. I also imagine that the length of time is determined by what rooms you’re given. Every floor is randomly generated from a selection of rooms. Most of them are simple, though there are some unique rooms alongside some really long rooms in the rotation. As you progress further and further throughout the game, more threats appear that you’ll have to deal with, and the specimens themselves are probably my favorite aspects of the game.
The specimens as it’s already obvious are the threats you’ll have to evade through the entirety of the game. And the further you get through the game, the more complex they become, all in interesting ways. What makes most of the specimens interesting is how they’re introduced. Aside from the first 2 specimens you encounter, each specimen has a unique location that you can find them in. This provides a noticeable change in aesthetic, alongside interesting worldbuilding, either about the specimen, or things affected by it. Yet again, the further I progressed through the game, the better these unique locations became. I particularly remember really enjoying the one for Specimen 12, where part of the specimen would get close to your location, and you had to hide until it was safe. And to further elaborate on why I enjoy the specimens as much as I do, aside from 2 of the 13 main specimens, all of them are inspired by famous horror creatures or IPs. And what’s great is that while you can see the clear inspiration of them, the specimens all feel extremely unique in and of themselves. One of my favorite Specimens is Specimen 10, as its major mechanic is how you cannot run too far away from it, making avoiding it a delicate balance. For my playthrough of the game, I definitely had some specimens appear more often than others. Specimen 2 appeared super often, alongside Specimen 3, 5, and 8. Specimen 6, 10, and 11 really only appeared once throughout the entire game. And running away from Specimens can really be determined by what rooms you get during those chases. Sometimes, I continuously got these long winding chamber rooms, and the specimens that were chasing me were ones that could float across empty gaps. I mean, I never died to them so it’s not that bad, but it was a little frustrating. One great positive about Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion and how the Specimen chases work is the music. Not only is a lot of the music just really good, but it’s also an amazing indicator for when you’re in danger. A lot of the time in the game, you don’t need to look behind you to see what specimen is chasing you. However, the music indicates not only if a specimen is chasing you, but who it is as well. It allows you to instinctively know how to react to what the threat will be.
While this would be all I need to say for the base game of Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion, as the game really is as simple as that, there’s also the DLC that the game has, Karamari Hospital, and The Dollhouse. And genuinely, I think they’re great expansions to the game as a whole, and for the dollhouse especially, probably my favorite parts of the game.
While I love the random room generation of the game’s main story, I think I ultimately prefer the controlled environment of the DLCs. What I mean by that is that each room in the DLCs are purposefully crafted, and are much more puzzle oriented. Having to solve puzzles or find keys throughout a location, while surviving a number of specimens located within the general area. I really love the specimens found within the DLC, though some are kind of simple (mostly the ones in Karamari Hospital). I think that The Dollhouse is probably my favorite segment of the entire game as a whole, and has some absolutely great specimens. Woormy Charles is really fun, and I really love the reverse weeping angels mechanics of the Hooked Doll. The Dollhouse is also an amazing way to end of Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion, especially with how the DLC actually expands on Spooky as a character.
One last thing I’ll add is that I think the endless mode is really nice. I didn’t play it at all, but I appreciate it for what all it does. It provides a fun arcade-y type of game, and it would be an interesting challenge to see how far you can actually get. I also like the addition of the new specimens, especially knowing that White Face from IMSCARED makes a cameo.
Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion is a game of simple premise, but great execution. Now having properly played it, I really appreciate what it’s able to do, and it’s super charming. It feels like a love letter to horror in some way, especially with how many inspirations can be found through the specimens you find in the game. With how short it is, I can definitely recommend giving it a shot, you can probably beat the game, DLC included, in about 3 hours of time. It’s a really nice game overall.

Super Metroid was one of the first Metroidvanias I’ve ever played, alongside that, it was the first Metroid title I’ve ever played as well. I first got it on my 3DS back I think around 2017, and I remember absolutely loving it. I mean, it’s Super Metroid, what more is there to say on the matter? I wanted to replay Super Metroid now that I’ve gone and played the other major 2D Metroid titles, sort of coming back to where I started in a way. And even still, Super Metroid I still find to be one of the best Metroid titles, and I absolutely loved my time with replaying it.
Though I don’t play them as much as I used to, Metroidvanias are one of my favorite genres when it comes to videogames, and Super Metroid is one of the games that help create this genre. With that in mind, I bring it up because an important part of Metroidvanias that they all need to get right is level design. Metroidvanias are mazes, simply put. They’re large explorable mazes, where you can find upgrades, secrets and methods to unlock new paths and shortcuts. Making the entire world a maze provides a difficult challenge though, as it leaves you asking one important question. “How do you direct the player where to go next without outright telling them?”. And I like to think that Super Metroid does a really good job at doing so. The typical method of indirectly telling players where to go that Super Metroid does is placing enemies behind walls. I remember seeing so many rooms that I’d normally think impossible to go to, but then I see an enemy and think “that was put there for a reason”, thus I know I can probably go up there. I also remember a room where there’s a secret path in the middle of it, but you can only tell that it’s there as an enemy crawls out of it. The more I played Super Metroid, the more I noticed these subtle cues to where the game tries to direct you and I find it really impressive.
Another major aspect of Metroidvanias is the list of abilities and upgrades you can get along the way. And I don’t think I need to elaborate too much here, Samus’ list of abilities, especially in Super are downright iconic. The Morph Ball, Power Bombs, Grappling Hook, The Varia Suit, The Gravity Suit, The Screw Attack? These are practically all staple aspects of Samus’ abilities, and from what I remember, they persist from this point onwards. Super Metroid is where Samus really gets going in this regard. What I will say though is that later games do get better at the switching between Missiles and regular shots, and I do like how Super Missiles eventually become an upgrade to Missiles, instead of their own ammo source. Though then again, I love how busted the Super Missiles are, being able to destroy a lot of bosses really easily.
Speaking of bosses, Super Metroid I’d consider to have the strongest collection of bosses in the entire series. I don’t think there’s any bad bosses in this game at all, though there’s ones that are at worst, unremarkable. Though probably due to me having played this game before, I found the bosses quite easy, I only ever died once in a boss fight throughout the entire game. Even though they’re pretty easy, I still find them to provide a really fun challenge, and there’s some great presentation found in the game as well. I love how the Kraid fight is presented especially. There’s this fake out with a Mini-Kraid before you actually get to the boss arena, but when you enter the actual arena, Kraid is absolutely massive, to the point where you can never see its entirety on screen. I also really like the Crocomire fight, it’s a particularly unique one compared to the other bosses in Super Metroid, and I really like the bit that occurs after you actually defeat it. Phantoon is a fight that I love for its presentation, especially with how weird Phantoon is as a creature, but after all this time I still don’t understand how I’m actually supposed to dodge its attacks. I kinda just damage tank it. Draygon is another really fun boss, but I’ve never actually fought it then normal way. I use the secret method that requires the Grappling Hook that makes the boss ridiculously easy. While sure I’d love to fight the boss the normal way and see how it’s done, I also really like knowing this secret method. And of course of the last major bosses, Ridley is as iconic as always. Much like Phantoon I don’t really know how to dodge his attacks, but the general presence of Ridley is so threatening, and I love the build up to actually getting to the room where Ridley is at. And Sure some of the mini-bosses aren’t of particular interest, but each major boss is done in a way that I absolutely love.
Super Metroid, and Metroid as a series is particularly interesting when looking at the story of the games. In particular, aside from opening monologues, there’s very little actual dialogue within the games, but there’s still impressive stories. That really becomes noticeable in Super Metroid, with a lot of what it’s able to do. Super Metroid is able to really convey its story through music especially. The music is of course meant to set the scene, but in certain aspects, it helps convey Samus’ emotions. I find this to be very noticeable in the last part of the final fight with Mother Brain. The baby Metroid is dead, sacrificing itself to save Samus, and Samus attacks Mother Brain over, and over, and over. Mother Brain is not given time to act, she killed Samus’ child. And the music, it isn’t anything glorious or motivational, there’s barely any music at all. It’s solemn, empty, sad. Even if she defeats Mother Brain, Samus lost her child. And only now having replayed it after all this time have I fully understood this moment of the game, and it’s an absolutely amazing moment.
As I said earlier, Super Metroid was the first Metroid game I ever played, and I wanted to replay it after I played the other major 2D Metroid titles. Now that I have, I still feel as if Super Metroid is still one of the best that the series has to offer, even though it’s not particularly my favorite. There’s so much polish and care put into Super Metroid, and truth be told it felt like I was playing the game for the first time all over again. I finished the game with a pretty nice 69% completion, which is probably the best I’ve done in Super Metroid. I really enjoy not finding everything in a game, because if I ever replay it, there’s a sense of discovery finding something I never found before. Regardless of that, I’m glad I finally got around to replaying Super Metroid proper, it’s still a wonderful game.

It’s been a while since I played the first Marathon, and I’ve honestly been meaning to play this game for quite a long time now. Only now have I had the chance proper to actually play it. Much like the first game, I really enjoyed playing through Marathon 2: Durandal. It improves upon the game in some angles, while still keeping some of the flaws that the original had as well.
Now, like the name suggests, Marathon 2: Durandal focuses a lot more on Durandal the character. Particularly, he’s the one directing you through most of the levels, alongside giving you your assignments for each level. And yet again, Durandal as a character is a highlight of the Marathon series so far. I love characters that absolutely revel in their twisted insanity, and Durandal fits the bill as one of those characters. And I also think it’s interesting how unlike in the first Marathon, where he was more of an antagonistic force, in Marathon 2, you have no other option but to work for him. It’s a new dynamic that I really like. I also like seeing how the other characters that appear through Marathon 2 view and interact with Durandal. Especially the back and forth between Durandal and Tycho.
Yet again, a majority of the game’s story is told through computer terminals. I definitely have a feeling I missed some, I’d have to imagine that Marathon 2 also has secret terminals that provide important lore information. And since I’m not that good at finding them, I probably missed quite a few. Even so, I really like the story found in Marathon 2. I love the deep worldbuilding found in the game, while we already knew of the Pfhor and the S’pht from the original Marathon, I love the further worldbuilding the two alien races were given in this game. And I also really like how so many different characters talk to you, and treat you with reverence. Even though from having playing Marathon 1, I know of the deeds that I’ve done, being treated as some legendary hero, makes me just wonder “who exactly am I playing as?”.
And much like the first one, Marathon 2 is an absolutely amazing game to play. Movement is great, gunplay is amazing. So on and so forth.
The movement in Marathon 2 is about the same as the first one. I love high momentum, and being able to travel through the map super quickly feels really good. I’m still a big fan of the low gravity nature of Marathon. Since you’re unable to jump in the Marathon games, you have low gravity, which allows you to float a distance to other gaps, which is really fun. It allows there to be a sense of verticality there couldn’t be otherwise.
Marathon 2 does add swimming, which is a little finnicky I’ll say. The swimming controls themselves are fine, primarily it’s just press control to swim upwards. I also find it interesting how practically no weapons are able to be used underwater. It provides a unique sense in danger that is exclusive to those sorts of areas. Being able to go underwater also provides a use for the oxygen meter, which was only needed for one level back in the first Marathon. Now, oxygen is something you need to actually manage. Where I feel swimming is finnicky is actively getting out of pools of water. Sometimes the pools will have staircases that help you get out, but not all of them do. For those cases, you’ll have to hope you have enough momentum to climb out of the pools, which isn’t always the case. Yet again, that part isn’t bad, it’s just finnicky really.
I absolutely love the gunplay of Marathon 2. Though, in saying that, it’s still about the same as Marathon 1. The guns in the game feel absolutely great, and I love having a vast array of weaponry at my disposal. The pistols are great, the assault rifle is still one of the best weapons in the game, and the newly added shotgun was so needed. I may be biased here though, shotguns have always been one of my favorite weapons in videogames. I really like how each weapon, even your fists, have an alternate fire that they can use. Some just have a secondary ammo type, and others can just be dual wields. In particular, you can dual wield shotguns, which is the coolest thing ever. I really like how the assault rifle’s alternate fire, the grenades, can be used to solve puzzles, which is just really cool to me.
Now, my one personal gripe with Marathon 2, which is also the same as my personal gripe with Marathon 1 is the level design. Marathon 2 has some amazing levels in it, but a good majority of the levels are mazes. Now, I can’t deny that I really find charm in being dropped in the middle of a maze, not entirely understanding what you need to do, or where to go, but doing it for almost every level is a little tiring. Especially when you get to some of the mazes that are gigantic in size, and it feels like you’re looking for a needle in a haystack. One of my favorite levels was probably level 19, “This Side Toward Enemy”. In the previous level, you lost all of your weapons, so in this level, you had to be super cautious in order to survive, and it felt so good getting a weapon back. And while I had some difficulty with it, I really did like the final level of the game.
That aside though, I really enjoyed Marathon 2. I feel I like it just as much as the original, but it definitely improves upon certain aspects that the origin had or needed. I mean, it added a shotgun, and that means a lot to me. I have one last Marathon entry to play, and from what I’ve heard it’s easily the best. I can’t wait.

Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that for its time was massively popular. It’s over 6 years old now at the time of typing this review, and it’s hard not to know anything about it. I’ll be honest, I went into this game already quite spoiled by most of its events, and especially its major twists. But I thought it would be worthwhile to play this game properly, especially since it’s free. Even though I was already spoiled by what a lot of what this game has to offer, I ended up still really enjoying it, and the journey that the game has to offer.
When it comes to Visual Novels for me, one of the major requirements for a Visual Novel to be good is for the cast to be good. A strong cast is important for many games, but Visual Novels require a much stronger cast, since they don’t have as many elements that other games include. It’s like reading a book. And I honestly really enjoy the main cast of Doki Doki Literature Club… except for the main character. When it comes to the main character, they’re just really rude and none of the other characters really make much note to that. And since the main character is meant to be the stand-in for the player, it often leads me to read stuff as if I were saying them. Because of that, and with what the main character is like, it often made me feel really frustrated. Aside from the main character though, the four other characters of Doki Doki Literature Club are all really great! The character dynamics are really fun, and I really enjoyed seeing the interactions between characters. I streamed it to some friends, and we tried to voice the characters throughout the game, Which honestly was super fun. Doing so I feel definitely allowed me to get further attached to the characters than I would have if I read it on my own.
Of course, when it comes to Doki Doki Literature Club, it’s hard to not ignore the horror elements of the game. I mean, the game tells you as you open the game, and asks you if you consent to seeing disturbing content. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to talk about the horror of the game, primarily because it doesn’t really hide it? However with that in mind, I really like how this game executes its horror. In particular, aside from the warning, you would have very little clue that Doki Doki Literature Club was a horror game. I do wish that there wasn’t a warning, because having no inkling of the game being a horror game would make it hit much harder, but I understand why a warning is there. Once you figure out a horror game, the game swerved off the road and you’re already tumbling off the cliff. It’s such a sudden shift, and I love how disorienting it feels. Having already been spoiled by it, I of course knew what was coming, but it allowed me to see all of the foreshadowing, and I think it’s really well done! I imagine that if I had gone in blind, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was foreshadowing, which is really well done.
Now to the actual horror elements of the game, I find them really interesting. Honestly, while the game definitely got me a couple times, I definitely think it would’ve hit me harder if I didn’t know what was already coming. Even then, the game is really good at keeping you on edge. Even though the shift to horror is sudden, the game doesn’t bombard you with horror from that point onwards. A majority of the second half of the game is still primarily a visual novel, but horror elements brought into it to remind you that things are not okay. And most of the time, the horror elements are never in your face either, or are very subtle things to just keep you uncomfortable. And I like how, no matter where you are in the game, you’re not safe from the horror elements. Pause Menu, Title Screen, Save Menu, Poem Screen, every single area of the game includes potential horror moments that you could experience. That sort of tension knowing that the horror can appear from anywhere I find really interesting.
And speaking of that, I really like how each playthrough of Doki Doki Literature Club is unique to the individual playing it. The friends I was streaming it to told me that stuff that I saw in the game was stuff that they never saw before. I really like how most of the horror elements are tied to the random events that could occur in each playthrough. With how subtle some of them are as well, it’s really interesting to me. It’s funny that I’m reviewing this game after I reviewed Undertale, which has a similar thing going on. I absolutely love when games have systems that make each playthrough of a game unique, as it gives me a more personal connection to the game. Especially with a game like Doki Doki Literature Club, where I feel it’s a game where you shouldn’t replay it, it makes that time with the game even more unique and personal.
Doki Doki Literature Club was a massively popular game for its time. I don’t know where it stands in the cultural space nowadays, but it did get a remaster a few years back. While I have been spoiled about things, this was my first time properly playing it, and I appreciate a lot of what it does. I find it interesting that a game like this became as popular as it did, especially since I’ve seen a lot of argument over the worth of Visual Novels. Regardless of that, I really enjoyed Doki Doki Literature Club, and I’m glad I finally got around to playing it.

It’s been a while since I’ve played Devil May Cry, I think I played the first one over a year ago now. And from watching a friend play it, I made the executive decision to just skip DMC2. That leads me into the next game on the list being Devil May Cry 3. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember a whole lot of the original Devil May Cry, however I can recognize how much of an improvement DMC3 is compared to the original. It feels as if this is the game where they solidified the identity of the Devil May Cry series, both in tone and presentation. Though with that said, I don’t think the game is perfect. It’s almost there, but it has a few issues that keep it from truly being good.
Devil May Cry 3’s story is, to me, one of its best aspects. While there were some moments of it in DMC1, DMC3 definitely feels like it understands what kind of story it wants to tell, and how to present it. Overall, there is a major Rule of Cool in Devil May Cry 3. Dante is cool, Vergil is cool, the fights are cool, the weapons are cool, etcetera etcetera. Ultimately Devil May Cry 3 is just cool. But to further this coolness, the actual story of DMC3 is really good. The characters of the game are all really good. In particular, the dynamic between Dante and Vergil is amazing, and I really like Lady’s arc throughout the game.
Devil May Cry 3, being a Hack n Slash, is very focused on the combat and god is it fun. It’s hard for me to find a Hack n Slash where the combat isn’t fun, so I already knew I was going to enjoy it. I really like how the timing of the button presses determine what kind of combo you do, though at the same time, my tendency to mash when panicked definitely works against me. And while fighting the regular enemies is fun in itself, the boss fights are definitely the strongest part of the game. Though yet again, my tendencies worked against me. Early on, there was a boss where you had to jump on it to attack it with your melee attacks, but I thought I’d get hurt by jumping on it, so I just shot at it over and over. I can’t be upset at the game over this, as I recognize it was my bad. I think the penultimate boss fight is rather iffy in its design, as it forces you into a particular Style. Though aside from that one, I really enjoyed all of the boss fights in this game.
Easily one of the best additions in Devil May Cry 3 is the styles. While I remember enjoying my time with DMC1, it felt like something overall was missing to really add to the experience. Devil May Cry 3’s styles I think are that something. Each style change up Dante’s moveset in some form, either giving him new abilities, new movement options, or better offenses or defenses. And I really like them! But I do think there’s a fatal flaw with them, especially since it’s a thing that, to my knowledge, only exists in DMC3, in particular. The problem with the Styles is not the Styles themselves, however it’s the fact that you can only switch between Styles either at the start of a mission, or at a divinity statue. When it comes to Styles, I feel as if they’re meant to be experimented with, and they should be freely switched between in order to adapt to the situation at hand. However, since you can only switch between Styles in specific circumstances, I find it better just to stick with one Style, instead of switching between them. Even still, I find one style particularly better than the rest, specifically the Trickster Style. The Trickster Style focuses primarily on movement, and being able to dodge enemies. Primarily, one option the Trickster Style gives you is a dash, and I genuinely can’t imagine playing this game without the Dash. It feels like a necessary movement option, and during the moments where I couldn’t be in Trickster felt wrong.
Devil May Cry 3 is just such a cool game. Even if I’m not good at it, there’s just an overall coolness to this game that I absolutely adore, especially in the music. Yet again, I’d say this game is nearly perfect, as I find it to have a couple issues, but even then it’s still an amazing game. I really have to play the further games at some point, though I’m unsure if my computer could even run DMC5.

It’s interesting finally playing IMSCARED after all this time. The game is over a decade old, and it’s hard not to ignore the game, or the legacy it left behind. “A game with an entity that can create folders on your actual desktop” is an amazing idea. I’m not sure if IMSCARED is the first game to affect someone’s desktop, or to break the fourth wall in the way it does. However, I know it’s definitely one of the most well known for it, and it helped inspire others to come up with similar concepts in their own games. But IMSCARED’s legacy aside, I had never actually played the game until now, and it really stood the test of time.
I’ll be honest, I’m really bad with horror games. I absolutely love them, but I get scared so easily, it’s somewhat ridiculous. IMSCARED is no exception. Though there was rarely an active threat, the constant atmosphere and droning ambience filled me with so much dread. There was never a time where I wasn’t uneasy. I also noticed that at times, the music would cut out. While it would be first assumed that it was a bug of some kind, regardless of if it is, it makes the atmosphere so much more tense. Instead of that droning ambience, you’re just drowned in silence. I was far more than just scared, I was absolutely terrified. And the minimal use of active threats makes those moments where active threats are around even more terrifying. It never feels like a “been there done this” kind of situation, each encounter feels terrifying in the same degree.
Of course, IMSCARED is well known for its Fourth Wall Breaks. Acknowledging you the player at multiple times, and often requiring you to mess with files the game adds in order to solve puzzles. One thing I really appreciate about IMSCARED is that the scares rarely come from the Fourth Wall Breaks themselves. Like I said, most of them time, messing with files is necessary to primarily solve puzzles. Later on in the game, there are some absolutely amazing puzzles that involve messing with the game or files in specific ways. When the Fourth Wall Breaks are tied to scares, they play more into leading into a scare, instead of being the scare itself. And I absolutely love the way of doing it. Though some of the fourth wall breaks definitely suffered due to the new Steam Update, fake achievements don’t work like they used to.
I absolutely adore the entities of IMSCARED. White Face is an amazing design. I love how most of the horror isn’t coming from its design, or the times it chases you. Instead, it’s terrifying whenever it watches you, staring into your soul the way it does. And that terror grows even further as it evolves into HER. While White Face is more of a lingering dread, HER is an antagonistic threat to you. Actively going out of her way to try and stop you from progressing. And seeing the writing of the game, and how the character of White Face/HER evolves as the game, and as you progress is really great. I may be talking a bit too much about the game here, and I’m sorry about that. I just really adore how the entity of the game is written the way it is.
I’m very late to the party on IMSCARED. It’s almost 11 years old at the time I’m typing this, and I’ve had this game in my library for probably a good 2 years at this point. I’ve been meaning to get to it for such a long time now, I just struggle getting the motivation to play horror games. Yet again, I get scared really easily, so I hesitate a lot. But I’m glad I finally brought myself to play IMSCARED, it really is a terrifying game, and its puzzles are absolutely stellar. While I really think IMSCARED’s ending is one to be admired, the promise of brand new IMSCARED content, especially with the direction it seems to be going is one that I find really interesting, and I can’t wait to see how it goes.

I only came across Severed Steel by chance, as it was a game I got in a bundle about 2 years ago. While I thought the game looked cool, It was never high priority on my list. Only about a week ago, I had to look through my game library for FPS games that I could research for a college project. By chance, I remembered Severed Steel, and a lot of the people agreed this would be a good game to use as research. So I sat down, played for a little bit, and was absolutely blown away by how great it was. I was already in the middle of playing a long game at the time and I wanted to finish that game before finishing anything else, but I knew that once I finished that game, I had to play Severed Steel next. And so, that’s what I did.
Severed Steel is a lot of things. It’s SUPERHOT inspirations are quite noticeable, and I feel like there’s some Metroid Prime inspiration in there as well. The Arm Cannon’s design in particular is what I find reminiscent there. But while there are some noticeable inspirations, what this game is able to do makes Severed Steel such an amazing game. It’s far greater than the sum of its parts, creating an absolutely amazing movement shooter.
The actual gunplay in Severed Steel rocks. Every gun has limited ammo and no way of reloading, which means you’ll be constantly switching which guns you use, which is really cool. Some of its guns are definitely similar in functionality, however this method creates an amazing and natural way of necessitating switching your weapon without it being forced. And the way you switch guns is that you can either throw your gun at an enemy to stun them, or you get close to the enemy to steal their gun. That creates a really fun dynamic too, as you’re putting yourself closer to danger in order to obtain a new weapon. That in itself is so thrilling. And I have no complaints with the guns either, each gun feels absolutely great to use, though of course the shotgun is my personal favorite. One (relatively minor) thing I have to compliment about this game is the sound that plays when you beat an enemy. There’s such as satisfying thing about the sound that plays, I can’t really put it into words.
Of course, one of the major mechanics of Severed Steel is its Bullet-Time. With it, whenever you hold down the right mouse button, you’re able to slow down time to better aim while mid-movement. And while it’s obviously not unique to Severed Steel, I adore how it’s done. You have a limited amount of time you can have Bullet-Time active, which is typical, but you recharge it by beating enemies. That means if you’re able to beat enemies back to back, your Bullet-Time will last longer and longer. It feels so satisfying to be able to pull it off, especially when you’re in a room with a lot of enemies. What adds to this as well, having no Bullet-Time is such a stressful situation, in a good way. It’s somewhat terrifying having no Bullet-Time to use, yet again, it’s just really thrilling!
As mentioned prior, Severed Steel is a movement shooter, and its movement options are just amazing! Being able to slide, lunge, wall-run, double jump, wall jump, at normal or slowed speed is so fun. You’re able to go across the map in such fun ways that I can only imagine that no two people go through the game’s levels in the exact same way. The game is so open in that regard. Slides, Wall-Runs and Lunges allow you to avoid enemy fire, so they’re great ways to protect yourself, while still moving. Slides and Lunges also hurt enemies that get hit by them. Though my favorite movement option, if it counts as one, is the kick. Kicks can be used to kick off walls if you’re running on them, but I love their interactivity with enemies. Kicking an enemy can disarm them, but as well if you kick an enemy with the shield, not only does the enemy drop the shield, but you get launched into the air. This game’s movement is ridiculously fluid in the best way possible.
And of course, what exemplifies how good the movement in the game is, is the game’s levels. Level design of course varies from level to level, but god they feel so fun to play. The open areas value having a massive amount of air-time, and being able to dash around the enemies below you. The more closed-in areas are perfects for slides and lunges, and getting up close and personal with the enemies. Most levels do have common goals. Get to the end of the level, defeat all the enemies, destroy an amount of things, or collect an amount of things. And honestly I really like these levels, but I’m also glad that the last set of levels also alternate between things. My favorite level is still the Train level though, it’s just the best to me. One particular level I’m reminded of is “The Wall”, which exemplifies one of my favorite things of Severed Steel.
Within each level of Severed Steel, every level is destructible. Walls, floors, doors, the entire environment, you can destroy EVERYTHING. And god, it’s so fun! You can make what were previously walls into new pathways to areas you’ve been or need to go to. If you got a good gun on you, you’re able to shoot enemies through walls. And some of the levels can be beaten ridiculously quickly just by destroying the environment around you. And later on in the game, some levels actively require you destroy them, which feels amazing! Not many games have a destructible environment like Severed Steel, and I absolutely love it here.
I primarily played the main campaign for Severed Steel, and through that, I was able to beat it in under 3 hours. While it has a story, the story is very minimal, which I’m fine with, Severed Steel as a game is very much gameplay first. And honestly, I think the main campaign being under 3 hours isn’t too bad, the game is meant to be replayed over and over as you get better and better. Each level can typically be beaten in under 3 minutes, maybe faster if you’re a master at the game. But with that in mind, this game has so much additional content to it. It’s got multiple built in bonus campaigns and levels, it’s got a roguelike mode that you can play, and with a level editor to boot, the game practically has an infinite amount of potential content. In that regard, Severed Steel blows me away, and I definitely want to play the additional content at some point.
Severed Steel is an example of a belief I have where some of the best games out there are the ones you stumble upon. Being told or knowing that a game is amazing beforehand sets up an expectation of things, and even if its true, the impact is different. But just stumbling upon a game, playing it, and being blown away by it is just something else. I only found Severed Steel by chance, if I never got that bundle, I would’ve never had this game, and I probably would’ve never gotten it otherwise. And I’m really glad I was able to play this game, as it absolutely blew me away.