JosephGribbin
2000
Great platformer with a unique vibe. You can tell there was a lot of love and care put into the graphical design, soundtrack, writing etc. to create a very specific tone. It's a lovely world to explore and move around in. Has a few frustrating spots that bring it down but I greatly enjoy it and think about it often.
Plays pretty well and the environments are lovely to look at, but they ruined the vibes. The weird ethereal fantasy of previous raymans has been replaced with a lot of edgy 2000s humour that has aged like milk.
2022
If you squint you can see the faint outline of something resembling a good game but this ain't it. It runs out of new ideas pretty quickly and is generally unpolished and frustrating.
Gorgeous to look at, incredible soundtrack, and it improves on a lot of the more tedious and frustrating parts of it's predecessor, but also misses some of what made the original uniquely compelling. The first game was almost like a tactical puzzle game with tight encounter design and very specialised characters, and this one doesn't really scratch that itch. It's still a lot of fun and probably has broader appeal but it's also bit of a letdown.
2022
Charming 3D platformer. It's a small experience that controls great and is really fun to explore.
This review contains spoilers
It's a pretty standard open-world game, but I like Spider-Man, so I have more patience for it than a lot of other titles in the genre. It's really fun to swing about, the combat's flashy, and the stealth is really satisfying. Less good: irritating puzzle sequences, and tedious forced stealth / walking around bits with other characters. Story has some nice performances and good moments, but feels like a bit of a retread of the second Raimi movie. Mr Negative is a cool antagonist but gets weirdly sidelined for a lot of the game.
Smaller in scope than the original PS4 game, which ends up working in its favour. Fewer tedious missions and more straight up superhero action. Not revolutionary but really really solid.
It's okay, but the story feels weirdly inconsequential, and the returning characters all feel a little off. Fun if you just want more Uncharted I guess.
The most forgettable of the New Supers. Inoffensive and if you like jumping around you can have some fun, but I felt it immediately leaving my brain the second I stopped playing.
Secretly one of the better Mario platformers. Tons of great level design and the overworld is really fun to explore. Unfortunately the sterile presentation lets it down.
Uh... Its so hard to tell these games apart sometimes... I think this one was okay. The waggle stuff wasn't very good but beyond that idk.
The first one of these felt like a breath of fresh air at the time. It had been ages since a proper new 2D mario, and this one's pretty good! Holds up worse in retrospect.
2022
A little finicky to control, and has some tough difficulty spikes later on, but it looks really nice and the level design is really good! Had a good time with it.
A short and focused little expansion for Demon Turf. Feels like it takes on board frustrations from the original and does a lot of smart things to address them. The level design is really strong here.
A fairly standard platformer. Completely fine, and if you have young kids I can see this being a good game to play with them in co-op. Has these musical levels using licensed pop songs that are quite inspired, and there's obviously been a lot of love put into the art direction, but aside from that the game doesn't do a lot that's unique or interesting.