Khalifa
2019
I want to root for Tokyo RPG Factory so bad because I thought I Am Setsuna was a genuinely great game and had charm out the wazoo, but between this and Lost Sphear being so bland that I could only stomach a few hours of it, I'm starting to think Setsuna was a fakeout. Middling story, cumbersome combat, weak writing...it's all just so disappointing. At least this game, unlike Lost Sphear, feels like it has an identity, but...that's about it really. The atmosphere was nice? I guess?
2022
This was really fun for the first two hours but falls off pretty quickly after that. The new weapons they give you and new arenas they introduce aren't different or interesting enough to keep the gameplay engaging. It ended right when I was getting really bored though, so the short length saves it.
2005
Obsessed with how much of a nothingburger this was. The epitome of "go girl!! give us nothing!!!"
Requiring all the toads (this game's equivalent of the star coins) to access the final boss (like, the actual final level of the game and not a secret level or something) is an unhinged choice for a Mario game that I kinda have to respect it.
Requiring all the toads (this game's equivalent of the star coins) to access the final boss (like, the actual final level of the game and not a secret level or something) is an unhinged choice for a Mario game that I kinda have to respect it.
(BacklogBeat's Game Club - March 2024 nomination)
This was a great time. The pacing's a bit weird but the aesthetics are gorgeous, the world is intriguing and the gameplay's pretty great for what it is. It's also probably one of the best sequels I've ever played? I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything like that, it just legitimately takes everything, and I mean everything from the first game and improves upon it to a degree that I've rarely seen before. The jump in quality is just absolutely insane.
This was a great time. The pacing's a bit weird but the aesthetics are gorgeous, the world is intriguing and the gameplay's pretty great for what it is. It's also probably one of the best sequels I've ever played? I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything like that, it just legitimately takes everything, and I mean everything from the first game and improves upon it to a degree that I've rarely seen before. The jump in quality is just absolutely insane.
2020
Lowkey felt like a waste of time but it’s very short and the presentation was pretty nice so I can’t be too upset at it.
I feel the same exact way about this as I did back in 2020. Great setting but mind-numbingly medicore gameplay.
2017
Roguelites and likes are the spawn of satan himself, so when a game in this cursed genre introduces options that help get rid of the stench of it, I always end up giving it a shot. I end up regretting a lot of the time, but Dead Cells is one of the few exceptions. the gameplay's fun, the visuals are great, the music is fantastic and the loop is very satisfying. The assist options still fail at getting rid of some of the hallmarks of the genre, but they were good enough for me to find this an ultimately enjoyable experience.
The Giant is a fun boss fight and the new biomes are neat but locking the final boss behind 5BSC is not the move.
It's fine, not really much else to say. The biomes are good and the boss battle is okay. It's inoffensive.
Much like The Bad Seed, it's inoffensive.
The best DLC so far! The new biomes are great and The Lighthouse was exhilarating.
Alright, this was pretty cool. So cool to the point where I kinda can't believe Konami okay'd it. Glad they saved the best for last.
A servicable metroidvania, though calling it a metroidvania might be a little bit of a stretch given the linearity of it for the most part. "Action platformer with metroidvania elements" might be more accurate. It's pretty, controls well, and has a decent story. the fast travel points are too few and far between though and the game had a pretty aggravating glitch where the character wouldn't move for a split second after closing the map (on PS5 at least, not sure if this is present in other versions of the game).
2021
A feast for the ears and eyes but a complete bore otherwise. I've aired my grievances regarding these narrative platformers before and The Artful Escape is no different, even though they tried their hardest to dress it up. Simon Says in the year of our lord and savior 2021? Really? The story's a bit of a hot mess too, and the writing tries to come off as charming but fails half the time. Still though, very pretty.
This started off so well but completely fell apart in the second half. Exploring the theme park was great, but going back and forth between the Commonwealth and Nuka World in order to establish outposts and take over settlements is the kind of unnecessary and unfun busy work that was the base game's downfall.