Knyrps
74 Reviews liked by Knyrps
This is one of those rare games where you can tell if it's for you or not simply based on the title alone. So if chopping up zombies as scantily clad women is your idea of a good time then step right up and grab a katana. The only thing that's somewhat misleading is that it's not as sexy as you might think. Onechanbara takes itself surprisingly seriously, never diving into the full sleazy potential of its premise. Outside of the opening shower cinematic (which is marred by screen tearing) you really only have the sight of a chick in a bikini and some jiggle physics during gameplay to get the blood flowing. I only bring this up because if you're looking for something that's going to constantly tantalize you with raunchy cutscenes you should go play Bayonetta instead.
Depending on where you're from, you shouldn't expect the story to make any sense. That's because this is the third overall entry in the series, but the first to see a release outside of Japan and Europe. The writing regularly references events from its predecessors that a portion of the people who pick this up will have never experienced, and are therefore going to be completely lost. A shame, because it seems to have something of a fairly detailed lore that even explains why these girls are running around half-naked.
The action is about as deep as a kiddie pool. There are complex combos you can learn, but button-mashing your way through the hordes of enemies works just as well unless you're trying to complete one of the game's surprisingly tough optional challenges that reward you with costume pieces for the "dress up" mode. Boss fights naturally require more effort from the player, but until you unlock the harder difficulties they too are pretty easy in the face of the leveling system that lets you max out your skimpily clothed samurai's stats and the character "Annna" (actually spelled that way) who hilariously breaks the entire balance of combat by straight up using guns instead of melee weapons like the rest of her companions.
Released as part of the Simple Series, a Japanese line of lower-budget titles sold at a lesser than average price point, this isn't the most polished hack and slasher around. The swordplay flows smoothly, but the graphics are dated even for something that came out back in 2009, the camera can be a pain, and there is some noticeable padding as you frequently retread environments across stages or get locked into some particularly lengthy arena segments near the end of the campaign where you're forced to battle waves of enemies before you can progress. Yet, while this can't match the level of quality found in the likes of Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, its cheesy B-movie thrills keep the action enjoyable. This is the type of thing you pop in when you're in the mood for some brainless fun, buckets of blood, and a little bit of cheap titillation. All of which a quick glimpse at the cover will tell you it delivers in spades, along with some less desirable jank. So to put it plainly, I think you already know if you're going to like this or not.
7/10
Depending on where you're from, you shouldn't expect the story to make any sense. That's because this is the third overall entry in the series, but the first to see a release outside of Japan and Europe. The writing regularly references events from its predecessors that a portion of the people who pick this up will have never experienced, and are therefore going to be completely lost. A shame, because it seems to have something of a fairly detailed lore that even explains why these girls are running around half-naked.
The action is about as deep as a kiddie pool. There are complex combos you can learn, but button-mashing your way through the hordes of enemies works just as well unless you're trying to complete one of the game's surprisingly tough optional challenges that reward you with costume pieces for the "dress up" mode. Boss fights naturally require more effort from the player, but until you unlock the harder difficulties they too are pretty easy in the face of the leveling system that lets you max out your skimpily clothed samurai's stats and the character "Annna" (actually spelled that way) who hilariously breaks the entire balance of combat by straight up using guns instead of melee weapons like the rest of her companions.
Released as part of the Simple Series, a Japanese line of lower-budget titles sold at a lesser than average price point, this isn't the most polished hack and slasher around. The swordplay flows smoothly, but the graphics are dated even for something that came out back in 2009, the camera can be a pain, and there is some noticeable padding as you frequently retread environments across stages or get locked into some particularly lengthy arena segments near the end of the campaign where you're forced to battle waves of enemies before you can progress. Yet, while this can't match the level of quality found in the likes of Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, its cheesy B-movie thrills keep the action enjoyable. This is the type of thing you pop in when you're in the mood for some brainless fun, buckets of blood, and a little bit of cheap titillation. All of which a quick glimpse at the cover will tell you it delivers in spades, along with some less desirable jank. So to put it plainly, I think you already know if you're going to like this or not.
7/10
Claire: Extended Cut
2016
At first glance this looks like it owes a lot of its existence to Superflat Games' Lone Survivor, what with its 2D art style and pixelated graphics. Give it some time though and you'll find a title that far surpasses that other indie gem, in no small part because it's actually scary. Unlike its most comparable peer, Claire doesn't rely on visual or psychological frights to get the job done. Rather, it takes on an almost entirely aural brand of horror where every sound you hear is meant to create the atmosphere and instill tension. It's an approach that works remarkably well as each little creak or scratch in the environment can fill you with so much anticipation you may struggle with moving forward. If there was ever a game to play with headphones on, it's this one.
Gameplay-wise it's like a throwback to the Silent Hill series and that unspoken girl-and-her-dog subgenre that gave us the likes of Haunting Grounds and Rule of Rose, as we play as a young woman who finds herself pulled into another world where the lost and broken go with only a German shepherd for company. It's a lot of checking a seemingly endless array of doors to find out where you need to go next while managing a limited amount of inventory space and occasionally stopping to complete the infrequent puzzle. Your interactions with the canine companion never evolve beyond simply acknowledging whenever he growls to alert you to the presence of an enemy and combat is non-existent so you are free to run away whenever you come across something unnatural and deadly. It's all fairly standard, so my only complaints are that navigation can be a pain due to unmapped side paths like crawlspaces that can have their own collection of branches, as well as coming across merely a single brainteaser that had any information scattered about as to how you were supposed to engage with it.
As far as to what's supposed to be "Extended" in this version, I honestly couldn't tell you as I haven't played the original. I will say though that whatever was added couldn't have been much as my first playthrough took under 3-and-a-half hours, and that included me going for the best ending which required helping every survivor I stumbled upon. Those hoping the narrative might make a bit more sense should walk away satisfied, as while things start off incredibly vague I eventually felt as if I gained a fairly good idea as to what was going on by the time the credits rolled. How much of that was because of the new introduced material I still can't tell you for sure, but no matter the case none of the additions (if there even were any) did anything to hinder or take away from my enjoyment of the story.
This actually helped me overcome a longtime stereotype I had involving horror and the handheld/portable gaming scene. For years I simply did not view the genre as living up to its fullest potential when taken on the go like this, as when you travel you're typically around other people which severely limits the amount of fear you can experience. Claire taught me how that's not always the case though and I can only imagine how many sleepless nights you would get from firing this up while locked in an unfamiliar hotel room with the lights off. Mix that in with the way it handles mature themes like trauma and grief, and you have a terrifying adventure that's hard for me to not recommend.
8/10
Gameplay-wise it's like a throwback to the Silent Hill series and that unspoken girl-and-her-dog subgenre that gave us the likes of Haunting Grounds and Rule of Rose, as we play as a young woman who finds herself pulled into another world where the lost and broken go with only a German shepherd for company. It's a lot of checking a seemingly endless array of doors to find out where you need to go next while managing a limited amount of inventory space and occasionally stopping to complete the infrequent puzzle. Your interactions with the canine companion never evolve beyond simply acknowledging whenever he growls to alert you to the presence of an enemy and combat is non-existent so you are free to run away whenever you come across something unnatural and deadly. It's all fairly standard, so my only complaints are that navigation can be a pain due to unmapped side paths like crawlspaces that can have their own collection of branches, as well as coming across merely a single brainteaser that had any information scattered about as to how you were supposed to engage with it.
As far as to what's supposed to be "Extended" in this version, I honestly couldn't tell you as I haven't played the original. I will say though that whatever was added couldn't have been much as my first playthrough took under 3-and-a-half hours, and that included me going for the best ending which required helping every survivor I stumbled upon. Those hoping the narrative might make a bit more sense should walk away satisfied, as while things start off incredibly vague I eventually felt as if I gained a fairly good idea as to what was going on by the time the credits rolled. How much of that was because of the new introduced material I still can't tell you for sure, but no matter the case none of the additions (if there even were any) did anything to hinder or take away from my enjoyment of the story.
This actually helped me overcome a longtime stereotype I had involving horror and the handheld/portable gaming scene. For years I simply did not view the genre as living up to its fullest potential when taken on the go like this, as when you travel you're typically around other people which severely limits the amount of fear you can experience. Claire taught me how that's not always the case though and I can only imagine how many sleepless nights you would get from firing this up while locked in an unfamiliar hotel room with the lights off. Mix that in with the way it handles mature themes like trauma and grief, and you have a terrifying adventure that's hard for me to not recommend.
8/10
As someone who originally heard about this through an episode of AVGN back in the day, now that I've finally played it I have to say I think its reputation is a bit overblown. It's not a great game by any means, but it's far from the nigh-unplayable trainwreck it is so often portrayed as. Most of its issues are the kind you can find in just about any other release from that era and at its best you can see the kind of creativity and personality that would one day lead its developer Rare Limited to create beloved, critically acclaimed gems like Conker or Perfect Dark.
It's a 2D platformer where you visit various houses or key locations around town in a specific order. Once inside your job is to collect all the bones of Elm Street's supernatural tormenter that are scattered about the environment, while dodging a variety of spooky foes before eventually engaging in a boss battle. Take too long and Freddy himself will show up as a miniboss who you basically just hit until he decides to leave. While dealing with all of this you must also contend with a constantly draining sleep meter that upon emptying will cause your character to lose consciousness and fall into a nightmare version of the world where the enemies are tougher. The only way to escape is to find a radio blaring rock music to wake yourself up.
It ends up not being that big of a deal though as while in this dreamstate you gain access to other forms that grant you projectile attacks far more effective than the basic punch you have otherwise, and can be upgraded with other abilities via tile looking objects found in the levels. Now, none of this is to tell you things are ever easy. In fact, part of the reason this has received so much hate over the years is because it is quite challenging. Something I feel is a largely unfair criticism, as it is never hard due to being unresponsive or failing to play smoothly. Rather, it's just the product of a time when game designers used obscene difficulty to try and cover up the limited scope of what was actually possible back then.
You will take some cheap hits as stage's have a tendency to place endlessly respawning monster types that fly all over the screen right next to precarious jumps or moving platforms and will occasionally leave necessary items in areas where it seems like taking damage is unavoidable. All of which do reduce the overall level of quality and lessen the amount of enjoyment you can get, on top of making meaningful progression come off as insurmountable without the help of a Game Genie. Yet, when you consider how many other games on the console that didn't come directly from Nintendo themselves suffered from the exact same problems, only usually worse, it's pretty forgiveable. Especially in the face of features like four player co-op. So as far as a LJN published NES title based on an old horror franchise that I played on a cellphone emulator app with touchscreen controls goes, I expected a lot worse.
7/10
It's a 2D platformer where you visit various houses or key locations around town in a specific order. Once inside your job is to collect all the bones of Elm Street's supernatural tormenter that are scattered about the environment, while dodging a variety of spooky foes before eventually engaging in a boss battle. Take too long and Freddy himself will show up as a miniboss who you basically just hit until he decides to leave. While dealing with all of this you must also contend with a constantly draining sleep meter that upon emptying will cause your character to lose consciousness and fall into a nightmare version of the world where the enemies are tougher. The only way to escape is to find a radio blaring rock music to wake yourself up.
It ends up not being that big of a deal though as while in this dreamstate you gain access to other forms that grant you projectile attacks far more effective than the basic punch you have otherwise, and can be upgraded with other abilities via tile looking objects found in the levels. Now, none of this is to tell you things are ever easy. In fact, part of the reason this has received so much hate over the years is because it is quite challenging. Something I feel is a largely unfair criticism, as it is never hard due to being unresponsive or failing to play smoothly. Rather, it's just the product of a time when game designers used obscene difficulty to try and cover up the limited scope of what was actually possible back then.
You will take some cheap hits as stage's have a tendency to place endlessly respawning monster types that fly all over the screen right next to precarious jumps or moving platforms and will occasionally leave necessary items in areas where it seems like taking damage is unavoidable. All of which do reduce the overall level of quality and lessen the amount of enjoyment you can get, on top of making meaningful progression come off as insurmountable without the help of a Game Genie. Yet, when you consider how many other games on the console that didn't come directly from Nintendo themselves suffered from the exact same problems, only usually worse, it's pretty forgiveable. Especially in the face of features like four player co-op. So as far as a LJN published NES title based on an old horror franchise that I played on a cellphone emulator app with touchscreen controls goes, I expected a lot worse.
7/10
Released as part of the Dead Island Definitive Collection or available on its own as a $5 download, Retro Revenge is an arcade style spin-off combination of the infinite runner and side-scrolling beat 'em up genres designed to appeal towards the old-school high score hunters. As a free bonus you can get with an upgraded compilation of two really good RPGs it's an easily overlooked, inoffensive addition. However, when viewed as a standalone purchase I can in no way recommend that you part with the money, as this is a particularly egregious case of a publisher using one of their recognizable franchises to try and sell consumers a lackluster product.
At first glance things look pretty good with the pixelated, brawler inspired gameplay implying a need for the kind of quick reflexes and fast thinking that were required back in the 16-bit era. It isn't long before you realize though that the way to overcome this challenge is through trial-and-error and simple memorization so that you'll know what's coming, when, and where to use your best powers instead of having to rely on genuine skill. It makes getting through the story mode an endurance test of your patience and causes the unlockable arcade and survival options you get afterwards to provide little incentive to return. Then there are the actual functional issues to consider, like how sometimes when changing lanes you will inexplicably collide with an enemy you should've just passed leading to some unfair loss of your already limited amount of health.
When I finally managed to complete every level, I felt no sense of accomplishment or pride like I have with other super difficult titles. Rather, I was merely relieved that I wouldn't have to play it anymore and put up with the tedium. Keep in mind this is all coming from someone who got the game as an unexpected little something extra when he bought updated versions of two of his favorite zombie slashers. Now try to imagine how upset I'd be if I had actually put any cash down to experience it alone. If this would have remained an inconsequential freebie you could only get with the remasters I might not have been so harsh right now. It still wouldn't have been good, but at the very least there would have been no real way for it to cause any harm. So the fact that Deep Silver was willing to release this by itself to potentially cash in on the fans of this once auspicious property who don't know any better while they wait for any signs of life from the development hell trapped second main entry doesn't sit well with me and in my opinion is deserving of the supplementary venom.
4/10
At first glance things look pretty good with the pixelated, brawler inspired gameplay implying a need for the kind of quick reflexes and fast thinking that were required back in the 16-bit era. It isn't long before you realize though that the way to overcome this challenge is through trial-and-error and simple memorization so that you'll know what's coming, when, and where to use your best powers instead of having to rely on genuine skill. It makes getting through the story mode an endurance test of your patience and causes the unlockable arcade and survival options you get afterwards to provide little incentive to return. Then there are the actual functional issues to consider, like how sometimes when changing lanes you will inexplicably collide with an enemy you should've just passed leading to some unfair loss of your already limited amount of health.
When I finally managed to complete every level, I felt no sense of accomplishment or pride like I have with other super difficult titles. Rather, I was merely relieved that I wouldn't have to play it anymore and put up with the tedium. Keep in mind this is all coming from someone who got the game as an unexpected little something extra when he bought updated versions of two of his favorite zombie slashers. Now try to imagine how upset I'd be if I had actually put any cash down to experience it alone. If this would have remained an inconsequential freebie you could only get with the remasters I might not have been so harsh right now. It still wouldn't have been good, but at the very least there would have been no real way for it to cause any harm. So the fact that Deep Silver was willing to release this by itself to potentially cash in on the fans of this once auspicious property who don't know any better while they wait for any signs of life from the development hell trapped second main entry doesn't sit well with me and in my opinion is deserving of the supplementary venom.
4/10
Played via Rare Replay
I am in no way an Xbox hater, but if there is one thing that hurt the British juggernaut Rare after they looked unstoppable in the mid & late '90s it was getting acquired by Microsoft. Following a string of high profile disappointments the original founders jumped ship and those who remained got put on Kinect duty, where the studio's reputation faded to the point where they don't even have a presence in present day gaming outside of their online pirate adventure simulator Sea of Thieves.
One such stumbling block responsible for that was this 2003 horror-themed brawler that sees you battling your way through a maniacal weirdo's monster-filled mansion in an effort to save your girlfriend like some family-friendly version of Splatterhouse. It was a bit of a misfire with professional critics and didn't quite have the developer's typical sense of personality or style. Yet, despite its mediocre reception I actually think there's a lot to love here.
There are definitely a few odd design choices, such as how the camera is controlled with the left and right triggers while the second analog stick is used to attack. For the most part though it's a fairly straightforward experience. As you head towards your goals you'll learn that each section of the estate you pass through comes with a challenge that must be completed before you can progress and turns what would otherwise be normal combat scenarios into miniature puzzles as you try to contend with whatever rules have been put in place. The variety of modifiers, enemy types, and consumables have been mixed and matched in a number of ways to ensure that no two segments feel identical. A huge plus as the grounds you'll be traipsing over end up not being as big as they at first seem, so you'll be revisiting the same rooms over and over again. The fact that you'll encounter different obstacles and item placements every time prevents a repetitive vibe from ever truly setting in even when your surroundings start to look familiar.
If there's one aspect I wish I could have enjoyed more about the title it would have to be its persona. Don't get me wrong I LOVED the setting and motif despite areas of the environment getting a touch overly traversed as they both proved a perfect fit for my October season. The story and accompanying comic book panel cutscenes annoyed me however, as the writing lacks the comedic wit I expect from the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker. So my enjoyment comes exclusively from the gameplay.
Between Viva Piñata, Kameo, and now this I can confidently state for certain that Rare did in fact lose a level of quality back in 2002 when they were bought out by their current parent company. Each of the games I just mentioned (all of which I am a fan of) have their rough edges where you see the hints of underdeveloped ideas and cut concepts. If this is as far as they were destined to fall before getting stuck in their motion-sensing sports compilation phase though, then I wish they would go back to putting out products of this caliber as opposed to the whole bunch of nothing they're working on these days. "Ghoulies" may not match anything from the N64 height of the team's career, but it is still more creative, imaginative, and fun than the majority of what we've gotten since their relative absence.
8.6/10
I am in no way an Xbox hater, but if there is one thing that hurt the British juggernaut Rare after they looked unstoppable in the mid & late '90s it was getting acquired by Microsoft. Following a string of high profile disappointments the original founders jumped ship and those who remained got put on Kinect duty, where the studio's reputation faded to the point where they don't even have a presence in present day gaming outside of their online pirate adventure simulator Sea of Thieves.
One such stumbling block responsible for that was this 2003 horror-themed brawler that sees you battling your way through a maniacal weirdo's monster-filled mansion in an effort to save your girlfriend like some family-friendly version of Splatterhouse. It was a bit of a misfire with professional critics and didn't quite have the developer's typical sense of personality or style. Yet, despite its mediocre reception I actually think there's a lot to love here.
There are definitely a few odd design choices, such as how the camera is controlled with the left and right triggers while the second analog stick is used to attack. For the most part though it's a fairly straightforward experience. As you head towards your goals you'll learn that each section of the estate you pass through comes with a challenge that must be completed before you can progress and turns what would otherwise be normal combat scenarios into miniature puzzles as you try to contend with whatever rules have been put in place. The variety of modifiers, enemy types, and consumables have been mixed and matched in a number of ways to ensure that no two segments feel identical. A huge plus as the grounds you'll be traipsing over end up not being as big as they at first seem, so you'll be revisiting the same rooms over and over again. The fact that you'll encounter different obstacles and item placements every time prevents a repetitive vibe from ever truly setting in even when your surroundings start to look familiar.
If there's one aspect I wish I could have enjoyed more about the title it would have to be its persona. Don't get me wrong I LOVED the setting and motif despite areas of the environment getting a touch overly traversed as they both proved a perfect fit for my October season. The story and accompanying comic book panel cutscenes annoyed me however, as the writing lacks the comedic wit I expect from the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker. So my enjoyment comes exclusively from the gameplay.
Between Viva Piñata, Kameo, and now this I can confidently state for certain that Rare did in fact lose a level of quality back in 2002 when they were bought out by their current parent company. Each of the games I just mentioned (all of which I am a fan of) have their rough edges where you see the hints of underdeveloped ideas and cut concepts. If this is as far as they were destined to fall before getting stuck in their motion-sensing sports compilation phase though, then I wish they would go back to putting out products of this caliber as opposed to the whole bunch of nothing they're working on these days. "Ghoulies" may not match anything from the N64 height of the team's career, but it is still more creative, imaginative, and fun than the majority of what we've gotten since their relative absence.
8.6/10
The first Deadly Premonition is undeniably flawed in every way. Yet, it managed to attain an unlikely cult classic status despite all its faults due to the oddball vision and lofty aspirations of its director Hidetaka Suehiro ("Swery65"). The "Director's Cut" version I played on PS3 even stands as one of my favorite games of all time. So between that and also loving SWERY's twice as insane follow-up, the forever unfinished D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, this long-awaited sequel to his most polarizing gem was something I was massively looking forward to, with it sitting alongside No More Heroes III as my primary reasons for wanting a Switch at all. Unfortunately, now that I've finally played it the old adage about lightning never striking twice comes to mind, because this fails to recapture the weird brilliance of its predecessor.
If you look back at why the original title was able to skate by you'll find it was largely on the strength of its story and characters, neither of which are as interesting or enjoyable here. There's still plenty of borderline goofy strangeness, but the overall tone is darker and moodier which isn't much fun in comparison. Plus, the new cast is kind of flat, lacking memorability and are mostly unlikable. Your primary sidekick is a bratty little girl and the FBI agent "Aaliyah," who is regularly alluded to as potentially being the new lead in future installments, is a straight-up shrew. Thus there's no one to latch onto other than the returning protagonist York, whose penchant for endless movie references and prattling on about utter nonsense like a child has begun to become more grating than endearing. All this while having to put up with sad attempts at social commentary on race, discrimination, and American life from a man who clearly has no idea how any of that works stateside.
The area where it really drops the ball though is the gameplay where none of the previous outing's ambition can be found. This is most evident in the open-world. Unlike the believable, rich in personality small town of before, we got a dull, empty feeling expanse without any exciting sights or noteworthy landmarks that's meant to eat up your time by way of travel distance rather than giving you a reason to explore. In fact, the mission structure itself seems designed to artificially keep you playing for as long as possible by tasking you with searching random vending machines across the map for the one that has the food item you need or following a slow-moving NPC for in-game miles between multiple objectives. I enjoyed the shooting segments since I didn't have to put up with the monotony of everything else, like the constant clicking through dialog present in the visual novel interrogation segments, but I can't deny they suffer from nearly all taking place in a series of identical corridors and enemies not posing much of a threat. At least the boss battles are cool.
I've heard many state that the reason this falls so woefully short of expectations as being the result of its creator misunderstanding the appeal of his prior work. I can't agree. In my opinion the issue is him proving unable to conjure ideas compelling enough to fully bring this continuation (and expansion) to life, leading to a phoned in effort without verve or excitement. It's not unplayable or painful to complete, instead just missing the imagination to make it anything greater than dull, lifeless, and boring. Considering how crucial a sense of creativity and inspiration were to the success of its forerunners, the absence of them makes this less Deadly Premonition, and more Dead on Arrival.
Note: The technical problems you'll see referenced in other reviews (e.g. the frame rate) have either been patched out or are not a factor running on the console's Lite model which is why they aren't mentioned here.
5/10
If you look back at why the original title was able to skate by you'll find it was largely on the strength of its story and characters, neither of which are as interesting or enjoyable here. There's still plenty of borderline goofy strangeness, but the overall tone is darker and moodier which isn't much fun in comparison. Plus, the new cast is kind of flat, lacking memorability and are mostly unlikable. Your primary sidekick is a bratty little girl and the FBI agent "Aaliyah," who is regularly alluded to as potentially being the new lead in future installments, is a straight-up shrew. Thus there's no one to latch onto other than the returning protagonist York, whose penchant for endless movie references and prattling on about utter nonsense like a child has begun to become more grating than endearing. All this while having to put up with sad attempts at social commentary on race, discrimination, and American life from a man who clearly has no idea how any of that works stateside.
The area where it really drops the ball though is the gameplay where none of the previous outing's ambition can be found. This is most evident in the open-world. Unlike the believable, rich in personality small town of before, we got a dull, empty feeling expanse without any exciting sights or noteworthy landmarks that's meant to eat up your time by way of travel distance rather than giving you a reason to explore. In fact, the mission structure itself seems designed to artificially keep you playing for as long as possible by tasking you with searching random vending machines across the map for the one that has the food item you need or following a slow-moving NPC for in-game miles between multiple objectives. I enjoyed the shooting segments since I didn't have to put up with the monotony of everything else, like the constant clicking through dialog present in the visual novel interrogation segments, but I can't deny they suffer from nearly all taking place in a series of identical corridors and enemies not posing much of a threat. At least the boss battles are cool.
I've heard many state that the reason this falls so woefully short of expectations as being the result of its creator misunderstanding the appeal of his prior work. I can't agree. In my opinion the issue is him proving unable to conjure ideas compelling enough to fully bring this continuation (and expansion) to life, leading to a phoned in effort without verve or excitement. It's not unplayable or painful to complete, instead just missing the imagination to make it anything greater than dull, lifeless, and boring. Considering how crucial a sense of creativity and inspiration were to the success of its forerunners, the absence of them makes this less Deadly Premonition, and more Dead on Arrival.
Note: The technical problems you'll see referenced in other reviews (e.g. the frame rate) have either been patched out or are not a factor running on the console's Lite model which is why they aren't mentioned here.
5/10
Chrome Dino
2014
This is something I've been aware of for a long time as it's popped up in the Chrome window next to the error message when the browser has gone down or I was experiencing issues with my internet connection. For the most part though I've been largely content to ignore it. It wasn't until randomly discovering this had a Backloggd page that I decided to pull the game up on my own accord and see what it was all about.
Well, it's an endless runner where you play as a little pixelated T-Rex that looks like it was taken off of the Atari 2600 and jump over cactuses in pursuit of a high score. On top of slowly gaining speed the further you go, things will happen as you reach certain point milestones. Such as the appearance of pterodactyls you have to duck under and a change occuring and in the graphics to represent a day and night cycle. The latter of which can seriously mess up your runs as there always seems to be a split second where you're blind to whatever obstacle is coming next.
That's really all there is to it. It's meant to be a simple time-waster while you wait for your computer troubles to work themselves out that you can just so happen to access whenever you want to if you know how. I can see this being addictive with the right kind of gamer due to its simplistic, arcade style gameplay. Personally, all I can say is it exists, it works, and it's competent. A charming oddity that someone programmed into the software that I'll probably go straight back to ignoring.
6/10
Well, it's an endless runner where you play as a little pixelated T-Rex that looks like it was taken off of the Atari 2600 and jump over cactuses in pursuit of a high score. On top of slowly gaining speed the further you go, things will happen as you reach certain point milestones. Such as the appearance of pterodactyls you have to duck under and a change occuring and in the graphics to represent a day and night cycle. The latter of which can seriously mess up your runs as there always seems to be a split second where you're blind to whatever obstacle is coming next.
That's really all there is to it. It's meant to be a simple time-waster while you wait for your computer troubles to work themselves out that you can just so happen to access whenever you want to if you know how. I can see this being addictive with the right kind of gamer due to its simplistic, arcade style gameplay. Personally, all I can say is it exists, it works, and it's competent. A charming oddity that someone programmed into the software that I'll probably go straight back to ignoring.
6/10
Donkey Kong Country
1994
One of the great myths of gaming is that going back and replaying titles from the past exposes you to the faults that were previously unable to be recognized due to the standards of the time period, preventing you from being able to enjoy them to the same degree you once did. This is something I've personally never experienced, knock on wood. So upon revisiting and finally completing this childhood favorite after years away (admittedly with some help from the Switch's exclusive save and rewind features), I was only able to see it more clearly as the borderline masterpiece I've always thought it was.
I think it's no secret this was a technical marvel back when it first released with its pre-rendered graphics that turned 3D models into sprites, making it one of, if not THE, best looking things on the Super Nintendo. I was amazed at how well the style holds up as charming, even if some of the backgrounds get a touch overused. Same goes for the level design which may just be timeless. I still had a blast going through stages and finding secrets I had already experienced probably thousands of times prior.
The stuff I played for the first time was just as meticulously and enjoyably designed, although the platforming challenges can get quite demanding the deeper you go. Not necessarily a bad thing, but as the obstacles get tougher you'll begin to notice some flaws that show not everything is perfect in Country. It, and therefore YOU, often falls prey to what I like to call "beginner's traps" where something unexpectedly jumps in from just offscreen catching you completely off guard, leading to cheap feeling deaths and an element of trial-and-error. Plus, and it could simply be an issue with the Switch's emulator/controls, but at moments the characters inexplicably won't jump the way you expect them to, causing you to miss essential platforms. The frustrations are only amplified by the fact that save points will preserve all of your progress EXCEPT for your life count, which always resets when you step away.
Still, the fact that such faults which would have doomed a lesser game felt like minor quibbles at most here is a testament to it's quality. Rich in the kind of personality and creativity that has defined Rare's career, as well as impeccably crafted with an incredible soundtrack, this is easily one of the best 2D platformers ever made. For some, myself included, putting even the likes of a certain Italian plumber to shame. Thus despite having moved on to the joys and conveniences of modern hardware I was still able to find the same amount of enthusiasm for this that I had back in the days when my dad's old SNES was the only console I knew.
9.9/10
I think it's no secret this was a technical marvel back when it first released with its pre-rendered graphics that turned 3D models into sprites, making it one of, if not THE, best looking things on the Super Nintendo. I was amazed at how well the style holds up as charming, even if some of the backgrounds get a touch overused. Same goes for the level design which may just be timeless. I still had a blast going through stages and finding secrets I had already experienced probably thousands of times prior.
The stuff I played for the first time was just as meticulously and enjoyably designed, although the platforming challenges can get quite demanding the deeper you go. Not necessarily a bad thing, but as the obstacles get tougher you'll begin to notice some flaws that show not everything is perfect in Country. It, and therefore YOU, often falls prey to what I like to call "beginner's traps" where something unexpectedly jumps in from just offscreen catching you completely off guard, leading to cheap feeling deaths and an element of trial-and-error. Plus, and it could simply be an issue with the Switch's emulator/controls, but at moments the characters inexplicably won't jump the way you expect them to, causing you to miss essential platforms. The frustrations are only amplified by the fact that save points will preserve all of your progress EXCEPT for your life count, which always resets when you step away.
Still, the fact that such faults which would have doomed a lesser game felt like minor quibbles at most here is a testament to it's quality. Rich in the kind of personality and creativity that has defined Rare's career, as well as impeccably crafted with an incredible soundtrack, this is easily one of the best 2D platformers ever made. For some, myself included, putting even the likes of a certain Italian plumber to shame. Thus despite having moved on to the joys and conveniences of modern hardware I was still able to find the same amount of enthusiasm for this that I had back in the days when my dad's old SNES was the only console I knew.
9.9/10
Known more for their heights during the N64 era, Rare's stint making licensed games for publishers like the infamous LJN is an often overlooked period in the developer's history. So much so in fact, that the gamers who take it upon themselves to dig through the earliest recesses of the legendary British studio's catalogue are often surprised to find the titles like this bog-standard side-scrolling brawler based on the Marvel property that fail to live up to their more notable works.
As someone who already has an aversion to straight 2D beat 'em ups where all of the action is limited to a single plane and you don't even have so much as the ability to change lanes, the way your most effective method of movement, jumping, is so unreliable here basically doomed it from the get-go with me. Not only does it make evading damage more of a pain than it needs to be, but in the infrequent instances where actual platforming is required clearing expanses is kind of a crapshoot. There were times where I couldn't get over obstacles greater than waist-high and a boss battle that requires you to leap to a ledge above the supervillain in order to avoid his gradual march back and forth is a touch maddening. All this on top of the fact that it's designed to swarm players with random crap every second, an unfortunate holdover from the Stamper brother's (Rare's founders) ZX Spectrum days.
It doesn't get everything wrong though. The story, as bare bones as it is, does at least include some amusing cutscenes of the web-head trading verbal jabs with his foes in a manner that expertly captures the same quippy nature of the comics. Graphically, it has nice looking sprites that make it even more attractive than either of its two sequels. Special praise must also be given to the music which is banging, as well as that there are a few ideas present like Spider-Man's potentially life-saving, limited use ranged web attacks or the pair of wall crawling segments that show they did TRY to create something special and interesting.
Far from "Amazing" though, this isn't worth playing regardless. The trial-and-error approach required so that you'll be aware of what's coming next and therefore won't burn through your lives and continues too quickly before reaching the final boss is hardly any fun. Particularly when somewhat struggling with the controls. All in all, this is just a reminder of how once upon a time everyone's favorite arachnid-themed superhero had a reputation similar to Batman's old standing in gaming, where you simply couldn't count on him to star in anything that wasn't terrible. So unless you're passionate enough about the video game medium to truly want to see as much of what is has to offer as possible, this is a piece of shovelware better left forgotten in the annals of history.
4.5/10
As someone who already has an aversion to straight 2D beat 'em ups where all of the action is limited to a single plane and you don't even have so much as the ability to change lanes, the way your most effective method of movement, jumping, is so unreliable here basically doomed it from the get-go with me. Not only does it make evading damage more of a pain than it needs to be, but in the infrequent instances where actual platforming is required clearing expanses is kind of a crapshoot. There were times where I couldn't get over obstacles greater than waist-high and a boss battle that requires you to leap to a ledge above the supervillain in order to avoid his gradual march back and forth is a touch maddening. All this on top of the fact that it's designed to swarm players with random crap every second, an unfortunate holdover from the Stamper brother's (Rare's founders) ZX Spectrum days.
It doesn't get everything wrong though. The story, as bare bones as it is, does at least include some amusing cutscenes of the web-head trading verbal jabs with his foes in a manner that expertly captures the same quippy nature of the comics. Graphically, it has nice looking sprites that make it even more attractive than either of its two sequels. Special praise must also be given to the music which is banging, as well as that there are a few ideas present like Spider-Man's potentially life-saving, limited use ranged web attacks or the pair of wall crawling segments that show they did TRY to create something special and interesting.
Far from "Amazing" though, this isn't worth playing regardless. The trial-and-error approach required so that you'll be aware of what's coming next and therefore won't burn through your lives and continues too quickly before reaching the final boss is hardly any fun. Particularly when somewhat struggling with the controls. All in all, this is just a reminder of how once upon a time everyone's favorite arachnid-themed superhero had a reputation similar to Batman's old standing in gaming, where you simply couldn't count on him to star in anything that wasn't terrible. So unless you're passionate enough about the video game medium to truly want to see as much of what is has to offer as possible, this is a piece of shovelware better left forgotten in the annals of history.
4.5/10
I have to respect what Bits Studios tried to do here. Not just making a sequel along the same lines as what Rare created prior, but actually attempting to evolve its predecessor into something more complex. This isn't some simple brawler, but an action-adventure title where you'll need to find items to open up new areas. There were times when I was impressed with its depth and variety of challenges. What keeps it from being an improvement however is that it's honestly a nightmare to play.
The basics of walking and punching work fine, but things immediately go straight down the toilet the second you have to use any of Spidey's powers. A regular requirement for progression. Directing or even getting your webs to stick to anything at all is almost entirely unreliable, and the controls for wall crawling inexplicably won't register your inputs sometimes. Both issues that cause what should have been normal traversal to be a pain, with the former proving particularly problematic as it can lead to repeated instantaneous deaths in at least one section of the game. Considering there aren't any continues or a save system, meaning running out of lives forces you to restart from the beginning, these faults are pretty unforgivable.
This is also a step back presentation-wise as well. I was often left impressed by the level of detail in the backgrounds, but the character sprites are ugly and the whole thing looks unusually foul against the green hue of the Game Boy screen. The music on the other hand starts off fine, but given that it's only one constantly replaying track it quickly begins to grate on the nerves. You most definitely will be turning the volume down at some point.
I applaud the developer's endeavor to create an experience with more creativity and nuance than what we typically see on the handheld by extending the scope of its gameplay beyond merely pummeling or hopping over whatever gets in your way. All that effort was for naught though as fundamental mechanics fail to function as intended. The plethora of design flaws such as how Spider-Man always seems to awkwardly squirt out a little of his precious webbing every time he gets hit like some premature ejaculating teenager give this follow-up an unwieldy, downright broken feeling that makes it somehow shockingly worse than its already lamentable precursor.
3.8/10
The basics of walking and punching work fine, but things immediately go straight down the toilet the second you have to use any of Spidey's powers. A regular requirement for progression. Directing or even getting your webs to stick to anything at all is almost entirely unreliable, and the controls for wall crawling inexplicably won't register your inputs sometimes. Both issues that cause what should have been normal traversal to be a pain, with the former proving particularly problematic as it can lead to repeated instantaneous deaths in at least one section of the game. Considering there aren't any continues or a save system, meaning running out of lives forces you to restart from the beginning, these faults are pretty unforgivable.
This is also a step back presentation-wise as well. I was often left impressed by the level of detail in the backgrounds, but the character sprites are ugly and the whole thing looks unusually foul against the green hue of the Game Boy screen. The music on the other hand starts off fine, but given that it's only one constantly replaying track it quickly begins to grate on the nerves. You most definitely will be turning the volume down at some point.
I applaud the developer's endeavor to create an experience with more creativity and nuance than what we typically see on the handheld by extending the scope of its gameplay beyond merely pummeling or hopping over whatever gets in your way. All that effort was for naught though as fundamental mechanics fail to function as intended. The plethora of design flaws such as how Spider-Man always seems to awkwardly squirt out a little of his precious webbing every time he gets hit like some premature ejaculating teenager give this follow-up an unwieldy, downright broken feeling that makes it somehow shockingly worse than its already lamentable precursor.
3.8/10
No More Heroes III
2021
Cult game director Goichi Suda a.k.a. "Suda51" has made a name for himself over the years by putting out a variety of eccentric titles with a one of a kind punk rock style. What's kept him from breaking out into mainstream success however is that the gameplay of his projects has never quite matched their personality. Well, in the 11 years since we received the last mainline No More Heroes entry, it's clear Suda used the time to iron out all of the faults and deliver something that will finally allow a much wider range of gamers to embrace his madness.
Rest assured, things are just as delightfully wild as ever. I missed the grindhouse vibes and sexuality of its predecessors, but III's new more lighthearted tone that parodies stuff like today's superhero blockbuster obsessed culture somehow ups the levels of creativity, absurdity, and unpredictability. There are a plethora of inventive one-off oddball scenarios and the series' typical brand of vulgar, violent fourth wall breaking humor to ensure you never know what's coming next. Only now all the wackiness is supported by some of the best hack and slash action around.
This has always kind of been a boss rush franchise where the goal is to take out a collection of memorable psychopaths to make it through the story. These challenging encounters are what carried the prior two (and a half) entries in the trilogy, and that's no different here. Where this third chapter improves though is in the downtime spent in-between each big showdown. Once again you'll need to raise funds in order to access the next fight, and there are a number of ways to do so from "Designated Matches" against the (surprisingly difficult) basic enemy types to odd-jobs. Even the most menial tasks like grass mowing or unclogging toilets are unexpectedly fun and Suda at long last figured out how to make the open-world all of this takes place in interesting by littering the map with objective markers, side quests, and hidden collectibles.
The combat itself also flows much smoother than it did on the Wii due to not having to put up with that consoles awkward control scheme. It reminded of what a revelation I found Heroes Paradise on the PS3 to be. You have a mix of light and heavy attacks, returning "Death Glove" powers that run on a timer from Travis Strikes Again, a gauge that determines the strength of your combos depending on how well you perform, and unique abilities like being able to slow down time after pulling off a perfect dodge. All of which come together to create a complex system with a lot of options. You can even upgrade your base stats with a secondary currency (which is basically just EXP) gained from missions meaning that character progression is deeper than simply grinding to buy a new beam katana.
All of this makes No More Heroes III the most polished and complete effort from Grasshopper Manufacture to date. I'm not going to lie and say everything is perfect. You can tell there are some aspects that suffer from budgetary constraints, such as the lack of compelling rewards for completing the secondary tasks. Yet, Suda's imagination is in top form to deliver a vision more memorable and gonzo nuts than ever before, and with the always enjoyable test of clashing with bosses being surrounded by stronger supporting content than any time prior there's truly no reason to not give one of Japan's particularly intriguing distinctive minds a well-deserved chance, whether it be once again or as your very first experience.
9/10
Rest assured, things are just as delightfully wild as ever. I missed the grindhouse vibes and sexuality of its predecessors, but III's new more lighthearted tone that parodies stuff like today's superhero blockbuster obsessed culture somehow ups the levels of creativity, absurdity, and unpredictability. There are a plethora of inventive one-off oddball scenarios and the series' typical brand of vulgar, violent fourth wall breaking humor to ensure you never know what's coming next. Only now all the wackiness is supported by some of the best hack and slash action around.
This has always kind of been a boss rush franchise where the goal is to take out a collection of memorable psychopaths to make it through the story. These challenging encounters are what carried the prior two (and a half) entries in the trilogy, and that's no different here. Where this third chapter improves though is in the downtime spent in-between each big showdown. Once again you'll need to raise funds in order to access the next fight, and there are a number of ways to do so from "Designated Matches" against the (surprisingly difficult) basic enemy types to odd-jobs. Even the most menial tasks like grass mowing or unclogging toilets are unexpectedly fun and Suda at long last figured out how to make the open-world all of this takes place in interesting by littering the map with objective markers, side quests, and hidden collectibles.
The combat itself also flows much smoother than it did on the Wii due to not having to put up with that consoles awkward control scheme. It reminded of what a revelation I found Heroes Paradise on the PS3 to be. You have a mix of light and heavy attacks, returning "Death Glove" powers that run on a timer from Travis Strikes Again, a gauge that determines the strength of your combos depending on how well you perform, and unique abilities like being able to slow down time after pulling off a perfect dodge. All of which come together to create a complex system with a lot of options. You can even upgrade your base stats with a secondary currency (which is basically just EXP) gained from missions meaning that character progression is deeper than simply grinding to buy a new beam katana.
All of this makes No More Heroes III the most polished and complete effort from Grasshopper Manufacture to date. I'm not going to lie and say everything is perfect. You can tell there are some aspects that suffer from budgetary constraints, such as the lack of compelling rewards for completing the secondary tasks. Yet, Suda's imagination is in top form to deliver a vision more memorable and gonzo nuts than ever before, and with the always enjoyable test of clashing with bosses being surrounded by stronger supporting content than any time prior there's truly no reason to not give one of Japan's particularly intriguing distinctive minds a well-deserved chance, whether it be once again or as your very first experience.
9/10
I have no prior attachment to the SpongeBob property, but was nonetheless highly entertained with this crossover game. That's because the Drawn to Life franchise encourages player creation in a way I haven't seen anywhere outside of the LittleBigPlanet series before. What's more is that unlike those PlayStation exclusives it doesn't limit one's creative flourishes to an entirely separate mode, but instead grants regular opportunities to put your own stamp on "Bikini Bottom" throughout its story levels.
Drawing on the touchscreen with the stylus is as awkward and sloppy as it sounds, but there are systems in place that allow you to do things like place colors down to the smallest possible pixel to help you make your art as pretty as possible. On top of crafting your own avatar from scratch you'll also be consistently tasked with coming up for necessary objects to aid progression or redesigning defeated foes. While the game offers helpful suggestions for what to put down in these moments, you're really only limited by your own imagination when it comes to what you can bring into the world and seeing your hard work come to life before your eyes is incredibly satisfying.
To make things better it's also a very solid platformer to boot. There are plenty of secrets and stuff to find so it will take people a while to reach 100% completion. Some of the level design is kind of bogus due to sections where it seems like taking damage (and potentially losing lives as a result) is unavoidable, which is strange given that you would think the target audience is children. Still, it's hard to fault the title mechanically however even if there are youngsters who will likely struggle to make it through this. Jumping and combat feels good in spite of how tough it can get, and the occasional vehicle stage breaks up the flow nicely.
Yet, what it truly succeeds at being is a canvas for players can put their own ideas and inventions onto in order to make them a reality. It's a feature that allows this to appeal to more than just the kids the show it shares a universe with was designed for. The lack of supporting content is a slight disappointment as outside of the core offering all you get are a vs. mode and coloring book pages, but the main attraction is enough to justify the purchase because of the freedom it grants you to let your artistic side run wild.
9.2/10
Drawing on the touchscreen with the stylus is as awkward and sloppy as it sounds, but there are systems in place that allow you to do things like place colors down to the smallest possible pixel to help you make your art as pretty as possible. On top of crafting your own avatar from scratch you'll also be consistently tasked with coming up for necessary objects to aid progression or redesigning defeated foes. While the game offers helpful suggestions for what to put down in these moments, you're really only limited by your own imagination when it comes to what you can bring into the world and seeing your hard work come to life before your eyes is incredibly satisfying.
To make things better it's also a very solid platformer to boot. There are plenty of secrets and stuff to find so it will take people a while to reach 100% completion. Some of the level design is kind of bogus due to sections where it seems like taking damage (and potentially losing lives as a result) is unavoidable, which is strange given that you would think the target audience is children. Still, it's hard to fault the title mechanically however even if there are youngsters who will likely struggle to make it through this. Jumping and combat feels good in spite of how tough it can get, and the occasional vehicle stage breaks up the flow nicely.
Yet, what it truly succeeds at being is a canvas for players can put their own ideas and inventions onto in order to make them a reality. It's a feature that allows this to appeal to more than just the kids the show it shares a universe with was designed for. The lack of supporting content is a slight disappointment as outside of the core offering all you get are a vs. mode and coloring book pages, but the main attraction is enough to justify the purchase because of the freedom it grants you to let your artistic side run wild.
9.2/10
Kirby's Dream Land 3
1997
The platforming mascots many of us grew up with are an undeniably odd bunch and Kirby might just be the weirdest of the lot. The bizarre stuff you'll encounter in the titular "Dream Land" makes even the Mushroom Kingdom seem sane by comparison. Maybe it's just that this is one of the later entries in a series I'm basically completely unfamiliar with, but so much of what I came across, while certainly not lacking in imagination, often left me questioning its purpose (i.e. the animal allies). Then there's the pink, pudgy protagonist to consider who's main method of self-defense is to devour or spit at whatever gets in his way. All of this certainly leads to a memorably unhinged experience, but unfortunately some gameplay deficiencies keep it from being the kind of eccentric craziness I can fully get behind despite appreciating quite a few aspects of it.
For a game so centered around eating your foes in order to inherit their abilities, you'd think there'd be more powers for you to gain access to. In fact, only a handful of enemy types will grant you anything at all, and of the small stock available a portion of them are useless outside of very specific puzzles anyways. They most often tend to tie into a unique feature where in each level there's a friend of Kirby's who you can help out by completing an optional task in the stage. Assisting all of them will unlock a secret final boss that upon defeat reveals the true ending. A cool idea, but I was very rarely able to actually find these other characters throughout my journey and even when I did the requirements for solving their problems were usually too vague to decipher. How gamers figured it out back in the day without a guide I can't say for sure. I, however, was not engaged enough to put in the necessary effort to do the same.
That's because the design constantly fluctuates between being either too easy or just plain tedious with never enough time spent in the comfortable middle ground at the center of those two extremes. Yet, I can't deny the creativity and resulting originality. It doesn't always shine through in the most consistent of ways. Something that can be seen in the graphics, which take on a hand-drawn, coloring book like art style that inadvertently gives the title a dated look that comes off as more NES than SNES. Playing through this cooperatively though I had quite a bit of fun as my sibling and I found ways to cheese the game while laughing at its numerous peculiarities. It's not something I personally view as worth seeking out, but Dream Land 3 is far from the worst time should you happen to have access to it.
7.5/10
For a game so centered around eating your foes in order to inherit their abilities, you'd think there'd be more powers for you to gain access to. In fact, only a handful of enemy types will grant you anything at all, and of the small stock available a portion of them are useless outside of very specific puzzles anyways. They most often tend to tie into a unique feature where in each level there's a friend of Kirby's who you can help out by completing an optional task in the stage. Assisting all of them will unlock a secret final boss that upon defeat reveals the true ending. A cool idea, but I was very rarely able to actually find these other characters throughout my journey and even when I did the requirements for solving their problems were usually too vague to decipher. How gamers figured it out back in the day without a guide I can't say for sure. I, however, was not engaged enough to put in the necessary effort to do the same.
That's because the design constantly fluctuates between being either too easy or just plain tedious with never enough time spent in the comfortable middle ground at the center of those two extremes. Yet, I can't deny the creativity and resulting originality. It doesn't always shine through in the most consistent of ways. Something that can be seen in the graphics, which take on a hand-drawn, coloring book like art style that inadvertently gives the title a dated look that comes off as more NES than SNES. Playing through this cooperatively though I had quite a bit of fun as my sibling and I found ways to cheese the game while laughing at its numerous peculiarities. It's not something I personally view as worth seeking out, but Dream Land 3 is far from the worst time should you happen to have access to it.
7.5/10
It was highly unlikely such a small indie game like this would become the massive cultural phenomenon it did, but that's exactly what happened. Now that I've finally played it for myself I must say it's easy to see why. Five Nights at Freddy's is certainly simplistic in nature and design as you step into the shoes of a nighttime security guard who is trapped in the back office of a small pizzeria and must manage a limited, ever-dwindling power supply in order to fend off the attacks of the parlor's sentient animatronics until his shift ends. Yet, developer Scott Cawthon was able to mine a surprising amount of depth and strategy from the premise to ensure the experience is more engaging than it might at first seem.
Often discredited as being a cheap jump scarefest by its detractors, there are many who would have you believe that all this has to offer in the terror department are the quick, unexpected appearances of something popping out with a shriek from the darkness. Well, please let me be the one to tell you that the tension comes from more than just nervously anticipating the possibility of getting caught off guard by an unsettling sight suddenly leaping in front of you. Arguably the biggest source of uneasiness is the management component. Everything you do from flipping on light switches to checking cameras or closing doors should one of the mascots get too close puts you a step closer to ending up in the pitch black with no way to defend yourself. The struggle between keeping up with the tasks necessary to watch your back and preserving precious electricity is really effective at keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Where the whole thing runs into a problem is with its scale. Taking place over a single work week there are only five main stages (hence the name) that take a couple of hours at most to complete, if even that. There is an unlockable "Custom Night" mode which you gain access to by finishing the optional 6th level that allows you to modify the difficulty to your liking, but it does little to change the fact that the novelty of playing FNaF wears off pretty quickly. The sparsity of content also leads to a significant difficulty spike in the last two nights compared to the starting three.
Perhaps this explains why the series became a hit on streaming platforms like YouTube. You will be left wanting more, and what better way to get it than by watching others freak out while trying to survive till morning? It is great at pulling naturally funny panicked reactions from people after all.
Regardless of how long it manages to maintain your attention after that initial playthrough and the at times concerningly strange fanbase it spawned though, this is still a delightfully scary gem centered around a uniquely creepy concept that may also offer the slightest hints of snarky social commentary on blue-collar working conditions to boot. It's a wonderful example of what an independent, one-man project can accomplish with a good idea that's executed well enough to remain interesting, without simultaneously going overboard by adding in any unnecessary complexities that complicate what should have otherwise been a straightforward affair. As I'm not at this point familiar with the sequels I am currently unaware if the hate this franchise receives is justified due to mistakes that were made later on down the line or the result of the masses' irritation with the sheer Call of Duty style overexposure to the brand. Whatever the case, this premiere entry is an unfortunate victim/casualty because it stands on its own merits as a noteworthy horror title worthy of your attention that's caught in the crosshairs of their frustration.
8/10
Often discredited as being a cheap jump scarefest by its detractors, there are many who would have you believe that all this has to offer in the terror department are the quick, unexpected appearances of something popping out with a shriek from the darkness. Well, please let me be the one to tell you that the tension comes from more than just nervously anticipating the possibility of getting caught off guard by an unsettling sight suddenly leaping in front of you. Arguably the biggest source of uneasiness is the management component. Everything you do from flipping on light switches to checking cameras or closing doors should one of the mascots get too close puts you a step closer to ending up in the pitch black with no way to defend yourself. The struggle between keeping up with the tasks necessary to watch your back and preserving precious electricity is really effective at keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Where the whole thing runs into a problem is with its scale. Taking place over a single work week there are only five main stages (hence the name) that take a couple of hours at most to complete, if even that. There is an unlockable "Custom Night" mode which you gain access to by finishing the optional 6th level that allows you to modify the difficulty to your liking, but it does little to change the fact that the novelty of playing FNaF wears off pretty quickly. The sparsity of content also leads to a significant difficulty spike in the last two nights compared to the starting three.
Perhaps this explains why the series became a hit on streaming platforms like YouTube. You will be left wanting more, and what better way to get it than by watching others freak out while trying to survive till morning? It is great at pulling naturally funny panicked reactions from people after all.
Regardless of how long it manages to maintain your attention after that initial playthrough and the at times concerningly strange fanbase it spawned though, this is still a delightfully scary gem centered around a uniquely creepy concept that may also offer the slightest hints of snarky social commentary on blue-collar working conditions to boot. It's a wonderful example of what an independent, one-man project can accomplish with a good idea that's executed well enough to remain interesting, without simultaneously going overboard by adding in any unnecessary complexities that complicate what should have otherwise been a straightforward affair. As I'm not at this point familiar with the sequels I am currently unaware if the hate this franchise receives is justified due to mistakes that were made later on down the line or the result of the masses' irritation with the sheer Call of Duty style overexposure to the brand. Whatever the case, this premiere entry is an unfortunate victim/casualty because it stands on its own merits as a noteworthy horror title worthy of your attention that's caught in the crosshairs of their frustration.
8/10
The first Five Nights at Freddy's could accurately be described as bare bones. Featuring a simplistic premise, the cult classic indie horror title made use of some fairly basic management mechanics to keep players on edge. It gained quite a large following because of that despite its small scale, and left the door wide open for one-man developer Scott Cawthon to capitalize on all of its no doubt at least somewhat surprisingly high success with a follow-up.
The thing about sequels though is that they're expected to expand and go deeper with the concept in order to improve and not sell consumers the exact same product twice. As a result, FNaF 2 doubles the amount of everything from how many animatronics there are to deal with, the security blanket resources you must ensure don't run out, to even the number of locations that need to be monitored. I must praise the inventiveness of many of these newly introduced functions and ideas, but having to stay on top of so much calls to mind the old saying 'less is more' as while undeniably more interesting and demanding the moment-to-moment gameplay isn't as much fun as what we got before. Likely because of how quickly it came out...
Released a mere three months(!!!) after its predecessor, there are some obvious issues with the balancing in this game. Even when using the most effective strategy for success, the increase in scale and therefore potential variables causes you to regularly end up in situations where you're unavoidably screwed due to the RNG. The challenge never feels insurmountable, but the tension and fear quickly gives way to tedium and irritation in the later stages forcing me to wonder if this wouldn't have been better off had it spent more time in development to alleviate some of its frustrating nature.
There are still aspects that make this worth a look for fans of the original. For example, this is where that "lore" you'll always hear the Five Nights community talking about started to be built through the prequel/origin tale on display here. The writing is a bit too cryptic and vague to fully figure out what exactly the dude calling you at the beginning of every level is talking about without doing some digging online, but for an experience clearly not tailored around storytelling it's impressive how it manages to kick off a larger narrative that so many of the series' faithfuls have latched onto. I'm also once again blown away by how all of this was designed by a single person and works as well as it does given how the quantity of factors at play got upped in such a brief period. However, the fact that it's simply not as enjoyable prevents me from being able to view it as anything more than a big disappointment. It's not awful and I respect a large portion of what it set out to do, but consequently I can't really consider myself a fan of it like I could the prior entry.
6.9/10
The thing about sequels though is that they're expected to expand and go deeper with the concept in order to improve and not sell consumers the exact same product twice. As a result, FNaF 2 doubles the amount of everything from how many animatronics there are to deal with, the security blanket resources you must ensure don't run out, to even the number of locations that need to be monitored. I must praise the inventiveness of many of these newly introduced functions and ideas, but having to stay on top of so much calls to mind the old saying 'less is more' as while undeniably more interesting and demanding the moment-to-moment gameplay isn't as much fun as what we got before. Likely because of how quickly it came out...
Released a mere three months(!!!) after its predecessor, there are some obvious issues with the balancing in this game. Even when using the most effective strategy for success, the increase in scale and therefore potential variables causes you to regularly end up in situations where you're unavoidably screwed due to the RNG. The challenge never feels insurmountable, but the tension and fear quickly gives way to tedium and irritation in the later stages forcing me to wonder if this wouldn't have been better off had it spent more time in development to alleviate some of its frustrating nature.
There are still aspects that make this worth a look for fans of the original. For example, this is where that "lore" you'll always hear the Five Nights community talking about started to be built through the prequel/origin tale on display here. The writing is a bit too cryptic and vague to fully figure out what exactly the dude calling you at the beginning of every level is talking about without doing some digging online, but for an experience clearly not tailored around storytelling it's impressive how it manages to kick off a larger narrative that so many of the series' faithfuls have latched onto. I'm also once again blown away by how all of this was designed by a single person and works as well as it does given how the quantity of factors at play got upped in such a brief period. However, the fact that it's simply not as enjoyable prevents me from being able to view it as anything more than a big disappointment. It's not awful and I respect a large portion of what it set out to do, but consequently I can't really consider myself a fan of it like I could the prior entry.
6.9/10