LS197
2016
A decent shooter that gets carried a by its kinaesthetics and presentation. Enemies don't threaten space very well and as a result, they don't have very strong synergies with each other, leading to a lot of the area fights feeling samey. However the game has a relatively broad, albeit very imbalanced toolset to play around with and the fast paced nature of the combat with its over the top violent presentation and industrial metal soundtrack make it fun to play regardless
2016
Simple but near flawless FPS design. You're forced to choose between prioritizing short term and long term threats, each one of which affecting how you position in different ways, making the combat incredibly dynamic. Add in power ups that require you to not shoot to collect, and you've got a very deep game with tons of replayability
An abyssmal Pokemon-clone where you do nothing but go to an area, grind until your Terapets are higher level than the trainers in that area, maybe catch one while you're at it, beat the trainers, then rinse and repeat. Combat is just spamming whichever one of your poorly translated attacks does the most damage until something dies. The Terapets themselves mostly look either boring or ugly, but there are some genuinly cool designs mixed in there.
I gave it two stars instead of one because I just like monster collecting games that much, plus its free
I gave it two stars instead of one because I just like monster collecting games that much, plus its free
1991
A step up from the first NES Bomberman. The game has and uses enemies that are more aggressive and deterministic more often than in the original, leading to a lot more situations where you need to position and place bombs more careful and make decisions at a faster pace. It still struggles with pacing and has a lot of stages that are simplistic, but if you were intrigued by the previous game, you'll probably be able to get some enjoyment out of this one.
Very well written slice of life VN with a lovable cast of characters and a strong arc for the main character. The plot gives enough details to give a clear sense of what the world is like, but still leaves a lot of background details ambiguous, for the player to try and piece together on their own. The drink-mixing gameplay is simplistic, but gets used well by the game itself, creating some engaging decisions to be made.
Princess Remedy is a top down action/adventure game in the vein of the older Zelda games. Basically, you walk through different areas and talk to NPCs, which initiates a combat sequence. Upon completing the encounter you gain a heart, and with enough hearts you unlock the next area and the gameplay loop repeats. There are also some pretty basic upgrades to find as well.
Combat plays out like a mix of a top down run n gun and old school Zelda. Your character shoots automatically in the direction you’re facing, so most of the decisions you’ll have to make basically revolve around whether to face an enemy and shoot at it, or to reposition to avoid damage. As the game progresses, your weapon spread will increase meaning you also have to decide between getting closer to the enemy for higher DPS or maintaining your or using off angles to be safer for at the cost of damage. You can also throw flasks, which are basically grenades and have a limited ammo count.
The enemy encounters are also pretty basic, though some of them can get pretty interesting. There’s a fairly wide variety of enemies, and for the most part they are all different in terms of movement and firing patterns. Some enemies do only contact damage and some fire projectiles, occasionally with different properties or conditions, such as the Slime, which only fires when it gets damaged, or the Bone Pillar which fires projectiles that go through walls but only in a straight line. Enemy movement patterns are more varied with enemies that move randomly, directly at the player, in a straight line and bounce off walls, and enemies that chase down the player if they get close. The game is pretty good with mixing enemies that control space in different ways, although occasionally you get put in encounters with only one enemy type. The enemy encounters are mostly pretty easy, but there were some that forced me to move and target enemies more deliberately.
Overall, the game is pretty simple, but it’s also free and very short(I beat it in under an hour with 82% completion rate). It has enough decent enemy encounters and a nice retro aesthetic that it’s worth the low price of admission. It’s not an outstanding game or anything, but it’s good enough to get my recommendation, though if you’re experienced with these types of games, I’d recommend playing on one of the higher difficulties.
Combat plays out like a mix of a top down run n gun and old school Zelda. Your character shoots automatically in the direction you’re facing, so most of the decisions you’ll have to make basically revolve around whether to face an enemy and shoot at it, or to reposition to avoid damage. As the game progresses, your weapon spread will increase meaning you also have to decide between getting closer to the enemy for higher DPS or maintaining your or using off angles to be safer for at the cost of damage. You can also throw flasks, which are basically grenades and have a limited ammo count.
The enemy encounters are also pretty basic, though some of them can get pretty interesting. There’s a fairly wide variety of enemies, and for the most part they are all different in terms of movement and firing patterns. Some enemies do only contact damage and some fire projectiles, occasionally with different properties or conditions, such as the Slime, which only fires when it gets damaged, or the Bone Pillar which fires projectiles that go through walls but only in a straight line. Enemy movement patterns are more varied with enemies that move randomly, directly at the player, in a straight line and bounce off walls, and enemies that chase down the player if they get close. The game is pretty good with mixing enemies that control space in different ways, although occasionally you get put in encounters with only one enemy type. The enemy encounters are mostly pretty easy, but there were some that forced me to move and target enemies more deliberately.
Overall, the game is pretty simple, but it’s also free and very short(I beat it in under an hour with 82% completion rate). It has enough decent enemy encounters and a nice retro aesthetic that it’s worth the low price of admission. It’s not an outstanding game or anything, but it’s good enough to get my recommendation, though if you’re experienced with these types of games, I’d recommend playing on one of the higher difficulties.
2001
A solid starting point for the 3D Beat em up genre. Enemies have movesets that can threaten the player in a variety of ways and the tools that are given to the player, while somewhat limited, do allow for some level of optimization once mastered. Rounded out by a decent boss roster and an atmospheric gothic aesthetic.
2013
A slog of an FPS, complete with uninteresting enemies that don't compliment each other at all, boring weapons, and a pseudo regenerating health mechanic that trivializes the game when upgraded.
1985
It has a solid set of core mechanics, but the execution is poor. Enemy movement is semi random, so there's a random element involved in actually hitting them, added with the fact that there is very little variation between levels means that it can get quite tedious
2015
Greek themed NES Castlevania-like, and good enough to rival them in quality. Short and sweet with strong enemy placement and lots of variety to the levels.