The satisfying grapple physics, infuriating enemy spawns, and strange-but-fitting art make Umihara Kawase a very interesting game. Having different continuous routes is also a great idea that I somehow haven't seen present in any other platformer. But I do think the difficulty is a little overkill when there are zero checkpoints. If not for save states, I would be at this game for another 10 hours . . .


. . . or whenever my resolve gave in.


I'm glad to have enjoyed Umihara Kawase's unique identity. Cruel bosses, difficulty spikes, random spawns and all.

[Credits rolled on Field 55]

Fun gameplay weighed down by awful micro-transaction bait. The game wants you to buy gem apples, and it tries to do so by locking everything behind them. Unlocking bosses, weapon/armor upgrades, and resetting your stamina all cost gem apples. Sure, you can earn them (very slowly) through missions and logging in, but it is such a time investment that you might as well spend money. (Please don't.)

This all applies to the Switch port as well. Both are not worth your time, just play the mainline Kirby games instead.

(Also I love how the game description markets itself as "free-to-start" instead of "free-to-play", as if it's assuming you will eventually give in and pay...)

Pure nostalgia.

My school was obsessed with Pixel Gun. I have great memories comparing progress with my friends and trying to save up (w/ in-game currency) for the top guns; the Prototype was the hot topic at that time. Lots of my time was spent making custom skins of Naruto, Sonic, Mega Man and the like so I could show them off. (Speaking of, this feature was really unexpected seeing as how Pixel Gun already sells skins. Minecraft doesn't - and likely won't ever - have an in-game skin editor presumably of the marketplace. How does a P2W game beat Minecraft at such an obvious feature??)

I can admit that even at my peak with the game, Pixel Gun was unbalanced. Laser guns were on top since shooting through walls is obviously broken. I don't remember the game being frustratingly unfair though, and I faired well using plenty of other, non-laser guns.

I stopped playing years ago, but last time I checked, Pixel Gun felt like a completely different game. There were just too many changes, and too many things to keep up with. Plus these mechanics were very P2W. It ruined any ambition I would/will ever have to get back into the game. Though I guess these changes were inevitable.

All I can do now is reminisce . . . 😔

This is the first "art game" I've played, and while I don't enjoy it as much as others on here, I can see the appeal. Journey felt good as an "experience" rather than as a game. The breathtaking visuals paired with the ambient music is just nice. I also do really like the companion system; it's a very novel concept, and I admit it was fun following a stranger through the game, communicating through simple notes. But the other gameplay elements don't work well, especially at the beggining. A good part of the game is just spent walking. And it sucks because the game has some great flying and sliding physics, but they are held back until certain sections of the game. I get that the game is creating hardship for you and a companion to overcome, and it did work well in the end of the story, but it just felt bad to me most of the time. There are also issues that come with Journey revolving around "silent storytelling". I felt discontent with the story (and still kind of do) because, up until the end, it seemed very minimal. Another issue was that the game sometimes barely communicated on where to go, which lead to me aimlessly walking around to look for a scarf or tickets. (I assume that's what they are?) But I can partially overlook these issues for being purposeful; to encourage experienced players to guide others through the game, and to give players more context through their replay(s).

All in all, I completely respect what the game was going for. Though I don't personally feel the need to replay, the short playtime and the moral duty one may feel to help the unexperienced could be more than enough to get players to replay, in turn getting more players to get to the end, and creating a cycle of positivity and encouragement to those playing. And a message like that is delightful.

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE EXPLOIT THIS?

500-1000 tickets per visit is insane. I used to grind this game to consistently make it to 500 tickets. When I went to Chuck E. Cheese's, I could just redeem the tickets for free.

Just imagine how many tickets you could rack up by visiting a few different locations and claiming your tickets. If you want a 10,000 prize, you would only need to make it to 500 tickets 20 times ! Even less if the staff doesn't reset your score. (context: they are supposed to set your counter back to 0 so that you can try to earn the tickets again. In my case, they did not. 😈)

Or, you know, don't do that because who goes to Chuck E. Cheese anymore?

Surprisingly okay. The courses are fun at first, but since there isn't much variety in the course design it starts getting stale. I've only completed the Novice courses, but the other difficulties only add more obstacles and I don't have the patience to replay the game twice.

Besides the gameplay, the music is pretty bad, being very distorted versions of the Sonic 1 zone themes. The art uses the Sonic 1 level sprites and new golfing sprites (resembling Sonic 3?) for Sonic/Tails/Knuckles.

Honestly this game is good as a time-waster, but that's all it is.

The base game is good, but the best part is definitely the mods and custom engines. Psych Engine just improves the game so much with its QOL changes and amazing mod support.

I've seen people compare this to osu!mania, but mania doesn't have mods like FNF. There are lots of great mods that revamp the menus, add new cutscenes and even new game mechanics. I believe that's what makes FNF stand out the most.

I haven't interacted with the mod community though, so I have no comment on that.