LeSoSCL
2020
bola π
One of the most alright games, nothing too crazy or notable about it but a cute experience nonetheless.
I like the ideas the game was going for, such as the grapple mechanic being the main concept for enhanced movement and platforming throughout the levels, while also just being the tongue of our goofy little character which is all good for a physics-based game of its kind. The main problem is certainly the execution, since the physics themselves are quite janky, and the controls feel very heavy both on the ground and in the air to the point you can't even turn directions properly during crucial moments the game requires of your reaction and sense of balance to progress, and the sensation becomes even more noticeable after the first levels which makes it quite frustrating to play.
Also, the level design is okay-ish in general, but after world 2 it gets filled with dead ends, uneven collisions for the platforms you stand on, and the "scripted" events don't work most of the time and you better pray for them to land you on the intended section.
The only thing I truly liked beyond all jank is the OST, which has some of the craziest piano melodies I've heard for a set of MIDI audio files. They are not the most memorable and the instruments do not vary, but it's a good treat all considered.
This game is a bunch of varied gimmicks that end up feeling unpolished and underwhelming after a while, lacking a clear direction in the process. They work alright, but not for a greater good on the long run...
One of the most alright games, nothing too crazy or notable about it but a cute experience nonetheless.
I like the ideas the game was going for, such as the grapple mechanic being the main concept for enhanced movement and platforming throughout the levels, while also just being the tongue of our goofy little character which is all good for a physics-based game of its kind. The main problem is certainly the execution, since the physics themselves are quite janky, and the controls feel very heavy both on the ground and in the air to the point you can't even turn directions properly during crucial moments the game requires of your reaction and sense of balance to progress, and the sensation becomes even more noticeable after the first levels which makes it quite frustrating to play.
Also, the level design is okay-ish in general, but after world 2 it gets filled with dead ends, uneven collisions for the platforms you stand on, and the "scripted" events don't work most of the time and you better pray for them to land you on the intended section.
The only thing I truly liked beyond all jank is the OST, which has some of the craziest piano melodies I've heard for a set of MIDI audio files. They are not the most memorable and the instruments do not vary, but it's a good treat all considered.
This game is a bunch of varied gimmicks that end up feeling unpolished and underwhelming after a while, lacking a clear direction in the process. They work alright, but not for a greater good on the long run...
2023
Completed 100%, all P-Ranks, only achievements left.
The very first time I knew about this game's existence was with the SAGE 2019 demo, and ever since then I looked forward the full release. I'll be damned, they delivered AND then some.
There are few games that let the player dash as quickly and freely as they please through a level, while also making it function as a gateway to big rewards and goodies. Pizza Tower manages to do both pretty flawlessly, as it incentivizes you to keep a constant high speed to extend your combo meter, open paths to hidden secrets for extra points, etc. The quantities of adrenaline you get from doing so many chains of actions in mere seconds is breathtaking.
And not only is the gameplay great, other aspects of the game are VERY redeemable too: Solid expressive spritework, superb OST, and the level design in general is really good.
The only "meh" thing that comes to my head about this game is the story, which is not all that special I guess??? But come on, even then it is passable and honestly, it's more of a goof than anything LOL
If what you're looking for is a fast, challenging platformer with a clear identity of its own, then Pizza Tower will NOT let you down for a second.
The very first time I knew about this game's existence was with the SAGE 2019 demo, and ever since then I looked forward the full release. I'll be damned, they delivered AND then some.
There are few games that let the player dash as quickly and freely as they please through a level, while also making it function as a gateway to big rewards and goodies. Pizza Tower manages to do both pretty flawlessly, as it incentivizes you to keep a constant high speed to extend your combo meter, open paths to hidden secrets for extra points, etc. The quantities of adrenaline you get from doing so many chains of actions in mere seconds is breathtaking.
And not only is the gameplay great, other aspects of the game are VERY redeemable too: Solid expressive spritework, superb OST, and the level design in general is really good.
The only "meh" thing that comes to my head about this game is the story, which is not all that special I guess??? But come on, even then it is passable and honestly, it's more of a goof than anything LOL
If what you're looking for is a fast, challenging platformer with a clear identity of its own, then Pizza Tower will NOT let you down for a second.
The Papa's game series was something very enjoyable back in the adobe flash player days and even nowadays is still remembered very fondly by pretty much everyone, including myself, and after hearing they put a remake of Freezeria on Steam out of nowhere, I just couldn't resist.
This game does quite the justice to the original, since not only they essentially ported it 1:1 to a new engine like they did with To Go!, but also polished the heck out of it with new interfaces, remastered audio, collectibles and decent variety of minigames. They also put a freeplay mode where you can practice and make anything you want to serve. All of this shows how much dedication and effort the devs put in their legendary creation once again.
Then again it has its flaws, especially on the gameplay loop which becomes quite repetitive on the long run. Every day you serve 7 clients appearing at the same rate, which means the difficulty doesn't quite change much, it's just doing the same thing over and over again just with another coat of paint, and since this game has a story mode it gets quite tiring to beat. I can see a lot of wasted opportunities for some events like the typhoon or the island volcano exploding on certain weeks, I don't know man just make it more interesting!
With all this in mind, I have very high hopes they'll gradually do more remakes for the rest of the games, just PLEASE play a little more around with the gameplay loop.
This game does quite the justice to the original, since not only they essentially ported it 1:1 to a new engine like they did with To Go!, but also polished the heck out of it with new interfaces, remastered audio, collectibles and decent variety of minigames. They also put a freeplay mode where you can practice and make anything you want to serve. All of this shows how much dedication and effort the devs put in their legendary creation once again.
Then again it has its flaws, especially on the gameplay loop which becomes quite repetitive on the long run. Every day you serve 7 clients appearing at the same rate, which means the difficulty doesn't quite change much, it's just doing the same thing over and over again just with another coat of paint, and since this game has a story mode it gets quite tiring to beat. I can see a lot of wasted opportunities for some events like the typhoon or the island volcano exploding on certain weeks, I don't know man just make it more interesting!
With all this in mind, I have very high hopes they'll gradually do more remakes for the rest of the games, just PLEASE play a little more around with the gameplay loop.
I waited a long time to finally put my hands on this game, and good lord did it not disappoint. This really is the best direction HAL could've taken for Kirby's transition to full 3D, controlling Kirby the entire game just feels so natural and responsive, and the camera angle choices aid to that panoramic feel of a level quite a lot, also Kirby can now parry and it's pure GAS.
Even though the game never feels challenging (except for the third Arena tournament), the game shows a good balance in difficulty between worlds, with no steep difficulty curves to only let you focus on having more of a relaxing and fun time rather than a tedious one, which is what Kirby has been more of as a series. Even the bosses follow this rule while also compensating with interesting character designs and very varied movesets.
In terms of content, Forgotten Land offers a very wide variety of it, sometimes in a chain reaction fashion: The imprisoned Waddle Dees you save on every level are sent to a little town they help to construct, giving you access to additional stuff you can interact with like a Restaurant, a pond for fishing, and even a workshop to upgrade your copy abilities, and it's amazing to me because of how well executed and cute it all is. There are also portals to obtain rare stones for the worshop, hidden tasks to save more of the Waddle Dees and even more levels after you beat the main game!
To summarize on a humorous note, this game made me realize that in order to make your platformer good, there is two key components you gotta include: an extremely banger soundtrack and an unlockable little fishing mini-game π
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has both.
Even though the game never feels challenging (except for the third Arena tournament), the game shows a good balance in difficulty between worlds, with no steep difficulty curves to only let you focus on having more of a relaxing and fun time rather than a tedious one, which is what Kirby has been more of as a series. Even the bosses follow this rule while also compensating with interesting character designs and very varied movesets.
In terms of content, Forgotten Land offers a very wide variety of it, sometimes in a chain reaction fashion: The imprisoned Waddle Dees you save on every level are sent to a little town they help to construct, giving you access to additional stuff you can interact with like a Restaurant, a pond for fishing, and even a workshop to upgrade your copy abilities, and it's amazing to me because of how well executed and cute it all is. There are also portals to obtain rare stones for the worshop, hidden tasks to save more of the Waddle Dees and even more levels after you beat the main game!
To summarize on a humorous note, this game made me realize that in order to make your platformer good, there is two key components you gotta include: an extremely banger soundtrack and an unlockable little fishing mini-game π
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has both.
2019
This game sure was a surprise for me, but a welcome one nonetheless. It has a lot of content to offer, with many types of inmersive and well achieved parody versions of pretty much every computer OS ever covering Windows, Mac and even 8-bit based machines from all the way back then. Not only that, but it also takes advantage of the key features of said emblematic OS and transform them into reward systems to the player for experimenting and playing around with them, including a fake web browser, the trash bin (which acts as a tamagotchi of some sort) and even commands in the CMD.
The core problem I see with it is the gameplay which, despite being a noble idea and being actually fun and relieving, it becomes way too repetitive way too quickly, especially if you want to obtain the Pro and Expert versions of each system. I mean it when I say there really is no point in grinding the game besides unlocking some extra interfaces which are more of the same thing to begin with, it really becomes that tiring after a while, but I guess that's why it is a hypercasual game...
The core problem I see with it is the gameplay which, despite being a noble idea and being actually fun and relieving, it becomes way too repetitive way too quickly, especially if you want to obtain the Pro and Expert versions of each system. I mean it when I say there really is no point in grinding the game besides unlocking some extra interfaces which are more of the same thing to begin with, it really becomes that tiring after a while, but I guess that's why it is a hypercasual game...
"HOLY CRAP I'M IN FORTNITE!"
It's now coming to an end, but is a very solid starting season which already adds so much new stuff to the table, while also receiving weird balance changes and below average shop refreshes. It's also the very first Battle Pass I get to complete 100% including the bonus rewards, with only the Odyssey Quests left for me. Here are my thoughts on most of the new things:
Battle Pass (8/10): Great character designs for this season overall, with Jonesy looks the most fire he ever has along with Hope, and then we got the Society members: DoΓ±a Florinda, Tigre ToΓ±o, diet Midas and Sir Percival. Also the Collabs with the funny Peter Griffin guy and Solid Snake are legendary. The only downside is the Scorpion car, but I guess it's fine enough.
Mechanics (7.5/10): Grappling Blade, Climbing and the Train. The first one is actually really useful to move around and attack by surprise despite being kinda slow; the second one I never used it because it's for constructions in build mode and I don't play that shit LMAO; and the Train is really fun as both as a way of moving around the map and as a mini quest for rewards, though it's not really a great place to go to most of the time...
Content (8/10): Fortnite Festival is a great mode but the songs cost a little too much and some charts are dumpster fire; LEGO Fortnite is fun with friends but I was never into Minecraft in the first place; Rocket Racing feels kinda janky and there's no imagination present on the track designs but dammit I'm a sucker for racing games lol
Also we got a TMNT collab, with a good Battle Pass and great weapons for BR which completely OUTPHASED the grappling blade by a mile, they were that broken.
New map (8/10): Great island with astonishing visuals and biomes, with not too many of those so it doesn't feel overbloated like Chapter 4. The named locations feel natural as well with the Italian/Spanish, and now Greek theme of the chapter.
It's now coming to an end, but is a very solid starting season which already adds so much new stuff to the table, while also receiving weird balance changes and below average shop refreshes. It's also the very first Battle Pass I get to complete 100% including the bonus rewards, with only the Odyssey Quests left for me. Here are my thoughts on most of the new things:
Battle Pass (8/10): Great character designs for this season overall, with Jonesy looks the most fire he ever has along with Hope, and then we got the Society members: DoΓ±a Florinda, Tigre ToΓ±o, diet Midas and Sir Percival. Also the Collabs with the funny Peter Griffin guy and Solid Snake are legendary. The only downside is the Scorpion car, but I guess it's fine enough.
Mechanics (7.5/10): Grappling Blade, Climbing and the Train. The first one is actually really useful to move around and attack by surprise despite being kinda slow; the second one I never used it because it's for constructions in build mode and I don't play that shit LMAO; and the Train is really fun as both as a way of moving around the map and as a mini quest for rewards, though it's not really a great place to go to most of the time...
Content (8/10): Fortnite Festival is a great mode but the songs cost a little too much and some charts are dumpster fire; LEGO Fortnite is fun with friends but I was never into Minecraft in the first place; Rocket Racing feels kinda janky and there's no imagination present on the track designs but dammit I'm a sucker for racing games lol
Also we got a TMNT collab, with a good Battle Pass and great weapons for BR which completely OUTPHASED the grappling blade by a mile, they were that broken.
New map (8/10): Great island with astonishing visuals and biomes, with not too many of those so it doesn't feel overbloated like Chapter 4. The named locations feel natural as well with the Italian/Spanish, and now Greek theme of the chapter.
100% completed. Incredible entry for the 2D mainline Mario series. This game reeks of a personality of its own with brand new power-ups, great soundtrack and a huge amount of polish in every possible way that's felt from the very first level.
The badges are also a very welcome idea, they are introduced as an interesting gameplay changer on demand. Some are very helpful, some are situational, some are just funny, but the incentive they give on experimenting with them and seeing what you can do is something I adored.
The only "bad" aspect I can think of right now is the game feeling kinda short in terms of length, but the level design is ever so engaging and fun, you won't even realize it until you get to the ending, and if you want to obtain everything, it then gets way longer than that because of the secret routes and levels like in Super Mario World.
The badges are also a very welcome idea, they are introduced as an interesting gameplay changer on demand. Some are very helpful, some are situational, some are just funny, but the incentive they give on experimenting with them and seeing what you can do is something I adored.
The only "bad" aspect I can think of right now is the game feeling kinda short in terms of length, but the level design is ever so engaging and fun, you won't even realize it until you get to the ending, and if you want to obtain everything, it then gets way longer than that because of the secret routes and levels like in Super Mario World.
2023
Fun racing game with surprinsingly polished gameplay, great soundtrack and good art direction for the characters and race tracks, but its merits are quickly countered by some of the most predatory pay-to-win practices to exist in the world of free-to-play games, since the game makes you understand that at some (soon enough) point you gotta give it money to keep progressing, and GOOD LORD the prices are exaggeratedly steep too...
The transition from C4:S4 to OG was very notorious to say the least in terms of gameplay. The season 5 stuff made the game a little too monotonous since the chapter 1 map felt too empty between POIs, and the fact that it was built for Build mode in mind while I only play Zero Build didn't do it justice either.
Chapter 6 and 7 came in and made things more interesting, with more vehicles, a new set of weapons unvaulted and B A L L O O N S.
Chapter 9 - X came last but made things far more fun and diverse with the Baller and yet another round of unvaulted weapons (the drum shotgun is so funny LOL).
It's a neat revision on the beginnings of Fortnite and how far the game has come since 2017, but I prefer the shenanigans we have nowadays, personally.
Chapter 6 and 7 came in and made things more interesting, with more vehicles, a new set of weapons unvaulted and B A L L O O N S.
Chapter 9 - X came last but made things far more fun and diverse with the Baller and yet another round of unvaulted weapons (the drum shotgun is so funny LOL).
It's a neat revision on the beginnings of Fortnite and how far the game has come since 2017, but I prefer the shenanigans we have nowadays, personally.
2023
OH LOOK IT'S THE SMASH BROS GUY OMGGGG!1!111!
A great translation for F-ZERO, a game with insane and frenetic gameplay at its core, into the Battle Royale/99 formula, and it just fits like a ring on a finger as well because of how decision-based and agressive the races can become. Oh and they made the original courses wider to fit 99 players in them as well, of course LOL
The reward system here is great too, since not only you have to focus on securing a good placing, but also place better than your rivals which are decided per match. So in case you crash or end up not doing so well, you can still get rewarded for outplacing rivals and feel some grade of accomplishment, now that's just swell!
Everything else is great too, both old and new: Many cosmetics, decorations and color palletes to unlock, the music and gameplay are very faithful to the original, the game balance feels great, the list goes on.
So yeah, the best 99 game in my opinion. I can get why F-ZERO fans were mad at this when it was shown for the first time, but even if it's not anything exactly "new" for the series it's still an amazingly well executed take on the OG, and given the positive feedback in general I wanna believe Nintendo can try and make something fresh out of this.
A great translation for F-ZERO, a game with insane and frenetic gameplay at its core, into the Battle Royale/99 formula, and it just fits like a ring on a finger as well because of how decision-based and agressive the races can become. Oh and they made the original courses wider to fit 99 players in them as well, of course LOL
The reward system here is great too, since not only you have to focus on securing a good placing, but also place better than your rivals which are decided per match. So in case you crash or end up not doing so well, you can still get rewarded for outplacing rivals and feel some grade of accomplishment, now that's just swell!
Everything else is great too, both old and new: Many cosmetics, decorations and color palletes to unlock, the music and gameplay are very faithful to the original, the game balance feels great, the list goes on.
So yeah, the best 99 game in my opinion. I can get why F-ZERO fans were mad at this when it was shown for the first time, but even if it's not anything exactly "new" for the series it's still an amazingly well executed take on the OG, and given the positive feedback in general I wanna believe Nintendo can try and make something fresh out of this.
1998
Didn't really expect this game to get a major update for its 25th anniversary :0
I can see why it's highly praised by essentially everyone. It's fast-paced gameplay, rich atmosphere and intringuing lore make it all for a really fun experience, along with some well-structured level design and puzzles.
Though I gotta be honest, I didn't like the last few sections at Xen as the gameplay can be quite frustrating a good amount of the time, but outside of that it's a top tier first person shooter that aged very well!
I can see why it's highly praised by essentially everyone. It's fast-paced gameplay, rich atmosphere and intringuing lore make it all for a really fun experience, along with some well-structured level design and puzzles.
Though I gotta be honest, I didn't like the last few sections at Xen as the gameplay can be quite frustrating a good amount of the time, but outside of that it's a top tier first person shooter that aged very well!
2013
This review contains spoilers
I must admit Cookie Clicker got me engaged for a lot more time than I anticipated for an idle game, mainly because of how satisfying and rewarding the game can get once you have a enough prestige levels to ascend and then go back to the beginning to produce 100x faster than before.
By the way, the lore goes crazy on this one. I did not expect at all the grandmapocalypse event and its effects, the game turned way more interesting from that point on for me.
Pleasant interface, great atmospheric music (Steam version) made by one of the Minecraft composers and a great time overall. Definitely one of the best idle games out there.
By the way, the lore goes crazy on this one. I did not expect at all the grandmapocalypse event and its effects, the game turned way more interesting from that point on for me.
Pleasant interface, great atmospheric music (Steam version) made by one of the Minecraft composers and a great time overall. Definitely one of the best idle games out there.
2014
A fun platform fighter with interesting concepts and mechanics, but feels very clunky beyond a casual experience and is less accessible than most PFs because of its complex "correct weapon in the correct time" gameplay loop. The only thing I see that keeps the game alive right now are the insane collabs they drop sometimes, like Cartoon Network and Nick characters, Castlevania, Street Fighter, Shovel Knight, etc.
Also Rayman is in the game, so that's a plus on my book :)
Also Rayman is in the game, so that's a plus on my book :)
Let's be honest, the DLC had a very rough start, with stages essentially ported from Mario Kart Tour and only given new music, but as time passed the next waves became way closer to the ones present in the base game, this meaning ACTUAL grass textures, more attention to detail and even bringing brand new balance changes and features to the table. Here are a few of my favorite tracks in the whole pass:
- Ninja Hideaway
- Waluigi Pinball
- Berlin Byways (BANGER OST BTW)
- Rainbow Road 3DS
- DK Summit
- Yoshi's Island
- Rainbow Road Wii
Also the new characters added are great too: Petey Piranha, Birdo and Wiggler are back again, Kamek finally gets his chance to shine as part of the roster, Diddy and Funky Kong make this game three times better by themselves and even Pauline is an awesome addition to the cast!
Although, I will say this: I never really understood the hate towards Peachette, she literally did nothing wrong y'all π
Detouring a little here, we also got some extra thingies as well: Mii Suits with their own stunts, a jukebox, customizable random item mode, the balance changes making the meta stray very far away from the Wiggler Waluigi combo days. The list goes on, it's actually pretty nice QoL stuff all in all.
Oh and a huge RIP to Piranha Plant Pipeline (Tour), the only stage that will become lost media as of now, in case MKT ceases to exist :(
- Ninja Hideaway
- Waluigi Pinball
- Berlin Byways (BANGER OST BTW)
- Rainbow Road 3DS
- DK Summit
- Yoshi's Island
- Rainbow Road Wii
Also the new characters added are great too: Petey Piranha, Birdo and Wiggler are back again, Kamek finally gets his chance to shine as part of the roster, Diddy and Funky Kong make this game three times better by themselves and even Pauline is an awesome addition to the cast!
Although, I will say this: I never really understood the hate towards Peachette, she literally did nothing wrong y'all π
Detouring a little here, we also got some extra thingies as well: Mii Suits with their own stunts, a jukebox, customizable random item mode, the balance changes making the meta stray very far away from the Wiggler Waluigi combo days. The list goes on, it's actually pretty nice QoL stuff all in all.
Oh and a huge RIP to Piranha Plant Pipeline (Tour), the only stage that will become lost media as of now, in case MKT ceases to exist :(
2022
My friends bought me this for my birthday??? πππππ