A game that exists to attract sales through the mash up of two indie genre darlings. I won't say there's nothing here, the combat would certainly be admirable if it were in a better game. Though when the monsters you tame have such names as Blob, Rocky, or Monk it shows that the creators have little creativity and or passion for their work. In fact I dare say a kindergartener who has seen a single episode of Bakugan could envision far more worthwhile creatures then what is on offer here. When mixed in with such lackluster platforming that feels like what a game design student would make after their first week of lessons, it's hard to say that there's anything worthwhile to see here.

To be fair I expected such when I came in. Perhaps I expected more in at least the naming department of the monsters but at the end of the day this is a product of design recycling from far better and more inventive experiences.

The most refined distillation of what the JRPG genre can offer. A warm and cozy experience yes, but has several moments of emotional character drama that feels genuine rather than forced upon the player. I'd compare it to a long running shounen manga/anime though that'd be an insult since every story beat and location was considered more thoroughly than what would be expected in a pulpy medium. Really has a little bit of everything that makes an traditional JRPG endearing and playable to this day. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to any newcomer curious about the genre since there's a little bit of everything that makes it endearing here.

It's a Daniel Mullins game alright. I think it's very easy to look at his love of Creepypasta/creepy internet culture and feel frustrated that his narratives don't have much meat to them. There's a love of the mystery, the search, and the atmosphere that replaces conventional elements like, oh I don't know, an ending or themes. Still I find this juvenile fixation on loose story telling incredibly charming.

How many times will there be an old haunted video game that shouldn't exist? Infinite, I hope, as long as Daniel's imagination is running wild.

There's clearly an immense amount of technical prowess running the atmosphere here. The sheer amount of time it must have taken to get the woodsman's hands just right both disturbs and delights me in one complex package my therapist has yet to explain to me. There are so many little things throughout the experience that show a wild amount of imaginative visual/gameplay styles that really intertwine into a diverse and engaging experience. The implementation of standing up from the table gives the player such an uncomfortable diegetic feel that I find it easy to forgive the hacky metatextual segments.

The gameplay really does peak in the beginning though. The introduction of more mechanics overtime feels like bloat rather than expanding upon the already good basis. I can't even begin to explain how the circuit system works, and nothing says bloat in a card game like a useless mechanic that never got in the way of me beating the game.

I appreciate Daniel Mullens for his imagination, his technical/atmospheric prowess, and the absolute love he puts into his games. He still suffers as a designer from not knowing how to make his gameplay adapt and change over time, and his twisty narratives never really rise above the realm of fun pulpy Creepypastas. I think Daniel Mullins is wonderful creator in the medium, and the technical work he puts into all of his experiences should be celebrated far beyond their shortcomings.

Less than the sum of its parts? There's a lot of original stuff here that does well: the minamilist soundtrack, the tight controls, environmental designs that mix ancient technology with a more natural space, and the outstanding animation work to say a few. Still it doesn't really coalesce for me.

At times the dialogue feels like a kids show with a high budget but too many fingers in the pot. Jokes fly off constantly with no rhyme or reason (or humor honestly). The characters are unseasoned, and in particular the plot crux of trying to turn Daxter back to normal feels very unmotivated. Would you want to turn Kazooie into a bear in Banjo? What kind of set up is it where you say you want the furry mascot to stop being a furry mascot? Ridiculous!

The environments lack any kind of pizazz to them, there's never really any moment you see how it all comes together. They are moreso empty with long stretches to hide loading screens. The movement too doesn't feel beneficial in any case, just some extra fluff.

I say all this to say two things,
1. Naughty Dog and me may never get along
2. The animation where Jak does an alley oop to Daxter with the Precursor orb has lived in my head rent free for over a decade now. I'm afraid I will never be able to forget it, even in my dementia ridden future my grandkids will have to deal with me showing it to them several times a day. I'm both scared and hopeful for that day to come.

This expansion made Civ V get to the point where it both has a large and varied amount of mechanics that change in focus throughout the course of a match, as well streamlined them to where most individual actions don't take an excessive amount of information or time to do them successfully.

I reached the point that I can't do with most games where I put this on and play it mindlessly for several hours while listening to an album or a podcast. The changing flow keeps me engaged while the simplicity of each action makes it so I don't have to think too hard for turns ahead.

I would never argue that Civ V BNW is the peak of 4x design from a strategy perspective, but it hits a perfect balance for me where it is utterly therapeutic

*important note, base Civ V is basically unplayable when compared to this, this expansion far exceeds the base game

The tradeoff here is that you're getting a clean, quick, and visually engaging experience rapidly to fuel that beautiful Gen Z undiagnosed ADHD mindset, but every microgame is ultimately overly simplistic in a way where it leaves a bit of a hollow feeling once you've completed them all.

Something something, allegory for capitalism, something something.

Imo the series gets better as it goes on