2022
While playing Chained Echoes, I could just tell that the director of this game played a shit ton of JRPGs and knows all about the conventions and clichés. I love how they managed to circumvent all of the more tedious bits that are commonplace in a game like this.
Firstly, there are no random encounters. Enemies are clearly visible in the gameworld and while they can't always be avoided, you can always run away with a 100% chance to fix your party or reset the battle if it goes wrong. Since your party is always at full health at the start of a battle, every fight is allowed to be somewhat demanding. You can just go nuts with you abilities and use whatever you want.
The cool part about this however, is the overdrive system. A gauge on the top of the screen that you can raise or lower by using specific actions or swapping out characters. The idea is to keep that gauge at a certain point to gain various benefits in battle. It adds a really interesting layer to battles, because you have to decide whether to focus on your overdrive bar or use an option you would rather use at the moment. It creates really interesting decision making and kept battles really engaging. There are some really cool twists to that system later on, as well. It's neat!
Skillpoints are only obtained by defeating bosses and working on your reward board, which is a cool twist on the sphere grid of FFX. Where doing specific challenges unlock new tiles and creating a chain of said tiles unlocks skillpoints and other rewards. It's a motivating system for doing side content that is much preferred to just grinding levels.
Another cool thing about battles is that weaknesses are openly shown to the player. Instead of looking that stuff up or painstakingly analyzing every foe and then remembering all the weaknesses, that step gets skipped and you can go crazy. It also shows if you can steal from an enemy or if they're consumable (yes, there is a blue mage in this game)
Boss battles constantly offer unique twists and are seldom pure bloated trash mobs. They really went out of their way to make them a special event that requires additional thinking.
The mechs you unlock fairly deep in the game are another really cool addition to the game. They not only give you more freedom in exploration (suddenly being able to fly around feels amazing) but also introduce yet another style of combat that puts yet another twist to the battle system. It also uses the overdrive system, but in a whole different way that felt fresh. Even the basic idea of how to customize the mechs is quite cool and different from the actual characters.
Talking about exploration: Side quests aren't really hidden and are openly placed on the map. They often feel like part of the main story in terms of writing and content and there is no fetch questing to be found here. The actual exploration is more about finding unique minibosses, treasure chests or entire dungeons that can hold new items or class statues, that can unlock specific class items which can customize your party even further and are gated behind combat challenges. It's so awesome stumbling upon such a shrine, solving a combat challenge and getting a strong buff for one of your characters with additional skills. Being able to freely switch those around offers a lot of freedom. I really enjoyed exploring the entire world and there's plenty to be found.
For example clan members! At one point you unlock a Suikoden-style base and get to recruit NPCs that level up your base and offer various bonuses. The game doesn't even really hide those from you. There's a clairvoyant that gives you advice on where to find those. Same thing goes for the glossary, which documents which enemy drops what item. You barely have to use guides for this game, because the developers knew there is no point in hiding stuff from you!
The story of Chained Echoes is really well written. I admit, it lacks the spectacle or "epicness" of a Final Fantasy game, but it makes up for it with mature and believable writing. It doesn't shy away from really dark themes and each of the party members have a proper reason to travel on your side. The backstories are mostly very captivating (I loved the backstory of Glenn and Ba'Thraz in particular) and the game does it's utmost to escape tropes. Some of the revalations of this game really blew my socks off and I utterly enjoyed how the storyline concluded.
There are some things that did not really blow me away, though. The music, while pretty good, did not really stick in my head all that much. I'd argue JRPGs are the games that benefit the most from an amazing soundtrack (I can't even explain why, it's just that a good soundtrack carries this genre even more than others for me) yet Chained Echoes is mostly just "alright" in that regard. I would love to give it another listen once the OST is available on YouTube, but from purely playing the game it felt a bit unremarkable. Though some of the calmer pieces were nice.
Another thing I felt indifferent about was the gem system. It's another layer to character customization and stuff, but fusion those bad boys felt a bit too convoluted and a bit tedious, so I mostly just used the auto fusion and put the first thing that sounded good into my gear. I like that you can take them out at any time to put it into your new stuff, but I wish it was more steamlined.
Some enemy groups also seemed to have a bit too much HP at a late point of the game. Maybe I my gear wasn't amazing at that part, but there was a brief sections where fighting enemies was a bit of a hassle. Not a big deal, but I need to justify that half star that's missing, lol.
Despite those complaints: Chained Echoes is a fantastic RPG that deserves to stand right beside it's clear inspirations. There is a bit of FF6 in there, a bit of Chrono Trigger, a bit of Xenogears, Suikoden and more. It seems like a game from a person, who really loves the genre and tried their best to put all their favorite aspects into one game while cutting away all of the bad stuff. I think it really succeeds in most regards and deserves to be played by anyone who loves the genre.
Firstly, there are no random encounters. Enemies are clearly visible in the gameworld and while they can't always be avoided, you can always run away with a 100% chance to fix your party or reset the battle if it goes wrong. Since your party is always at full health at the start of a battle, every fight is allowed to be somewhat demanding. You can just go nuts with you abilities and use whatever you want.
The cool part about this however, is the overdrive system. A gauge on the top of the screen that you can raise or lower by using specific actions or swapping out characters. The idea is to keep that gauge at a certain point to gain various benefits in battle. It adds a really interesting layer to battles, because you have to decide whether to focus on your overdrive bar or use an option you would rather use at the moment. It creates really interesting decision making and kept battles really engaging. There are some really cool twists to that system later on, as well. It's neat!
Skillpoints are only obtained by defeating bosses and working on your reward board, which is a cool twist on the sphere grid of FFX. Where doing specific challenges unlock new tiles and creating a chain of said tiles unlocks skillpoints and other rewards. It's a motivating system for doing side content that is much preferred to just grinding levels.
Another cool thing about battles is that weaknesses are openly shown to the player. Instead of looking that stuff up or painstakingly analyzing every foe and then remembering all the weaknesses, that step gets skipped and you can go crazy. It also shows if you can steal from an enemy or if they're consumable (yes, there is a blue mage in this game)
Boss battles constantly offer unique twists and are seldom pure bloated trash mobs. They really went out of their way to make them a special event that requires additional thinking.
The mechs you unlock fairly deep in the game are another really cool addition to the game. They not only give you more freedom in exploration (suddenly being able to fly around feels amazing) but also introduce yet another style of combat that puts yet another twist to the battle system. It also uses the overdrive system, but in a whole different way that felt fresh. Even the basic idea of how to customize the mechs is quite cool and different from the actual characters.
Talking about exploration: Side quests aren't really hidden and are openly placed on the map. They often feel like part of the main story in terms of writing and content and there is no fetch questing to be found here. The actual exploration is more about finding unique minibosses, treasure chests or entire dungeons that can hold new items or class statues, that can unlock specific class items which can customize your party even further and are gated behind combat challenges. It's so awesome stumbling upon such a shrine, solving a combat challenge and getting a strong buff for one of your characters with additional skills. Being able to freely switch those around offers a lot of freedom. I really enjoyed exploring the entire world and there's plenty to be found.
For example clan members! At one point you unlock a Suikoden-style base and get to recruit NPCs that level up your base and offer various bonuses. The game doesn't even really hide those from you. There's a clairvoyant that gives you advice on where to find those. Same thing goes for the glossary, which documents which enemy drops what item. You barely have to use guides for this game, because the developers knew there is no point in hiding stuff from you!
The story of Chained Echoes is really well written. I admit, it lacks the spectacle or "epicness" of a Final Fantasy game, but it makes up for it with mature and believable writing. It doesn't shy away from really dark themes and each of the party members have a proper reason to travel on your side. The backstories are mostly very captivating (I loved the backstory of Glenn and Ba'Thraz in particular) and the game does it's utmost to escape tropes. Some of the revalations of this game really blew my socks off and I utterly enjoyed how the storyline concluded.
There are some things that did not really blow me away, though. The music, while pretty good, did not really stick in my head all that much. I'd argue JRPGs are the games that benefit the most from an amazing soundtrack (I can't even explain why, it's just that a good soundtrack carries this genre even more than others for me) yet Chained Echoes is mostly just "alright" in that regard. I would love to give it another listen once the OST is available on YouTube, but from purely playing the game it felt a bit unremarkable. Though some of the calmer pieces were nice.
Another thing I felt indifferent about was the gem system. It's another layer to character customization and stuff, but fusion those bad boys felt a bit too convoluted and a bit tedious, so I mostly just used the auto fusion and put the first thing that sounded good into my gear. I like that you can take them out at any time to put it into your new stuff, but I wish it was more steamlined.
Some enemy groups also seemed to have a bit too much HP at a late point of the game. Maybe I my gear wasn't amazing at that part, but there was a brief sections where fighting enemies was a bit of a hassle. Not a big deal, but I need to justify that half star that's missing, lol.
Despite those complaints: Chained Echoes is a fantastic RPG that deserves to stand right beside it's clear inspirations. There is a bit of FF6 in there, a bit of Chrono Trigger, a bit of Xenogears, Suikoden and more. It seems like a game from a person, who really loves the genre and tried their best to put all their favorite aspects into one game while cutting away all of the bad stuff. I think it really succeeds in most regards and deserves to be played by anyone who loves the genre.
2022
Despite just being a spoof on The Witness, it turned out to be quite a well done puzzle game. Taking into account it's literally free to download, I can't really complain about it's short length.
I don't really burst out laughing and thought some of the puzzles weren't particularly amazing, but others are genuinely clever and I couldn't help but grin after that ending. Worth it's short playtime. Use a guide if you aren't interested in the puzzles, the humour and ideas carry this one alone.
I don't really burst out laughing and thought some of the puzzles weren't particularly amazing, but others are genuinely clever and I couldn't help but grin after that ending. Worth it's short playtime. Use a guide if you aren't interested in the puzzles, the humour and ideas carry this one alone.
2022
I almost wish the game didn't have a storyline at all, because it seems to distract many players from how amazing the gameplay is.
I personally did not mind the dialogue and viewed them as a breather in between chapters (and genuinely cracked a smile at some exchanges) but I won't deny that the actual plot isn't special and the amount of overdone anime clichés aren't working in this game's favor.
The levels itself however are pure joy. I love how the game manages to put different tiers of challenge into the game, simply with it's ranking system.
Players with a lower skill level can just breeze through the game at their pace. They have to accumulate a certain amount of gold ranks to proceed, but from what I could tell, the game is very lenient in how many you have to acquire. I'd argue that most people should be able to do this.
The second layer is actually getting those gold ranks and therefore unlocking the hints for the intended shortcuts the developers intended. Those are a big help in getting the ace ranks, which are an optional, but welcome challenge for the more skilled players. Which is where I personally stopped for now.
If you want to go even more crazy, you can try to beat all of the developer times, beat your friends scores or even try to climb the leader boards. Which unfortunately are filled with cheaters, but that aspect might work better on console.
The game just lives from it's flow. The movement in this game feels great, you never actually have to "walk" much in these levels, unless you're running on water or are busy shooting enemies. Most of the time you're spending in the air or dashing around, which creates a very nice state of focus, because fucking up one jump or shoot often means restarting the level.
Since restarting only take like two seconds and levels are mostly super short, it never really feels punishing or demotivating to fail. Instead it even motivates to do some really risky moves to squeeze out every little millisecond you can out of a level.
Neon White is a game for people who would like to speedrun but can't be bothered to learn an entire game from start to finish. For people who just want to go fast and don't prepare for weeks. I found that concept to be very well done and wish there was some kind of level editor for infinite replayability. Maybe one day I'll try to beat those developer times. I think I got like 5-6 of them by accident. But for now I'm good.
The soundtrack is amazing too, btw.
I personally did not mind the dialogue and viewed them as a breather in between chapters (and genuinely cracked a smile at some exchanges) but I won't deny that the actual plot isn't special and the amount of overdone anime clichés aren't working in this game's favor.
The levels itself however are pure joy. I love how the game manages to put different tiers of challenge into the game, simply with it's ranking system.
Players with a lower skill level can just breeze through the game at their pace. They have to accumulate a certain amount of gold ranks to proceed, but from what I could tell, the game is very lenient in how many you have to acquire. I'd argue that most people should be able to do this.
The second layer is actually getting those gold ranks and therefore unlocking the hints for the intended shortcuts the developers intended. Those are a big help in getting the ace ranks, which are an optional, but welcome challenge for the more skilled players. Which is where I personally stopped for now.
If you want to go even more crazy, you can try to beat all of the developer times, beat your friends scores or even try to climb the leader boards. Which unfortunately are filled with cheaters, but that aspect might work better on console.
The game just lives from it's flow. The movement in this game feels great, you never actually have to "walk" much in these levels, unless you're running on water or are busy shooting enemies. Most of the time you're spending in the air or dashing around, which creates a very nice state of focus, because fucking up one jump or shoot often means restarting the level.
Since restarting only take like two seconds and levels are mostly super short, it never really feels punishing or demotivating to fail. Instead it even motivates to do some really risky moves to squeeze out every little millisecond you can out of a level.
Neon White is a game for people who would like to speedrun but can't be bothered to learn an entire game from start to finish. For people who just want to go fast and don't prepare for weeks. I found that concept to be very well done and wish there was some kind of level editor for infinite replayability. Maybe one day I'll try to beat those developer times. I think I got like 5-6 of them by accident. But for now I'm good.
The soundtrack is amazing too, btw.
2022
This game is entirely carried by it's soundtrack for me. Getting to hear the voices of the singers of bands like Arch Enemy, Trivium, Dark Tranquility and more made me feel super nostalgic about the time I actively listened to metal every single day. The original songs they wrote for this game were such a joy to listen to and getting your combo high enough for the vocals to set in was a fantastic motivator to try hard.
The actual level design, gameplay and story I did not really care for. The rhythmic shooting was fine and could get intense at times, but the entire I kept thinking how much I would prefer to just shoot these enemies normally.
The actual level design, gameplay and story I did not really care for. The rhythmic shooting was fine and could get intense at times, but the entire I kept thinking how much I would prefer to just shoot these enemies normally.
2022
Game felt like a mix of Hollow Knight and Metroid, which sounds like it could be amazing, but ultimately resulted in another one of these middling Metroidvanias that come out in quantities every year. The reason why I don't rate this lower is the atmosphere of the game. There was a certain melancholy to exploring the world of Ghost Song and it did a great job at getting me engaged throughout my few hours with the game. The music also really added to it.
The combat is your standard Metroid-fare with some RPG-bloat added to it. Bossfights were mostly bland and normal enemies way too spongey.
I was also a little disappointed by the sudden ending of the narrative. I figured I triggered a bad ending or something, but apparantly it just ends like this. Oh well.
The combat is your standard Metroid-fare with some RPG-bloat added to it. Bossfights were mostly bland and normal enemies way too spongey.
I was also a little disappointed by the sudden ending of the narrative. I figured I triggered a bad ending or something, but apparantly it just ends like this. Oh well.
1999
I really enjoyed my time with this game. The tense atmosphere, the possibilites in character building, the exploring, the audio logs, Shodan ... It all results in a really fantastic time. There are some tedious bits to it and I'd say it's a fairly "quicksave heavy" game but I can easily see myself go back to it and try out how differently I can play this one. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd end up raising the rating on a replay now that I figured out all of the systems and can play around with it more freely.
2022
It's a bit odd. The game definitely didn't blow me away with it's story and I think the gameplay, while interesting, doesn't really provide interesting decision making or planning to actually make it all that engaging BUT I still couldn't stop playing. I spent 10 hours in two days with it and just kept reading and reading. Something about the subtle music, the quietness and the characters resonated with me. I'd say give this a shot if you can take a lot of text in a game.
2022
This game felt like a mix of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Zelda 2. Both pretty great but deeply flawed games because of various reasons. Especially Simon's Quest has some very questionable design decisions and cryptic BS that drag it all down.
Infernax manages to take the basic formula of that game and "fixes" it. Quests are pretty straight forward, grinding for items feels optional and the checkpoints are fair. Meanwhile, the dungeons, limited lives and magic system really felt straight out of Zelda 2.
It results in a very fun time with some challenging platforming and fun bosses, but something about the experience also feels a little bland. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time with this game a lot, but it's funny how a game, that fixes so many things about it's inspirations still doesn't really feel like a better game.
I think it comes down to "been there, done that". None of the areas, bosses, enemies and skills feel fresh.
I would still recommend this one, especially if you're into the traditional Castlevania formula that's been abandoned for a while and don't mind some openness.
Infernax manages to take the basic formula of that game and "fixes" it. Quests are pretty straight forward, grinding for items feels optional and the checkpoints are fair. Meanwhile, the dungeons, limited lives and magic system really felt straight out of Zelda 2.
It results in a very fun time with some challenging platforming and fun bosses, but something about the experience also feels a little bland. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time with this game a lot, but it's funny how a game, that fixes so many things about it's inspirations still doesn't really feel like a better game.
I think it comes down to "been there, done that". None of the areas, bosses, enemies and skills feel fresh.
I would still recommend this one, especially if you're into the traditional Castlevania formula that's been abandoned for a while and don't mind some openness.
2020
Very stylish boomer shooter with a pretty big array of weapons. I like the Mario 3 - style map where you're traversing from level to level and can potentially go back to collect stuff you missed. I don't really like the Metroid-style way of making some stuff unavailable until you get a certain Item, but it is what it is.
Plenty of unlockables, difficulty settings and challenges for some added replay value.
Extreme difficulty spike in that last mission, though.
Plenty of unlockables, difficulty settings and challenges for some added replay value.
Extreme difficulty spike in that last mission, though.
2022
Very safe sequel that somehow felt more bland than it's predecessor despite having more to offer. I guess my main issue with the game is that the story is pretty predictable and uninteresting. It goes through all the storybeats you'd expect and ends in an anticlimatic way. The character writing is fantastic and I love the dialogue, but I was never really invested in the plot itself.
The gameplay is still pretty mediocre. They changed virtually nothing from the previous game. Puzzles suck, pacing is horrendous ... Game looks great, though.
The gameplay is still pretty mediocre. They changed virtually nothing from the previous game. Puzzles suck, pacing is horrendous ... Game looks great, though.
2014
I would like to say that I loved this, but towards the end it felt a little too frustrating for me. Maybe I was just bad at planning, but the amount of backtracking I did in the final hours really left a sour taste in my mouth. But it's something that probably wouldn't happen on a potential second run of the game.
My first 10-15 hours with the game have been fantastic, though. I like the atmosphere, the exploration and the soundtrack. Figuring stuff out and unlocking new stuff felt great. Just wish there was some kind of map. Doesn't have to be unlocked at the very start, but later on I really struggled with remembering where I've been already.
Overall great title but I would recommend turning off the survival stuff (I don't think it added much to the game) and looking stuff up occasionally instead of forcing yourself to find everything.
My first 10-15 hours with the game have been fantastic, though. I like the atmosphere, the exploration and the soundtrack. Figuring stuff out and unlocking new stuff felt great. Just wish there was some kind of map. Doesn't have to be unlocked at the very start, but later on I really struggled with remembering where I've been already.
Overall great title but I would recommend turning off the survival stuff (I don't think it added much to the game) and looking stuff up occasionally instead of forcing yourself to find everything.
2022
I don't really believe in "guilty pleasure" games but this one came very close.
The game felt like time stopped in the sixth console generation and only graphics got better. That might sound like a compliment and in a certain way it definitely is, but it's one of those random ass PS2 games you rented for a weekend because the cover looked cool.
There is some fun to be had here, I enjoyed the fairly unique idea to outdamage your enemies instead of really dodging them or looking for cover. Managing your meters and special attacks was the game. However certain design decisions really drag the game down and some of those levels are simply too long.
I also don't like how the upgrades include stuff like "more damage" or "more HP", because at that point it incentivizes grinding and NG+ bullshit.
Worth a download if you're missing that particular era of video games but stay away from it if you're not.
The game felt like time stopped in the sixth console generation and only graphics got better. That might sound like a compliment and in a certain way it definitely is, but it's one of those random ass PS2 games you rented for a weekend because the cover looked cool.
There is some fun to be had here, I enjoyed the fairly unique idea to outdamage your enemies instead of really dodging them or looking for cover. Managing your meters and special attacks was the game. However certain design decisions really drag the game down and some of those levels are simply too long.
I also don't like how the upgrades include stuff like "more damage" or "more HP", because at that point it incentivizes grinding and NG+ bullshit.
Worth a download if you're missing that particular era of video games but stay away from it if you're not.
2019
Fell in love with this game despite only having played the unfinished console version.
I love how this game handles unlocks. Instead of grinding some random points or money all of your unlocked characters, items and skills come from doing challenges. Play the game to get more game. It's a fantastic system.
The game is pretty addicting and I see myself going back to it hard when the DLC drops on PS4.
I love how this game handles unlocks. Instead of grinding some random points or money all of your unlocked characters, items and skills come from doing challenges. Play the game to get more game. It's a fantastic system.
The game is pretty addicting and I see myself going back to it hard when the DLC drops on PS4.
I enjoyed this game a ton. It's basically Guacamelee with a Robin Hood-like premise and manhua-style cutscenes.
I certainly could have done without the hub world and it's bland side quests, but luckily those are totally optional and the game was doable even on hard. Bosses were quite challenging, but motivating to learn. The final boss in particular was a feast.
Definitely give this a try if you liked Guacamelee or are generally into metroidvania games.
I certainly could have done without the hub world and it's bland side quests, but luckily those are totally optional and the game was doable even on hard. Bosses were quite challenging, but motivating to learn. The final boss in particular was a feast.
Definitely give this a try if you liked Guacamelee or are generally into metroidvania games.
A big step-up from the previous title. Requiem fixes the main issue I had with Innocence: the level design. The first game had very linear and restrictive stealth sections, to the point that they almost felt scripted or intended to be played in one specific way.
Requiem offers plenty of options to sneak and flank. The menus can be a bit tough to navigate but I got used to it after a while.
I still didn't really care about the plot, but Hugo felt less obnoxious this time around and I actually really liked the segments where a third companions was thrown into the mix. I especially liked Sophia the smuggler. The sections with her were probably my favorite story-wise.
Overall a decent stealth title that doesn't really do much new but manages to improve upon the formula. Definitely play this if you liked the first one or at least saw potential in it.
Requiem offers plenty of options to sneak and flank. The menus can be a bit tough to navigate but I got used to it after a while.
I still didn't really care about the plot, but Hugo felt less obnoxious this time around and I actually really liked the segments where a third companions was thrown into the mix. I especially liked Sophia the smuggler. The sections with her were probably my favorite story-wise.
Overall a decent stealth title that doesn't really do much new but manages to improve upon the formula. Definitely play this if you liked the first one or at least saw potential in it.