Nepiki
2018
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/suzy-cube/
''Suzy Cube has a direct inspiration in a 3D Platformer made by a very well-known company, and has been able to translate that specific game’s design well into its own. At the same time, it doesn’t attempt to go beyond the limitations of what the inspiration was forced to work with, and as a result feels very basic in comparison. Suzy controls fairly smoothly overall, but there’s little going for her besides a regular jump and a very small pool of power-ups. The stages do all feel different and while they work well with the fixed camera, the collectables are often cheaply-placed off-camera. I liked the boss the first time, but he returns 5 times with very slight alterations that only end up in the fights dragging out. Suzy Cube is overall a fine game, but I would have liked to see it break free from its inspiration just a bit more.''
''Suzy Cube has a direct inspiration in a 3D Platformer made by a very well-known company, and has been able to translate that specific game’s design well into its own. At the same time, it doesn’t attempt to go beyond the limitations of what the inspiration was forced to work with, and as a result feels very basic in comparison. Suzy controls fairly smoothly overall, but there’s little going for her besides a regular jump and a very small pool of power-ups. The stages do all feel different and while they work well with the fixed camera, the collectables are often cheaply-placed off-camera. I liked the boss the first time, but he returns 5 times with very slight alterations that only end up in the fights dragging out. Suzy Cube is overall a fine game, but I would have liked to see it break free from its inspiration just a bit more.''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/professor-layton-and-the-curious-village/
''With a beautiful hand-drawn art style and a unique setting, Professor Layton and the Curious Village has definitely intrigued me to try out more of this franchise in due time. The characters are vibrant and designed around their personalities, and their obsessive nature with handing out puzzles at the most awkward of times made me laugh more than it probably was intended to. I also felt the puzzles were good for the most part, but there were some real stinkers in there that I disliked due to them intentionally trying to trick you… which ruined every trick question that came afterwards due to me already expecting them. I will admit that I had less fun than I wanted to due to my completionist mindset, but I have learned my lesson and will apply this knowledge to future games for sure.''
''With a beautiful hand-drawn art style and a unique setting, Professor Layton and the Curious Village has definitely intrigued me to try out more of this franchise in due time. The characters are vibrant and designed around their personalities, and their obsessive nature with handing out puzzles at the most awkward of times made me laugh more than it probably was intended to. I also felt the puzzles were good for the most part, but there were some real stinkers in there that I disliked due to them intentionally trying to trick you… which ruined every trick question that came afterwards due to me already expecting them. I will admit that I had less fun than I wanted to due to my completionist mindset, but I have learned my lesson and will apply this knowledge to future games for sure.''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/cybarian-the-time-travelling-warrior/
''The goal of Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior was to be an arcade-like game inspired by old-school platformers and beat-m-ups, and I’d say they’ve done a fairly good job at it. The difficulty is deliberately set to be an arcade-like experience, but I personally found it to be perfectly manageable overall due to later abilities slightly ruining the otherwise fine timing-based combat. I had fun going through the stages because they offered something new with every new area, but my main issue with them is a problem I have with the game in general: it’s far too short, and also a bit too simplistic. The game can easily be beaten in less than an hour, and while I certainly had fun and craved for more, I’m of the opinion that this game is too short. There’s a lot of potential for a good, or even great game here, but most of it doesn’t reach the potential it could have become.''
''The goal of Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior was to be an arcade-like game inspired by old-school platformers and beat-m-ups, and I’d say they’ve done a fairly good job at it. The difficulty is deliberately set to be an arcade-like experience, but I personally found it to be perfectly manageable overall due to later abilities slightly ruining the otherwise fine timing-based combat. I had fun going through the stages because they offered something new with every new area, but my main issue with them is a problem I have with the game in general: it’s far too short, and also a bit too simplistic. The game can easily be beaten in less than an hour, and while I certainly had fun and craved for more, I’m of the opinion that this game is too short. There’s a lot of potential for a good, or even great game here, but most of it doesn’t reach the potential it could have become.''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/redout/
''Redout was definitely an exciting high-speed racing game for me. The tracks were gorgeous to race on with a lot of futuristic settings, and the controls felt just right to blaze through the corners with a multitude of different teams and power-ups to fit your racing style. The emphasis on actual racing instead of combating is there, which is a nice change of pace for futuristic racing games and also feels more rewarding. But the rewards solely felt that way for the actual races, because the campaign barely motivated me to do as many missions as possible due to a lacking sense of progression. This feeling is amplified by a user interface that just felt horrendous to work with, not highlighting anything important and also not making it feel like every different career mission is important. Even though there is a good variety of racing modes- and tracks, I eventually stopped finishing the campaign because of the UI and lack of progression, which is unfortunate because the racing overall is very solid.''
''Redout was definitely an exciting high-speed racing game for me. The tracks were gorgeous to race on with a lot of futuristic settings, and the controls felt just right to blaze through the corners with a multitude of different teams and power-ups to fit your racing style. The emphasis on actual racing instead of combating is there, which is a nice change of pace for futuristic racing games and also feels more rewarding. But the rewards solely felt that way for the actual races, because the campaign barely motivated me to do as many missions as possible due to a lacking sense of progression. This feeling is amplified by a user interface that just felt horrendous to work with, not highlighting anything important and also not making it feel like every different career mission is important. Even though there is a good variety of racing modes- and tracks, I eventually stopped finishing the campaign because of the UI and lack of progression, which is unfortunate because the racing overall is very solid.''
2016
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/lumo/
''I won’t deny that I was disappointed by the game not even looking close to the cute cover art it has, but I was able to look past that in favour of finding a capable modern isometric adventure. The isometric perspective was handled fairly well for the most part, only working against me in a minimal amount of situations. While the main character wasn’t really capable of much himself, the different amount of puzzle rooms and references to other forms of media kept the game mostly fresh. The quality of the puzzles themselves were alright, but I really disliked how the game forced arbitrary waiting on you very often. While far from required, this game is definitely anti-completionist with no backtracking and a lot of one-chance moments. Combine that with a map that is just not good and my experience overall ended up being frustrating not necessarily because of the gameplay itself, but because of how punishing it is towards people who want to do everything the game has to offer.''
''I won’t deny that I was disappointed by the game not even looking close to the cute cover art it has, but I was able to look past that in favour of finding a capable modern isometric adventure. The isometric perspective was handled fairly well for the most part, only working against me in a minimal amount of situations. While the main character wasn’t really capable of much himself, the different amount of puzzle rooms and references to other forms of media kept the game mostly fresh. The quality of the puzzles themselves were alright, but I really disliked how the game forced arbitrary waiting on you very often. While far from required, this game is definitely anti-completionist with no backtracking and a lot of one-chance moments. Combine that with a map that is just not good and my experience overall ended up being frustrating not necessarily because of the gameplay itself, but because of how punishing it is towards people who want to do everything the game has to offer.''
2017
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/road-redemption/
''Road Redemption is a game that I had a lot of fun with. The combat felt fun and satisfying with a good variety in weapons and even guns, and it kept you on your toes at all times when there were multiple enemies. This was further amplified by the broad amount of different racers, each having their own fun perks and even unique playstyles. The same can’t be said about the bikes unfortunately, and that also brings me to the main question of this review: are you looking for a deep racing game, or a combat game? Because if it’s the former, you won’t find it here. Racing mechanics are very simplistic, and the tracks themselves don’t stand out either. The main issue with the game is that it’s a roguelike which fails at replayability because of these tracks not changing at all. It definitely tries to encourage you to play the game multiple times but honestly, you’ve seen pretty much everything the game has to offer after a playthrough or two. Then again, if you’re here just for a few playthroughs? That’s when the game does shine.''
''Road Redemption is a game that I had a lot of fun with. The combat felt fun and satisfying with a good variety in weapons and even guns, and it kept you on your toes at all times when there were multiple enemies. This was further amplified by the broad amount of different racers, each having their own fun perks and even unique playstyles. The same can’t be said about the bikes unfortunately, and that also brings me to the main question of this review: are you looking for a deep racing game, or a combat game? Because if it’s the former, you won’t find it here. Racing mechanics are very simplistic, and the tracks themselves don’t stand out either. The main issue with the game is that it’s a roguelike which fails at replayability because of these tracks not changing at all. It definitely tries to encourage you to play the game multiple times but honestly, you’ve seen pretty much everything the game has to offer after a playthrough or two. Then again, if you’re here just for a few playthroughs? That’s when the game does shine.''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/phantom-breaker-battle-grounds/
''Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds had the great idea to combine Fighting game mechanics with the Beat ’em up genre and it worked very well. Combos feel satisfying to execute, and it looks flashy all around with a good amount of different characters to play as. However, it does suck that half of the in-depth combat is something you most likely won’t experience during a single playthrough due to two separate skill trees that desire a long investment (and also having levels above 50 locked behind DLC which is stupid). This would have been fine, but the game doesn’t have much content to offer beyond the campaign and harder difficulties. I definitely enjoyed going through these colourful stages with a wide variety of different enemies the first time, but I could not be bothered to do it more than once simply because nothing changes… ever. And since this is a review specifically of the Steam version, I’m also very disappointed that the developers have not bothered to update the game with features from the new releases.''
''Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds had the great idea to combine Fighting game mechanics with the Beat ’em up genre and it worked very well. Combos feel satisfying to execute, and it looks flashy all around with a good amount of different characters to play as. However, it does suck that half of the in-depth combat is something you most likely won’t experience during a single playthrough due to two separate skill trees that desire a long investment (and also having levels above 50 locked behind DLC which is stupid). This would have been fine, but the game doesn’t have much content to offer beyond the campaign and harder difficulties. I definitely enjoyed going through these colourful stages with a wide variety of different enemies the first time, but I could not be bothered to do it more than once simply because nothing changes… ever. And since this is a review specifically of the Steam version, I’m also very disappointed that the developers have not bothered to update the game with features from the new releases.''
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/oceanhorn-monster-of-uncharted-seas/
''It’s hard to believe that Oceanhorn is a port of a standalone mobile game, given its impressive soundtrack and fun gameplay. Unfortunately though, I am reviewing the ported variants of this game which leaves me with a few annoyances that were more understandable for the original release due to limitations. I’ve mentioned it through this review a lot, but there are a lot of gameplay mechanics that I’ve mostly called “harmless but not spectacular”. Sailing doesn’t have a lot going for it due to its simplicity, but also doesn’t do much wrong. Combat isn’t my favourite and puzzles are okay at best, but they work. Vertical traversing is the bane of my existence, but the game is built around this limitation. But despite my annoyances, I can’t understate how much fun I had with exploring the game and all the islands that popped up, including the dungeons and the many challenges that came with them for a levelling system. The mechanics may not stand out, but they did still work in providing me with a fun journey.''
''It’s hard to believe that Oceanhorn is a port of a standalone mobile game, given its impressive soundtrack and fun gameplay. Unfortunately though, I am reviewing the ported variants of this game which leaves me with a few annoyances that were more understandable for the original release due to limitations. I’ve mentioned it through this review a lot, but there are a lot of gameplay mechanics that I’ve mostly called “harmless but not spectacular”. Sailing doesn’t have a lot going for it due to its simplicity, but also doesn’t do much wrong. Combat isn’t my favourite and puzzles are okay at best, but they work. Vertical traversing is the bane of my existence, but the game is built around this limitation. But despite my annoyances, I can’t understate how much fun I had with exploring the game and all the islands that popped up, including the dungeons and the many challenges that came with them for a levelling system. The mechanics may not stand out, but they did still work in providing me with a fun journey.''
2005
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/xanadu-next/
''Nihon Falcom shows us yet again how they are able to create an intriguing adventure through their expertise in world-building. The constant motivation to explore these unknown lands and learn more about the places you visit through optional conversations and lore lives up to my expectations, though people who don’t care about world-building won’t be left in the dust either. And since the world-building goes hand-in-hand with the exploration, that part of the game is also very fun to execute. There’s a lot of secrets to be found in this interconnected world, and new areas unlock occasionally after finding a new tool to help you progress just like how Metroidvanias handle them. The combat is perhaps the weakest point of the game though, limiting you in playstyle due to how armour- and weapons require a specific stat spread, and also having only swords and two-handed swords as weapons to choose from. I personally have no issue with combat whatsoever, but it is something to keep in mind.''
''Nihon Falcom shows us yet again how they are able to create an intriguing adventure through their expertise in world-building. The constant motivation to explore these unknown lands and learn more about the places you visit through optional conversations and lore lives up to my expectations, though people who don’t care about world-building won’t be left in the dust either. And since the world-building goes hand-in-hand with the exploration, that part of the game is also very fun to execute. There’s a lot of secrets to be found in this interconnected world, and new areas unlock occasionally after finding a new tool to help you progress just like how Metroidvanias handle them. The combat is perhaps the weakest point of the game though, limiting you in playstyle due to how armour- and weapons require a specific stat spread, and also having only swords and two-handed swords as weapons to choose from. I personally have no issue with combat whatsoever, but it is something to keep in mind.''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-to-the-past/
''I’m pretty sure the review has already made it clear enough but it’s no secret: A Link to the Past is one of my favourite games ever. I can’t stress enough how much I love exploring this world after you leave the sanctuary for the first time, and how much more becomes available for the player the more they progress through the game–especially in the second half. Combat has seen a good upgrade, especially with the great variety of items the game has. These shine even brighter in the dungeons they’re found in, which often have enemies- or mechanics designed specifically for these items. The dungeons themselves all feel really fun to go through, with the cherry on top being the bosses of each dungeon. Some are admittedly worse than others, but the good part is that they all have multiple ways to be killed without being limited to the item found inside the dungeon. All in all, I don’t think this will come as a surprise but I could only give the highest recommendation for this game.''
''I’m pretty sure the review has already made it clear enough but it’s no secret: A Link to the Past is one of my favourite games ever. I can’t stress enough how much I love exploring this world after you leave the sanctuary for the first time, and how much more becomes available for the player the more they progress through the game–especially in the second half. Combat has seen a good upgrade, especially with the great variety of items the game has. These shine even brighter in the dungeons they’re found in, which often have enemies- or mechanics designed specifically for these items. The dungeons themselves all feel really fun to go through, with the cherry on top being the bosses of each dungeon. Some are admittedly worse than others, but the good part is that they all have multiple ways to be killed without being limited to the item found inside the dungeon. All in all, I don’t think this will come as a surprise but I could only give the highest recommendation for this game.''
1997
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/pocket-bomberman/
''There unfortunately isn’t a lot to say about Pocket Bomberman. If you are familiar with the mechanics from the normal Bomberman games, you just have to convert it into a 2D Platformer and there is your game. Good ol’ Bomberman can still drop bombs with a short radius that can be upgraded to more bombs with a bigger radius, or special variants such as the Remote Bomb. The formula works surprisingly well in a 2D Platformer, with the only seldom frustrations being screen crunch. I can’t say the same about bosses unfortunately, which are big, have attacks that cover most of the screen and since Bomberman is a feeble man, he dies within one hit. At the same time, they’re pathetic when you have the Remote Bomb, so there isn’t a good balance to be found with the bosses. Other than that, it’s a fine but very short platformer with an additional mode that is also very short.''
''There unfortunately isn’t a lot to say about Pocket Bomberman. If you are familiar with the mechanics from the normal Bomberman games, you just have to convert it into a 2D Platformer and there is your game. Good ol’ Bomberman can still drop bombs with a short radius that can be upgraded to more bombs with a bigger radius, or special variants such as the Remote Bomb. The formula works surprisingly well in a 2D Platformer, with the only seldom frustrations being screen crunch. I can’t say the same about bosses unfortunately, which are big, have attacks that cover most of the screen and since Bomberman is a feeble man, he dies within one hit. At the same time, they’re pathetic when you have the Remote Bomb, so there isn’t a good balance to be found with the bosses. Other than that, it’s a fine but very short platformer with an additional mode that is also very short.''
1999
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/bomberman-quest/
''This game is right up my alley. I absolutely love exploring everything on the map, capturing all monsters and using the items they drop to explore even more of the map. There are a ton of secrets, and an especially large arsenal of items that both function for exploration and combat itself. Combat feels good overall, though it does get a slightly rough start due to the arenas being open and enemies having mostly free movement. My compliments are also definitely reserved for the amount of charm the game has, with every monster having unique dialogue and attacks. However, Bomberman Quest has one fatal problem: technical limitations. Due to the big arsenal Bomberman has, you’ll be spending quite a lot of time in the menu to switch items, just to switch it again on the next screen. No upgrade aside from the bombs is ever permanent, so this will keep being a problem throughout the entire game. And though I personally didn’t mind it, there are little to no hints when you’re stuck. Neither of these issues makes the core game worse, but they’re definitely annoyances that probably could have been dealt with better.''
''This game is right up my alley. I absolutely love exploring everything on the map, capturing all monsters and using the items they drop to explore even more of the map. There are a ton of secrets, and an especially large arsenal of items that both function for exploration and combat itself. Combat feels good overall, though it does get a slightly rough start due to the arenas being open and enemies having mostly free movement. My compliments are also definitely reserved for the amount of charm the game has, with every monster having unique dialogue and attacks. However, Bomberman Quest has one fatal problem: technical limitations. Due to the big arsenal Bomberman has, you’ll be spending quite a lot of time in the menu to switch items, just to switch it again on the next screen. No upgrade aside from the bombs is ever permanent, so this will keep being a problem throughout the entire game. And though I personally didn’t mind it, there are little to no hints when you’re stuck. Neither of these issues makes the core game worse, but they’re definitely annoyances that probably could have been dealt with better.''
2020
Full showcase over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/rom-hacking-fangames/rayman-redemption/
''This is not a product experienced developers could have made. This is a product only a true fan of the Rayman series could have made, and Ryemanni has absolutely nailed it. Rayman Redemption has easily become the most accessible version of the original game, with an actual fair difficulty and a ton of added content. Honestly… I don’t think I can ever return to the original Rayman now that this fangame exists. Many people have dubbed this as the ”Sonic Mania of the Rayman series” and I completely agree. This deserves to go out there as an example of what amazing things fans can come up with.''
''This is not a product experienced developers could have made. This is a product only a true fan of the Rayman series could have made, and Ryemanni has absolutely nailed it. Rayman Redemption has easily become the most accessible version of the original game, with an actual fair difficulty and a ton of added content. Honestly… I don’t think I can ever return to the original Rayman now that this fangame exists. Many people have dubbed this as the ”Sonic Mania of the Rayman series” and I completely agree. This deserves to go out there as an example of what amazing things fans can come up with.''
2020
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/paperball/
''It’s fascinating to not just see indie developers having an inspiration for their game, but also perfectly understanding what makes the inspiration so good and adapting it into their own game. Paperball is a very good example of this, taking elements from multiple Super Monkey Ball games to create an experience the fans can indulge into. And not just the fans either, because this is arguably one of the more accessible ball-rolling games that does not sacrifice its difficult nature to appeal to newcomers. There are a lot of different modes, and all of them apply to the same- or different gamers. Rush mode makes you race against a time limit for example, while Rush mode gives the ability to jump without a life system to worry about. The gameplay is spot-on with weight and physics, introducing the player slowly to what they can expect with the first levels before all of the unique stages with fun gimmicks show up. If the worst I can say about the game is that the inspiration being almost too obvious (which I don’t personally see as a problem), then you know we have a good game on our hands.''
''It’s fascinating to not just see indie developers having an inspiration for their game, but also perfectly understanding what makes the inspiration so good and adapting it into their own game. Paperball is a very good example of this, taking elements from multiple Super Monkey Ball games to create an experience the fans can indulge into. And not just the fans either, because this is arguably one of the more accessible ball-rolling games that does not sacrifice its difficult nature to appeal to newcomers. There are a lot of different modes, and all of them apply to the same- or different gamers. Rush mode makes you race against a time limit for example, while Rush mode gives the ability to jump without a life system to worry about. The gameplay is spot-on with weight and physics, introducing the player slowly to what they can expect with the first levels before all of the unique stages with fun gimmicks show up. If the worst I can say about the game is that the inspiration being almost too obvious (which I don’t personally see as a problem), then you know we have a good game on our hands.''
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/yokus-island-express/
''While combining two completely different genres into one sounds like a hefty task, development studio Villa Gorilla have done an excellent job at bringing this beautiful project to life. And let me put an emphasis on beautiful here because boy, do I love how much charm this game has when it comes to graphics and the soundtrack to make it truly feel like I’m on a mysterious island. The island was very fun to explore as well, giving the player freedom to go wherever they want to with only the optional side-content requiring specific upgrades. That said, I must also admit that there isn’t much motivation to go exploring besides your own desire, which was high for me due to how easy it was for me to travel everywhere but I can also understand that people looking for character improvement will be slightly disappointed. The pinball gameplay was very enjoyable for me and integrated well into the world. The only real loss here is that there is almost no difficulty attached to the pinball gameplay because you don’t lose anything upon failure aside from a few fruits that are very easy to collect, but the different amount of objectives and layouts of the ”pinball tables” compensate for it very well.''
''While combining two completely different genres into one sounds like a hefty task, development studio Villa Gorilla have done an excellent job at bringing this beautiful project to life. And let me put an emphasis on beautiful here because boy, do I love how much charm this game has when it comes to graphics and the soundtrack to make it truly feel like I’m on a mysterious island. The island was very fun to explore as well, giving the player freedom to go wherever they want to with only the optional side-content requiring specific upgrades. That said, I must also admit that there isn’t much motivation to go exploring besides your own desire, which was high for me due to how easy it was for me to travel everywhere but I can also understand that people looking for character improvement will be slightly disappointed. The pinball gameplay was very enjoyable for me and integrated well into the world. The only real loss here is that there is almost no difficulty attached to the pinball gameplay because you don’t lose anything upon failure aside from a few fruits that are very easy to collect, but the different amount of objectives and layouts of the ”pinball tables” compensate for it very well.''