Pantz
2003
Just an absolute doormat of a game
1995
This review contains spoilers
This game is an absolute bastard. The overall difficulty needed to complete a level especially on the later half is pretty unprecedented for the time. It really pushes all of it's platforming mechanics to their limit regarding player involvement. For that, I have a lot of respect for it, but locking out the final level behind getting every collectible, AND having a fair deal of those collectibles be tied to activate hidden triggers to even spawn the damn things is a step too far. Combine that with an extremely archaic lives/continue/save system that doesn't mesh at all makes for a really frustrating experience, but one I can't completely condemn. The ending kinda sucks though, both the cutscene and the fact you don't actually fight Mr. Dark himself. I mean seriously what the fuck!
2011
I beat hell after giving up on it for over a decade, you HAVE to heart this post
2010
An incredible indie game. I love this game so damn much
2015
An incredible game with a distinct skill ceiling. Once you master it, it starts to feel just a little too easy, but that mastery comes naturally, and your first win will feel so damn good. Probably the easiest game to recommend a purchase for, considering the ludicrously low price of entry
2012
This game consistently killed me in terrifyingly unfair ways and managed to somehow not make me upset at them. One of those things where death is an inevitability most times, and a lot of your deaths produce gut busting laughs due to absurdity. Winning just once almost feels like you're actively going against the wishes of the creator, and that's a right neat feeling
2010
This game has some good ideas, but none are really delved into as much as they could be, and ultimately it's kind of straight up fucking lame. It's extremely well made but I need a little bit more than that in my games
2008
Just a really neat puzzle platformer. Jon Blow does a great job of pushing a kind of puzzle paired with a kind of solution once, and nothing ever really feels like it's repeated overtly. For a game about controlling time, it sure does a good job of not wasting yours...! (Unless you go for the secret collectibles)
2002
There's a lot wrong in here design wise, but what it manages to do on a GBC cartridge cannot be understated. Almost every track is good (including some ultra-good bangers like the Labyrinth theme), some really creative designs for labyrinths like one that uses magnetic polarities to solve puzzles, and really good visual variety in the overworld map. I think I appreciate this game much more as a Game Boy Color game than I do a game overall, so I'll be nice with my score :)
To imply this game isn't solid would be a straight up lie. It's real well put together, and probably has the best aesthetic consistency of the franchise, it's just a shame that it feels a little underwhelming in scope, especially when compared to the prior game on GBC. Still, this is the one that got me into the franchise when it first dropped on DSi, and it holds a special place in my heart, and many other weird kids who owned a DSi
This game spends too much damn time underground, which seems a little antithetical to the entire rest of the franchise. Besides that, it's probably the strongest of the bunch technically, but still falls short to Pirate's Curse. A lot of good ideas were implemented here, and I think a followup will show Wayforward at their best and potentially most inspired.
2016
This game really impressed me. I think it's approach to puzzle design is totally fresh and inspired. This game initially feels like it could be a collection of puzzles accessed via a menu, but it quickly starts to justify having the puzzles be accessed in a world. My biggest issues with the game are the supreme lack of a soundtrack (no chill ambience? c'mon son...!) and the final final puzzles being pretty damn easy, kinda feeling like a wet fart in comparison to some of the others. I think Jon Blow designs a damn good game and I'm tired of acting like he doesn't
2014
Good presentation, but this game is totally not worth playing at all. The only thing it's good for is getting 3 stars and 3 tips in Talos Principle, and you're better off enjoying the game without those bonus resources. It's just brute forcing tetriminos 72 (or 120, I forget) times and you're done. You're better off playing REAL Tetris!
2014
It's saving graces are the music and the written quality. How it manages it's themes of religious fanaticism, humanity's mortality, and having faith in the future is done pretty well, and the music is always on point and lures you in nicely to being relatively focused on the puzzles at hand. This game also just has enough frustrations that wind up making it less of an enjoyable puzzler than it could be. Most of the solutions in the game basically revolve around getting all the pieces pushed through forcefields so you have them in immediate range, or using the replay mechanic and just standing still for a while to give yourself all the time you need to complete the puzzle in non-replay mode. There are a handful of really good, brain stumping puzzles that give you a real sense of joy for overcoming, but a lot of them come down to tedium, especially when it comes to getting some of the secret stars. Searching around for a switch obscured by foliage or a crate hidden in the ass end of a map isn't good puzzle solving, it's just bad exploration.
I do have a soft spot for this game, but I won't let it's shortcomings slip by my view for an objective review...!
But yeah, the writing is REAL good
I do have a soft spot for this game, but I won't let it's shortcomings slip by my view for an objective review...!
But yeah, the writing is REAL good
Maybe the best of the games. It ditches the clunky animal transformation mechanics from the first two games in favor of a more typical metroidvania style of getting items that expand your base movement capabilities, which winds up working a fair deal better. The overworld design is not too strong though, but the labyrinths are pretty damn well designed to make up for it. It’s weird that I even bring up story content in a game like this, but Pirate’s Curse is a weird blend of having a pretty engaging and sensical story, while having some pretty cringe dialogue especially in the beginning.
My small annoyances aside, this game is definitely the best mesh of visual and gameplay design choices in the franchise. I could recommend this game to anyone
My small annoyances aside, this game is definitely the best mesh of visual and gameplay design choices in the franchise. I could recommend this game to anyone