On paper, Pokemon Violet is one of the best pokemon games. The open world gameplay is incredibly fun, the music is great, the story is actually really interesting, the new pokemon roster is fun, and it has without the best climax out of any pokemon game.

It's absolutely incredible.

But this game just is not fucking done. I personally did not deal with many bugs, but the frame rate is absolutely abhorrent.

For now, it is a 9/10 game that is being rated a lot lower because it is simply not done. I am so sad, but I can not recommend this to anyone yet.

Just know that if it does get patched, you will very much enjoy it.

It feels so odd to play a video game and have an actual reaction to the game's story like wtf?? game stories can be good???

Anyway, some parts were a liiiittle unpolished, it's missing some of the bigger advancements of metroidvanias over the past few years, and some of the combat encounters were a bit stupid in their balancing, but for a first-time team, it feels so crazy to me that this game looks and sounds this good on top of having some really fun combat and platforming sequences and a genuinely touching story. I am incredibly impressed by this game and I can't wait to see where they go from here.

Damn they weren't lying. That Kirby's Return to Dreamland really is Deluxe!

There's not too much to say about the bulk of the game cus.. it's Return to Dreamland. It's an already really great game that just got better. It's kinda like the Metroid Prime remaster in that way, only this time there's a bit of extra shit here to discuss.

Firstly, the visual overhaul looks really really good, and while it may be a little mixed, I honestly think the outlines helps make this game look super distinct and It looks really nice! It definitely is a way to visually update a Wii game to look distinct. This game looks great.

Now, in terms of extra content, there are two main things added to this game. The first is this little mini-island filled with the different minigames from across the series. Not much to say on those except that they're all pretty fun and it gives me something extra to collect during the main game.

Now, the MAGOLOR EPILOGUE is definitely a lot more interesting for me personally. While the Magolor Epilogue is not that long, similar to something like Meta Knightmare Returns, it's a really nice epilogue with improved Level Design, Progression, and ESPECIALLY Boss Fights since the original Return to Dreamland and the last 2D kirby. It's a really fun package with some really cool and surprising moments.

Overall, a nice, if simple remaster to one of the best wii games out there. The only thing I'd say is missing from this remaster is online multiplayer but I think beyond that, this game is just a really fun alternative to Forgotten Land. A simple, yet really well designed 2D Platformer that is good for some straightforward fun.

"New Sonic Mania U Deluxe"

Oh boy.. here we go. Look, I am not gonna start this review with the usual game journalist bullshit of bringing up Sonic's history. You already know it and am tired of hearing people reiterate it. What I would like to bring up, though, are the weird responses the Sonic Community has had over reviews criticizing a game they haven't played yet. When I saw those scores I was disappointed, sure, but I was not ready to invalidate the opinion of someone who has played a game when I haven't. I won't 100% stick by it but I will keep it open in my mind.

I say this now because after playing Sonic Superstars, I completely 100% understand the criticisms this game offers. This game is, on the whole, aight. It's a pretty standard 2D Sonic Game with some good controls, mostly fun level design, a cute set of cutscenes threading the game together, and some moments where I was just having fun speeding through like any other 2D Sonic game.

But more than Mania, 3K, or even Sonic 2, this game has a fair bit holding it back from being "solid" as opposed to just "okay." The first big thing is the game's presentation, the game looks pretty rough. Characters look neat but some of the levels you run through look blocky and dour and not all that appealing. The game ran well, but there were bugs aplenty like collision and sound issues, multiple crashes, and a section where the game booted me back to the start of a ZONE when I died to a boss. That was really annoying. And finally, and this is the one you've all been waiting for, the music is a MASSIVE mixed bag. Most of it is just.. okay. Forgettable generic sonic music but nothing too bad. Then you randomly either get to an act with a Tee Lopes song that sounds amazing, or a boss or level with some of the worst music in any Sonic Game. The boss theme is so fucking bad you guys oh my god.

In terms of gameplay issues, apart from a level or two where the level itself was insufferable, the main issue I have with the game on its own is that all of the bosses are... awful. Like genuinely awful even by 2D Sonic standards. There are a couple in particular that I 100% see people quitting the game over. Collision is janky, they usually take ages before allowing you to hit them, and telegraphing is either nonexistent or poorly shown. It's so bad.

And the last major problem I have with the game is that the two main aspects of the game they used to advertise it don't enhance the game at all, and, at points, make it worse. First are the Emerald Powers. Most of them aren't that helpful as the stages are not designed around them at all because they're completely optional, so they just feel like something you get and then promptly forget about as you continue to 2D Sonic like normal. The one time where I went out of my way to use it was when I wanted to cheese an aerial boss and randomly generated platforms couldn't give me the arc to jump that I needed.

And the 4 player co-op is legitimately frustrating and it reaffirms why this sort of idea just can't work. If a player gets caught on the edge of the screen they have to respawn, but when everyone is running through the level at probably different speeds it makes the levels that already weren't built for co-op even more chaotic and frustrating.

Overall, I can't say this is a bad game or even near the worst 2D Sonic game I've played, but for something that should have been a slam dunk for the Sonic team, this was a huge disappointment. It's fun and I definitely don't mind that it exists or that people enjoy it, but I'm not sure what this game could do for people that Mania, 2 or 3K can't do better. Sorry........

This game snuck up on me and kinda took over my life the last week. Neon White should not even be a real game. It's been such a long time since such a unique idea for a game, combining 5 different genres and influences meshed together as perfectly as this one AND was presented in an excellent way as well.

The writing isn't really for everyone, but I personally enjoyed myself. Extra shoutouts to Mikey, and Neons Red and Green!

What I didn't expect was the twist about halfway through the game. It was presented in an incredible way and only makes the story a lot more interesting. There are aspects of this new complex element that I think should've been explained a bit more, but we'll get there when talking about my only issue. For now, though, let's talk about how pretty this game is.

The art across the board looks excellent. The white, Greek-esque Heaven locations are the kinds that a lesser game would use the whole way through with almost no variation. But this is not a lesser game and some of the later areas look incredible! The same can be extended to the soundtrack. Its across the board really stylish and interesting, with some really great tracks.

The main appeal for me though is the deck building, speedrunning, platforming FPS gameplay with RPG and Dating Sim elements. Did that sound like a random combination? Well, it seems like that until you actually play it and now I want more games like this. The movement is a little floaty, but just smooth and fast enough to where I still think it works! What really makes the platforming fps stages are the weapon cards which you can either use as a weapon or discard them for a unique platforming ability.

This is like the Cappy mechanic in Mario Odyssey in the way that it already takes an excellent gameplay system and adds an extra awesome gameplay feature on top of it.

Going through levels and trying to 100% never gets boring and the levels themselves are just designed super well. You are also rewarded with playing quickly and also for exploring for gifts.

The only issue I have with the game is the length, but it's a more hopeful one. I really wish the game was longer. I 100 %ed the game in 12 hours. I wish at least one or two more chapters were in the game to both add more excellent content but also to maybe explain some obtuse parts of the twist. That being said, I was able to understand them after a bit of time.

That being said, I genuinely had to debate with myself if this was my game of the year. Because it honestly might be. If the only issue I have with the game is that I wanted more, then this is a damn excellent game.

Also because I love Neon Red so fucking much I swear to god.

Update - 11/10-2022:
Wow this story is not as good as I thought it was. Still decent though.

Oh golly gee do i have a LOT to say.

Wii Sports was never a top tier franchise, but considering this is a billion dollar franchise and contains two of the best selling games of all time, you'd think nintendo would put at least the bare minimum effort with this one. But they didn't even do that.

For the few positives, the game on a technical level looks decently nice. I think bowling is still as fun as ever and swordplay was actually improved with the addition of different swords, so that's nice. Also the online connectivity isn't that bad, it's above average for the windows xp level switch online.

But that's about it. There are lots of problems with this game that makes it not only easily the weakest Wii Sports game, but also just a super lame party game.

First off, and most subjectively, this game is a creative wasteland. And I don't just mean the ubisoft-ass sportsmates that effectively replaced the miis, though I hate those about as much as everyone else. The appeal of the miis, ESPECIALLY in these games, are that they could look similar to real people in your life. And that suspension of disbelief is much easier with a blank slate design like the miis rather than the more involved, but soulless sportsmates. But it's not just them.

Spocco Square is also just a really lame location for these sports to take place in. In the last game, Wuhu Island felt like a lived in resort because most, if not all, of the sports were framed around this island. Spocco in comparison really suffers in this regard. I don't think people play soccer, field golf, or SWORDPLAY in a shopping mall.

That is a huge letdown, but I am willing to look past these sorts of things if the game is at least fun. But it really isn't. Barring bowling and chambara the rest of the sports just don't really hold up.

The controls on a lot of these are fairly clunky compared to resort as a result of the nature of the joycons. They just don't feel as accurate as the motion plus did, at least not here. Volleyball is easily the weakest here with you just needing to make very slight hand motions to win. I don't think volleyball was built for this kind of game.

This game also suffers in sports variety. There are 6 sports (right now) and three of them are tennis, volleyball, and badminton. If these were all crammed in the same game in order to fit the shopping mall theme, then maybe that's a sign that the idea isn't that great.

To return to the Wii sports resort comparion, that game not only had 12 sports but most of them contained different side modes like 100 pin bowling and swordplay showdown. Apart from the shootout mode for soccer and some minor player counts, this game lacks the side modes that other wii sports games have. You just have the one super short gameplay loop. Take it or leave it.

And to top all of this off, this game released in a half baked state. And not just in the stuff I mentioned before. Golf, the first major post launch update, is not coming until september. Which is a system that always works for these games accept for Mario Golf, and Mario Tennis, and Kirby, and Arms, and basically every other game except Smash and Splatoon. And not only that but even though the game itself isn't $60, the game does come with a leg strap peripheral like Ring Fit adventure. That doesnt work until july. GREAT.

Alright, this is easily the longest review I've made on here and its for a fucking wii sports game lmfao. Bottom line is that this game just feels so empty and soulless compared to Wii Sports Resort, or even other party games on switch like Mario Party Superstars or Clubhouse Games.

Please just get the latter, it has more games, it's $10 cheaper, and it gets golf day one instead of months after launch.

I am not going to go into the whole discussion about what Paper Mario should be and all of that stuff right now, but regardless Bug Fables was an absolute joy from start to end. The combat was fun as hell, the story was deep, the characters were memorable, the side quests were fun, the world of Bugaria was very interesting, and the music was pretty good. My only complaint is an unavoidable one. This game is pretty janky and buggy at times, not enough to ruin the game but enough to intrude at points. On top of that, there are one or two sequences, especially in chapter 4, that I really did not like, but I still love this game. I recommend all of you play it! This was an absolute delight and I can't wait for what Moonsprout does next.

It is the closest any game since Hollow Knight has gotten to recapturing that feeling, so you KNOW this game is going to be peak. Considering this was made entirely by one dude including the engine over 7 years, they managed to craft something absolutely extraordinary here. The lack of any direction makes exploring this beautifully dark and atmospheric well so surprising. It's equal parts terrifying and joyful to see how the animals react to everything you do.

This game has maybe the best use of metroidvania upgrades in history??? With each new item having dozens upon dozens of different uses based on the animals it interacts with, how you interact with it, and more. This huge swab of options leads to some of the most cleverly designed puzzles and "boss" sequences I've seen in such a long time.

If there is one issue I have with the game is that I was kind of hoping for more on the music end, but it fits a good amount of areas in the game and the sound design is so amazing that it sticks with me just as hard. It's truly astounding how a game like this can come out from such an unassuming place, a 33MB game developed by one dude and published by a fucking YouTuber ended up quickly becoming my favorite game of the year, and unless my trip to Pharloom is booked this year as I hope for so dearly, I doubt anything will beat it.

Jet Set Radio but if the camera wasn't fucking garbage.

I am so happy this game exists even if it is literally exactly what it says on the tin and not much more than that. It is just a modern JSR game in the style of Future but with modern improvements and an actual STORY. They didn't really do much to piss on the older formula, but if you already REALLY don't like JSR then I don't expect anything here will convert you.

The one area where they didn't drastically improve over the originals was the graphical quality and, visual bugs aside, that's perfectly fine considering that
1. It's clearly part of the art style and charm of the game and
2. I've given worse looking games a 9/10 before.

So yeah, JSR is back. Whether from its parent company or not.