Ryan4815
2023
An excellent language-deciphering puzzler that has some very obvious, if slight, flaws. The format of the game is wonderful, with each floor of the tower offering a distinct language and a change of palette for the stellar art design. Some forced stealth sequences, poor pacing in the last third and a lack of clarity around certain puzzles end up being minor annoyances that ultimately don't impact the overall experience.
Diving into books to steal artefacts such as Thor's Hammer is a fascinating concept, but the old-school adventure game format and basic combat system in this game ultimately results in a repetitive and sluggish experience.
2021
A simple and uninteresting puzzle platformer. The art design is nice enough, though the animations in particular are cheap looking and clunky. Dollar store Gris with dull level design full to the brim with derivative block pushing puzzles.
As the second genre entry published by a AAA studio this year, direct comparisons to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are obvious and unfavourable. Tales has worse level design, platforming, puzzles, enemies, bosses and quality of life features. Nothing is particularly bad, just generic and uninteresting. The one area Tales has the advantage is the much promoted story of grief. Unfortunately, even this I found bland outside of the strong voice performances. The most middle-of-the-road Metroidvania I've played in a long time.
2023
A refined fast-paced platformer adjacent to the challenging sub-genre defined by Super Meat Boy. The levels are nowhere near as demanding as the aforementioned title, but present a moderate challenge with super smooth platforming and excellent feeling controls. The cherry on top is the vibrant pixel art and excellent electronic soundtrack.
2024
This is not a puzzler where you'll be stuck for more than a minute or two, but you'll still take your time as you wander the beautiful grounds of this country manor, appreciating the aesthetic. A cosy puzzler that doesn't do anything revolutionary, but is happy and content to be a charming, relaxing experience. A countryside weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of modern gaming.
2019
An incredibly silly game, that reminds me of the WarioWare franchise with its constant bombardment of new ideas that only last a small time before being forgotten about and moved on. Unlike Nintendo's series, What the Golf outstays its welcome and introduces longer gameplay 'skits' that don't have the depth needed to sustain the time. 10s loops would better serve the madcap energy and alleviate the drag.
2022
Excellent recursive sokoban with no fluff, just ingenious puzzle design. Teaches some very complex concepts smoothly, with each puzzle slowly building upon the last and never overwhelming the player.
A lovingly crafted aesthetic trapped in the blandest, cosy gameplay loop imaginable. Disrespects the players time upfront, with trivial elongated mechanics that eventually improve, but far too late.
2022
Honed to only its necessary core components, the gameplay is simple and intuitive, and the bright chunky visuals clearly telegraph everything the player needs to know. An excellent follow up to Downwell, perfectly suited to mobile.
The detective mechanics are decent, if simple, though are very poorly explained and onboarded to the player. The Lovecraftian vibes are excellent, until the goofy anticlimactic ending. A messy AA eurojank title with a lot of heart but basic gameplay.
2022
Like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. Gameplay is mechanically strong and refined, and the title has a great style, but I couldn't quite get to grips with the demands the game required of me. The complex controls and leaderboard centric goals present a title that I can appreciate, but isn't for me.
2020
Apes the Gameboy Zelda titles, but with little character and bland dungeon design. The experience felt very similar to the devs other work, Curse Crackers, where the main path through the game is quite uninteresting, and all the quality content is hidden behind alternate routes and secrets that most players wont experience. A strange choice, that I'm sure works for the dedicated fans, but will only alienate most players.
Very well put together Metroidvania with exceptional quality of life features making it very smooth to play. Ubisoft have clearly taken inspiration from gems of the genre such as Hollow Knight and Ori (particuarly Will of the Wisps).
First impressions aren't great, with basic movement abilities, dull character work and a nothing-burger of a storyline. The title soon picks up speed though, with each new unlock offering interesting usage in both traversal and combat.
The map is large and full of optional platforming challenges and simple puzzles. Except for one late game area featuring a naval battle frozen in time, there is not much originality to the locations you'll be jumping around. The expected temples and forests give way to sewers and mountains respectively. Each area would have benefitted from a few more traversal or combat tweaks specific to the locale.
It is refreshing seeing AAA studios tackling a genre that has been predominantly served by the indie scene in recent years. I hope both Ubisoft, with Lost Crown, and Nintendo, with Metroid Dread, see enough success to greenlight sequels.
First impressions aren't great, with basic movement abilities, dull character work and a nothing-burger of a storyline. The title soon picks up speed though, with each new unlock offering interesting usage in both traversal and combat.
The map is large and full of optional platforming challenges and simple puzzles. Except for one late game area featuring a naval battle frozen in time, there is not much originality to the locations you'll be jumping around. The expected temples and forests give way to sewers and mountains respectively. Each area would have benefitted from a few more traversal or combat tweaks specific to the locale.
It is refreshing seeing AAA studios tackling a genre that has been predominantly served by the indie scene in recent years. I hope both Ubisoft, with Lost Crown, and Nintendo, with Metroid Dread, see enough success to greenlight sequels.
2023
Neat concept that I expect will be iterated upon and improved by other indies over the next few years. The use of locational-audio is excellent, and some of the monster designs are inspired, but the lack of a clear purpose or flow to the game makes every session feel aimless and unstructured.