I haven't finished this game or even gotten very far, but I don't see myself grinding it all the way through any time soon. This kind of strategy game is not usually my speed and I don't feel like I can make any judgements about its quality next to similar games.

That said, this game gets a huge nostalgia buff for me. I played it as a kid understanding next to nothing that was going on but having fun anyway. On a whim, I've decided to properly dive back in and found there's a pretty steep learning curve to playing properly. Now that I've watched a few YouTube guides (shout out GamerZakh what a god) and played through a few maps I'm having some good fun with the game. It's definitely not easy, but I find it incredibly rewarding.

The Steam port has issues since it's such an ancient game, but there are some mods to help mitigate them. Still not perfect, but workable at least. I can't tab out while the game is open, which is actually a huge demotivator. The game's audio settings are questionable. I have most of my volumes really low but I still get the shit scared out of me by the in-game pop ups.

I don't really play this game much any more, but I think it's so sick. A huge roster of characters new and old, each with an entire dictionary of cool moves. It's insanely hard to learn and play but that's what makes it so rewarding. I can imagine learning this game by yourself without any proper tutorials or sparring partners is a nightmare, but sticking with it will show you visible progress. I look back fondly on playing in lobbies with my friends as we all learn our own characters.

This game should not be purchased with the intent of playing the story mode. That shit sucks. The DLC is pretty lame as well, making you pay for frame data. Buying all the DLC characters is definitely not cheap, although it's not a huge issue unless you really want to get invested in those characters.

Also this is my first proper fighting game.

This was okay. Always thought about playing it since watching flash animations an listening to that one song as a kid. Fun to finally get some context.

I was enjoying it for about half the time. Game feels weirdly paced and uncanny. Action commands are nice but do not feel intuitive a lot of the time. I think the art has its charm but is mostly ugly. For all the hype I heard about Geno, that guy just kinda shows up with a mission and tags along doing nothing important. Hiding stuff away in invisible blocks is really lame. I hated every bit of isometric platforming and the shallow mini games you have to play. I know it's not particularly fair to say, but I found myself wanting to play any other Mario RPG that released after this.

I wouldn't say it's bad. I can imagine a world where I played this at age 15 instead of Earthbound or something and loved it like a lot people do. Didn't quite do it for me in 2023 though.

Ludomalica - I like the concept but it's just not very scary. A little more effort into the scares would take this a long way.

Gallerie - Actually pretty good. I didn't like it at first but I enjoyed how it played out. There was a bug at the end that forced a section restart. Really long for a dread X game.

INTERIM - BAD. Looks like vomit and controls terrible. Whatever I was supposed to take away from this game it did not work.

The Book of Blood - Good but feels underdeveloped. Lots of things that feel like they're supposed to matter but really don't. Still enjoyable.

Beyond the Curtain - Little long for what it is but is kinda cool. Ending is super fucked.

Vestige - I like its presentation. Also feels a bit underdeveloped in places, but I like the game within a game.

Resver - Gotta respect it for the style but I can't say I understood or really enjoyed any of it.

We Never Left - One of the highlights for sure. I like the concept a lot. I wish it didn't do the pixel filter thing. End didn't entirely make sense to me.

Spirit Guardian - Super jank and not scary at all. Not as bad as Interim though.

Karao - Really cool game. Not particularly scary because they give you a gun but I'm glad this type of horror game is present.

Rotten Stigma - Third person game! It's ok. Really short and has some dumb jumpscares.

Hunsvotti - Saved for last because I really like Midsommar but didn't really live up to the hype I created for myself lol. Pretty underwhelming and not scary at all.

Good collection overall. probably one of the better of the collections. Gallerie, We Never Left, and Karao were the highlights for me.

A really cool experience. Parts of it are extremely unwieldy as a consequence if its focus on set pieces. I think there could have been a version of this game that controls better and with an improved camera. It also has some bugs here and there. It's really interesting game that is very much worth playing, but I feel the set dressing does a lot of heavy lifting.

Tried the original a couple times before this and found its performance near unplayable. I have no ties to the aesthetic of said original game, so I think this game looks wonderful all around.

What a ride. My least favorite thing about games like this is when they're too cryptic or have really obtuse puzzles that ruin the mood. This game never has that though. As the game goes on you can catch on to the things going on around you, and it slowly allows you to piece together what it all means. The horror aspects are super cool, and there's only a few jumpscares, which every horror game deserves a few. Probably one of my top horror games now. Shame it didn't get a proper chance on the main storefronts.

Uktena 64
- Love Kira's work. This is just okay though.
Axis Mundi
- Decent game, cool concept.
Black Relic
- This game is neat, but kind of a slog.
Rose of Meat
- Love how bonkers this one is, a highlight.
Seraphixial
- Worst one. Thinks loud = scary.
The Fruit
- This one feels really complete and immersive. I enjoyed it.
The House of Unrest
- Goofy but I thought it was fun.