A much more designed version of the first game. Devs were more comfortable with the hardware at this point so we got a game with good visuals and content. I was a fake gamer during my time with this game since I was hardcore abusing save states by the end. I was getting frustrated every time I took damage because of how punishing it feels. I've written before about the previous games that I love the movement and how deliberate it feels. The stipulation is that it needs to be backed up heavily by the level design or you get that frustration. I had been burned so many times by random quick movements and locking on to stairs that everything started to feel unfair. The Bloodstained games do this design well later on.

Recruited Sypha but never used her. That said, I think character switching is cool. Animation should be faster though. not sure if that's due to a limitation or not. Music is really good. Played the US version.

This game is really ambitious and still pretty good for it but it fell short overall. It's immersive and that's probably what I liked most about it. The music is interesting. I wouldn't call any of it bad but it's got its own identity. The combat was uninteresting, but serviceable considering how infrequently it's necessary. That is except for the final boss, which got on my nerves very quickly. Jade is a boring protagonist and the only stand out character in my opinion is the pig. I found parts of it really funny when it wasn't necessarily trying to be. Nothing goes above and beyond in this game. I think it is just 'good.' No more no less.

Game was tight. If it went on too long it would have overstayed its welcome but luckily it's only about 6 hours. I wish it had some cooler set pieces and unique bosses, but what was there is still pretty cool. There is a concise selection of weapons to choose from and you can upgrade the weapons by collecting them, a system that I enjoyed. I rolled with the same loadout basically the entire game and I'm glad it allowed me to rock that playstyle with no setbacks. Boosting around was badass.

I preferred the parts of the game that had me fighting alone. While it's cool that you go on the mission with troops and an ally, they get in the way sometimes and can also cause confusion. The way it ended was so sudden it ended up being funny. Story in general is so bad, but I wasn't playing for it at any point.

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.

Supergiant obviously has a style and it's always a delight to behold. Compared to Bastion, this game is quite a step up presentation-wise (cannot speak for Transistor). That and the writing are easily the biggest draw to this game. The gameplay bits are fine, but certainly get grating by the end. I never truly learned how to play the game efficiently and I likely never will since I felt like I was just bumbling through. When the game was difficult I got frustrated, and the presentation eventually became an annoyance to me since I had to sit through animation after animation I had seen before. If this game is for you I can imagine it's incredible. Unfortunately for me I wasn't insanely invested, but I can appreciate it for what it is.