Shaaaaaar
2013
Well, Pokemon X sure was… a game. X was better than I remembered, because the Kalos games have always been kind of boring for me, but it really wasn’t anything special.
I respect X and Y for what they introduced to the games - 3D models, character customization, mega evolutions, the fairy type, and other details. But a lot of what I like about X and Y are more just the steps forward for the series that X and Y introduced. That said, XY’s soundtrack rocks, Kalos feels like it has its own culture and really touches on its French influences, and XY’s trainers are overall the most stylish with their clothing options imo, even though customization is more limited in these games.
However, details like the writing being poor (which I understand is an issue with Pokemon as a whole but still), the games being COMICALLY easy, the beginning of the problem of heavy pandering to gen 1,
hell even the roller skates and how awkward they felt to use especially in a game still practically functioning with a tile system make it hard for me to get INVESTED in most runs I start. This is the first time I’ve beaten XY in years because I’ve consistently had a hard time keeping with a playthrough. And I definitely could feel that drag in this run, where I just… wasn’t feeling the game at all at certain points, less in a burnout way and more in a “this game just doesn’t work for me” way. Hell, I dropped this run for a few months because of how XY can struggle to hook me.
Overall, not bad but not spectacular either. X and Y were important for Pokemon as a whole and I respect the games for the steps forward it took, but the game itself feels weak for me personally.
I respect X and Y for what they introduced to the games - 3D models, character customization, mega evolutions, the fairy type, and other details. But a lot of what I like about X and Y are more just the steps forward for the series that X and Y introduced. That said, XY’s soundtrack rocks, Kalos feels like it has its own culture and really touches on its French influences, and XY’s trainers are overall the most stylish with their clothing options imo, even though customization is more limited in these games.
However, details like the writing being poor (which I understand is an issue with Pokemon as a whole but still), the games being COMICALLY easy, the beginning of the problem of heavy pandering to gen 1,
hell even the roller skates and how awkward they felt to use especially in a game still practically functioning with a tile system make it hard for me to get INVESTED in most runs I start. This is the first time I’ve beaten XY in years because I’ve consistently had a hard time keeping with a playthrough. And I definitely could feel that drag in this run, where I just… wasn’t feeling the game at all at certain points, less in a burnout way and more in a “this game just doesn’t work for me” way. Hell, I dropped this run for a few months because of how XY can struggle to hook me.
Overall, not bad but not spectacular either. X and Y were important for Pokemon as a whole and I respect the games for the steps forward it took, but the game itself feels weak for me personally.
i liked when samus said "it's pinball time" and pinball'd all over the place
2023
ok the gameplay loop is a solid fine (gets old and repetitive quickly), but this game is like an hour long max and its funny so like ¯\(ツ)/¯
This is my first time EVER playing a Paper Mario game, and holy shit what an introduction. This game is genuinely incredible. The characters are great, the story is great, the actual gameplay loop and partner system is really engaging, and like 95% of the time the game genuinely never misses.
TTYD was really engaging for me. Badges opened up a lot of customization (I basically only invested in badges during my run), the dialogue is genuinely hilarious, and the cast of characters feel so alive and varied. There are very few poorly written characters, and there are so many smaller characters with a lot of personality. The overall story was somewhat simple, but the chapter stories could be really cool at times (chapter 3 comes to mind, for example). The visuals are beautiful, the paper aesthetic is used really creatively and really helps the game feel like part of a storybook.
When the game isn’t good though, man it’s disappointing. Since this isn’t marked as a spoiler I won’t specify, but one of the chapters genuinely feels like half of it was cut and it ends in a total dud. It’s not bad as-in unfun, it just feels like nothing. When TTYD fails, it's never explicitly bad, just kinda feels disappointing. According to a friend (AKA don’t quote me on this), the game was actually kind of rushed, and it shows due to some areas feeling like there was something missing or feeling like there should've been a little more to an area or whatnot. The game also tends to feel backtrack heavy, where you have to walk around a ton through areas you’ve already been, and it can get tedious. But that’s kind of my biggest issue.
Absolutely worth checking out and, from what I can gather, the best way to experience TTYD.
TTYD was really engaging for me. Badges opened up a lot of customization (I basically only invested in badges during my run), the dialogue is genuinely hilarious, and the cast of characters feel so alive and varied. There are very few poorly written characters, and there are so many smaller characters with a lot of personality. The overall story was somewhat simple, but the chapter stories could be really cool at times (chapter 3 comes to mind, for example). The visuals are beautiful, the paper aesthetic is used really creatively and really helps the game feel like part of a storybook.
When the game isn’t good though, man it’s disappointing. Since this isn’t marked as a spoiler I won’t specify, but one of the chapters genuinely feels like half of it was cut and it ends in a total dud. It’s not bad as-in unfun, it just feels like nothing. When TTYD fails, it's never explicitly bad, just kinda feels disappointing. According to a friend (AKA don’t quote me on this), the game was actually kind of rushed, and it shows due to some areas feeling like there was something missing or feeling like there should've been a little more to an area or whatnot. The game also tends to feel backtrack heavy, where you have to walk around a ton through areas you’ve already been, and it can get tedious. But that’s kind of my biggest issue.
Absolutely worth checking out and, from what I can gather, the best way to experience TTYD.
Charming little game, about half an hour long so it doesn't take much time to get through. Silly dialogue, cute style, and was overall a nice time. It's pretty surface-level, but the game isn't trying to be anything deep anyway. It's nice :)
2022
Before I begin, I want to clarify that while story mode is great, I’m focusing on multiplayer here.
I adore this game. Splatoon 3 is a blast to play with friends, with the game housing a strong community, creative art style, unique gameplay and a lot of weapon variety. Each game mode offers something fun and interesting while offering gameplay variety, and the number of different weapons with different play styles means there’s something for all kinds of people and most people can find at least one weapon they enjoy. but in fairness, a lot of that goes for splatoon in general. splatoon 3 added stringers and splatanas along with some new main weapons, but those points apply to splatoon as a whole.
But 3 builds on 1 and 2 in ways that make the game so much more enjoyable. Slight reworks to Rainmaker and Clam Blitz, for example (checkpoints and decreased clams needed for a football respectively), do wonders for the two modes. And on the subject of ranked, open ranked is a fantastic addition. It makes ranked easier to play with friends and allows for a less stressful setting to play ranked, without the higher stakes of series mode. Getting into ranked modes is so much less daunting in 3 compared to 1 and 2, and I think that’s a great thing. Salmon Run is also always open rather than the weird schedule system used in 2, which… okay, that shouldn’t have been a thing to begin with but still an improvement. Stylistically, 3 almost has a more matured look compared to 1 and 2 that makes the game look so much better than its predecessors. Squid rolling is such a nice movement technique that, for being just one new change, makes movement and gameplay feel a lot better when you know how to use it. And as a Range Blaster main I am obligated to point out that Intensify Action improving jump RNG is a blessing for blasters, it makes me so happy. This only scratches the surface of the great things 3 adds that make it so much fun to play.
I think 3 has a lot of double-edged swords though. For one, 3 has a whopping 19 possible specials for a weapon to have. On one hand, it means there’s room for a lot more kit variety, but in execution it means that specials end up being way more limited since fewer weapons get each special, and sometimes a special will go several seasons without getting a new kit. While I think the variety is great, there’s just too many specials. This problem is made worse by the other big double-edged sword for me of seasons. 3 does big updates every three months, adding new weapons, gear, and stages. There are some ways where this is cool, it makes updates feel more exciting, the catalog that comes with each season is fun to fill, and it’s fun to get together with friends when a new season drops to mess around with the new weapons and stages. In execution, however, I despise seasons. Updates feel way slower, and it ends up feeling way worse when a weapon you were waiting to see a new kit for has to wait another three months before it has a chance to get a new kit. Not to mention, the amount of weapons released each season has dropped a notable amount each season compared to launch, which has made weapon releases feel even slower than they already are.
And for the straight up bad, jesus christ Splatoon 3 stage design is just not good. There aren’t many truly great stages, and many of the really good stages from earlier games became worse in 3. They’re smaller, often lacking flank routes, and a lot of maps end up being completely shut down by snipers who can reach the majority of the map without leaving spawn. And there are some maps that are genuinely atrocious in certain modes, like Hammerhead Bridge in Clam Blitz. Maps in 3 shouldn’t be for every mode, because some maps don’t translate well into every mode, and need to be bigger and offer more flank routes and options. There’s also some balancing decisions (AHEM zero startup lag for Trizooka) that just… don’t feel great to play, especially as a casual. And for the weapons themselves, Nintendo seems to want to balance the game around shooters being the best class, and they also really like to make gimmick kits for weapons?? Like, Undercover Brella's base kit is designed around the gimmick of being a spy, but the kit is absolutely atrocious for the weapon. It's... not a great balancing philosophy.
There’s a lot more I haven’t said for both Splatoon 3’s strengths and weaknesses. Like I haven’t even touched on Splatfests and Salmon Run all that much (especially Big Run oh my god there’s a lot of praise I can sing for Big Run). Splatoon 3 is a big, complicated game. And I adore it to bits. While Splatoon 3 is certainly one of my favorite games and is a 5/5 in my heart, the bad map design makes me lower my grade if I look at the game objectively. I just adore this game a lot, and it means a lot to me. The game’s issues aside, 3 is fantastic and is a very important game to me.
I adore this game. Splatoon 3 is a blast to play with friends, with the game housing a strong community, creative art style, unique gameplay and a lot of weapon variety. Each game mode offers something fun and interesting while offering gameplay variety, and the number of different weapons with different play styles means there’s something for all kinds of people and most people can find at least one weapon they enjoy. but in fairness, a lot of that goes for splatoon in general. splatoon 3 added stringers and splatanas along with some new main weapons, but those points apply to splatoon as a whole.
But 3 builds on 1 and 2 in ways that make the game so much more enjoyable. Slight reworks to Rainmaker and Clam Blitz, for example (checkpoints and decreased clams needed for a football respectively), do wonders for the two modes. And on the subject of ranked, open ranked is a fantastic addition. It makes ranked easier to play with friends and allows for a less stressful setting to play ranked, without the higher stakes of series mode. Getting into ranked modes is so much less daunting in 3 compared to 1 and 2, and I think that’s a great thing. Salmon Run is also always open rather than the weird schedule system used in 2, which… okay, that shouldn’t have been a thing to begin with but still an improvement. Stylistically, 3 almost has a more matured look compared to 1 and 2 that makes the game look so much better than its predecessors. Squid rolling is such a nice movement technique that, for being just one new change, makes movement and gameplay feel a lot better when you know how to use it. And as a Range Blaster main I am obligated to point out that Intensify Action improving jump RNG is a blessing for blasters, it makes me so happy. This only scratches the surface of the great things 3 adds that make it so much fun to play.
I think 3 has a lot of double-edged swords though. For one, 3 has a whopping 19 possible specials for a weapon to have. On one hand, it means there’s room for a lot more kit variety, but in execution it means that specials end up being way more limited since fewer weapons get each special, and sometimes a special will go several seasons without getting a new kit. While I think the variety is great, there’s just too many specials. This problem is made worse by the other big double-edged sword for me of seasons. 3 does big updates every three months, adding new weapons, gear, and stages. There are some ways where this is cool, it makes updates feel more exciting, the catalog that comes with each season is fun to fill, and it’s fun to get together with friends when a new season drops to mess around with the new weapons and stages. In execution, however, I despise seasons. Updates feel way slower, and it ends up feeling way worse when a weapon you were waiting to see a new kit for has to wait another three months before it has a chance to get a new kit. Not to mention, the amount of weapons released each season has dropped a notable amount each season compared to launch, which has made weapon releases feel even slower than they already are.
And for the straight up bad, jesus christ Splatoon 3 stage design is just not good. There aren’t many truly great stages, and many of the really good stages from earlier games became worse in 3. They’re smaller, often lacking flank routes, and a lot of maps end up being completely shut down by snipers who can reach the majority of the map without leaving spawn. And there are some maps that are genuinely atrocious in certain modes, like Hammerhead Bridge in Clam Blitz. Maps in 3 shouldn’t be for every mode, because some maps don’t translate well into every mode, and need to be bigger and offer more flank routes and options. There’s also some balancing decisions (AHEM zero startup lag for Trizooka) that just… don’t feel great to play, especially as a casual. And for the weapons themselves, Nintendo seems to want to balance the game around shooters being the best class, and they also really like to make gimmick kits for weapons?? Like, Undercover Brella's base kit is designed around the gimmick of being a spy, but the kit is absolutely atrocious for the weapon. It's... not a great balancing philosophy.
There’s a lot more I haven’t said for both Splatoon 3’s strengths and weaknesses. Like I haven’t even touched on Splatfests and Salmon Run all that much (especially Big Run oh my god there’s a lot of praise I can sing for Big Run). Splatoon 3 is a big, complicated game. And I adore it to bits. While Splatoon 3 is certainly one of my favorite games and is a 5/5 in my heart, the bad map design makes me lower my grade if I look at the game objectively. I just adore this game a lot, and it means a lot to me. The game’s issues aside, 3 is fantastic and is a very important game to me.
va-11 nails what it's trying to do, showing humanity and the ways that people can connect.
the game nails everything it had to nail, primarily the cast. even the people i hated i came to appreciate the arrival of, sometimes even coming around to liking them. you get to know all of valhalla's regulars. jill's story of coping with and learning to move past loss and her past was emotional, the ending wrapping up her story in a way that really stuck, and outside of her own story jill was a fun character to play as.
the other aspects of the game, notably bartending and meeting jill's needs, are definitely secondary to the character aspect of the game, so they're understandably weaker and i can't bring myself to dock points for that. that said, the bartending part of the game can show even more depth to the cast, seeing the types of drinks people order and why. the bartending part of the game is really well done in that way.
it's a short game (i just took my time with it), but extremely fulfilling and memorable.
the game nails everything it had to nail, primarily the cast. even the people i hated i came to appreciate the arrival of, sometimes even coming around to liking them. you get to know all of valhalla's regulars. jill's story of coping with and learning to move past loss and her past was emotional, the ending wrapping up her story in a way that really stuck, and outside of her own story jill was a fun character to play as.
the other aspects of the game, notably bartending and meeting jill's needs, are definitely secondary to the character aspect of the game, so they're understandably weaker and i can't bring myself to dock points for that. that said, the bartending part of the game can show even more depth to the cast, seeing the types of drinks people order and why. the bartending part of the game is really well done in that way.
it's a short game (i just took my time with it), but extremely fulfilling and memorable.
(Shelved mostly because I have one more thing to do that I'm putting on the back-burner for now)
Remember how insane Octo Expansion was for how it changed the formula of singleplayer in a refreshing, interesting, and fun way? Side Order gives me so many memories of what Octo Expansion felt like when I played it for the first time. It remixes the formula of Splatoon singleplayer in a really interesting and (relative to Splatoon’s IP) innovative way for the franchise.
I’m genuinely shocked how well Splatoon translates into a roguelite. Gameplay feels natural and snappy, and while of course there’s a big luck aspect to Side Order, the game rarely feels unfair. Honestly I can’t tell if it’s my skill or a flaw of the game, but Side Order could feel pretty easy at times with how much you’re given to work with. But even when the game would feel easy, it was so fun to PLAY. Side Order takes great advantage of the mechanics of Splatoon as well as remixing the gear building aspects of base game in an interesting way.
The story and characterization of Pearl, Marina, Acht and even Agent 8 is heartwarming and well-done. Octo Expansion and the story and worldbuilding from it are referenced a lot, which makes the absurd virtual world of Side Order feel surprisingly grounded. Side Order is also filled with the same charm that permeates all of Splatoon, taking itself seriously without being afraid to let characters (well, Pearl) be goofy.
Side Order hits, and it does what it aims to do very well. While certainly not my favorite roguelite, Side Order turns a game I love in Splatoon into something different and fresh, yet just as fun, if not more fun, than past singleplayer campaigns. Highly recommend if you enjoy base Splatoon to try out the DLC.
Remember how insane Octo Expansion was for how it changed the formula of singleplayer in a refreshing, interesting, and fun way? Side Order gives me so many memories of what Octo Expansion felt like when I played it for the first time. It remixes the formula of Splatoon singleplayer in a really interesting and (relative to Splatoon’s IP) innovative way for the franchise.
I’m genuinely shocked how well Splatoon translates into a roguelite. Gameplay feels natural and snappy, and while of course there’s a big luck aspect to Side Order, the game rarely feels unfair. Honestly I can’t tell if it’s my skill or a flaw of the game, but Side Order could feel pretty easy at times with how much you’re given to work with. But even when the game would feel easy, it was so fun to PLAY. Side Order takes great advantage of the mechanics of Splatoon as well as remixing the gear building aspects of base game in an interesting way.
The story and characterization of Pearl, Marina, Acht and even Agent 8 is heartwarming and well-done. Octo Expansion and the story and worldbuilding from it are referenced a lot, which makes the absurd virtual world of Side Order feel surprisingly grounded. Side Order is also filled with the same charm that permeates all of Splatoon, taking itself seriously without being afraid to let characters (well, Pearl) be goofy.
Side Order hits, and it does what it aims to do very well. While certainly not my favorite roguelite, Side Order turns a game I love in Splatoon into something different and fresh, yet just as fun, if not more fun, than past singleplayer campaigns. Highly recommend if you enjoy base Splatoon to try out the DLC.
I feel like this is a game I’d have to replay to fully click with. I enjoy the foundation - the platforming itself is fun, egg throwing is interesting, the art style is great, and when I’m vibing with the game it feels great to play. The issue for me is there’s so many gimmicks in levels that feel really annoying to deal with, enough where it hindered my enjoyment. I think it’s probably a skill issue that made things worse for me though; I feel like I can’t fully appreciate the game without a better grasp of its mechanics than what I have, which is why so many of its issues felt amplified. Maybe with more platformer experience or a second go-around I’ll warm up a lot more, because I think I probably could truly click with this game, but I don’t think my one playthrough is enough to get me to fall in love.
Short and cozy game, had a fun time with it! The art style and music is nice (although the cassette theme gets incredibly grating after a while), and the platforming was fun. The controls were kind of a bother to deal with sometimes though, but not enough to dampen the experience too much.
2015
This review contains spoilers
Undertale is an interesting case of a game with decent gameplay being something stellar because of its writing, music, and attention to detail.
Regular enemy fights are fine. They’re nothing special, nothing revolutionary, just fine. The ACT menu is a fun twist on encounters, making them more like a puzzle where, if you pay attention to their dialogue, you can figure out how to spare each enemy. Though there’s also a clunkiness to encounters, especially when there’s multiple enemies; fights can feel like a slog to get through.
Bosses are the exception, most of them being interesting encounters that play with the game’s mechanics in an interesting way. The actual patterns of each boss are solid and almost all do something interesting (sole exception for me being Toriel, which to be fair is intentional). Though I feel like the ACT menu was very underutilized for bosses. The ACT menu can have effects and often build on the character of the boss themselves, the example that stands out to me most being Muffet letting you pay to weaken her attacks, but the only bosses that use the ACT menu are Mettaton and Asriel, the latter of which being hard to compare to other bosses due to Asriel essentially being a cutscene. And it’s a shame, because the use of the ACT button when it WOULD be used was always really fun!
But battles feel more like an accent to Undertale, the main draw being the game’s characters and storytelling. Straight up, if you don’t like Undertale’s cast, you’re not going to like Undertale. The game’s central focus is on its characters, after all a major point of the game is that you don’t have to kill monsters (and that it's better if you don’t). Undertale’s characters are the most important aspect of the game, and my god they are written well.
There is something to love about every character, some reason to want to be their friend and help them out. The random monsters in the overworld often have something interesting or funny to say, and even regular enemies in fights are charming and have personality to them. The Underground is vibrant with life, which really encourages the player to care about monsterkind. And the main cast? They all have a certain level of complexity to them, whether it’s explicitly shown or something you need to find yourself. Basically every main character has nuanced writing that can resonate with players. When Undertale exploded in popularity, it wasn’t for its gameplay or visuals, but for its characters. There’s a reason why so many people have made AUs of Undertale characters, because the cast is what makes Undertale special. Pair a great cast with a genuinely funny game filled with charm, goofiness, and heart, and it becomes evident that Undertale’s writing is something special.
And you can’t mention Undertale without mentioning its music. While Toby Fox has definitely improved in his music, Undertale’s soundtrack is spectacular. Waterfall, Another Medium, and CORE are spectacular overworld themes; Hopes and Dreams, Death by Glamour, Finale, and of course Megalovania are spectacular boss themes, and Undertale makes me feel genuinely emotional everytime I listen to it. And this is only my personal favorites, so many of the songs in Undertale are fantastic and iconic.
Undertale is a masterpiece to so many people because of how impactful its writing is. The game had a major impact on both indie gaming and gaming in general, and having made a major impact on culture in general. Whether you’ve played Undertale or not, you’ve heard Undertale’s soundtrack, you know who Sans is, you’ve interacted with some kind of media that has been influenced by Undertale. If Undertale had better combat, it’d be an easy 5/5 for me. Undertale is well deserving of the love and praise it receives, it’s truly something spectacular.
Regular enemy fights are fine. They’re nothing special, nothing revolutionary, just fine. The ACT menu is a fun twist on encounters, making them more like a puzzle where, if you pay attention to their dialogue, you can figure out how to spare each enemy. Though there’s also a clunkiness to encounters, especially when there’s multiple enemies; fights can feel like a slog to get through.
Bosses are the exception, most of them being interesting encounters that play with the game’s mechanics in an interesting way. The actual patterns of each boss are solid and almost all do something interesting (sole exception for me being Toriel, which to be fair is intentional). Though I feel like the ACT menu was very underutilized for bosses. The ACT menu can have effects and often build on the character of the boss themselves, the example that stands out to me most being Muffet letting you pay to weaken her attacks, but the only bosses that use the ACT menu are Mettaton and Asriel, the latter of which being hard to compare to other bosses due to Asriel essentially being a cutscene. And it’s a shame, because the use of the ACT button when it WOULD be used was always really fun!
But battles feel more like an accent to Undertale, the main draw being the game’s characters and storytelling. Straight up, if you don’t like Undertale’s cast, you’re not going to like Undertale. The game’s central focus is on its characters, after all a major point of the game is that you don’t have to kill monsters (and that it's better if you don’t). Undertale’s characters are the most important aspect of the game, and my god they are written well.
There is something to love about every character, some reason to want to be their friend and help them out. The random monsters in the overworld often have something interesting or funny to say, and even regular enemies in fights are charming and have personality to them. The Underground is vibrant with life, which really encourages the player to care about monsterkind. And the main cast? They all have a certain level of complexity to them, whether it’s explicitly shown or something you need to find yourself. Basically every main character has nuanced writing that can resonate with players. When Undertale exploded in popularity, it wasn’t for its gameplay or visuals, but for its characters. There’s a reason why so many people have made AUs of Undertale characters, because the cast is what makes Undertale special. Pair a great cast with a genuinely funny game filled with charm, goofiness, and heart, and it becomes evident that Undertale’s writing is something special.
And you can’t mention Undertale without mentioning its music. While Toby Fox has definitely improved in his music, Undertale’s soundtrack is spectacular. Waterfall, Another Medium, and CORE are spectacular overworld themes; Hopes and Dreams, Death by Glamour, Finale, and of course Megalovania are spectacular boss themes, and Undertale makes me feel genuinely emotional everytime I listen to it. And this is only my personal favorites, so many of the songs in Undertale are fantastic and iconic.
Undertale is a masterpiece to so many people because of how impactful its writing is. The game had a major impact on both indie gaming and gaming in general, and having made a major impact on culture in general. Whether you’ve played Undertale or not, you’ve heard Undertale’s soundtrack, you know who Sans is, you’ve interacted with some kind of media that has been influenced by Undertale. If Undertale had better combat, it’d be an easy 5/5 for me. Undertale is well deserving of the love and praise it receives, it’s truly something spectacular.
2011
A genuine masterpiece of a game.
Terraria has it all. Great combat, fun exploration, a lot of customizability, and so much to do. Terraria is massive in all departments, but not in a way that feels excessive or bloated. I don’t ever think to myself that there’s too many weapons or accessories, but instead that all the options allow for a lot of potential playstyles, even within the same weapon class. That variety also flows into Terraria having a TON of replay value. You can play melee in one run but then decide to play summoner in another run, and you’ll get two very different gameplay experiences. And Terraria’s gameplay as a whole leans a lot into being able to replay it, both because of the variety of ways you can play Terraria and because actually exploring a new Terraria world is engaging and interesting. Multiplayer Terraria is also a blast, especially since everyone can play different builds or focus on different aspects of the game.
Difficulty progression is smooth, never feeling too unmanageable. New bosses feel difficult but fair (the only exceptions being a small amount of bosses that are too easy, which is far less of a sin than too difficult in my eyes), and the bosses are just fun to fight in general. Combat feels great and well-balanced as a whole, even outside of bosses. Terraria feels really satisfying and clean to play.
Terraria’s biggest issue is that the game relies a lot on using a wiki. I don’t think the variety of items is a bad thing, but how to get items can either be convoluted (Zenith, Terraspark Boots, etc) or from rare drops (Rod of Discord, Slime Staff, etc). It can be daunting to enter Terraria without a guide, especially for things like class setups. And the low drop rate items as well, like Rod of Discord, can also result in Terraria being pretty grindy sometimes when just trying to get one item for an accessory or a weapon.
Terraria is a special game for me, and one of the games I will most highly recommend to people. It’s helped me through hard times and brought me closer to people I care about. I’m not a massive fan of sandbox games, but I’ve rarely ever clicked with a game as much as I clicked with Terraria. All the love and praise Terraria has earned across the years is beyond deserved, Terraria is incredible.
Terraria has it all. Great combat, fun exploration, a lot of customizability, and so much to do. Terraria is massive in all departments, but not in a way that feels excessive or bloated. I don’t ever think to myself that there’s too many weapons or accessories, but instead that all the options allow for a lot of potential playstyles, even within the same weapon class. That variety also flows into Terraria having a TON of replay value. You can play melee in one run but then decide to play summoner in another run, and you’ll get two very different gameplay experiences. And Terraria’s gameplay as a whole leans a lot into being able to replay it, both because of the variety of ways you can play Terraria and because actually exploring a new Terraria world is engaging and interesting. Multiplayer Terraria is also a blast, especially since everyone can play different builds or focus on different aspects of the game.
Difficulty progression is smooth, never feeling too unmanageable. New bosses feel difficult but fair (the only exceptions being a small amount of bosses that are too easy, which is far less of a sin than too difficult in my eyes), and the bosses are just fun to fight in general. Combat feels great and well-balanced as a whole, even outside of bosses. Terraria feels really satisfying and clean to play.
Terraria’s biggest issue is that the game relies a lot on using a wiki. I don’t think the variety of items is a bad thing, but how to get items can either be convoluted (Zenith, Terraspark Boots, etc) or from rare drops (Rod of Discord, Slime Staff, etc). It can be daunting to enter Terraria without a guide, especially for things like class setups. And the low drop rate items as well, like Rod of Discord, can also result in Terraria being pretty grindy sometimes when just trying to get one item for an accessory or a weapon.
Terraria is a special game for me, and one of the games I will most highly recommend to people. It’s helped me through hard times and brought me closer to people I care about. I’m not a massive fan of sandbox games, but I’ve rarely ever clicked with a game as much as I clicked with Terraria. All the love and praise Terraria has earned across the years is beyond deserved, Terraria is incredible.
2018
Muse Dash is a fun and simple rhythm game. Easy to get into due to its simple controls paired with fun gameplay. It’s also got a really fun and charming art style which I appreciate a lot. But there’s not a ton that can be said about Muse Dash for me. It’s a good intro to the genre, and while not a masterpiece by any means the game is fun for what it is.
2017
If I were to describe Hollow Knight in one word, it would be ambition. From the roots of its development to its release and eventually culminating into Silksong, Hollow Knight is an ambitious labor of love that can be felt in every detail of the game.
The map of Hallownest is gigantic, but designed intelligently. Each room feels distinct enough, whether because of the room’s contents or being visually distinctive, where navigation feels natural and intuitive. Each area feels balanced with map layouts that rarely feel empty or lackluster, and there’s almost always something to be found in each direction you can take. Secrets can be found everywhere in the map, and while the rewards for your search can be anticlimactic at times, there’s an added intrigue to your adventure as you might stumble into a hidden area. Hollow Knight’s ability to have a massive map that feels extremely well-planned out, filled with secrets, and consistently manages to keep each room visually distinct is extremely impressive.
Combat is simple yet satisfying, with fights rarely feeling luck-based. The Knight’s toolkit is small (your nail (+ nail arts), spells, healing, and movement tools), which makes it easy to pick up the basics of combat mechanics. However, mastering Hollow Knight’s mechanics requires a lot of skill and game knowledge, leading to boss victories feeling triumphant and satisfying. Hell, many fights feel similar to a dance as you learn how to dodge attacks, further aiding in the fantastic feel of combat. The game’s charm system allows for customizability in how you play, with some charms even being designed to synergize with each other and give added benefits (such as defender’s crest and spore shroom improving the damage of spore shroom’s damage cloud). There’s not one strict way to play Hollow Knight, and that’s a fantastic quality to have.
Hollow Knight’s combat system shines the most when up against the game’s bosses. And there’s a lot, 39 to be specific. Most bosses have interesting mechanics that make them fun to fight, and the majority of the bosses that don’t are designed for the beginning of the game and are purposefully simplistic. And while bosses are difficult, they never feel insurmountable and it always feels like you have the tools to succeed. Being able to have so many bosses and have the majority be fun, challenging, and well-designed is a major fear.
Artistically, Hollow Knight is stunning. Hallownest is incredibly atmospheric, with a world that feels alive and inhabited while also selling the feeling of being a ruined kingdom. The use of color further accentuates the world’s setting, with most of Hallownest being cool colors (primarily blue, but featuring a lot of greens, purples, greys, and earthy yellow), with the Infection contrasting the natural Hallownest by being jarringly orange. The use of color allows for the Infection to pop as something foreign, dangerous, and hostile. Hollow Knight’s soundtrack is iconic, with exciting boss music and soothing overworld themes. The game’s music subtly assists in making the world much better to explore and boss fights more engaging to fight.
And on top of all of that, Hollow Knight is $15 USD with 4 free DLC. Hollow Knight goes above and beyond, especially with its price tag and small development team. And it takes genuine passion to make a game as thoroughly designed as Hollow Knight is.
There’s a lot to say and love with Hollow Knight, a lot more than I can say here. Hollow Knight has had a major impact in the gaming sphere, both for players and for game developers. And for good reason, because Hollow Knight manages to nail so many of its mechanics and design choices and offers players so many directions and places to explore and interact with.
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time. And it has truly earned that title. It is a phenomenal game in so many ways
The map of Hallownest is gigantic, but designed intelligently. Each room feels distinct enough, whether because of the room’s contents or being visually distinctive, where navigation feels natural and intuitive. Each area feels balanced with map layouts that rarely feel empty or lackluster, and there’s almost always something to be found in each direction you can take. Secrets can be found everywhere in the map, and while the rewards for your search can be anticlimactic at times, there’s an added intrigue to your adventure as you might stumble into a hidden area. Hollow Knight’s ability to have a massive map that feels extremely well-planned out, filled with secrets, and consistently manages to keep each room visually distinct is extremely impressive.
Combat is simple yet satisfying, with fights rarely feeling luck-based. The Knight’s toolkit is small (your nail (+ nail arts), spells, healing, and movement tools), which makes it easy to pick up the basics of combat mechanics. However, mastering Hollow Knight’s mechanics requires a lot of skill and game knowledge, leading to boss victories feeling triumphant and satisfying. Hell, many fights feel similar to a dance as you learn how to dodge attacks, further aiding in the fantastic feel of combat. The game’s charm system allows for customizability in how you play, with some charms even being designed to synergize with each other and give added benefits (such as defender’s crest and spore shroom improving the damage of spore shroom’s damage cloud). There’s not one strict way to play Hollow Knight, and that’s a fantastic quality to have.
Hollow Knight’s combat system shines the most when up against the game’s bosses. And there’s a lot, 39 to be specific. Most bosses have interesting mechanics that make them fun to fight, and the majority of the bosses that don’t are designed for the beginning of the game and are purposefully simplistic. And while bosses are difficult, they never feel insurmountable and it always feels like you have the tools to succeed. Being able to have so many bosses and have the majority be fun, challenging, and well-designed is a major fear.
Artistically, Hollow Knight is stunning. Hallownest is incredibly atmospheric, with a world that feels alive and inhabited while also selling the feeling of being a ruined kingdom. The use of color further accentuates the world’s setting, with most of Hallownest being cool colors (primarily blue, but featuring a lot of greens, purples, greys, and earthy yellow), with the Infection contrasting the natural Hallownest by being jarringly orange. The use of color allows for the Infection to pop as something foreign, dangerous, and hostile. Hollow Knight’s soundtrack is iconic, with exciting boss music and soothing overworld themes. The game’s music subtly assists in making the world much better to explore and boss fights more engaging to fight.
And on top of all of that, Hollow Knight is $15 USD with 4 free DLC. Hollow Knight goes above and beyond, especially with its price tag and small development team. And it takes genuine passion to make a game as thoroughly designed as Hollow Knight is.
There’s a lot to say and love with Hollow Knight, a lot more than I can say here. Hollow Knight has had a major impact in the gaming sphere, both for players and for game developers. And for good reason, because Hollow Knight manages to nail so many of its mechanics and design choices and offers players so many directions and places to explore and interact with.
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time. And it has truly earned that title. It is a phenomenal game in so many ways
2023
This review contains spoilers
Marked as spoiler already but to specify, this will be major spoilers for the final boss of the pacifist route. I’m also only writing about pacifist, so keep that in mind.
Undertale Yellow is a fantastic fangame, truly understanding what made the original Undertale work and building on top of its foundation rather than reusing pre-established gameplay and characters. Yellow didn’t feel like a rehash of Undertale or too reliant on what Undertale already did while simultaneously still tying into several aspects of the original’s story (notably True Lab). And Yellow also exudes love and passion both for the game itself and for the original Undertale which inspired it.
I love a lot of what Yellow does. It innovates a TON on Undertale’s gameplay, making fights and especially bosses a lot more interesting. Especially once you hit the second half of the game, the bosses you fight introduce new mechanics that make each boss fight stand out and feel unique. The shield with AXIS? Starlo tying your soul to a lasso? Needing to free your actions against Guardener? Fucking DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION??? While difficulty balancing was definitely an issue bosses had (sometimes to an egregious degree), each boss felt interesting to learn and to fight.
I also enjoyed the story and the cast. The player knows that Clover is going to die at the end of the story, after all we know Asgore already has a yellow soul in the main story of Undertale. So there’s a bittersweet aspect to the journey, because the entire journey we’re making bonds with these characters while knowing that we’ll die at the end, and the entire journey we’re asking ourselves “how is Clover going to die?”. The world of Yellow, similarly to the main Undertale, is full of life and charm, but Yellow spends more time with individual characters since Clover isn’t in the same rush as Frisk is in. Wild East shows this off fantastically, where the entire section is just getting to know both about Starlo and The Feisty Five as a whole, but the entirety of the Wild East itself. Exploring the Underground again also felt unique, with each area being either completely new to Yellow or a completely new section of a previous area. The sole exceptions are the very beginning of the game where you’re in the ruins (which is basically a fake out anyway), and stopping by Hotlands VERY briefly as a bridge point (which makes sense considering the story up to that point). Yellow is able to land its emotional beats, managing to be touching, funny, horrifying and heartbreaking similarly to Undertale. Yet those emotional moments are utilized differently than Undertale, further helping Yellow stand out.
I was in love with the game and then… Ceroba happened. I genuinely despise her fight’s balance. Don’t get me wrong, the boss fight is interesting, has solid gameplay design, and has that same gameplay style change that I enjoyed with the other bosses. But holy shit it is infuriating. There is a MAJOR difficulty spike from AXIS, the fight directly before Ceroba, to the point that it’s jarring (and it’s worse than any other difficulty jump up to her). As well, her attacks are genuinely overwhelming with how much is happening on screen and how much you need to manage.
And phase 4? God, phase 4 was not necessary. Seeing that the fight was going to continue for one more phase felt like a slap in the face, especially because ending at phase 3 felt natural. You broke her mask, good game. For me, phase 4 just felt like an artificial way to extend the fight. Not to mention, it made all the prior problems I had with Ceroba’s fight worse. Her attacks and everything I had to manage was extremely overwhelming, and while within the Ceroba fight the difficulty jump makes sense, it is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than everything before Ceroba, and if you didn’t preserve your healing items well enough because you didn’t expect a phase 4? RESTART EVERYTHING. Ceroba just left me feeling drained and pissed off. The ACT menu helps, and it’s relieving that you restart the fight at the last phase you were on if you don’t need to quit the fight, but it doesn’t make up for how bullshit everything else feels.
Granted, I really hate bullet hells, and Ceroba is the most bullet hell boss in both Undertale Yellow and the original Undertale. Maybe I’m biased in how much I hated the fight. But I ended up giving up and just looking up the pacifist ending because I was too exhausted and pissed off.
Even if I hate the final boss and the difficulty spikes in the game, everything else about Yellow is fantastic. It genuinely stands on par with the original Undertale while bringing so much new to the table. A must play for fans of the original and a high recommendation for fans of RPGs as a whole. Yellow is absolutely worth giving a shot, pun not intended, and I’m glad to see that Yellow has performed so fantastically. It deserves all the praise it receives.
Undertale Yellow is a fantastic fangame, truly understanding what made the original Undertale work and building on top of its foundation rather than reusing pre-established gameplay and characters. Yellow didn’t feel like a rehash of Undertale or too reliant on what Undertale already did while simultaneously still tying into several aspects of the original’s story (notably True Lab). And Yellow also exudes love and passion both for the game itself and for the original Undertale which inspired it.
I love a lot of what Yellow does. It innovates a TON on Undertale’s gameplay, making fights and especially bosses a lot more interesting. Especially once you hit the second half of the game, the bosses you fight introduce new mechanics that make each boss fight stand out and feel unique. The shield with AXIS? Starlo tying your soul to a lasso? Needing to free your actions against Guardener? Fucking DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION??? While difficulty balancing was definitely an issue bosses had (sometimes to an egregious degree), each boss felt interesting to learn and to fight.
I also enjoyed the story and the cast. The player knows that Clover is going to die at the end of the story, after all we know Asgore already has a yellow soul in the main story of Undertale. So there’s a bittersweet aspect to the journey, because the entire journey we’re making bonds with these characters while knowing that we’ll die at the end, and the entire journey we’re asking ourselves “how is Clover going to die?”. The world of Yellow, similarly to the main Undertale, is full of life and charm, but Yellow spends more time with individual characters since Clover isn’t in the same rush as Frisk is in. Wild East shows this off fantastically, where the entire section is just getting to know both about Starlo and The Feisty Five as a whole, but the entirety of the Wild East itself. Exploring the Underground again also felt unique, with each area being either completely new to Yellow or a completely new section of a previous area. The sole exceptions are the very beginning of the game where you’re in the ruins (which is basically a fake out anyway), and stopping by Hotlands VERY briefly as a bridge point (which makes sense considering the story up to that point). Yellow is able to land its emotional beats, managing to be touching, funny, horrifying and heartbreaking similarly to Undertale. Yet those emotional moments are utilized differently than Undertale, further helping Yellow stand out.
I was in love with the game and then… Ceroba happened. I genuinely despise her fight’s balance. Don’t get me wrong, the boss fight is interesting, has solid gameplay design, and has that same gameplay style change that I enjoyed with the other bosses. But holy shit it is infuriating. There is a MAJOR difficulty spike from AXIS, the fight directly before Ceroba, to the point that it’s jarring (and it’s worse than any other difficulty jump up to her). As well, her attacks are genuinely overwhelming with how much is happening on screen and how much you need to manage.
And phase 4? God, phase 4 was not necessary. Seeing that the fight was going to continue for one more phase felt like a slap in the face, especially because ending at phase 3 felt natural. You broke her mask, good game. For me, phase 4 just felt like an artificial way to extend the fight. Not to mention, it made all the prior problems I had with Ceroba’s fight worse. Her attacks and everything I had to manage was extremely overwhelming, and while within the Ceroba fight the difficulty jump makes sense, it is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than everything before Ceroba, and if you didn’t preserve your healing items well enough because you didn’t expect a phase 4? RESTART EVERYTHING. Ceroba just left me feeling drained and pissed off. The ACT menu helps, and it’s relieving that you restart the fight at the last phase you were on if you don’t need to quit the fight, but it doesn’t make up for how bullshit everything else feels.
Granted, I really hate bullet hells, and Ceroba is the most bullet hell boss in both Undertale Yellow and the original Undertale. Maybe I’m biased in how much I hated the fight. But I ended up giving up and just looking up the pacifist ending because I was too exhausted and pissed off.
Even if I hate the final boss and the difficulty spikes in the game, everything else about Yellow is fantastic. It genuinely stands on par with the original Undertale while bringing so much new to the table. A must play for fans of the original and a high recommendation for fans of RPGs as a whole. Yellow is absolutely worth giving a shot, pun not intended, and I’m glad to see that Yellow has performed so fantastically. It deserves all the praise it receives.