Sitara
2023
Where it Shines:
Music - 8.5/10
Just Vibing - 9/10
Simple Story - 7/10
The Good:
Cobalt Core really surprised me. In an ocean of overly complicated roguelike deckbuilders, most of which don't hold a candle to StS, Cobalt Core managed to easily stand out as being a good #2 for best of all time.
The characters are charming, the music and art are top notch, the gameplay delivers for the most part, and there even is a cute story if you like having that sort of thing - but unlike games like griftlands or gorian quest that have EXCESSIVE dialogue as "story", Cobalt Core tells it simply, with brevity. I really appreciate the thought behind that choice.
The Bad:
The game errs on being a bit too easy - this can be mitigated by upping the difficulty, which I appreciate, but most of those setting feel unfair and not really "more challenging" as much "more annoying". The problem with this game really lies in it's core mechanic of having a mixed deck of 3 different archetypes - you choose three characters, all with different styles. But the issue is that some of the later characters are just flat out too obnoxious to figure out or not worth it, and the early characters just provide too many staple cards that the others don't, like basic evasion, shielding, and medium attacks. If you go for too frilly of a deck with the special characters, you will just find that you have nothing to attack with, nothing to evade with, or nothing to shield with, all of which are run enders.
I do appreciate the idea behind this idea, but the characters really needed to be more balanced.
So what winds up happening is the game feels too easy if you stack your characters, and too annoying if you throw in a "fun" character.
I would go as far as to say some of the characters are just flat out unplayable garbo.
Summary:
Although it does have it's flaws, it is overall a better game than a bad one, and it stuck my interest better than other similar titles like Monster Train. I highly recommend this game, it feels like StS meets FTL in all the right ways, and is a perfect chill game to play for 20 mins at a time.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Music - 8.5/10
Just Vibing - 9/10
Simple Story - 7/10
The Good:
Cobalt Core really surprised me. In an ocean of overly complicated roguelike deckbuilders, most of which don't hold a candle to StS, Cobalt Core managed to easily stand out as being a good #2 for best of all time.
The characters are charming, the music and art are top notch, the gameplay delivers for the most part, and there even is a cute story if you like having that sort of thing - but unlike games like griftlands or gorian quest that have EXCESSIVE dialogue as "story", Cobalt Core tells it simply, with brevity. I really appreciate the thought behind that choice.
The Bad:
The game errs on being a bit too easy - this can be mitigated by upping the difficulty, which I appreciate, but most of those setting feel unfair and not really "more challenging" as much "more annoying". The problem with this game really lies in it's core mechanic of having a mixed deck of 3 different archetypes - you choose three characters, all with different styles. But the issue is that some of the later characters are just flat out too obnoxious to figure out or not worth it, and the early characters just provide too many staple cards that the others don't, like basic evasion, shielding, and medium attacks. If you go for too frilly of a deck with the special characters, you will just find that you have nothing to attack with, nothing to evade with, or nothing to shield with, all of which are run enders.
I do appreciate the idea behind this idea, but the characters really needed to be more balanced.
So what winds up happening is the game feels too easy if you stack your characters, and too annoying if you throw in a "fun" character.
I would go as far as to say some of the characters are just flat out unplayable garbo.
Summary:
Although it does have it's flaws, it is overall a better game than a bad one, and it stuck my interest better than other similar titles like Monster Train. I highly recommend this game, it feels like StS meets FTL in all the right ways, and is a perfect chill game to play for 20 mins at a time.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
2021
Where it Shines:
Story - 7/10
Combat - 8.5/10
Setpieces - 7/10
The Good:
Eastern Exorcist surprised me. I expected a pretty unpolished rushed game, but it's actually really well thought out and has a lot of depth. The key takeaways for me are:
- The combat system is quite complex, with lots of combos, counters, special abilities, and upgrades
- The bosses are really fun
- The story is far better than it needs to be for this type of game
- The backdrops and locales are all highly memorable with very well thought out shots and sequences.
- There's not enough games out there that branch out of the typical medieval high fantasy backdrop, so it's extremely refreshing to see chinese lore and history represented, which is far more interesting to experience and look at anyway.
- Lots of challenges and trials and other extra content.
The Bad:
It's not without it's flaws.
- The ending is very...ubrupt? You spend the whole game trying to accomplish a particular task, and then you beat the last boss and there's a very brief cutscene that basically just says "And then you did the thing you were trying to do, the end."
- The cutscenes are very bland. Think early 2000's flash animations
- In that vein, the character models also reek of that flash animation style, where it looks like their appendages are pinned to their joints and just bobbing around like a bad paper cutout art project
- the music is pretty nonexistent. This game could have had some amazing classical Chinese influences inspiring it's score, but it feels very placeholder and lazy. It's not bad, just completely unmemorable.
- the difficulty curve is sort of all over the place. Playing on story mode felt challenging even at the beginning, and I died a few times. But as you progress, it gets laughably easy. I think the game suffers from an inverse difficulty curve like Breath of the Wild did - too hard at the beginning, too easy at the end. It's probably best enjoyed on normal difficulty or higher, but be prepared for the beginning to be annoying. It does have a NG+ mode though, if you felt like replaying it and notching up the difficulty each time.
Summary:
This game surprised me. It always peaked my interest, and I managed to squeeze it in this year seeing how short the playthrough time was. I'm glad I did. It's not one of my all time favourites or anything, but if you want a short, fun, combat heavy game, set in a more interesting world and with a decent story, this is definitely a great choice. I hope the studio makes more games and comes out with more polished products in the future.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Story - 7/10
Combat - 8.5/10
Setpieces - 7/10
The Good:
Eastern Exorcist surprised me. I expected a pretty unpolished rushed game, but it's actually really well thought out and has a lot of depth. The key takeaways for me are:
- The combat system is quite complex, with lots of combos, counters, special abilities, and upgrades
- The bosses are really fun
- The story is far better than it needs to be for this type of game
- The backdrops and locales are all highly memorable with very well thought out shots and sequences.
- There's not enough games out there that branch out of the typical medieval high fantasy backdrop, so it's extremely refreshing to see chinese lore and history represented, which is far more interesting to experience and look at anyway.
- Lots of challenges and trials and other extra content.
The Bad:
It's not without it's flaws.
- The ending is very...ubrupt? You spend the whole game trying to accomplish a particular task, and then you beat the last boss and there's a very brief cutscene that basically just says "And then you did the thing you were trying to do, the end."
- The cutscenes are very bland. Think early 2000's flash animations
- In that vein, the character models also reek of that flash animation style, where it looks like their appendages are pinned to their joints and just bobbing around like a bad paper cutout art project
- the music is pretty nonexistent. This game could have had some amazing classical Chinese influences inspiring it's score, but it feels very placeholder and lazy. It's not bad, just completely unmemorable.
- the difficulty curve is sort of all over the place. Playing on story mode felt challenging even at the beginning, and I died a few times. But as you progress, it gets laughably easy. I think the game suffers from an inverse difficulty curve like Breath of the Wild did - too hard at the beginning, too easy at the end. It's probably best enjoyed on normal difficulty or higher, but be prepared for the beginning to be annoying. It does have a NG+ mode though, if you felt like replaying it and notching up the difficulty each time.
Summary:
This game surprised me. It always peaked my interest, and I managed to squeeze it in this year seeing how short the playthrough time was. I'm glad I did. It's not one of my all time favourites or anything, but if you want a short, fun, combat heavy game, set in a more interesting world and with a decent story, this is definitely a great choice. I hope the studio makes more games and comes out with more polished products in the future.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Where it Shines:
Fun with Friends - 7/10
It's Star Wars - 6/10
The Good:
So of course on release this game was infamously derided, and well deserved. But years later, with all the content unlocked and the game dirt cheap or available on gamepass, it's actually not a bad game.
Just squading up with some pals and playing on vc is a fun experience, and the game can really be a great quick jump in and play with friends game.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, that's kind of were the good stuff ends. It's a shadow of the original, especially in terms of the single player, and there's a lot of jank and unbalanced stuff at the core of the experience.
To top it off, there are a lot of wonky things to try and even party up and play. It's not as straightforward as you'd think, and sometimes it just doesn't even work.
It's EA so there's also the stinking turd residue of that company all over it.
Summary:
If it wasn't a Star Wars game, it would be DOA. But it has survived off of that alone. Is it worth playing? Maybe, maybe not. You're not missing anything by skipping it. But if you just want to shooter bro with your friends, it's not a bad choice.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Fun with Friends - 7/10
It's Star Wars - 6/10
The Good:
So of course on release this game was infamously derided, and well deserved. But years later, with all the content unlocked and the game dirt cheap or available on gamepass, it's actually not a bad game.
Just squading up with some pals and playing on vc is a fun experience, and the game can really be a great quick jump in and play with friends game.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, that's kind of were the good stuff ends. It's a shadow of the original, especially in terms of the single player, and there's a lot of jank and unbalanced stuff at the core of the experience.
To top it off, there are a lot of wonky things to try and even party up and play. It's not as straightforward as you'd think, and sometimes it just doesn't even work.
It's EA so there's also the stinking turd residue of that company all over it.
Summary:
If it wasn't a Star Wars game, it would be DOA. But it has survived off of that alone. Is it worth playing? Maybe, maybe not. You're not missing anything by skipping it. But if you just want to shooter bro with your friends, it's not a bad choice.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
1997
Where it Shines:
Dungeoncrawler x Deckbuilder - 10/10
Sound Design - 10/10
Tapping AI lands during their upkeep so they take manaburn - 10/10
The Good:
This game was my freakin childhood bro.
They don't make stuff like this anymore. The combination of isometric dungeoncrawler rpg with the battles all being magic is just so amazing. I would pay 100 bucks new for a game like this today. It will never happen though.
The Bad:
You can't really play it on modern computers anymore, it's old and it's very clunky and buggy.
Summary:
You may not like it, but this is what peak MTG looks like.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Dungeoncrawler x Deckbuilder - 10/10
Sound Design - 10/10
Tapping AI lands during their upkeep so they take manaburn - 10/10
The Good:
This game was my freakin childhood bro.
They don't make stuff like this anymore. The combination of isometric dungeoncrawler rpg with the battles all being magic is just so amazing. I would pay 100 bucks new for a game like this today. It will never happen though.
The Bad:
You can't really play it on modern computers anymore, it's old and it's very clunky and buggy.
Summary:
You may not like it, but this is what peak MTG looks like.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
I love MTG. It's unlike any other card game. Nothing even comes close to just how tactile it feels tapping lands and cards, or building a deck that fits your identity as a player.
However, WotC/Hasbro is a pile of flaming dog shit company. I don't condone or support any of their horrendous business practices. Every year that goes by, MTG becomes more and more a cash grab, and pushes people out of being able to play it. It's already an insane game where pieces of cardboard cost thousands of dollars. But they keep wanting to make their shareholders more money so it keeps becoming even worse, to the point where it's a fortnite IP crossover hell hole.
I long ago sold my magic collection. I've been playing since the early days. Now I proxy everything.
So why do I play MTG Arena? It's actually a half decent client. There are some precon deck modes and other formats where you can ignore the gacha hell of the game and play for fun.
I still love the game itself, it's just the company managing it that deserves 0 praise at this point.
All that said, Arena is a good way to learn for new players, and can be a somewhat okay way to experience the game without having to break your bank.
I will probably always come back and forth to the game, but I cannot in good conscience ever recommend anyone spend a single dime on it.
Screw the company. Proxy your cards. Don't spend a single cent on these people. Play the game for free any way you can. Table top simulator, cockatrice, or ever arena are viable options.
TL;DR - good game run by evil corporation
However, WotC/Hasbro is a pile of flaming dog shit company. I don't condone or support any of their horrendous business practices. Every year that goes by, MTG becomes more and more a cash grab, and pushes people out of being able to play it. It's already an insane game where pieces of cardboard cost thousands of dollars. But they keep wanting to make their shareholders more money so it keeps becoming even worse, to the point where it's a fortnite IP crossover hell hole.
I long ago sold my magic collection. I've been playing since the early days. Now I proxy everything.
So why do I play MTG Arena? It's actually a half decent client. There are some precon deck modes and other formats where you can ignore the gacha hell of the game and play for fun.
I still love the game itself, it's just the company managing it that deserves 0 praise at this point.
All that said, Arena is a good way to learn for new players, and can be a somewhat okay way to experience the game without having to break your bank.
I will probably always come back and forth to the game, but I cannot in good conscience ever recommend anyone spend a single dime on it.
Screw the company. Proxy your cards. Don't spend a single cent on these people. Play the game for free any way you can. Table top simulator, cockatrice, or ever arena are viable options.
TL;DR - good game run by evil corporation
2015
This review contains spoilers
Where it Shines:
Music - 8/10
Quirkyness - 7/10
Humour - 7/10
The Good:
So Undertale is definitely an achievement for such as mall team. The throwback to weird SNES era JRPGs like Earthbound is apparent, as well as all the references to other things.
The humour, world, and music are probably what the game does best. It also has a very interesting cast of characters, though some can get pretty annoying pretty quickly.
The Bad:
Hoo boy. Where to start. I wanted to like this more than I did. But this game is a little too "look at me I'm an indie game" if you catch my drift.
What starts as a deliberate, well paced adventure, quickly becomes a slog in the last couple of hours. Obtuse puzzles, annoying bosses, and a story almost entirely exposition dumped onto you like you're some kind of exposition flushing toilet.
I went pacifist route, and I think that's part of the issue. The pacifist route has become so proliferous in this game that even going in to this knowing almost nothing, I knew I was supposed to do that route to get the good ending. But the weird ass flower battle at the end is such a fucking insane choice, it looks like garbage and plays like garbage.
So then I realized oh, you're supposed to befriend some characters, and I missed Undyne because you'd have to go back and talk to her if you want to befriend her; it's not linear.
This game wants you to play it multiple times. I have no desire to play it multiple times. I don't think the story, the endings, or the gameplay are good enough for that.
It also tried to break the fourth wall a bunch but it's really obvious and not very well integrated into the story. The game really feels like it's 3edgy5me and uses literal rage faces and memes. I don't think that makes it subversive or meta, it just makes it obnoxious, which explains it's fanbase.
This game is overrated as heck.
Summary:
I don't regret playing it, but I would not go out of my way to recommend it to anyone. It has a lot of good things going for it, and I can see some people loving it (clearly many do), but this game is just not as good as people make it out to be. I think something like One Shot does a much better job of being evocative and quirky.
TL;DR - As Peter Griffin would say "It insists upon itself".
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Music - 8/10
Quirkyness - 7/10
Humour - 7/10
The Good:
So Undertale is definitely an achievement for such as mall team. The throwback to weird SNES era JRPGs like Earthbound is apparent, as well as all the references to other things.
The humour, world, and music are probably what the game does best. It also has a very interesting cast of characters, though some can get pretty annoying pretty quickly.
The Bad:
Hoo boy. Where to start. I wanted to like this more than I did. But this game is a little too "look at me I'm an indie game" if you catch my drift.
What starts as a deliberate, well paced adventure, quickly becomes a slog in the last couple of hours. Obtuse puzzles, annoying bosses, and a story almost entirely exposition dumped onto you like you're some kind of exposition flushing toilet.
I went pacifist route, and I think that's part of the issue. The pacifist route has become so proliferous in this game that even going in to this knowing almost nothing, I knew I was supposed to do that route to get the good ending. But the weird ass flower battle at the end is such a fucking insane choice, it looks like garbage and plays like garbage.
So then I realized oh, you're supposed to befriend some characters, and I missed Undyne because you'd have to go back and talk to her if you want to befriend her; it's not linear.
This game wants you to play it multiple times. I have no desire to play it multiple times. I don't think the story, the endings, or the gameplay are good enough for that.
It also tried to break the fourth wall a bunch but it's really obvious and not very well integrated into the story. The game really feels like it's 3edgy5me and uses literal rage faces and memes. I don't think that makes it subversive or meta, it just makes it obnoxious, which explains it's fanbase.
This game is overrated as heck.
Summary:
I don't regret playing it, but I would not go out of my way to recommend it to anyone. It has a lot of good things going for it, and I can see some people loving it (clearly many do), but this game is just not as good as people make it out to be. I think something like One Shot does a much better job of being evocative and quirky.
TL;DR - As Peter Griffin would say "It insists upon itself".
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Where it Shines:
Vanialike - 10/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Replayability - 7/10
The Good:
Bloodstained: RotN is a great successor to Castelvania SoTN and although not nearly as good, still comes pretty close. The shards are a great mechanic and allow for tons of variety in gameplay. The vast variety of weapons and techniques also makes for the potential of different playthroughs.
There's also a great little character customizer where you can do cosmetic changes to your character, including skin/hair color, which is very appreciated.
This was my second playthrough, and I think I enjoyed it even more than the first having a NG+ and more things unlocked.
The Bad:
It's definitely got some flaws. The graphics, particularly the character animations and cutscenes, feel very early 2000's flash like.
The music, although good mostly, has a lot of very...uh...lets say "similar" melodies to SotN. Aside from a few banger tracks, there really is a feeling of sort of "meh" to the music, which is unfortunate because it shows it's potential in some tracks and falls so bland in others.
There's also a lot of grind in this game. The recipes, the shards, the weapons, it's all very RNG based and it can be so tedious getting everything. Some of it feels fair, but some of it feels obtuse just for the sake of it, particularly the recipes.
Summary:
Overall, it's a fantastic game especially for a KS backed project. I'd love to see a sequel that has more support more time in the oven; it's been a while since this came out and I think it can only get better if they make more.
TL;DR - What if Alucard was a girl?
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Vanialike - 10/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Replayability - 7/10
The Good:
Bloodstained: RotN is a great successor to Castelvania SoTN and although not nearly as good, still comes pretty close. The shards are a great mechanic and allow for tons of variety in gameplay. The vast variety of weapons and techniques also makes for the potential of different playthroughs.
There's also a great little character customizer where you can do cosmetic changes to your character, including skin/hair color, which is very appreciated.
This was my second playthrough, and I think I enjoyed it even more than the first having a NG+ and more things unlocked.
The Bad:
It's definitely got some flaws. The graphics, particularly the character animations and cutscenes, feel very early 2000's flash like.
The music, although good mostly, has a lot of very...uh...lets say "similar" melodies to SotN. Aside from a few banger tracks, there really is a feeling of sort of "meh" to the music, which is unfortunate because it shows it's potential in some tracks and falls so bland in others.
There's also a lot of grind in this game. The recipes, the shards, the weapons, it's all very RNG based and it can be so tedious getting everything. Some of it feels fair, but some of it feels obtuse just for the sake of it, particularly the recipes.
Summary:
Overall, it's a fantastic game especially for a KS backed project. I'd love to see a sequel that has more support more time in the oven; it's been a while since this came out and I think it can only get better if they make more.
TL;DR - What if Alucard was a girl?
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
2018
Where it Shines:
Overpowered Combat - 7/10
Fun Spells - 7/10
Character Creator - 6/10
The Good:
Lost Ark surprised me. The combat from the get go, rather than gatekeeping you behind a few spells, just loads you to the tits with tons of fun abilities. Every spell is overpowered to the point of being ridiculous, and you consistently will one hit kill enemies and even bosses early one. I put in about 20~ hours so I didn't get into late game where it no doubt gets grindy, but those hours I put in where fun for the most part.
The Bad:
I mean, it's F2P hell. Tons of stupid events and gacha garbage and overpriced cosmetics and other nonsense constantly cluttering up the UI and your experience.
And as much as I just praised the combat, it's way, way, WAY too easy. I kept waiting for it to get a little more interesting, but it was just a one hit KO fest the entire 20 hours, which is a shame, because it is fun to use the abilities, but if it's too easy it becomes sort of pointless as you feel like you're just playing with cheats on.
There's also way too much dialogue. Every fucking character and their uncle has some story to tell you that goes on for several minutes that after a while you just start spamming skip because the story is basic and uninteresting anyway, and the NPC quests are even more so. Typical "Oh no I lost someone/something in this area, go get it for me" repeated ad infinitum.
Summary:
What I played of it was fun, but I think the most unfortunate part about this game is that it could have been a really, really cool experience if not dragged down by it's overly easy difficulty, verbose quests, and gacha garbage. If this was a proper diablo competitor and was around $30 without all the other crap dragging it down, it may have been a balanced and fun experience, and one of my top games of the year. But as it stands, I can't really recommend it over literally anything else in the genre.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Overpowered Combat - 7/10
Fun Spells - 7/10
Character Creator - 6/10
The Good:
Lost Ark surprised me. The combat from the get go, rather than gatekeeping you behind a few spells, just loads you to the tits with tons of fun abilities. Every spell is overpowered to the point of being ridiculous, and you consistently will one hit kill enemies and even bosses early one. I put in about 20~ hours so I didn't get into late game where it no doubt gets grindy, but those hours I put in where fun for the most part.
The Bad:
I mean, it's F2P hell. Tons of stupid events and gacha garbage and overpriced cosmetics and other nonsense constantly cluttering up the UI and your experience.
And as much as I just praised the combat, it's way, way, WAY too easy. I kept waiting for it to get a little more interesting, but it was just a one hit KO fest the entire 20 hours, which is a shame, because it is fun to use the abilities, but if it's too easy it becomes sort of pointless as you feel like you're just playing with cheats on.
There's also way too much dialogue. Every fucking character and their uncle has some story to tell you that goes on for several minutes that after a while you just start spamming skip because the story is basic and uninteresting anyway, and the NPC quests are even more so. Typical "Oh no I lost someone/something in this area, go get it for me" repeated ad infinitum.
Summary:
What I played of it was fun, but I think the most unfortunate part about this game is that it could have been a really, really cool experience if not dragged down by it's overly easy difficulty, verbose quests, and gacha garbage. If this was a proper diablo competitor and was around $30 without all the other crap dragging it down, it may have been a balanced and fun experience, and one of my top games of the year. But as it stands, I can't really recommend it over literally anything else in the genre.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
2019
Where it Shines:
Art Style - 7/10
Characters - 6/10
Representation - 6/10
The Good:
- Characters are interesting and plenty to unlock
- Metroidvania + RPG turn based combat is a very unique style that has potential
- Voice acting is decent
- Art style is really nice, colorful
- Story is half decent
The Bad:
The most major thing to note with this game being lowly rated is how the dev fucked over the project. There are entire sections of the game that are just unfinished and still have quests or dialogue prompts, but you can't progress or do anything with. It's depressing. That said, the game needed a lot more work and love:
- repetitive combat with samey enemies
- clunky controls and platforming, which is a no-no for metroidvanias
- half ass executes jrpg combat and platforming, doing neither all that well
- seems like it has way more depth (and probably may have eventually gotten there if not for the dev), but in reality is just unpolished.
- Priced at 50 bucks new is insanity
- plenty of bugs, particularly with enemy ai pathing
Summary:
Indivisible was a game I really, really wanted to like more. On paper, it seems like a great idea for a game. It's got the potential to combine to genres that don't really go together that often, had a charming cast of characters and endearing story, and a great art style. But you can see the holes in the project where the dev fucked the project over, rushed things, and just said "ah fuck it". It's a real shame, because this game, if given some more time in the oven, had the potential to be one of the most unique games I've ever played and a solid 4 out of 5. Would I recommend it? On sale, or on gamepass, sure. But go in with tempered expectations.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Art Style - 7/10
Characters - 6/10
Representation - 6/10
The Good:
- Characters are interesting and plenty to unlock
- Metroidvania + RPG turn based combat is a very unique style that has potential
- Voice acting is decent
- Art style is really nice, colorful
- Story is half decent
The Bad:
The most major thing to note with this game being lowly rated is how the dev fucked over the project. There are entire sections of the game that are just unfinished and still have quests or dialogue prompts, but you can't progress or do anything with. It's depressing. That said, the game needed a lot more work and love:
- repetitive combat with samey enemies
- clunky controls and platforming, which is a no-no for metroidvanias
- half ass executes jrpg combat and platforming, doing neither all that well
- seems like it has way more depth (and probably may have eventually gotten there if not for the dev), but in reality is just unpolished.
- Priced at 50 bucks new is insanity
- plenty of bugs, particularly with enemy ai pathing
Summary:
Indivisible was a game I really, really wanted to like more. On paper, it seems like a great idea for a game. It's got the potential to combine to genres that don't really go together that often, had a charming cast of characters and endearing story, and a great art style. But you can see the holes in the project where the dev fucked the project over, rushed things, and just said "ah fuck it". It's a real shame, because this game, if given some more time in the oven, had the potential to be one of the most unique games I've ever played and a solid 4 out of 5. Would I recommend it? On sale, or on gamepass, sure. But go in with tempered expectations.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
2019
Where it Shines:
Card System - 9/10
Replayability - 8/10
Custom Runs - 7/10
The Good:
StS is undoubtedly the gold standard for Rogue Like Deckbuilders. It deserves the praise it gets, for the most part.
Runs feel satisfying, you learn quickly, and the relics, shops, events, cards, etc, all feel really fun. It's definitely the "Just one more run..." game.
The game on steam also has an incredible modding community and there are tons of extra characters, modes, modifiers, and other changes to breathe life into the game once it gets stale.
The Bad:
For all it's praises, the game really does have a lot of flaws. It's easy to just 4 star review this and move on, but I want to highlight areas where I think it really desperately needs some attention.
- music is serviceable, but very generic
- artwork feels like an early 2000's flash game. You'd have expect to see homestarrunner and his gang pop in
- only 4 main characters, half of which are very basic and make runs too easy, the other half of which are overly complicated and runs feel like a coin toss
- good run customization, but the game needs a sandbox mode where you can experiment without restriction
- ported a ton of times over the last 6 years but no real improvements made at all
- some relics and run modifiers just flat out suck. Like trash garbage, unusable.
Summary:
So is it good or not? I think base StS, although hands down is the best out there, still has flaws that drag it down. However, it's still fun overall to play. Will you get bored of it? Sure, but that could be 20 hours in, 30, 40, 100...it depends on how into it you are. And then you can mod it to get even more life. It's probably the most average game I've put over a hundred hours into and counting, which is maybe why I'm so critical of it. I want it to be better. I want it to sound better, look better, play better. Because people keep making rogue like deckbuilders, and they keep trying to reinvent the wheel when StS has the fundamentals down pat. I just want someone to copy StS and give it the polish it deserves.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Card System - 9/10
Replayability - 8/10
Custom Runs - 7/10
The Good:
StS is undoubtedly the gold standard for Rogue Like Deckbuilders. It deserves the praise it gets, for the most part.
Runs feel satisfying, you learn quickly, and the relics, shops, events, cards, etc, all feel really fun. It's definitely the "Just one more run..." game.
The game on steam also has an incredible modding community and there are tons of extra characters, modes, modifiers, and other changes to breathe life into the game once it gets stale.
The Bad:
For all it's praises, the game really does have a lot of flaws. It's easy to just 4 star review this and move on, but I want to highlight areas where I think it really desperately needs some attention.
- music is serviceable, but very generic
- artwork feels like an early 2000's flash game. You'd have expect to see homestarrunner and his gang pop in
- only 4 main characters, half of which are very basic and make runs too easy, the other half of which are overly complicated and runs feel like a coin toss
- good run customization, but the game needs a sandbox mode where you can experiment without restriction
- ported a ton of times over the last 6 years but no real improvements made at all
- some relics and run modifiers just flat out suck. Like trash garbage, unusable.
Summary:
So is it good or not? I think base StS, although hands down is the best out there, still has flaws that drag it down. However, it's still fun overall to play. Will you get bored of it? Sure, but that could be 20 hours in, 30, 40, 100...it depends on how into it you are. And then you can mod it to get even more life. It's probably the most average game I've put over a hundred hours into and counting, which is maybe why I'm so critical of it. I want it to be better. I want it to sound better, look better, play better. Because people keep making rogue like deckbuilders, and they keep trying to reinvent the wheel when StS has the fundamentals down pat. I just want someone to copy StS and give it the polish it deserves.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Where it Shines:
Combat - 10/10
Art Style - 8/10
Music - 7/10
The Good:
In a sea of gacha anime games, Granblue Fantasy : Relink somehow manages to put together a complete package with no real MTX, a rewarding combat and upgrade system, great graphics and music, a ton of playable characters, and a story campaign as well as a multiplayer coop battle mode. The game really surprised me and has been a low key hit for me this year. One fight in particular was just so grand in scale and such a blast, and most of the boss battles are like that.
The Bad:
It's quite expensive for what it is - if you just want to play the story, you're looking at around 15 hours maybe. Pretty hard to justify an 80+ price tag with that. However, if you wind up playing past the campaign, there is a monster hunter style component to the game that can give you hundreds of additional hours. Though it may be a bit grindy at times.
This game also suffers from the anime trope of "more story = better story" and just shoves in a ridiculous amount of dialogue and exposition for what's essentially a pretty basic story.
Summary:
This is one worth getting on sale, but even at full price I have enjoyed every minute of it. I'd rather reward studios who aren't shoving MTX down our throats and delivering quality fun gameplay as opposed to studios who are nickel and diming us and shoving in boring stuff into their games to justify the price and give it a bigger gameplay length.
I haven't enjoyed a Final Fantasy game in ages, but Granblue Fantasy really scratched that itch.
TL;DR Zeta is best waifu
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Combat - 10/10
Art Style - 8/10
Music - 7/10
The Good:
In a sea of gacha anime games, Granblue Fantasy : Relink somehow manages to put together a complete package with no real MTX, a rewarding combat and upgrade system, great graphics and music, a ton of playable characters, and a story campaign as well as a multiplayer coop battle mode. The game really surprised me and has been a low key hit for me this year. One fight in particular was just so grand in scale and such a blast, and most of the boss battles are like that.
The Bad:
It's quite expensive for what it is - if you just want to play the story, you're looking at around 15 hours maybe. Pretty hard to justify an 80+ price tag with that. However, if you wind up playing past the campaign, there is a monster hunter style component to the game that can give you hundreds of additional hours. Though it may be a bit grindy at times.
This game also suffers from the anime trope of "more story = better story" and just shoves in a ridiculous amount of dialogue and exposition for what's essentially a pretty basic story.
Summary:
This is one worth getting on sale, but even at full price I have enjoyed every minute of it. I'd rather reward studios who aren't shoving MTX down our throats and delivering quality fun gameplay as opposed to studios who are nickel and diming us and shoving in boring stuff into their games to justify the price and give it a bigger gameplay length.
I haven't enjoyed a Final Fantasy game in ages, but Granblue Fantasy really scratched that itch.
TL;DR Zeta is best waifu
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
This "game" if you even can call it that, is pretty boring.
There is a lot of care and detail put into the idea of how a person with psychosis sees the world, which I appreciate, but the execution of the game and it's story is so bad that it would have been better off as a movie.
Typical gameplay:
- press forward to walk for 5 minutes, hearing incessant voices and dialogue in your head over and over
- find a "puzzle" where you press a button to focus in on something, then look around to find another thing that looks like it
- do some combat I guess, which is serviceable, but very basic
- experience the "story" which is almost entirely exposition dumping and a narration that is so far up it's own ass trying to be interesting
Maybe you'll love the game based on the merit of it's pros, mainly the stunning visuals and mocap, and the respectful treatment of mental illness. However, this one really didn't do it for me. There are better games out there that tell better stories and do a better job telling them.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
There is a lot of care and detail put into the idea of how a person with psychosis sees the world, which I appreciate, but the execution of the game and it's story is so bad that it would have been better off as a movie.
Typical gameplay:
- press forward to walk for 5 minutes, hearing incessant voices and dialogue in your head over and over
- find a "puzzle" where you press a button to focus in on something, then look around to find another thing that looks like it
- do some combat I guess, which is serviceable, but very basic
- experience the "story" which is almost entirely exposition dumping and a narration that is so far up it's own ass trying to be interesting
Maybe you'll love the game based on the merit of it's pros, mainly the stunning visuals and mocap, and the respectful treatment of mental illness. However, this one really didn't do it for me. There are better games out there that tell better stories and do a better job telling them.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
2023
This game had all the right ideas and none of the execution.
ALL it should be is a squad based, mech suit shooter, where you kill dinosaurs. Instead, it somehow manages to bungle even that basic premise.
Takeaways:
- Combat feels so clunky. Hit boxes and detection are so weird. Dinosaurs are smaller than you sometimes, so you will aim down at them, but it won't hit. Then you aim above them and it lands. It's insane. Melee attacks especially suffer from this, and often you will swing your sword or whatever and think you would take out every dino in your radius, but it doesn't. There are also random power attacks that don't do area of affect by their graphic, but somehow kill enemies nowhere near the blast. Hard to get good at a game where the hit detection makes 0 sense
- There is SO MUCH STORY. No, that's not a good thing. It's boring, it's overly complex, there are a bunch of characters that you don't give a crap about, and for a game that should just pop you into the action so you can pew pew some dinos, there are way too many cutscenes. I played for an hour and maybe 20 minutes of that was gameplay. Like seriously, get in the mech, shoot the dino should be all there is to it.
- There is no one online anymore. I queed up for 5 minutes and it just put me with a full bot team and a full enemy bot team.
This game should have been a homerun but is a just a swing and a miss somehow. It only came out a year ago and has nobody playing, despite even being on gamepass.
TL;DR - Just let me shoot some goddamn dinos in a mech suit
ALL it should be is a squad based, mech suit shooter, where you kill dinosaurs. Instead, it somehow manages to bungle even that basic premise.
Takeaways:
- Combat feels so clunky. Hit boxes and detection are so weird. Dinosaurs are smaller than you sometimes, so you will aim down at them, but it won't hit. Then you aim above them and it lands. It's insane. Melee attacks especially suffer from this, and often you will swing your sword or whatever and think you would take out every dino in your radius, but it doesn't. There are also random power attacks that don't do area of affect by their graphic, but somehow kill enemies nowhere near the blast. Hard to get good at a game where the hit detection makes 0 sense
- There is SO MUCH STORY. No, that's not a good thing. It's boring, it's overly complex, there are a bunch of characters that you don't give a crap about, and for a game that should just pop you into the action so you can pew pew some dinos, there are way too many cutscenes. I played for an hour and maybe 20 minutes of that was gameplay. Like seriously, get in the mech, shoot the dino should be all there is to it.
- There is no one online anymore. I queed up for 5 minutes and it just put me with a full bot team and a full enemy bot team.
This game should have been a homerun but is a just a swing and a miss somehow. It only came out a year ago and has nobody playing, despite even being on gamepass.
TL;DR - Just let me shoot some goddamn dinos in a mech suit
2019
This isn't a "servers are overloaded so thumbs down" review. Rather, I think the game still needs more time in the oven to justify a $45 launch price. It still tremendously feels like a beta, and has a ton of things that just make the experience less than optimal.
For example:
- stuttering and framerate issues
- option to enable vsync grayed out and unchangeable, so you're SOL if you got screen tearing
- it has a windowed borderless option, which has a border lol. like wut
- controller support is very rough. Some things are done via right stick emulating mouse movement, others feel console like. But it's not a pleasant experience outside of m+kb
- The UI needs some better readability and scaling
Overall, I think this game has tons of potential. I am excited to see how it shapes up in a year or two. But there are better more polished experiences I would rather spend my $45 on, and heck, POE2 is around the corner anyway.
For example:
- stuttering and framerate issues
- option to enable vsync grayed out and unchangeable, so you're SOL if you got screen tearing
- it has a windowed borderless option, which has a border lol. like wut
- controller support is very rough. Some things are done via right stick emulating mouse movement, others feel console like. But it's not a pleasant experience outside of m+kb
- The UI needs some better readability and scaling
Overall, I think this game has tons of potential. I am excited to see how it shapes up in a year or two. But there are better more polished experiences I would rather spend my $45 on, and heck, POE2 is around the corner anyway.
2019
Where it Shines:
Remaster - 8/10
Scary - 8/10
The Good:
A high quality remaster, recaptures the original well and is definitely scary. A solid throwback to the days when they actually could call it resident evil because it takes place in a residence XD
The Bad:
I hate the breakable knife. I understand in these types of games you're not meant to have a power fantasy and knife stuff to death, but I just don't think the fact that his game has a lot of backtracking AND you can't really reliably kill most of the enemies makes for a lot of frustrating situations where you have zombies left wandering around. I understand that is probably the point, but personally, this was a drawback.
Summary:
YMMV on this game, but I just don't particularly like the horror genre to begin with and I found this one to be less fun that RE4. Still worth playing for fans of the genre, just not to my personal taste, which is fine.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Remaster - 8/10
Scary - 8/10
The Good:
A high quality remaster, recaptures the original well and is definitely scary. A solid throwback to the days when they actually could call it resident evil because it takes place in a residence XD
The Bad:
I hate the breakable knife. I understand in these types of games you're not meant to have a power fantasy and knife stuff to death, but I just don't think the fact that his game has a lot of backtracking AND you can't really reliably kill most of the enemies makes for a lot of frustrating situations where you have zombies left wandering around. I understand that is probably the point, but personally, this was a drawback.
Summary:
YMMV on this game, but I just don't particularly like the horror genre to begin with and I found this one to be less fun that RE4. Still worth playing for fans of the genre, just not to my personal taste, which is fine.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite