ThomVD
2021
Hoa is as stressfree and gentle as a game can possibly get. There is no way to take damage or die, and at worst you get set back just a little bit. The puzzles and platforming are very simple and easy. On top of that, the "bosses" at the end of each level aren't there for you fight but rather they help you out by giving you a new power that you can use to advance to the next area. This doesn't mean that the gameplay is boring, it does just enough to make it enjoyable for its duration.
Every minute of Hoa is designed to make you feel relaxed and not to challenge you. This allows the game to focus on its biggest strength. Immersing and moving the player with its stunning audiovisual presentation. It reminded me of Journey in that regard. Both the art style and soundtrack is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. Sweeping piano melodies that perfectly create a sense of wonder, and a warm and colourful art style with a heavy focus on nature. There were one or two places with some framedrops but nothing that harms the gameplay all too much.
The game is not for everyone however. The lack of challenge will likely turn players off. It's also only 2 to 3 hours long depending on how much you take your time to take in the scenery. There is very little to explore and the replay value is low. I'd say it's only worth the €12 if you generally appreciate these artsy games like Journey, Limbo, etc. For the right target audience it's a beautiful and relaxing experience that will make for a magical afternoon or evening.
Every minute of Hoa is designed to make you feel relaxed and not to challenge you. This allows the game to focus on its biggest strength. Immersing and moving the player with its stunning audiovisual presentation. It reminded me of Journey in that regard. Both the art style and soundtrack is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. Sweeping piano melodies that perfectly create a sense of wonder, and a warm and colourful art style with a heavy focus on nature. There were one or two places with some framedrops but nothing that harms the gameplay all too much.
The game is not for everyone however. The lack of challenge will likely turn players off. It's also only 2 to 3 hours long depending on how much you take your time to take in the scenery. There is very little to explore and the replay value is low. I'd say it's only worth the €12 if you generally appreciate these artsy games like Journey, Limbo, etc. For the right target audience it's a beautiful and relaxing experience that will make for a magical afternoon or evening.
2021
This game caught my eye because of its pretty art style and then resided on my wishlist, until it was discounted and I decided to pick it up and play it. I had no expectations going into it, but I cannot express in words how grateful I am that I discovered this gem, as it not only touched me deeply, but also inspired me to push on during a rough time in my life.
Sumire is a narrative-driven “point and click” style adventure game about a young girl that shares her name with the game’s title. She’s going through a difficult phase, having just lost her grandma, who served as the anchor in her life. Her parents have separated, with her dad having disappeared and her mom being depressed and barely capable of taking care of herself and Sumire. Sumire and her previous best friend have also drifted apart as they grew up. She’s lonely and struggles with seeing perspective in her future and having joy in living. One day she meets a flower who only lives for one day, and wants Sumire to take it out with her, making the most of that one single day that the flower has to live. This pushes Sumire to go out of her comfort zone, to experience things she has deep downside wanted to do, to not leave anything unspoken. To be true to her feelings.
Sumire is a coming of age story about grief, loss, growing apart, depression, love and divorce with a bittersweet, at times depressing tone. But above all, it’s hopeful. It shows that any day can make a difference in your life. That those that you’ve lost can still live on inside of you, through your actions, through the impact they’ve had on you as a person. It’s about how you shouldn’t take anything for granted, and how time is limited and you should make the most of it. Do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Sumire brings across its story and messages in such a beautiful, picture-book style way. The writing is excellent, tackling deep and complex themes without ever coming across as pretentious. It is mostly on the nose and easy to follow, but not without its moments of subtlety. Moments where no words are needed. For example a bus ride with no dialogue, just with music and reflection. It gives the audience time to reflect as well, on the story of the game but also on their own lives. With its short 3 hour run-time, it’s impressive how it manages to make most of its cast feel fully realized. Narratively, it’s so well paced and manages to tell a compact yet meaningful story that should be experienced in a single sitting.
Gameplay-wise, the game is nothing special. It mostly consists of making choices that, as far as I know, don’t affect the rest of the story all that significantly. It has a couple of fun simple mini games, some walking around, finding items that may be of use somewhere else. A bit of exploring the picturesque and somewhat mysterious Japanese village in the countryside. The gameplay is definitely not the highlight of the game, but it’s unobtrusive and gently guides the player through the story. There is also not a ton of replay value, despite being able to make different choices giving you the chance to be nice to everyone or a complete ass. To me it just feels that the “evil” choices go so strongly against Sumire’s character and the messages in the story that it’s only really worth going through again for curiosity’s sake.
Sumire is a game that deserves way more attention than it’s currently getting. While it may be lacking in terms of gameplay and length, it tells a genuinely touching, sincere story that might resonate with many who are struggling with certain aspects of life. Whether it’s coping with the loss of a loved one, having drifted apart from a significant other or friend, having to deal with the divorce of parents, or simply just feeling dissatisfied with life. Sumire tells everyone that it’s going to be okay and that it only takes one day to make changes in your life for the better. And that has helped me through a slump, which I'll always be grateful for.
Sumire is a narrative-driven “point and click” style adventure game about a young girl that shares her name with the game’s title. She’s going through a difficult phase, having just lost her grandma, who served as the anchor in her life. Her parents have separated, with her dad having disappeared and her mom being depressed and barely capable of taking care of herself and Sumire. Sumire and her previous best friend have also drifted apart as they grew up. She’s lonely and struggles with seeing perspective in her future and having joy in living. One day she meets a flower who only lives for one day, and wants Sumire to take it out with her, making the most of that one single day that the flower has to live. This pushes Sumire to go out of her comfort zone, to experience things she has deep downside wanted to do, to not leave anything unspoken. To be true to her feelings.
Sumire is a coming of age story about grief, loss, growing apart, depression, love and divorce with a bittersweet, at times depressing tone. But above all, it’s hopeful. It shows that any day can make a difference in your life. That those that you’ve lost can still live on inside of you, through your actions, through the impact they’ve had on you as a person. It’s about how you shouldn’t take anything for granted, and how time is limited and you should make the most of it. Do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Sumire brings across its story and messages in such a beautiful, picture-book style way. The writing is excellent, tackling deep and complex themes without ever coming across as pretentious. It is mostly on the nose and easy to follow, but not without its moments of subtlety. Moments where no words are needed. For example a bus ride with no dialogue, just with music and reflection. It gives the audience time to reflect as well, on the story of the game but also on their own lives. With its short 3 hour run-time, it’s impressive how it manages to make most of its cast feel fully realized. Narratively, it’s so well paced and manages to tell a compact yet meaningful story that should be experienced in a single sitting.
Gameplay-wise, the game is nothing special. It mostly consists of making choices that, as far as I know, don’t affect the rest of the story all that significantly. It has a couple of fun simple mini games, some walking around, finding items that may be of use somewhere else. A bit of exploring the picturesque and somewhat mysterious Japanese village in the countryside. The gameplay is definitely not the highlight of the game, but it’s unobtrusive and gently guides the player through the story. There is also not a ton of replay value, despite being able to make different choices giving you the chance to be nice to everyone or a complete ass. To me it just feels that the “evil” choices go so strongly against Sumire’s character and the messages in the story that it’s only really worth going through again for curiosity’s sake.
Sumire is a game that deserves way more attention than it’s currently getting. While it may be lacking in terms of gameplay and length, it tells a genuinely touching, sincere story that might resonate with many who are struggling with certain aspects of life. Whether it’s coping with the loss of a loved one, having drifted apart from a significant other or friend, having to deal with the divorce of parents, or simply just feeling dissatisfied with life. Sumire tells everyone that it’s going to be okay and that it only takes one day to make changes in your life for the better. And that has helped me through a slump, which I'll always be grateful for.
2018
A game that tells you that a romantic relationship is not a necessity to be happy in life, which is something many people tend to forget. We can find happiness in many things, whether it's our jobs, passions, family, friends or a mix of them.
It's charming and makes clever use of gameplay elements to portray/symbolize certain feelings and events, but a bit too short and simple to really leave an impact.
It's charming and makes clever use of gameplay elements to portray/symbolize certain feelings and events, but a bit too short and simple to really leave an impact.
1993
Kirby's Adventure has aged quite well for a NES game. While it's not quite up to Super Mario Bros 3's levels of timelessness, it's still by far one of the most pleasant, frustration-free, accessible and fun experiences to be found on the system.
Visually it's quite impressive with its unique colour palette and amount of detail when it comes to Kirby's animations. The gameplay is kept varied by the surprisingly large amount of transformations and fun bosses. The difficulty is on the easy side, but never to the point of being boring.
By today's standards, Kirby's Adventure is nothing extraordinary and I'm sure that later games in the franchise will go on to perfect and expand the formula, but I think for its time and platform it was released on, it's a great game.
Visually it's quite impressive with its unique colour palette and amount of detail when it comes to Kirby's animations. The gameplay is kept varied by the surprisingly large amount of transformations and fun bosses. The difficulty is on the easy side, but never to the point of being boring.
By today's standards, Kirby's Adventure is nothing extraordinary and I'm sure that later games in the franchise will go on to perfect and expand the formula, but I think for its time and platform it was released on, it's a great game.
2021
It's pretty impressive how much mileage they got out of such a simple concept. It's a fun game while it lasts, with a lot of meta jokes, references to movies and games, even some criticism on the gaming industry, and a wide variety of genres from tower defense to stealth. And most importantly, a lot of ruining other people's days . How dare those hoomans chill on the beach enjoying the sunny weather!
2020
To call this just a tech demo is selling it short; this is actually a great little game. It brings the innovation and pure joy/charm of a 3D Mario game, albeit on a much smaller scale. Excellent showcase of what the dualsense is capable of (which is quite a lot, honestly. What a great controller), a well designed 3D platformer and a love letter to the history of Playstation. The fact that this is given to us free of charge is generosity that is rare to find nowadays in the gaming industry.
"Why don't you come to the planetarium?
The beautiful twinkling of eternity that will never fade, no matter what.
All the stars in the sky are waiting for you."
Planetarian is a touching story about a man who is trying to scavenge for supplies in a wartorn city coming across an old planetarium and an abandoned robot girl who still attending the place. A remaining relic of a lost civilization. The juxtaposition between the bleak, cold, rainy outside world and the dreamy, warm, peaceful planetarium with its purehearted, vibrant hostess affected me a lot. A star shines brightest in a dark night sky after all.
The beautiful twinkling of eternity that will never fade, no matter what.
All the stars in the sky are waiting for you."
Planetarian is a touching story about a man who is trying to scavenge for supplies in a wartorn city coming across an old planetarium and an abandoned robot girl who still attending the place. A remaining relic of a lost civilization. The juxtaposition between the bleak, cold, rainy outside world and the dreamy, warm, peaceful planetarium with its purehearted, vibrant hostess affected me a lot. A star shines brightest in a dark night sky after all.
A coming of age summer adventure set on a tropical island in Japan. It has romance with one of two lovable gals, a treasure hunt involving a ghost ship, scuba diving, some family drama and an adorable dolphin side character. Short, simple, good fun.
2009
This game has one of the deepest, most complex and fluid combat systems out of the action games I've played. Unfortunately Hideki Kamiya always seems to find ways to distract you from the fun combat his games offer. This time it's in the form of:
-Overly long and frequent (thankfully skippable) cutscenes telling an absolutely nonsensial story and taking you out of the gameplay flow.
-Clunky menus and a lot of confusing and unexplained gameplay elements.
-Set pieces and flying/motorcycle missions that drag on way too long and aren't particularly fun.
-Cheap moments where bosses or enemies attack you pretty much the second a cutscene ends that you can only avoid if you spam dodge straight away.
-Awful camera at times.
-Insta-kill QTEs.
-Hit/miss bosses.
And despite all that, this game is still worth playing for any action fan. That shows just how solid the core combat is. Hopefully the sequel will fix some of this game's issues and maybe then I can find a game that I can love without any reservations.
-Overly long and frequent (thankfully skippable) cutscenes telling an absolutely nonsensial story and taking you out of the gameplay flow.
-Clunky menus and a lot of confusing and unexplained gameplay elements.
-Set pieces and flying/motorcycle missions that drag on way too long and aren't particularly fun.
-Cheap moments where bosses or enemies attack you pretty much the second a cutscene ends that you can only avoid if you spam dodge straight away.
-Awful camera at times.
-Insta-kill QTEs.
-Hit/miss bosses.
And despite all that, this game is still worth playing for any action fan. That shows just how solid the core combat is. Hopefully the sequel will fix some of this game's issues and maybe then I can find a game that I can love without any reservations.
Ef - a fairy tale of the two is a romantic drama VN that has several intertwining stories about characters dealing with their own set of hardships regarding interpersonal relationships. These stories touch upon themes like ambition, rejection, jealousy, grief, abuse, tragedy, the importance of memory and many others. Ultimately all those separate stories come together in one final act that wraps it all in a touching package. It's a unique and intensely emotional experience.
One aspect that immediately stands out is its presentation. Despite its age, Ef's production values are immense. With over a thousand (!) unique CGs, lipsynching and blinking, fully animated opening and ending sequences and lightly animated walking sequences, it's a visual delight and feels truly alive. You rarely ever look at the same image for long. Every little moment of the story gets its own visual. Combine this with a huge and high quality soundtrack and the whole story feels dynamic and continuously distinctive.
The majority of the (female) characters are well written and have their own role to play in this web of interconnected tales. Unfortunately there was one of five chapters that just didn't quite live up to the rest of the VN, and while it's not entirely worthless and irrelevant, it does feel like a small blemish on an otherwise tightly written story.
Overall, Ef is a wonderful, emotional, heavy and memorable VN experience that fully delivers in the visual, sound and writing departments.
One aspect that immediately stands out is its presentation. Despite its age, Ef's production values are immense. With over a thousand (!) unique CGs, lipsynching and blinking, fully animated opening and ending sequences and lightly animated walking sequences, it's a visual delight and feels truly alive. You rarely ever look at the same image for long. Every little moment of the story gets its own visual. Combine this with a huge and high quality soundtrack and the whole story feels dynamic and continuously distinctive.
The majority of the (female) characters are well written and have their own role to play in this web of interconnected tales. Unfortunately there was one of five chapters that just didn't quite live up to the rest of the VN, and while it's not entirely worthless and irrelevant, it does feel like a small blemish on an otherwise tightly written story.
Overall, Ef is a wonderful, emotional, heavy and memorable VN experience that fully delivers in the visual, sound and writing departments.
Another great entry to the indie metroidvania Souls-like genre. Has more of a focus on action than on exploration. The level design is nothing to write home about, but the combat system allows for a lot of customization and variety. On top of that, the atmosphere, while very reminiscent of Hollow Knight, is hauntingly beautiful. The bosses are great, enemy variety/design is good and the difficulty curve is pretty spot on. Challenging enough while rarely being frustrating. It's not quite up there with the best of the genre like Hollow Knight and Ori, but it's most definitely above average and well worth your time if you're into this stuff.
A sweet enemies-turned-lovers yuri VN containing a mystery that doesn't quite yet resolved but instead gives us a "to be continued". It's a lovely read with good voice acting/art and the romance feels conclusive but I want to learn more about the mystery before I can really know how I feel about it.
I miss these kind of simple traditional 2D platformers. Lots of fun to play, borrowing heavy from the Donkey Kong Country games while having enough individuality to stand on its own. The masks add variety to spice the gameplay up, the difficulty of the levels are just right though the secrets aren't particularly hard to find. Doesn't overstay its welcome either. Should take about 6-8 hours to 100%. Recommended for platformer fans.
2012
Surprisingly neat and compact little story with great music and sound effects. Nice way to spend an hour.
2022
A 2D action RPG/metroidvania/platformer that is also a throwback to the 8bit era. Surprisingly fair when it comes to its difficulty, there were very few deaths where I felt like I couldn't have avoided it. I do think that the bosses are a bit too easy, with you having a lot of healing tools at your disposal, as well as very generous i-frames to tank through their hits instead of bothering to dodge and learn the patterns. Which is a shame because the bosses are otherwise pretty well designed. The art style and music are charming and the gameplay never got dull. Just a solid lil game.