Tyraynor
I was originally blown away when I first started playing, beautiful 2.5D graphics, incredible music, and an interesting premise of a plot.
But then after playing for a while the faults made themselves more and more clear. In the main plot, you’re just a bystander for the most part. Occasionally an actual important character will say something to the effect of “Hmm, you’re very interesting, I want to what you’ll do.” But other than that the player has little relevance to the plot.
As for the plot itself, it’s either poorly written or poorly translated. One quest line had constant plot twists just for the sake of having constant plot twists, and instead of making the characters these twists revolve around seem interesting, it just came off as convoluted and boring.
Character quests aren’t much better. I didn’t do all of them, but most of the ones I did do boiled down to: “Help me talk to this person I just met so we can fall in love and get married.”
Combat is… fine, and the the music is still great, but you can just play their Bravely Default series instead.
But then after playing for a while the faults made themselves more and more clear. In the main plot, you’re just a bystander for the most part. Occasionally an actual important character will say something to the effect of “Hmm, you’re very interesting, I want to what you’ll do.” But other than that the player has little relevance to the plot.
As for the plot itself, it’s either poorly written or poorly translated. One quest line had constant plot twists just for the sake of having constant plot twists, and instead of making the characters these twists revolve around seem interesting, it just came off as convoluted and boring.
Character quests aren’t much better. I didn’t do all of them, but most of the ones I did do boiled down to: “Help me talk to this person I just met so we can fall in love and get married.”
Combat is… fine, and the the music is still great, but you can just play their Bravely Default series instead.
2017
Short and sweet game that perfectly captures the chaos and style of early 90’s shmups. But play this in an arcade that has unlimited free plays.
2019
Gnosia is a werewolf type game where you play against AI instead of players. Fun in theory, but werewolf is a social game.
The gameplay is fine enough as is, but gets repetitive really quick. It doesn’t help that the ‘discussions’ are just characters throwing random, typically generic and personalityless comments at each other.
Whoever dies or get voted out feels pretty random sometimes, no matter how the discussion went.
There are some interesting bits that you can learn about the AI characters, but you have to go out of your way to create specific scenarios for most of them, which can be hard sometimes.
I personally love most of the character designs, and the music is pretty good too.
I recommend playing in short bursts so you don’t burn yourself out on it.
The gameplay is fine enough as is, but gets repetitive really quick. It doesn’t help that the ‘discussions’ are just characters throwing random, typically generic and personalityless comments at each other.
Whoever dies or get voted out feels pretty random sometimes, no matter how the discussion went.
There are some interesting bits that you can learn about the AI characters, but you have to go out of your way to create specific scenarios for most of them, which can be hard sometimes.
I personally love most of the character designs, and the music is pretty good too.
I recommend playing in short bursts so you don’t burn yourself out on it.
2021
Probably one of the best co-op games I’ve ever played. Unlike most most co-op games where you just beat up a bunch of enemies together, you and your partner actually have to cooperate and put your brains together to solve puzzles. It’s kinda Portal 2, but with marriage problems instead of physics.
Each level has different and unique co-op gimmicks, and you and your partner have to figure the right ways to use them to solve the puzzles.
The only real big issue I have is that it ended kinda abruptly. It could’ve used two or three more levels to help with pacing out the ending. Or even just one enormous level where you go through a combination of all of the different gimmicks you’ve mastered throughout the game to truly test you and your partner.
A great game for couples, or even just friends.
Each level has different and unique co-op gimmicks, and you and your partner have to figure the right ways to use them to solve the puzzles.
The only real big issue I have is that it ended kinda abruptly. It could’ve used two or three more levels to help with pacing out the ending. Or even just one enormous level where you go through a combination of all of the different gimmicks you’ve mastered throughout the game to truly test you and your partner.
A great game for couples, or even just friends.
Studio Ghibli + Pokemon, a seemingly great idea come to life. The world is beautiful, the creature designs are fantastic, and the story hooks you in at the very beginning.
However, that’s were all the good things end. It takes a while to even get your first creature, and even longer to unlock the ability to capture more of them.
Combat, while it has an interesting mechanic of being able to switch between the human characters and their monster friends, can be pretty slow at times. In order to capture more monsters, you need to control a certain party member, a character you won’t get until after the second or third dungeon, and have them use a certain skill on the monster. But you have to defeat the monster first, hope that it has hearts over its head instead of just leaving, and switch to the specific party member and use their skill within a short amount of time. That’s assuming you can even get the monster you want to even spawn, as some monsters have extremely low appearance rates.
The world is really big, which is good, but you don’t unlock any form of fast travel until pretty far in the game, and even you still have to do a LOT of walking. You can unlock the ability to move faster on the map… after you 100% the game.
The story is still excellent, up until about the last third or fourth part of the game. In the original version, you finally get to the antagonist, defeat them, and then the game just ends right there. In this version, after you beat the main antagonist, another boss randomly shows up, you defeat them, and then the game just ends after that.
It’s a shame that such an amazing idea and story ended up being wasted potential.
However, that’s were all the good things end. It takes a while to even get your first creature, and even longer to unlock the ability to capture more of them.
Combat, while it has an interesting mechanic of being able to switch between the human characters and their monster friends, can be pretty slow at times. In order to capture more monsters, you need to control a certain party member, a character you won’t get until after the second or third dungeon, and have them use a certain skill on the monster. But you have to defeat the monster first, hope that it has hearts over its head instead of just leaving, and switch to the specific party member and use their skill within a short amount of time. That’s assuming you can even get the monster you want to even spawn, as some monsters have extremely low appearance rates.
The world is really big, which is good, but you don’t unlock any form of fast travel until pretty far in the game, and even you still have to do a LOT of walking. You can unlock the ability to move faster on the map… after you 100% the game.
The story is still excellent, up until about the last third or fourth part of the game. In the original version, you finally get to the antagonist, defeat them, and then the game just ends right there. In this version, after you beat the main antagonist, another boss randomly shows up, you defeat them, and then the game just ends after that.
It’s a shame that such an amazing idea and story ended up being wasted potential.
2016
Very beautiful game. Even has some educational elements to an extent. Sometimes I come back to this game just to watch the fish swim around.
I’d say that this is a great game for kids for to play, you just need to sit with them, as the controls can be difficult to get used to, and sometimes it can be kinda hard to figure out where you need to go.
I’d say that this is a great game for kids for to play, you just need to sit with them, as the controls can be difficult to get used to, and sometimes it can be kinda hard to figure out where you need to go.
2020
A really great free to play edutainment game.
A game that teaches children about environmentalism and finances is strange combination to be sure, but it works.
The world is cute and colorful, and the basic gameplay elements will draw children in. However some of the banking mechanics can be a bit difficult for children to understand, so an adult will probably need to play with them to help them understand.
The only real problems this game has are that the platforming segments can be a bit wonky, NPCs remind you of your objectives a little too often, and a big part of the gameplay is tedious inventory management.
The main game feels a little short, but the DLC makes up for it. The DLC is not only cheap, but the proceeds go towards a charity known as Special Effect, a charity for helping disabled children.
Great for casual play, or for spending time with a younger relative.
A game that teaches children about environmentalism and finances is strange combination to be sure, but it works.
The world is cute and colorful, and the basic gameplay elements will draw children in. However some of the banking mechanics can be a bit difficult for children to understand, so an adult will probably need to play with them to help them understand.
The only real problems this game has are that the platforming segments can be a bit wonky, NPCs remind you of your objectives a little too often, and a big part of the gameplay is tedious inventory management.
The main game feels a little short, but the DLC makes up for it. The DLC is not only cheap, but the proceeds go towards a charity known as Special Effect, a charity for helping disabled children.
Great for casual play, or for spending time with a younger relative.
An extremely underrated entry of the Final Fantasy franchise that gets a lot of flak for no real reason.
A large cast of playable characters, each with different playstyles and personalities. A unique mechanic where you have to harvest the corpses of enemies you kill to be be able to use spells or abilities. A storyline that changes on your second playthrough.
The story tackles the conflicts of war in a serious way, with some of the cutscenes playing like a World War era news broadcast.
My only real problem is that you can only get one ultimate weapon per playthrough, and not only does the boss required to get that ultimate weapon not unlock until your fourth playthrough, but the weapon you unlock is random.
Some character playstyles aren’t for everybody, and there are some levels where you don’t have access to certain characters or groups of characters, so it can be though if you’re being forced to play a character you don’t like playing as.
If you’re like me, who has been somewhat dissatisfied with recent Final Fantasy games, I’d definitely give this a play.
A large cast of playable characters, each with different playstyles and personalities. A unique mechanic where you have to harvest the corpses of enemies you kill to be be able to use spells or abilities. A storyline that changes on your second playthrough.
The story tackles the conflicts of war in a serious way, with some of the cutscenes playing like a World War era news broadcast.
My only real problem is that you can only get one ultimate weapon per playthrough, and not only does the boss required to get that ultimate weapon not unlock until your fourth playthrough, but the weapon you unlock is random.
Some character playstyles aren’t for everybody, and there are some levels where you don’t have access to certain characters or groups of characters, so it can be though if you’re being forced to play a character you don’t like playing as.
If you’re like me, who has been somewhat dissatisfied with recent Final Fantasy games, I’d definitely give this a play.
2018
An incredibly fun game. Spider-Man games rarely disappoint, and this one is no exception.
The combat is basically a Spider-Man flavor of the Batman: Arkham series’ combat, which isn’t a bad thing in this case.
Web-slinging throughout the city is extremely fun, you kinda don’t want to stop to do other objectives sometimes.
The story is engaging and feels real, something that I feel has always been of the strongest points of the majority of the Spider-Man series.
My only problems, are that story is a little short, and the Sinister Six has little to no involvement, being defeated shortly after being introduced.
Overall, a great game for Spider-Man fans, or for someone wanting to get into Spider-Man.
The combat is basically a Spider-Man flavor of the Batman: Arkham series’ combat, which isn’t a bad thing in this case.
Web-slinging throughout the city is extremely fun, you kinda don’t want to stop to do other objectives sometimes.
The story is engaging and feels real, something that I feel has always been of the strongest points of the majority of the Spider-Man series.
My only problems, are that story is a little short, and the Sinister Six has little to no involvement, being defeated shortly after being introduced.
Overall, a great game for Spider-Man fans, or for someone wanting to get into Spider-Man.
2017
An amazingly beautiful world, with fun combat, and a mostly competently written story.
The games biggest weakness is the protagonist, Aloy. I’ve never been a fan Ashley Burch’s voice acting, and her performance as Aloy doesn’t do me any favors. There’s also the way other characters act towards Aloy. They either love and worship her from the second they lay eyes on her, or they’re a misogynistic pig. There is almost no in between.
The combat is fresh and fun, for the most part. It can feel a bit repetitive at times, and some fights are more annoying than they are challenging. But every fight is still rewarding.
Check it out if you want a fresh new open world to explore and play in.
The games biggest weakness is the protagonist, Aloy. I’ve never been a fan Ashley Burch’s voice acting, and her performance as Aloy doesn’t do me any favors. There’s also the way other characters act towards Aloy. They either love and worship her from the second they lay eyes on her, or they’re a misogynistic pig. There is almost no in between.
The combat is fresh and fun, for the most part. It can feel a bit repetitive at times, and some fights are more annoying than they are challenging. But every fight is still rewarding.
Check it out if you want a fresh new open world to explore and play in.
2019
A run of the mill JRPG with some unique mechanics.
The biggest problem is that the story opens up on what feels like what should be the third of fourth part of game. The characters already have history with each other, and interact well with each other. They have one final destination to get to, and it’s about 3 or 4 hours of gameplay away. You have a final confrontation with a rival group shortly before the last dungeon.
But there’s no buildup to any of this. And then the games with a strange and somewhat predictable plot twist.
It’s fun enough, and the characters are fine, but wait for it to be on sale if want to play it, definitely not worth full price.
The biggest problem is that the story opens up on what feels like what should be the third of fourth part of game. The characters already have history with each other, and interact well with each other. They have one final destination to get to, and it’s about 3 or 4 hours of gameplay away. You have a final confrontation with a rival group shortly before the last dungeon.
But there’s no buildup to any of this. And then the games with a strange and somewhat predictable plot twist.
It’s fun enough, and the characters are fine, but wait for it to be on sale if want to play it, definitely not worth full price.
2018
A game that starts with an interesting premise, but ultimately fails to live up to its potential.
There is an interesting mechanic where you switch between a VN style ‘real world’ and the in universe video game. The idea is that things that happen in one universe would change something in the other one, but all of these events are required for gameplay progression, taking the fun out of the idea.
Another mechanic that’s neat in theory is that enemies can bounce off of walls and each other, depending on far your attacks launch them, making take more damage. But a majority of the time the enemy is dead before the damage bonus comes into play.
There’s another mechanic that claims to change the game to a different genre, but they are all just unfun mini games.
The ‘real world’ characters are fine, and talk about interesting things pertaining to the plot. The ‘video game’ characters on the other hand, are mostly annoying waifu bait anime girls that drone on and on about things that usually don’t pertain to the overall plot.
As for the plot itself, it starts out simple enough, with an interesting premise too, but it kinda falls flat at the end. The ‘game world’ constantly brings up supernatural real world phenomena, but is actually completely unrelated to anything, other than getting the ‘real world’ protagonist to investigate certain areas.
Sometimes plot events just happen with little to no build up. There’s a random fourth wall break near the end that tries to make some kind of meta narrative (think Bravely Default but with awful writing), but it’s pretty meaningless.
Just don’t bother with this game.
There is an interesting mechanic where you switch between a VN style ‘real world’ and the in universe video game. The idea is that things that happen in one universe would change something in the other one, but all of these events are required for gameplay progression, taking the fun out of the idea.
Another mechanic that’s neat in theory is that enemies can bounce off of walls and each other, depending on far your attacks launch them, making take more damage. But a majority of the time the enemy is dead before the damage bonus comes into play.
There’s another mechanic that claims to change the game to a different genre, but they are all just unfun mini games.
The ‘real world’ characters are fine, and talk about interesting things pertaining to the plot. The ‘video game’ characters on the other hand, are mostly annoying waifu bait anime girls that drone on and on about things that usually don’t pertain to the overall plot.
As for the plot itself, it starts out simple enough, with an interesting premise too, but it kinda falls flat at the end. The ‘game world’ constantly brings up supernatural real world phenomena, but is actually completely unrelated to anything, other than getting the ‘real world’ protagonist to investigate certain areas.
Sometimes plot events just happen with little to no build up. There’s a random fourth wall break near the end that tries to make some kind of meta narrative (think Bravely Default but with awful writing), but it’s pretty meaningless.
Just don’t bother with this game.
While Akiba’sTrip might seem like one ‘those’ types of games, the ones that appeal to lonely and horny young men, it’s actually not like that at all.
It takes place in a near perfect (at time of release) replica of Akihabara, Japan. It’s amazing how much little details went into the environment alone.
The combat controls can be a little difficult, and feels repetitive pretty quickly sometimes, but is a solid beat’emup regardless.
The plot is ridiculous and over the top, but in a stupid fun sort of way. The characters are likable and relatable, and the voice acting is pretty good.
Overall just a stupid fun game.
It takes place in a near perfect (at time of release) replica of Akihabara, Japan. It’s amazing how much little details went into the environment alone.
The combat controls can be a little difficult, and feels repetitive pretty quickly sometimes, but is a solid beat’emup regardless.
The plot is ridiculous and over the top, but in a stupid fun sort of way. The characters are likable and relatable, and the voice acting is pretty good.
Overall just a stupid fun game.
2016
One of the most disappointing games I’ve ever played. After Akiba’sTrip, I had high hopes for this game, but those hopes died minutes into playing this.
Compared to the previous games, combat has changed from a clothes tearing beat’emup to just pressing the circle button over and over. The game claims to have rhythm based combat, but the closest it comes to that is that you can activate a mode in combat where theme music can play, boosting your damage. Since you’re only pressing one button the whole time, it’s still boring and repetitive. Normal enemy fights can take a few seconds, while boss fights can take upwards of 30ish minutes.
You can upgrade weapons by buying computer parts, which sounds cool, but you have to upgrade your weapons at least every other dungeon, and these upgrades are extremely expensive, so you’ll need to grind for money regularly.
The plot feels like the developers read the summaries of some Persona 5 trailers, decided to copy that. The dungeons look bland and cheap, and are mostly just long hallways with random turns and stairs.
The characters themselves are annoying 95% of the time. The main protagonist himself is the worst offender. The plot focuses on how the protag is kinda an asshole to his one and friend, and implies that he might have some form of depression, and you think the game will go into his struggles with that. But nope, he doesn’t have depression, he’s just a lazy, greedy, selfish asshole with rich parents who couldn’t care about the few people who do care about him, and he never grows out of it. There’s a few moments where you think he gets some actual character growth, but nothing has really changed.
As for the other characters, they all hate each other. Whenever they talk to each other, they just bicker and argue and bully each other. There are moments where they just randomly act like best friends, and sometimes it’s a little heartwarming, but then they back to screaming at each other almost immediately.
The voice acting is pretty good, and the music isn’t terrible. But the writing and pacing is all over the place, and has a very bland, predictable, unearned resolution at the end.
Play Persona 5/Royal instead.
Compared to the previous games, combat has changed from a clothes tearing beat’emup to just pressing the circle button over and over. The game claims to have rhythm based combat, but the closest it comes to that is that you can activate a mode in combat where theme music can play, boosting your damage. Since you’re only pressing one button the whole time, it’s still boring and repetitive. Normal enemy fights can take a few seconds, while boss fights can take upwards of 30ish minutes.
You can upgrade weapons by buying computer parts, which sounds cool, but you have to upgrade your weapons at least every other dungeon, and these upgrades are extremely expensive, so you’ll need to grind for money regularly.
The plot feels like the developers read the summaries of some Persona 5 trailers, decided to copy that. The dungeons look bland and cheap, and are mostly just long hallways with random turns and stairs.
The characters themselves are annoying 95% of the time. The main protagonist himself is the worst offender. The plot focuses on how the protag is kinda an asshole to his one and friend, and implies that he might have some form of depression, and you think the game will go into his struggles with that. But nope, he doesn’t have depression, he’s just a lazy, greedy, selfish asshole with rich parents who couldn’t care about the few people who do care about him, and he never grows out of it. There’s a few moments where you think he gets some actual character growth, but nothing has really changed.
As for the other characters, they all hate each other. Whenever they talk to each other, they just bicker and argue and bully each other. There are moments where they just randomly act like best friends, and sometimes it’s a little heartwarming, but then they back to screaming at each other almost immediately.
The voice acting is pretty good, and the music isn’t terrible. But the writing and pacing is all over the place, and has a very bland, predictable, unearned resolution at the end.
Play Persona 5/Royal instead.
2013
Probably the weakest entry of the Bioshock series.
The concepts are great, but the execution, not so much.
Gameplay is mostly the same as previous entries, with a few tweaks, including an underused ‘time warp’ mechanic.
Dungeon design is a bit more linear, which is fine. The environments are aesthetically pleasing at times, but combat can be too chaotic to be able to enjoy it.
The story is all over the place, and the time travel shenanigans don’t help at all.
Not a completely horrible game, it just doesn’t live up to the legacy of the first game.
The concepts are great, but the execution, not so much.
Gameplay is mostly the same as previous entries, with a few tweaks, including an underused ‘time warp’ mechanic.
Dungeon design is a bit more linear, which is fine. The environments are aesthetically pleasing at times, but combat can be too chaotic to be able to enjoy it.
The story is all over the place, and the time travel shenanigans don’t help at all.
Not a completely horrible game, it just doesn’t live up to the legacy of the first game.