Ghost Trick was one of the first games I put in my Amazon wish list back when I made an account in 2017. I remember a Youtuber I liked, Nintendocaprisun, streamed the game and the little I watched from the stream looked really cool. It sat in that wishlist for ages, eventually skyrocketing in price. It wasn't until last year, that I decided to bite the bullet and buy the game physically. It was expensive but it was a game I wanted to own for a while now, and I figured playing it on the DS would have been awesome. By this time, I was already a big Ace Attorney Fan, and knowing that this was another Shu Takumi game..I was pretty excited to play it. While I personally still prefer AA1 and AA3 over this, this was still a great time overall.

This game makes great use of the touch-screen. So, the basic premise of the game without going into story details, you the main character have died. You are a ghost and find out you have the ability to go back to the past, four minutes before someone has died, and have the potential to save them. You also have the ability to move to different objects and control them. You do this by going into ghost mode and moving your little wisp icon from object to object. The catch is, you can only move it a specific distance away. If something is too far away, you have to figure out how to get there by possibly interacting with the object you're on. This is called "tricking" and it can vary depending on the section of the story you're on. Some can be very simple while others you need to time specific actions in the real world. It might seem a bit confusing with how I explained however, it's very easy to understand in game. Either way, this gameplay loop is really fun and is perfect for a DS game. Near the end of the game, it also throws another character at you with some different mechanics. And it even combines the two at once and it can lead to some really fun puzzles. The game was never that hard, I never even had to look up a guide, however I never found them super easy.

Story-wise, like I said the premise is you die at the start. You play as Sissel, someone we know nothing about, and not even he knows who he is. His main goal from the start is to figure out who he is and how he dies, but along the way he meets a colorful cast of characters, and the game gets more complicated from there. Overall, I enjoyed the story and cast of characters for sure. Like Ace Attorney, they're all very distinct and can be very goofy. The main cast is very good tho I have to say I didn't connect to them as much as I do with the main cast of Ace Attorney. Probably because this game is shorter than your average AA game, and I was able to connect to that game's cast through the span of three games! Either way, while I didn't love any character here, Sissel..Lynne..Jowd..Cabanela..Missile..the entire cast is memorable and entertaining. The story is also full of twists and turns throughout. The ending may be a little convoluted imo but I think it was executed well and I did not see it coming at all. While not mind-blowing overall, I can at least commend the story and overall concept of the game for being unique. Always love seeing really out there stories like this.

This may be weird to here, but I don't think the absolute best aspect of this game is the story or the gameplay. It's the visuals. Honestly, some of the best sprite-work I've ever seen in a game. Every animation is so buttery smooth and really gives the game a lot of character. The look of each character sprite too, idk how they did it, but it has this very distinct look to it. Since the game is very goofy at times, the characters animations are goofy as well. The art style on the portraits is very distinct too tho those aren't animated. They're nice but it would have been cool if they had little animations as well, like Ace Attorney. Along with the sprites being full of personality, so is the dialogue. If you played Ace Attorney before this, you'd be right at home here. It feels just like Ace Attorney. Goofy and witty when it wants to be, serious when it wants to be, and full of heart throughout. In this regard, it may be better than Ace Attorney because I didn't notice any spelling errors lol.

The OST is probably my biggest disappointment compared to Ace Attorney tbh, especially since the AA1 composer did this game. The first Ace Attorney's ost is now in my top 10 OSTS of all time. I just love it so much, so I might've hyped myself up too much with this game. That's not to say this game has a bad soundtrack, I just don't find it comparable to the Ace Attorney games personally. Maybe I just haven't listened to the OST enough, as I know this is probably a hot take and others will disagree. Still, there were songs I did like. Four Minutes Before Death probably being my favorite since it reminded me of Ace Attorney the most haha.

I do wish I ended up liking this a bit more, especially since this game is praised so much and has a 4.5 average, however in this case I can totally see why it is as this game is really great. I guess maybe it just comes down to my personal preferences. Or maybe I'll like this even more on replay, who knows. Either way, while it seems I do prefer the Ace Attorney series more (sorry I keep comparing them, it's just hard not to with the type of game this is), this is still must-play DS game imo and worth all the praise it gets.

One of the main Discord servers I'm active in decided to start a gaming equivalent to a book club and chose this first because "niche PS2 game with a moody atmosphere" is like crack cocaine to our primary demographic of trans people with pretentious opinions on games. The first couple days of the month allotted to beating it went well with glowing praise for its combat mechanics, atmosphere, etc. and it seemed like we would have had the right to be contrarians about this overlooked PS2 game secretly being good. However, as the days went by, more and more people started to get filtered in a variety of places: Chapter 3's initial test of your knowledge of the combat mechanics, the Chapter 8 boss, the grind before the final boss. The English version's inflation of enemy stats in comparison to the Japanese version was just too much for us to handle. But when it seemed like no one would be able to beat this game, one brave hero rose up: GingerV
While weaker game club channel posters cowered in fear at the challenge posed by Chaos Legion, GingerV rose to the challenge and opened up a speedrun for the game's hardest difficulty. From there, they not only learned a lot of the game's mechanics that weren't explained well but noticed how odd it was that the run spent 40 minutes on Chapter 5 when its times for the other chapters were usually about 10 minutes. They then realized that these 40 minutes were spent farming health bar upgrades and decided to do the same, giving them the tools they needed to clear the game with little effort. The PS2 action game that filtered a server with several unironic DMC2 fans had finally met its match and could be laid to rest.

Indika is a very short (~4hrs) walking game filled with puzzles and thought-provoking dialogue. Oh, the brilliant voice acting in this game... I loved the emotions that the 'narrator' put into his work. The ending leaves you hanging with questions in your mind. There are many scenes where you can't get what's happening because it's confusing or because it happens too fast.
I also want to state that I dissected the game and they animated every scene; characters are moving even when you don't see them in cutscenes or in the game. And the demon is also a part of some cutscenes, but you can't see it. They put real effort into this game. It's sad that it was short.
The downsides were pretty much the optimization and some less-polished parts of the game.

Man... I've been single too long. I got the "simp" ending as I'm dubbing it, as shamed as I am to admit it.

This game was super cool. The visuals were eerie and serene at the same time. The music and presentation complimented each other in both the horror and romantic elements. The hand drawn art had and an incredibly unique and consistent style.

I have a hard time labelling this as "horror," though. It was creepy at times but never made me too scared. The writing at times was clever and other times felt like it got caught up in its own riddles. I'm still not quite sure what the truly happened at the end, but I also think that's part of what makes it an effective art piece. I'll certainly be thinking about this game for a while and, after sitting with it for some time, am excited to see how I analyze it.

As far as gameplay goes, this is a visual novel so it's not much more than clicking dialogue options. However, one thing I was impressed with was how many different options there are. Often times in games like this, it'll give you a "good" and "bad" option, but never much more than that; in this game I felt like they give you a wide array of options spanning all the gray in between the black and white. This made for more compelling choices and I found it stressful to make decisions at times.

The two voice actors in this game both performed excellently; without their commitment the game may not have worked. The Princess conveyed both creepiness and innocence and the voices in your head each had their own flair. Only critique is I wish their was more distinction between The Narrator and the Hero. Every other voice in your head felt unique, but the two most common voices felt a bit similar.

Overall, this was quite a ride. I found myself making choices based on feeling more than logic and that's irregular to how my brain usually works. I think it's a testament to the game that it made me think differently than normal.

I've had this game on my backlog for a very long time, dreading to actually play it. At the same time, the longer I leave it the longer I don't get to experience the rest of the Castlevania franchise - yes I am that person that needs to play every mainline title in a series in order - so quite frankly if I never did play it, Simon's Quest would have successfully gatekept me from this iconic Konami franchise.

I've picked this game up in the past and dropped it after endless headaches, and getting stuck and unlimited frustration. This time I just swallowed my pride and said fuck it. I played using a guide and some savestates to beat this shit in about 2 hours and finally get it over and done with.
I can gladly say that I am so happy I just swallowed the pill and finally finished it because I am never playing this piece of shit again. I am so happy I can move onto Castlevania III and IV.

If you lived on the internet during the 2000s, I don't think I need to explain what is so bad about this game. But to give you my version of it; what I loved about the original Castlevania, while it was hard as balls, it was a game you could just pick up, play though some levels and beat the game in about 2 hours if you're good enough. You don't need any guides, there's no bullishit. You walk to the right, whip skeletons and bats, beat the boss at the end - next level and you're done. Anyone can pick it up.
Somehow Konami said "Nah that was shit - let's just change the formula for the sequel" and made a cryptic open world with annoying sections where you're prone to get stuck, the worst mechanics introduced in a video game and boring/cheap copy paste bullshot level design with extended padding and some annoying JRPG grinding. If you don't play this with a guide for the first time, you are a masochist.

I am so happy that this game is no longer a looming pain in my backlog and I can finally get to the good Castlevania shit. Thank you video game guides and emulators for making this a little more bearable.

Masterpiece of unrivelled proportions.

This is what gaming is all about! Pure and genuine art-form, a journey through another world. It is amazing how this was developed by just ONE PERSON, which in itself, it is already mind-blowing.

This game is a puzzle-focused metroidvania, the one with the most personality I have ever seen or played. The music, atmosphere, mind-bending puzzles and lore (even meta-lore) are second to none.

Thanks for rekindling my hope for humanity, definitely THE BEST game I have played in quite a while.

Adding to the list of quality Metroidvanias lately, Animal Well is a largely vague game about a blob creature (?) that explores an atmospheric labyrinth with many secrets to find. There’s no combat save for avoiding occasional enemies and mainly focused on figuring out how to progress using the items you find throughout. The level design and platforming puzzles were well done and made clever use of all the mechanics, though were still straightforward enough that I wasn’t stuck on much for very long. The pixel art is really great too

Reaching credits took about 8 hours for me, but this also appears to be a game with a lot of hidden depth to it going off reviews and how much unexplained stuff I can still find (similar to Tunic it seems). Curious to see how much more you can get out of its postgame, but for the main content alone it’s well worth it

Astonishingly incredible. The idea of a puzzle-metroidvania is fucking genius. From the handful of experiences I’ve had with the genre, the combat has always been the worst part of the package. These games demonstrated engaging puzzles and encapsulating atmospheres, but dithered about with lacklustre combat; combat that is somehow presented as a third pillar of the game, as an equal to its atmospheric and puzzling counterparts. Neglecting this element to the extreme brings out the best part of metroidvanias (and is really, really fun to play).

Becoming intimate with this huge web of puzzles, slowly unravelling it yourself, and reaching the bottom of the rabbit hole. It’s an incredible concept, yet is so simple and so naturally delivered that it's hard to conceive how new this game feels. As both a publisher and developer debut, this is an explosive arrival to the scene, and hopefully a sign of great things to come for both.

Honestly? I like it. Shame it's a very short game.
The concepts of how much Alan loathes his darker part are pretty good and having the Dark Place take physical manifestation of him is pretty good. While also grasping the stuck in purgatory hell syndrome, which is somewhat relatable (Twin Peaks wink wink wonk wonk in the corner) I know it's you BOB xD
Also man Scratch is the perfect kind of guy that you hate but also like due to his shenanigans. (He ain't laying a finger on Barry or Alice or so god help me)

It is very hard to love a game that does not love itself and tries to be more than it is. Assassin's Creed Revelations feels like a DLC that should have been part of Brotherhood after launch despite the size of the city that it takes place in.

The city is a major highlight of this game as it looks stunningly good for a game from 2011, and it has a really charming atmosphere that elevates the experience. Revelations also has a darker theme as it deals with death, aging and losing focus over time, and it has some decent writing that supports these themes but overall, the writing in general feels a bit edgy this time around.

The lack of side missions and things to do further makes this adventure pretty boring at times as you barely can interact with the world while you travel between main missions. In previous games, I was constantly reminded and motivated to interact with the world through events and missions but Revelations lacks these.

The last thing I wanted to talk about that I did not like at all is the clunky nature of the combat, making it very unsatisfying to engage with enemies. Overall, Revelations does everything worse and still manages to improve upon one thing, that is the saving grace of this game: the parkour.

The hookblade and ziplines were great additions, and they really made travelling around fun and exciting. Some of the main missions even uses tombs, which are mostly parkour segments, and they are the most fun out of every mission.

Overall, the Ezio trilogy is mostly ridden with fans who are more nostalgic than objective with the games, but I cannot blame them. The writing (so far) is one of the strongest aspect of these games, and all of them are charming in their own way.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 feels like an alternate universe of what Kirby's Adventure is, taking a direction of a more crayon/drawing inspired world rather than the cartoon/anime inspired world of Kirby's Adventure.

Coming back to the gameboy, KDL2 takes the idea of copy abilities from it's console counterpart KA but gives it it's own unique spin. In the wake of having much less abilities than KA, we have the introduction of Kirby's animal buddies which kind of act like a Super Mario powerup. The key difference here is that that copy abilities Kirby gets are now modified with the animal buddy you have equipped. e.g. if you have the hamster buddy and the spark ability, it turns the ability into a fusion of spark and beam from KA. This is a really cool idea, and mixing and matching powers with animal buddies to see what you get is fun. But at the end of the day, I still prefer to pick and choose exactly what copy ability I want, rather than having to find the right animal buddy to get it.

The game is still so much fun just like it's previous counterparts, however I felt somehow the level design wasn't as strong. Like it was designed by a more inexperienced team (maybe this is the case). Especially towards the end where there were some buillshit sections. Even some of the bosses are the weakest in the series so far. To be fair though, for a Kirby game it was pretty challenging, but not for the best reasons.

Cool ideas held back by some questionable level design decisions and bossfights. I feel like this is the only Kirby game I've played so far that I've still enjoyed, but don't feel the need to ever replay it.

Sable is my Breath of the Wild. An open world design staple that is second only to the super condensed A Short Hike.

Stellar art and music. Lovely map design that invites you to sit down and take the world in.
Writing, both dialogue and world building, is very good and often can get emotional. Sable's world is intriguing from the get go and unravelling its history was very fun.

It's a tragedy that a game this pretty and clever runs so very poorly.

I took my time with Sable's Gliding and did nearly everything the game has to offer, part of me didn't want to let go of the beautiful desert scenery and serene music. Part of me didn't want to let go but as the game keeps telling you - Journeys must end and that's part of what makes them special.