bapanadavibes
2024
co-op horror where you & your friends are encouraged to get up close and personal with monsters to record them - a welcome difference! the cherry on top is getting back to base & sitting down on the couch to take a good look at what's on tape -- i died laughing in the middle of the night
2024
warning: loud high-pitched noise first thing after you press start
cute bite-sized dungeon crawler whose story changes depending on your choices. made for repeat playthroughs as the first run where you're figuring out how to solve the combat encounters should take 30-40min max.
appreciate the yuri energy, would enjoy more in the same vein <3
cute bite-sized dungeon crawler whose story changes depending on your choices. made for repeat playthroughs as the first run where you're figuring out how to solve the combat encounters should take 30-40min max.
appreciate the yuri energy, would enjoy more in the same vein <3
great gowns, beautiful gowns...
off to a rough start when it hits you with sexualized female characters of unclear age, a sluggish first level and an uninteresting peek into a world steeped in orientalism reminiscent of aladdin. its reputation as 'the game to play in the series' and metroidvania label nonetheless made me truck onwards to see if there isn't something compelling to be found behind its offputting presentation.
the second world already felt a bit better, though the combat still remained rough as the enemies mostly serve as obstacles who you begrudgingly whip your hair back and forth against just so you don't run into the risk of body collision and knockback. meanwhile, the bosses were a welcome sight as they offered a little engagement through their mechanics and didn't overstay their welcome.
the game is certainly not helped by how unengaging the overarching story is, which results in issues with unlocking key items necessary for progression as they’re tied to talking to npcs. one could make it a habit to talk to everyone in town whenever you’re there and figure it out that way, but it doesn’t change it behind a drag. revisiting former levels with new abilities is a no brainer for anyone familiar with these types of games and works here, too, and i wish was the main way of unlocking & making progress.
all that said, once you do unlock the first movement ability is the point where the game finally shows real promise as it allows you to engage with the levels’ platforming and enemies more, making for satisfying dynamic moments. this of course doesn’t come as a surprise with games where unlocking abilities is one of the main draws, but here it really revealed how sluggish and unrefined the game was prior, and how much the game shifts going forward.. the games i have the most fondness don’t have exploration and existence in its world feel a like a chore without the upcoming abilities; instead moving around in them already feels interesting without anything fancy. they make you want to push forward to obtain those powers.
from this point onwards the game only got better for the most part as the levels became more intricate and new abilities were obtained – shoutout to the scimitar downsmash and rush ability!! the few puzzle served a medium amount of challenge that didn’t halt progress for too long but still felt like an obstacle. the currency dropped from monsters remained worthwhile throughout as it is used to buy certain upgrades and resources useful until the very end. (still wish a magnet ability existed as you could easily lose gems dropping from a vase etc.) secrets and collectables were spread out so you came across them frequently enough for it to feel rewarding (though having to go to an npc in town to upgrade 4 heart containers into 1 was a tad annoying).
at this point, my main gripe left was the save npc, which was often enough placed so that you’d either have to backtrack for it or in one instance - completely absurdly. there’s 1 (!) stealth section in the game where whenever you’re caught, you have to do approx. 5+ rooms again. it wasn’t even challenging, but it would trip you up often enough to warrant a few resets where you’re left waiting for guards to turn the other way again you had already figured out. one could say the game was taking the piss here!
the last big challenge where you (spoiler) have to climb a tower through the most difficult platforming gauntlets was definitely the highlight of the game. it takes all you’ve had to deal with throughout the game and ups the ante. with no save point throughout, mind you (though you can always use healing items to keep going as long as you have resources for) with all movement abilities at your disposal, this was a greatly satisfying challenge. it wrapped up the experience neatly with a satisfying boss battle.
all in all, shantae ultimately managed to win me over in the second half. it’s a careful recommendation with a lot of caveats, but if you happen to own it, or wanna see what shantae is all about, you might as well go for this one.
the second world already felt a bit better, though the combat still remained rough as the enemies mostly serve as obstacles who you begrudgingly whip your hair back and forth against just so you don't run into the risk of body collision and knockback. meanwhile, the bosses were a welcome sight as they offered a little engagement through their mechanics and didn't overstay their welcome.
the game is certainly not helped by how unengaging the overarching story is, which results in issues with unlocking key items necessary for progression as they’re tied to talking to npcs. one could make it a habit to talk to everyone in town whenever you’re there and figure it out that way, but it doesn’t change it behind a drag. revisiting former levels with new abilities is a no brainer for anyone familiar with these types of games and works here, too, and i wish was the main way of unlocking & making progress.
all that said, once you do unlock the first movement ability is the point where the game finally shows real promise as it allows you to engage with the levels’ platforming and enemies more, making for satisfying dynamic moments. this of course doesn’t come as a surprise with games where unlocking abilities is one of the main draws, but here it really revealed how sluggish and unrefined the game was prior, and how much the game shifts going forward.. the games i have the most fondness don’t have exploration and existence in its world feel a like a chore without the upcoming abilities; instead moving around in them already feels interesting without anything fancy. they make you want to push forward to obtain those powers.
from this point onwards the game only got better for the most part as the levels became more intricate and new abilities were obtained – shoutout to the scimitar downsmash and rush ability!! the few puzzle served a medium amount of challenge that didn’t halt progress for too long but still felt like an obstacle. the currency dropped from monsters remained worthwhile throughout as it is used to buy certain upgrades and resources useful until the very end. (still wish a magnet ability existed as you could easily lose gems dropping from a vase etc.) secrets and collectables were spread out so you came across them frequently enough for it to feel rewarding (though having to go to an npc in town to upgrade 4 heart containers into 1 was a tad annoying).
at this point, my main gripe left was the save npc, which was often enough placed so that you’d either have to backtrack for it or in one instance - completely absurdly. there’s 1 (!) stealth section in the game where whenever you’re caught, you have to do approx. 5+ rooms again. it wasn’t even challenging, but it would trip you up often enough to warrant a few resets where you’re left waiting for guards to turn the other way again you had already figured out. one could say the game was taking the piss here!
the last big challenge where you (spoiler) have to climb a tower through the most difficult platforming gauntlets was definitely the highlight of the game. it takes all you’ve had to deal with throughout the game and ups the ante. with no save point throughout, mind you (though you can always use healing items to keep going as long as you have resources for) with all movement abilities at your disposal, this was a greatly satisfying challenge. it wrapped up the experience neatly with a satisfying boss battle.
all in all, shantae ultimately managed to win me over in the second half. it’s a careful recommendation with a lot of caveats, but if you happen to own it, or wanna see what shantae is all about, you might as well go for this one.
2021
throws you into a promising, beautiful world with a mysterious atmosphere... but the initial interest wears off quick as you realize how haphazardly a lot of elements are thrown together: pick-ups that only serve a shield-refreshing purpose in a game where death is swift but inconsequential. platforming challenges that fluctuate between very simple to difficulty through jankiness. arduous narrative exposition. -- all a bit of a letdown coming from the people who made something as uncompromising and self-assured as hyper light drifter.
2019
a carbon copy of bl2 with a pretend-fresh coat of paint. the same old remains: obtrusive narration with obnoxious writing, OK combat bogged down by a tired, uninvolving loot system - packaged within an open world that feels empty and lifeless. everything seems predetermined; there's nothing exciting at the end of these long roads.
2019
NO OPTION TO TURN OFF FLASHING/STROBE LIGHTS
Played fine for 5h until I got to a segment with intense strobe/flashing lights (part of an encounter/puzzle).
Tried to find an option to turn it off but there is NONE. And from what I've read, there are more intense strobe/flashing lights parts down the line, especially in the DLC.
One would hope a game released in 2019 had this
kind of accessibility option...
Played fine for 5h until I got to a segment with intense strobe/flashing lights (part of an encounter/puzzle).
Tried to find an option to turn it off but there is NONE. And from what I've read, there are more intense strobe/flashing lights parts down the line, especially in the DLC.
One would hope a game released in 2019 had this
kind of accessibility option...
lighthearted & breezy platformer romp through six different worlds. the new elephant power is good fun, but the absolute highlight is how often the game offers beautifully animated divergences with new ways to overcome obstacles - sometimes in complete transformation of the level you're in - keeping it fresh and engaging. all wrapped up in wonderfully expressive presentation with a lovely soundtrack. (played through it all as daisy, of course!)
2015
No option to turn off flashing lights :(
2021
A game about doing countless runs grinding for miniscule (+1 block/attack/etc.) upgrades in a game with terrible class and combat balance based around (de)buffs where normal encounters will suddenly outstat you from one combat to the next. The kind of game where it feels like the roguelite aspect is solely there to absurdly increase the amount of time it takes you to get anywhere in the game by slowly stacking mainly uninteresting, flat bonuses and getting town upgrades... instead of being an aspect used to make your future runs and tools varied. Disappointing, to say the least.
By finally leaning heavily into the fantasy aspects, greatly improving on the pacing of its predecessors and refining components of the core gameplay loops, Shadowbringers finally sees FFXIV come into its own. And it's a joy to behold. With setpieces even more impressive than they were before and a genuinely compelling narrative overall. Third time really is the charm, huh? Because this one's great.
2019
Content warning: photosensitivity
Video settings merely consist of resolution and fullscreen on/off, so it's impossible to slow down or remove the super quick and constant light flickering, which makes it unplayable for me.
Video settings merely consist of resolution and fullscreen on/off, so it's impossible to slow down or remove the super quick and constant light flickering, which makes it unplayable for me.
PROS
+ Varied themed dungeons with fashionable loot & sweet collectibles
+ Challenging trials with amazing setpieces and great soundtracks
+ Cool beast tribes with worthwhile and cool rewards
+ Samurai and Red Mage as new classes
+ The Far East offers a beautiful new big city and great areas: fun to traverse, explore & look at (A step up from HW!)
+ Sadu & Cirina
TO BE EXPLORED (Will be updated at a later date)
+ Raids & alliance raids
+ Eureka
CONS
+ Quick time events: When they first appeared in a trial (!), I was pretty shook. I find them annoying and repetitive. Nevermind the accessibility issues they are connected to. Wish they'd just add a button to click and fill those gauges as an option.
+ Its politics: I'm not even gonna start. This wouldn't even be such a big deal if the game wasn't perpetually trying to make itself look smart when it presents you with the most terrible political opinions. Like when it keeps on trying to sit down and compromise with fascists. You're better off skipping every singular political talk cutscene in this game. There's one good moment when you're in Gyr Abania for the 2nd time, but it is only a moment
+ MSQ: The more-cohesive and focused approach of HW is gone. In SB we're presented with 2 different big places for the story and it makes sure to start you off with the worse one: Gyr Abania. If you remember the Camp Drybone/Ala Mhigo arcs on ARR it should give you an idea, just imagine a big focus on overlong instances as the cherry on top. I genuinely shelved the MSQ multiple times before I made it over this hump because not only was it annoying, it was incredibly boring. The big villain we're presented with here is probably one of the most laughable and worst villains in fiction: Zenos. He's the one you're gonna encounter multiple times, and everytime it's a completely ridiculous, overlong instance where you're trapped in a state of extreme boredom as all you have to do is dodge his spells in a circle for what feels like eternity. Ugh. I've seen people defend this as a build-up with future pay-off, but especially since having finished the expansion... No. To me, this reads as cheap playtime-padding when you consider how unclear duties can be with direction, points of failure, how you can't start them in 'Very Easy' (only if you've died in them once) and and how long they generally take in SB. And the worst part is: even when you've finished those, Zenos will pull something out of his magician's hat and keep on living and haunting you in future instances. It's incredibly annoying, unrewarding, boring and even worse for a game that already struggles at achieving a modicum of decent pacing with it's MSQ. If that wasn't enough, the Gyr Abania/Ala Mhigo is one of the worst written stories you can find here, too. And the maps are a pain to maneuver and dull to look at. An all-around awful time.
On the flipside, we have The Far East where we have a way more engaging and decently-paced story. It still suffers from overall instance overuse (seriously, who's idea was it to put MORE solo instances into an MMORPG?) and not every red thread leads to a satisfying end, but it's overall a good time. The environments are pretty to look at and fresh, we get chances to play with the new diving ability and it definitely has not only way more breathing room between instances, but they're also not drawn-out ridiculous and pointless instances like the ones vs. Zenos. We learn more about the Far East, the tribes who inhabit it and the conflicts while spending a lot of time with certain Scions and if you like them, you're pretty safely going to have a decent time. When we hit the post-SB content, we get to where the story really shines, with the Asahi arc being one of my favourites in the entire game!!! Here, we have interesting villains, actual stakes and turns at play and a satisfying conclusion to round it all off.
All in all, Stormblood, whilst not as overall lackluster and unengaging as ARR in terms of the MSQ and pacing, has some really rough and terrible spots (namely pretty much all of Gyr Abania, which you'll visit twice). If you can make it through the bad parts and reach the Far East areas, it should give you enough engaging and interesting scenery and challenges to rejuvenate your interest in the expansion and make you able to power through the rest. Some of the things you have to look forward to: Kugane is a blast to hang out in and traverse. The Namazu are hilarious and the Kojin are cool as heck. The Anantas are badass. The trials really push you and contain the most amazing setpieces and fights the game has offered yet and I can't wait to play them on Extreme. The story has some really sweet highlights and a satisfying ending. All I wish is that the good stuff wasn't so wrapped up and gated by some of the worst pacing, blatant playtime-padding and unengaging writing in video games I've ever witnessed.
+ Varied themed dungeons with fashionable loot & sweet collectibles
+ Challenging trials with amazing setpieces and great soundtracks
+ Cool beast tribes with worthwhile and cool rewards
+ Samurai and Red Mage as new classes
+ The Far East offers a beautiful new big city and great areas: fun to traverse, explore & look at (A step up from HW!)
+ Sadu & Cirina
TO BE EXPLORED (Will be updated at a later date)
+ Raids & alliance raids
+ Eureka
CONS
+ Quick time events: When they first appeared in a trial (!), I was pretty shook. I find them annoying and repetitive. Nevermind the accessibility issues they are connected to. Wish they'd just add a button to click and fill those gauges as an option.
+ Its politics: I'm not even gonna start. This wouldn't even be such a big deal if the game wasn't perpetually trying to make itself look smart when it presents you with the most terrible political opinions. Like when it keeps on trying to sit down and compromise with fascists. You're better off skipping every singular political talk cutscene in this game. There's one good moment when you're in Gyr Abania for the 2nd time, but it is only a moment
+ MSQ: The more-cohesive and focused approach of HW is gone. In SB we're presented with 2 different big places for the story and it makes sure to start you off with the worse one: Gyr Abania. If you remember the Camp Drybone/Ala Mhigo arcs on ARR it should give you an idea, just imagine a big focus on overlong instances as the cherry on top. I genuinely shelved the MSQ multiple times before I made it over this hump because not only was it annoying, it was incredibly boring. The big villain we're presented with here is probably one of the most laughable and worst villains in fiction: Zenos. He's the one you're gonna encounter multiple times, and everytime it's a completely ridiculous, overlong instance where you're trapped in a state of extreme boredom as all you have to do is dodge his spells in a circle for what feels like eternity. Ugh. I've seen people defend this as a build-up with future pay-off, but especially since having finished the expansion... No. To me, this reads as cheap playtime-padding when you consider how unclear duties can be with direction, points of failure, how you can't start them in 'Very Easy' (only if you've died in them once) and and how long they generally take in SB. And the worst part is: even when you've finished those, Zenos will pull something out of his magician's hat and keep on living and haunting you in future instances. It's incredibly annoying, unrewarding, boring and even worse for a game that already struggles at achieving a modicum of decent pacing with it's MSQ. If that wasn't enough, the Gyr Abania/Ala Mhigo is one of the worst written stories you can find here, too. And the maps are a pain to maneuver and dull to look at. An all-around awful time.
On the flipside, we have The Far East where we have a way more engaging and decently-paced story. It still suffers from overall instance overuse (seriously, who's idea was it to put MORE solo instances into an MMORPG?) and not every red thread leads to a satisfying end, but it's overall a good time. The environments are pretty to look at and fresh, we get chances to play with the new diving ability and it definitely has not only way more breathing room between instances, but they're also not drawn-out ridiculous and pointless instances like the ones vs. Zenos. We learn more about the Far East, the tribes who inhabit it and the conflicts while spending a lot of time with certain Scions and if you like them, you're pretty safely going to have a decent time. When we hit the post-SB content, we get to where the story really shines, with the Asahi arc being one of my favourites in the entire game!!! Here, we have interesting villains, actual stakes and turns at play and a satisfying conclusion to round it all off.
All in all, Stormblood, whilst not as overall lackluster and unengaging as ARR in terms of the MSQ and pacing, has some really rough and terrible spots (namely pretty much all of Gyr Abania, which you'll visit twice). If you can make it through the bad parts and reach the Far East areas, it should give you enough engaging and interesting scenery and challenges to rejuvenate your interest in the expansion and make you able to power through the rest. Some of the things you have to look forward to: Kugane is a blast to hang out in and traverse. The Namazu are hilarious and the Kojin are cool as heck. The Anantas are badass. The trials really push you and contain the most amazing setpieces and fights the game has offered yet and I can't wait to play them on Extreme. The story has some really sweet highlights and a satisfying ending. All I wish is that the good stuff wasn't so wrapped up and gated by some of the worst pacing, blatant playtime-padding and unengaging writing in video games I've ever witnessed.
PROS
+ A cohesive and focused story with decent pacing
+ Great themed dungeons & trials with amazing setpieces
+ Fair share of lovable characters to keep the spirits high
+ Lots of dragons & the new beast tribes are great. Moogles!
+ Fun new classes. Machinist & Astrologian played so far; will try out Dark Knight at a later time
CONS
- Aether Currents unlocking is incredibly tedious
- A handful of fetch and "go to this point @ the other end of the world and afterwards come back right here, actually" quests remain; it can't quite shake the old MMORPG habit yet
- More aristocrat, bourgeoisie bootlicking and disdain for the lower class; it's undeniably baked in the core story and is simply more apparent here, but it gets particularly offputting in the beginning of the post-HW story
- Post-HW story feels a bit aimless at times and has a worse pacing
+ A cohesive and focused story with decent pacing
+ Great themed dungeons & trials with amazing setpieces
+ Fair share of lovable characters to keep the spirits high
+ Lots of dragons & the new beast tribes are great. Moogles!
+ Fun new classes. Machinist & Astrologian played so far; will try out Dark Knight at a later time
CONS
- Aether Currents unlocking is incredibly tedious
- A handful of fetch and "go to this point @ the other end of the world and afterwards come back right here, actually" quests remain; it can't quite shake the old MMORPG habit yet
- More aristocrat, bourgeoisie bootlicking and disdain for the lower class; it's undeniably baked in the core story and is simply more apparent here, but it gets particularly offputting in the beginning of the post-HW story
- Post-HW story feels a bit aimless at times and has a worse pacing
PROS
+ Primals
+ Dungeons and alliance raids
+ Select cutscenes were really great and powerful
+ A few great, fun and lovable characters
+ Character customization features (glamours, dyes)
+ Collectibles (minions, mounts)
+ Emotes and the general virtual social atmosphere
+ The Golden Saucer
OK
o Voice acting is hit or miss - both in quality and how interesting the parts that are voiced are; most of the time it's not even available which is fine because things aren't important but then there are a handful of really cool moments towards the tail end of ARR that aren't voiced? Oddly inconsistent.
CONS
- High amount of filler in form of fetch quests such as having to go back and forth between places multiple times or collecting 2 animal skins and what have you.
- Lots of cutscenes. They get better in the later part of the game (Lv 45+) but for the most part, you're better off skim-reading or skipping them entirely because it's really not interesting and will burn you out.
- Gating of unlocking mechanics and classes via progress with the Main Story Quest // I really wanted to take a step back from it every now and then and play some other fun-looking classes but they were locked behind finishing ARR, so that made things more annoying as well. It gates people dedicated to crafting classes as well, so keep in mind you'll have to progress with it if you plan on getting to the higher levels of crafting.
- The monetization. Playing as a free trial account means you're severely inhibited (no party creation, joining Free Company or accessing the market), therefore requiring you to have friends with full accounts to make parties. Once you've bought the game, you won't have those problems anymore but there's still a monthly sub fee AND a cash shop. Yikes.
----
I reached the end of ARR with 4 days 5 hours and 11 minutes of playtime, which of course included some idling, job quests and playing around in the Golden Saucer to a certain extent but is still a considerable amount of time to get through this seeing as I mainly powered through the MSQ. It would've taken even longer if I didn't have friends who had full accounts either to make parties with as the Free Trial is so limited that you can't make parties, join Free Companies or use the market. Definitely don't start this game alone because chances are you're gonna burn out hard and preferably bring along friends who have already bought-in or are willing to buy in to actually make it possible for y'all to play together. I do recommend anyone getting it to push through with the Free Trial as long as they can before buying in. My personal breaking point was Lv 52.
Looking back with the knowledge and the experience I had, I would've opted to buy an ARR story completion for $10 and then looked through the important cutscenes myself as the MSQ, despite some great moments, wasn't really a great experience as a whole.
All that being said, while I cannot endorse ARR and think it is overbearingly a slog, I do really love a lot of things about this game and consider myself quite hooked - which should tell you how strong the game is in other aspects. Looking forward to experiencing Heavensward, which is a highly-praised expansion in comparison, and having a better time story-wise.
+ Primals
+ Dungeons and alliance raids
+ Select cutscenes were really great and powerful
+ A few great, fun and lovable characters
+ Character customization features (glamours, dyes)
+ Collectibles (minions, mounts)
+ Emotes and the general virtual social atmosphere
+ The Golden Saucer
OK
o Voice acting is hit or miss - both in quality and how interesting the parts that are voiced are; most of the time it's not even available which is fine because things aren't important but then there are a handful of really cool moments towards the tail end of ARR that aren't voiced? Oddly inconsistent.
CONS
- High amount of filler in form of fetch quests such as having to go back and forth between places multiple times or collecting 2 animal skins and what have you.
- Lots of cutscenes. They get better in the later part of the game (Lv 45+) but for the most part, you're better off skim-reading or skipping them entirely because it's really not interesting and will burn you out.
- Gating of unlocking mechanics and classes via progress with the Main Story Quest // I really wanted to take a step back from it every now and then and play some other fun-looking classes but they were locked behind finishing ARR, so that made things more annoying as well. It gates people dedicated to crafting classes as well, so keep in mind you'll have to progress with it if you plan on getting to the higher levels of crafting.
- The monetization. Playing as a free trial account means you're severely inhibited (no party creation, joining Free Company or accessing the market), therefore requiring you to have friends with full accounts to make parties. Once you've bought the game, you won't have those problems anymore but there's still a monthly sub fee AND a cash shop. Yikes.
----
I reached the end of ARR with 4 days 5 hours and 11 minutes of playtime, which of course included some idling, job quests and playing around in the Golden Saucer to a certain extent but is still a considerable amount of time to get through this seeing as I mainly powered through the MSQ. It would've taken even longer if I didn't have friends who had full accounts either to make parties with as the Free Trial is so limited that you can't make parties, join Free Companies or use the market. Definitely don't start this game alone because chances are you're gonna burn out hard and preferably bring along friends who have already bought-in or are willing to buy in to actually make it possible for y'all to play together. I do recommend anyone getting it to push through with the Free Trial as long as they can before buying in. My personal breaking point was Lv 52.
Looking back with the knowledge and the experience I had, I would've opted to buy an ARR story completion for $10 and then looked through the important cutscenes myself as the MSQ, despite some great moments, wasn't really a great experience as a whole.
All that being said, while I cannot endorse ARR and think it is overbearingly a slog, I do really love a lot of things about this game and consider myself quite hooked - which should tell you how strong the game is in other aspects. Looking forward to experiencing Heavensward, which is a highly-praised expansion in comparison, and having a better time story-wise.