When I started this DLC I thought for sure I’d never beat it: the first encounters crushed me harder than anything in the (already difficult) base-game, but I brute forced it. By the time I reached end of the first trial in the swamp, I was so overwhelmed I put it down for months.
But I picked it up again,
and I learned to dance.
But I picked it up again,
and I learned to dance.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course takes some of the best aspects of Cuphead and distills them into a single expansion. It’s brief, but no less gorgeous or inventive than the main game. In fact, I’d say they refined everything from animation to boss mechanics.
One big thing that’s missing are the ‘Run ‘n Gun’ levels. I can’t say those were the standout of the base game (and the devs fill the vacancy with a bit of brand-new side content which I won’t spoil here,) but even one Run ‘n Gun would have been the icing on the cake.
One big thing that’s missing are the ‘Run ‘n Gun’ levels. I can’t say those were the standout of the base game (and the devs fill the vacancy with a bit of brand-new side content which I won’t spoil here,) but even one Run ‘n Gun would have been the icing on the cake.
While it doesn’t quite hit the highs of Fatum Betula, I think this is still an exemplary work of art. It’s more gamified than its predecessor, so instead of a surreal walking simulator, this time it’s a surreal… fishing game?
It’s an Ocarina of Time fishing minigame game that successfully captures the creepy liminal atmosphere of gaming’s early 3D-era. People expecting an all-out horror thing are going to be disappointed, as it’s more of an eerie vibe-piece. I’d say it strikes a pleasant balance between relaxing and unsettling.
Unfortunately, the wrap-up seems pretty hastily thrown-together, and it isn’t as complete of an experience as Fatum Betula. Still, it’s a standout little game from one of my new favorite devs.
It’s an Ocarina of Time fishing minigame game that successfully captures the creepy liminal atmosphere of gaming’s early 3D-era. People expecting an all-out horror thing are going to be disappointed, as it’s more of an eerie vibe-piece. I’d say it strikes a pleasant balance between relaxing and unsettling.
Unfortunately, the wrap-up seems pretty hastily thrown-together, and it isn’t as complete of an experience as Fatum Betula. Still, it’s a standout little game from one of my new favorite devs.
1986
(Played within Shenmue II)
Prolific ‘Shenmue’ and ‘Space Harrier’ designer Yu Suzuki famously doesn’t play videogames. This leads to unorthodox gameplay styles that can admittedly be unintuitive, but in my experience have been more often innovative and unique.
Whereas popular racing games like Pole Position saw you up against other drivers on a circuit, OutRun sets you on a cross-country marathon. There are no Formula-1 cars or helmets here… just you, a cherry-red Ferrari, and a smokin’ blonde babe. Oh, and a whole lot of annoying traffic.
As soon as you tune your radio to whatever synth track suits you, you can tell why it’s THE vaporwave classic. Its palm-tree aesthetic is reminiscent of ‘California Games’ but its gameplay is closer to the Death Star trench run. Playing’s a mix of exhilaration and zen, and the songs compliment the hypnotic visuals.
The traffic AI is really, really annoying. That’s my one major complaint. This game rocks otherwise.
Prolific ‘Shenmue’ and ‘Space Harrier’ designer Yu Suzuki famously doesn’t play videogames. This leads to unorthodox gameplay styles that can admittedly be unintuitive, but in my experience have been more often innovative and unique.
Whereas popular racing games like Pole Position saw you up against other drivers on a circuit, OutRun sets you on a cross-country marathon. There are no Formula-1 cars or helmets here… just you, a cherry-red Ferrari, and a smokin’ blonde babe. Oh, and a whole lot of annoying traffic.
As soon as you tune your radio to whatever synth track suits you, you can tell why it’s THE vaporwave classic. Its palm-tree aesthetic is reminiscent of ‘California Games’ but its gameplay is closer to the Death Star trench run. Playing’s a mix of exhilaration and zen, and the songs compliment the hypnotic visuals.
The traffic AI is really, really annoying. That’s my one major complaint. This game rocks otherwise.
1999
“Years ago, I was Chinese”
It’s universally true that every American has dreamt of being an autistic Japanese dock worker. Now, you can make that dream come true!
On a serious note, Majora’s Mask was the perfect primer for me to get into Shenmue. This famously immersive Dreamcast epic/Virtua Fighter RPG is beyond ambitious, and it’s proof that game design going deep can be way better than going wide.
It’s the wonderfully aimless predecessor to games like LA Noire and Yakuza. It’s part mystery, part fighting game, part life-sim, but honestly with none of the headache that comes with any of them. You don’t have to bathe or comb your hair like in Red Dead Redemption 2, and there’s no real hurry to finish the campaign, so you can play darts and Space Harrier to your heart’s content.
Some call it boring, but I found Shenmue to be a soothing, fulfilling experience. It makes me sad that we don’t see tons of games like it nowadays. Companies have gone for these expansive/empty open worlds for so long that aside from a few (including aforementioned games) we’ve missed out on a level of granular detail that they were able to achieve on the Sega Dreamcast. Plus you can carry over your save file Mass Effect-style to the next game! Insane!
We need more games like Shenmue.
It’s universally true that every American has dreamt of being an autistic Japanese dock worker. Now, you can make that dream come true!
On a serious note, Majora’s Mask was the perfect primer for me to get into Shenmue. This famously immersive Dreamcast epic/Virtua Fighter RPG is beyond ambitious, and it’s proof that game design going deep can be way better than going wide.
It’s the wonderfully aimless predecessor to games like LA Noire and Yakuza. It’s part mystery, part fighting game, part life-sim, but honestly with none of the headache that comes with any of them. You don’t have to bathe or comb your hair like in Red Dead Redemption 2, and there’s no real hurry to finish the campaign, so you can play darts and Space Harrier to your heart’s content.
Some call it boring, but I found Shenmue to be a soothing, fulfilling experience. It makes me sad that we don’t see tons of games like it nowadays. Companies have gone for these expansive/empty open worlds for so long that aside from a few (including aforementioned games) we’ve missed out on a level of granular detail that they were able to achieve on the Sega Dreamcast. Plus you can carry over your save file Mass Effect-style to the next game! Insane!
We need more games like Shenmue.
2001
Shenmue II is far grander in scope than its predecessor, for better or worse.
By better I mean it takes the story to the next level, introduces fantastic characters, and features massive gameplay areas and dope action setpieces. By worse I mean you don’t really get to immerse yourself in any of the locations quite as well as you did Yokosuka. In some ways that lack of connection to each area parallels Ryo’s journey, but that still made them less engaging for me as a player.
They also effed up the tank controls (you can’t just rotate, now Ryo walks forward a bit when he turns) and made the notebook music loud and annoying. But this is still a ballin’ game, which I can highly recommend, especially if you just beat the first game and want to bring over your save file.
By better I mean it takes the story to the next level, introduces fantastic characters, and features massive gameplay areas and dope action setpieces. By worse I mean you don’t really get to immerse yourself in any of the locations quite as well as you did Yokosuka. In some ways that lack of connection to each area parallels Ryo’s journey, but that still made them less engaging for me as a player.
They also effed up the tank controls (you can’t just rotate, now Ryo walks forward a bit when he turns) and made the notebook music loud and annoying. But this is still a ballin’ game, which I can highly recommend, especially if you just beat the first game and want to bring over your save file.
2022
Don’t misunderstand: I appreciate this game’s art style quite a bit, and it has a decent sense of humor to boot. It’s impressive for a variety of reasons and the (very) few developers should be proud that they made something cool and unique.
Unfortunately it’s just not very polished. Plays like a bad Genesis game. Floaty, heavy, slow, and fast all at once. With a bigger budget and team this could probably turn into something special, as it stands now it’s a mediocre game.
Unfortunately it’s just not very polished. Plays like a bad Genesis game. Floaty, heavy, slow, and fast all at once. With a bigger budget and team this could probably turn into something special, as it stands now it’s a mediocre game.
2022
Time to beat: 93:51
Class: Prisoner
Ending: Age of Stars
This is the first From Software game I’ve beaten, and I think it’s really one of the best games I’ve ever played.
For background, I dabbled with Dark Souls 1 and 3, but couldn’t get into them for various reasons, not the least of which was how daunting they were. Not necessarily the difficulty, mind you, but the learning curve of everything else; the story, menus, stats, etc seemed to require a lot of investment. I would play for a while and just put it down and never touch it again .
But not here! I went in with the benefit of limited experience with those games, but also with lots of recommendations. I have a Series X, a ton of free time opened up in my schedule, and the reviews were unbelievably positive.
So now I’m done. What a ride. Elden Ring is a highly rewarding (open) world of challenge and discovery. Victories and setbacks. I fell in love with its world, its gameplay loop, and its sense of scale. This game is huge, and even at 90+ hours of exploration, I still feel like I missed so many quests and so much content. The pacing was impeccable and natural. The world design is gorgeous. The bosses were fun to get wrecked by, until I got them. One thing that helped me was the ability to face an imposing challenge, leave the area to explore, and come back stronger.
Everything about Elden Ring rules, and it has become my obsession for the past few weeks, and the only game I’ve played. You basically couldn’t tear me from this game. We’ll see if New Game+ or a fully new character will keep me going. Dying for more. It’s likely I’ll go back and give Dark Souls another shot, until this gets DLC of course.
Class: Prisoner
Ending: Age of Stars
This is the first From Software game I’ve beaten, and I think it’s really one of the best games I’ve ever played.
For background, I dabbled with Dark Souls 1 and 3, but couldn’t get into them for various reasons, not the least of which was how daunting they were. Not necessarily the difficulty, mind you, but the learning curve of everything else; the story, menus, stats, etc seemed to require a lot of investment. I would play for a while and just put it down and never touch it again .
But not here! I went in with the benefit of limited experience with those games, but also with lots of recommendations. I have a Series X, a ton of free time opened up in my schedule, and the reviews were unbelievably positive.
So now I’m done. What a ride. Elden Ring is a highly rewarding (open) world of challenge and discovery. Victories and setbacks. I fell in love with its world, its gameplay loop, and its sense of scale. This game is huge, and even at 90+ hours of exploration, I still feel like I missed so many quests and so much content. The pacing was impeccable and natural. The world design is gorgeous. The bosses were fun to get wrecked by, until I got them. One thing that helped me was the ability to face an imposing challenge, leave the area to explore, and come back stronger.
Everything about Elden Ring rules, and it has become my obsession for the past few weeks, and the only game I’ve played. You basically couldn’t tear me from this game. We’ll see if New Game+ or a fully new character will keep me going. Dying for more. It’s likely I’ll go back and give Dark Souls another shot, until this gets DLC of course.
2012
I believe the ‘BFG Edition’ is inferior to the original release of Doom 3 (which I love) in several key ways:
-This version removes the flashlight as a melee weapon and gave the player one they can use while firing their weapons. In doing so they undercut the atmosphere and pace of the entire game. There’s no option to remove this.
-In a similar vein, your gun’s muzzle flash no longer lights up your surroundings.
-They added tons of ammunition and supplies everywhere, trivializing much of the game.
-You have to hold down the sprint button to run in the hell sections only (?)
Some might call these changes improvements, but I certainly don’t. For someone who likes the original Doom 3, I think the developers neutered the game in an attempt to turn it into something it’s not: a more ‘traditional’ Doom game.
“Look how they massacred my boy”
-This version removes the flashlight as a melee weapon and gave the player one they can use while firing their weapons. In doing so they undercut the atmosphere and pace of the entire game. There’s no option to remove this.
-In a similar vein, your gun’s muzzle flash no longer lights up your surroundings.
-They added tons of ammunition and supplies everywhere, trivializing much of the game.
-You have to hold down the sprint button to run in the hell sections only (?)
Some might call these changes improvements, but I certainly don’t. For someone who likes the original Doom 3, I think the developers neutered the game in an attempt to turn it into something it’s not: a more ‘traditional’ Doom game.
“Look how they massacred my boy”
Battlefront 2 famously launched on a wet fart, but over time it became an extremely solid Star Wars game. It’s still just shy of greatness and has quite a few flaws, but don’t let that turn you away from a mostly excellent Star Wars experience.
Crait is one major highlight for me; the red dust kicking up over the white salt flats as speeders zip around is just plain awesome. I also love flying the yellow N1 Star fighters over Naboo, storming the beaches of Kashyyyk, and of course all of the playable heroes.
The one thing this game is missing BIG TIME is the Death Star trench run from the previous game. That’s probably the one thing I like better about BF2015.
Crait is one major highlight for me; the red dust kicking up over the white salt flats as speeders zip around is just plain awesome. I also love flying the yellow N1 Star fighters over Naboo, storming the beaches of Kashyyyk, and of course all of the playable heroes.
The one thing this game is missing BIG TIME is the Death Star trench run from the previous game. That’s probably the one thing I like better about BF2015.
2016
Grow Up is full of charm and joyous exploration. The climbing mechanic is simply the best ever.
How can 1000 gamerscore be so easy yet so painful
This game is set in an open world map of New York City where you can swing around as Spider-Man, jump around as the Hulk, fly around as Iron Man, and shoot an RPG as Howard the Duck.
Marvel is leaving lots of money on the table by not licensing more games with such ambition.
Marvel is leaving lots of money on the table by not licensing more games with such ambition.
2017
A brilliant game. Mario controls like a dream, performance is great, and there’s a ton of variety. This is one of the best platformers ever. 999 moons took a little grinding, though. Curse whoever designed that pitiful jump rope mini game.
2019
Playing through Trailmakers’ campaign was an absolute joy from start to finish. I was initially hesitant to even play this game based on what I assumed it would be, but it surpassed my every expectation.
I didn’t look up anything online or rely on the game’s prefabricated blueprints, I just went in blind. By the time I finished my rocket ship and was ready to leave the planet, I had constructed my own cars, hovercars, tractors, submarines, tanks, boats, and airplanes.
The airplane was the most memorable for me, as the iterative process of construction and testing (and the lack of proper parts) was consistently challenging and exciting. Testing out my crappy glider using only the parts I had unlocked and then improving it and finding new parts until I finally made a jet airplane with fully functioning weapons, landing gears, fins, etc. was incredibly satisfying.
I crashed a lot, but every destroyed plane led to a better one.
Trailmakers was pure, mindful entertainment the whole way through.
I didn’t look up anything online or rely on the game’s prefabricated blueprints, I just went in blind. By the time I finished my rocket ship and was ready to leave the planet, I had constructed my own cars, hovercars, tractors, submarines, tanks, boats, and airplanes.
The airplane was the most memorable for me, as the iterative process of construction and testing (and the lack of proper parts) was consistently challenging and exciting. Testing out my crappy glider using only the parts I had unlocked and then improving it and finding new parts until I finally made a jet airplane with fully functioning weapons, landing gears, fins, etc. was incredibly satisfying.
I crashed a lot, but every destroyed plane led to a better one.
Trailmakers was pure, mindful entertainment the whole way through.