I’m starting to realize that I might have an obsession with possession games, and for good reason. They’re convenient mechanics that developers can slip into practically any genre, because they’re extremely simple and consistent to implement but also allow developers to naturally iterate off the environments presented to construct a variety of scenarios despite using the same base structure. Not only that, they allow the developers to quickly pump out a variety of different characters/objects for players to possess that don’t need to be completely fleshed-out with backstories and a full toolkit. Simply put, possession mechanics are a super easy way to utilize heavy context-sensitivity but with the added benefit of feeling more grounded thanks to consistent execution, while providing an easy in-narrative explanation for why the mechanics exist within the lore.

Case in point, let’s consider Geist. Here’s the pitch: the game combines elements of several of my favorite possession games in Ghost Trick, Haunt the House, and a touch of Why Am I Dead at Sea (predating all of these titles by several years!), and it has guns to boot. How could this game possibly be bad!? You play as the ghost of John Raimi, separated from his physical body after being captured in a raid gone wrong, and it’s up to you to foil Volks Corporation’s schemes while saving himself and his pals from a score of supernatural projects. To do so, Raimi must possess objects to scare staff and animals around the facility, and then possess those living creatures in turn to progress deeper with their different abilities. Oh, and sometimes there are gunfights too.

Like most games fixated on possession mechanics, you can think of Geist as having two distinct modes: ghost mode and possession mode. As an ethereal being, Raimi can pass through thin walls like chain-link fences and glowing wall-cracks (referred to as “Slips”) while time is slowed around him. However, he cannot physically interact with most objects (including solid doors) outside of possession, and is constantly racing against the clock because his spirit remains untethered to the world without his body. Consequently, Raimi must possess hosts to reset the timer while utilizing their functionalities to progress. Humans and animals provide more resistance, and as such must be scared by possessing inanimate objects to thoroughly terrify them into submission. Thus, the game provides a plethora of different situations to tackle through the intersection of these two different modes while keeping the controls and baseline mechanics the same. One minute you’re possessing a dog to bark at rats, then the next minute you’re possessing a rat you just frightened to utilize crawlspaces, then the minute after that you’re possessing furniture accessed from the crawlspace to scare the living daylights out of a scientist so you can access his credentials for the lab. Not every element is fully realized (for example, I would have loved if there were more dogs present to serve as hazards that could alert guards to the presence of ghosts to enforce stealth while simultaneously providing possessable vessels that could trick those same guards into opening doors for me), and some of the levels are fairly linear in approach as a result with only one clear solution, but I can’t fault Geist too much; after all, the concept never wore out its welcome in the first place when I was constantly thrown new objectives and new hosts to mess around with.

That said, Geist starts to stray a bit from the light when they pull out the guns. Just judging it as a strict FPS compared to its contemporaries, the flaws are extremely pronounced. For example, aiming feels very stiff due to the sluggish camera scrolling speed (with no way to adjust camera sensitivity in the options menu) as well as constant frame drops further complicating precise aim. There’s also slight but very noticeable aim assist that often snaps the reticle to nearby targets, which gets obnoxious when you’re trying to scroll the camera over to focus on higher-priority enemies but the reticle gets stuck along the way. Having said that, weapon hitboxes are greatly exaggerated, so the reticle often glows red while hovering an inch off the enemy model and landing shots can feel very undeserved. Firefights are ridiculously free even while discounting this, however: much of this is due to the poor AI, as enemies have practically no self-preservation instincts and will often fail to react to faraway shots or run straight into live gunfire from the player. Additionally, most enemies go down in a few shots regardless of where they’re shot (so you don’t even need to go for the head) and the player has infinite ammo/grenades once a soldier is possessed, so as long as the player remembers to reload clips during downtime, the player can just fire at abandon mowing down everything in their way.

The result is that the vast majority of combat ranges from forgettable to disappointing, but even while criticizing the poor base gunplay mechanics, I can acknowledge the potential that the combat had when combined with the possession mechanics. In my mind, the best encounters should focus on emphasizing the interplay between ghost mode and possession mode, through coaxing the player to jump out of hosts to exploit arena set-pieces and then immediately jumping back into hosts to continue assaults. Geist does manage to rise to the occasion a few times, starting with a mid-game sequence where Raimi must jump in and out of explosive objects scattered around a corridor to clear a path for his friend. The developers then immediately variate upon this with a succinct chase sequence. Perhaps the most ambitious segment of the game, the player has to juggle possessing a motorcycle to steer past traps, possessing a mounted truck turret to lay down gunfire, and jumping back onto the road to temporarily possess explosive crates to detonate upon nearby foes. Admittingly these moments are rare in the overall scope of Geist’s many combat scenarios, but it's these welcome glimpses of promise that really incentivized me to push forward.

It is a shame then, that the later levels of the game lean heavily into straight action sequences which don't build upon the core possession premise very well. For instance, the first half of Chapter 7 involves various combat simulations where the player generally possesses one host per exercise and must eliminate all enemies in the arena while staying contained within the host. There’s nothing offensively bad about most of these exercises (except for the opening sniping sequence, which I found to be extremely tedious due to the slow and forced zoom-in of the scope every time I had to aim another shot), but I have to wonder what compelled the devs to shoehorn these straight gunplay sequences in when Chapter 5’s highs more than demonstrate their prowess. The real kicker however, comes in during the last couple of chapters, where you’re given access to characters that can enter rechargeable “boost-mode” to take out enemies in slow-mo. While this sounds great in theory, the game is more than happy to swarm you with bulkier enemies in the last couple of hours, meaning that the optimal strategy is to camp by activating boost mode, safely walking out of cover to take potshots, and then retreating back to cover before boost mode expires and waiting for the gauge to refresh so the process begins anew. Think of this as a budget version of F.E.A.R.’s bullet-time mechanics, though missing the dynamic AI to pressure players into experimentation and also lacking the flashy particle physics and satisfying weapon impact. The annoying hostile ghosts exclusive to these chapters also reinforce this behavior, because trying to approach said ghosts will result in them grabbing the player and dragging them off-stage or into hazards, giving the player insufficient time to mash out of the hold. As such, Geist ironically slogs its way to a conclusion due to betting it all on extravagant combat in exchange for its clever possession puzzles.

Surprisingly, despite all my criticism, I found myself really enjoying the whole experience. It’s a heavily flawed game that has plenty of room for improvement, but at the same time, no flawed game has left me quite as excited for what the medium is capable of as this game has. I find it hard to be overly derogatory towards Geist; N-Space feels like it was trying to accomplish so much with surprisingly little, and I have nothing but respect for such an enthusiastic team that approached the game’s development like a puppy excited to play with a new chew toy. It may not be a very polished game, but it’s a game that dares to try and break new ground and was one of the first major titles that dared to tinker with possession mechanics. Geist paved the way for many more experimental yet realized possession adventure games that have since become mainstays of my personal recommendations, and I couldn’t ask for anything more than that from my favorite era of gaming.

Picture this next scenario in your head, if you will. It is 1992, and you are still living your normal, average life. You never did get that Sega Genesis that you wanted for Christmas, but you forgot about it in the coming months, and have just been vibing ever since. That is, until November rolls around, and you see the hot new title coming out soon for that system, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. As you watched footage of it and read about it, you were slowly getting excited again. This one seemed like it would be even better then the first, as it was looking more colorful, there was this weird mutant fox following you around, and WOAH, A GOLDEN SONIC?! Yeah, it was official, you were set on getting this game, so for Christmas, you once again asked Santa for that Sega Genesis, but this time, you asked for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 instead. The day rolls around, you open your presents, and there it is! The Sega Genesis, you finally got it! And right alongside this Sega Genesis… was a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Master System. It was at this point where you decided you would devote your life to Mario from now on, and threw the game right in the trash.

So yeah, like with the original game, Sonic 2 managed to get a separate companion game that was released for the Master System and the Game Gear, once again most likely for those who were unfortunate enough to not own a Genesis… even though they most likely didn’t own a Master System either. This time around, the game was developed by Aspect, a company whose only other game before this was a Golden Axe game for the Game Gear, so needless to say, I really wasn’t looking forward to this one, as I thought it was gonna be ass compared to the Genesis game, but hey, seeing as the original Master System game was somewhat good, I had a little bit of hope for this game. So, after playing through it, I can say that the game is better then the original Master System game… but not by much. It is exactly what you would expect for a Sonic game on this system, especially if you had knowledge and experience with the previous game.

The story this time is not just about stopping Robotnik’s evil plan, but also needing to save Tails from his clutches, so they aren’t being subtle anymore about wanting to be Mario, the graphics are pretty much on par with the original game, even if they still look pretty good for the Master System, and the speed is still there to compliment it, the music isn’t as good as what we got from the previous, even if there were some decent tracks in there that I grew to love, the control is about the same as the original game, so no need to comment on that any further, and the gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a Master System Sonic game, and when I say exactly, I mean EXACTLY.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of the blue blur himself, take on a set of six-seven zones in the game, running, jumping, and going as fast as possible throughout all of the stages, while destroying as many badniks and collecting as many rings as you can, gather plenty of ring and invincibility boxes along the way to give you more of an advantage over the challenges ahead, and take on some of the most pathetic bosses that I have ever seen not just in a Sonic game, but in all of video game history. It is your typical 2D Sonic adventure through and through, so you may be thinking to yourself, what exactly was changed in this game to make it better? I mean, the original Sonic 2 added a lot to make it an almost perfect sequel, so surely this game did so too right? Ha ha ha ha ha ha…….. NOPE.

It’s almost as if Aspect took a look at Ancient’s homework and copied straight from it, because this is more or less just the exact same game as the original Master System Sonic game, except this time with a new set of levels and bosses, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is very noticeable. None of the added features in the main Sonic 2 game were added to this game, which means no spin dash, no Super Sonic, and not even a seventh Chaos Emerald. The only thing that did carry over from the main game was Tails, but even then, he is just the Princess Peach of the game, so his role in this game is pretty much pointless. And even then, you don’t even have to save him if you don’t get all the Chaos Emeralds, which is… actually pretty dark, now that I think about it, but still, he does nothing in the entire game.

To be fair though, I did say earlier that I thought this game was better than the original game, and I do stand by that claim. It does feel a lot more tightly put together, with there being plenty of fun levels to blast through here, and finding the Chaos Emeralds in the levels is still a pretty good alternative to regular Special Stages. What also helps is that not only is the water level actually somewhat good, but they didn’t place a Chaos Emerald in a bed of spikes! That is what we call character development right there, friends. And speaking of which, whenever you get all of the Chaos Emeralds, not only does it give you the good ending, but it also gives you access to the final zone of the game, Crystal Egg Zone. It may not be the best zone in the game, and the music makes me wanna off myself, but it is nice to see an actually reward for going out of my way to get these things, other then something I could just look up on YouTube.

With all that being said though, the game does still have its problems. First of all, just like with the first game, you get zero rings for the boss battles, which isn’t that much of a big deal, because, again, the bosses are mostly complete jokes, but seriously, can we STOP with this shit? And secondly, this game has two other problems in the form of one level and one boss: Scrambled Egg Zone, and the final boss. Scrambled Egg Zone is without a doubt the worst zone in the game, as it requires you to go through these very specific pipe passages to get to the end of the stages, as well as very precise platforming placed right alongside it. It isn’t too big of a deal, but considering how often you can fuck up and get sent allllll the way back to the beginning in some circumstances, as well as the fact that you are, again, a super-fast rodent, getting through this place is much more of a pain then you would expect. And as for the final boss… I mean, it just isn’t fun to fight at all. It is overly precise and it feels like fate is in charge of whether or not you actually hit Robotnik or a projectile. Maybe this is just skill issues, maybe, but I just didn’t have a good time with it whatsoever.

Overall, despite some bad levels, bosses, and design choices still being present, I would still say this is an improvement over the previous Sonic Master System game, and if this was your only option to experience some kind of Sonic 2, I would say it isn’t that bad of a choice. I would recommend it for those who are massive Sonic fans, as well as those who are big fans of the first Master System title, but for everyone else, just stick with the original Sonic 2, as it will give you a much better experience overall. I’m just glad that, after that, there will be no more side games released on the Master System after this alongside the main games. I mean, can you imagine if we got Sonic CD for the Master System, or Sonic 3 for it? Yeah, right… that would be as stupid as putting Sonic in a car, which we all know is never going to happen. Certainly not a police car, specifically.

Game #379

Despite not being particularly arsed about the demo that dropped a few months back, I’ve ended up really enjoying playing Lies Of P, the fairly shameless Bloodborne rip-off from Neowin. It’s good, undeniably so. It manages to capture some of the essential elements of From Software’s masterpiece in regards to how it plays, how the combat and movement feels and wraps it up in an aesthetic that manages to combine some of the best parts of Bloodborne with a pinch of Resident Evil 4 and just a touch of its own vibe and some really, really impressive visuals - it’s a great little package that is well worth your time.

I’ve found it to be a fascinating little thing. I love it. It borrows so much from Bloodborne and, to be fair, mostly the right stuff too and also pulls them off to a high standard. The setting is cool, the performance and visuals are great - the only area I feel you can make a real argument that is superior to Bloodborne, art design aside - and the enemy variety and boss design is cracking too. So, why ISN’T it as good as Bloodborne?

Little things. Tiny details that don’t make a game bad when they aren’t present but are the difference between a game being a damn fine 8/10 and an absolutely essential all-timer 10/10. The kind of touches that get applied to a game by an elite-level game director like Hidetaka Miyazaki instead of some dev studio that previously worked on some forgotten MMORPG.

Now, this may sound like I’m shitting on Lies Of P here so I must stress, I think the game is really good and I do recommend that anyone with a even a passing interest in the Soulslike genre give this a go, but there’s just a few things that add up to make it end up sitting comfortably on the second tier of the genre, rather than rubbing shoulders with the elite. Despite all of the stuff that it does really well, it lacks that special extra sauce.


As great as the visuals are, the level design is a bit simplistic. From Software’s games often allow you much freedom to explore and even tackle areas in any order. They allow you to get lost, get stuck and find secret areas that seem so off the beaten track you’re not entirely unconvinced that you’re the only person to ever have found them. Shortcuts are a key part of the Soulsborne DNA and when you unlock a means of getting from the last checkpoint to a section deeper into an area in second it is a fantastic feeling of relief and satisfaction that you have now made some permanent progression and in Bloodborne they’re expertly weaved into the level design, with some of them not even being clear to you until you’ve actually activated them and suddenly realised where you are. They’re present in Lies Of P and, to be fair, are just as satisfying to unlock but they’re just so obvious - doors locked from one side and faulty elevators that need to be repaired, for instance - that they feel so mechanical. Sure, they’re offering the same end result but they’re just a lot less interesting. Again, small things.

The lack of exploration feeds into a general lack of wonder in Lies Of P. While Bloodborne is intentionally vague with information and details about how to proceed with quests, Lies Of P has a handy indicator on the fast travel screen which tells you if someone has any new dialogue for you or is waiting for a quest item to be handed to them. A brilliant ‘quality of life’ (whatever that means) feature it may be but instantly removes the mystery that creates real life discussion around From Software games, trying to figure out what does what and how to progress quests and find different endings. You’re simply not going to have those brilliant conversations that come from playing From Software games, where you’re asking your mates if they’ve found X or done Y. In Lies Of P, everyone will do everything in order, eventually. It's a linear progression - Level > Boss > Level > Boss > Level… repeat until the end. Very good levels and even better bosses, mind.

There’s also the really old fashioned skill tree full of unlockables that houses some really good and important moves that feel like they should just be part of the starting skill set. With games in this genre I like the idea that you have everything you need to finish the game from the word go and, although I’m sure some maniac will no doubt have completed a no upgrade run in Lies Of P before you’ve finished reading this newsletter, it sometimes feels that you’re missing out on some fairly basic moves.

I’ll admit, I’m being hyper-critical here but when you borrow so egregiously from one of the very best videogames I have ever played, you invite comparisons to that game that are only ever going to come off unfavourably for the most part. As you get further into the game, however, Lies Of P begins to get a bit more comfortable and confident with its own elements and it really starts to shine. The levels get a little more complex. The bosses get more and more challenging with some spectacular designs. You start to really reap the benefits from the unique weapon customisation, which allows you to mix and match head and hilt from any weapon you find, imbuing them with different abilities. You’re forced to experiment with the tools Lies Of P gives you to succeed and you start to see that, as it turns out, ripping off Bloodborne still puts you head and shoulders above a lot of the competition.


There’s three clear areas where I think you can say with confidence that Lies Of P is either superior to Bloodborne or simply brings something to the table that is really smart, unique and undeniably cool. Firstly, it’s the performance. If you think Bloodborne is inferior because it runs at 30fps I think you’re an idiot but let's not beat around the bush, if you’ve got the option of 60fps then take it, man. A special shoutout to the Series S version here, which can run at 1440P/40fps if you have a monitor that can do those weird framerates. Secondly, unlike Bloodborne, there’s a whole load more variety in your build choice thanks to the three starting ‘classes’ and the sheer variety of weapons and customisation possibilities. You can really shape your build around your playstyle in a way that, although present in Bloodborne, is far less nuanced than what you can do in Lies Of P.

Finally, and for my money this is Lies Of P’s one genius idea - the ability to regain one of the Estus Flask equivalents when you have used them all up. Once you’ve healed with your final Estus (or whatever it is called here) you begin charging up a meter by landing hits on enemies. Once filled, you gain your last Estus back. This means that you’re never out of a fight and you’re encouraged to play the game on the front foot. In Bloodborne, when you’re down to the last of your health and you have no means of recovering it against a boss it can feel a little helpless and like you may as well just die and try again. Here, you should never give up. With some skilled play, you can get that bonus Estus and get yourself a health boost when you really need it and then, of course, begin charging another. It’s such a smart mechanic and one that harmonises perfectly with the best elements of this type of game. A near perfect bit of risk/reward.

The thing about Lies Of P is even though you can look at it as a fairly cynical Bloodborne rip that you can play on things other than a PS4 but it turns out a Bloodborne rip is actually still remarkably good. Despite borrowing a whole lot from From Software’s masterpiece it does deliver all of those elements brilliantly and, as you get further and further into Lies Of P, it starts to stamp its own identity onto things. Despite falling short of the truly elite titles it takes influence from, I think Lies Of P sits comfortably above the other ‘best of the rest’ Soulsborne titles like the Nioh games and is easily the finest non-From Software game in the genre. Now, does Neowin fancy having a crack at a Sekiro-a-like next? Whatever they have planned, they’ve certainly gained my attention.

At this point in the world of video games, platformers generally follow a very similar pattern. Most of these games typically some kind of character moving from left to right, or in whatever direction is laid out for the player, you take out a selection of enemies, primarily by jumping on top of them, or using other methods like with guns or swords, you collect some kind of regular item that only serves to give you points and make you feel a little better inside, and you fight a handful of bosses to ultimately conquer them and win the day. This formula has typically worked for many games, and it still works even all the way to this day, but… what if platformers can be… MORE than that? What if these games could be bigger, more stylistic, more personal, and most importantly, more story-driven? Well, that’s where cinematic platformers come in, with one of the most iconic examples of this sub-genre being with Flashback: The Quest for Identity.

I myself have dabbled in and out of cinematic platformers over the years, giving games like Limbo, Inside, and Heart of Darkness a shot, and I do remember loving those games (except for Heart of Darkness, that one is… complicated), making me want to check out what other kinds of cinematic platformers are out there, such as with Another World and the Oddworld series. In terms of Flashback, I had wanted to play that because, from what I had heard, it was THE cinematic platformer, one that defined the sub-genre, and one that had the most success and legacy behind it, with plenty of sequels and a remake being made afterwards. So, one day in 2020, I decided that I would go ahead and check it out, and yeah, I gotta admit, I really liked it. Yeah, it may be pretty dated by today’s standards, and it wasn’t the first cinematic platformer out there, but the presentation was something not many other games at the time could achieve, and it had a lot of creative and interesting elements… along with several hindrances to go alongside them.

The story is your typical “aliens try to destroy Earth” plot, but the way that it is presented and shown is much more unique, cinematic, and interesting when compared to many other games at the time, making it so that you care about what is going on (to an extent), the graphics are pretty good for the most part, with plenty of very well done hand-drawn backgrounds for the main gameplay sections, and as for the cutscenes, the animation is fantastic, despite most of the characters looking like clearer versions of characters from Alone in the Dark, which is made up with them being rotoscoped, making them feel more alive, the music is pretty good, even if, most of the time, there is no music, and instead just atmospheric sounds, but when there are tunes to hear, they do give weight to whatever is going on, and they can be good to listen to, the control is… rough, to say the least, but this is usually how most cinematic platformers around this time did control, so it is the norm, and you can get used to it when you know what to do (to an extent), and the gameplay, in terms of key elements, is stuff that has been seen before in other games, but these elements are combined together here in a way that make it stand out and much more interesting to play as a whole.

The gameplay is typical of a 2D cinematic platformer, where you take control of our hero, Conrad, travel through many different futuristic areas with plenty of variety, including cities, forests, and alien fortresses, take out plenty of enemies that you will run into with the help of your pistol and your various shields, gather plenty of items that you will need in order to complete your journey, and complete quests for people in order to proceed forward, watch more cinematics, and find out what the fate of the Earth entails. Yeah, on the surface level, it is pretty much what you would expect from a lot of 2D platformers, but one thing that makes it stand out is about how the game plays. It is very different from that of a regular platformer, feeling a lot more heavy and restrictive, which is definitely gonna turn some people away, but it does make the game feel somewhat more realistic, and in turn, more cinematic.

The other key element that makes the game stand out amongst others is, obviously, the presentation. There are plenty of very detailed and well animated cutscenes to be seen that detail key events of the story, which help the player get more involved in with what is going on, rather then the story element being just being relegated to part of the background afterwards. Not to mention, again, the more realistic animations for the characters mixed in with all of this make the game feel more cinematic as a result, which may not be as impressive nowadays, considering how far technology has come, but again, for the time it came out, it was revolutionary, to say the least. It was if you were playing out a moving, which not too many other games at the time could pull off easily. Those dumbass interactive CD games at the time couldn’t pull something like this off, with that crunchy-ass live-action footage that completely took you out of the experience.

With that being said though, the game isn’t perfect, and this all comes down to one key factor: the game is pretty fucking hard. This is something that a lot of cinematic platformers typically fall into, with difficulty ramping up quite a bit as you go along, and most of the time, I can get behind it, but for a game like this, it almost feels like too much at times. There will be plenty of moments where you are bombarded by enemies on both sides of you, and it feels like you need to be a god in order to counter and defeat some of these threats that you face, and this can result in many… many… MANY deaths. What doesn’t help this so much is how often these enemies show up, and how a lot of the time, you can die in pretty BS ways, such as running onto a screen where an enemy is, and they will kill you without you even noticing them right away, and even times where the enemy can kill you from the other screen you aren’t on. Now, this is nothing new when it comes to cinematic platformers, I get that, but it feels like this game in particular has the worst of those elements in it, with it happening so many times that it made the game less enjoyable at times, and more like a slog as a result.

Overall, despite the bullshit nature of the game at points, and the clunky-at-first-controls, I still consider Flashback to be a very good game, with great visuals for the time, very memorable presentation, challenges that feel satisfying to conquer, and a story that, while cliche, you get sucked into with how you view it. I would recommend it for those who are a fan of this sub-genre, and for those who love other games in said genre, because while I can’t say for certain that you will love this one, there is certainly something in it you can find that you will either love or appreciate for what it does. Just, you know, do yourself a favor and DON’T play the 2013 remake of this game. It isn’t worth it, trust me…

Game #342

As one would come to expect with the game that revolutionized both PC games and point-and-click adventure games forever, the original King’s Quest still somewhat holds up to this day, and it was pretty successful, becoming the start of what would be Sierra On-Line’s flagship franchise. So, naturally, just one year later, we would get a follow-up to the first game in the form of King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne. Much like the sequels to Sierra’s other games, this game didn’t really do much different when compared to the previous entry on a grand scale, but it did feature some differences, along while primarily focusing on continuing the story of Grant after he became king. So, on that aspect, it is a good sequel, and a good game on its own, but if you expecting anything big and bombastic for a sequel of King’s Quest, then you aren’t going to get that here, even if there really isn’t anything wrong with that.

The story is no longer about becoming king, but now finding yourself a queen, because I guess he just can’t be a true king without a bride, the graphics are somewhat on the same level as the original game, but it does look somewhat better, like with the more detailed sprite of Grant at the beginning, the music, once again, is almost non-existent throughout most of the game, but for the few tracks that do show up, they are alright, the control is the exact same as the original, no need to go on about that, and the gameplay is also primarily the same as the original as well, but it still provides a good amount of enjoyment whenever you do solve the puzzles laid out for you.

The game continues the point-and-click gameplay first established in the original King’s Quest, where you take control of Grant, you go around exploring various locations, click on a bunch of things and type out a lot of commands to effect numerous creatures and characters seen throughout the land, get items to help you along your quest, and solve the puzzles laid out before you to get closer to your one true love. Much like with the plenty of other Sierra On-Line games we have discussed so far, mechanically, nothing has changed from the first installment, with the primary changes being with the content in the adventure itself. In terms of the locations you visit, there is a lot more variety in where you go, and they are more interesting as a result. With the first game, you primarily only traveled to houses, caves, a land in the sky, and that is about it, but with this games, not only are most of those types of locations still present here, we also have undersea kingdoms, a vampire’s castle, a… church (for some reason), and an entire other world. It isn’t all too out there or creative, but this additional variety is much appreciated for the sequel.

In terms of other new additions to the game, there is now an introduction cutscene, which provides more character and a tiny bit of a cinematic feeling to the game, which is nice to see. Alongside that, this game also has a more linear structure, which some who played the original may find a bit disappointing, but I personally didn’t mind this change, especially since the branching elements of the original are implemented in a different way. Instead of being able to complete objectives in different orders, you are able to solve puzzles or situations with various solutions, which not only allows for more proper experimentation (which is greatly appreciated), but it also allows for more replayability, something that is always welcome, especially with a game as primitive and simple as this.

If you have read my review for the original King’s Quest, or with the Leisure Suit Larry games, you already know exactly what my problems are for this game. Guide game mentality, awkward movement at points, specific commands, none of it is changed around that much, and at this point, I shouldn’t expect much change until we make it to the titles released in the early 90’s. Thankfully, this time around, I had no moments as bad as the one I had with climbing the beanstalk in the last game, but I did have some similar troubles with something as simple as walking up stairs. I dunno what I was doing wrong exactly, but I remember I had barely any trouble moving up and down stairs in the original game, despite how weird it was to do. With this game, however, I was having plenty of troubles with them, either with me getting stuck on some random imaginary barrier that I suppose I should have known about (you know, that old-game BS), or just falling down them and dying when it felt like I really shouldn’t have. Again, this wasn’t as specific or frustrating as that beanstalk nonsense from the last game, but it still did provide some annoyance.

Overall, despite not changing any of the gameplay mechanics yet again, as well as having more frustrations with movement, I would say that King’s Quest II is an improvement over the original, with more varied environments, more experimentation with puzzle solutions, and more imagination as a whole, which is very much appreciated for this type of game. I would recommend it for those who are fans of the original game, or any of the other similar titles from either the King’s Quest series or any of Sierra’s other titles. However, if you aren’t really that into these types of games, then there is little reason for you to check this out. Now I’m just wondering, now that he has become king and gotten a queen, what will Grant quest for next? For some heirs? Because let me tell you, that will be a completely different game if that will be the case.

Game #301

Well fuck. I'm not surprised that I liked Venba, but I am surprised I liked it this much.

It does feel a bit strange that it took this long for me to find a narrative-based cooking game; most of the cooking video games I've seen are either arcade-scoring style minigame collections (your Cooking Mamas), restaurant management titles like Cook, Serve, Delicious!, or sandboxes that felt so simple and structureless that they basically turned into meme simulators for me past the five minute mark. Conversely, Venba more closely resembles what I expect of my idealized cooking game: it emphasizes the puzzle-like qualities of cooking via mastering techniques at the right time (something that no other game I'm aware of has really capitalized upon) while also using cooking as a narrative vessel to impart past memories of learning/executing recipes and thoroughly exploring culture via the medium of the culinary arts. Granted, Venba's puzzles are easy enough to navigate but still aren't free, and that does wonders in aiding its lean towards storytelling: without spoiling too much, entire sections of recipes are often missing, and thus part of the fun is filling out the gaps as the player to "correct" the dishes. You won't get penalized unlike a restaurant sim though, and that's the fun of cooking! Sometimes, you just want to experiment a little and try out new techniques, and if you mess up, that's just kitchen learning in a nutshell.

What I wasn't expecting though, was just how deeply I resonated with the narrative. My immediate family and I are immigrants, and quite frankly, I've inquired a little here and there about what they've sacrificed to move to the US, but I clearly haven't asked enough. While I've never genuinely felt ashamed of my own culture, I've absolutely felt the pressure to "fit in" and in many cases, felt a bit of the old embarrassment rise up again from playing this game due to how disconnected I've often felt from my old home city versus having now lived in the states for a while. English isn't my first language, but it may as well have been now given my difficulties writing and sometimes speaking my old language, and losing my grasp of all these things that were once more familiar to me has always been a sore point in my life. This game is a reminder to me that even if I may have grown up in an entirely different world than my parents, they're still my family at the end of the day regardless of cultural differences and it's still my past; I might have had years slip by where I chose to remain intentionally apathetic to parts of my family's heritage, but that doesn't mean that I can't start catching up now to try and make up for lost ground.

The game is only about an hour long with just six recipes included (and a couple near the end are a bit too guided), but I'm willing to overlook its brevity because this experience is going to sit with me for a while: it almost feels like it was written for me at times. Definitely one of the best surprises to come out this year. Thank you for the meal, Venba. Think I'm gonna go call my parents now and tell them how much I've missed them.

I have been in love with the Pikmin series since day one, being absolutely glued to the screen trying to help Olimar find all his ship pieces, which turned into finding treasure pieces for the Boss, and eventually into various fruits for a dying Koppai planet. I was pretty satisfied with the Pikmin series ending at 3, but I know the online community was especially loud about wanting a 4th one, and to be honest, I was a little curious where they would go with the series after 3, so hey, why not check it out?

I went in fully knowing that this era of Nintendo is no longer what I loved growing up with, but I still wanted to go in with an open mind, and hopefully be happy to find it keeping to its core. But after finishing the game, I couldn’t help but feel unsatisfied and just very… odd about the whole experience. Pikmin 4 isn’t bad, especially compared to other games on the Switch, Pikmin 4 is actually quite good in comparison! But after thinking about it for a little bit, I think I can sum up why I wasn’t quite as happy with Pikmin 4 as I was in the past Pikmin games.

Assistance

Pikmin 4 is too kind to you, so kind in fact, that it takes away the original enjoyment I had with the game. Pikmin 1 & 2, and Pikmin 3 on the Wii U all are games that create an environment with a mission that you need to complete, sounds easy enough, right? Well, no. The whole point of Pikmin is to complete your goal with literally EVERYTHING in the world out against you. It’s you, this tiny little man not even the height of a GameCube disc, and your funny little fellas, out against literally EVERYTHING. Pikmin started as a series called Adam & Eve where you had to control an eventual 100-person tribe of people with their own freewill and get them to complete tasks for you. You were essentially supposed to play God, with your little people as your followers.

I see SO many people complain about how it seems like the pikmin in Pikmin 1 are completely braindead or go against your wishes in order to jump into the water, fall off bridges/ledges, or run right into fire walls, and I can not stress this enough; That. Is. The. Goddamn. POINT. The Pikmin are supposed to be annoying, they’re supposed to go against your wishes, because to put it bluntly, Olimar is finding these creatures and making them into his blooming slaves. They follow Olimar because of the light on his helmet, but in the end, they still have their own wants and desires, and THAT is what makes Pikmin an incredibly amazing and insanely unique game never before seen. It’s a game where you have to fight against nature WITH nature in order to complete your goal.

What Pikmin 4 does that ended up taking the enjoyment away from me was that instead of making it a game of nature fighting AGAINST you, it’s now a game of puzzles that helps GIVE you that push towards completing your goal. Gone is that challenge. Gone is that struggle. Instead, you can rest easy in knowing the game will help you in any way it possibly can. The base is too far, making carrying items back difficult from environmental aspects (water, walls, unbuilt bridges, etc) or there being too many enemies no longer an issue, you can just move the base now. The fear of losing your Pikmin and being low on a certain type is gone, as Oatchi, as undeniably cute as he is, can be trained to withstand any elemental obstacle (minus poison), and can be trained to be as strong as 100 Pikmin to boot! He is a built-in, mandatory handicap to the entire game’s mechanic.

There are other things to critique and there are lots of things to admire, but this review is already long enough, and it’s really not that important. Overall, I would say Pikmin 4 is a good game in the sense that it does what it set out to do, and also seems to have fixed certain aspects that made the game more playable for a wider ranged audience, which I can’t have any serious vendetta against. It’s no longer the game series that I originally fell in love with, but that doesn’t mean I’m upset at people who could never get into the old games and find joy in Pikmin 4, in fact, I feel the exact opposite. I’m very happy to see so many people so passionate and happy about it in a way I felt about the original game, and ultimately, that’s what is most important to me.

P.S. If I was Olimar, I would just kill Louie at this point.

So far in this series, we have had a trilogy of frustrating, yet wonderful games on the NES (all the problems with Simon’s Quest aside), and two handheld titles that weren’t quite perfect, with Castlevania: The Adventure in particular being extremely flawed, but for what they were, they were pretty effective as the first handheld titles for the series. Oh yeah, and there was also that one arcade title as well, but shhhhh, we don’t talk about that game in this household. Now, after this slew of titles, it was about time that this series was brought to the next generation of systems, with Masahiro Ueno being up to the task, not only deciding to make the game less frustrating in comparison to previous games, but also making a game that would be a remake of sorts of the original Castlevania. So, after two years of development, Super Castlevania IV was released to the public, and has since been praised and enjoyed for many decades to come.

This is considered to be one of, if not THE best, game in the entire Castlevania series, and when you play it, you can definitely see why. I myself wouldn’t consider it the best game in the series, as there would be several games made later down the road that I would say I enjoyed a lot more then this game, but don’t think that I am saying this game is bad, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. In my opinion, this is what I would consider the PERFECT rendition of the original Castlevania, and it is executed flawlessly in practically everything that it sets out to do. Yeah, it is kind of a step back when compared to Castlevania III and the features that game introduced (which is understandable, but still), and some of the bosses can be a huge pain in the ass, but none of those things ruined my experience with what is the perfect way the Castlevania series could have entered the 16-bit era.

The story is… basically the exact same as the original Castlevania, which is completely fine, as you really don’t need a big story to get you into the action, the graphics are absolutely fantastic, not only having the perfect look for these gothic environments, but also having fantastic atmosphere, which can even be seen as early on as the intro cutscene and the title screen, the music is GODLY, with plenty of original tracks along with remixes of classic themes, and there are some real head-bangers to be heard from this, the control is… I’m not ready to gush about them just yet, we will get to them eventually, and the gameplay is a pretty good evolution of the classic formula, while keeping things mostly familiar for those who are coming from the previous games in the series.

The game is your typical 2D Castlevania title, where you travel through many different side-scrolling levels, whipping many different gothic monsters along the way, gathering hearts, sub-weapons, and items to help you deal with the many baddies seen throughout, and taking on many larger-then life bosses, with the bosses themselves having great variety, either being classic monsters we have seen before, or new types of monsters with their own gimmick. Yeah, the game sticks closely to the original formula from the original Castlevania, which is kind of a letdown, again, considering what Castlevania III brought to the table, but what makes up for this is how the game manages to take this formula and perfect it.

Playing through the game overall does feel a lot less frustrating then that of the original game, with there not being too many instances of cheap damage or deaths that you will encounter. Now don’t get me wrong, this game is still pretty damn hard (after all, it wouldn’t be a Castlevania game if it was easy), but a lot of the hardships you will encounter can be taken care of pretty easily, and you will feel responsible for the damage you take and deaths you suffer… well, most of the time anyway. There will be several bosses, especially towards the end, where you will have quite a difficult time with them, as they are relentless, but thankfully, with the help of the unlimited continues, they shouldn’t take too long for you to take down once you learn their patterns.

One of the defining features of this game, and one of the reasons that I absolutely adore it, is with the control. This game has the BEST control scheme out of any of the classic Castlevania games, and I wish the future games would’ve stuck to, but hey, at least we have it here. For all of the previous game, while the control was enough to get a hang of, it was still pretty limited, with a very stiff movement and being unable to change your jump in midair. Thankfully now, despite still have a somewhat stiff movement, you can change your direction in midair while jumping, as well as do things like jump onto stairs to help you get through places faster. It may not sound like much, but it does help out a lot, making the pacing much faster, and giving you an edge up over the enemies. And speaking of getting an edge up over the enemies, this also goes into your whip, which is the best that it has been and will ever be in any of these games. Not only does it still pack a punch and have a great length, especially with the powerups, but you can also whip it in 8 different directions, as well as being able to… flail it around like an idiot, for some reason. I don’t need to explain to you how helpful this maneuverability and attack range is, allowing me to get plenty of hits and kills in on enemies that, if the attacking was the same as the original game, I would never be able to do easily without some damage.

Overall, despite some slight hiccups to be found here and there, this is definitely the best entry in the Castlevania series so far, and one of the best in the entire series. If you were a fan of the original trilogy of games, or you want to experience the series but don’t know where to start, then I would highly recommend it, as I guarantee that you will have at least some fun with it. I can’t even think of an ending joke this time around, the game is just too good. Go play it. NOW.

Game #254

Any console, video game company, or franchise always has their noteworthy and popular titles, ones that most fans of said consoles, company, and franchise could easily identify and have an opinion on, due to their widespread nature. However, for all of these, there are always those games that manage to slip under the radar, that few people know about in comparison to the big boys, but also manage to provide a memorable and creative experience that other games of the time don’t try. I have covered several hidden gems on this site so far, like with Power Blade and Alien Storm, but out of the few that I have checked out, this might just be my favorite hidden gem of the bunch, and that gem would be Metal Storm on the NES.

You could understand why this game wouldn’t be too noteworthy just by looking at the cover and some gameplay screenshots. It looks pretty generic for an NES title, and aside from the fact that you play as someone in a mech suit, you wouldn’t think there would be that much reason to take a look at the game at first. However, when I decided to try it out after hearing about it, I was pleasantly surprised at what I was given, and I would say that this game is pretty damn great, and definitely an underrated title of the system. It’s not perfect by any means, which I will get into later, but for the most part, it sets out what it wants to do almost flawlessly, and was very fun to experience for the first time.

The story is about what you would expect from something set in the year of 2501, but it is all you need to get into some mech fighting action, the graphics are pretty good, although a lot of the enemy designs are pretty generic, so they could’ve been made a whole lot better, the music is very good, the control is pretty solid, although some of the mechanics can take a little getting used to, and the gameplay is what you would expect from this genre, but the twists and spins on the formula make it a whole lot of fun.

The game at first seems like your average 2D action platformer, where you take control of your big mech suit, go through various stages, shooting plenty of enemies that take various forms and require a lot of maneuvering to take out, getting plenty of different powerups to increase your defense or attack power, and take on plenty of bosses that will put your speed and reflexes to the test. Yes, it is all what we have all seen before, but it does feel very fun and satisfying to play, having a nice difficulty curve that many other NES games didn’t have, and, again, testing your reflexes and timing in a way that doesn’t feel aggravating, like other games.

However, there is one aspect of the gameplay that separates itself from all of the other games like this on the system and at the time: The manipulation of gravity. Throughout the game, you can change the gravity to where you can either walk on the ground or up on the ceiling or bottom of platforms, and not only are you affected by this, but several of the enemies and obstacles that you will encounter along the way are as well. As you would expect, the game makes sure to test how well you can use this mechanic to pass its challenges, with not only the enemy placements and how you jump on certain platforms, but also with several puzzle elements that require using the gravity manipulation to solve. In my opinion, I think this mechanic was implemented into the game perfectly, as it does make traversing through these stages feel much more compelling and fun, and while it did take me a while to get used to the controls for flipping the gravity, it only became a bit of an issue in several circumstances that didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all.

Despite how much I did enjoy this game though, it isn’t perfect. Some of the boss fights that you take on throughout the game can get pretty annoying, specifically the last two, due to their mechanics. They are doable, but it does take a while to get used to how to properly take them on. And speaking of bosses, that goes into my main problem with this game: the last stage is just a boss rush. Like I have mentioned in the past, I am completely fine with boss rushes as long as there is some kind of growth to be found in between the original fights and the rematches, but this game doesn’t have that at all, and it just comes off as unnecessary padding in a game that really doesn’t need it. What’s even stranger is that, usually at the end of a boss rush, there would be another boss to fight that would serve as the final foe of the game, but this game doesn’t have that, and instead just has you shooting these nodes before the time runs out, which isn’t really all that satisfying at all. If I had any other minor complaints, it would be that you need to beat the game a second time on a harder difficulty in order to even see the credits, but really, that is something that I just ignored overall, because the game already has an acceptable conclusion without one.

Overall, despite some annoyances with the bosses here and there, I still had a pretty great time with this game, and I would consider it to be one of the best hidden gems that the NES has to offer. I would definitely recommend it for those who are looking for something different to play from the system that isn’t a Mario or a Zelda. Shame that it never did get a sequel though, because if it did, I would buy that in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

Game #250

Data East, back when they were still around, weren’t really that noteworthy or as big when compared to the other big boys at the time. They did make a few products that people would remember fondly, and would get plenty of follow-ups, such as with Burgertime and Windjammers, but in comparison to other companies like Capcom and Konami, they really weren’t anything all too special or memorable. That being said, there are still some good titles to be found in their library, and I have been meaning to get around to checking some of them out for a while now (he says, knowing fully well he’s not gonna do that for a good couple of months, possibly even longer). Out of all of their franchises though, the one that I am most familiar with, even if it may not be the most creative or appealing of them, would be with… Caveman Ninja. Ok, not gonna lie, that is a fucking terrible name, but it did get renamed to Joe & Mac when it got put onto the SNES, so I am calling it that from now on.

I first discovered Joe & Mac a long time ago via the Jontron video about it, and in the good ol’ Mega fashion, I then didn’t get around to playing it until only about three years ago. So, after finally checking it out, was it worth “waiting” that long to play it. I mean… kinda? Sure, it really isn’t anything all that noteworthy, as when you take a look at it, you pretty much know exactly what you are gonna get from it, but for what it is worth, it is still a pretty good game, and a good start to the Joe & Mac series.

The story takes inspiration from Avengers by having multiple girls that needs to be saved (so proud of the “progressive” nature of these stories), the graphics are pretty good, with all the characters and enemies not only looking good, but also having fun and detailed animations to give the game personalities, the music is pretty good, and it vibes with the prehistoric theme smoothly, the control is good, of course, but I won’t lie, moving around and jumping does feel sort of awkward, given how you do the different jumps, and the gameplay is your standard arcade platforming affair, but that doesn’t make it bad in the slightest.

The game is your average 2D platformer, where you move through various prehistoric levels, defeating all sorts of cavemen, dinosaurs, and what have you, getting various foods and weapons along the way to give you an advantage against the challenges, and fighting various bosses as well. Alongside all of that, there are also plenty of different routes that you can take while going through the levels, with paths you can only experience if you go one way over the other, and there are three endings that you can get depending on these pathways (specifically the ones at the end of the game), so it does allow for a good amount of replay value for those that want to get the most out of the game.

So yeah, it has a good amount going for it, but as you have probably thought at this point, there isn’t really anything too standout from other titles of the time in terms of content. With that in mind, is there anything to like and admire about Joe & Mac compared to others? Well, yeah, I would definitely say so. Not only is the gameplay itself fun, and experimenting with the weapons is satisfying, especially with charged shots, but like I mentioned earlier, this game has a lot of personality. Not only are the enemies and bosses full of life and variety, despite them all being creatures we have seen before, but Joe & Mac themselves are extremely expressive, having plenty of different animations for getting hurt, attacking, moving, and grabbing items, even with the health bar icon in the top left of the screen. Sure, it isn’t much, but considering how not too many other games at the time had varying expressions for their characters, this was admirable to see, and they still hold up very well.

Of course, it isn’t perfect. Like I said, for the most part, the gameplay is your standard 2D platforming affair, so if you are looking for something different from your old-school platformer, you aren’t going to get that here. Not to mention, the levels themselves are pretty damn short, which I wouldn’t necessarily complain about for a game released in this year, but then you notice that they placed checkpoints in these levels for when you die, when they REALLY didn’t need to be there at all. Although, with that being said, it kinda makes sense for later down the line, because OH SHIT, who is that behind the curtain? Why, it’s our good old friend, arcade syndrome! God, I really didn’t miss you. Yeah, you get it at this point, lots of enemies thrown at you at once, not too much breathing room, but thankfully this time around, it isn’t as bad or overwhelming as something like Wonder Boy in Monster Land, so that is better, at least.

Overall, while it isn’t anything too special, it is still a pretty decent platformer from Data East, and a pretty solid start to what would be a short lived series for the company. If you ever needed to kill 30 minutes, and you have a friend along for the ride, there would certainly be plenty of worse options to waste your time with. Let’s just hope that, for the next game, it doesn’t change itself too drastically from this original title, while still being very similar, making everything way too confusing. That would just be absurd.

Game #246

Man, Mario has had a lot of odd occupations over the years, hasn’t he? He has been a carpenter, a plumber, a factory worker, owning a cement factory, being a construction worker, and being Princess Peach’s personal savior, while she constantly keeps him in the friend zone as payment. You name the job, and he has probably done it at some point in his life. Out of all of his jobs though, one of the most odd positions he has taken is that of a doctor, and a pretty bad one at that. All he does whenever he faces a problem with his patients (usually involving the same exact viruses), he just throws an endless amount of pills at them to try to take care of the issue… you know, just like a real doctor! But anyway, enough of the obvious jokes, it’s Dr. Mario on the NES!

This would be the first of the Dr. Mario series (obviously) and the start of many (and I mean MANY) different spin-offs for the Mario franchise, diving head first into the puzzle genre. So, for being the very first puzzle game for the series, I would say that it does a pretty damn good job at bringing the character into the genre, as well as being a pretty good game in general. It may not be that exciting or complicating of a puzzle game, and I can see how others wouldn’t get into this as much as I would, but personally, I find it to be a pretty fun time, and a good way to kill an hour of time where I have nothing better to do.

The graphics are pretty good for NES, with the sprites for Mario and the viruses being very well-made, with plenty of animations to give them personality to make them more memorable, the music is iconic and incredible, even if there aren’t too many tracks to choose from in the game itself, the control is incredibly simple and easy to understand, which is the best outcome that you can get from a puzzle game, and the gameplay is fun and addicting, still being good to go back to even with all the other games that would update the formula to make it better over the years.

The game is sort of a spin on your typical falling block puzzle game, where you will be given an endless amount of pills of varying color, and you will use them to attempt to take out each of the viruses in each round, rotating and moving them around to where you can place them strategically to take them all out. It is very simplistic, and pretty easy to figure out for beginners, while remaining pretty fun after all this time. There are plenty of levels to go through, each with their own amount of viruses, increasing the difficulty, and the options to choose how fast the pills fall, and the kind of music you listen to throughout, giving enough for the player to do and challenge themselves with.

Back when I reviewed Tetris, I mentioned that I prefer this game a lot more in comparison, and the primary reason for that is because, with this game, there is a clear goal for each level: to destroy the viruses. Yes, Tetris does have a clear goal as well, but that’s moreso just to see how many points you get before you lose, and even try to outlast other players that you are facing. There is appeal in that type of gameplay as well, but as someone who is very goal-oriented, having a clear task to complete is much more appealing to me personally, and thus, makes Dr. Mario much more fun.

There aren’t really any problems with the game overall, not that I can notice, but I guess if I could point out something, I would say that, just like with the original Street Fighter II, this game does feel outdated compared to future games. They aren’t updated versions of the same game, but they do take the basic gameplay and make it more appealing and addicting overall, as seen even with Dr. Mario Express, which was my personal introduction with the series, and the one that I definitely sank the most time into as a kid. So, when I originally came to this original game to try it out, the thought did cross my mind that I could just be playing Express, but I still had fun with this one regardless.

Overall, while it could be seen as outdated alongside the future games in the series, the original Dr. Mario is still a pretty solid title, and a great way to start off this small, yet memorable sub-series for Mario, and one that I still play sometimes to this day. If you are a big fan of Dr. Mario, then I would definitely check out the original to see how you like it, but if you are just a casual enjoyer of the games, then just stick with newer entries. And speaking of newer entries, I think it’s about time we had a new game for this series, don’tcha think? Where’s Dr. Mario on the Switch, Nintendo, HUH?

Game #243

Well, at this point, we had both Golden Axe, a Sega beat-’em-up with a pretty piss poor execution that could’ve been good rather then just being meh, and Alien Storm, a Sega beat-’em-up that was actually pretty damn great, not only getting the general flow of combat and speed down to a fun level, but also mixing in different gameplay styles to keep things unique and interesting. However, despite one of them getting a good number of follow-ups, they wouldn’t be the only times that Sega would try to make a beat-’em-up for their systems. Shortly after Alien Storm, there would be yet another beat-’em-up developed, one that would not only borrow the look and feel of others like Double Dragon and Final Fight, but would also take inspiration from action shows like The A-Team and Starsky & Hutch. This title would go on to be the start of what several could argue was the best beat-’em-up series from the company: Streets of Rage.

I have a bit of a small history with Streets of Rage as a whole. I remember once playing through the entirety of Streets of Rage 2, and I remember having a good time with it, and I also checked out Streets of Rage 4 back when it came out, and I remember that game being pretty freakin’ sweet (not to mention, the music slapped way harder then it needed to). So, I decided to check out the original Streets of Rage to see where it all began, and MAN, it is rough. I would consider it a good start to the entire series, but it is clear that we are experiencing “first-game syndrome” here, as the series would only progress to get better and better as it continued. That being said, I still had a good time with this one.

The story is simple, of course, but it is enough to get you on the move and get ready to beat up a bunch of random people, the graphics are pretty nice, and they look a lot more appealing then the style that was done with Golden Axe and Alien Storm, the music is a pretty good listen, the controls are simple, easy to pick up, and easy to start kicking ass with, as they should be, and the gameplay is your usual beat-’em-up affair in the most literal possible sense.

The game is your typical 2D beat-’em-up, where you take control of one out of three characters, traverse through many different areas, beat up all the goons that think that they can take you down, using different moves to do so, pick up various weapons, health items, and points to help you along the way, use special attacks to gain an advantage over foes, and defeat plenty of bosses. That is about all that this game has to offer, which could be seen as a problem with the game. Compared to the other beat-’em-ups that were out before this, there really is nothing that it brings to the table, even with the style, which has been done before and much better, in my opinion. It all just comes down to if you like what this game gives you in comparison to others.

So, does this game tick all the boxes of a good beat-’em-up? Well, yeah, I definitely think so. If there is something I have made clear with other games that I have talked about (or at least tried to make clear), beat-’em-ups should keep the action at a good, fast pace, with fast attacks and movement to give you a good sense of control, while also making things challenging to also give the player that feeling of satisfaction whenever they conquer a foe. Thankfully, this game manages to do that, letting you dish out attacks fast, while also challenging you to make sure you aren’t over confident, or else you will get damaged. You yourself don’t move too fast, but hey, as long as they don’t get to you first, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

And speaking of issues, it’s time to talk about the ones this game has! The core gameplay itself doesn’t really have any major issues, but what does have major issues would be the bosses. Most of the bosses aren’t really that difficult to take down, and a good number of them act the way you would expect them to, but there are a couple that can be a pain in the ass, such as the boss for Round 4, who is a fire breather that moves back and forth who will most likely hit you most of the time, and then Round 5 comes along and says “Hey, you know what, we can outdo that bullshit! How about we give you these two women who are constantly jumping around, and whenever they get close to you, 9 times out of 10, they will grab you and slam you down before you get a chance to do damage!”...... yeah, fuck those two in particular.

If I had any more complaints, I would say I’m not a fan of how bosses are reused in later stages as either mini bosses or just regular enemies (including everyone’s FAVORITES from Round 5), but then again, that’s a problem that stems across a lot of games, not just this one, so it isn’t that big of a complaint. Either way though, I still enjoyed my time with the original Streets of Rage, and no couple of annoying foes are gonna make me say that the game isn’t worth checking out. I am almost 100% positive that the sequels are gonna be much better then this, but for what it’s worth, it has aged pretty well, and that is something to admire.

Overall, while not really doing anything to try to reinvent the wheel, Streets of Rage is still a solid enough beat-’em-up that mainly serves as a blueprint for where the series could go from here. A pretty good blueprint, but a blueprint nonetheless. And hey, Streets of Rage 2 ended up getting an almost perfect reception, so it seems like we can only go uphill from here! Unless they fuck it up, somehow.

Game #242

after playing doom I was 100% convinced the next thing I was gonna play had to be doom eternal I feel like these games has some sort of drugs into them its impossible to explain to be honest if you give some rehab people this game they're gonna be free from addiction in like a week I can assure you I study psychology that's how it works I swear

doom 2016 was already an incredible game the amount of artillery and the different enemies and the fast paced gameplay was something so addicting I could not put it down for like 10 hours in a row

now doom eternal should ideally improve on that and it sure did but somehow I ended up enjoying the first game more for some reasons unknown to me maybe its actually the fact that it was a nuance for me or maybe the fact that I played them back to back and I grew tired of it after a while but whatever this game is still a damn good time

the story was never the main point of the game but its still possible that I liked the first ones lore more I don't fully enjoy the direction they went with this one I preferred the streamlined journey instead of mini missions for the hero of the week doom slayer and I mean that's still fine because that's the focus

weapons still have a wide arrange of mods and stuff and shit some weapons came back directly from the first game some others are entirely new and make for some variety in the gameplay and they still do have upgrades to make and different quirks so thats still pretty fun

still there's some other stuff coming back like the upgrade for the suits and challenges for each levels and secrets and most of the demons and like the weird humor that actually made me smile sometimes here too

the game undoubtedly looks gorgeous maybe even more than the first game BUT I do think doom 2016 still has a lot more cohesion in the different environments and art design of the places you're going through this one with different micro missions so of course the places range a lot and honestly ? the floating city and maybe mars again are very interesting places to roam and explore they really do a damn good job with these I want to see the concept arts so bad

demons now have some kind of weakness so you can streamline the killing to your favor and they added some more weapons and accessories to help you through and also to clear the stage like the green ultra bomb that kills everything in front of you

I don't mind demons weaknesses they're fine but sometimes I felt like if you didnt have the right ammo to exploit that weakness the demon would be a fucking burden to kill so idk what that would mean in game design terms

more on game design is the fact that the absolutely stunning ui is back and thriving and I kid you not every time I got a new weapon and saw how its particular gunsight design I was gonna cum as in the videos you see on Instagram lately with the guys saying I'm gonna cum im gonna cum yeah that was basically me though the fact that the entirety of the game is way more flashy means that the color schemes for weapons ammo and health items is a lot more confused in the stage . the red of Mars against the fluorescent colors of the items was a great contrast in the original

now umh the osts still are hard metal and still bop a fucking lot unfortunately I can't say a lot about them since I haven't year listened to the album in full and they all sounded like good metal and thats it

achilles heel is probably the boss battles which ranged from decent to absolutely unbearable I have no idea who thought that final boss was a good idea but It definitely wasn't I didn't see a lot of people complain about it on the reviews so it's possible that I just suck big time and thats to be expected im not that fond of FPSs anyway people in the room

whatever great game can't believe doom is this good yet again probably gonna play ancient gods back to back because I need to free these fucking 100 GBs from my pc for the love of god