post-apocalyptic games usually take on a much... darker tone. granted, that makes a hell of a lot of sense; the world ending isn't exactly a laughing matter. but it's interesting to take a look at a post-apocalyptic game that doesn't take on an explicitly grim view about the end of the world.

now, that's not to say umurangi generation isn't cynical; in fact, it's extremely extremely obvious that the collapse of society was accelerated due to poor decision making by the UN. but the game looks at the end of the world from a more reflective tone. what will the end of the world look like? how do people still manage to keep their lives somewhat together in a world falling apart?

umurangi generation has problems, sure. the game's physics are pretty janky, and the objectives feel... out of place, at times. but the game thrives where it needs to; creating an excellent atmosphere, better than almost any game i've played in a long, long time.

dedicated to the umurangi generation - the last generation who has to watch the world die.

it's rare for a game to leave a bad final impression. usually, you save the best for last, y'know? the big, flashy moment is right at the end.

clustertruck leaves maybe the worst possible final impression of any game i've ever played. a final boss about 3x longer than any individual level in the game, 10x more difficult, and 100x more infuriating. it's not even hard in a fun way!! it's just boring and gets difficult 2 minutes into each attempt.

the rest of the game? fine. okay. a totally acceptable, if a little unpolished, fast-paced platformer. ALSO this is probably a switch-specific problem but this game ran like hot ass, to the point where i had to LOWER MY MONITOR SETTINGS to 480p JUST TO REMOVE A LITTLE LAG.

kaze and the wild masks wears its inspiration on its sleeve; scratch that, it tattooed its inspiration across its face. kaze is basically a poor man's donkey kong country game. that's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

the level design is quite good throughout the game, the bosses feel climactic, there's plenty of stuff to collect, and the game feels pretty polished. also, weird compliment - the UI is like... really good. like surprisingly REALLY good.

the story doesn't make much sense, and i think the art and music are both just alright, but those complaints don't detract too much from a totally solid 2D platformer. it's nothing that'll shock you, but if you find it on sale, i'd pick it up. it's worth your time if this kind of 2D platformer is your thing.

professor layton, as a series, just doesn't appeal to me. there's a couple reasons why, none of which involve the actual puzzles.

the puzzles are generally pretty fun; some are pretty cryptic, sure, but that's kinda just how logic puzzles are sometimes. the puzzles are most definitely the highlight of the series, and in diabolical box, they're quite good. better than curious village, at least.

my problems don't extend to the art or music either. the cutscenes are beautifully animated, characters are expressive, and the orchestral soundtrack adds a mature feeling to much of the game that feels just right.

even the general investigations are pretty solid; walking around town, clicking on evidence and seeing layton/luke's thoughts on the environment, it's endearing. i don't particularly love how the game sometimes becomes a series of fetch quests, but the puzzles along the way break that up nicely, so it's no big deal.

nearly all my problems arise with the story, especially the characters. starting with the plot, diabolical box is not a complex game. the huge mcguffin, this elysian box, remains wholly uninteresting throughout the game. much of the intrigue comes from the towns of dropstone and folsense themselves, both of which hold a sense of intrigue that remains until the twist.

speaking of the twist, it sucks. i won't go into too much detail for the sake of spoilers, but i will say that the foreshadowing was not fleshed out at all. were there hints? sure. does the twist explain how things went down? kind of. does the twist make logical sense? not one bit.

now, now, onto my largest problem with diabolical box (and the professor layton series as a whole): Professor Hershel Layton himself. layton, as a character, is nigh perfect. a perfect gentleman, always knows what to say, deducts mysteries and puzzles without problem (often before the player). oh yeah, he can also hold his own in a swordfight, and is trusted enough by the police to intervene with a murder investigation. sure.

creating a main character whose flaws just don't exist is not a strategy that i think works. professor hershel layton isn't a good character, and that's a problem when you spend the entire damn game in his perspective. it's no fun. layton isn't changed as a character after the game, he's the exact same perfect gentleman the moment you start and the moment you roll credits. i find it infuriating.

i just don't really get the appeal of a visual novel with no character development. sure, other characters develop, but they're characters you couldn't give a shit about; the ending is a heartwarming scene between 2 characters with 2 hours of screen time combined.

i think it's just a personal problem, or i'm missing something major, but i just don't particularly understand the praise this game gets. let me know if i'm just a bumbling idiot.

i feel like AAI as a whole struggles from the problem that many of the less fun traditional ace attorney cases struggle from.

many of the case-specific characters aren't all that good, sometimes case logic can get thrown out the window, investigations can get tedious at points, the usual. none of these problems are deal-breakers on their own; i can put up with shaky logic or slow investigations or mediocre characters. unfortunately, all 3 for most of the game makes it just kind of... boring.

all the cases being connected by one large overarching enemy, that being the smuggling ring, is an interesting twist on the AA formula. unfortunately, i can't bring myself to care about this smuggling ring when i have 0 fucking clue what they're smuggling until the final case. the problem isn't the premise; it's the execution.

the logic and deduction mechanics are pretty interesting, but i think the way they're used is... just kind of odd. it never feels like you're ever connecting the dots when it matters; the deductions you make never feel all that challenging.

once again, none of these problems ruin the game on their own; it's a death by 1000 paper cuts-type deal. the ace attorney games of the past deal with a couple of these problems, at most, while AAI has all of them, all at once.

now, this is still an ace attorney game. many of the positives of the series are still here; witty writing, excellent main characters (especially kay, she's great), great visuals & music.

i can't call this game bad. i can and will call it the most flawed of the traditional ace attorney games i've played so far (i say traditional because the layton crossover is an abomination). i would still absolutely play it if you enjoy the series, because it is still more ace attorney. it's not by any means bad; just more obviously flawed than the rest.

kirby triple deluxe truly is the Kirby game of all time.

kirby is in it. whispy woods (though slightly flowerier) is in it. you can suck, Hard. it truly is the definitive kirby experience.

in all reality, triple deluxe is a solid kirby experience with not a ton really going for or against it. the level design is solid, the copy abilities are nice, the bosses are fun, the story is there. it's still a great game, but there's just not enough brought to the table, y'know? planet robobot is a complete 3 course meal; triple deluxe is a good burger and fries.

how on earth do you go from the masterwork that is planet robobot to this? star allies is even simpler than the usual kirby formula, which is saying something. i'm not expecting complex ideas from kirby, but i am expecting memorable level designs and a great gimmick. star allies has neither.

let's take a look at the couple kirby games prior to star allies. return to dreamland had the super abilities, triple deluxe had hypernova, and planet robobot had the mech suit. the largest difference between these 3 abilities and the ally gimmick in star allies is player control. all 3 prior games gave kirby himself some extra ability, while star allies simply makes kirby's job easier. the previous abilities are also designed for very specific sections of the game, which allows for the level design to adapt to kirby's extra powerful abilities at the time. star allies, on the other hand, must assume the player doesn't have friends at all times, which forces the level design to be extremely basic and one-note.

the story also lacks the impact of many of kirby's previous adventures. while kirby's never been a particularly story-focused series, triple deluxe and planet robobot had pretty solid characters and a decent emotional core. star allies more or less ditches this, and the story fails because of it.

everything else is pretty solid; it's still a kirby game. visually, the game is stunning. beautiful colors and models, which is to be expected for kirby. the game's also got great music - once again, a standard for kirby. it's not a bad game, per se, it's just a much less interesting game than the games released prior and since. it's an odd dip for a series whose quality is generally very high.