2023
oops, forgot to log this...
Really sugary-sweet stuff. Empathetically queer, memorable soundtrack, and quite compassionate to its adorable characters. Pursues some pretty interesting narrative threads about modern humans navigating the world as fans of niche fandoms like furry, tf.
Pretty solid trans rep too! Do wish there was a character somewhere between "totally ignorant egg" and "rich, successfully passing" but stories like these are all about extremes, innit
Really sugary-sweet stuff. Empathetically queer, memorable soundtrack, and quite compassionate to its adorable characters. Pursues some pretty interesting narrative threads about modern humans navigating the world as fans of niche fandoms like furry, tf.
Pretty solid trans rep too! Do wish there was a character somewhere between "totally ignorant egg" and "rich, successfully passing" but stories like these are all about extremes, innit
2022
outsider as hell. fascinating texture. super cool exploration action with a subtle but smartly balanced simple kit of tools
1997
my personal favorite neo geo game, broadly way more fair than a metal slug and charming in its own way. shit feels heavy but not clunky, meaty but not excessive. wish my character's hitbox was a bit clearer though
A Dreamcast game in every sense - especially when it sticks to strong choices that dont always work in its favor. A really solid platform for unique skill expression.
Little rough around the edges with some moments of confusing or frustrating behaviors. I respect the chutzpah of declining to offer camera control to the player, even if it makes some precision moments in the air more or less guesswork.
Little rough around the edges with some moments of confusing or frustrating behaviors. I respect the chutzpah of declining to offer camera control to the player, even if it makes some precision moments in the air more or less guesswork.
2024
Deeply satisfying to set up your autobattler-Roombas and agonize over their every maneuver, running the numbers on each encounter ahead of time. The overworld shortcuts and crazy crit builds hint at some really cool speedrun tech I'm excited for.
Plays it disappointingly straight narratively, but you already knew this game had delightful character designs and stunning environments pouring out of every scene. Even the score swept me away sometimes - particularly in the overworld night themes and at the end.
Completed on Expert, and while I had to fight tooth and nail to see credits, I did it!
Plays it disappointingly straight narratively, but you already knew this game had delightful character designs and stunning environments pouring out of every scene. Even the score swept me away sometimes - particularly in the overworld night themes and at the end.
Completed on Expert, and while I had to fight tooth and nail to see credits, I did it!
Science Fantasy Like-a-Dragon Disneyland
Continuing the trend of FF's video-game-card-games being the only ones I enjoy.
Continuing the trend of FF's video-game-card-games being the only ones I enjoy.
2023
I'm beginning to appreciate this modern indie multiplayer genre-trend that's emerging of "information-limited cooperative procedural VOIP action". See also: Phasmophobia.
Docking a half star for the strange combination of effect choices in the graphics pipeline. I guess it's a unique look, but thick cel-shaded pixelation isn't pleasant to look at.
Docking a half star for the strange combination of effect choices in the graphics pipeline. I guess it's a unique look, but thick cel-shaded pixelation isn't pleasant to look at.
It's fitting that a game about amassing huge swaths of treasure has Too Much Stuff in it. If I didn't ignore the vast majority of the side quest log in this, I'd have made myself sick of playing.
The way hunting and collecting treasures defines each of your excursions into the world molds a satisfying core loop out of this thing, although what kept me coming back was watching my friends lay the smack down on anyone who even so much as looked at me funny.
The way hunting and collecting treasures defines each of your excursions into the world molds a satisfying core loop out of this thing, although what kept me coming back was watching my friends lay the smack down on anyone who even so much as looked at me funny.
2017
Conversational text-adventure game that feels like an episode in a Netflix Original anthology series.
I think I'm getting a little tired of subjugated-humanoid-robots-with-emotions stories though
I think I'm getting a little tired of subjugated-humanoid-robots-with-emotions stories though
A real smorgasboard of weird-ass design choices. It's got moxie and some truly psychotic systems - the 15 day life cycle of your characters and the choice to make traversing floors take a whole day chief among them - but the real-time combat annoyed me into oblivion by the time I fought the chapter 3 boss. Done for now.
Also another classic case of menu-system overload. Manage your party and sub-party inventory and layout to get items to cook food to restore stamina which constantly depletes and craft upgrades for your base that require skill checks that are gated behind other skills that require skill points gained from XP that are distinct from the other kind of points you get for sustained attack combos that let you respawn your characters when they die so you can go back into the dungeons after making sure your party sleeps back to full health or in bunks with each other to get special bonuses but don't forget to use the toilet or they'll piss themselves in the middle of the dungeon and raise their stress bar so they can't attack
I guess the plot is sort of interesting?
Also another classic case of menu-system overload. Manage your party and sub-party inventory and layout to get items to cook food to restore stamina which constantly depletes and craft upgrades for your base that require skill checks that are gated behind other skills that require skill points gained from XP that are distinct from the other kind of points you get for sustained attack combos that let you respawn your characters when they die so you can go back into the dungeons after making sure your party sleeps back to full health or in bunks with each other to get special bonuses but don't forget to use the toilet or they'll piss themselves in the middle of the dungeon and raise their stress bar so they can't attack
I guess the plot is sort of interesting?
2023
I made it so
2020
More of a board game than a mystery, but the art direction carries it further than the sum of its parts.
Love the density of clever systems, but drawing encounters, stories, and available items from essentially a stack of cards, combined with the sort of autopilot story progression, didnt do as much for me as I'd hoped.
Completed two playthroughs, died a few more times.
EDIT: Knocking this up to 4 stars from 3.5 because my experience of playing has only grown more fonder with distance. Really truly more than the sum of its parts.
Love the density of clever systems, but drawing encounters, stories, and available items from essentially a stack of cards, combined with the sort of autopilot story progression, didnt do as much for me as I'd hoped.
Completed two playthroughs, died a few more times.
EDIT: Knocking this up to 4 stars from 3.5 because my experience of playing has only grown more fonder with distance. Really truly more than the sum of its parts.
Nintendo's greatest fidget toy (positive connotation) yet.
2023
Tasty audiovisual climbing experience. A great payoff for anyone who wished Uncharted's climbing took effort.
Ends sooner than you might like it to, but exactly as soon as it needs to, given the actual mechanical scope of the thing. Eight hours or more with these mechanics would probably have players cursing the fiddliness, or growing annoyed at the swinging, or something.
Ends sooner than you might like it to, but exactly as soon as it needs to, given the actual mechanical scope of the thing. Eight hours or more with these mechanics would probably have players cursing the fiddliness, or growing annoyed at the swinging, or something.
goofy ass video game. yeah i dunno man it's fine
enemies that die real good? great. levels you won't get horribly lost in? great. the experience is kinda hollowed out by a weird, kinda flat difficulty curve with pretty dull bossfights. i played on "hard" with a controller, since, you know, n64.
enemies that die real good? great. levels you won't get horribly lost in? great. the experience is kinda hollowed out by a weird, kinda flat difficulty curve with pretty dull bossfights. i played on "hard" with a controller, since, you know, n64.