mathgoblin
55 Reviews liked by mathgoblin
Hades
2018
In line with Supergiant's insistence that every video game be a picture book, Hades is the first roguelike where the cyclical nature of the genre actual carries real narrative impact. The rest of the game is pretty standard fare, but actually integrating the narrative so closely with such a foundationally important mechanic is something to be proud of.
Among Us
2018
when the reviewer is sus
Ultrakill
2020
Very high quality game, probably has the best quality-parts-to-game-time ratio of any shooter you can find right now. Mechanics are mostly execution based, rather than systemically learnable, but that's a fine aesthetic choice in a twitch shooter where you need to get the high score to totally P-rank your buddies.
Great game for speedrunning and high-scoring. Probably gonna come back and raise the score once the game's finished.
Great game for speedrunning and high-scoring. Probably gonna come back and raise the score once the game's finished.
Katana Zero
2019
Started out decently and then I got to the stealth level and I just didn't want to deal with it.
Noita
2020
Technically exquisite. Rendering, processing, and interacting that many physics particles at once without lighting a small fire on any machine is something to be proud of. I would pay real money to sit down with the devs and pick their brains on the massive optimizations they must have managed to make this possible.
Actual gameplay? meh.
Actual gameplay? meh.
Still the best multiplayer pirate game to ever hit the 'net.
There's a community rerelease btw, you should check it out.
There's a community rerelease btw, you should check it out.
Seeds of Love
2019
Is it cheating to give a good review to games I myself have worked on?
Well, RockPaperShotgun said it was good so close.enough
Well, RockPaperShotgun said it was good so close.enough
Chrome Dino
2014
...what?
Risk of Rain 2
2019
Has a strange internal tug-of-war going on. On one hand, the theming and lore of the game imply a smallness, a powerlessness, that being on this world forces upon the survivors (albiet less than the original did). On the other hand, once you're 30 minutes in everything devolves into a number splicing murderfest where the sound of the damage tick gets permanently etched into your brain until you decide to kick whats-his-name into low orbit or you obliterate. These two things feel out of sync to me, and it makes me wonder what exactly this game is after when there are two such conflicting halves.
Oh, what's that? They've got matchmaking in this one? Yeah nevermind 10/10 best game very good game
Oh, what's that? They've got matchmaking in this one? Yeah nevermind 10/10 best game very good game
Super Mario Odyssey
2017
Of all of the 3D Adventure Mario games (64, Sunshine, Galaxies et. al.), Odyssey leans into the adventuring the hardest, which is a very very very very good thing because 3D Adventuring is what made all of those other games good in the first place.
Slime Rancher
2016
slimnes <3
Pokémon Go
2016
Not a ton going on with Go, but its one of the few AR games that really has some gameplay going for it (even if it is just an Ingress clone), so for that it gets a pass on innovation alone.
The Beginner's Guide
2015
not to get pretentious on backloggd dot com but if someone says video games cant be art, show them this game.
The Beginner's Guide
2015
The fact that I can't figure out if this game is intended to have a deeper meaning behind the narrator being a bad friend isn't a good sign.
Transistor
2014
Actually beautiful. The gameplay is good enough, sure, but the story of Red and her blade-bound bae wrapped up in line-y cyper-punk noir hell and fantastic vocals isn't enough to pluck your heartstrings even a little, you might need to consult a doctor.