moogy
2022
Based on completing all content on Nightmare mode, including an ALL+ run. I've also beaten the Extra stage and all of the individual stages (except 9) on Chaos.
Excellent shmup that blends the fun parts of CAVE and Touhou with exquisite stage and boss design. The recharging hypers and bombs let you experience the power fantasy of mowing through swarms of enemies, but you can't just spam them; there's a carefully considered balance between resource management and dodging (both practiced and ad hoc) that keeps things exciting even after sinking a dozen or more hours into the game.
You might say that that's simply how any good shmup should be designed, to which my response is: well, Like Dreamer is a very good shmup. It really nails all of the elements I like about the genre, offering oodles of content and alternate modes to boot. The staggered progression of modes and difficulties will force the player to get familiar with all of the stages and bosses in a variety of contexts, so it manages to be accessible to all skill levels as well.
It's only 14 bucks on Steam. Check it out if you like shmups, or even think you might like shmups.
Excellent shmup that blends the fun parts of CAVE and Touhou with exquisite stage and boss design. The recharging hypers and bombs let you experience the power fantasy of mowing through swarms of enemies, but you can't just spam them; there's a carefully considered balance between resource management and dodging (both practiced and ad hoc) that keeps things exciting even after sinking a dozen or more hours into the game.
You might say that that's simply how any good shmup should be designed, to which my response is: well, Like Dreamer is a very good shmup. It really nails all of the elements I like about the genre, offering oodles of content and alternate modes to boot. The staggered progression of modes and difficulties will force the player to get familiar with all of the stages and bosses in a variety of contexts, so it manages to be accessible to all skill levels as well.
It's only 14 bucks on Steam. Check it out if you like shmups, or even think you might like shmups.
The controls and camera are pretty bad but you get used to them. The actual platforming design is varied and inspired, as one would expect from the Celeste team. Very impressive for a game made in a week.
Based on 111% completion on a standard new game.
Very uninspiring game. It provides a basic Metroidvania experience, but not much more at all. It's okay if you need to kill an evening or two, but it's the sort of game that would have been unremarkable ten years ago, let alone today.
Very uninspiring game. It provides a basic Metroidvania experience, but not much more at all. It's okay if you need to kill an evening or two, but it's the sort of game that would have been unremarkable ten years ago, let alone today.
2012
Based on 1ccing both Original and Maniac modes on Normal. Ultra is beyond my ability.
Honestly not a huge fan of this game even if I can acknowledge it's well-made. Maniac mode is fun enough, but Original mode is a bit of a slog without any exciting patterns to speak of. Also not a big fan of the OST unfortunately.
I don't hate it but it's not something I'm chomping at the bit to play more of.
Honestly not a huge fan of this game even if I can acknowledge it's well-made. Maniac mode is fun enough, but Original mode is a bit of a slog without any exciting patterns to speak of. Also not a big fan of the OST unfortunately.
I don't hate it but it's not something I'm chomping at the bit to play more of.
2022
1cc'd on Shin with Type B.
Engaging from start to finish. Stages demand constant decision making and careful management of enemies and resources, while bosses focus more on dodging, testing your raw shmup skill. If you like horizontal danmaku games, I don't think you can go wrong with this.
Features a phenomenal soundtrack by the late Umemoto Ryuu.
Engaging from start to finish. Stages demand constant decision making and careful management of enemies and resources, while bosses focus more on dodging, testing your raw shmup skill. If you like horizontal danmaku games, I don't think you can go wrong with this.
Features a phenomenal soundtrack by the late Umemoto Ryuu.
2023
Bunny.
Pretty impressive clone of Sekiro. It's more of a homage than its own game (many boss attacks and motions are taken directly from Sekiro), but it's a free game using entirely royalty free assets so I don't think you can complain too much.
Bunny.
Pretty impressive clone of Sekiro. It's more of a homage than its own game (many boss attacks and motions are taken directly from Sekiro), but it's a free game using entirely royalty free assets so I don't think you can complain too much.
Bunny.
2021
Just reviewing Deathsmiles I here.
Very accessible shmup with a distinct gothic lolita + Halloween aesthetic. Granular difficulty means you can enjoy it casually or go all the way and prove your mad gaming skillz once and for all. If you want an arcade-style shmup to test the waters of the genre with I would probably recommend this one.
Lowest rank 1-ALL achieved. Maybe I'll do a run with the extra stage some point once I stop being terrified by revenge bullets.
Very accessible shmup with a distinct gothic lolita + Halloween aesthetic. Granular difficulty means you can enjoy it casually or go all the way and prove your mad gaming skillz once and for all. If you want an arcade-style shmup to test the waters of the genre with I would probably recommend this one.
Lowest rank 1-ALL achieved. Maybe I'll do a run with the extra stage some point once I stop being terrified by revenge bullets.
2023
If only it didn't have a story.
Completed on Infernal BBQ with 100% items/map tiles.
Completed on Infernal BBQ with 100% items/map tiles.
2023
Never before have I cared about a puzzle game, but Void Stranger had that special something to make it click for me. The story that unfolds over the first two "routes" is truly affecting, a beautiful tale of devotion spanning worlds that accomplishes so very much with so very little. You are only shown fragments, brief snippets of moments both pivotal and mundane, left to mull them over as you descend ever further into The Void, solving sokoban screen after sokoban screen. And somehow I cannot imagine a more effective means of conveying the story; sparse as the text may be, every word counts, and these routes achieve lofty emotional heights.
The subsequent routes are less inspired, veering into more well-trodden ground, but they too have moments of brilliance. Despite generally negative experience with the puzzle genre in the past, I found myself enraptured enough with Void Stranger to explore its every crevice and see all that it had to offer. That I found myself so engrossed with a game of a genre I previously had not cared for says to me that there is something noteworthy about Void Stranger, that it transcends the limits of its world. Any reservations I might have about it are surely trifling in the face of that understanding.
As an aside, many elements of Void Stranger's narrative are quite similar to Labyrinth of Galleria; I can recommend VS to fans of Galleria, and vice versa.
The subsequent routes are less inspired, veering into more well-trodden ground, but they too have moments of brilliance. Despite generally negative experience with the puzzle genre in the past, I found myself enraptured enough with Void Stranger to explore its every crevice and see all that it had to offer. That I found myself so engrossed with a game of a genre I previously had not cared for says to me that there is something noteworthy about Void Stranger, that it transcends the limits of its world. Any reservations I might have about it are surely trifling in the face of that understanding.
As an aside, many elements of Void Stranger's narrative are quite similar to Labyrinth of Galleria; I can recommend VS to fans of Galleria, and vice versa.
2015
Bloodborne is many things, but to me it is primarily masterpiece of horror. This is what it means to be trapped in a nightmare; this is what it means to confront beings beyond one's comprehension. What more can I say? Bask in the madness.
That this is trapped on PS4 is utterly criminal. Sony needs to wake the fuck up and port/remaster this ASAP.
That this is trapped on PS4 is utterly criminal. Sony needs to wake the fuck up and port/remaster this ASAP.
2023
Dreamlike atmosphere reminiscent of games like Rascal and Glover in service of a game that isn't total dogshit.
Knows exactly how long it needs to be to work. Any longer and the lack of a map or fast travel would get frustrating; any shorter and it simply wouldn't have enough time to sink its claws into you.
Pseudoregalia shows that there's still a lot of room to explore 3D platforming as a method of expression in its own right rather than simply as a means to an end. If nothing else, it's a winner in my books for that reason.
Knows exactly how long it needs to be to work. Any longer and the lack of a map or fast travel would get frustrating; any shorter and it simply wouldn't have enough time to sink its claws into you.
Pseudoregalia shows that there's still a lot of room to explore 3D platforming as a method of expression in its own right rather than simply as a means to an end. If nothing else, it's a winner in my books for that reason.
2023
「やさしさで守れるあしたなんかどこにもない」
Anti-humanist yuri SF. All too often stories about sentient robots really only serve to stroke the ego of the humans creating and consuming them -- see the utterly abysmal anime Vivy for a great example of this -- but Crymachina is unwaveringly transgressive, reaching the conclusion that there is no inherent value in "humanity" and going on to posit that human society does not deserve to proliferate if that means trampling on intelligent beings it views as inferior.
As with Crystar, Crymachina's characters are concerned primarily with their own happiness, acting for the sake of the people they hold dear. And yes, the game is unabashedly queer, with characters driven not just by familial bonds but romantic love; indeed I am hard-pressed to think of another JRPG where love is such a strong motivating factor for the principal cast. Leben and Enoa struggle against the system not out of a sense of obligation or duty, but because of their desire for a life with one another, because their future together is being threatened. While the world of Crymachina is built on high-concept SF, taking enough cues from the novel The Three-Body Problem to warrant citing it in the end credits, its conflict remains raw, poignant, and grounded to a degree a great deal of media struggles to achieve.
Where I think the game will prove divisive is actually its runtime. Crymachina clocks in at only 15-20 hours of playtime, so it has to cover a lot of twists and turns fast. I can completely understand someone feeling as though the plot and characters don't have time to breathe, but I personally would argue that the script is tight enough that anything added to it could be nothing more than chaff. On Twitter I stated that it has "Blue Archive pacing," and I meant that in a complimentary sense. Certainly a YMMV aspect of the game, but it personally worked for me.
What I think most players will appreciate, though, is how abbreviated, even cursory, the actual gameplay is when compared to Crystar. You may have to grind a few times, but the stages are short and you are not forced to repeat content ad nauseam; I would estimate I spent only around 5 hours of my 16 hour playtime actually controlling characters. As such, while the game is much shorter than Crystar, I would not be surprised if it actually had more text...
And of course I would be remiss not to mention another one of the game's strong suits -- the audio. Personally I think Crymachina's soundtrack is sakuzyo's best work period, with much more varied compositions than Crystar. It helps that the music is used much better here than Crystar, with fewer and less repetitious music cues letting you appreciate the individual tracks more. As one might expect, the voice acting is also sublime, with Tohno Hikaru's performance as Enoa in particular lending the scenario some real emotional weight.
All in all Crymachina is a very different game from Crystar, but it pleasantly surprised me with its powerful script, acerbic critique of the ugly aspects of human society, and willingness to be fully-fledged romantic yuri in a space where few works meaningfully depict love at all. This is definitely my favorite Furyu game... make of that statement what you will, I suppose.
Anti-humanist yuri SF. All too often stories about sentient robots really only serve to stroke the ego of the humans creating and consuming them -- see the utterly abysmal anime Vivy for a great example of this -- but Crymachina is unwaveringly transgressive, reaching the conclusion that there is no inherent value in "humanity" and going on to posit that human society does not deserve to proliferate if that means trampling on intelligent beings it views as inferior.
As with Crystar, Crymachina's characters are concerned primarily with their own happiness, acting for the sake of the people they hold dear. And yes, the game is unabashedly queer, with characters driven not just by familial bonds but romantic love; indeed I am hard-pressed to think of another JRPG where love is such a strong motivating factor for the principal cast. Leben and Enoa struggle against the system not out of a sense of obligation or duty, but because of their desire for a life with one another, because their future together is being threatened. While the world of Crymachina is built on high-concept SF, taking enough cues from the novel The Three-Body Problem to warrant citing it in the end credits, its conflict remains raw, poignant, and grounded to a degree a great deal of media struggles to achieve.
Where I think the game will prove divisive is actually its runtime. Crymachina clocks in at only 15-20 hours of playtime, so it has to cover a lot of twists and turns fast. I can completely understand someone feeling as though the plot and characters don't have time to breathe, but I personally would argue that the script is tight enough that anything added to it could be nothing more than chaff. On Twitter I stated that it has "Blue Archive pacing," and I meant that in a complimentary sense. Certainly a YMMV aspect of the game, but it personally worked for me.
What I think most players will appreciate, though, is how abbreviated, even cursory, the actual gameplay is when compared to Crystar. You may have to grind a few times, but the stages are short and you are not forced to repeat content ad nauseam; I would estimate I spent only around 5 hours of my 16 hour playtime actually controlling characters. As such, while the game is much shorter than Crystar, I would not be surprised if it actually had more text...
And of course I would be remiss not to mention another one of the game's strong suits -- the audio. Personally I think Crymachina's soundtrack is sakuzyo's best work period, with much more varied compositions than Crystar. It helps that the music is used much better here than Crystar, with fewer and less repetitious music cues letting you appreciate the individual tracks more. As one might expect, the voice acting is also sublime, with Tohno Hikaru's performance as Enoa in particular lending the scenario some real emotional weight.
All in all Crymachina is a very different game from Crystar, but it pleasantly surprised me with its powerful script, acerbic critique of the ugly aspects of human society, and willingness to be fully-fledged romantic yuri in a space where few works meaningfully depict love at all. This is definitely my favorite Furyu game... make of that statement what you will, I suppose.
2020
Environments and lighting look way better but models look way worse. Since it runs at a stable 60 fps it's probably the best way to play the game legally. I also appreciate the addition of Japanese voice acting because I can't stand the English voice acting in Soulsborne games lol.
Otherwise it's Demon's Souls. Great level design but otherwise pretty uninteresting if you've already played the rest of the games.
Otherwise it's Demon's Souls. Great level design but otherwise pretty uninteresting if you've already played the rest of the games.
2023
Starts as a 90s mascot platformer and gradually morphs into a modern precision platformer over the course of the game. I think it pulls off both approaches adequately, but I can't deny I was left wanting a bit more than the game had to offer me.
2023
Stellar production values and a massive world to explore; this is certainly one of the most impressive Metroidvanias ever made from an objective standpoint.
What I really appreciated about Afterimage, though, was just how freeform the progression is. Most games in this genre only pretend to be open; you might have a few branching paths earlier in the game, but ultimately you're railroaded into an intended progression. Not so here. If anything, you're only afforded more freedom as the game goes on. This has its drawbacks, of course -- it can often feel like you're aimlessly wandering around without making meaningful progress -- but I think it's worth it for how satisfying it is when everything comes together. The combat and platforming are nothing too special, but I nonetheless greatly enjoyed my time in Afterimage's world.
Also, I actually thought the plot was kinda cool (even if it culminates in fighting a generic JRPG villain), but apparently the English translation is pretty bad so I played it in Japanese.
What I really appreciated about Afterimage, though, was just how freeform the progression is. Most games in this genre only pretend to be open; you might have a few branching paths earlier in the game, but ultimately you're railroaded into an intended progression. Not so here. If anything, you're only afforded more freedom as the game goes on. This has its drawbacks, of course -- it can often feel like you're aimlessly wandering around without making meaningful progress -- but I think it's worth it for how satisfying it is when everything comes together. The combat and platforming are nothing too special, but I nonetheless greatly enjoyed my time in Afterimage's world.
Also, I actually thought the plot was kinda cool (even if it culminates in fighting a generic JRPG villain), but apparently the English translation is pretty bad so I played it in Japanese.