naraku4656
80 Reviews liked by naraku4656
Bayonetta 2
2014
Oh yeah, that's how it's done.. 😌
Admittedly, I may have gone into Bayonetta 2 with some high expectations. I enjoyed a lot of things about 1 but above all it felt dated, and was clearly an ambitious first entry into a new IP, it was bound to have it's flaws. I'd heard from just about everywhere that 2 improved upon pretty much everything, so I went in wanting and hoping for just that. And that is exactly what I got!
The combat feels way better in this, and having the combos appear on the loading screen (though shortlived) was a much appreciated way to remind/show me some ways to mix things up between levels. I dropped Bayo 1 down to easy automatic about a quarter of the way through bc I wasn't enjoying the combat - Happy to say that I completed all of Bayo 2 on normal with very minimal roadblocks along the way. It felt fair and balanced, and that's my shit.
The colour palette is also hugely improved, with this game having buckets more pizzazz than it's predecessor, which fell victim to the murky brown trend of it's time. Everything just looks better, a fantastic decision from the devs. While we're on the subject I'd like to say that short hair Bayo absolutely clears and I will not be accepting counter-arguments. Top tier protagonist design.
I also had a much easier time following the story in this one, which I'm sure some may see as a negative but one of my biggest setbacks for 1 was that it always felt like there was lore I wasn't privy to right at the centre of everything going on, so being able to understand what I was doing in the story definitely made for a better experience for me personally.
I'm having to try to think of my biggest issues with the game, but the only things that really stand out are that Jeanne was not quite as present as I'd expected her to be. This is only really on me for randomly assuming this game would have a more 'dynamic duo' vibe to it but yeah, was a little disappointing how little she was involved.
Only other thing is that the voice lines used when completing combos and especially for perfect dodges play far too often. I get that that's because I'm doing the things but sometimes you have to dodge a lot and I would've preferred not to hear "so close. Is that all you've got? Almost!" a thousand times while doing it :p
(there was one level too where someone else was fighting with me and they kept saying "wonderful" like every 5 second during their attacks lol)
One final thing to note is somehow - please don't ask me how - my dumbass managed to miss the LP needed to get the swords early in the game, so I played the whole game without them and then realised during the credits when it let me use them that I probably would've had even more fun with those so... Don't miss the swords I guess lol
Ultimately, I had a really great time with Bayonetta 2. Very glad that I finally bit the financial bullet to give the series a proper chance.
I did buy 3 during a black friday sale, but knowing what little I do about the story and the controversy I'll be going into that one with cautious optimism. Honestly though if 2 is the peak I'll be satisfied :)
Thanks for reading y'all, I'm hoping to get through 3 before the year is out but we'll see -- Samurai Maiden is creeping up so if that keeps me busy until Crisis Core and then CC holds me until January I'm afraid everything else is fucked :p
Admittedly, I may have gone into Bayonetta 2 with some high expectations. I enjoyed a lot of things about 1 but above all it felt dated, and was clearly an ambitious first entry into a new IP, it was bound to have it's flaws. I'd heard from just about everywhere that 2 improved upon pretty much everything, so I went in wanting and hoping for just that. And that is exactly what I got!
The combat feels way better in this, and having the combos appear on the loading screen (though shortlived) was a much appreciated way to remind/show me some ways to mix things up between levels. I dropped Bayo 1 down to easy automatic about a quarter of the way through bc I wasn't enjoying the combat - Happy to say that I completed all of Bayo 2 on normal with very minimal roadblocks along the way. It felt fair and balanced, and that's my shit.
The colour palette is also hugely improved, with this game having buckets more pizzazz than it's predecessor, which fell victim to the murky brown trend of it's time. Everything just looks better, a fantastic decision from the devs. While we're on the subject I'd like to say that short hair Bayo absolutely clears and I will not be accepting counter-arguments. Top tier protagonist design.
I also had a much easier time following the story in this one, which I'm sure some may see as a negative but one of my biggest setbacks for 1 was that it always felt like there was lore I wasn't privy to right at the centre of everything going on, so being able to understand what I was doing in the story definitely made for a better experience for me personally.
I'm having to try to think of my biggest issues with the game, but the only things that really stand out are that Jeanne was not quite as present as I'd expected her to be. This is only really on me for randomly assuming this game would have a more 'dynamic duo' vibe to it but yeah, was a little disappointing how little she was involved.
Only other thing is that the voice lines used when completing combos and especially for perfect dodges play far too often. I get that that's because I'm doing the things but sometimes you have to dodge a lot and I would've preferred not to hear "so close. Is that all you've got? Almost!" a thousand times while doing it :p
(there was one level too where someone else was fighting with me and they kept saying "wonderful" like every 5 second during their attacks lol)
One final thing to note is somehow - please don't ask me how - my dumbass managed to miss the LP needed to get the swords early in the game, so I played the whole game without them and then realised during the credits when it let me use them that I probably would've had even more fun with those so... Don't miss the swords I guess lol
Ultimately, I had a really great time with Bayonetta 2. Very glad that I finally bit the financial bullet to give the series a proper chance.
I did buy 3 during a black friday sale, but knowing what little I do about the story and the controversy I'll be going into that one with cautious optimism. Honestly though if 2 is the peak I'll be satisfied :)
Thanks for reading y'all, I'm hoping to get through 3 before the year is out but we'll see -- Samurai Maiden is creeping up so if that keeps me busy until Crisis Core and then CC holds me until January I'm afraid everything else is fucked :p
Metal: Hellsinger
2022
I should preface this review by saying that I was pretty hype for this game. After the epic reveal with big-name features and really enjoying the demo a while back, I had pretty high hopes that Hellsinger would provide banger after banger, and its soundtrack may finally be one to rival Metal Gear Rising's in terms of me listening to it casually. Unfortunately, I have to say that this was not the case :(
I'll start with the music because let's be honest, that's the selling point. Of about 15 main tracks (some of which are remixes/alt versions of the same one) I would say that only 3 are ones I really got into, with an additional maybe 2 that I enjoyed but wouldn't put on myself. This was pretty disappointing for me tbh, I don't know how much input the featured vocalists had on the songs themselves, but I was really hoping that I wouldn't almost exclusively like the tracks with singers I already like on them. But alas, the two best songs easily are the ones featuring Serj Takian and Alissa White-Gluz (imo of course) The song with Randy Blythe was pretty good too, but I'd rather just listen to Lamb of God anyway so.. yeah.
Furthermore, the game uses a pretty classic rhythm game mechanic whereby your performance affects the soundtrack. The vocals will only kick in once your multiplier is high enough, meaning if you're on a difficult stage, can't find the last enemy or are just moving between arenas, it can be really easy to lose the vocals altogether for a while. This isn't all that bad per se, but it does reveal later on that the instrumentals for some of the tracks are pretty.. standard. There's most likely a pretty good reason for this, and don't get me wrong it's still a badass backing even witout the lyrics but idk, it definitely got kinda boring on the longer/harder levels, particularly when I picked a pretty bad loadout that just didn't work for me and spent only 40% of the level with the vocal track.
My expected reason for the above ties in nicely to my biggest gripe with this game overall: Every level uses the same tempo. All of them. This is super restrictive i feel because it means even once you have all the weapons (although you can only equip 4 at a time and 2 are locked, so I just used the same ones for half the game) every level still plays almost exactly the same. On one level I kept having to stop to find the beat because it felt like the song was more befitting of a faster tempo, but the game still wanted me to use the usual one, it was odd. I wasn't expecting them to mix things up too much or anything but idk, it would have been nice to at least have it fluctuate across songs or even during certain parts of songs. The way it is now just makes the whole thing feel like a steady metronome and it loses a lot of it's badass kick. Especially when some weapons force you to skip a beat while waiting for an animation or whatever, so you end up quite literally just waiting for half a bar, every bar, every level...
This is worsened by my next complaint - The levels are way too long. I know they're only 15-30 mins each, but the songs used for them are 4-6 mins on average and it really shows. You can already tell when a track is looping for the 3rd or 4th time, even with the audio mixing being as good as it is, you can't really hide when you're hearing the same verse or chorus for the 100th time. The levels are broken up into a series of arenas you move between, and enemy respawns within those arenas just need to calm down. Even playing through a level on easy you'll kill 10 when you get there and then wait while 5 more spawn, then 8 more, then 6 more, then 8 more, then 5 more... The amount of times I'd run so many laps I just ended up waiting near the exit to spawn-kill was ridiculous. Honestly the game is so fun when it's fun but it spends half its runtime doing things to make it feel like you're waiting, it's so strange.
Similarly to this, the boss fights are awful. If you played the demo and you fought the boss at the end of that level, well I'm sorry to report that the exact same boss is used for every level bar the final one. The arenas are different and the attack patterns change, but it's always the same design. They also use the same boss music for it each time, with slight variations on each level (tho honestly I didn't even notice this until I checked the tracklist in the menu after) - and to make them even more boring, the boss just has way too much health. You can already only attack on beat, why does it need to take so long that getting perfectly timed headshots still feels like it takes forever. And we're not done yet, when the boss changes position it transforms into a non-physical form, meaning it's invulnerable and you literally just have to stand and wait for it to reappear, which in some cases took up to like 15 seconds of just doing nothing. I'm not sure whose idea this was, but it was a bad one.
Thankfully the penultimate level was really fun, the track, the arenas and enemy types all worked well together and overall I'd say that it went as hard as I was hoping the whole thing would. The final boss was also a lot better than the regular one and of course it's theme feat. Serj made for a pretty hype finale. The story in the game is pretty whatever, it seems like they set up two conflicting pieces of sequel-bait immediately after one another so fuck knows what the future plan is, but as it is this is a pretty fun time. I know I complained a lot but anyone that reads my reviews regularly knows I tend to start with a rough idea and very quickly just ramble about whatever comes to mind lol. I was disappointed I didn't love this game, but I definitely still enjoyed it, hopefully if they do another they mix up the gameplay a little more is all.
Perhaps the game is just better suited to throw on for a level every now and then rather than playing it through like a normal game, idk!
Thanks for reading, sorry it went on so long! :)
I'll start with the music because let's be honest, that's the selling point. Of about 15 main tracks (some of which are remixes/alt versions of the same one) I would say that only 3 are ones I really got into, with an additional maybe 2 that I enjoyed but wouldn't put on myself. This was pretty disappointing for me tbh, I don't know how much input the featured vocalists had on the songs themselves, but I was really hoping that I wouldn't almost exclusively like the tracks with singers I already like on them. But alas, the two best songs easily are the ones featuring Serj Takian and Alissa White-Gluz (imo of course) The song with Randy Blythe was pretty good too, but I'd rather just listen to Lamb of God anyway so.. yeah.
Furthermore, the game uses a pretty classic rhythm game mechanic whereby your performance affects the soundtrack. The vocals will only kick in once your multiplier is high enough, meaning if you're on a difficult stage, can't find the last enemy or are just moving between arenas, it can be really easy to lose the vocals altogether for a while. This isn't all that bad per se, but it does reveal later on that the instrumentals for some of the tracks are pretty.. standard. There's most likely a pretty good reason for this, and don't get me wrong it's still a badass backing even witout the lyrics but idk, it definitely got kinda boring on the longer/harder levels, particularly when I picked a pretty bad loadout that just didn't work for me and spent only 40% of the level with the vocal track.
My expected reason for the above ties in nicely to my biggest gripe with this game overall: Every level uses the same tempo. All of them. This is super restrictive i feel because it means even once you have all the weapons (although you can only equip 4 at a time and 2 are locked, so I just used the same ones for half the game) every level still plays almost exactly the same. On one level I kept having to stop to find the beat because it felt like the song was more befitting of a faster tempo, but the game still wanted me to use the usual one, it was odd. I wasn't expecting them to mix things up too much or anything but idk, it would have been nice to at least have it fluctuate across songs or even during certain parts of songs. The way it is now just makes the whole thing feel like a steady metronome and it loses a lot of it's badass kick. Especially when some weapons force you to skip a beat while waiting for an animation or whatever, so you end up quite literally just waiting for half a bar, every bar, every level...
This is worsened by my next complaint - The levels are way too long. I know they're only 15-30 mins each, but the songs used for them are 4-6 mins on average and it really shows. You can already tell when a track is looping for the 3rd or 4th time, even with the audio mixing being as good as it is, you can't really hide when you're hearing the same verse or chorus for the 100th time. The levels are broken up into a series of arenas you move between, and enemy respawns within those arenas just need to calm down. Even playing through a level on easy you'll kill 10 when you get there and then wait while 5 more spawn, then 8 more, then 6 more, then 8 more, then 5 more... The amount of times I'd run so many laps I just ended up waiting near the exit to spawn-kill was ridiculous. Honestly the game is so fun when it's fun but it spends half its runtime doing things to make it feel like you're waiting, it's so strange.
Similarly to this, the boss fights are awful. If you played the demo and you fought the boss at the end of that level, well I'm sorry to report that the exact same boss is used for every level bar the final one. The arenas are different and the attack patterns change, but it's always the same design. They also use the same boss music for it each time, with slight variations on each level (tho honestly I didn't even notice this until I checked the tracklist in the menu after) - and to make them even more boring, the boss just has way too much health. You can already only attack on beat, why does it need to take so long that getting perfectly timed headshots still feels like it takes forever. And we're not done yet, when the boss changes position it transforms into a non-physical form, meaning it's invulnerable and you literally just have to stand and wait for it to reappear, which in some cases took up to like 15 seconds of just doing nothing. I'm not sure whose idea this was, but it was a bad one.
Thankfully the penultimate level was really fun, the track, the arenas and enemy types all worked well together and overall I'd say that it went as hard as I was hoping the whole thing would. The final boss was also a lot better than the regular one and of course it's theme feat. Serj made for a pretty hype finale. The story in the game is pretty whatever, it seems like they set up two conflicting pieces of sequel-bait immediately after one another so fuck knows what the future plan is, but as it is this is a pretty fun time. I know I complained a lot but anyone that reads my reviews regularly knows I tend to start with a rough idea and very quickly just ramble about whatever comes to mind lol. I was disappointed I didn't love this game, but I definitely still enjoyed it, hopefully if they do another they mix up the gameplay a little more is all.
Perhaps the game is just better suited to throw on for a level every now and then rather than playing it through like a normal game, idk!
Thanks for reading, sorry it went on so long! :)
Sifu
2022
Sifu was quite a surprising hit when it first came out earlier this year. It seemed interesting to me but I wasn't fully sold on it - and it was pleasantly surprising to see it get a bunch of good reviews. That and finding out despite it not really being marketed that you could chose the gender of the protag ultimately made me pick this up quickly. And then proceed to not beat it until the year is nearly over.
Sifu's a game a lot of people compare to John Wick for some reason but there's no gun fu. The combat is pretty solid. It feels great and the finishers are satisfying but honestly I wasn't really a big fan of it beyond that. There's very little in the way of tells for attacks and some of the combos you can unlock are awkward to use. It really basically just felt like spamming deflect was the most reliable way to play. The bosses are actually pretty enjoyable comparatively but the third one basically just dodges and spams projectiles which made her by far the most annoying part of a pretty brutal game. The whole idea behind the aging system is really cool in theory, especially with how it ties into upgrades and seeing your characters appearance change. But that "in theory" part does a lot of heavy lifting for me. Sifu is a pretty rough game despite its short length and since you only have basically 10 lives before having to restart you'll end up replaying each of the five levels to beat them with a better age making this game basically almost a rouge-lite. It does a neat thing where if you put more exp into an upgrade you have you can permanently unlock it for future runs which is cool but this facet of gameplay was just not enjoyable for me. Maybe i got filtered but the combat didnt seem fair enough to make me wanna smash my head against a wall and keep replaying the first two levels a million times and I actually ended up dropping this game for quite a while.
And then it got an update! New difficulty modes, new modifiers, new challenges. Always love when games add new ways to expand your playtime especially when its for free. Student difficulty is basically the "easy mode" of the game. I'm not sure exactly what it changes about enemy health and player damage but the main draw of this for me was that the death counter now only goes up by one, so instead of having ten lives you have more like fifty. For me this was the optimal way to play. Student difficulty is still no joke and i got my ass kicked a lot, particularly by that annoying boss i mentioned earlier. But not having to participate in all the level replaying made this a much smoother experience and I'm glad this game gives you as many options as it does.
The visuals are also really nice. The art syle is pretty basic but it does some really cool stuff with it especially when it throws in some more surreal things. Each of the five levels are unique and have fun little references to movies like Oldboy and Kill Bill Volume One. It all works great. The story is there... its not meant to be anything more than an excuse for violence and thats all it needs to be. Now to actually see the credits in this you need to get the true ending which can be done by sparing all the bosses. This really doesnt add much to the game though as it really just gives you a new cutscene but I did it anyways to feel like I actually beat it. There's also some collectibles you can get which do interconnect between the levels. It's kinda fun to get all these and find the different shortcuts throughout but most of the enjoyment for me was just getting the silver trophies for it lol.
Overall, Sifu is a really sleek and fun (even if you might need to tweak it a bit) game. It may not blow you away but with all the accessibility options there's a lot to get out of this whether you want a tought as tits challenge or to just beat the fuck out of a lot of people.
Thanks for reading y'all. More stuff coming soon I promise <3
Nancymeter - 75/100
Trophy Completion - 91% (38/43)
Time Played - 17 hours 56 minutes (i really don't know how)
Game Completion #148 of 2022
Game Completion #2 of December
Sifu's a game a lot of people compare to John Wick for some reason but there's no gun fu. The combat is pretty solid. It feels great and the finishers are satisfying but honestly I wasn't really a big fan of it beyond that. There's very little in the way of tells for attacks and some of the combos you can unlock are awkward to use. It really basically just felt like spamming deflect was the most reliable way to play. The bosses are actually pretty enjoyable comparatively but the third one basically just dodges and spams projectiles which made her by far the most annoying part of a pretty brutal game. The whole idea behind the aging system is really cool in theory, especially with how it ties into upgrades and seeing your characters appearance change. But that "in theory" part does a lot of heavy lifting for me. Sifu is a pretty rough game despite its short length and since you only have basically 10 lives before having to restart you'll end up replaying each of the five levels to beat them with a better age making this game basically almost a rouge-lite. It does a neat thing where if you put more exp into an upgrade you have you can permanently unlock it for future runs which is cool but this facet of gameplay was just not enjoyable for me. Maybe i got filtered but the combat didnt seem fair enough to make me wanna smash my head against a wall and keep replaying the first two levels a million times and I actually ended up dropping this game for quite a while.
And then it got an update! New difficulty modes, new modifiers, new challenges. Always love when games add new ways to expand your playtime especially when its for free. Student difficulty is basically the "easy mode" of the game. I'm not sure exactly what it changes about enemy health and player damage but the main draw of this for me was that the death counter now only goes up by one, so instead of having ten lives you have more like fifty. For me this was the optimal way to play. Student difficulty is still no joke and i got my ass kicked a lot, particularly by that annoying boss i mentioned earlier. But not having to participate in all the level replaying made this a much smoother experience and I'm glad this game gives you as many options as it does.
The visuals are also really nice. The art syle is pretty basic but it does some really cool stuff with it especially when it throws in some more surreal things. Each of the five levels are unique and have fun little references to movies like Oldboy and Kill Bill Volume One. It all works great. The story is there... its not meant to be anything more than an excuse for violence and thats all it needs to be. Now to actually see the credits in this you need to get the true ending which can be done by sparing all the bosses. This really doesnt add much to the game though as it really just gives you a new cutscene but I did it anyways to feel like I actually beat it. There's also some collectibles you can get which do interconnect between the levels. It's kinda fun to get all these and find the different shortcuts throughout but most of the enjoyment for me was just getting the silver trophies for it lol.
Overall, Sifu is a really sleek and fun (even if you might need to tweak it a bit) game. It may not blow you away but with all the accessibility options there's a lot to get out of this whether you want a tought as tits challenge or to just beat the fuck out of a lot of people.
Thanks for reading y'all. More stuff coming soon I promise <3
Nancymeter - 75/100
Trophy Completion - 91% (38/43)
Time Played - 17 hours 56 minutes (i really don't know how)
Game Completion #148 of 2022
Game Completion #2 of December
"Wanna know the name? Devil May Cry"
As someone who has always heard amazing things about this franchise - as someone who even owns the whole series including the reboot - honestly it's still pretty surprising to me that I can finally say I've beaten a Devil May Cry game.
Besides the fact that I have a never ending backlog I tend to gravitate towards games that aren't universally loved as nothing saddens me more than getting high expectations from everyone who swears by a game or not loving a game quite as much and not fitting in with everyone else. I also often don't even finish the games I really love anyways, maybe because I don't want them to be over. Beyond that, I'm not generally fond of playing games known for their difficulty. Even more so I have a hard time adjusting to and being able to play old classics (from the PS2 era especially) and usually that goes hand in hand with the first problem. I gave the first and second games a chance a few months ago and they did not leave very great impressions at all. I was worried that this series would be another beloved thing I "just don't get". So to say I beat DMC3 and really liked it is quite the relief! Now even saying that, DMC3 does fall into some of the trappings that drag it down and stop me from being able to say I love it as a whole, but there is still stuff about it that I love.
In gaming I am usually a story over gameplay kinda gal, and it often annoys me when plots are too vague, convoluted or confusing for me to figure out. I know DMC3 is a prequel but I definitely feel like the larger plot overall was lost on me. Strangely enough this really didnt bother me much this time around and I think a large part of that is the strong cast between Dante, Virgil and especially Lady. Another big factor is the cutscenes are all the perfect amount of cool as shit and utterly fucking ridiculous. The over the top action is by far the best part of the game and if it was strictly story and action this game honestly could of had a 5/5. But it's the stuff inbetween that sours the experience overall for me.
Whether it be fighting games, beat-em-ups, hack n slash games like this or hell even stuff like Sifu and Yakuza I am absolutely terrible at games with combos. I'm a tried and true button masher and Im just never gonna be great at them unless i put a lot of time and effort but I don't really want to do that lol. It's not a genre of combat I particularly care for. Obviously learning the combat and being rewarded for pulling off cool combos is a big part of this game so it was never gonna hit as well for me as others but I still had fun with this games combat. The Special edition blessed me with easy automatic difficulty and gave me the kind of experience I prefer. Blasting through shit and not having to lose more years off my life by stressing and getting angry is much more fun for me. And the combat is still great. A lot of the enemy designs are really cool, and to my surprise a lot of the boss fights felt really balanced and not unfair. Some enemies like the spinning shield dudes are very annoying to deal with, and theres a lot of stunlocking and knockback in later sections that wore my patience a bit. But the real great thing about the combat is there's multiple different weapons and movesets that all play differently. I usually stuck with Agni and Rudra the whole game while dabbling in the others. All the variety plus the scoring system for each mission (not to mention the new playable character in this edition) lends to a lot of replayability and even if its not something I'll take advantage of it is admirable. But, while for me the combat was very easy and fun I still got quite a bit of frustration about the other parts of the gameplay. If i tried to beat this on normal difficulty while dealing with everything else this would be like a 3/5 at best. For one, I really don't like the setting. There are some really cool locations outside of it near the beginning, middle and end but most of the game takes place in this really big tower. I just did not like it at all. It felt a bit boring. There's not really backtracking necessarily but the way the tower is all connected means you'll be going through some of the same locations more than once and it just really wasn't great. The game isnt very clear about where to go most of the time either, and so for me I was running around a bunch trying to find whatever the hell item i was supposed to place wherever the hell else. Idk, there isnt really many puzzles in this exactly but the amount of times I had to look up a guide because the game was being too obtuse was a constant pain in the ass from the beginning. It really doesn't help how so much of it is just the same "find blank and put in blank" stuff either.
So that's all my thoughts on Devil May Cry 3, basically. Too much of the gameplay dragged for me to put it up there with other Nancy Certified Hits but the rest was really amazing. If 5 really is just this but without PS2 jank I think I'll love it. I don't know if i care enough to go back to the original two but I just might.
Man, Lady is epic as hell. And just the way that line (that I quoted at the beginning of this review) is delivered is so raw.
I'm still working on my Balan Wonderland review but who knows what Ill randomly decide to burn through next. Thanks for reading <3
Nancymeter - 83/100
Trophy Completion - 21% (14/34)
Time Played - 10 hours 44 minutes
Game Completion #147 of 2022
Game Completion #1 of December
As someone who has always heard amazing things about this franchise - as someone who even owns the whole series including the reboot - honestly it's still pretty surprising to me that I can finally say I've beaten a Devil May Cry game.
Besides the fact that I have a never ending backlog I tend to gravitate towards games that aren't universally loved as nothing saddens me more than getting high expectations from everyone who swears by a game or not loving a game quite as much and not fitting in with everyone else. I also often don't even finish the games I really love anyways, maybe because I don't want them to be over. Beyond that, I'm not generally fond of playing games known for their difficulty. Even more so I have a hard time adjusting to and being able to play old classics (from the PS2 era especially) and usually that goes hand in hand with the first problem. I gave the first and second games a chance a few months ago and they did not leave very great impressions at all. I was worried that this series would be another beloved thing I "just don't get". So to say I beat DMC3 and really liked it is quite the relief! Now even saying that, DMC3 does fall into some of the trappings that drag it down and stop me from being able to say I love it as a whole, but there is still stuff about it that I love.
In gaming I am usually a story over gameplay kinda gal, and it often annoys me when plots are too vague, convoluted or confusing for me to figure out. I know DMC3 is a prequel but I definitely feel like the larger plot overall was lost on me. Strangely enough this really didnt bother me much this time around and I think a large part of that is the strong cast between Dante, Virgil and especially Lady. Another big factor is the cutscenes are all the perfect amount of cool as shit and utterly fucking ridiculous. The over the top action is by far the best part of the game and if it was strictly story and action this game honestly could of had a 5/5. But it's the stuff inbetween that sours the experience overall for me.
Whether it be fighting games, beat-em-ups, hack n slash games like this or hell even stuff like Sifu and Yakuza I am absolutely terrible at games with combos. I'm a tried and true button masher and Im just never gonna be great at them unless i put a lot of time and effort but I don't really want to do that lol. It's not a genre of combat I particularly care for. Obviously learning the combat and being rewarded for pulling off cool combos is a big part of this game so it was never gonna hit as well for me as others but I still had fun with this games combat. The Special edition blessed me with easy automatic difficulty and gave me the kind of experience I prefer. Blasting through shit and not having to lose more years off my life by stressing and getting angry is much more fun for me. And the combat is still great. A lot of the enemy designs are really cool, and to my surprise a lot of the boss fights felt really balanced and not unfair. Some enemies like the spinning shield dudes are very annoying to deal with, and theres a lot of stunlocking and knockback in later sections that wore my patience a bit. But the real great thing about the combat is there's multiple different weapons and movesets that all play differently. I usually stuck with Agni and Rudra the whole game while dabbling in the others. All the variety plus the scoring system for each mission (not to mention the new playable character in this edition) lends to a lot of replayability and even if its not something I'll take advantage of it is admirable. But, while for me the combat was very easy and fun I still got quite a bit of frustration about the other parts of the gameplay. If i tried to beat this on normal difficulty while dealing with everything else this would be like a 3/5 at best. For one, I really don't like the setting. There are some really cool locations outside of it near the beginning, middle and end but most of the game takes place in this really big tower. I just did not like it at all. It felt a bit boring. There's not really backtracking necessarily but the way the tower is all connected means you'll be going through some of the same locations more than once and it just really wasn't great. The game isnt very clear about where to go most of the time either, and so for me I was running around a bunch trying to find whatever the hell item i was supposed to place wherever the hell else. Idk, there isnt really many puzzles in this exactly but the amount of times I had to look up a guide because the game was being too obtuse was a constant pain in the ass from the beginning. It really doesn't help how so much of it is just the same "find blank and put in blank" stuff either.
So that's all my thoughts on Devil May Cry 3, basically. Too much of the gameplay dragged for me to put it up there with other Nancy Certified Hits but the rest was really amazing. If 5 really is just this but without PS2 jank I think I'll love it. I don't know if i care enough to go back to the original two but I just might.
Man, Lady is epic as hell. And just the way that line (that I quoted at the beginning of this review) is delivered is so raw.
I'm still working on my Balan Wonderland review but who knows what Ill randomly decide to burn through next. Thanks for reading <3
Nancymeter - 83/100
Trophy Completion - 21% (14/34)
Time Played - 10 hours 44 minutes
Game Completion #147 of 2022
Game Completion #1 of December
Gone Home
2013
Very difficult game to rate, or review to be honest.. If you don't know, this game is very much just exploring a house, reading old notes/letters and listening to voice journals telling stories related to things you find. If that sounds boring to you, I get it, trust me. But idk, it feels so personal.
The voice actor does a great job at really making it feel like a true account of real events, hell it may well be and I'd believe it in a heartbeat. It's fascinating how just hearing someone's story and exploring their personal effects can be so captivating, regardless of whether you know them or if they even exist...
A lot of love and care went into making this game and it shows, it's hard not to appreciate that. The one single gripe I take with it is that I don't share the tastes of Sam and so any time I found a casette tape to play I'd have to turn it off bc I hate punk music lol. Skipping the credits for the same reason was kinda sad too, but it's not really fair to criticise an indie game for not falling into the cliche of having indie folk music :p
I've rambled as usual, if you're interested even a little, give it a try. I wasn't expecting to care as much as I did, it might surprise you too :)
Thanks for reading!
The voice actor does a great job at really making it feel like a true account of real events, hell it may well be and I'd believe it in a heartbeat. It's fascinating how just hearing someone's story and exploring their personal effects can be so captivating, regardless of whether you know them or if they even exist...
A lot of love and care went into making this game and it shows, it's hard not to appreciate that. The one single gripe I take with it is that I don't share the tastes of Sam and so any time I found a casette tape to play I'd have to turn it off bc I hate punk music lol. Skipping the credits for the same reason was kinda sad too, but it's not really fair to criticise an indie game for not falling into the cliche of having indie folk music :p
I've rambled as usual, if you're interested even a little, give it a try. I wasn't expecting to care as much as I did, it might surprise you too :)
Thanks for reading!
Saints Row
2022
Look, we deserve better from our modern AAA releases. I did not suffer from any technical issues but its clear to see this game could of used a lot more time in the oven. But all that being said, I'm not gonna lie. I had a pretty fun time playing through this.
As someone who does not really like open worlds or deserts, I thought the setting for this was pretty good. Sure graphically the game isnt great and the world itself does feel pretty lifeless but as a location/vibe I enjoyed it well. I see a lot of people talking about how cringe all the characters and dialogue are but I didnt really feel like they were? Maybe (considering what the internet thinks about some of my favorite series) i just have a really high tolerance but I don't recall any moments that really bothered me and I thought the main cast was all pretty likeable. Although at least half of the reason for that is Greg Chun being such a lovely VA. For my "Boss" the voice I chose was Erica Lindbeck's who I also adore. It was always really funny to hear her swear with a similar voice to one of her other characters. The story mode was a bit shorter than expected but for the most part I had fun with it. None of the missions really stand out and the few setpiece ones definitely lack the oomph they really needed. The story itself is very silly and definitely suffers a bit from its lack of length but idk, it's another thing that i thought was pretty enjoyable and I was satisfied with the ending.
The gameplay is kinda oof. The driving controls for normal vehicles is pretty goddamn awful but you unlock stuff like a hoverbike or tank pretty easily and those were a lot more fun to use. The shooting is fine but quite stiff. I found that most of the guns kinda sucked but the fully upgraded magnum was pretty busted and fun to use. You also get a finisher that replenishes where you can insta kill weaker/weakened enemies and those are pretty silly (in the fun way). Another big mechanic of the game is pretty standard open world stuff. There is an emphasis on expanding businesses and doing a bunch of side missions to upgrade them. These are as repetitive as they sound but they do have their own personality and flair to them. I'm on a bit of a crunch to beat stuff before the year ends so I didnt play much but from what I did they were enjoyable enough. The last thing I wanna touch on is the customization. I always love when games have this and Saints Row's system is pretty good. Especially because this game lets you be (half) naked. Running around and gunning people down with my tits out like god intended is lovely. Unfortunately you can only be topless OR bottomless which is clearly sexist anti-lesbian agenda. Just another thing about the game that's half assed....
I feel like a lot of my review is saying something about the game that isn't really good and then me saying I like it anyways. It's not that I am just coping and trying to justify to myself why I bought it. I love trying new games so thats never really a factor for me. I see all the problems this game has and I can definitely understand why there isnt really anyone who loves this. It's mid by modern standards for sure but the hate does feel a bit overblown. It's still constantly brought up as the worst game of the year and I legit unsubscribed from a youtuber I used to watch because he fuckin talked about it so goddamn much. Im still not really sure why i like this game either but the more I think about it the more I wonder if I really need a reason. In the end I just do, and its a fun game to sit back with while you have youtube on.
In the end i feel incredibly conflicted about Saints Row 2022. The only thing I can say definitively is that the main theme is pretty bopping and its been stuck in my head all day.
Thanks for reading this "review" <3
Next up is whatever game comes next, but a Balan Wonderworld one is in the works :p
Nancymeter - 65/100
Time Played - 17 hours 52 minutes
Game Completion #145 of 2022
Game Completion #11 of November
As someone who does not really like open worlds or deserts, I thought the setting for this was pretty good. Sure graphically the game isnt great and the world itself does feel pretty lifeless but as a location/vibe I enjoyed it well. I see a lot of people talking about how cringe all the characters and dialogue are but I didnt really feel like they were? Maybe (considering what the internet thinks about some of my favorite series) i just have a really high tolerance but I don't recall any moments that really bothered me and I thought the main cast was all pretty likeable. Although at least half of the reason for that is Greg Chun being such a lovely VA. For my "Boss" the voice I chose was Erica Lindbeck's who I also adore. It was always really funny to hear her swear with a similar voice to one of her other characters. The story mode was a bit shorter than expected but for the most part I had fun with it. None of the missions really stand out and the few setpiece ones definitely lack the oomph they really needed. The story itself is very silly and definitely suffers a bit from its lack of length but idk, it's another thing that i thought was pretty enjoyable and I was satisfied with the ending.
The gameplay is kinda oof. The driving controls for normal vehicles is pretty goddamn awful but you unlock stuff like a hoverbike or tank pretty easily and those were a lot more fun to use. The shooting is fine but quite stiff. I found that most of the guns kinda sucked but the fully upgraded magnum was pretty busted and fun to use. You also get a finisher that replenishes where you can insta kill weaker/weakened enemies and those are pretty silly (in the fun way). Another big mechanic of the game is pretty standard open world stuff. There is an emphasis on expanding businesses and doing a bunch of side missions to upgrade them. These are as repetitive as they sound but they do have their own personality and flair to them. I'm on a bit of a crunch to beat stuff before the year ends so I didnt play much but from what I did they were enjoyable enough. The last thing I wanna touch on is the customization. I always love when games have this and Saints Row's system is pretty good. Especially because this game lets you be (half) naked. Running around and gunning people down with my tits out like god intended is lovely. Unfortunately you can only be topless OR bottomless which is clearly sexist anti-lesbian agenda. Just another thing about the game that's half assed....
I feel like a lot of my review is saying something about the game that isn't really good and then me saying I like it anyways. It's not that I am just coping and trying to justify to myself why I bought it. I love trying new games so thats never really a factor for me. I see all the problems this game has and I can definitely understand why there isnt really anyone who loves this. It's mid by modern standards for sure but the hate does feel a bit overblown. It's still constantly brought up as the worst game of the year and I legit unsubscribed from a youtuber I used to watch because he fuckin talked about it so goddamn much. Im still not really sure why i like this game either but the more I think about it the more I wonder if I really need a reason. In the end I just do, and its a fun game to sit back with while you have youtube on.
In the end i feel incredibly conflicted about Saints Row 2022. The only thing I can say definitively is that the main theme is pretty bopping and its been stuck in my head all day.
Thanks for reading this "review" <3
Next up is whatever game comes next, but a Balan Wonderworld one is in the works :p
Nancymeter - 65/100
Time Played - 17 hours 52 minutes
Game Completion #145 of 2022
Game Completion #11 of November
As the final entry in Season 1 of the anthology, The Devil in Me makes for an interesting time to implement new mechanics like a simple inventory system, some light climb/crouch prompts and even a couple of puzzles. None of these add any more to the game than they take away in my opinion, with most of them - puzzles especially - just dragging the already slow pace in those sections to a crawl, but it's nice to see Supermassive trying new things to keep the series fresh. Hopefully this was a test drive that future entries will improve upon.
That aside, this game definitely suffers from a pretty slow start post-prologue, and personally I didn't find any of the cast particularly interesting until after reaching the hotel, which is around the time it picks up anyway, small shame there.
I played this game on lethal, following the footsteps of my lovely gf and her thirst for seeing as many brutal deaths as possible :p Not gunna lie some of the minigame sections are pretty hard and I lost a character to failing one so that was fun! The premise and the deaths are pretty great, they could've maybe done a little more with some things but I wasn't disappointed at all with the experience that I got.
I'm not the first to say it but it really does hold true: It's not the best of the season, but it's probably the scariest. Some really great slasher/thriller scenes and stellar atmosphere throughout. Definitely recommend sticking through the slow build and occasional dip to get play for yourself :)
That aside, this game definitely suffers from a pretty slow start post-prologue, and personally I didn't find any of the cast particularly interesting until after reaching the hotel, which is around the time it picks up anyway, small shame there.
I played this game on lethal, following the footsteps of my lovely gf and her thirst for seeing as many brutal deaths as possible :p Not gunna lie some of the minigame sections are pretty hard and I lost a character to failing one so that was fun! The premise and the deaths are pretty great, they could've maybe done a little more with some things but I wasn't disappointed at all with the experience that I got.
I'm not the first to say it but it really does hold true: It's not the best of the season, but it's probably the scariest. Some really great slasher/thriller scenes and stellar atmosphere throughout. Definitely recommend sticking through the slow build and occasional dip to get play for yourself :)
Trek to Yomi
2022
I don't think anyone can argue that the presentation of this isnt stellar. The game just looks simply great. There is a really good use of camera angles with the fixed camera and all the locations look quite nice. But that's where my praise for Trek to Yomi stops. In fact, there were parts of this game that felt like they were tailor made to be exactly what I don't like.
The story is very classic and something you'll be familiar with but its not trying to be anything different. It fits the style the game is going for it's just nothing new and that's perfectly fine. Where the game really falters is in the gameplay. Now I can stomach some repetitive combat. Guardians of The Galaxy was my game of the year for 2021 and its not really a high point of contention that the gameplay wasnt the best part of it. But if a game doesnt have the best combat, as long as it has a good story I don't really mind. Well like we established Trek to Yomi doesn't really have that either. All it has going for it is the visuals. And part of that is actually the gore from the combat. You are cutting people up with swords but the finishers are where the real fun is at. So despite the story being simple and the combat being repetitive it was at least bloody enough to keep me from being bored. But then we get to the midpoint of Trek to Yomi which is where I believe that, for me personally, the entire game falls apart.
At first, around Chapter 4, things start getting a bit horror-esque almost and you're fighting some cool creatures. But then the game takes it too far and for most of the rest of the game it focuses on supernatural/mystical type shit and very surreal almost like the random dream sequences every game seems to need. Now this does make sense within the story but If i'm being honest I absolutely hate that shit. It always makes the games feel like they drag on for far too long and Trek to Yomi is no exception. Not only that, for most of the rest of the game you're fighting basically ghosts and spectres. If there is anything I dislike more in games is having to fight dozens and dozens of non living enemies like robots or ghosts. Nothing makes me lose interest faster. That is on top of the game already starting to wear its welcome with the repetitive combat. In an attempt to shake things up it just makes the game incredibly more boring and sloggy. In perhaps another attempt to shake up the combat, midway through they start introducing puzzles. Yeah, I'm not kidding. These puzzles arent super prevalent but there are a good handful of them. They may only take half a minute at most but god they're just so boring. And when the rest of the game feels like a repetitive slog, screeching things to a halt to make you do stupid little puzzles is absolutely not the solution.
All the things I listed above don't necessarily make for a bad game, but for me its three of my least favorite gaming shticks all piled onto one halfway through the game right when it felt like it was starting to drag anyways. I just hate that, and I'm sure some people enjoyed the change of pace but it completely checked me out.
I don't know. I don't have anything else to say really. The final boss fight is kinda annoying. I went for the bad ending because those are more fun when I don't really care about whats going on. It was fine.
Trek to Yomi is a game. Not a terrible one I suppose, but I will not replay this ever and I really can't recommend it to someone unless they really love the time period and art style. It only took me four hours to beat so yeah. This review has became a ramble but this game put my mind to fucking mush lol.
Thanks for reading <3
Nancymeter - 50/100
**Trophy Completion - 19% (11/29)
Time Played - 4 hours
Game Completion #144 of 2022
Game Completion #10 of November
The story is very classic and something you'll be familiar with but its not trying to be anything different. It fits the style the game is going for it's just nothing new and that's perfectly fine. Where the game really falters is in the gameplay. Now I can stomach some repetitive combat. Guardians of The Galaxy was my game of the year for 2021 and its not really a high point of contention that the gameplay wasnt the best part of it. But if a game doesnt have the best combat, as long as it has a good story I don't really mind. Well like we established Trek to Yomi doesn't really have that either. All it has going for it is the visuals. And part of that is actually the gore from the combat. You are cutting people up with swords but the finishers are where the real fun is at. So despite the story being simple and the combat being repetitive it was at least bloody enough to keep me from being bored. But then we get to the midpoint of Trek to Yomi which is where I believe that, for me personally, the entire game falls apart.
At first, around Chapter 4, things start getting a bit horror-esque almost and you're fighting some cool creatures. But then the game takes it too far and for most of the rest of the game it focuses on supernatural/mystical type shit and very surreal almost like the random dream sequences every game seems to need. Now this does make sense within the story but If i'm being honest I absolutely hate that shit. It always makes the games feel like they drag on for far too long and Trek to Yomi is no exception. Not only that, for most of the rest of the game you're fighting basically ghosts and spectres. If there is anything I dislike more in games is having to fight dozens and dozens of non living enemies like robots or ghosts. Nothing makes me lose interest faster. That is on top of the game already starting to wear its welcome with the repetitive combat. In an attempt to shake things up it just makes the game incredibly more boring and sloggy. In perhaps another attempt to shake up the combat, midway through they start introducing puzzles. Yeah, I'm not kidding. These puzzles arent super prevalent but there are a good handful of them. They may only take half a minute at most but god they're just so boring. And when the rest of the game feels like a repetitive slog, screeching things to a halt to make you do stupid little puzzles is absolutely not the solution.
All the things I listed above don't necessarily make for a bad game, but for me its three of my least favorite gaming shticks all piled onto one halfway through the game right when it felt like it was starting to drag anyways. I just hate that, and I'm sure some people enjoyed the change of pace but it completely checked me out.
I don't know. I don't have anything else to say really. The final boss fight is kinda annoying. I went for the bad ending because those are more fun when I don't really care about whats going on. It was fine.
Trek to Yomi is a game. Not a terrible one I suppose, but I will not replay this ever and I really can't recommend it to someone unless they really love the time period and art style. It only took me four hours to beat so yeah. This review has became a ramble but this game put my mind to fucking mush lol.
Thanks for reading <3
Nancymeter - 50/100
**Trophy Completion - 19% (11/29)
Time Played - 4 hours
Game Completion #144 of 2022
Game Completion #10 of November
Escape Academy
2022
Nancymeter - 80/100
Oftentimes im not really a fan of puzzles in games. They're usually either from an indie game just based around one gimmick or shoehorned into a bigger game that do nothing but slow the pacing to the speed of a dead snail, becoming nothing more than a pain in the ass. There are a few instances where the indie game gimmick is just really cool (looking at you, Superliminal) or the puzzles in a bigger game feel like a fun extension to the gameplay instead of a roadblock (and you, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time) that really get to me and are a lot of fun. I'm happy to say Escape Academy is one of them.
Now the "gimmick" here are escape rooms. But none of these feel the same. They all have their own unique theme and feel to them and It never feels repetitive or like it's wasting your time. The variety in mechanics and settings was a treat. Escape rooms are a big part of another series, Zero Escape and I always loved the idea of them but most of them were just way too complicated for me to wrap my head around. Escape Academy on the other hand isn't a super challenging game, but it hit the perfect balance for me. I didn't feel like I was getting bullied but never babied either, and It was a really rewarding experience. I did resort to looking things up once or twice because I'm a filthy cheater but the game does have an in game hint system. It usually doesnt hold your hand but it points you in the right direction which Is appreciative. There's also a bit of a story to it. As its quite a short game there isnt a lot to it. The ending is a bit abrupt. But whats there was a pretty fun little story to accompany you along your journey. The cast is colorful even though they dont get much time to shine either. It's a really good vibe, as little as there is. I can see myself trying out the dlc in the future, its a world I wanna see more of.
This has been a Nancyfly mini review. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is um - we'll have to see! Fire Emblem... Bayonetta 2....Modern warfare 2? Pokemon?? We'll have to see :p
Trophy Completion - 81% (22/28)
Time Played - 5 hours 57 minutes
Game Completion #142 of 2022
Game Completion #8 of November
Oftentimes im not really a fan of puzzles in games. They're usually either from an indie game just based around one gimmick or shoehorned into a bigger game that do nothing but slow the pacing to the speed of a dead snail, becoming nothing more than a pain in the ass. There are a few instances where the indie game gimmick is just really cool (looking at you, Superliminal) or the puzzles in a bigger game feel like a fun extension to the gameplay instead of a roadblock (and you, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time) that really get to me and are a lot of fun. I'm happy to say Escape Academy is one of them.
Now the "gimmick" here are escape rooms. But none of these feel the same. They all have their own unique theme and feel to them and It never feels repetitive or like it's wasting your time. The variety in mechanics and settings was a treat. Escape rooms are a big part of another series, Zero Escape and I always loved the idea of them but most of them were just way too complicated for me to wrap my head around. Escape Academy on the other hand isn't a super challenging game, but it hit the perfect balance for me. I didn't feel like I was getting bullied but never babied either, and It was a really rewarding experience. I did resort to looking things up once or twice because I'm a filthy cheater but the game does have an in game hint system. It usually doesnt hold your hand but it points you in the right direction which Is appreciative. There's also a bit of a story to it. As its quite a short game there isnt a lot to it. The ending is a bit abrupt. But whats there was a pretty fun little story to accompany you along your journey. The cast is colorful even though they dont get much time to shine either. It's a really good vibe, as little as there is. I can see myself trying out the dlc in the future, its a world I wanna see more of.
This has been a Nancyfly mini review. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is um - we'll have to see! Fire Emblem... Bayonetta 2....Modern warfare 2? Pokemon?? We'll have to see :p
Trophy Completion - 81% (22/28)
Time Played - 5 hours 57 minutes
Game Completion #142 of 2022
Game Completion #8 of November
Bayonetta
2009
Nancymeter - 87/100
Bayonetta is both one of the most sexy/stylish games and characters ever. The cutscene near the very start in the graveyard immediately hooked me. An incredible display of joyous insanity and honestly that cutscene alone guaranteed this game would never drop below a 4/5. But because this game is awesome half the cutscenes carry on the same batshit over the top style and I feel like you have to be really uptight to not appreciate the absurdity. Anyways now that I've said every adjective I can think of I'm ready for the real review.
The two most important things about an action game is the combat and the protagonist. As I'm sure everyone knows Bayonetta is great. She exudes confidence both in and out of battles and just has a really fun full of sarcasm attitude. Even after only one game with her I'd put her in my top five gaming protags ever no question. Shes also a really good example of an empowered sexy as hell woman without it feeling demeaning (thanks in part to her character designer being a woman) and I'm super here for it. I am glad they fought to keep her glasses. And then there's the combat. Which is fun and flashy but also fucking hard man. I ain't good at games that arent shooters and this has a difficulty spike within the first 5 or so chapters that just is pretty brutal lol, especially how frail Bayo is it just didnt feel particularly balanced for me. I had no shame eventually switching to easy difficulty at around the halfway point. Unfortunately the automatic setting is a bit much. I'm not complaining that easy difficulty is easy but considering theres even a Very Easy difficulty too I just wish the gap between easy and normal wasnt so huge. That being said, this game is a lot of fun. Im just here to have a good time and being a complete and utter badass destroying everything is perfect for me. There is something to be said about it being a deeper and more rewarding experience playing it on a harder difficulty but I simply don't enjoy getting my ass kicked (In video games anyways) so at least this way I still had my fun. There is multiple unique weapons with their own combos and shit and with the shop system and the rankings you get after each combat encounter encourage multiple playthroughs which for a short game means you will get a lot out of it and thats always a good thing. The animations are really lovely too and its got a fun amount of blood. Enemy and boss designs are all unique and cool while fitting with the setting very well. My only real issue with the combat is that a lot of the bosses suck. They're just not designed well and some of them throw in pretty awful platforming and except for the one on one battles with Jeanne they just kinda suck - but they do make up for it with spectacle.
Aside from your standard combat this is a game from the 7th console generation which of course means there are a few mandatory on the rails sections. These are fun for breaking up the pace but they all go on for just a little bit longer than they're actually fun for. Another side effect of the times is the color pallet. The art style is really good but all the colors are really muted and it just makes the game kinda ugly to look at which is a really widespread and unfortunate issue with this generation that I will always bring up in a review for any game that suffers from it because I hate it. Another thing to nitpick with the visuals is definitely a sign of low budget - some cutscenes are still images with a roll of film filter over them. It fits with the vibe of the game but theres a few instances its used for rather big plot points and idk its not really great but hey what can you do. At least this leads us into our next segment.
very smol spoilers incoming
The story of Bayonetta is... well I don't really know? We've established Bayonetta is an awesome character. The supporting cast is really good. Little Cereza is adorable, Jeanne is a cool rival, Rodan is badass (i love hearing Dave Fennoy's voice) and Luka is a loveable dumbass. But the story itself was really hard to follow. I got the slight jist of it but most of it went way over my head. Fortunately it doesnt matter much but it was kinda hard to get invested when I had no idea what was going on even with all the exposition dumps. I could of course watch a video explaining it but I dont wanna get spoilers for the sequels and that won't really change the initial impression. Despite all of that the game does a great job at showing the scale of your journey through different locations of increasing intrigue and the grand finale being in fucking space is a perfect culmination for such an adventure. I had moments where stupid platforming sections or the confusing narrative made me wonder how much I really liked this game but then it pulls out some beyond my imagination cutscene or throwing in a fucking dance scene (whenever a piece of media throws in one of those it steals my heart) and I remember how much of a treat this game really is. It does fall a bit short of being a true 9/10 for me but I've heard some really great things about the sequel and I'm very excited to see how this series evolves.
I've restarted this review quite a few times over the past few days and i'm still not entirely happy with it but I think I've gotten just about all my thoughts out for this game and I'm ready to move on and see what's ahead of me. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is Escape Academy - and after that maybe Fire Emblem Three Houses. We'll see.
Trophy Completion - 38% (25/51)
Time Played - N/A
Game Completion #139 of 2022
November Completion #5
Bayonetta is both one of the most sexy/stylish games and characters ever. The cutscene near the very start in the graveyard immediately hooked me. An incredible display of joyous insanity and honestly that cutscene alone guaranteed this game would never drop below a 4/5. But because this game is awesome half the cutscenes carry on the same batshit over the top style and I feel like you have to be really uptight to not appreciate the absurdity. Anyways now that I've said every adjective I can think of I'm ready for the real review.
The two most important things about an action game is the combat and the protagonist. As I'm sure everyone knows Bayonetta is great. She exudes confidence both in and out of battles and just has a really fun full of sarcasm attitude. Even after only one game with her I'd put her in my top five gaming protags ever no question. Shes also a really good example of an empowered sexy as hell woman without it feeling demeaning (thanks in part to her character designer being a woman) and I'm super here for it. I am glad they fought to keep her glasses. And then there's the combat. Which is fun and flashy but also fucking hard man. I ain't good at games that arent shooters and this has a difficulty spike within the first 5 or so chapters that just is pretty brutal lol, especially how frail Bayo is it just didnt feel particularly balanced for me. I had no shame eventually switching to easy difficulty at around the halfway point. Unfortunately the automatic setting is a bit much. I'm not complaining that easy difficulty is easy but considering theres even a Very Easy difficulty too I just wish the gap between easy and normal wasnt so huge. That being said, this game is a lot of fun. Im just here to have a good time and being a complete and utter badass destroying everything is perfect for me. There is something to be said about it being a deeper and more rewarding experience playing it on a harder difficulty but I simply don't enjoy getting my ass kicked (In video games anyways) so at least this way I still had my fun. There is multiple unique weapons with their own combos and shit and with the shop system and the rankings you get after each combat encounter encourage multiple playthroughs which for a short game means you will get a lot out of it and thats always a good thing. The animations are really lovely too and its got a fun amount of blood. Enemy and boss designs are all unique and cool while fitting with the setting very well. My only real issue with the combat is that a lot of the bosses suck. They're just not designed well and some of them throw in pretty awful platforming and except for the one on one battles with Jeanne they just kinda suck - but they do make up for it with spectacle.
Aside from your standard combat this is a game from the 7th console generation which of course means there are a few mandatory on the rails sections. These are fun for breaking up the pace but they all go on for just a little bit longer than they're actually fun for. Another side effect of the times is the color pallet. The art style is really good but all the colors are really muted and it just makes the game kinda ugly to look at which is a really widespread and unfortunate issue with this generation that I will always bring up in a review for any game that suffers from it because I hate it. Another thing to nitpick with the visuals is definitely a sign of low budget - some cutscenes are still images with a roll of film filter over them. It fits with the vibe of the game but theres a few instances its used for rather big plot points and idk its not really great but hey what can you do. At least this leads us into our next segment.
very smol spoilers incoming
The story of Bayonetta is... well I don't really know? We've established Bayonetta is an awesome character. The supporting cast is really good. Little Cereza is adorable, Jeanne is a cool rival, Rodan is badass (i love hearing Dave Fennoy's voice) and Luka is a loveable dumbass. But the story itself was really hard to follow. I got the slight jist of it but most of it went way over my head. Fortunately it doesnt matter much but it was kinda hard to get invested when I had no idea what was going on even with all the exposition dumps. I could of course watch a video explaining it but I dont wanna get spoilers for the sequels and that won't really change the initial impression. Despite all of that the game does a great job at showing the scale of your journey through different locations of increasing intrigue and the grand finale being in fucking space is a perfect culmination for such an adventure. I had moments where stupid platforming sections or the confusing narrative made me wonder how much I really liked this game but then it pulls out some beyond my imagination cutscene or throwing in a fucking dance scene (whenever a piece of media throws in one of those it steals my heart) and I remember how much of a treat this game really is. It does fall a bit short of being a true 9/10 for me but I've heard some really great things about the sequel and I'm very excited to see how this series evolves.
I've restarted this review quite a few times over the past few days and i'm still not entirely happy with it but I think I've gotten just about all my thoughts out for this game and I'm ready to move on and see what's ahead of me. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is Escape Academy - and after that maybe Fire Emblem Three Houses. We'll see.
Trophy Completion - 38% (25/51)
Time Played - N/A
Game Completion #139 of 2022
November Completion #5
Nancymeter - 72/100
I'm not sure how it took me as long to beat this as it did, but now that I've finally decommissioned my ps4 I'm trying to shift more focus back onto the switch i've been so undeservedly ignoring. Call ofDuty Juarez Gunslinger was the first game I decided to finish.
Funnily enough, I feel like a lot of my complaints about this are just from the fact that its on switch. It runs perfectly fine but being an fps game, playing it handheld is absolutely an awful experience. My days of playing Modern Warfare for the fucking DS did not prepare me for this experience. There's motion controls as well which thank god can be turned off. But if im being honest, playing this docked didnt feel much better. I don't particularly like the pro controller to begin with but the game felt kinda finnicky to play at times with shots seemingly missing for no reason. I am not sure how much the game is at fault for that and how much its just me/personal taste so im not really knocking it against it but felt like I should share for transparency. If you get this on switch, just know you're getting an FPS on a console not really made for them.
Anyways the game itself is pretty fun. I do not like cel-shaded graphics very much but it works fine for this game. Some levels have fun locations but for the most part its very linear. I love linear games but this one felt just a bit too restrictive. Nothing is more annoying than when games throw on the "you're straying too far from the mission area" shit and that happened a few times in this. The shooting is solid, feels a little stiff at times but it properly weighty. There's only like four types of weapons but duel wielding pistols the entire time is the correct way to play it. The shotgun is basically useless. There is also no gore pretty much whatsoever but its quite bloody at least so the carnage while limited from its fullest potential is still lovely.
The story definitely tries but it fell a little flat for me. It has a pretty fun unreliable narrator angle which got a laugh or two out of me but kinda wore its welcome near the end. The ending twist was neat tho and overall for a fps game its solid. This game does another thing I hate where boss fights are just normal guys that unexplicably have massive amounts of HP. I get its a game and kinda hard to implement but Its another thing that irked me. You'll do a lot of one on one duels that are a little unclear in their explanations but are kinda fun and fit the theme. There is a few sections in this game where you have to fight Native Americans and while it is technically time period accurate (in the sense that a washed up morally grey gunslinger would maybe make up a story about fighting them) it just felt kinda gross to me and I really did not enjoy having to shoot through those sections. That's really the only thing i'd say is downright bad about the game. The rest of it is a really solid experience that is never anything more and will not blow your socks off - but if you love western stuff like I do you'll probably have a good time.
This was meant to be another "Nancyfly Mini Review" but i talk too fucking much. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is Bayonetta - and after that Balan Wonderworld :p
Time Played - 5 hours or more (according to switch)
Game Completion #141 of 2022
November Completion #7
I'm not sure how it took me as long to beat this as it did, but now that I've finally decommissioned my ps4 I'm trying to shift more focus back onto the switch i've been so undeservedly ignoring. Call of
Funnily enough, I feel like a lot of my complaints about this are just from the fact that its on switch. It runs perfectly fine but being an fps game, playing it handheld is absolutely an awful experience. My days of playing Modern Warfare for the fucking DS did not prepare me for this experience. There's motion controls as well which thank god can be turned off. But if im being honest, playing this docked didnt feel much better. I don't particularly like the pro controller to begin with but the game felt kinda finnicky to play at times with shots seemingly missing for no reason. I am not sure how much the game is at fault for that and how much its just me/personal taste so im not really knocking it against it but felt like I should share for transparency. If you get this on switch, just know you're getting an FPS on a console not really made for them.
Anyways the game itself is pretty fun. I do not like cel-shaded graphics very much but it works fine for this game. Some levels have fun locations but for the most part its very linear. I love linear games but this one felt just a bit too restrictive. Nothing is more annoying than when games throw on the "you're straying too far from the mission area" shit and that happened a few times in this. The shooting is solid, feels a little stiff at times but it properly weighty. There's only like four types of weapons but duel wielding pistols the entire time is the correct way to play it. The shotgun is basically useless. There is also no gore pretty much whatsoever but its quite bloody at least so the carnage while limited from its fullest potential is still lovely.
The story definitely tries but it fell a little flat for me. It has a pretty fun unreliable narrator angle which got a laugh or two out of me but kinda wore its welcome near the end. The ending twist was neat tho and overall for a fps game its solid. This game does another thing I hate where boss fights are just normal guys that unexplicably have massive amounts of HP. I get its a game and kinda hard to implement but Its another thing that irked me. You'll do a lot of one on one duels that are a little unclear in their explanations but are kinda fun and fit the theme. There is a few sections in this game where you have to fight Native Americans and while it is technically time period accurate (in the sense that a washed up morally grey gunslinger would maybe make up a story about fighting them) it just felt kinda gross to me and I really did not enjoy having to shoot through those sections. That's really the only thing i'd say is downright bad about the game. The rest of it is a really solid experience that is never anything more and will not blow your socks off - but if you love western stuff like I do you'll probably have a good time.
This was meant to be another "Nancyfly Mini Review" but i talk too fucking much. Thanks for reading <3
Next up is Bayonetta - and after that Balan Wonderworld :p
Time Played - 5 hours or more (according to switch)
Game Completion #141 of 2022
November Completion #7
This is the first fighter that I truly loved and didn't feel extremely frustrated by, I haven't even really touched the story mode but I've gone through arcade mode 37 times, 1 time for each character including their shadow variation. The gameplay and visuals are perfect.
Splatoon 3
2022
I'd really love to get better and enjoy this series but jesus christ Nintendo servers won't even let me finish a match! I just wanna play the game ;-;
I get launch day severs and such but good lord -_-
I get launch day severs and such but good lord -_-
Severed Steel
2021
Fast paced first person shooters are some of the most fun types of games out there and Severed Steel even with its low budget capitalizes on all the fun very well. Genuinely every game with destructible environments and parkour is cooler for it. If this game went for the trifecta and added a grappling hook I believe It would of made me go into cardiac arrest. The weapons themselves are mostly forgettable (the shotguns and flamethrower being the most fun) and the levels while actually having some good and more than expected variance in their look do feel a bit repetitive (especially considering the objectives) but for such a short gameplay experience and with such a fun mishmash of random stuff + just that little bit of indie jank to hold everything together this game is great and a big recommend. There is some semblance of a story but not really and who cares anyways. But the fact you are playing as a girl does automatically elevate it. Sorry, I make the rules. I think a higher budget sequel with a voiced protag, a little more story and perhaps a bit more level variation while obviously not needed is like, an award winning please inject it directly into my tits kinda formula. I just want more destructible fps games there is no reason F.E.A.R. shouldn't of been more influential. But that's just me daydreaming. Don't go into this wishing what it could be and just let it take you on the ride of what it is. You won't regret it. Unless you're really lame.
This has been a Nancyfly mini review, thanks for reading <3
Up Next: Call of Juarez Gunslinger, and after that - Bayonetta
Nancymeter - 77/100
Game Completion #140 of 2022
November Completion #6
This has been a Nancyfly mini review, thanks for reading <3
Up Next: Call of Juarez Gunslinger, and after that - Bayonetta
Nancymeter - 77/100
Game Completion #140 of 2022
November Completion #6
Vanquish
2010
Platinum games have a certain prestige to them. Almost universally renowned for their gameplay. Vanquish is often pointed out as one of their more underrated titles. But I have to be honest, I really don't get it and I wish I did.
Originally i gave this a 5/10 and shelved it, saying I had already seen everything the game had to offer in the first two acts and wanted to focus on other games at the time. Well now that Im trying to empty my backlog and raise my trophy completion I decided to come back to this. I do admit my initial score was a bit too harsh but for the most part my feelings remain the same.
The gameplay in Vanquish is good. Sliding and boosting is fun and there are a solid amount of unique weapons. I appreciate how it can be a cover shooter but you're rewarded for not doing that. It also has a pretty interesting upgrade system. If you pick up the same type of weapon with full ammo you'll get parts towards an upgrade. This is a pretty nice idea even if it did mean more often than not i tried not to use a weapon so i'd always have enough ammo to upgrade. But the shooting is just, fine? it doesnt really feel spectacular and a lot of the guns are pretty weightless. Boosting is fun but you don't really have much energy anyways. I don't know. Its an absolutely solid gameplay system but when I think about my favorite combat systems in games this one just didn't really blow me out of the water.
The story is also really bad. Not in the fun and cheesy way like Bayonetta, its just terribly dull. None of the characters or dialogue are all that likeable. Sam as a protag is pretty empty but he has one or two cool moments. I do appreciate that the story all takes place during the course of one mission, I think thats pretty cool honestly and would like to see more "military" games try that approach. But the level variety is very lacking. If im being honest the game looks really ugly. It has that annoying "everything should be greyed out because its a 7th gen shooter" thing going for it and it just is really unpleasant too look at. Some boss designs are cool but theyre reused multiple times as well so even they feel samey. The game also lacks a proper conclusion. Its not as bad as like Call of Duty Ghosts but it definitely feels like sequel bait and when the story is already so undercooked as it is, it left me with a very unsatisfying experience.
I think Vanquish isnt a bad game, its just a pretty okay one. Its short and the fast paced combat is nice so its definitely worth a play but I can't say this is a game i'll look back on fondly, or even really remember at all.
I wish I felt differently but hey, at least im digging the other platinum game im playing. Sorry so many of my reviews lately have been like 2.5s or 3/5s lol I dont like to be so negative but I like to think I give everything a fair shot at the least. Thanks for reading everyone <3
Trophy Completion - 54% (35/51)
Time Played: 7 hours 47 minutes (save file says 3 hours 25)
Nancymeter - 61/100
Game Completion #136 of 2022
November Completion #2
Originally i gave this a 5/10 and shelved it, saying I had already seen everything the game had to offer in the first two acts and wanted to focus on other games at the time. Well now that Im trying to empty my backlog and raise my trophy completion I decided to come back to this. I do admit my initial score was a bit too harsh but for the most part my feelings remain the same.
The gameplay in Vanquish is good. Sliding and boosting is fun and there are a solid amount of unique weapons. I appreciate how it can be a cover shooter but you're rewarded for not doing that. It also has a pretty interesting upgrade system. If you pick up the same type of weapon with full ammo you'll get parts towards an upgrade. This is a pretty nice idea even if it did mean more often than not i tried not to use a weapon so i'd always have enough ammo to upgrade. But the shooting is just, fine? it doesnt really feel spectacular and a lot of the guns are pretty weightless. Boosting is fun but you don't really have much energy anyways. I don't know. Its an absolutely solid gameplay system but when I think about my favorite combat systems in games this one just didn't really blow me out of the water.
The story is also really bad. Not in the fun and cheesy way like Bayonetta, its just terribly dull. None of the characters or dialogue are all that likeable. Sam as a protag is pretty empty but he has one or two cool moments. I do appreciate that the story all takes place during the course of one mission, I think thats pretty cool honestly and would like to see more "military" games try that approach. But the level variety is very lacking. If im being honest the game looks really ugly. It has that annoying "everything should be greyed out because its a 7th gen shooter" thing going for it and it just is really unpleasant too look at. Some boss designs are cool but theyre reused multiple times as well so even they feel samey. The game also lacks a proper conclusion. Its not as bad as like Call of Duty Ghosts but it definitely feels like sequel bait and when the story is already so undercooked as it is, it left me with a very unsatisfying experience.
I think Vanquish isnt a bad game, its just a pretty okay one. Its short and the fast paced combat is nice so its definitely worth a play but I can't say this is a game i'll look back on fondly, or even really remember at all.
I wish I felt differently but hey, at least im digging the other platinum game im playing. Sorry so many of my reviews lately have been like 2.5s or 3/5s lol I dont like to be so negative but I like to think I give everything a fair shot at the least. Thanks for reading everyone <3
Trophy Completion - 54% (35/51)
Time Played: 7 hours 47 minutes (save file says 3 hours 25)
Nancymeter - 61/100
Game Completion #136 of 2022
November Completion #2