nurvuss
1994
Has many of the same game design sins as its prequel, but this is where BoF began to come into its own. An intriguing tragic fantasy that would set the stage for its outstanding sequels.
2019
This review contains spoilers
Adol and Dogi are back in an adventure that's, thankfully, not quite as long as the last couple of Ys games. Video Games' Favourite Power Couple visit the Prison City of Balduq where Adol runs afoul of the Romun Empire once again. Our hapless adventurer is thrown into jail, quickly escapes from jail, and finds himself inducted into the Monstrum: a group of furry superheroes battling the Nox: a demonic invasion that strikes every full moon.
Monstrum Nox is, for better or worse, built upon the framework of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Tower Defense is back; landmark discovery is back too. While these made sense when exploring a desert island, they feel shoehorned-into Balduq's bustling metropolis. The Tower Defense segments in particular are just as annoying as they were in Lacrimosa; interrupting story progression to call Adol and the Gang back to fight waves of generic monsters.
What begins as a localized mystery eventually becomes, yet again, a battle against an existential threat with close ties to Adol's past. Seeing some classic boss monsters again is fun but naturally this isn't remotely compelling because, as iconic as Adol is, he's not a character so much as a cypher for grand adventure. Big revelations for a character who's never had a personality can only fall flat.
Each of the Monstrum have their own chapter where they learn the true meaning of friendship or whatever. One of these chapters is a really weird parable in which the gang's Robin Hood figure learns that feeding the poor enables their laziness, so she opens a flower shop in the ghetto instead(?).
Ill-advised mechanics and bad politics aside, Monstrum Nox is still an Ys game, which makes for a very enjoyable action RPG. Each of the Monstrum bring their own unique traversal mechanic to the party which allows the player to explore Balduq from top to bottom in a number of exciting ways. Wall-running up a church steeple to then glide off the top like a bird is Ys at its most playful, with a freedom of movement not often seen in the genre.
Set to celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2022, Ys is perhaps getting a little long in the tooth. Perhaps this is the curse of being a groundbreaking series: where it once solidified a new genre, current entries don't quite stand out from other entries in the genre it spawned. That said, I'd happily play another Ys featuring the traversal of Monstrum Nox. Maybe they could make Dogi playable again, too, since he's been unfairly sidelined for the past decade.
Monstrum Nox is, for better or worse, built upon the framework of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Tower Defense is back; landmark discovery is back too. While these made sense when exploring a desert island, they feel shoehorned-into Balduq's bustling metropolis. The Tower Defense segments in particular are just as annoying as they were in Lacrimosa; interrupting story progression to call Adol and the Gang back to fight waves of generic monsters.
What begins as a localized mystery eventually becomes, yet again, a battle against an existential threat with close ties to Adol's past. Seeing some classic boss monsters again is fun but naturally this isn't remotely compelling because, as iconic as Adol is, he's not a character so much as a cypher for grand adventure. Big revelations for a character who's never had a personality can only fall flat.
Each of the Monstrum have their own chapter where they learn the true meaning of friendship or whatever. One of these chapters is a really weird parable in which the gang's Robin Hood figure learns that feeding the poor enables their laziness, so she opens a flower shop in the ghetto instead(?).
Ill-advised mechanics and bad politics aside, Monstrum Nox is still an Ys game, which makes for a very enjoyable action RPG. Each of the Monstrum bring their own unique traversal mechanic to the party which allows the player to explore Balduq from top to bottom in a number of exciting ways. Wall-running up a church steeple to then glide off the top like a bird is Ys at its most playful, with a freedom of movement not often seen in the genre.
Set to celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2022, Ys is perhaps getting a little long in the tooth. Perhaps this is the curse of being a groundbreaking series: where it once solidified a new genre, current entries don't quite stand out from other entries in the genre it spawned. That said, I'd happily play another Ys featuring the traversal of Monstrum Nox. Maybe they could make Dogi playable again, too, since he's been unfairly sidelined for the past decade.
2006
About as fully featured and enjoyable as a beta made in some kid's bedroom. Whoever said Bullet Witch was a misunderstood classic due a re-evaluation, I will cut you.
2012
This was pretty ridiculous, self-serious yet occasionally more cartoony than the original duo. A fat guy with a bad attitude; I can relate
2021
An interesting failure
2020
I get what Puppet Combo is going for, a playable version of the video nasty. I still find their games a little too mean-spirited and gross, and Murder House hasn't changed my opinion. The PS1 aesthetics are very good, though.
hahahaha holy cow this is a special game
2009
Picked this up a decade ago and immediately fell off it. Agonising motion controls aside, Calling's adventure with haunted cell phones (and eventually, the player's own haunted Wii) is one of the most interesting survival horror games out there. Recommended if you can get your hands on it!
2000
Babby's first Kings Field is probably one of the more uneven and, frankly, boring one of these, but the absurd ending is a bit of a redeemer.
2020
A curious little mix-up to the Metroidvania formula where you're a John Carpenter's The Thing-esque abomination. Gorgeous movement and verbs that never fail to satisfy, with some neat puzzles along the way.
2022
More from Chilla's Art, and probably the best thing they've done for a little while. Food service horror is gr8
2009
The Racist One. I could never get to grips with it when it was current, but I decided I wanted to finish every mainline RE. There's a lot of things I didn't like about 5, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. Well, except for the racist bits.
2019
Side-scrolling Samurai Hotline Miami. I always wanted to play it, and I did! It was fine, I guess. I liked the setting though, a futuristic oilpunk dystopia which reminded me of the Strider follow-up Osman.
Folks were talking about Village from the very first teaser trailer: there's vampires now? Werewolves?? Witches??? Longtime fans were skeptical to see the series break its own rules by including the entire Universal Monsters cadre, but skepticism soon turned to horniness when Capcom revealed Lady Dimetrescu, the internet's Big Vampire Mommy GF ("Fans, we've heard your cries: so we've released her exact shoe size").
The period between this reveal and Village's release was an exhausting time to be on Vidya Twitter. Thankfully, Village is a worthy successor to Resident Evil 7, just as gross and silly as its immediate predecessor. Ethan Winters is as Wonder Bread™ a protagonist as ever, but the supporting cast more than makes up for it with a rogue's gallery who wouldn't be out of place in one of the stronger Metal Gear Solid titles. Each of the Four Lords' territories sees a horror genre change that keeps things fresh and amusing with equal parts creeping dread and laugh-out-loud moments.
Like RE 7, the back quarter isn't quite as strong as the rest of the game, but Resident Evil has never been a series that knew how to stick the landing. This is less a condemnation of Village as it is acknowledgement of Just How Freakin Good the rest of the game is: Village manages to be simultaneously self-aware and deft-handed, an accomplishment for any game, let alone a storied, over-the-top series like Resident Evil.
The period between this reveal and Village's release was an exhausting time to be on Vidya Twitter. Thankfully, Village is a worthy successor to Resident Evil 7, just as gross and silly as its immediate predecessor. Ethan Winters is as Wonder Bread™ a protagonist as ever, but the supporting cast more than makes up for it with a rogue's gallery who wouldn't be out of place in one of the stronger Metal Gear Solid titles. Each of the Four Lords' territories sees a horror genre change that keeps things fresh and amusing with equal parts creeping dread and laugh-out-loud moments.
Like RE 7, the back quarter isn't quite as strong as the rest of the game, but Resident Evil has never been a series that knew how to stick the landing. This is less a condemnation of Village as it is acknowledgement of Just How Freakin Good the rest of the game is: Village manages to be simultaneously self-aware and deft-handed, an accomplishment for any game, let alone a storied, over-the-top series like Resident Evil.