schlittyloggd
Short and rough around the edges but enough of a gameplay core that you're left wishing there was a bit more to it.
I grew up watching The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and playing NES but had no idea this game existed. When I stumbled over it I decided to check it out.
The platforming and gunplay isn't really bad at all for the era. The movement and jumps are super tight and controllable. You can move left and right freely. Enemies don't respawn which is always welcome. Some of the cutscene stills are beautiful pixel art. There's a pinch of variety. And well, it's Young Indy!
The game falls a little flat with the depth. The game is over in a couple hours after three levels. While you go from Mexico to Germany, you're left wanting a lot more Indiana globe trotting. The bosses are haphazard trial and error. And some parts of the game just feel rushed and clunky. A lot of parts. I wouldn't be surprised to hear this was an extremely short development cycle.
I'm glad I checked it out. It has some charm, just not quite enough.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
I grew up watching The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and playing NES but had no idea this game existed. When I stumbled over it I decided to check it out.
The platforming and gunplay isn't really bad at all for the era. The movement and jumps are super tight and controllable. You can move left and right freely. Enemies don't respawn which is always welcome. Some of the cutscene stills are beautiful pixel art. There's a pinch of variety. And well, it's Young Indy!
The game falls a little flat with the depth. The game is over in a couple hours after three levels. While you go from Mexico to Germany, you're left wanting a lot more Indiana globe trotting. The bosses are haphazard trial and error. And some parts of the game just feel rushed and clunky. A lot of parts. I wouldn't be surprised to hear this was an extremely short development cycle.
I'm glad I checked it out. It has some charm, just not quite enough.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
1996
I love me some puzzles. Especially ones you can get in and out of quickly and enjoy in your spare minutes. Mole Mania is about as good as it gets in that department. Especially when it comes to Game Boy.
The big flaw that keeps this from being a perfect game is the lull/plateau of the puzzles that happens through a large swath of Worlds 6 and 7. You've seen it all at that point. They don't bring in any new folds. And the World maps are too big for their own good at that point. I'll also note that the bonus events are more annoying than anything else but obviously are just there for the 100%.
Other than that the game is amazing. The puzzle build up and variety before the plateau is great. The game being compartmentalized into single screens means you can play for 2mins or 2hrs at a time and walk away feeling like progress was made. The bosses are actually really fun action as opposed to the bonus stages. And the little story told and tiny cutscenes are funny n' cute.
Mole Mania is exactly what I want out of a handheld game on my handheld emulator. Loved it.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
The big flaw that keeps this from being a perfect game is the lull/plateau of the puzzles that happens through a large swath of Worlds 6 and 7. You've seen it all at that point. They don't bring in any new folds. And the World maps are too big for their own good at that point. I'll also note that the bonus events are more annoying than anything else but obviously are just there for the 100%.
Other than that the game is amazing. The puzzle build up and variety before the plateau is great. The game being compartmentalized into single screens means you can play for 2mins or 2hrs at a time and walk away feeling like progress was made. The bosses are actually really fun action as opposed to the bonus stages. And the little story told and tiny cutscenes are funny n' cute.
Mole Mania is exactly what I want out of a handheld game on my handheld emulator. Loved it.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
1992
I've been working through some "hidden gems" I've jotted down over the years and Mr. Gimmick was the next one up.
I enjoyed the spirit of all the ideas it had. It genuinely felt like something "new" on a system I grew up with. From the slide~y environment and jumps to the interesting weapons, it's very unique for the NES. But the main weapon never "clicked" with me.
I felt I was fighting the gameplay controls more than the enemies or environments. This hurt the fun factor big time. I will admit figuring out a couple bosses or sequences was quite satisfying but just as many other times it was annoying or a chore. And I didn't even bother getting good at timing the jumping on the star itself. So I missed out on all but the first hidden area (and a final-final boss according to what I read afterwards).
Definitely a hidden gem indeed though. Worth trying for all and if it "clicks" with you, could be top tier.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
I enjoyed the spirit of all the ideas it had. It genuinely felt like something "new" on a system I grew up with. From the slide~y environment and jumps to the interesting weapons, it's very unique for the NES. But the main weapon never "clicked" with me.
I felt I was fighting the gameplay controls more than the enemies or environments. This hurt the fun factor big time. I will admit figuring out a couple bosses or sequences was quite satisfying but just as many other times it was annoying or a chore. And I didn't even bother getting good at timing the jumping on the star itself. So I missed out on all but the first hidden area (and a final-final boss according to what I read afterwards).
Definitely a hidden gem indeed though. Worth trying for all and if it "clicks" with you, could be top tier.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
The clunk didn't work this time.
I enjoy these type of games. Choose your own adventure narratives or whatever. Until Dawn was comically absurd the way it was trying to be twelve different horror movies at once and the hokey acting. The clunky branching game fit with that. You forgave things that weren't fleshed out because it was one big b-movie. Here, with Man of Medan, it just doesn't work as well.
The narrative is more linear with less layers. But the clunky branches are more abundant. I dunno if I picked everything perfectly that they didn't flesh out well, or if it's all bad. Either way, my entire experience was jerky and silly in bad ways instead of fun ways. Many times there would be two or three silent loading transitions with nobody saying anything. Other times things would unfold without interactions or choices being made. Characters would appear in new places. And all sorts of other clunk.
Plain and simple it just didn't work this time. I still want to say I appreciate the campy fun parts, but there just wasn't enough of them. I was excited to dive into the Dark Pictures Anthology but this was a sour entry point.
I enjoy these type of games. Choose your own adventure narratives or whatever. Until Dawn was comically absurd the way it was trying to be twelve different horror movies at once and the hokey acting. The clunky branching game fit with that. You forgave things that weren't fleshed out because it was one big b-movie. Here, with Man of Medan, it just doesn't work as well.
The narrative is more linear with less layers. But the clunky branches are more abundant. I dunno if I picked everything perfectly that they didn't flesh out well, or if it's all bad. Either way, my entire experience was jerky and silly in bad ways instead of fun ways. Many times there would be two or three silent loading transitions with nobody saying anything. Other times things would unfold without interactions or choices being made. Characters would appear in new places. And all sorts of other clunk.
Plain and simple it just didn't work this time. I still want to say I appreciate the campy fun parts, but there just wasn't enough of them. I was excited to dive into the Dark Pictures Anthology but this was a sour entry point.
1992
One of those absolute gems I never had growing up that I love discovering as an old man. The sprite animations alone in in Little Samson... My goodness! The four characters and their techniques are a spectacularly fun variety. The music is good enough. And the platforming is tight. It's like Super Mario Bros 2 on steroids, with projectiles!
Little Samson is an aboslutely amazing NES game, simple as that. I'd seen it on many lists or hidden gem recommendations over the years. Very happy to have finally played it. I enjoyed every minute of it.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
Little Samson is an aboslutely amazing NES game, simple as that. I'd seen it on many lists or hidden gem recommendations over the years. Very happy to have finally played it. I enjoyed every minute of it.
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
1993
A quick one.
Sometimes emulating, fast forwarding, and save scumming can make a fun little game all the more frustrating because you get impatient. That admittedly happened to me here. The slow movement and pacing was exacerbated with the modern wonders of emulation. Had I played it back when my GameBoy was shiny and new, it'd have been a more rewarding challenge. Stopping and smelling the roses would've been fine. I would've gotten weeks or months out of it.
Ultimately the game is on the easier side though. And with save states you can reset and make the game as short as it is. You just gotta learn what the level or boss is asking of you. A cute little game with some sneaky depth with the different power ups. But with plenty of clunk from the era. Fun little one session GameBoy platformer.
"Piece of cake. Let's go home."
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
Sometimes emulating, fast forwarding, and save scumming can make a fun little game all the more frustrating because you get impatient. That admittedly happened to me here. The slow movement and pacing was exacerbated with the modern wonders of emulation. Had I played it back when my GameBoy was shiny and new, it'd have been a more rewarding challenge. Stopping and smelling the roses would've been fine. I would've gotten weeks or months out of it.
Ultimately the game is on the easier side though. And with save states you can reset and make the game as short as it is. You just gotta learn what the level or boss is asking of you. A cute little game with some sneaky depth with the different power ups. But with plenty of clunk from the era. Fun little one session GameBoy platformer.
"Piece of cake. Let's go home."
[Emulated/played on Miyoo Mini v2]
2022
Cute concept but didn't do it for me.
The presentation style of Cursed to Golf borrowed a little too much from Celeste's commercial release. Which I didn't really like. But Celeste made up for it with 10 out of 10 gameplay so I could care less about the fluff. Here, the gameplay is a little too bare bones and a slog of a pace.
Golf is a genre of video games I enjoy immensely. So I'm admittedly a little tough on the ones that don't provide a good feel. From the multiple clicks and buttons holds it takes to pan the camera around to scope out a hole, to the bare minimum choice of clubs and trajectories; Cursed to Golf is more of the former than the latter. The card system is the interesting fold that kept me playing for the three hours I did. There's some interesting concepts there that bring some semblance of depth.
Ultimately I just never found the flow of the game fun and never felt rewards were worthwhile. When I got to the second world and the trees and bushes used an animation that resembled screen tearing I took the out. I finished the run I was on and returned my clubs. I was done.
Maybe the cutesy golf subgenre isn't my thing. I abandoned Golf Story on Switch as well. But on that note; if you DO like Golf Story, you should have fun here too. Wasn't for me but Cursed to Golf definitely isn't bad.
The presentation style of Cursed to Golf borrowed a little too much from Celeste's commercial release. Which I didn't really like. But Celeste made up for it with 10 out of 10 gameplay so I could care less about the fluff. Here, the gameplay is a little too bare bones and a slog of a pace.
Golf is a genre of video games I enjoy immensely. So I'm admittedly a little tough on the ones that don't provide a good feel. From the multiple clicks and buttons holds it takes to pan the camera around to scope out a hole, to the bare minimum choice of clubs and trajectories; Cursed to Golf is more of the former than the latter. The card system is the interesting fold that kept me playing for the three hours I did. There's some interesting concepts there that bring some semblance of depth.
Ultimately I just never found the flow of the game fun and never felt rewards were worthwhile. When I got to the second world and the trees and bushes used an animation that resembled screen tearing I took the out. I finished the run I was on and returned my clubs. I was done.
Maybe the cutesy golf subgenre isn't my thing. I abandoned Golf Story on Switch as well. But on that note; if you DO like Golf Story, you should have fun here too. Wasn't for me but Cursed to Golf definitely isn't bad.
2014
It took me a few attempts over many real world years to get into this game but I was lucky enough to complete the trip when I finally did.
I have a conflicting thing with 'steam punk' and adjacent things. While I like a 1800's romance or even plenty of games that would be considered so, something about it just never hooks me. I find a lot of it incredibly offputting. And that's how 80 Days felt for me the first few attempts. I couldn't get into the story. From the two leads to the first few cities I visited I wasn't feeling it. The choose your own adventure with incredibly obtuse, obscure, or flat out nonexistent clues and seemingly random results was a turn off as well. I'd get two or three stops in, have a wild or anti-climatic end to a conversation and forget to ever load the game up again.
While my tastes haven't changed drastically and these problems certainly didn't magically disappear over the years; I did finally play long enough for the game to shine. The writing branches gets better the deeper and longer you play. Every three to five stops on your journey you get a rich and worthwhile short tale. You get a feel for what the game expects of you. And by the halfway point of your journey you feel confident and can appreciate what 80 Days is offering. I enjoyed it on the Steam Deck this time too. That admittedly has helped average games get over the hump for me, but I'm comfortable saying I would've given it a thumbs up if I was at my desktop. It's a fun, throw back adventure.
I have my qualms about the theme/universe. I found it impossible to make my character likable. Some of the characters you meet along the way range from the aforementioned obtuse down to groan worthy predictability. But I genuinely laughed at least twice. I genuinely wanted to know how a strong handful of interactions turned out. And I most definitely genuinely wanted to complete the journey. A really worthwhile adventure once you let the hooks grow. Probably has some decent replayability as well, but I have my own journey of a Steam backlog to tend to.
A gentlemanly light recommendation.
[copied from my Steam review]
I have a conflicting thing with 'steam punk' and adjacent things. While I like a 1800's romance or even plenty of games that would be considered so, something about it just never hooks me. I find a lot of it incredibly offputting. And that's how 80 Days felt for me the first few attempts. I couldn't get into the story. From the two leads to the first few cities I visited I wasn't feeling it. The choose your own adventure with incredibly obtuse, obscure, or flat out nonexistent clues and seemingly random results was a turn off as well. I'd get two or three stops in, have a wild or anti-climatic end to a conversation and forget to ever load the game up again.
While my tastes haven't changed drastically and these problems certainly didn't magically disappear over the years; I did finally play long enough for the game to shine. The writing branches gets better the deeper and longer you play. Every three to five stops on your journey you get a rich and worthwhile short tale. You get a feel for what the game expects of you. And by the halfway point of your journey you feel confident and can appreciate what 80 Days is offering. I enjoyed it on the Steam Deck this time too. That admittedly has helped average games get over the hump for me, but I'm comfortable saying I would've given it a thumbs up if I was at my desktop. It's a fun, throw back adventure.
I have my qualms about the theme/universe. I found it impossible to make my character likable. Some of the characters you meet along the way range from the aforementioned obtuse down to groan worthy predictability. But I genuinely laughed at least twice. I genuinely wanted to know how a strong handful of interactions turned out. And I most definitely genuinely wanted to complete the journey. A really worthwhile adventure once you let the hooks grow. Probably has some decent replayability as well, but I have my own journey of a Steam backlog to tend to.
A gentlemanly light recommendation.
[copied from my Steam review]
Definitely a neutral but I really don't think I would've played it as completely without a Steam Deck.
I've definitely given a lot of games a pass because they play well with the Steam Deck. On top of that two of my favorite video game genres are puzzles and golf. This was very much up my alley and I put my hours in getting all the "stars" and "blue things". But it really wasn't a ton of fun. At all...
The golfing is very, very lackluster. The puzzles, when collecting all the stars, are paint-by-numbers at best. There's no mystery to the solutions. There's no grey area. No flexibility. No wiggle room. There's one way to get all the stars on every hole. You know exactly how many strokes it takes. You get to see exactly where all your shots are going, even with wind. There's TONS of environmental clues. It's just plain straightforward. In the last few worlds there's some timing added in, but it adds nothing really.
In fact, I would argue the later worlds with their timing events highlight how tedious, tiring, and unenjoyable the game actually is. World 8 with its low gravity and shots that take 3x longer to see the result of is especially painful. And I won't even begin to speak of the finale hole. I couldn't wait that one out, I was done. I had been worn down too much and so I will uninstall and leave that last "blue thing" floating out there in the digital ether. Which speaks volumes that I'm content just walking away after 14hrs with just one collectable left.
It's a pretty game though. Great visuals and styles in each world. Right down to the menus, the artists are talented and then some. But I only played as much as I did because of the Steam Deck and getting in and out. And then it still broke me in the end. I can't speak to how it would've played without going for all the collectables, so I don't outright recommend against it. But it isn't a satisfying "completionist" if you ask me.
[copied from my Steam review]
I've definitely given a lot of games a pass because they play well with the Steam Deck. On top of that two of my favorite video game genres are puzzles and golf. This was very much up my alley and I put my hours in getting all the "stars" and "blue things". But it really wasn't a ton of fun. At all...
The golfing is very, very lackluster. The puzzles, when collecting all the stars, are paint-by-numbers at best. There's no mystery to the solutions. There's no grey area. No flexibility. No wiggle room. There's one way to get all the stars on every hole. You know exactly how many strokes it takes. You get to see exactly where all your shots are going, even with wind. There's TONS of environmental clues. It's just plain straightforward. In the last few worlds there's some timing added in, but it adds nothing really.
In fact, I would argue the later worlds with their timing events highlight how tedious, tiring, and unenjoyable the game actually is. World 8 with its low gravity and shots that take 3x longer to see the result of is especially painful. And I won't even begin to speak of the finale hole. I couldn't wait that one out, I was done. I had been worn down too much and so I will uninstall and leave that last "blue thing" floating out there in the digital ether. Which speaks volumes that I'm content just walking away after 14hrs with just one collectable left.
It's a pretty game though. Great visuals and styles in each world. Right down to the menus, the artists are talented and then some. But I only played as much as I did because of the Steam Deck and getting in and out. And then it still broke me in the end. I can't speak to how it would've played without going for all the collectables, so I don't outright recommend against it. But it isn't a satisfying "completionist" if you ask me.
[copied from my Steam review]
2018
Most definitely more sizzle than steak but I still finished the "World Tour" with 100% gold so it was doing something right.
The art direction and overall style of Horizon Chase Turbo is far and away what it does best. It's a beautiful game full of color and design. It strikes a perfect balance of being its own modern style while still being a nostalgic throwback. All while avoiding going full 80s, 90s, synth, or whatever. It's really nice and really unique. The gameplay tries to do this too but it doesn't quite come together as well. It feels like an old arcade cabinet racer with all the drifting and frustrating collisions into the backs of cars or sign posts but then it's also insanely easy with scripted player favoring rubberbanding ever stage.
The only real challenge on the campaign mode("World Tour") is trying to collect all the blue coins every track. But even that you can kind of cheese by going slow lap one to make sure you get them. You can do this because you'll be pulled to the leader in the following laps. There's a wide variety of cars with only one real difference. If you focus on cars and upgrades with the highest steering the rest of the cars' stats are irrelevant. The track layouts also get progressively lazier as you get to each new location. The art and design stays good mind you. But the layouts, whether through player familiarity or design laziness, just get boring. It opens with tracks clearly inspired by real world racing and video game fandom and devolves into repeated gimmicks and lazy left/rights. The music is decent but I turned it off quickly as it got too repetitive even in the small doses.
But where it works is the drop in and play aspect. Races are rarely longer than two or three minutes. The game runs full blast on the Steam Deck. It's just one of those games you can get in and out of. Load it up, cruise to victory, feel a false sense of accomplishment as the gold "Super Trophy" flashes on screen, rinse and repeat a couple times, shut down, and go on with your day. That said, once I completed the campaign, I had no desire to check out any of the other fluff. The racing product simply isn't good enough for me to want to do "Adventures" or "Endurance". I got what fun I could out of it. I will note that the menus got randomly unresponsive for me at times. Hangs or something. Especially after unlocking a vehicle. Might've been a Steam Deck thing. But otherwise runs flawlessly.
It looks great and is just passable enough fun to drive. Great on the Steam Deck.
[copied from my Steam review]
The art direction and overall style of Horizon Chase Turbo is far and away what it does best. It's a beautiful game full of color and design. It strikes a perfect balance of being its own modern style while still being a nostalgic throwback. All while avoiding going full 80s, 90s, synth, or whatever. It's really nice and really unique. The gameplay tries to do this too but it doesn't quite come together as well. It feels like an old arcade cabinet racer with all the drifting and frustrating collisions into the backs of cars or sign posts but then it's also insanely easy with scripted player favoring rubberbanding ever stage.
The only real challenge on the campaign mode("World Tour") is trying to collect all the blue coins every track. But even that you can kind of cheese by going slow lap one to make sure you get them. You can do this because you'll be pulled to the leader in the following laps. There's a wide variety of cars with only one real difference. If you focus on cars and upgrades with the highest steering the rest of the cars' stats are irrelevant. The track layouts also get progressively lazier as you get to each new location. The art and design stays good mind you. But the layouts, whether through player familiarity or design laziness, just get boring. It opens with tracks clearly inspired by real world racing and video game fandom and devolves into repeated gimmicks and lazy left/rights. The music is decent but I turned it off quickly as it got too repetitive even in the small doses.
But where it works is the drop in and play aspect. Races are rarely longer than two or three minutes. The game runs full blast on the Steam Deck. It's just one of those games you can get in and out of. Load it up, cruise to victory, feel a false sense of accomplishment as the gold "Super Trophy" flashes on screen, rinse and repeat a couple times, shut down, and go on with your day. That said, once I completed the campaign, I had no desire to check out any of the other fluff. The racing product simply isn't good enough for me to want to do "Adventures" or "Endurance". I got what fun I could out of it. I will note that the menus got randomly unresponsive for me at times. Hangs or something. Especially after unlocking a vehicle. Might've been a Steam Deck thing. But otherwise runs flawlessly.
It looks great and is just passable enough fun to drive. Great on the Steam Deck.
[copied from my Steam review]
2006
Still a top tier Wii experience.
We all had it, we all played it if we were exposed to a Wii. We all had our favorite game/sport. For me, it was the golf. I loved that the courses were from NES GOLF which I've played for many many hours in my life. Of all the games it felt the most natural to me as well. It was the game I could beat my friends and family on in Wii Sports. And eventually I played it by my lonesome and snagged an elusive -10 mark I had set for myself. I retired and didn't look back for a decade or so.
I was never sold on motion controls despite my time investment on Wii Sports golf. I didn't give any other Wii games much of a fair shake (literal or figuratively). My Wii didn't stick around. But in the modern era of VR and all their flailing about, I slowly came to appreciate the Wii. Rose tinted or not, I started to believe it wasn't so bad.
I eventually got the urge to swing the WiiMote golf club again the other day and bought a used Wii on Ebay that night. I hope to try out some games I never did the first time I owned a Wii but Wii Sports golf was the reason I bought it. It still plays as good as it did back when it was hot. It was like riding a bike. A healthy dose of nostalgia and direct shot of fun. And yeah, the controls really aren't bad all things considered. We still got a ways to go in that department.
Whether doing daily activities, chasing training gold medals, or playing one of the sports, Wii Sports is possibly thee quintessential Wii experience. It helped solidify the popularity and accessibility of the Wii. I'd argue it still does.
We all had it, we all played it if we were exposed to a Wii. We all had our favorite game/sport. For me, it was the golf. I loved that the courses were from NES GOLF which I've played for many many hours in my life. Of all the games it felt the most natural to me as well. It was the game I could beat my friends and family on in Wii Sports. And eventually I played it by my lonesome and snagged an elusive -10 mark I had set for myself. I retired and didn't look back for a decade or so.
I was never sold on motion controls despite my time investment on Wii Sports golf. I didn't give any other Wii games much of a fair shake (literal or figuratively). My Wii didn't stick around. But in the modern era of VR and all their flailing about, I slowly came to appreciate the Wii. Rose tinted or not, I started to believe it wasn't so bad.
I eventually got the urge to swing the WiiMote golf club again the other day and bought a used Wii on Ebay that night. I hope to try out some games I never did the first time I owned a Wii but Wii Sports golf was the reason I bought it. It still plays as good as it did back when it was hot. It was like riding a bike. A healthy dose of nostalgia and direct shot of fun. And yeah, the controls really aren't bad all things considered. We still got a ways to go in that department.
Whether doing daily activities, chasing training gold medals, or playing one of the sports, Wii Sports is possibly thee quintessential Wii experience. It helped solidify the popularity and accessibility of the Wii. I'd argue it still does.
2021
A fun little Hidden Object game with a neat style/theme.
Probably a little on the easy side but still a lot to look for. Some big cluttered levels also pad the time if you want to get all the achievements. The few color tones and art style at times make it easy to spot things, but a few other times it hides an object well. It's a complete style that works. The little goofy narrative moves each level to the next. You even pick up some world building references along the way that helps you decipher later clues. It's all subtle but adds a lot.
The most comparable game would be Hidden Folks. This is a lot more straightforward and way less annoying. From the clues, to the searching, to the sounds; It's just a more relaxed and pleasant experience than Hidden Folks. But they're both fun and if you liked Hidden Folks you'll like this. And if you like this, I'd recommend checking out Hidden Folks if you haven't.
I switched back and forth between desktop and the Steam Deck with trackpad/tapping. Neither were as smooth as they could be. The biggest clunky thing is that the zoom works in steps rather than being smooth. This makes the L1/R1 zoom "make sense" on Deck, but feels clunky and flat out wrong these days when scrolling a mousewheel. Desktop gives you more viewing real estate/size though. So I honestly had more fun on desktop despite feeling clunky. Works out of the box with Steam Deck though. You can turn TDP all the way down to 4W (3W gets noticeably more FPS drops). Really do wish the Deck had better touchscreen implementation in Game Mode for games like this. Stylus compatibility would be nice too. Ah well.
Big thumbs up. 7~8hrs of casual poking and clicking around for some loose change. I can dig it.
[copied from my Steam review]
Probably a little on the easy side but still a lot to look for. Some big cluttered levels also pad the time if you want to get all the achievements. The few color tones and art style at times make it easy to spot things, but a few other times it hides an object well. It's a complete style that works. The little goofy narrative moves each level to the next. You even pick up some world building references along the way that helps you decipher later clues. It's all subtle but adds a lot.
The most comparable game would be Hidden Folks. This is a lot more straightforward and way less annoying. From the clues, to the searching, to the sounds; It's just a more relaxed and pleasant experience than Hidden Folks. But they're both fun and if you liked Hidden Folks you'll like this. And if you like this, I'd recommend checking out Hidden Folks if you haven't.
I switched back and forth between desktop and the Steam Deck with trackpad/tapping. Neither were as smooth as they could be. The biggest clunky thing is that the zoom works in steps rather than being smooth. This makes the L1/R1 zoom "make sense" on Deck, but feels clunky and flat out wrong these days when scrolling a mousewheel. Desktop gives you more viewing real estate/size though. So I honestly had more fun on desktop despite feeling clunky. Works out of the box with Steam Deck though. You can turn TDP all the way down to 4W (3W gets noticeably more FPS drops). Really do wish the Deck had better touchscreen implementation in Game Mode for games like this. Stylus compatibility would be nice too. Ah well.
Big thumbs up. 7~8hrs of casual poking and clicking around for some loose change. I can dig it.
[copied from my Steam review]
2017
Cutesy charm but not a ton else.
Too much filler in between too easy of golf. I get it's just a casual game but the charm didn't land for me. By the time I hit the third course and I racked up a -10 my first go. I thought to myself that I had played ~6hrs now, for that? Fetch quests and shootin' balls at turtles and birds and reading extensive ultra light cutesy dialogue just wasn't my jam. The golf was too basic and extremely easy if you've spent any sort of time whacking digital golf balls.
Decided to make a break for it and shelve it here.
Tons to do but no depth to any of it. Mile wide, inch deep as they say. A casual time waster with a golf theme.
Too much filler in between too easy of golf. I get it's just a casual game but the charm didn't land for me. By the time I hit the third course and I racked up a -10 my first go. I thought to myself that I had played ~6hrs now, for that? Fetch quests and shootin' balls at turtles and birds and reading extensive ultra light cutesy dialogue just wasn't my jam. The golf was too basic and extremely easy if you've spent any sort of time whacking digital golf balls.
Decided to make a break for it and shelve it here.
Tons to do but no depth to any of it. Mile wide, inch deep as they say. A casual time waster with a golf theme.
True arcade fun.
I'm pretty far removed from both my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles days and my arcade days so I was lost in a few different ways while playing. But I was still able to mash my way through the arcade mode campaign. I sampled all three turtles and April through my playthrough. They were all good fun but I think I'd have had even more fun with an arcade pad. I tried to dig out my arcade stick for the last few levels but then soon found out it wasn't compatible with the PS5 version of the game. So I pushed through the pain. It's just that good of an out and out arcade game that it didn't feel right on a gamepad.
But still.
I beat it. I had fun. I want pizza.
I will definitely grab the PS4 version and play with my arcade pad next time around to truly enjoy it for what it is meant to be.
Cowabunga!
I'm pretty far removed from both my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles days and my arcade days so I was lost in a few different ways while playing. But I was still able to mash my way through the arcade mode campaign. I sampled all three turtles and April through my playthrough. They were all good fun but I think I'd have had even more fun with an arcade pad. I tried to dig out my arcade stick for the last few levels but then soon found out it wasn't compatible with the PS5 version of the game. So I pushed through the pain. It's just that good of an out and out arcade game that it didn't feel right on a gamepad.
But still.
I beat it. I had fun. I want pizza.
I will definitely grab the PS4 version and play with my arcade pad next time around to truly enjoy it for what it is meant to be.
Cowabunga!
Mostly there but not all the way.
Marsupilami is a really well polished 2D platformer that controls tight and looks beautiful. I had fun playing it and that's all that really matters. The regular levels were very much on the easy side. The only real challenges come from collecting and going for gold medals on time trials. And even that is all well within reach. The game also features a fourth 'bonus' world to complement the base game's three worlds. You unlock this world early in World 2. It has the most fun levels with have time trials that get close to pushing you. Then you can play all the levels in the bonus world on a harder difficulty after beating them all. It's the corner of the game that is the most rewarding and ends up taking up half your play time. When you finally return to the base game it comes off as even easier. Was a weird little off balanced quirk.
The game also only has two resolutions which is really really odd given how optimized it is otherwise. You can only select 720p or 1080p. Even manually using Unity commands to force the resolution in the launch parameters, it gets reset on the title splash screen. My desktop is 1440p, my Steam Deck is 800p. I would've loved to have either. Especially the 800p on Deck. Again, this game is phenomenally optimized. You can run it at 6W TDP on the Deck and never lose a frame below 60. It's impressive. It's a polished game both in looks and under the hood. I just don't understand the resolution limits. Especially ones with the same width ratio that wouldn't affect gameplay/timing of onscreen objects.
Fun. Polished. Just a little on the easier side and lacking an option or two. I'm also unfamiliar with the French cartoon source material but it was weird to show the other characters on the title splash screen and have them never be involved. I thought I'd be unlocking a character or something. Shrug. Well worth the price of admission for 10hrs of throwback 2D platforming. I'm happy.
[copied from my Steam review]
Marsupilami is a really well polished 2D platformer that controls tight and looks beautiful. I had fun playing it and that's all that really matters. The regular levels were very much on the easy side. The only real challenges come from collecting and going for gold medals on time trials. And even that is all well within reach. The game also features a fourth 'bonus' world to complement the base game's three worlds. You unlock this world early in World 2. It has the most fun levels with have time trials that get close to pushing you. Then you can play all the levels in the bonus world on a harder difficulty after beating them all. It's the corner of the game that is the most rewarding and ends up taking up half your play time. When you finally return to the base game it comes off as even easier. Was a weird little off balanced quirk.
The game also only has two resolutions which is really really odd given how optimized it is otherwise. You can only select 720p or 1080p. Even manually using Unity commands to force the resolution in the launch parameters, it gets reset on the title splash screen. My desktop is 1440p, my Steam Deck is 800p. I would've loved to have either. Especially the 800p on Deck. Again, this game is phenomenally optimized. You can run it at 6W TDP on the Deck and never lose a frame below 60. It's impressive. It's a polished game both in looks and under the hood. I just don't understand the resolution limits. Especially ones with the same width ratio that wouldn't affect gameplay/timing of onscreen objects.
Fun. Polished. Just a little on the easier side and lacking an option or two. I'm also unfamiliar with the French cartoon source material but it was weird to show the other characters on the title splash screen and have them never be involved. I thought I'd be unlocking a character or something. Shrug. Well worth the price of admission for 10hrs of throwback 2D platforming. I'm happy.
[copied from my Steam review]