If I were ever a child in the 90s, and I had some friends over to play some games on the Genesis, and we wanted to play a beat-’em-up game, there would be many suggestions that could be thrown around. We could mention Double Dragon, to where we would say we had already spent enough time on that game, some could mention Alien Storm, which we would be open to, but at some other point in time, and then there would be that one kid who suggests any of the Golden Axe games, who we would then tell to fuck off and die, as he has shit taste and should feel bad for it. After that, we would then settle with Streets of Rage 2, as it just seems like the go-to beat-’em-up for the Genesis as a whole, and why wouldn’t it be? The combat is fast and satisfying, the graphics are great, the stages are really fun to go through, and while it can certainly kick your ass up and down the block, it never leaves you feeling discouraged, and it makes you wanna try again so you can take down your foes and have a grand ol’ time. However, with how good that game turned out to be even after my second playthrough of it, nothing could’ve possibly prepared me for what was ultimately going to be the game that would end up winning me over more than all the others, Streets of Rage 3.

Before playing this game, this was the title I had the least experience with out of any of the Streets of Rage games, with me having played every other game in the series at least a little bit before going back to it for the sake of giving it a proper shot. I was curious as to how I would end up liking this one, considering that Streets of Rage 2 is considered to be not just one of the best games on the Genesis, but also one of the best beat-’em-ups of all time, so needless to say, it was gonna take a lot to make me consider this one the superior title of the two games, let alone the best in the initial trilogy. However, after having played the game for myself……. there’s no way I can ever go back to Streets of Rage 2 now, as this game manages to be phenomenal in just about every way, and I loved almost all of what I got out of it.

The story is a bit more complex than that of previous titles (keywords being “a bit”), where Mr. X, after facing defeat twice in the previous two games, continues to participate in criminal activities under the guise of his new company, RoboCy Corporation, with an ultimate plan to control the city at large through violent means, so when he hears this, Dr. Zan, a roboticist who was working with Mr. X, reaches out to Blaze Fielding for help, and so they, along with Axel Stone and Skate, set out to take down Mr. X once again and save the city, and possibly the world, from utter annihilation. It does sound pretty typical of this kind of game, but I do appreciate the added detail given to the game’s plot as a whole, as well as the cutscenes in the game that give more details on what’s going on, even if it is as basic as can be.

The graphics are pretty great, not looking too much different from what we got in the previous game, but it does feel improved enough to where it is still great to look at, the music is INCREDIBLE, with so many of the tracks having an infectious quality to them that I can’t help but love, to the point where even the character select screen has a banger of a theme, and the gameplay/control is pretty similar to that of the other two games, but not only does it feel pretty great to play, but it tops everything that the previous game gave us, making for one of the best beat-’em-up games that I have played in recent memory, and my favorite beat-’em-up on the Genesis.

The game still retains a lot of the beat-’em-up gameplay you have seen from the previous titles, where you take control of one of four different characters, or if you are me, you always choose Axel Stone every time, go through a set of five to seven levels through plenty of different locations you would typically see in a beat-’em-up, take down whatever sorry punk gets in your way by throwing plenty of punches, kicks, and special moves to your advantage, gather plenty of different weapons, money, and health items to assist you along the way, and take on plenty of bosses, some of which being familiar faces, who will test your skill in how fast you can dodge attacks, throw out punches, and not rage quit at some of the bullshit they can pull off. Most of this is identical to that of previous Streets of Rage games, and there aren’t too many new additions to spice up the gameplay more than what you are used to, but the little changes that are there make this all the better to play in my opinion, as I had a blast with it.

In terms of the changes that were there, again, it isn’t much, but what is there does make things better to play as a whole. Characters now have the ability to run, there are cutscenes that can be seen throughout the game, you can perform special moves with some of the weapons that you can get, which is pretty neat, you have a special meter that will allow you to perform special moves without losing health, and depending on some of your actions in the game, you can actually get many different endings. That last one is one of the best inclusions of them all, seeing as the methods of getting these special endings aren’t exactly clear. It isn’t too blatantly obvious, like “going down this way leads to a different ending”, and instead, it more so falls under who you beat up and who you don’t, which can not only lead to that better ending, but it can also give you new characters to play as as well. It isn’t much, but little bonuses like that do help make the game more enjoyable and replayable, which I can really appreciate.

However, the biggest and best change to the game in my opinion, the one that ended up winning me over in the end, is the speed. Like I mentioned before, you now have the ability to run with every single character, but even ignoring that, the game, in general, is much faster. Combat is a lot faster, you can dish out moves more quickly, and there is a quick, yet noticeable impact you can feel with the punches you throw, which definitely was in the previous games, but it is much more preferable to me here. When it comes to beat-’em-ups, I am a fan of moving fast and hitting hard, and Streets of Rage 2 managed to give me that hard-hitting action, but it was somewhat lacking in the speed department, even if that didn’t bring the game down at all. Here, however, it manages to get both of these elements just right, and when mixed with the wonderful visuals and infectious soundtrack, it made for an incredible time that I would love to play through again with someone else at some point.

I can’t say that the entire game is perfect though, because really, it isn’t. At its core, a lot of it is the same shit that we have seen over and over again, not just from the Streets of Rage series, but also other beat-’em-ups in general, so if you are one who isn’t a fan of these games, or you are burnt out on them entirely, this game will not do anything to change your mind. In addition, like with another game I reviewed recently, Thunder Force IV, this game does have a bit of a problem with pacing. A good handful of the levels are longer than that of the previous game, and while this does work out at some points, other times, especially towards the end, these levels can drag on, making it feel exhausting to play after a while. Granted, this factor varies greatly depending on what difficulty you play on and what ending you go for, but this is still a problem nonetheless. Also, that one part where you are being chased by that bulldozer or whatever… just fuck that part. No one needed it there, and yet you put it in there anyway.

Overall, despite some pacing issues, a lack of major change, and that fucking bulldozer, this is still not only the best of the original Streets of Rage trilogy in my eyes, but also an incredible beat-’em-up all on its own, with wonderful visuals and music, plenty to do that other beat-’em-ups don’t offer, more emphasis on story, and the fast and hard-hitting action that I look for in a beat-’em-up that makes me love it so much more. I would absolutely recommend it for those who are big fans of the beat-’em-up genre, as well as those who loved the other Streets of Rage games as well, because if you think that Streets of Rage 2 is the best game in the series, then let me tell you………. you might still think that after playing this, but at least give it a fair shot. Although, now with all that being said, I am somewhat afraid of going back to Streets of Rage 4 now. I mean, with a game as great as this, how are they gonna be able to top that, especially with a 26-year gap in releases? Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out………….. and that is to actually play it, which I won’t be doing for five years.

Game #566

Okay, NOW it’s about time I made a review of the game that has my profile picture’s character in it.

If you couldn’t tell already, I am absolutely in love with The Owl House. I love basically everything about it; its characters, its world, the artstyle, the overarching plot over each episode, I don’t even think there’s a single episode I disliked even a little bit. It might be my favorite show of all time next to Nichijou. However, this isn’t a review of The Owl House as a show, thank fucking god. Having to do Hazelnut Hex justice was already stressful enough, if I had to do that for a show as amazing as The Owl House, I think I would actually implode. No, the reason I mention all this is because when you start to get hyper-obsessed with a franchise, you end up consuming a lot of media related to it, like Youtube videos, merchandise, and of course, web browser games. So I decided that upon finishing Season 3 of the Owl House, I’d take the time to check out more of what it had to offer, including its first and only game; The Owl House: Witch’s Apprentice. And it’s uh… well, it’s certainly a web browser game.

The premise of this game is, as expected, pretty simple. You’re Luz Noceda, and you have to fulfill certain duties for Eda to progress through the game, such as getting parts of her body back, or gathering materials to sell later. The gameplay is sort of what you’d expect from your standard web browser platformer, though it occasionally breaks up these segments with changes to the gameplay such as flying sections or minigames where you have to sell materials at a market. You also gain more abilities during the platforming sections as you go along, such as the ability to create platforms out of plants, using a shell to knock over stacks of enemies, a double jump, etc. Aside from the main game, you can also clear special levels in order to collect relics, items which sort of just act like an extra collectible, though they do reference every episode from Season 1, which is a really cool detail for fans of the show like me. That’s pretty much all I have to mention in terms of the basic gameplay, and I gotta say that it has a pretty decent amount of content for a web browser / iOS game. Because of that, I actually have a lot to say about this Witch’s Apprentice, at least, a lot more than I initially thought, so let’s go into a bit more detail about the main crux of the game; the platforming.

The platformer levels, like I mentioned, feel pretty standard and while they’re still fun, they don’t really stand out too much. There are two reasons why I feel this way, one of which is the level design. The levels often revolve around looking for a certain amount of items, be it fire crystals, a cauldron, one of Eda’s body parts, etc. Because of this, the levels opt to be quite open, which I don’t mind, but there are points where the levels kind of suffer from feeling like you’re just going through the motions. Enemies are typically out of the way, and there aren’t too many setpieces that stand out within the level, be it gimmicks or just super memorable platforming sections. The other reason why I feel like the levels are pretty standard is because of your initial moveset. At the start of the game, you only start with your typical running, jumping and ducking. However, as you progress through the game, you start to gain more abilities which you can use in the levels, such as a double jump, the ability to plant trees as platforms, freeze hordes of enemies, and use a snaggleback shell to topple over stacks of enemies. While I think this is a fantastic idea, it kind of suffers from a weird problem. From what I’ve researched, this game was also ported to iOS, meaning this was designed for mobile devices as well. Because of this, all of these abilities are all relegated to the same button. And by the same button, I mean the jump button. Because of this limitation, the game only allows you to use these abilities in certain sections where in designated (typically sparkling) areas, so for example, whenever you see a dirt pile on the ground, that’s when you’re able to plant a platform for you to stand on. Unfortunately, it’s for this reason that the level design typically doesn’t take advantage of these abilities, so you don’t need to use them too often. Hell, I remember getting an ability that lets you make a platform out of a cloud, but I don’t remember using it once. So for that reason, the levels can end up feeling repetitive and samey for a lot of people. But contrary to what I’m making it sound like, I don’t think the level design of this game is bad. I mean, it’s certainly no Big Tower Tiny Square in terms of level design, but I still had a lot of fun with the levels despite their problems. For a browser game, it’s just engaging enough to get into it when you could be focusing in class instead.

I really only have one major issue with the level design, but before I get to that, I want to discuss the enemies. Aside from the abilities you gain later, you only have running and jumping to get you by. So, how do you deal with the enemies in this game? Well, by jumping on their heads, Mario style, of course! However, doing this feels kinda finicky. Most of the time it works, but other times you fall through the enemy and take damage. However, I didn’t find this too frustrating, as the damage you take really doesn’t matter that much, and this feels like the perfect time to segue into my biggest problem with Witch’s Apprentice; the health power-ups, or rather, the massive abundance of health power-ups that you just can’t seem to get away from. I’m not joking when I say the amount of health power-ups in these levels is egregious. Seriously, dodging the health power-ups might be harder than dodging the damn enemies! I’m willing to be more forgiving of the game’s other issues due to it being both a web browser game and an iOS game, but this is the one thing about Witch’s Apprentice that I feel like should’ve been changed. Before we move on, I have one more thing to address regarding the levels in Witch’s Apprentice, specifically the relic levels. These are bonus levels that you can play to collect relics referencing episodes from Season 1, however, the levels themselves are structured really strangely. Normally, the levels in the main game start you out in the town, then you go to the forest levels and then the market levels last. However, after collecting the 16th relic in the market area, the next area sent me back to the town? It feels like all of the relic levels are ordered strangely like this, and I don’t really take any issue with it, but I just found it pretty weird and I have no clue when I’m going to get the chance to mention this again.

Aside from the main platforming levels, there are two levels which opt to change up the gameplay. One of them is a flying level where you have to retrieve Eda’s body as it’s flying on a magic staff, meaning that you have to fly on a magic staff to get it back. This sounds like a really fun idea, but it’s kinda plagued by a terrible control scheme. Rather than using the arrow keys like a normal game, you instead have to hold the mouse to fly up, and once you release it, you go down, which is incredibly awkward and just not that fun to control. At least the level is really short, though I do think the potential for Kaznapped-esque shooter sections was kinda wasted here. The other aforementioned level in this game is one where you’re supposed to sell Eda’s stuff at the market within a certain time limit. This one was surprisingly really challenging at first because I thought that you had to drag the item to the person who wanted it. However, whenever I dragged it, it always moved really slowly towards the person and I would always run out of time. What you’re actually supposed to do is flick the item towards the person who wants it, which I had no idea was the case until I got game over, like, 6 times. After you figure that out, the level itself is pretty easy.

That’s normally where I’d leave the review at, but since this is an Owl House game, I want to talk about the game’s story real quick. The game’s story starts off with you having to do busywork for Eda, like getting back her fallen body parts, and gathering stuff to then sell at the market. However, once you’ve finished selling stuff, Luz realizes that she’s lost King at the market. Once you go back, however, the guard from the first episode has him captive, so you’ve gotta get stuff for this guy so you can free him. Unfortunately, it turns out the dude just conned you, and now he’s ready to make King into his lunch. So once you head back to the Owl House, you and Eda set out to stop this guy and get back King, and after you get him back, that’s when the game ends. It’s not really too much, but for a web browser game like this, it works fine enough, and captures the Season 1 energy quite well. Plus, all of the cutscenes are fully voice acted too, which, for a free web browser game, is genuinely sick. There are also dialogue options you can choose to change up the scenario, but these don’t really affect anything in the grand scheme of things as none of these characters remember any of what you chose. Overall, the plot works really well for what Witch’s Apprentice is going for.

The Owl House: Witch’s Apprentice has a ton of problems, but even then, I still had a decent enough time with it, and for a free browser game, there’s clearly a ton of effort put into it. I know for sure I would’ve been playing this game in class all the time had I discovered it back then. However, it kind of just makes me wish that Disney would let Dana Terrace cook and make an actual Owl House game on consoles and Steam. There’s a lot of potential when it comes down to the Boiling Isles and its world, we could go through Hexside and learn spells, hell, we could even do a Sonic Adventure thing where each main character could have their own campaign to go through. There’s a lot of untapped potential in this game and this franchise as a whole, so maybe someday we could finally see another Owl House game like this. As it stands, though, for a free web browser game, it’s pretty good. I don’t think my rating would be nearly as high if this wasn’t a web browser game that was also designed for iOS, but even so, I still enjoyed my time with it. If you’re a fan of The Owl House, I’d recommend giving it a try at least once. (6/10)

(Also, fun fact, I submitted this game on IGDB.)

This has got to be NIntendo's best Multiplayer games ever. How any why did they come up with something for the GBA and the DSI that had never got broughten back in the modern era?

To start off, you start off with 3 places: Seed of Trees, Talus Cave, and Death Mountain, and upon completing it (getting silver keys), you grant access to Vatti's palace, taking down that hoe once and for all (until Adventures and/or the Minish Cap). I mostly played this game solo, but it's always welcoming to play this game with multiple people and seeing the bosses adjust to other players makes the game even better.

BUT I HAVE JUST ONE LITTLE PROBLEM... I'M ALREADY DEAD MYSELF
You ever hear about a good game? A really good game? Everyone gushes about it, so you go in with high exceptions, only to have them blown into fucking outer space. That was me and Ghost Trick. The puzzles were really creative and yet, I only ever needed a walkthrough once. The story, my god, THE STORY!! It's a masterwork of plot strains all webbed together to create a captivating mystery that had me scratching my head, laughing my ass off, and crying my eyes out. Those last two are helped along by incredibly well written characters, Sissel, Lynne, Jowd, Cabanela, motherfucking MISSILE, all them will be living rent free in my head for years to come. I truly loved every second of this game, the worst part is that I'll never get to play it for the first time again.

This game is a bit of a tough one to score. There isn't a ton of content for its price, but it is still the best versions of Street Fighter II. I should also note that my experience with this game might be a bit skewed in some ways as I bought the Japanese version mistakenly believing there would be an English language option, so now I am stuck viewing this game in either Japanese or simplified chinese. As I can not read either of these two languages, navigating menus has so far been a bit of a challenge for me.

What most significantly improves the game are definitely the new controls. Whatever Capcom did to this game's input reader is incredible. Unlike other versions of Street Fighter II, I almost never drop inputs, it's like the game somehow always knows exactly what i want to do. Pulling off combos also feels significantly better and easier. I really couldn't tell you what exactly has changed here as I know very little about the technical aspect of fighting games, but I’m always able to perform my inputs as well as pull off cool combos I have never been able to do before when playing this game. It all feels great.

This game's presentation is also top notch. The menus all look great, and you can even scroll through a big slideshow full of nothing but amazing art of the whole Street Fighter series. New screens have been added for the transitions between menus and gameplay, and every stage plus the character select screen has a completely redrawn background. Each character also has a redrawn higher resolution sprite. I actually didn't love these new sprites at first, but over time they’ve really grown on me. If you really can not stand the new graphics however, you do have the option to revert them back to be the same as the original game. Most of the music has been newly remixed, and just like in the original Street Fighter 2, and it all sounds amazing.

The lack of truly new content is really what hurts Ultra Street Fighter II the most. Arcade, versus, and training modes are all offered within the game, however they are essentially lifted directly out of the original Street Fighter II aside from some updated cutscenes for each of the character endings after beating their arcade mode. While there are two new characters, they are both just slightly tweaked, reskinned versions of Ken and Ryu, who obviously were both already found within the original game. The only new content that actually plays like Street Fighter is a 2v1 mode where you and another player or CPU can fight against a significantly buffed CPU opponent. It’s a cool mode, but not cool enough to justify the 40$ price tag on this game. There is however one more additional mode: way of the hado. It is unfortunately terrible and still does not make the game worth 40$. You play as Ryu in an open 3D arena and through motion controls you use shoryukens, hadokens, and senpukyakus to take down waves of enemies. There are two main problems with this mode. Number one is that the motion controls do not work whatsoever. In fact they are probably the least accurate motion controls I have ever used in any video game ever. No matter what godforsaken way you move your arms, Ryu does hadoken and only hadoken. Problem number two is that even if the motion controls did work, most of the time the enemies just stand still and stare at you, making this gamemode extremely boring.

If Ultra Street Fighter II was just a 10$ eshop game or something it would be perfect. Unfortunately as it is I can’t recommend dropping 40$ on it, but I must admit that it is still very enjoyable, and is most certainly the definitive version of Street Fighter II

Both of the Hotline Miami games are very important titles to me. They introduced me to entire genres of music, film, and other video games that have come to be major cornerstones of my taste in art and media. While the dark 80s aesthetic is far more commonplace nowadays, to the point where you could even call it played out, at the time there weren’t really many games with the look and feel that Hotline Miami has. There’s a serene, dreamy feel to the game that’s complemented by the rush of its immersive and addicting trance-like gameplay. The gameplay does have some quirks that can bring it down a bit, but once you get used to those quirks, then it becomes a truly memorable experience that’s hard to put down and really sticks with you.

The game is a top down arcade-like shooter that involves raiding the hideouts of Russian gangsters and murdering every single one of them, clearing them out room by room. Weapons are found on-site. Sometimes you can just find them laying around, but most of the time you’ll be acquiring them from knocked down or killed enemies. Once you’ve taken out everyone in a room, you move onto the next and continue the process until everyone in the building is dead. Enemies all die in one hit, however the same goes for you as well. If you die, you can press ‘R’ to restart from the beginning of the room. There’s no loading times, so pressing R allows you to instantly respawn. This plays a big part in what makes the gameplay so addicting. The adrenaline rush of slaughtering your way through a room with a dozen armed guys that can all take you out in a single hit is intoxicating, and if you screw up and die, all you need is one quick key press and you’re immediately back in the fray. The game’s hypnotic electronic soundtrack and hazy neon visuals really play a huge role in making the gameplay as addicting as it is. The droning, bass heavy beats of M.O.O.N’s tracks not only add to the adrenaline, but also put you in a sort of zen-like trance as you play.

While the game generally rewards a fast, guns blazing approach to clearing out rooms, it is possible to play slow and steady. There’s also a way you can exploit enemy behavior: they’re attracted to the sound of gunshots, which you can use to lure them to specific locations and line them up for easy ambush kills. While I do think that this is a really cool aspect of combat, the consistency in which it works has mixed results. There will almost always be enemies that react to the sound of gunfire, but whether or not it’s the enemies that you expect is a toss up. Sometimes an enemy allllll the way on the other side of the map will react to a gunshot, but the enemies in the room right next to you will just ignore it and continue their patrol route. The AI in general behaves in a really finicky and kind of stupid fashion at times. Enemies on the other side of the map will react to the sound of gunfire, but enemies generally won’t react if someone gets shot right in front of them. I wish there were more ways to influence the behavior of enemies. Maybe frighten them by continuously murdering people out of their line of sight and forcing them to go on a different patrol route. I just feel like they could use some small touches that make them feel a bit more like actual people and less like dumb video game enemies. It would really drive home one of the core themes of the game, which is the desensitization to violence that video games can cause (more on that later).

As you play through the game, you can unlock additional animal masks you can wear which can modify your gameplay. These modifiers vary in terms of their usefulness. They can range from minor gameplay changes, like allowing you to view secrets or increasing the amount of gore to major ones like allowing you to instantly kill enemies with your default melee attacks or muting your gunshots so that enemies don’t react to them. The devs have gone on record saying that the masks weren’t originally supposed to provide any gameplay modifiers, and it definitely seems like this system is kind of undercooked. I honestly find little reason to use any mask other than Tony for the instant kill melee attacks, and the devs have also gone on record to say that they felt like Tony in particular wasn’t balanced well. For my most recent playthrough, I decided to only use the default mask Richard to get what I feel was the intended experience with the game. This is a system that would later be expanded into the different playstyles that we’d later see with Biker as well as the cast of Hotline Miami 2.

There’s a pretty steep learning curve to Hotline Miami. Initially, the game can feel really hard and unfair. However, once you get used to it, it’s really easy to blaze through this game in a little over an hour, assuming you skip the cutscenes. Still, like I mentioned before, the gameplay has little quirks that can play a role in making that initial learning curve in the game a bit unnecessarily steep.The game has a cursor that you can use to help you aim, but the cursor is extremely thin and really hard to see. Eventually I got a feel for where the cursor generally is at all times, and I also frequently lock onto enemies to ensure that my shots hit their targets. There’s also the infamous problem of trying to pick up a specific weapon on the ground when there are multiple weapons in close proximity to it. Unfortunately this is an issue that can continue to screw you over no matter how used to the game you get, and is my personal biggest issue with both Hotline Miami games. Still, once you get over that initial learning curve, being able to blaze through this game so quickly is extremely satisfying, even if that weapon issue never stops rearing its ugly head.

I briefly touched on the game’s soundtrack during combat, but I also really want to highlight the tracks that are used outside of it as well. The track Crush by El Huervo, which plays once you’ve finished a level hits really hard during your initial playthrough. The haunting noise really snaps you out of the hypnotic trance that the gameplay and fast-paced, more upbeat music can put you in. It really forces you to stop and take notice of your surroundings and the horrific violence you’ve committed before you leave a level. Eventually though, you become numb to it and you start tuning it out, immediately heading for your car to exit the level without a second thought. Then on the results screen, you’re treated to the beautiful track Miami by Jasper Byrne, a song that truly feels euphoric to listen to and never gets old. Not only does this song perfectly encapsulate that 80s aesthetic the game is going for, but it evokes feelings of nostalgic comfort. The transition from Crush to Miami feels like you’re going from being sober to inebriated. You forget all about the consequences of what you’ve just done once the pretty lights and music of the results screen comes into view. Even though the vast majority of music in the game wasn’t made for it, the way the developers utilize it to evoke specific feelings from the player is extremely well done.

The game’s story, when taken purely at face value, may not seem like much to most people. It’s not a particularly detailed story, in fact, there are many aspects to the game’s plot that aren’t really elaborated on until the sequel. The protagonist, Jacket, is silent, so you have to infer much of what’s going on based on the actions he takes. However, there are some little details that really add to the story that I feel go overlooked if you’re not paying attention and just rushing to get to the next level. In particular, the subtle changes to Jacket’s apartment as you advance through the game do a great job framing the gradual changes to his life and his mindset. It’s very solid and effective environmental storytelling. I will say that I feel like this game’s story hits a lot harder after playing the sequel, though. Hotline Miami 2 adds a lot of context that Hotline Miami 1’s story is really lacking. 2 also really helps to drive home 1’s themes as well, since it’s a bit more direct with them.

It’s no secret that Hotline Miami was meant to be a critique on the desensitization of violence through video games, as well as using violence and violent fantasies as a way to cope with our emotions. There are a lot of mixed views and responses regarding how effective the game actually is as a critique. This review is already getting pretty long, and I don’t think that there’s room for an in-depth discussion of it here, but as far as my personal opinion goes, I don’t think that the fact that it is critiquing anything becomes explicitly clear until you play the second game. The ways it goes about critiquing violence, namely through the initial feelings the music at the end of each level evokes, as well as very short but notable moments in the story such as Jacket vomiting after he murders the homeless man at the start of the game do clue you in, but they’re a bit too lowkey for their own good, and fail to really drive the point home. I think this makes the violence critique very easy to go over people’s heads as a result. I certainly didn’t realize it myself until I started hyper fixating on the games and reading about the developers and what they intended with them years ago when I first played them.

I think that it might be hard to sell Hotline Miami to new players nowadays. Its influence has been widespread throughout the indie scene, which can make the game and its aesthetic seem far less unique as a result. As someone that was there close to when both of these games were making their impact on the gaming landscape, my initial experience with them really stuck with me, and I’m still able to come back and thoroughly enjoy Hotline Miami today. If you’re not completely burnt out on the oversaturation of 80s throwback media, and if you have the patience to stick with a game with a high learning curve, then I can’t recommend Hotline Miami enough. The gameplay is exhilarating and the vibes are immaculate.

It’s always surprised me how much harsher the general opinion of Hotline Miami 2 is in comparison to the first one. Like I mentioned in my review of Hotline Miami 1, both games are extremely important to me, and 2 is no exception. I’ve always enjoyed this game, to the point where I’ve spent a little over 100 hours playing and replaying it in comparison to the 20 hours I’ve spent with the original. I understand and sympathize with a few of the reasons why most people don’t seem to like it. Its approach to level design is vastly different from the previous game, and a good amount of the levels don’t accommodate the way a majority of people preferred to play the original. I don’t believe that this makes the game inherently bad, though. It definitely has some problems, a few of which are shared with the first game, but overall I think that Hotline Miami 2 is a fantastic successor and most people judge it a little unfairly.

Nothing has really changed between the first game and the second in terms of core gameplay. You’re still clearing out rooms of enemies that all die in one hit while avoiding that instant death yourself. This is both to Wrong Number’s benefit and it’s detriment, as pretty much every single problem with Hotline Miami 1’s gameplay goes unaddressed here. Enemies still don’t react if someone in front of them gets shot, and it’s still a bit random whether or not they’ll consistently react to the sound of gunfire. The cursor is still really thin and hard to see, it doesn’t contrast well with the game’s environments at all. There’s still the problem of not being able to tell which weapon you’ll pick up from the ground when multiple weapons are in close proximity to one another. It’s actually a bit of a worse problem here because the level design of Hotline Miami 2 generally forces you to manipulate enemies by alerting a squad of them to your location and ambushing them, meaning you have to frantically comb through piles of weapons stacked on top of each other rather frequently. It’s pretty disappointing that these problems from the first game don’t really get addressed here.

What does get addressed though, is the undercooked mask system. It’s pretty heavily reworked to fit the large cast of playable characters. Some characters have a smaller selection of minor gameplay modifiers you can pick before a level, like Jake and The Son. Others like Beard and Evan Wright have their own playstyle or spin on the core gameplay. I greatly prefer the changes Hotline Miami 2 has made in this regard. I really enjoy being forced to vary my tactics slightly depending on who I’m playing as, it keeps things feeling fresh.

The biggest and most controversial change from Hotline Miami 1 is Wrong Number’s approach to level design. While the game starts off with shorter and more cramped levels comparable to those of the first game, the levels gradually increase in terms of scale. They get much, much bigger and far more open. These levels can force you to change up how you approach them compared to the smaller and more claustrophobic levels of the first game. You can’t really run through them guns blazing, as constantly exposing yourself will subject you to gunfire from enemies that aren’t even on the screen. Instead, they require you to rely on manipulating enemy behavior and having them come to you, either by briefly exposing yourself to their line of sight before taking cover, or with the sound of gunfire. This allows you to take out groups of 6, 7, 8+ enemies at once in an adrenaline fueled scramble that’s just as satisfying as the gameplay of Wrong Number’s predecessor. You’re definitely not going to realize this initially though, especially if you have a lot of experience with the first game. I think that’s a big reason why people dislike this game so much. Coming to terms with its level design approach is pretty essential to enjoying it. One could argue that this makes the gameplay boil down to trial and error, but in all honesty, I don’t see it as any more trial and error than Hotline Miami 1’s gameplay, especially its latter levels.

Second to the level design, Wrong Number’s next most controversial change is its approach to storytelling. Unlike Hotline Miami 1, which was sparse on story details and generally required the player to fill in the blanks themselves in regards to how the world works and what’s going on, 2 tells a much more detailed and involved story with a huge cast of characters and a lot more dialogue. It presents a series of events that take place before, during, and after the events of the first game that really flesh out the characters and world. However it presents those events in a non-linear fashion, and in conjunction with the surreal aspects of the plot, it seems to cause a lot of confusion among people who initially experience it. Personally speaking, I’ve never found Hotline Miami 2’s plot to be confusing or hard to follow at all. Yes, each character’s story does take place at different points in time, but that character’s story is still presented in a proper sequential order, and even if you’re not paying attention to the dates that are displayed whenever you switch characters, the game offers plenty of context clues in regards to when a certain cutscene takes place.

I love this game’s story, in all honesty. The alternate take on the Cold War and its effects on history is fascinating. It enriches the story of Hotline Miami 1 by providing gut wrenching context to the world and the events that transpire in that game, including Jacket’s motivations. I love all of the characters and what their individual stories represent. The game might beat you over the head with its core messages and themes, but considering how the themes of the first game largely went over most people’s heads (including my own initially), I can’t really blame the devs for taking a more direct approach with their storytelling this time around. The developers had a lot to say with this game’s story, and they said it loud and proud. I don’t like to go too in-depth with story details in my reviews, but the video Hotline Miami 2 is a Misunderstood Masterpiece by Ovandal does an immaculate job explaining the symbolism and appeal of the game’s story in great detail, and I highly recommend it (spoiler warning, obviously).

The game manages to have an even better and more bombastic soundtrack than the first game. A big reason why this game is so special to me is because it introduced me to the absolutely phenomenal music of Carpenter Brut, who became one of my top 5 favorite musicians of all time. His music continues to motivate me and hype me up to this day, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been able to lose dozens of pounds working out to his songs, which are blood pumping synthwave masterpieces. Roller Mobster and Le Perv, are used in the game’s soundtrack, and in my opinion, they are two of his best works. I don’t want to get too off-topic though, pretty much every track in Hotline Miami 2 is fantastic, and used to brilliant effect. The opening scene to the level Execution, where The Henchman tries to reach his girlfriend on the phone as The Fans pull up to the Russian bar is synched to the intro to Perturbator’s Sexualizer, and the way the bass kicks in just as The Fans’ van screeches to a halt gives me goosebumps every single time I come back to this game. The developers utilize this game’s music in a way that I wish more games did. Writing a scene and creating a level based on a specific song amplifies the song’s effectiveness and really adds to the immersion.

Hotline Miami 2 is a powerful and bold statement, and I feel like most people that play it just don’t want to hear what it has to say. It just completely floors and frustrates me that people don’t see the value in Hotline Miami 2, that they get so blinded by their frustration that the game isn’t what they want it to be that they write it off entirely. The learning curve is higher than the first game, the approach to level design forces you to play differently from before, and the story requires you to slow down and process what is happening, where it’s happening, and why it’s happening. Not everyone wants to go through all of that to enjoy a video game, and I get it, but man does that make me sad. I treasure both Hotline Miami games, but a lot of what I love about this series comes from Wrong Number. I hope that as time passes, people give it another chance, and see it for what it is. It challenges its players not just through its difficult gameplay, but also to see the bigger picture regarding its themes and messages as well, and coming to terms with those challenges led to one of the most rewarding experiences in video games I’ve ever had.

there's very little when it comes to nice things i have say about this game so let me begin with something that i did like before getting into it fully. Connor as a character is interesting and among the best across the series bringing a breath of fresh air to things. i'll go one further and say that Haytham was also solid and i enjoyed their relationship dynamic. if it wasn't for this i'm not sure if i would've been able to finish this, even when rushing the mainline content as i did in the end.

with that out of the way, what the hell happened here? i've never considered myself an Assassin's Creed fan (I was interesting but highly flawed while doing massive damage in terms of influence for the medium, II was a surprise improvement but just fine mainly, Brotherhood and Revelations were solid music listening/multitasking games but gave diminishing returns) by any means but the games had felt mechanically sound for the most part before this. Assassin's Creed III throws everything and the kitchen sink into its gameplay systems and nails nothing.

perhaps my biggest complaint is the setting shift. i'm not going to get into the story or anything of the sort here but from a gameplay standpoint, it was a complete mistake in my opinion. taking a series known for its movement systems and putting it in a place where you have barely any vertical movement options is one of the most baffling decisions i can think of. they attempted to remedy this with tree climbing (which again feels busted as does most of the rest of the gameplay here <3) and scripted movements through buildings when entering a door or window but it's a poor replacement. when you get out of the more residential areas of the map into the wilderness it gets even worse as it's just vast empty space which is miserable to navigate (especially when it is snowy).

elsewhere stuff like the combat takes a step down too. combat in the previous entries was never a strong suit but it was at least painless in the mediocrity. here you can see movements made towards trying to improve everything but it doesn't pan out to me. i'm not sure how much of it is III itself or maybe the remaster being fucked up but the game feels like it has this weird animation priority to all of its movements which leads to problems with counters not even registering half the time. some contextual environmental based attacks were added among other things but as i have brought up like three times now elsewhere, it feels half baked. Connor is an absolute beast in combat so most of it goes by quickly still but i 100% would've taken what we had before still.

this leaves me with the pacing which might have damned the full thing in the end. i have played and loved a lot of slow burn games over the years so know that it doesn't come lightly when i say that this is one of the slowest games i have ever played. you don't even get around to playing as the actual main character for a couple of sequences into the game and then you don't even get your actual assassin's robes for another few after that. i don't mind a build up for things but when the surroundings are so rotten it just was too much. you bounce from one gameplay element to the next constantly in a state of tutorials for what feels like 75% of the game.

somewhere within all the bloat the game sees fit to introduce a half baked hunting system which barely works, naval combat (which i hope is improved in Black Flag or that shit is going to be miserable too lmao), and even a crafting system that i somehow didn't even notice or come across with nearly 22 hours in the game. just a smothering sense of excess. literally don't know how this game even came together, even as it is within Ubisoft's unhinged annual release format of the time period. genuinely feel so bad for anyone who was working there.

gonna need a long break before i move onto Black Flag at this point.

My third eye is open and it’s crying.

This pack seemed so obviously fine tuned to a mediocre experience that I’m sure someone out there might enjoy, but it’s a personal nightmare to me. There aren’t any new collections, but there sure are a handful of weird aspirations that delete my inner peace instead of inspiring it. You’d probably guess from the title, but it’s a pack that introduces the spa, and therefore tosses in everything from detoxifying tea to massages to meditation and yoga. But boy, am I far from relaxed.

Finally my dream job of re-organizing the bones of my neighbors through unlicensed massages is actually achievable, except they made it work in the dumbest way possible. You can’t outright buy a spa in the same way that you can a restaurant, so your Sim is meant to just show up and start massaging people.. just.. because they want to? Please do not tell the IRS of my grift, but there’s no shot I’m getting a W-2 for this. It’s weird in practice and also in function, since the spa has actual NPC employees working hard for their $7.50/hr. It feels like the equivalent of you squeezing behind a cash register at your local Walmart and accepting tips from the customers for letting them skip the line faster. It’s aggravating because the NPCs are actively competing for your space, when really you’re just an asshole, leaving you to constantly beg the customers to let you tickle them a bit with your fingers.

That’s honestly really it? You get the Wellness skill which gives your Sim super calming aura, I guess. They can teleport while meditating and that’s pretty goofy, but other than that there’s not much here besides the furniture. The neat thing is that apparently EA actually refreshed this pack sometime in 2021. (This is the only time they’ve done this. Probably the only time they ever will.) This refresh added Aspirations that weren’t there before and these were what I was forced to do. They are not fun because they play poorly.

It meant I had to pull off some MLM scams at the local spa by bringing people with me. Getting multiple Sims to do an outing together in this game is like pulling teeth and the spa locations have got to be the worst places out of them all. There’s yoga classes happening every 5 minutes, which distracts every Sim in the vicinity like they’ve been hit with a sonar thought wave. One brain cell, only yoga. Everyone drops everything they're doing in an instant and starts performing yoga outside even in torrential downpour. It made getting the massages I needed really aggravating. I ended up deleting the yoga mats and pondered locking all the yoga instructors into a 2x2 containment cell. I would have honestly been doing this town a service since we lost some neighbors who were forced to perform yoga in a snowstorm. God bless those poor souls.

The rewards are not really worth it because they just net you more money for performing spa work. Sir, I am a 2.2 Simoleon millionaire and you will never see me on this lot ever again. I’ll take the soothing super power though if it makes my Sim’s kids complain less while they’re around me. I’d skip this one personally, unless you’re super into granola.

I hope we see free pack refreshes more often though, but this was 3 years ago and that ship has probably SUNK. I've mastered true clairvoyance now and that is sensing when EA is trying to siphon more money out of my wallet and surprising them with a Home Alone death trap instead.

Crypt of the NecroDancer could be described as one of the most, if not the most difficult (well known) roguelike to get into. That’s not really a subjective statement either; the steam achievements suggest that less than 5% of players have completed what could be considered a “full” (All Zones Mode) run with any character. Whether this is due to the rhythm element, the initial difficulty wall that players inevitably face when they start, or some other reason, what awaits the players who eventually click with the game is undoubtedly an almost unlimited world of mechanical fun and challenge.

Believe me this struggle is not something I’m unfamiliar with myself. I first played this game in 2017, only to struggle with Zone 2 for a while before calling it quits. Despite how much I admired the game, it wasn’t clicking yet, and I wouldn’t give it another shot until early 2023 when a friend of mine was achieving big things in it.

As mentioned earlier, NecroDancer (ND) is hard. Initially, at the least. It will take even a great game player a non trivial amount of time to complete Zone 1 due to the nature of its gameplay. Movement is restricted to the laws of the world, the tune of the tomb… the rave of the grave… the…mix of the….styx… the… script of the crypt? YOU MOVE WITH THE MUSIC RIGHT?! And so do the enemies! If you don’t know what they’re gonna do then I gotta be honest with you buddy, you won’t stand a chance getting past the… the beat of the fleet… of monsters. Pattern recognition is the name of the game here. If the item pool isn’t favouring you, then you’ll need to lock in and make up the difference yourself… or just try again until you get a build that’s really broken. Except not really? OP runs in ND are VERY losable compared to other roguelikes ESPECIALLY depending on which character you are playing. One wrong move at any time can be your unexpected downfall, and trust me you’ll feel the true depth of shame when you lose a run like this.

But it’s made fair and well. ND would not be nearly as successful as it is if there wasn’t plenty of thought and testing put into how smooth it plays. Yes you have to make your inputs on time, but sufficient leeway is given to not make it a complete nightmare. If something catches you off guard you’re given just enough time to think it through and feel like a wiz of a magician after pulling it off. The heartbeat in your peripheral vision helps you notice when you might be losing the rhythm a bit and the red outlines of the beats that i often fail to see due to colourblindness will let you know when the song is almost over. These are just some examples of well thought out features that I feel are a little underappreciated, but go a long way in making sure all of the challenge that the game feeds you is fun and interesting challenge.

How have I come this far without talking about such a fundamental piece of the puzzle? In ND, the soundtrack represents something much more than just the music you listen to; it governs your playstyle and the pace at which you think and analyse. Whether it’s to your taste or not, you gotta admit Danny Baranowsky did a cracking job composing some super catchy tunes that you can’t get too tired of and fit all the individual zones and bosses so very well. I’m no musician but composing these while also being restricted to certain BPMs (and be of sufficient length) to match the intended difficulty must not have been easy. As I like to say however, limitations breed creativity, and that’s undoubtedly what happened here. Personally I love the whole thing, cheers Danny. And if you don’t, then luckily there’s like what, 6 alternate soundtracks to choose from?? Some of those soundtracks done by well known musicians like FamilyJules and Jake Kaufman, even a Danganronpa themed soundtrack (idfk why), if you don’t like any of those either then I’m going to assume you’re just out to cause problems. EVEN THEN, there is an option to insert your own music! It’s a piece of cake just throw your mp3 file in and it’ll calculate the tempo for you and change the gameplay accordingly!
What else? Oh yes, the names of all the tracks are musical puns based on where the track plays, I don’t know how they did that but it’s awesome, my favourite has to be the name for the lobby music, “Rhythmortis”, hehehhehe get it???

Hand in hand with the soundtrack comes everything that completes the style of ND. Unique and creative enemy designs, especially bosses (a freakin chess board dude), good variety in zone theming, a retro feeling art style with some charming cutscenes, iconic sound effects and voice lines, clever items. It’s all just fun and cool, and that’s all that needs to be said.

So you made it, you beat all of the zones with Cadence, probably learned most of the enemies patterns and witnessed her journey. Congrats! It wasn’t easy. As a reward you take a look at steam and realise you've got maybe 5% of the achievements... Right. So, I've barely done anything? Pretty much… Beyond this there are plenty of characters with their own individual gimmicks that will make you rethink how you play the game completely. Some easier than Cadence, but a lot of them harder…horribly harder. This is where the real game begins, rise to the challenge, you got this.

If all of this wasn't enough of a glazing session for how much enjoyment ND has brought me, let me praise the dev team more. ND released in 2015 and still receives updates to this day. It really is Brace Yourself Games’ baby... Bug fixes, balance changes and quality of life updates are always coming in. Two MAJOR content DLCs were released in 2017 and 2022 respectively. And just a couple weeks ago Hatsune Miku jumped into the game with a cool moveset and unique soundtrack. What the fuck?? This community is spoiled!

My friend and I would say there's phases to ND brainrot. At one end you have NecroBabies: players who have yet to beat all of the zones with Cadence, going up to NecroDead: players who have beat all zones mode with most of the characters, and NecroUndead: players who unlock and play Coda (the hardest character (you're a lunatic)). My 200 hours of playtime makes me very NecroDead and NecroUndead feels right around the corner.

Thank you NecroDancer, you really are one of a kind.

Buckshot Roulette is a short and simple game of shotgun Russian Roulette between you and a… thing that calls itself “The Dealer”. The Dealer loads up the shotgun with a random number of shells and blanks, and you each take turns shooting the shotgun at either yourselves or your opponent. If you opt to shoot yourself, your opponent’s turn is skipped. You’re each hooked up to a defibrillator with a certain amount of charges that will bring you back to life if you get shot, but there is a limited number of times the defibrillator can be used. The game ends when either you or The Dealer run out of chances to use the defibrillator.

The game does spice things up a little bit by giving you items at the beginning of rounds that you can utilize to help yourself get an advantage. You can get a knife to saw off the end of the shotgun which causes it to do twice the amount of damage, a magnifying glass which lets you peek and see what round is currently loaded into the gun, handcuffs that prevent your opponent from taking a turn, a can of beer that lets you eject whatever round is currently loaded, and a pack of cigarettes that will restore a chance to use the defibrillator. However, The Dealer is also given these exact same items. This adds another layer of strategy to the game, where you’ll have to think when you want to use the items you’re given, while also considering the items The Dealer has and when they will use them as well.

The game has a pretty cool, yet measured concept. Despite how intriguing The Dealer and the setting are, there isn’t really a narrative to speak of. If you win, you get a results screen and a case full of money. That’s all. The game itself can be figured out pretty easily and beaten in about 30 minutes. The core gameplay, while decent, doesn’t make for something that’s especially replayable in my opinion. I love its low-poly artstyle, and I really dig the techno track that plays in the background. Its presentation in general is really strong and immersive, especially given the game’s setup.

There’s just not a whole lot to this game, which is its only real issue. I had managed expectations going into Buckshot Roulette. I didn’t think that it’d be anything mindblowing considering it’s on sale for $3 on Steam (actually, I guess it technically is mindblowing now that I think about it…). I expected a short, but decent time and that’s exactly what I got. It’s a fun little flavor of the month type of indie game that I do think is worth the $3. Just know ahead of time that you’re really not going to get a whole lot of mileage with it.

We haven't gotten too far in, but this just feels like a really watered down Lethal Company in nearly every single aspect. The environments, while a cool idea, are so bland and boring that everything meshes together into a labyrinth of pure headaches. I'm sure it was on purpose, but it's not much fun to deal with when everything is so grey. In Lethal Company I can at least have fun exploring the depths of the mansion map or go to Embrion during eclipse for shits and giggles to keep things fresh, this doesn't really have anything to keep it from getting stale. One thing this does have over Lethal Company would be the emote system, which is something that the former desperately needs outside of modding at this point. I know I shouldn't be comparing this too much to Lethal Company, but I couldn't help but do so the entire time we played. Maybe it'll get better as we play more, if we do.