sturdyserpent
2021
Bowser's Fury is interesting because despite the base game coming out before Odyssey, this expansion came out after, and it serves as a kind of bridge between the two games. The power ups and controls are the same as 3D World, while the sandbox-style exploration is definitely inspired by Odyssey. The levels are all charming and the various cat-eared creatures might be the cutest enemies I've ever seen. The calm/fury cycle annoyed me - Bowser always seemed to attack at the worst possible times, and it seemed random as to how long each cycle would be. Overall It feels a little weak in some parts, but like any Mario game it's still a fun romp and it's short enough that it doesn't overstay it's welcome.
2017
This game made me realize I hate Diablo style loot systems
2023
Really fun and goofy game, a complete blast play through. The only negatives were some wonky platforming that they make you do way too much of, and the soundtrack feels kinda samey for a game all about music? Overall though, very solid game with a lot of heart
I had this as a kid and literally never made it past the first level
2005
Meat circus my belothed
2021
I wasn't sure about the time limit mechanic at first, but I decided to leave it on and see how it goes. I'm glad I did, as it adds pressure and weight to each decision you make as you progress through the game. It's a very polished experience that lends itself to replaying and speedrunning.
2019
what if duke nukem were a girl
2009
Worldbuilding and party members are cool, but I just really hated the MMO style cooldowns they put on everything
2020
If I had a nickel for every game I've played about a cyborg ninja who can slow down time I'd have $0.15
2022
I haven't played a 3D sonic game since Heroes back on the GameCube, but this was pretty good. It's kinda weird having these open setpieces floating everywhere but it mostly works? Sonic is sufficiently fast and there's enough obstacles that exploring the islands didn't feel like a chore. Getting into the flow and chaining together groups of rails and bumpers on the way to the next objective is really fun, but towards the latter half of the game it felt like the level design was restricting me to only follow the path they thought I should follow. The combat is pretty lackluster - the main bosses especially are visually spectacular but they're not exactly fun to fight.
Overall, it kinda feels like they got 75% of the way to making a great game and then stopped. Also, who on earth thought it was a good idea to have you watch a cutscene every time you tried to upgrade speed??
Overall, it kinda feels like they got 75% of the way to making a great game and then stopped. Also, who on earth thought it was a good idea to have you watch a cutscene every time you tried to upgrade speed??
Yet more evidence that any game about bugs is good
2019
Derivative of Dark Souls, but it had enough of it's own identity that it makes it work. The spanish-inspired pixel art is absolutely gorgeous, and the religious symbolism in the lore kept my interest even if its a bit overdone. Combat feels a bit less refined than other 2d souls-like, but it's also more forgiving so I was never too frustrated. One of those games that becomes greater than the sum of its parts - lore, art and gameplay come together really cohesively.
2005
I'm not smart enough to know what the hell this game was about but uhhh it was fun shooting weird invisible monsters
It's the first game but More. More enemies, more weapons, more filler quests, more useless dialogue (PLEASE let me explore for 5 seconds without reminding me about the main quest I am begging you).
I felt like the first game had a nice amount of side quests without too much bloat, but this one just inundates you with side content that should not exist. Most of them are fetch quests asking you to go here and kill x amount of enemies, and then to upgrade your gear you also need to grind out enemy encounters until you get the necessary parts (which can be speciifalclly targeted, so it's not 100% random thank God). There's even a whole tab on the quest menu called "Errands" in case you wanted to do chores while you game I guess. I ignored 90% of the side stuff and feel like I didn't miss anything.
This may be me misremembering, but it felt like enemies were too tanky compared to the first one. Other than that, gameplay is about the same as the first, with a handful of more options for taking out enemies. Combat is satisfying and obviously fighting robot dinosaurs is extremely cool. They also added a BotW-esque hangglider, but it comes in kinda late and the game didn't really feel designed around it, so it just feels like an afterthought.
The story is ok, but it suffers from middle entry syndrome where it's mostly serving to setup the next game for the big finale. The lore is the main reason I kept playing, and there's a good amount of it. There's a lot to pore over if you're interested, and they've really crafted a fascinating world.
Overall, it's a middling open-world game with some cool lore. If you're interested in the world of Horizon and played the first one, you should play this to prep for the big finale (or at least look up the story on YouTube or something).
I felt like the first game had a nice amount of side quests without too much bloat, but this one just inundates you with side content that should not exist. Most of them are fetch quests asking you to go here and kill x amount of enemies, and then to upgrade your gear you also need to grind out enemy encounters until you get the necessary parts (which can be speciifalclly targeted, so it's not 100% random thank God). There's even a whole tab on the quest menu called "Errands" in case you wanted to do chores while you game I guess. I ignored 90% of the side stuff and feel like I didn't miss anything.
This may be me misremembering, but it felt like enemies were too tanky compared to the first one. Other than that, gameplay is about the same as the first, with a handful of more options for taking out enemies. Combat is satisfying and obviously fighting robot dinosaurs is extremely cool. They also added a BotW-esque hangglider, but it comes in kinda late and the game didn't really feel designed around it, so it just feels like an afterthought.
The story is ok, but it suffers from middle entry syndrome where it's mostly serving to setup the next game for the big finale. The lore is the main reason I kept playing, and there's a good amount of it. There's a lot to pore over if you're interested, and they've really crafted a fascinating world.
Overall, it's a middling open-world game with some cool lore. If you're interested in the world of Horizon and played the first one, you should play this to prep for the big finale (or at least look up the story on YouTube or something).
2005
Very experimental, but it mostly works. It still has the staple Kirby gameplay - there's a handful of copy abilities that change how you move, and the stages and soundtrack still feel like typical Kirby fare. For most of the game I felt like Kirby either moves too fast or too slow, and the difficulty is all over the place, especially during the bosses. Overall though, it's a decent game and worth playing if you like Kirby.