sumatran
I appreciated the snappy flow to the game. Everything moved so smoothly compared to previous entries. It finally advanced the core gameplay in a meaningful way and I'm more excited about the future of Poke'mon than I've ever been. But the novelty of the open world faded after reaching the third area. And Elden Ring all but closed the door on this title for me.
I anticipated coming back to finish it, but with Scarlet/Violet around the corner, I'll have to forfeit. It's a good Poke'mon game, but in the grand scheme of things, it still doesn't reach greatness.
I anticipated coming back to finish it, but with Scarlet/Violet around the corner, I'll have to forfeit. It's a good Poke'mon game, but in the grand scheme of things, it still doesn't reach greatness.
The team went through development hell to refresh the Lego video game series into...this? I'm afraid it was not time well spent.
An emphasis was placed on the new combat system, which ultimately amounts to nothing. Does it have combos? Sure! Does it have damage numbers popping out? You bet! Does it have proper 3rd-person shooting mechanics! Pretty much! Does it change the game at all? Not one bit!
Feel free to hack your way to victory, as that's all that's ultimately required. But where this game really falls apart is the bloat. There was no reason to stuff 9 movies into one game. There's barely any room to tell a story, instead bursting at the seams with horrific side missions and collectibles.
It's all about as much fun as stepping on a lego barefoot in the middle of the night.
An emphasis was placed on the new combat system, which ultimately amounts to nothing. Does it have combos? Sure! Does it have damage numbers popping out? You bet! Does it have proper 3rd-person shooting mechanics! Pretty much! Does it change the game at all? Not one bit!
Feel free to hack your way to victory, as that's all that's ultimately required. But where this game really falls apart is the bloat. There was no reason to stuff 9 movies into one game. There's barely any room to tell a story, instead bursting at the seams with horrific side missions and collectibles.
It's all about as much fun as stepping on a lego barefoot in the middle of the night.
2017
Author's note: I'm considering "Mastered" as earning all achievements.
There appears to be a niche where the rag-doll physics engine became the core component of gameplay. It's not particularly enjoyable to play, but it sure leads to some absolutely hilarious stupidity with friends.
There appears to be a niche where the rag-doll physics engine became the core component of gameplay. It's not particularly enjoyable to play, but it sure leads to some absolutely hilarious stupidity with friends.
2021
Toem is a delightful little journey, mostly through the lens of a camera. My only major complaint is the colorless world. Clearly an artistic choice - but I feel it creates a painful lack of expression.
2021
Round and round we go on a unique rogue-lite adventure. Loop Hero spins an interesting narrative that tries to explain the nature of a rogue-lite, but it's mostly carried by its outstanding music and satisfying game loop (ha).
After your 50th Expedition, the opening minutes of a run become a tiring exercise. Everything is almost scripted to success. But there's still plenty of room to experiment across the 3 classes.
After your 50th Expedition, the opening minutes of a run become a tiring exercise. Everything is almost scripted to success. But there's still plenty of room to experiment across the 3 classes.
2021
This is essentially Zelda. But it draws inevitable comparisons to Dark Souls because of its somewhat higher difficulty along with the fact that your currency in the game is, well...souls.
The weapons are not very interesting at all. I pecked through with the Umbrella for an achievement, but after switching to the other weapons in post-game, I found that they mostly just dealt bigger damage.
The music is the surprise hit here. Death's Door is well-made overall, but the music is jarringly its greatest quality.
The game has a way with humor, relying on audio cues and typical video game expectations. It does feel a bit derivative, but it's worth a chuckle none-the-less.
The weapons are not very interesting at all. I pecked through with the Umbrella for an achievement, but after switching to the other weapons in post-game, I found that they mostly just dealt bigger damage.
The music is the surprise hit here. Death's Door is well-made overall, but the music is jarringly its greatest quality.
The game has a way with humor, relying on audio cues and typical video game expectations. It does feel a bit derivative, but it's worth a chuckle none-the-less.
2021
There is nothing exceptional about this game. Plays well and looks good. I'm not coming to a bullet hell game for story typically. But even the bullet patterns were fairly boring. And the constant speed and dodging made me pine for the slower, mind-crunching patterns of other titles in the genre.
2020
An improvement over the original in almost every way. My personal preference is the pixel/retro graphics from the first outing. The sequel has a cartoon quality which isn't as appealing.
The game can drag, so I eventually turned on House Rules around the NG+2 mark. This made the grind far more bearable and really improved my enjoyment.
Oh, and Valkyrie is the best.
The game can drag, so I eventually turned on House Rules around the NG+2 mark. This made the grind far more bearable and really improved my enjoyment.
Oh, and Valkyrie is the best.
Drinkbox Studios is a favorite of mine. I've enjoyed everything I've played from them. This brief adventure is no exception.
I played through a completionist playthrough in co-op, which was a blast. The writing is often funny, which is increasingly hard to find in video games and the avatar is a quirky little dude, despite being essentially faceless.
But while the world is rather large and the cast of archetypes you can embody fairly extensive, everything is a bit samey. Combat stays essentially the same, no matter the form you take. Gnaw as a rat or strike as a soldier. The dungeons are randomly generated and offer variety in modifiers but little else.
It was worth the initial adventure, but NG+ started to drag, even after taking a 6-month break.
I played through a completionist playthrough in co-op, which was a blast. The writing is often funny, which is increasingly hard to find in video games and the avatar is a quirky little dude, despite being essentially faceless.
But while the world is rather large and the cast of archetypes you can embody fairly extensive, everything is a bit samey. Combat stays essentially the same, no matter the form you take. Gnaw as a rat or strike as a soldier. The dungeons are randomly generated and offer variety in modifiers but little else.
It was worth the initial adventure, but NG+ started to drag, even after taking a 6-month break.
2022
Charming, playful, short, and sweet - just like the titular munchkins in Tinykin. I would have preferred actual 3D models for the characters, but the awkward blend of styles quickly faded. This is an excellent weekend title.
2020
Coming from a firefighter family, this one just felt like home. With all the water hose jetpacks and throwing people out windows.
Playing in co-op was a joy the whole way through. The grind to 100% is fairly daunting - expect lots of money grinding, even after accomplishing every objective in every level.
I would have liked to see different fire-related threats. Your only main adversaries are proper fire and gas fires. A wildfire level could have been intense. Or perhaps grappling with chemical fires? Additionally, different strengths of fire would have added more interesting encounters - such as blue fire to indicate a more challenging opponent.
Despite the simplicity of the game mechanics, the levels stay relatively fresh and interesting. And as you progress in your equipment proficiency, new strategies present themselves every run.
If possible, I highly recommend playing the game in co-op. I feel like something is lost tackling this one alone.
Playing in co-op was a joy the whole way through. The grind to 100% is fairly daunting - expect lots of money grinding, even after accomplishing every objective in every level.
I would have liked to see different fire-related threats. Your only main adversaries are proper fire and gas fires. A wildfire level could have been intense. Or perhaps grappling with chemical fires? Additionally, different strengths of fire would have added more interesting encounters - such as blue fire to indicate a more challenging opponent.
Despite the simplicity of the game mechanics, the levels stay relatively fresh and interesting. And as you progress in your equipment proficiency, new strategies present themselves every run.
If possible, I highly recommend playing the game in co-op. I feel like something is lost tackling this one alone.
2021
A game akin to a stroll through the park - low stress and a breeze.
My interest dwindled as I shelved book after book, plate after plate, and every other knick knack that followed me throughout life. The premise was interesting, but even as a 90s kid, I just couldn't feel entirely connected to the experience. I think that's because it was so tailored to the character I was playing. I found that I'm not so interested in unpacking some random person's junk - I'd prefer to unpack my own crap.
My interest dwindled as I shelved book after book, plate after plate, and every other knick knack that followed me throughout life. The premise was interesting, but even as a 90s kid, I just couldn't feel entirely connected to the experience. I think that's because it was so tailored to the character I was playing. I found that I'm not so interested in unpacking some random person's junk - I'd prefer to unpack my own crap.
Sometimes I'm glad we are past the age of the mascot platformer. Tedious checkpoints and frustrating mini-games leave a sour impression.
2021
PowerWash Simulator was only as good as its co-op, in my experience. The strange satisfaction of erasing digital dirt only carried my interest so far. And eventually, this started to become Nap Simulator.
But when playing in co-op, it's a blast - the jobs move at a decent pace and it's a great place to just hang out with friends while performing monotonous chores. Unfortunately, the co-op is poorly implemented. The game limits the Campaign to a buddy system, simply making you a duplicate of the host. They likely implemented this to prevent an end-game player from carrying a newbie, which doesn't really make sense, as the end-game washers don't turn you into a power-washing God by any means.
The late levels jump the shark a bit and start to deviate from the core charm - which is getting in a rhythm and seeing that grime wash away. I'm hoping they just go bananas with it at this point and do some different things with the game engine - like arena combat or something.
But when playing in co-op, it's a blast - the jobs move at a decent pace and it's a great place to just hang out with friends while performing monotonous chores. Unfortunately, the co-op is poorly implemented. The game limits the Campaign to a buddy system, simply making you a duplicate of the host. They likely implemented this to prevent an end-game player from carrying a newbie, which doesn't really make sense, as the end-game washers don't turn you into a power-washing God by any means.
The late levels jump the shark a bit and start to deviate from the core charm - which is getting in a rhythm and seeing that grime wash away. I'm hoping they just go bananas with it at this point and do some different things with the game engine - like arena combat or something.
2021
I played the majority of The Ascent back in 2022, but finished up the DLC in-between other games.
By far one of the buggiest games I've played on Xbox Series S/X. I often was suddenly stopped in my tracks by a full game freeze - or worse - mission markers just disappearing or becoming inoperable. While the bugs were the most noteworthy interruption, the core of the game was not great either.
Although the game looks beautiful (in a dilapidated kind of way), locations are not distinguishable from each other. Every alley, every bridge, every neon bar - all the same. The combat happening throughout is frantic and often annoying. It seems like everyone in this damn city wants to kill you. Unfortunately, it's not fun or engaging enough to validate the unending encounters.
By far one of the buggiest games I've played on Xbox Series S/X. I often was suddenly stopped in my tracks by a full game freeze - or worse - mission markers just disappearing or becoming inoperable. While the bugs were the most noteworthy interruption, the core of the game was not great either.
Although the game looks beautiful (in a dilapidated kind of way), locations are not distinguishable from each other. Every alley, every bridge, every neon bar - all the same. The combat happening throughout is frantic and often annoying. It seems like everyone in this damn city wants to kill you. Unfortunately, it's not fun or engaging enough to validate the unending encounters.