telekinesticman
2023
Bland, frustrating and sloppy. Poor presentation and level design sours the authentic feeling of Classic 2D Sonic movement mechanics. Bosses waste your time for minutes on end, and while I've yet to try the co-op, it seems to be completely broken. It's criminal that this is being sold for $95 AUD.
Emerald powers feel borderline useless outside of a few exceptions, and the Special Stages are just awful. They're a cool idea on paper - swinging around to build momentum towards the Emerald, but are just a chore to play.
Oh and also, the spindash doesn't work properly if your refresh rate is set to above 60FPS, so I had to turn off Vsync and change it manually in the options, only to suffer from screen-tearing. Very cool! And it's just running from an Epic Games Store version within Steam, I guess? Freaking epic.
Go buy Sonic Mania instead - it looks, sounds and plays better in every way. Even the reused levels are more original than just about anything in Superstars, except for maybe its final act. Glad I didn't buy this.
Emerald powers feel borderline useless outside of a few exceptions, and the Special Stages are just awful. They're a cool idea on paper - swinging around to build momentum towards the Emerald, but are just a chore to play.
Oh and also, the spindash doesn't work properly if your refresh rate is set to above 60FPS, so I had to turn off Vsync and change it manually in the options, only to suffer from screen-tearing. Very cool! And it's just running from an Epic Games Store version within Steam, I guess? Freaking epic.
Go buy Sonic Mania instead - it looks, sounds and plays better in every way. Even the reused levels are more original than just about anything in Superstars, except for maybe its final act. Glad I didn't buy this.
Video review - https://youtu.be/SGt0XlHGOW4
I'll be blunt - it could use some more polish, and the bosses aren't very good. I sincerely hope this gets a few patches to address the occasionally weird collision detection, inputs not registering, sound effect desync in cutscenes, and other things, but at its core, this is an incredibly solid momentum-based platformer.
Chaining together dashes, swings and rolling across these wavy, sloped levels is a blast. I think this is the first game I've truly wanted to try and time attack an entire game since Sonic Generations. It took me a little bit to truly "get" the movement, but once I did, I was loving every second of it. I think I'll be aiming for all the achievements in this one too. Why not?
Of course, the music is fantastic as always from Tee Lopes. Presentation is a little lacking in the visual department, especially in cutscenes, but I feel like the developers are probably even more frustrated than I am at some of these shortcomings, so I don't think it's worthwhile to point them all out.
I highly recommend this, but maybe wait a little wait for some patches if you're on the fence. Evening Star have proven their ability to make great stuff on their own, and I hope this game is enough of a success for them to continue their vision across new projects. Well done to the entire team!
I'll be blunt - it could use some more polish, and the bosses aren't very good. I sincerely hope this gets a few patches to address the occasionally weird collision detection, inputs not registering, sound effect desync in cutscenes, and other things, but at its core, this is an incredibly solid momentum-based platformer.
Chaining together dashes, swings and rolling across these wavy, sloped levels is a blast. I think this is the first game I've truly wanted to try and time attack an entire game since Sonic Generations. It took me a little bit to truly "get" the movement, but once I did, I was loving every second of it. I think I'll be aiming for all the achievements in this one too. Why not?
Of course, the music is fantastic as always from Tee Lopes. Presentation is a little lacking in the visual department, especially in cutscenes, but I feel like the developers are probably even more frustrated than I am at some of these shortcomings, so I don't think it's worthwhile to point them all out.
I highly recommend this, but maybe wait a little wait for some patches if you're on the fence. Evening Star have proven their ability to make great stuff on their own, and I hope this game is enough of a success for them to continue their vision across new projects. Well done to the entire team!
2021
It's alright. Unfortunately not as great as I was expecting. Core movement is solid but feels like it needs more, as you only really have a dash and a jump. I kept hoping I'd unlock more moves, or reach areas with a greater focus on building speed down slopes, but it never really happened. Maybe I'll watch a speedrun and realise I was missing out on some fun movement tech.
Early levels are way too basic and boring, but the later ones start getting more interesting, thanks to their smaller platforms, more frequent hazards, and funky gravity manipulation. The "bosses" are thankfully just more intense platforming, which I greatly approve of, but they still feel too simple.
Combat is just plain bad, and I started skipping through all narrative elements pretty quickly, which I don't do in most games. The main character is cursed with obnoxious game protagonist dialogue - "huh, I wonder what's over there. Better check it out..." That kind of stuff. It sucks, and I wasn't really interested in sitting through long conversations and audio logs to learn more about the world. Outer Wilds this ain't.
Again, it's alright. Oddly similar to Sonic Frontiers, but still better in every way.
Early levels are way too basic and boring, but the later ones start getting more interesting, thanks to their smaller platforms, more frequent hazards, and funky gravity manipulation. The "bosses" are thankfully just more intense platforming, which I greatly approve of, but they still feel too simple.
Combat is just plain bad, and I started skipping through all narrative elements pretty quickly, which I don't do in most games. The main character is cursed with obnoxious game protagonist dialogue - "huh, I wonder what's over there. Better check it out..." That kind of stuff. It sucks, and I wasn't really interested in sitting through long conversations and audio logs to learn more about the world. Outer Wilds this ain't.
Again, it's alright. Oddly similar to Sonic Frontiers, but still better in every way.
2022
I made it all the way to the final boss (and Malenia) and just couldn't be bothered anymore. Sekiro is still the best of these games, but the legacy dungeon areas are awesome. The open world is mostly meaningless, but I appreciate how it adds a little bit of downtime between each major area.
RPG mechanics continue to ruin this series. Game became way too easy later on, but then the bosses suddenly spiked in aggression and became super annoying to beat. Hard, yes, but mostly just annoying.
Maybe I'll go back and finish this when the DLC comes out. At the moment, I'm just so burnt out, and those final bosses just feel like a waste of my time. It's very rare for me to shelve a game like this, especially when I'm this close to finishing. I suppose that says a lot.
RPG mechanics continue to ruin this series. Game became way too easy later on, but then the bosses suddenly spiked in aggression and became super annoying to beat. Hard, yes, but mostly just annoying.
Maybe I'll go back and finish this when the DLC comes out. At the moment, I'm just so burnt out, and those final bosses just feel like a waste of my time. It's very rare for me to shelve a game like this, especially when I'm this close to finishing. I suppose that says a lot.
2022
Really solid survival-horror game that reminded me strongly of REmake, although I'm sure there's a lot of influence from other horror classics that I've never played myself.
Puzzles felt consistently clever and balanced, the analogue aesthetic creates a lovely spooky atmosphere, and the inventory limitations are always keeping you on your toes, forcing you to make important decisions.
I probably shouldn't have played this on the hardest difficulty with the limited inventory on my first playthrough, because the enemies just became annoying after the halfway point. I found it to drag a bit around this same part, although again, this is probably because I had the difficulty cranked up too high because I was worried the defaults would be too forgiving. A good chunk of my deaths were on purpose so I could reset back to my last save after I made a tiny mistake, or I'd just quit to menu and reload to wipe away the bullets I might have just wasted.
The aiming can also feel a bit off sometimes, like I can't target the enemy I'm pointing at. I played with a controller, for the record. I would definitely recommend the "Revised" inventory option, which I switched to maybe 80% through the game once I realised it just saved me having to re-equip my two modules all the time. It doesn't take away from the strict inventory, as all other key items, weapons and ammo still take up space.
Glad I finally got to experience this for myself after hearing nothing but good things for over a year now. I'd sooner revisit REmake though, but that's a high bar to clear.
Puzzles felt consistently clever and balanced, the analogue aesthetic creates a lovely spooky atmosphere, and the inventory limitations are always keeping you on your toes, forcing you to make important decisions.
I probably shouldn't have played this on the hardest difficulty with the limited inventory on my first playthrough, because the enemies just became annoying after the halfway point. I found it to drag a bit around this same part, although again, this is probably because I had the difficulty cranked up too high because I was worried the defaults would be too forgiving. A good chunk of my deaths were on purpose so I could reset back to my last save after I made a tiny mistake, or I'd just quit to menu and reload to wipe away the bullets I might have just wasted.
The aiming can also feel a bit off sometimes, like I can't target the enemy I'm pointing at. I played with a controller, for the record. I would definitely recommend the "Revised" inventory option, which I switched to maybe 80% through the game once I realised it just saved me having to re-equip my two modules all the time. It doesn't take away from the strict inventory, as all other key items, weapons and ammo still take up space.
Glad I finally got to experience this for myself after hearing nothing but good things for over a year now. I'd sooner revisit REmake though, but that's a high bar to clear.
2022
This review contains spoilers
This is a low 4/5 for me. Music is pretty weak which is really sad to say for a Mario game. Bosses aren't great either, lots of waiting around. Core level design is mostly great although there are times that the co-op camera really could have used some zooming out. I played most of this co-op with my brother and my partner and we all had a great time, but the way the camera works can feel counterintuitive. Some hidden secrets are also a little bit more obtuse than they needed to be, and the Special World is a little disappointing. The hardest level is easily the rhythmic wall-jump one, purely because the wall-jump input is really fuzzy to perform. Celeste this ain't. Getting all the seeds feels worth it just for the sake of completing all the unique stages, but I don't think I'll be going back for all the flags and star coins.
Maybe worse than the lame soundtrack is the lack of Rosalina, both in appearance and playability. Nintendo is dead to me!!
Maybe worse than the lame soundtrack is the lack of Rosalina, both in appearance and playability. Nintendo is dead to me!!
An incredibly entertaining and emotionally satisfying story matched with mostly average (or below-average) gameplay, that gets stretched out for an enormously long time. A beautiful open world with what are likely the best animals I've ever seen in a game. Let's do dinosaurs next time.
2023
Overall better than the original, even if it cut some of the really funny stuff that I liked, Combat is faster-paced, the parry is great, and the pacing still feels just about right. My biggest problem is the camera, which often got stuck on objects behind me or felt way too zoomed in, preventing me from seeing enemies that were right next to me. It's a bit too easy to get blind-sided, but maybe this is because I played on Hardcore on my first run.
Still waiting on a new Dino Crisis, or an RE-styled remake, Capcom.
Still waiting on a new Dino Crisis, or an RE-styled remake, Capcom.
2022
I still have so much to do, so this review could change, but for now, I think the gameplay is incredible but the game is let down by a terrible ending and a general lack of personality surrounding its protagonist. Bayonetta does not feel like Bayonetta and that really sucks. I can only hope they do a 180 after this game's ending when it comes time to develop the fourth entry, because I do not like where it's going at the moment. I want my Bayonetta back, but I don't know if I ever will, especially after all this behind-the-scenes drama about her original voice actress.
This review contains spoilers
Incredible problem-solving mechanics are unfortunately somewhat wasted on a copy-and-pasted world that lacks the originality and wonder required to sustain its 100+ hour playtime (if you intend to see everything it has to offer).
Not only is the game too similar to Breath of the Wild (retaining its poor combat system, clunky UI and ability to eat food and swap clothing at any time in the pause menu), but most areas with "new" content are too similar to others within this very game. The Depths is mostly empty with the occasional mine, enemy camp (with reused enemies) or boss fight (also reused). The Sky Islands are mostly a handful of repeated base structures with minor variations across the map, with the same enemies and bosses and often the same rewards.
There are far too many "Rauru's Blessing" shrines that offer no challenge or puzzle whatsoever - and they waste the player's time with unnecessary load screens. The shrines in general are somewhat improved over BotW, but are still far too easy. I would often solve a puzzle and say "that's it?" when reaching the exit. Dungeons may be themed better than before, but are still boring, trivial check-lists of basic "puzzles" that don't build on each other and escalate the challenge.
The UI is awful, the combat and weapon systems are unchanged (right down to the awkward activations for Flurry Rush), and most sidequests are just a grindy mess.
Still, this fully realised version of Hyrule is staggering, even if it's mostly the same as before. The new building, fusing and time-manipulation abilities are downright genius, and are where most of my fun came from. If the game leaned far more into becoming a challenging, player-first immersive sim, or a (I can't believe I'm saying this) "Souls-like" world full of unique, demanding boss fights in each region, then this would have been a much more engaging game for me.
Here's a fun idea - when exploring new areas of The Depths, fast travel should be disabled until you find another light root. Or just turn it off entirely. This would make the player really have to commit to exploring this place, and build some fun vehicle to escape to the surface again. The feeling of isolation in the abyss is kind of ruined when you can open a map at any time to warp back to the lush green fields of Hyrule above. Exploring caves in Minecraft wouldn't be as engaging or tense if the player could warp back to their house at any time, it's the risk that makes it satisfying and worthwhile.
The disappointment I felt when I realised nothing had changed from BotW was palpable. The new stuff is great, it really is, but I can't be screaming with positives about this title after so many issues were carried over from the prior game. I'll happily take more open-world Zelda, but it needs a complete overhaul. New combat system with a better dodge/parry system, a brand new world with new races of characters to meet and new bosses to fight, and a story structure that doesn't rely on unsatisfactory flashbacks that Link never seems to mention to anyone.
There's so much more I could say here, I'm trying to convince two months of stray thoughts into a few paragraphs. Just know that Tears of the Kingdom has a bounty of fun moments, but it's let down by poor systems, unfulfilling exploration, grindy missions, and distractingly lackluster technical performance on the Switch. It's a miracle it runs at all, but the game suffers being tied to such bad hardware.
Not only is the game too similar to Breath of the Wild (retaining its poor combat system, clunky UI and ability to eat food and swap clothing at any time in the pause menu), but most areas with "new" content are too similar to others within this very game. The Depths is mostly empty with the occasional mine, enemy camp (with reused enemies) or boss fight (also reused). The Sky Islands are mostly a handful of repeated base structures with minor variations across the map, with the same enemies and bosses and often the same rewards.
There are far too many "Rauru's Blessing" shrines that offer no challenge or puzzle whatsoever - and they waste the player's time with unnecessary load screens. The shrines in general are somewhat improved over BotW, but are still far too easy. I would often solve a puzzle and say "that's it?" when reaching the exit. Dungeons may be themed better than before, but are still boring, trivial check-lists of basic "puzzles" that don't build on each other and escalate the challenge.
The UI is awful, the combat and weapon systems are unchanged (right down to the awkward activations for Flurry Rush), and most sidequests are just a grindy mess.
Still, this fully realised version of Hyrule is staggering, even if it's mostly the same as before. The new building, fusing and time-manipulation abilities are downright genius, and are where most of my fun came from. If the game leaned far more into becoming a challenging, player-first immersive sim, or a (I can't believe I'm saying this) "Souls-like" world full of unique, demanding boss fights in each region, then this would have been a much more engaging game for me.
Here's a fun idea - when exploring new areas of The Depths, fast travel should be disabled until you find another light root. Or just turn it off entirely. This would make the player really have to commit to exploring this place, and build some fun vehicle to escape to the surface again. The feeling of isolation in the abyss is kind of ruined when you can open a map at any time to warp back to the lush green fields of Hyrule above. Exploring caves in Minecraft wouldn't be as engaging or tense if the player could warp back to their house at any time, it's the risk that makes it satisfying and worthwhile.
The disappointment I felt when I realised nothing had changed from BotW was palpable. The new stuff is great, it really is, but I can't be screaming with positives about this title after so many issues were carried over from the prior game. I'll happily take more open-world Zelda, but it needs a complete overhaul. New combat system with a better dodge/parry system, a brand new world with new races of characters to meet and new bosses to fight, and a story structure that doesn't rely on unsatisfactory flashbacks that Link never seems to mention to anyone.
There's so much more I could say here, I'm trying to convince two months of stray thoughts into a few paragraphs. Just know that Tears of the Kingdom has a bounty of fun moments, but it's let down by poor systems, unfulfilling exploration, grindy missions, and distractingly lackluster technical performance on the Switch. It's a miracle it runs at all, but the game suffers being tied to such bad hardware.
2023
Shockingly excellent movement-based Metroidvania that I hope to see expanded into an even better sequel. Combat could use some work but it's thankfully very brief. Camera is wonky at a few points but seeing your character's silhouette through walls is a huge help.
I appreciate the trust in the player to find their own way forward, but I think a map of some kind would have been handy. It's a bit too easy to wander around between the same few rooms because I can't quite tell them apart. Aesthetics are my main grievance with this game, not the low-poly style or low-framerate animation, but the dreary, repetitive music and the bland environmental design.
But to be clear, the movement and exploration shine through, and I can't imagine how amazing this must be for speedrunning and sequence-breaking. The wall kick and long jump were such wonderful inclusions in the early game, I just wish I had more places to utilise the enemy bounce and wallrun as well, since they're a bit later in the adventure.
Highly recommend this, but I think there's a lot of things to improve for a sequel. Also, I immediately switched to Pants On, because I didn't want to look at that the whole time.
I appreciate the trust in the player to find their own way forward, but I think a map of some kind would have been handy. It's a bit too easy to wander around between the same few rooms because I can't quite tell them apart. Aesthetics are my main grievance with this game, not the low-poly style or low-framerate animation, but the dreary, repetitive music and the bland environmental design.
But to be clear, the movement and exploration shine through, and I can't imagine how amazing this must be for speedrunning and sequence-breaking. The wall kick and long jump were such wonderful inclusions in the early game, I just wish I had more places to utilise the enemy bounce and wallrun as well, since they're a bit later in the adventure.
Highly recommend this, but I think there's a lot of things to improve for a sequel. Also, I immediately switched to Pants On, because I didn't want to look at that the whole time.
2023
Great movement and music. Consistently funny and extremely charming. I've never played Wario Land, so this made me think a lot of Sonic and Metroid instead.
Only major issues are that I found it a little difficult at first to know when the bosses were vulnerable, and that the levels can feel a bit long when searching for the secrets. I'm definitely interested in going back for some higher ranks to see more of the game at (what I assume to be) its best.
Only major issues are that I found it a little difficult at first to know when the bosses were vulnerable, and that the levels can feel a bit long when searching for the secrets. I'm definitely interested in going back for some higher ranks to see more of the game at (what I assume to be) its best.
2019
I just want to make it clear that this is the best game I have ever played. I wish I could play it again blind, but I can't. Don't spoil yourself, just play this (and the DLC) whenever possible, because it's an unforgettable experience you cannot find anywhere else.
I love this game dearly, and am so proud that it even exists in the first place. It's hard not to view Outer Wilds as the greatest game of all time, and I'm going to be the annoying guy who recommends this to everyone I know for the rest of my life.
I love this game dearly, and am so proud that it even exists in the first place. It's hard not to view Outer Wilds as the greatest game of all time, and I'm going to be the annoying guy who recommends this to everyone I know for the rest of my life.
2019
It's ok.
The combat takes too long to get good and the game is FULL of filler. The camera sucks, the lock-on breaks constantly, the story is long and boring, the controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, I don't like the skill trees and the focus on picking up tons of pointless items and resources instead of one simply currency, and the game does a poor job of teaching some more advanced mechanics, especially when you consider how difficult the final boss is.
But when you learn the moves, and get to just play the game without fluff, it's alright. No Bayonetta or The Wonderful 101, but it's fine.
The combat takes too long to get good and the game is FULL of filler. The camera sucks, the lock-on breaks constantly, the story is long and boring, the controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, I don't like the skill trees and the focus on picking up tons of pointless items and resources instead of one simply currency, and the game does a poor job of teaching some more advanced mechanics, especially when you consider how difficult the final boss is.
But when you learn the moves, and get to just play the game without fluff, it's alright. No Bayonetta or The Wonderful 101, but it's fine.