titannull
2023
"This is my favorite spot where to play. I like it because the view is pretty" Sea of Stars, 2023.
A masterclass in terrible writing. The main duo are missing any personality and instead are just generically "Hero", any dialogue or flavor text is dry and uninteresting. Combat is okay at first but has almost entirely no evolution; what it starts as is what it stays as and you'll be doing it A LOT.
The only reason it got this high of a score is because the 2d art is nice and the music can be good. This being anywhere near a best of list was laughable.
A masterclass in terrible writing. The main duo are missing any personality and instead are just generically "Hero", any dialogue or flavor text is dry and uninteresting. Combat is okay at first but has almost entirely no evolution; what it starts as is what it stays as and you'll be doing it A LOT.
The only reason it got this high of a score is because the 2d art is nice and the music can be good. This being anywhere near a best of list was laughable.
2022
All aces, 100% completion.
Fires on all cylinders and excels in every category. The story concept is pretty cool and told by an excellent voice cast, the game would still be great if it were contextless but it helps to tie everything together nicely. Machine Girl made a perfect soundtrack that urges you to keep gunning for a faster time.
Fires on all cylinders and excels in every category. The story concept is pretty cool and told by an excellent voice cast, the game would still be great if it were contextless but it helps to tie everything together nicely. Machine Girl made a perfect soundtrack that urges you to keep gunning for a faster time.
These games surprised me with how nice the art and mystery is, I assumed there would be some moon logic but surprisingly almost everything was clear if you paid attention and really examined all the clues.
2024
Pretty decent! Didn't really entice me to continue looking for secrets after doing the final area, but I ended with around 20 eggs found. The item abilities are pretty cool and each have at least a couple different ways to use them.
I think the minimal art style and almost entirely absent soundtrack kinda works against itself a bit because everything feels very samey (outside of the final area really). That would be less of a problem if the game didn't require so much backtracking and tedium, if you die (sometimes either from exhausting your HP or otherwise there are one hit instant deaths) you will be warped back to the place you last saved and then have to trek back across several rooms to get to where you were. That does often mean having to redo platforming or puzzle challenges, over and over, since most really don't seem to unlock shortcuts or means to circumvent. There is a fast travel hub but it's a secret unlocked after finding some number of secret eggs, and there's then a secret that will teleport you to the fast travel hub you can use once you collect more secret eggs (I did not know about this until I beat it).
Another art issue is the use of spikes as obstacles, they're very often not clearly presented as being dangerous and background elements can also look like spikes but aren't. Often times found myself trying to avoid something that wasn't harmful, or thinking something was safe when it wasn't. On the positive side the lighting and smoke effects can be very impressive, though honestly set me up thinking they'd be more present.
The controls have some issues too, primarily around abilities. Rather than them each being mapped to different buttons, you cycle through them individually using the shoulder buttons. It makes things feel slower than they should and sorta impedes creating a rhythm. They give a lot of leeway on your character falling off of edges, but that can work against you when you need to quickly (like being chased) fall down. There's a few times where you have to fall into holes about the width of the player and it would refuse to have me go down.
I played it through PS+ so can't complain there, but the $25 asking price is way steep. It's pretty well a 2 hour long game but with all the backtracking and repeated rooms to clear that can about double. It seems like a decent enough recommendation for $5-10 but man $25 is rough, there's just not enough meat here and no real Wowing X Factor to latch onto. Ultros seems like a more compelling recent metroidvania that could use some more eyes on it.
I think the minimal art style and almost entirely absent soundtrack kinda works against itself a bit because everything feels very samey (outside of the final area really). That would be less of a problem if the game didn't require so much backtracking and tedium, if you die (sometimes either from exhausting your HP or otherwise there are one hit instant deaths) you will be warped back to the place you last saved and then have to trek back across several rooms to get to where you were. That does often mean having to redo platforming or puzzle challenges, over and over, since most really don't seem to unlock shortcuts or means to circumvent. There is a fast travel hub but it's a secret unlocked after finding some number of secret eggs, and there's then a secret that will teleport you to the fast travel hub you can use once you collect more secret eggs (I did not know about this until I beat it).
Another art issue is the use of spikes as obstacles, they're very often not clearly presented as being dangerous and background elements can also look like spikes but aren't. Often times found myself trying to avoid something that wasn't harmful, or thinking something was safe when it wasn't. On the positive side the lighting and smoke effects can be very impressive, though honestly set me up thinking they'd be more present.
The controls have some issues too, primarily around abilities. Rather than them each being mapped to different buttons, you cycle through them individually using the shoulder buttons. It makes things feel slower than they should and sorta impedes creating a rhythm. They give a lot of leeway on your character falling off of edges, but that can work against you when you need to quickly (like being chased) fall down. There's a few times where you have to fall into holes about the width of the player and it would refuse to have me go down.
I played it through PS+ so can't complain there, but the $25 asking price is way steep. It's pretty well a 2 hour long game but with all the backtracking and repeated rooms to clear that can about double. It seems like a decent enough recommendation for $5-10 but man $25 is rough, there's just not enough meat here and no real Wowing X Factor to latch onto. Ultros seems like a more compelling recent metroidvania that could use some more eyes on it.
2021
The robot sections are just kinda dull mostly because they're so easily defeated by walking out a door.
Biggest shame though is just how dull the presentation is, the music is forgettable and each zone lacks a strong visual identity like previous games, things you usually count on with Metroid games. It's occasionally a fun platformer/action game though I feel like it felt less tight as more abilities were introduced.
Biggest shame though is just how dull the presentation is, the music is forgettable and each zone lacks a strong visual identity like previous games, things you usually count on with Metroid games. It's occasionally a fun platformer/action game though I feel like it felt less tight as more abilities were introduced.
2021
Nice to play a good metroidvania again.
Gotta shot out the jump and spinning top in this for making traversal feel so good, really wasn't expecting that. The parry-centric combat is nice and there's some good platforming and puzzle solving to do.
I ended up just sticking with the starting sword for most of the run time, the upgrade economy seems a bit scuffed and funnels you into sticking with few choices more than it probably should. The movesets dont differ so you have to ask yourself if you want a regular sword or a sword with a colored element swing that will also be more expensive to upgrade.
Some areas got a bit tedious to backtrack, primarily the lava area and the windy area. Both could have used more shortcuts to cut down on having to go in a big circle to get to where you want to go.
Gotta shot out the jump and spinning top in this for making traversal feel so good, really wasn't expecting that. The parry-centric combat is nice and there's some good platforming and puzzle solving to do.
I ended up just sticking with the starting sword for most of the run time, the upgrade economy seems a bit scuffed and funnels you into sticking with few choices more than it probably should. The movesets dont differ so you have to ask yourself if you want a regular sword or a sword with a colored element swing that will also be more expensive to upgrade.
Some areas got a bit tedious to backtrack, primarily the lava area and the windy area. Both could have used more shortcuts to cut down on having to go in a big circle to get to where you want to go.
2017
Story is good and music is great but doesn't live up to the previous entry. Despite being better animated the gameplay itself feels surprisingly more simplistic likely owing to how poorly balanced it is. Most bosses are rather forgettable and there are fewer interesting instances of "genre bending" like we had with PS3 Nier.
I would rather replay Nier Replicant several times to get all endings than play as 9S once.
I would rather replay Nier Replicant several times to get all endings than play as 9S once.
2022
Slower paced Metroid is a good hook. Atmosphere, art, and music are all really well done.
The gun overheat boosting melee damage is a smart gimmick to encourage switching constantly during fights. The combat is otherwise decent, enemy designs don't change much and bosses tend to not have more than 1 or 2 moves to use at a time so it can feel a bit stale. I was expecting there to not be other melee options but to instead have different gun options, so it was a nice pivot from Metroid to do the opposite. The passive mod abilities are cool and there is enough good variety that you do have to consider which ones to take, but I can't say the same about the weapon abilities. The first one you get, the rocket, really does seem like the most effective one barring the novelty of having a "summon" ability, so it really doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor to equip multiple weapons abilities since they take from the same energy pool that passive mods use.
Skimming through reviews, I do agree that the backtracking from each objective item to the hub felt unnecessary and did come across more like padding. Some small skeleton head enemies will spawn when you're doing this backtracking but they're pretty easy for what they are, so it really is just doing the same rooms again with practically no change. I even stopped to grab another macguffin on my way back to return another, but it told me I couldn't take it until I dropped the other one off. Naturally this meant walking to the hub, walking back to the macguffin, and then walking back to the macguffin again.There not being an upgrade/fast travel station at the hub too is kinda silly, of all places why not there?
The gun overheat boosting melee damage is a smart gimmick to encourage switching constantly during fights. The combat is otherwise decent, enemy designs don't change much and bosses tend to not have more than 1 or 2 moves to use at a time so it can feel a bit stale. I was expecting there to not be other melee options but to instead have different gun options, so it was a nice pivot from Metroid to do the opposite. The passive mod abilities are cool and there is enough good variety that you do have to consider which ones to take, but I can't say the same about the weapon abilities. The first one you get, the rocket, really does seem like the most effective one barring the novelty of having a "summon" ability, so it really doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor to equip multiple weapons abilities since they take from the same energy pool that passive mods use.
Skimming through reviews, I do agree that the backtracking from each objective item to the hub felt unnecessary and did come across more like padding. Some small skeleton head enemies will spawn when you're doing this backtracking but they're pretty easy for what they are, so it really is just doing the same rooms again with practically no change. I even stopped to grab another macguffin on my way back to return another, but it told me I couldn't take it until I dropped the other one off. Naturally this meant walking to the hub, walking back to the macguffin, and then walking back to the macguffin again.There not being an upgrade/fast travel station at the hub too is kinda silly, of all places why not there?
2021
A game that really feels like an assembly line of contractors made it. There's no vision. The open world is terrible and pointless. The villain is laughable, it ends with Master Chief honoring a war criminal for being a soldier.
Grappling hook is fun, guns feel and sound good, music is oddly pretty forgettable.
Grappling hook is fun, guns feel and sound good, music is oddly pretty forgettable.
2020
If you told me this was made by one person I would say "yeah that makes sense"
2018
The detective gameplay is simply terrible but the main story is quite good
This review contains spoilers
Gameplay is improved over its predecessor but fairly trivially easy and each class is both too powerful and broad. You change jobs mostly just for visual variety as each will fulfill any role of single target DPS, multi-target DPS, Support, or Healer. Being able to move adds a lot to the general feel of combat, now it just seems like it needs more "set ups" for big damage like creating environmental hazards or obstacles, which would also help bolster the team dynamic. Kiryu is also so very strong (maybe too strong) and with unique mechanics that it makes changing his job pointless, and makes any other character look mediocre. There's some justification for Kiryu being so strong but it just shows that each party member has the capacity to have some niche usages a possibility that isn't being fulfilled.
The story starts off incredibly strong but falls off completely in the end. There's some good moments sprinkled throughout, but their treatment of Kiryu is bewildering not only if you have played Like a Dragon Gaiden (which released just months before Infinite Wealth) but also just within the logic of this game itself. You can't simultaneously have it be that when Ichiban is exposed everyone in Japan saw the video while extending all the way out to Hawaii, and also have it be that when Kiryu is exposed (twice!) nobody in his hometown or his friends are aware of it at all.
The cancer plot is fairly contrived and the Daidoji are hilariously neutered, with the latter going so far as to explain to strangers who Kiryu is, while Kiryu carelessly tosses his name around. On the plus side, it's nice to see Kiryu having friendly, simple conversations with friends, and his reflections on his life are touching.
Music is oddly generally a step back from prior games outside of a few notable tracks, even the final boss themes so-so.
Unsurprisingly, side stories are as good as ever and the minigames generally better than ever. There's always something fun to stumble on and Hawaii is a lovely map to explore.
This should've been a slam dunk but the undermining of Like a Dragon Gaiden and its own established world holds it back. At least you can look forward to Kiryu being wheeled out for the next game... Right?
Ah, I nearly forgot to mention the terrible handling of languages. They decided to set the game in Hawaii and by default every person unless specifically stated for story reasons does not. Some characters will swap between different VA's for English and Japanese, except inexplicably for the white blonde antagonist. I get that it would be tedious for every side story or main quest to have to address a language barrier, but it also feels odd to want to set the game outside of Japan without consistently addressing that.
The story starts off incredibly strong but falls off completely in the end. There's some good moments sprinkled throughout, but their treatment of Kiryu is bewildering not only if you have played Like a Dragon Gaiden (which released just months before Infinite Wealth) but also just within the logic of this game itself. You can't simultaneously have it be that when Ichiban is exposed everyone in Japan saw the video while extending all the way out to Hawaii, and also have it be that when Kiryu is exposed (twice!) nobody in his hometown or his friends are aware of it at all.
The cancer plot is fairly contrived and the Daidoji are hilariously neutered, with the latter going so far as to explain to strangers who Kiryu is, while Kiryu carelessly tosses his name around. On the plus side, it's nice to see Kiryu having friendly, simple conversations with friends, and his reflections on his life are touching.
Music is oddly generally a step back from prior games outside of a few notable tracks, even the final boss themes so-so.
Unsurprisingly, side stories are as good as ever and the minigames generally better than ever. There's always something fun to stumble on and Hawaii is a lovely map to explore.
This should've been a slam dunk but the undermining of Like a Dragon Gaiden and its own established world holds it back. At least you can look forward to Kiryu being wheeled out for the next game... Right?
Ah, I nearly forgot to mention the terrible handling of languages. They decided to set the game in Hawaii and by default every person unless specifically stated for story reasons does not. Some characters will swap between different VA's for English and Japanese, except inexplicably for the white blonde antagonist. I get that it would be tedious for every side story or main quest to have to address a language barrier, but it also feels odd to want to set the game outside of Japan without consistently addressing that.
2018
Unfairly maligned and with how inactive it is, will never have its opportunity to shine
2022
Some good actors/performances but just kinda annoying to play and the visuals (particularly the water wow) are not very good.
2022
I did every dungeon and probably just about every boss so that you don't have to! Because you shouldn't.
A game that probably should've had like 1/2 the content so that more of it could have been focused on being meaningful rather than uninspired tedium. Lacks the feeling of intentionality from their prior games (enemies and bosses are placed willy-nilly across the game world) so you will be seeing a lot of similar faces. They took a sort of Skyrim approach to NPC's and factions where you can now be allied with anyone and everyone simultaneously, regardless of them being entirely opposed to one another, which makes your involvement feel pretty flaccid. Your choices at least culminate in a 10 second cutscene, half of which are just colored differently, and afterwards you continue like nothings changed.
At least they finally figured out how to make shields good, I guess? The art and character design is good as usual, the music is fairly average, and they managed to have your human characters not look terrible.
I think this might be where I bow out of FromSoft's catalog unfortunately. I started with Demons Souls on the PS3 and their Souls-esque series has evolved from an experimental and creative adventure game with great vibes, to a fairly mediocre action game entry propelled by great art direction. Sorta feels like they're out of ideas, with the exception of Radahn each boss is just your typical action challenge without much of interest. Command your two brain cells to dodge an attack (maybe two attacks if they're feeling daring), hit once or twice, repeat. They took maybe one break away from this model to take another crack at a Demons Souls boss (this time Storm King) and as usual it's just a worse imitation.
A game that probably should've had like 1/2 the content so that more of it could have been focused on being meaningful rather than uninspired tedium. Lacks the feeling of intentionality from their prior games (enemies and bosses are placed willy-nilly across the game world) so you will be seeing a lot of similar faces. They took a sort of Skyrim approach to NPC's and factions where you can now be allied with anyone and everyone simultaneously, regardless of them being entirely opposed to one another, which makes your involvement feel pretty flaccid. Your choices at least culminate in a 10 second cutscene, half of which are just colored differently, and afterwards you continue like nothings changed.
At least they finally figured out how to make shields good, I guess? The art and character design is good as usual, the music is fairly average, and they managed to have your human characters not look terrible.
I think this might be where I bow out of FromSoft's catalog unfortunately. I started with Demons Souls on the PS3 and their Souls-esque series has evolved from an experimental and creative adventure game with great vibes, to a fairly mediocre action game entry propelled by great art direction. Sorta feels like they're out of ideas, with the exception of Radahn each boss is just your typical action challenge without much of interest. Command your two brain cells to dodge an attack (maybe two attacks if they're feeling daring), hit once or twice, repeat. They took maybe one break away from this model to take another crack at a Demons Souls boss (this time Storm King) and as usual it's just a worse imitation.