5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D21999
5 Yrs♥✓#
Game #216: Disc Room
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 3h 06m 22s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: June 12, 2022
Game Synopsis: Play as a brave scientist as you explore a space station filled with buzz saws.
Blog: Disc Room is a game published by Devolver Digital and if you know anything about them, you know they have some quality games.
Disc Room is quality. It's really creative being a game that's based around sawblades. It's not just dodging sawblades either. In some cases you have to purposely run into them or even do other actions.
That being said, the game is quite short. It took me 3 hours and that was me just doing all the rooms in the base game. There is a hard mode, but aside from that there's not too much else going on with this game that would keep me coming too often.
Hitboxes also don't seem very accurate. There have been times where I have been close to a blade but clearly not touching it, but then I die from it anyway.
It's a good game but just quite short. Some people might like that though.
TL:DR Disc Room is a fun, creative game. It is quite short unfortunately and some hitboxes aren't accurate to size.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 3h 06m 22s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: June 12, 2022
Game Synopsis: Play as a brave scientist as you explore a space station filled with buzz saws.
Blog: Disc Room is a game published by Devolver Digital and if you know anything about them, you know they have some quality games.
Disc Room is quality. It's really creative being a game that's based around sawblades. It's not just dodging sawblades either. In some cases you have to purposely run into them or even do other actions.
That being said, the game is quite short. It took me 3 hours and that was me just doing all the rooms in the base game. There is a hard mode, but aside from that there's not too much else going on with this game that would keep me coming too often.
Hitboxes also don't seem very accurate. There have been times where I have been close to a blade but clearly not touching it, but then I die from it anyway.
It's a good game but just quite short. Some people might like that though.
TL:DR Disc Room is a fun, creative game. It is quite short unfortunately and some hitboxes aren't accurate to size.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #217: Mortal Kombat 11
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 9h 04m 20s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: June 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Mortal Kombaaaat! Do do do do dododo do do do do dododo!
Blog: This is my first Mortal Kombat game and I was kinda disappointed to be honest.
It wasn't necessarily the gameplay that bugged me. Although while I feel like it could be a good fighting game, I did grow rather stale of that experience.
It's not necessarily me playing it on Switch. Which to be honest, it's fine during fights. The only exception I'd make on that statement being the Krypt.
What disappointed me most was the mobile game-like aspect of it. There were microtransactions EVERYWHERE. You need to have certain consumables and in-game currencies for certain things and there's so many of them too. Not to mention the Krypt is just one big loot crate in disguise. People paid $60 for this game when it came out!!! That's a lot for a game that pretends it's a mobile game.
Honestly it's been awhile since I've even played the game, and while the story was fine and the overall fighting game aspect was fine, I really disliked how this game wanted players to keep spending money that it stuck with me.
TL:DR Mortal Kombat is alright but it's plagued by microtransactions that I can't recommend it in good conscious.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 9h 04m 20s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: June 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Mortal Kombaaaat! Do do do do dododo do do do do dododo!
Blog: This is my first Mortal Kombat game and I was kinda disappointed to be honest.
It wasn't necessarily the gameplay that bugged me. Although while I feel like it could be a good fighting game, I did grow rather stale of that experience.
It's not necessarily me playing it on Switch. Which to be honest, it's fine during fights. The only exception I'd make on that statement being the Krypt.
What disappointed me most was the mobile game-like aspect of it. There were microtransactions EVERYWHERE. You need to have certain consumables and in-game currencies for certain things and there's so many of them too. Not to mention the Krypt is just one big loot crate in disguise. People paid $60 for this game when it came out!!! That's a lot for a game that pretends it's a mobile game.
Honestly it's been awhile since I've even played the game, and while the story was fine and the overall fighting game aspect was fine, I really disliked how this game wanted players to keep spending money that it stuck with me.
TL:DR Mortal Kombat is alright but it's plagued by microtransactions that I can't recommend it in good conscious.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #218: Katamari Demacy Reroll
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 4h 13m 06s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Roll stuff up into your big ball.
Blog: This game is a lot of fun!
Something about playing Katamari Demacy is just so relaxing to me. The popping sounds of when you pick something up was like someone lightly tapping at the sweet spots of my brain. I also love how it somewhat scratches that collector's itch that I have.
The game isn't all sunshine and roses though. The controls are difficult to use and often slow to respond. To make it even worse: the camera is awful too. There's very little camera control, and often times there'll even be something in between my character and the camera when in a small space, so I suddenly can't see. It can honestly be a deal breaker for many people with this terrible combination.
Aside from the controls and camera though, Katamari Demacy Reroll is still a fun time. I'll probably play it more in the near future.
TL:DR Katamari Demacy Reroll is a really fun and soothing game for me, but the poor camera and controls hold it back from being truly great.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 4h 13m 06s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Roll stuff up into your big ball.
Blog: This game is a lot of fun!
Something about playing Katamari Demacy is just so relaxing to me. The popping sounds of when you pick something up was like someone lightly tapping at the sweet spots of my brain. I also love how it somewhat scratches that collector's itch that I have.
The game isn't all sunshine and roses though. The controls are difficult to use and often slow to respond. To make it even worse: the camera is awful too. There's very little camera control, and often times there'll even be something in between my character and the camera when in a small space, so I suddenly can't see. It can honestly be a deal breaker for many people with this terrible combination.
Aside from the controls and camera though, Katamari Demacy Reroll is still a fun time. I'll probably play it more in the near future.
TL:DR Katamari Demacy Reroll is a really fun and soothing game for me, but the poor camera and controls hold it back from being truly great.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #219: One Step From Eden
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 11h 02m 14s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: June 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game where you're a girl shooting shit and playing with cards.
Blog: I have never played Mega Man Battle Network and I have never really seen gameplay of it. However after playing One Step From Eden and seeing gameplay of MMBN, I can say that both games are very similar from what I've seen.
I like the gameplay. It's fast-paced but I also like the deck-building concept that makes it a bit slower of a game. I know the rogue-lite aspect is done to death, but I think it's a bit refreshing in a deck-building game.
I do wish that the game had a proper tutorial or something to go more in depth with the game mechanics. It'll give you a tutorial over the controls but nothing deeper than that. I had to find stuff out online.
Then finally: there's no story. Or there's the bare makings of a story but it really doesn't come up until you beat the game. I feel like they could have made a much better story, but they forgot at the last minute and forced one at the end. It feels kind of cheap.
It's a good game but some things surrounding it could have been done better.
TL:DR One Step From Eden is a fun, fast-paced, deck-building rogue-lite game. It needs a better tutorial and story though.
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 11h 02m 14s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: June 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game where you're a girl shooting shit and playing with cards.
Blog: I have never played Mega Man Battle Network and I have never really seen gameplay of it. However after playing One Step From Eden and seeing gameplay of MMBN, I can say that both games are very similar from what I've seen.
I like the gameplay. It's fast-paced but I also like the deck-building concept that makes it a bit slower of a game. I know the rogue-lite aspect is done to death, but I think it's a bit refreshing in a deck-building game.
I do wish that the game had a proper tutorial or something to go more in depth with the game mechanics. It'll give you a tutorial over the controls but nothing deeper than that. I had to find stuff out online.
Then finally: there's no story. Or there's the bare makings of a story but it really doesn't come up until you beat the game. I feel like they could have made a much better story, but they forgot at the last minute and forced one at the end. It feels kind of cheap.
It's a good game but some things surrounding it could have been done better.
TL:DR One Step From Eden is a fun, fast-paced, deck-building rogue-lite game. It needs a better tutorial and story though.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #220: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Main + Extras: 27h 09m 15s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: June 24, 2022
Game Synopsis: A Professor Layton game? Cool! Phoenix Wright is here too? Doubly cool! Magic?!? Triply cool!
Blog: I like Professor Layton games and I also like Phoenix Wright games, arguably moreso. So a game combining the two? That's awesome!
This was the first time I played a 3DS Professor Layton game, but I really liked the 3D puzzle games that were in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. They were pretty interesting.
I of course liked the Phoenix Wright sections. Doing the court room sections were fun. I liked the new spin on the fantasy aspect and the magic that's introduced. It's fresh for Phoenix Wright which is usually set in a more modern time.
I liked the story overall... but I felt like the ending contradicted parts of the beginning that didn't really make sense to me. I swear, I always end up having this issue with the Layton games and this one also has those minor story problems.
Aside from that, 90% of the game was a good time. I recommend it for those who liked either game series.
TL:DR Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a fun time with two great series. Although the ending kind of tainted parts of the story for me.
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Main + Extras: 27h 09m 15s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: June 24, 2022
Game Synopsis: A Professor Layton game? Cool! Phoenix Wright is here too? Doubly cool! Magic?!? Triply cool!
Blog: I like Professor Layton games and I also like Phoenix Wright games, arguably moreso. So a game combining the two? That's awesome!
This was the first time I played a 3DS Professor Layton game, but I really liked the 3D puzzle games that were in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. They were pretty interesting.
I of course liked the Phoenix Wright sections. Doing the court room sections were fun. I liked the new spin on the fantasy aspect and the magic that's introduced. It's fresh for Phoenix Wright which is usually set in a more modern time.
I liked the story overall... but I felt like the ending contradicted parts of the beginning that didn't really make sense to me. I swear, I always end up having this issue with the Layton games and this one also has those minor story problems.
Aside from that, 90% of the game was a good time. I recommend it for those who liked either game series.
TL:DR Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a fun time with two great series. Although the ending kind of tainted parts of the story for me.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
DLC/Expansion #24: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Special Episodes
Game: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Platform: 3DS
Main + Extras: 1h 54m 41s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: June 25, 2022
Synopsis: More stuff and puzzles about the Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game.
Blog: I didn't really care for this DLC.
The characters would talk for very long about minor things in the story. Which to me it seemed like they were trying to cheaply plug up any plot holes that were in the story. Then there'd be an easy puzzle at the end of it. This would rinse and repeat like 20 times. It took me almost 2 hours to get through it all, and I was even rushing.
If you want to see the characters interact, this is for you. But I got my fill with the main game.
TL;DR: The Special Episodes DLC felt like a waste of time for me personally, but it might have some interesting bits for bigger fans of the game.
Game: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Platform: 3DS
Main + Extras: 1h 54m 41s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: June 25, 2022
Synopsis: More stuff and puzzles about the Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game.
Blog: I didn't really care for this DLC.
The characters would talk for very long about minor things in the story. Which to me it seemed like they were trying to cheaply plug up any plot holes that were in the story. Then there'd be an easy puzzle at the end of it. This would rinse and repeat like 20 times. It took me almost 2 hours to get through it all, and I was even rushing.
If you want to see the characters interact, this is for you. But I got my fill with the main game.
TL;DR: The Special Episodes DLC felt like a waste of time for me personally, but it might have some interesting bits for bigger fans of the game.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #221: Logica Emotica
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1h 05m 49s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 29, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game about emojis.
Blog: Logica Emotica is a mobile game by Bart Bonte. If you know who that is, you'll know him as the developer who made thematic puzzle games like Red and the other color games.
Logica Emotica is similar to those games.
It's a fun puzzle game, but a lot of the puzzles repeat and get just a tad harder. It gets kind of old and tedious after a while.
TL:DR Logica Emotica is fun thematically, but can get old playing the same puzzles.
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Game #222: Cats Are Cute: Pop Time
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 8h 13m 05s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match cats! Don't let them get above the line.
Blog: Cats Are Cute is a game that's like a mix between 2064 and Tetris. You drop cats on each other, the cats grow and merge into other cats. It's a fun time when it works.
When it works is the key issue here. Instead of the game giving a game over when it goes off screen, there's a line that's below the screen. I wish it would be the former instead.
Unfortunately the line doesn't even matter sometimes. Often times I will have a cat below the line that doesn't touch it, and yet I get a game over anyway.
There's also microtransactions which is always lame.
TL:DR Cats Are Cute: Pop Time is a fun 2064 game, but parts of it don't work.
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Game #223: 2 Player Games - Pastimes
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 11m 27s
Rating: 3/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: What the fuck even is this game?
Blog: I'll be honest. I don't remember this game much to give a very detailed review of.
All I remember of 2 Player Games is that it was some sort of mini game compilation of generic touch screen games, and you were facing off against a cpu.
It was just such a bland game. It gave me lots of ads of course since it is a generic mobile game. Also, the CPU would cheat at some of the games even on easy. It sucked.
TL:DR 2 Player Games is a boring, forgettable mobile game with generic gameplay. What a great combination!
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1h 05m 49s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 29, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game about emojis.
Blog: Logica Emotica is a mobile game by Bart Bonte. If you know who that is, you'll know him as the developer who made thematic puzzle games like Red and the other color games.
Logica Emotica is similar to those games.
It's a fun puzzle game, but a lot of the puzzles repeat and get just a tad harder. It gets kind of old and tedious after a while.
TL:DR Logica Emotica is fun thematically, but can get old playing the same puzzles.
_________________________
Game #222: Cats Are Cute: Pop Time
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 8h 13m 05s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match cats! Don't let them get above the line.
Blog: Cats Are Cute is a game that's like a mix between 2064 and Tetris. You drop cats on each other, the cats grow and merge into other cats. It's a fun time when it works.
When it works is the key issue here. Instead of the game giving a game over when it goes off screen, there's a line that's below the screen. I wish it would be the former instead.
Unfortunately the line doesn't even matter sometimes. Often times I will have a cat below the line that doesn't touch it, and yet I get a game over anyway.
There's also microtransactions which is always lame.
TL:DR Cats Are Cute: Pop Time is a fun 2064 game, but parts of it don't work.
_________________________
Game #223: 2 Player Games - Pastimes
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 11m 27s
Rating: 3/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: What the fuck even is this game?
Blog: I'll be honest. I don't remember this game much to give a very detailed review of.
All I remember of 2 Player Games is that it was some sort of mini game compilation of generic touch screen games, and you were facing off against a cpu.
It was just such a bland game. It gave me lots of ads of course since it is a generic mobile game. Also, the CPU would cheat at some of the games even on easy. It sucked.
TL:DR 2 Player Games is a boring, forgettable mobile game with generic gameplay. What a great combination!
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #224: Neon Abyss
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 13h 21m 40s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 3, 2022
Game Synopsis: A run-and-gun roguelite.
Blog: If you ever played Enter the Gungeon, I would describe Neon Abyss as that sort of idea but instead of a top-down perspective, it's moreso viewed at the side. So it's also part platformer which makes it different from Enter the Gungeon.
Like Enter the Gungeon, there are a good variety of guns and items that can be used. They're not all made equal but that's just how roguelites can be sometimes.
I did run into problems every once in a while though. I've had cases where a newly spawned item falls on top of items and one of the items will fall through the floor. I've had slowdown in some cases as well which sucks.
Also in the main hub area there's an elevator and one of the places you can go to is the office. However on the Switch and other console versions you can't enter the office. Only on Steam can you enter and do whatever content is in there. Apparently it's a planned update for consoles... but there hasn't been any updates on it for over a year. So I guess they just gave up on it which sucks.
Neon Abyss is a fun game, but more could have been done with it.
TL:DR Neon Abyss is a pretty decent roguelite. However, glitches and a lack of content hold it back.
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 13h 21m 40s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 3, 2022
Game Synopsis: A run-and-gun roguelite.
Blog: If you ever played Enter the Gungeon, I would describe Neon Abyss as that sort of idea but instead of a top-down perspective, it's moreso viewed at the side. So it's also part platformer which makes it different from Enter the Gungeon.
Like Enter the Gungeon, there are a good variety of guns and items that can be used. They're not all made equal but that's just how roguelites can be sometimes.
I did run into problems every once in a while though. I've had cases where a newly spawned item falls on top of items and one of the items will fall through the floor. I've had slowdown in some cases as well which sucks.
Also in the main hub area there's an elevator and one of the places you can go to is the office. However on the Switch and other console versions you can't enter the office. Only on Steam can you enter and do whatever content is in there. Apparently it's a planned update for consoles... but there hasn't been any updates on it for over a year. So I guess they just gave up on it which sucks.
Neon Abyss is a fun game, but more could have been done with it.
TL:DR Neon Abyss is a pretty decent roguelite. However, glitches and a lack of content hold it back.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #225: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Main Story: 23h 31m 18s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: July 8, 2022
Game Synopsis: Become an attorney and defend your clients as Apollo Justice to discover the truth.
Blog: I like the Ace Attorney games. They're among some of my favorite games and probably my favorite visual novels (even if they're not considered as such). I love the story and I love the characters. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is no different.
At first it was kind of weird to be playing an Ace Attorney game that didn't star Phoenix Wright as the main protagonist but after getting over that hump I think it turned out fine.
I think my criticism is that the final case didn't feel as impactful or dramatic as it wanted to be. Like it sort of just fizzled out in the end. Rather than finishing strong. Maybe I'm just expecting too much but I felt like the past games always did it better.
Apollo Justice is a good game overall though. I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the original trilogy and wants to see more from that Ace Attorney universe.
TL:DR Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is a great game overall, but for me just doesn't hold up as much in the end as the other Ace Attorney games.
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Main Story: 23h 31m 18s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: July 8, 2022
Game Synopsis: Become an attorney and defend your clients as Apollo Justice to discover the truth.
Blog: I like the Ace Attorney games. They're among some of my favorite games and probably my favorite visual novels (even if they're not considered as such). I love the story and I love the characters. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is no different.
At first it was kind of weird to be playing an Ace Attorney game that didn't star Phoenix Wright as the main protagonist but after getting over that hump I think it turned out fine.
I think my criticism is that the final case didn't feel as impactful or dramatic as it wanted to be. Like it sort of just fizzled out in the end. Rather than finishing strong. Maybe I'm just expecting too much but I felt like the past games always did it better.
Apollo Justice is a good game overall though. I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the original trilogy and wants to see more from that Ace Attorney universe.
TL:DR Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is a great game overall, but for me just doesn't hold up as much in the end as the other Ace Attorney games.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #226: Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition
Platform: Switch
Main + Extra: 58h 57m 20s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: July 13, 2022
Game Synopsis: It's Picross. You want more information than that?
Blog: I like Picross. I like this Picross. I like the inclusion of things from Sega's past Master System and Genesis.
Honestly it's Picross, and so long as the controls and gameplay are good as they are in this one, you'll always have a good time assuming you like puzzle games like this.
One new addition, or at least new to me, is the Color Picross mode. I love this new spin of Picross puzzle, basing the number of lines off of colors rather than only spacing. I want more of this in future Picross games.
But yeah, Picross is fun.
TL:DR Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition is a great Picross game that shows the history of Sega's Genesis and Master System titles. As well as a great addition of Color Picross. Good game!
Platform: Switch
Main + Extra: 58h 57m 20s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: July 13, 2022
Game Synopsis: It's Picross. You want more information than that?
Blog: I like Picross. I like this Picross. I like the inclusion of things from Sega's past Master System and Genesis.
Honestly it's Picross, and so long as the controls and gameplay are good as they are in this one, you'll always have a good time assuming you like puzzle games like this.
One new addition, or at least new to me, is the Color Picross mode. I love this new spin of Picross puzzle, basing the number of lines off of colors rather than only spacing. I want more of this in future Picross games.
But yeah, Picross is fun.
TL:DR Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition is a great Picross game that shows the history of Sega's Genesis and Master System titles. As well as a great addition of Color Picross. Good game!
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #227: Akinator
Platform: Browser, Mobile
Main + Extra - Browser: 31m 15s
Main + Extra - Mobile: 2h 34m 15s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Try to beat the Akinator by having him guess characters and people.
Blog: This is going to be a different review from usual. I'm going to be reviewing two versions of the same game in the same review. Despite them being the same game fundamentally there's a lot of things surrounding these versions that make them different.
First of all, for those who don't know, Akinator was originally a browser game where you had to think of a character or person, answer the Akinator's questions truthfully, and the way you "win" is if you're able to make the Akinator not guess your character. They also made changes to where you can guess objects and animals.
I actually used to play Akinator quite a bit when I was younger. It was quite fun.
Akinator on browser is no longer fun, nor even works half the time. The game is incredibly laggy, and a few times Akinator didn't make any guesses and just led to a blank screen. No my ad-blocker wasn't affecting it because there were other times where I didn't get a blank screen. It's so weird.
Then there's the mobile app version. At the very least this one doesn't lag nor do I get blank screens. However it changes the very goal of Akinator which I was not a fan of.
In this version, you are rewarded if the Akinator guesses your character. You get rewarded with these little coin things and they come in various bronze, silver, gold, etc., and the more obscure a character is, the better the coin.
So surely you'd get something even greater than that if he doesn't get your character, right? Nope. You don't get anything at all. Why would they completely change what Akinator is all about by not giving any reward? That's just so backwards.
And to top it off, Akinator has annoying ads that just get in the way. I had to completely exit out of the app sometimes because the ads wouldn't let me get through.
So it seems like no matter where you go, Akinator nowadays just sucks.
TL:DR Akinator used to be a good idea, but now the browser version is laggy and barely working and the mobile version is backwards in its gameplay and filled with ads. The mighty have fallen.
Platform: Browser, Mobile
Main + Extra - Browser: 31m 15s
Main + Extra - Mobile: 2h 34m 15s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Try to beat the Akinator by having him guess characters and people.
Blog: This is going to be a different review from usual. I'm going to be reviewing two versions of the same game in the same review. Despite them being the same game fundamentally there's a lot of things surrounding these versions that make them different.
First of all, for those who don't know, Akinator was originally a browser game where you had to think of a character or person, answer the Akinator's questions truthfully, and the way you "win" is if you're able to make the Akinator not guess your character. They also made changes to where you can guess objects and animals.
I actually used to play Akinator quite a bit when I was younger. It was quite fun.
Akinator on browser is no longer fun, nor even works half the time. The game is incredibly laggy, and a few times Akinator didn't make any guesses and just led to a blank screen. No my ad-blocker wasn't affecting it because there were other times where I didn't get a blank screen. It's so weird.
Then there's the mobile app version. At the very least this one doesn't lag nor do I get blank screens. However it changes the very goal of Akinator which I was not a fan of.
In this version, you are rewarded if the Akinator guesses your character. You get rewarded with these little coin things and they come in various bronze, silver, gold, etc., and the more obscure a character is, the better the coin.
So surely you'd get something even greater than that if he doesn't get your character, right? Nope. You don't get anything at all. Why would they completely change what Akinator is all about by not giving any reward? That's just so backwards.
And to top it off, Akinator has annoying ads that just get in the way. I had to completely exit out of the app sometimes because the ads wouldn't let me get through.
So it seems like no matter where you go, Akinator nowadays just sucks.
TL:DR Akinator used to be a good idea, but now the browser version is laggy and barely working and the mobile version is backwards in its gameplay and filled with ads. The mighty have fallen.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #228: Spyro the Dragon
Platform: Switch
Main + Extra: 5h 55m 38s
100% Complete: 6h 03m 47s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: July 18, 2022
Extra Details: Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Game Synopsis: Spyro tries to save his dragon community and defeat the bad green guy.
Blog: I grew up as a Nintendo kid. I did not really grow up with Spyro as some kids might have. I had played Spyro: A Hero's Tail as a kid but that was pretty much the extent of what I had experienced of Spyro.
Now I have beaten and have done everything in the game. So what do I think of it?
I think the game is good overall. This is the Reignited Trilogy so the game looks and plays up to the standards you would expect. None of the clunky-ness the PS1 version might have.
However that's really all I have to say about it. It's good but it didn't really wow me. Perhaps it's because it's only the first game, I'm hoping it gets better in the trilogy and will hopefully excite me.
I will also say that I don't care for the dialog too much as well. Specifically for the dragons that you rescue. A lot of them just repeat the same information in different ways. I hate being constantly bombarded by repeated tutorials.
TL:DR Spyro the Dragon is a good game but it didn't wow me. Also the dialog could have been better as well.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extra: 5h 55m 38s
100% Complete: 6h 03m 47s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: July 18, 2022
Extra Details: Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Game Synopsis: Spyro tries to save his dragon community and defeat the bad green guy.
Blog: I grew up as a Nintendo kid. I did not really grow up with Spyro as some kids might have. I had played Spyro: A Hero's Tail as a kid but that was pretty much the extent of what I had experienced of Spyro.
Now I have beaten and have done everything in the game. So what do I think of it?
I think the game is good overall. This is the Reignited Trilogy so the game looks and plays up to the standards you would expect. None of the clunky-ness the PS1 version might have.
However that's really all I have to say about it. It's good but it didn't really wow me. Perhaps it's because it's only the first game, I'm hoping it gets better in the trilogy and will hopefully excite me.
I will also say that I don't care for the dialog too much as well. Specifically for the dragons that you rescue. A lot of them just repeat the same information in different ways. I hate being constantly bombarded by repeated tutorials.
TL:DR Spyro the Dragon is a good game but it didn't wow me. Also the dialog could have been better as well.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #229: Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
Platform: PS3
Main Story: 11h 27m 02s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Race cars on the street and become the number 1 most wanted on the streets of whatever the city's name is.
Blog: Outside of the occasional Mario Kart I haven't really been into traditional racing games. However, will Need for Speed: Most Wanted change that?
Lol no.
It's not even so much the racing or driving that's a problem here. The racing is genuinely ok most of the time and I actually like the times where the police are chasing me in the open world and I have to try to escape them. I like that the game encourages you to crash into things.
What I do not like is having EA shoving paywalls in your face. You want to go to this area on the map? Paywall. You want to drive this vehicle that's marked on your map like all the others? Paywall. You want to do this race? Paywall. It's so draining to see all that, coupled with the terrible UI.
I also don't like the fact that all cars have their own separate 5 to 6 races. I would much rather prefer to be able to access every race with any car.
It's also always a grind to get to the Most Wanted races, which are the main races you need to do. It can take up go an hour to be able to go to the next one.
Speaking of the Most Wanted races, they're absolutely awful and unfair. It's just like any other race where it's a 1 vs 1 but this time cop cars are chasing you. Something annoying that they do is that there will be police cars that set up road spikes that will pop your tires and make you incredibly slow if you drive over them. The only way to fix it, aside from restarting the race, is to go through a car repair shop, which are often not anywhere near you. So you're screwed.
Oh but to make this even worse, the opponent's car that you're racing against? Yeah, they can drive over those road spikes and be just fine. How is that remotely fair? Rhetorical question. It isn't fair.
The game could have been so much better but EA screwed up too much
TL:DR Need For Speed: Most Wanted on the PS3 had potential but is ruined by EA's amount of paywalls, terrible UI, how grindy the races are, and the unfairness of the Most Wanted races.
Platform: PS3
Main Story: 11h 27m 02s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Race cars on the street and become the number 1 most wanted on the streets of whatever the city's name is.
Blog: Outside of the occasional Mario Kart I haven't really been into traditional racing games. However, will Need for Speed: Most Wanted change that?
Lol no.
It's not even so much the racing or driving that's a problem here. The racing is genuinely ok most of the time and I actually like the times where the police are chasing me in the open world and I have to try to escape them. I like that the game encourages you to crash into things.
What I do not like is having EA shoving paywalls in your face. You want to go to this area on the map? Paywall. You want to drive this vehicle that's marked on your map like all the others? Paywall. You want to do this race? Paywall. It's so draining to see all that, coupled with the terrible UI.
I also don't like the fact that all cars have their own separate 5 to 6 races. I would much rather prefer to be able to access every race with any car.
It's also always a grind to get to the Most Wanted races, which are the main races you need to do. It can take up go an hour to be able to go to the next one.
Speaking of the Most Wanted races, they're absolutely awful and unfair. It's just like any other race where it's a 1 vs 1 but this time cop cars are chasing you. Something annoying that they do is that there will be police cars that set up road spikes that will pop your tires and make you incredibly slow if you drive over them. The only way to fix it, aside from restarting the race, is to go through a car repair shop, which are often not anywhere near you. So you're screwed.
Oh but to make this even worse, the opponent's car that you're racing against? Yeah, they can drive over those road spikes and be just fine. How is that remotely fair? Rhetorical question. It isn't fair.
The game could have been so much better but EA screwed up too much
TL:DR Need For Speed: Most Wanted on the PS3 had potential but is ruined by EA's amount of paywalls, terrible UI, how grindy the races are, and the unfairness of the Most Wanted races.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #230: 50/50
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1m 53s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match the color of the circle to the color of the text. Do this as many times as you can in 10 seconds.
Blog: The game synopsis could honestly be the blog as well.
The game doesn't have much at all to it. I suppose if you want to keep going for high scores you can but you only have the 10 seconds to play the game.
What I think should have been added, is that after every tenth match, a few more seconds is added to the timer. That way the game keeps going and would probably make it a more addicting game to play.
Otherwise, this game really has nothing to it.
TL:DR 50/50 is a very simple game, to the point where it's incredibly boring.
________________
Game #231: 0 -zero-
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 4m 14s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 21, 2022
Game Synopsis: A high score game where you try to add or subtract from the middle number to get 0. Every 0 gives you a point.
Blog: Speaking of games with nothing to them.
This game also really doesn't have much to it. All you do is add or subtract numbers from the cardinal directions to get 0. It's really just a bland game.
Play something else. I honestly only played it because I wanted to add a game with a 0 at the start of its name for my HLTB profile.
TL:DR Don't bother with this boring mobile game. Literally nothing to it.
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Game #232: Atomas
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 3h 54m 38s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 24, 2022
Game Synopsis: Combine the table of elements starting from Hydrogen. Get as high as you can, but don't have too many elements at once or you start over.
Blog: Finally a mobile game with some depth!
I rather enjoyed this one. It's simple but not too simple, and I like the theme with the table of elements. You could have easily just used numbers but I enjoy the science element to it.
As much as I enjoy it though, that depth only goes so far. I will give it credit in that it is very addicting. This is what 50/50 could have become if it tried harder.
TL:DR Atomas is a fun mobile game where you combine the elements of the periodic table. It's addicting but I can only play it so much before getting tired.
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1m 53s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match the color of the circle to the color of the text. Do this as many times as you can in 10 seconds.
Blog: The game synopsis could honestly be the blog as well.
The game doesn't have much at all to it. I suppose if you want to keep going for high scores you can but you only have the 10 seconds to play the game.
What I think should have been added, is that after every tenth match, a few more seconds is added to the timer. That way the game keeps going and would probably make it a more addicting game to play.
Otherwise, this game really has nothing to it.
TL:DR 50/50 is a very simple game, to the point where it's incredibly boring.
________________
Game #231: 0 -zero-
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 4m 14s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 21, 2022
Game Synopsis: A high score game where you try to add or subtract from the middle number to get 0. Every 0 gives you a point.
Blog: Speaking of games with nothing to them.
This game also really doesn't have much to it. All you do is add or subtract numbers from the cardinal directions to get 0. It's really just a bland game.
Play something else. I honestly only played it because I wanted to add a game with a 0 at the start of its name for my HLTB profile.
TL:DR Don't bother with this boring mobile game. Literally nothing to it.
________________
Game #232: Atomas
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 3h 54m 38s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 24, 2022
Game Synopsis: Combine the table of elements starting from Hydrogen. Get as high as you can, but don't have too many elements at once or you start over.
Blog: Finally a mobile game with some depth!
I rather enjoyed this one. It's simple but not too simple, and I like the theme with the table of elements. You could have easily just used numbers but I enjoy the science element to it.
As much as I enjoy it though, that depth only goes so far. I will give it credit in that it is very addicting. This is what 50/50 could have become if it tried harder.
TL:DR Atomas is a fun mobile game where you combine the elements of the periodic table. It's addicting but I can only play it so much before getting tired.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #233: Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 2h 4m 32s
Main + Extras: 2h 21m 45s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 26, 2022
Extra Details: Capcom Fighting Collection
Game Synopsis: Fight as a whole cast of monsters like a vampire, a werewolf, a succubus, and many more.
Blog: I really don't play many traditional fighting games. I'm not very familiar with them.
However I will admit that the first Darkstalkers game was pretty fun.
Now it did seem there were a few characters missing. Although again, this was the first game so it should be expected that any main staples added in future titles wouldn't be in this one.
It's a good game, but man the cpu difficulty is kind of a turn off for a newcomer like me. Thanks to this being on the Capcom Fighting Collection I was able to turn down the difficulty, but even with it being as low as 2 stars out of 10, I was being beaten almost effortlessly.
I have played some of the other Darkstalker games since then, but I was good enough at those to beat the story on 5 star difficulty. I'm not really sure what went on with the first one.
It's a good game but a bit too difficult for a newbie like me.
TL:DR Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors is recommended if you're into fighting games. For anyone new like me, be wary of the difficulty.
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 2h 4m 32s
Main + Extras: 2h 21m 45s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 26, 2022
Extra Details: Capcom Fighting Collection
Game Synopsis: Fight as a whole cast of monsters like a vampire, a werewolf, a succubus, and many more.
Blog: I really don't play many traditional fighting games. I'm not very familiar with them.
However I will admit that the first Darkstalkers game was pretty fun.
Now it did seem there were a few characters missing. Although again, this was the first game so it should be expected that any main staples added in future titles wouldn't be in this one.
It's a good game, but man the cpu difficulty is kind of a turn off for a newcomer like me. Thanks to this being on the Capcom Fighting Collection I was able to turn down the difficulty, but even with it being as low as 2 stars out of 10, I was being beaten almost effortlessly.
I have played some of the other Darkstalker games since then, but I was good enough at those to beat the story on 5 star difficulty. I'm not really sure what went on with the first one.
It's a good game but a bit too difficult for a newbie like me.
TL:DR Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors is recommended if you're into fighting games. For anyone new like me, be wary of the difficulty.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #Gamle: Wordle Clones
Platform: Browser
Total Time: 17h 33m 08s
Rating: 5 to 8/10
Dates Completed: August 1, 2022 to August 30, 2022
Games Synopsis: Solve words, numbers, themes, etc.
Blog: This review will be entirely different from most. Most reviews I would be talking about a single game, in some cases I talk about two games at once, and I wouldn't be surprised if I reviewed three games at once.
This time I will be talking about over 50 games at once. Yeah.
In August of 2022 I went on a mission to play various Wordle-like games. Some people will view this as a daunting task, but really most games took less than 10 minutes if I was really good at them.
There were many different versions of Wordle. Some were guessing words on certain themes, some had me guessing numbers in an equation, there were even some that had players guessing movies and video games based on pictures. There's so many variations that you can find a Wordle clone for anything.
Of course this can also lead to exhaustion of this "genre" which hit me right away after finishing off the last game I touched about this.
I suppose this isn't really a review, moreso just me reflecting about having played so many creative games over what is essentially the same topic.
If you're interested in my favorites, here's a brief list: Heardle is a Wordle based on spelling out phonetics in a word. Posterdle is a Wordle where you guess movie posters that start out blurry and become unblurry with each guess. Ranagram is just Wordle but guessing anagrams. Waffle is like a mix between Wordle and a crossword. Finally, Worldle is a geography game.
TL:DR Wordle has caused the creation of so many clones to the point where there is a Wordle for just about anything out there.
Platform: Browser
Total Time: 17h 33m 08s
Rating: 5 to 8/10
Dates Completed: August 1, 2022 to August 30, 2022
Games Synopsis: Solve words, numbers, themes, etc.
Blog: This review will be entirely different from most. Most reviews I would be talking about a single game, in some cases I talk about two games at once, and I wouldn't be surprised if I reviewed three games at once.
This time I will be talking about over 50 games at once. Yeah.
In August of 2022 I went on a mission to play various Wordle-like games. Some people will view this as a daunting task, but really most games took less than 10 minutes if I was really good at them.
There were many different versions of Wordle. Some were guessing words on certain themes, some had me guessing numbers in an equation, there were even some that had players guessing movies and video games based on pictures. There's so many variations that you can find a Wordle clone for anything.
Of course this can also lead to exhaustion of this "genre" which hit me right away after finishing off the last game I touched about this.
I suppose this isn't really a review, moreso just me reflecting about having played so many creative games over what is essentially the same topic.
If you're interested in my favorites, here's a brief list: Heardle is a Wordle based on spelling out phonetics in a word. Posterdle is a Wordle where you guess movie posters that start out blurry and become unblurry with each guess. Ranagram is just Wordle but guessing anagrams. Waffle is like a mix between Wordle and a crossword. Finally, Worldle is a geography game.
TL:DR Wordle has caused the creation of so many clones to the point where there is a Wordle for just about anything out there.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #234: Everything is Garbage
Platform: PC
Main Story: 24m 35s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 2, 2022
Games Synopsis: Make things out of garbage, and use those things to make more things.
Blog: The beginning of Itchmas in Ju- I mean August!
Everything is Garbage kind of fits the blog name.
Anyway, the game is really short and sweet. Use resources from buildings in order to make buildings that will in turn make more resources.
There's not really an objective to this game, I kind of just stopped when I reached the last building. Because what else am I suppose to do?
Not a bad game, but there's really not much to it.
TL:DR Everything is Garbage is not a garbage game, but it could use more substance.
_______________________
Game #235: Celeste Classic 2: Lani's Trek
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 33m 06s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 3, 2022
Games Synopsis: A game similar to the original Celeste Classic but with a grappling hook.
Blog: Celeste Classic 2 was quite fun.
If you ever played the original Celeste Classic, that's pretty much what this is. The only differences are that you're a different character and they have a grappling hook instead of a boost.
Even though this is a similar game, the creativity with the grappling hook is actually pretty good and it's always fun even considering the difficulty.
I will say, I'm not too big on the keyboard controls. It might be that I'm accustomed to a controller, but I did not them in Celeste 2.
TL:DR Celeste Classic 2: Lani's Trek is a fun sequel to the first bit the keyboard controls brought it down for me.
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Game #236: Satan Loves Cake
Platform: PC
100% Complete: 49m 55s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: August 3, 2022
Games Synopsis: Satan goes to the bakery.
Blog: Satan Loves Cake is a short fun platformer where you are satan.
The game is quite good, again it is short. There's not really a problem with the game being short but the game itself isn't very deep. You get upgrades but not really much to it.
I also encountered what seems to be a glitch. Apparently if you hold the charge shot and die by falling into a pit, you get launched when respawning. This has actually killed me twice from this and it's a glitch that's incredibly easy to replicate.
TL:DR Satan Loves Cake is a good game, but it doesn't have much depth to it.
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Game #237: Sort the Court
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 1h 06m 48s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 4, 2022
Games Synopsis: You are the king of your land and you must decide what happens to your kingdom through yes and no questions.
Blog: This was a very interesting game.
I liked the concept a lot. Seeing the kingdom unfold in the background from your decisions is great and there's a lot of decisions that you can make.
I will say that if you're sticking around until you complete the main story, you'll be playing for a looooong time.
I did like it but it didn't feel like anything more than a 7/10.
TL:DR Sort the Court is a pretty good game. It's kind of long but some people might like that.
Platform: PC
Main Story: 24m 35s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 2, 2022
Games Synopsis: Make things out of garbage, and use those things to make more things.
Blog: The beginning of Itchmas in Ju- I mean August!
Everything is Garbage kind of fits the blog name.
Anyway, the game is really short and sweet. Use resources from buildings in order to make buildings that will in turn make more resources.
There's not really an objective to this game, I kind of just stopped when I reached the last building. Because what else am I suppose to do?
Not a bad game, but there's really not much to it.
TL:DR Everything is Garbage is not a garbage game, but it could use more substance.
_______________________
Game #235: Celeste Classic 2: Lani's Trek
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 33m 06s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 3, 2022
Games Synopsis: A game similar to the original Celeste Classic but with a grappling hook.
Blog: Celeste Classic 2 was quite fun.
If you ever played the original Celeste Classic, that's pretty much what this is. The only differences are that you're a different character and they have a grappling hook instead of a boost.
Even though this is a similar game, the creativity with the grappling hook is actually pretty good and it's always fun even considering the difficulty.
I will say, I'm not too big on the keyboard controls. It might be that I'm accustomed to a controller, but I did not them in Celeste 2.
TL:DR Celeste Classic 2: Lani's Trek is a fun sequel to the first bit the keyboard controls brought it down for me.
_______________________
Game #236: Satan Loves Cake
Platform: PC
100% Complete: 49m 55s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: August 3, 2022
Games Synopsis: Satan goes to the bakery.
Blog: Satan Loves Cake is a short fun platformer where you are satan.
The game is quite good, again it is short. There's not really a problem with the game being short but the game itself isn't very deep. You get upgrades but not really much to it.
I also encountered what seems to be a glitch. Apparently if you hold the charge shot and die by falling into a pit, you get launched when respawning. This has actually killed me twice from this and it's a glitch that's incredibly easy to replicate.
TL:DR Satan Loves Cake is a good game, but it doesn't have much depth to it.
_______________________
Game #237: Sort the Court
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 1h 06m 48s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 4, 2022
Games Synopsis: You are the king of your land and you must decide what happens to your kingdom through yes and no questions.
Blog: This was a very interesting game.
I liked the concept a lot. Seeing the kingdom unfold in the background from your decisions is great and there's a lot of decisions that you can make.
I will say that if you're sticking around until you complete the main story, you'll be playing for a looooong time.
I did like it but it didn't feel like anything more than a 7/10.
TL:DR Sort the Court is a pretty good game. It's kind of long but some people might like that.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #238: ᗢ
Platform: PC
Main Story: 6m 32s
Main + Extras: 37m 06s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 5, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play as a cat on some islands.
Blog: ᗢ is a game for cat lovers I guess.
So, the game definitely isn't bad. It's very interesting and the pixel art is nice.
However I felt as if this game was trying to portray itself as interesting when it comes to environmental storytelling. The thing is, it isn't showing anything. Even if you explore around and go to the various areas, there's nothing to learn story-wise except for maybe in one specific area.
The game was good but that one thing really brings it down.
TL:DR ᗢ is an interesting game but it tries to portray itself as having an interesting environmental story without actually having any environmental story.
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Game #239: WonderFlower
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 24m 54s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 6, 2022
Games Synopsis: Go around town, doing quests to grow your plant.
Blog: WonderFlower is really charming.
I like the platforming, and I think the game itself looks really good.
However this game goes all-in when it comes to fetch quests, and you go all over the place in this game. It's especially annoying having to go on the other side of town repeatedly.
It's fun overall, but man it could have been done better.
TL:DR WonderFlower is fun and cute, but the fetch quests are a bit much.
_______________________
Game #240: Mimi's Delivery Dash
Platform: PC
Main Story: 3m 17s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 11, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play as Mimi the witch, flying on her broom around town and delivering mail.
Blog: Mimi's Delivery Dash... kinda like Kiki's Delivery Service.
I feel like I'm repeating this sentiment a lot with the Itch games, but I find this game pretty fun and pretty cute to a certain point.
However, this is more of a high score arcade-y game than it is anything more. So after a run or two I just get kind of bored. Not enough replayability for me.
Fun game but needs more depth for me.
TL:DR Mimi's Delivery Service is a fun arcade-y game but I need more than a high score game to keep my interest.
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Game #241: Elden Ring GB
Platform: PC
Main Story: 18m 43s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: August 11, 2022
Games Synopsis: Elden Ring but on the Game Boy!
Blog: This might be the only "Elden Ring" game I play.
I think games like these demakes are pretty cool. It's really interesting to see modern powerhouses being turned into extremely small games. It's always fun to see.
However for me playing Elden Ring GB was just kind of a struggle.
The hitboxes don't seem to be very good or accurate. Often times I will see my sword go directly into the enemy, but they don't get any damage. There's really no point in fighting enemies because of the risk of death multiplied with bad hitboxes.
Also, there's music on the title screen. There's nothing in the rest of the game. Please, I need something. Anything.
TL:DR Elden Ring GB is am awesome demake game to see, but playing it is a struggle with terrible hitboxes that there's no point in fighting.
Platform: PC
Main Story: 6m 32s
Main + Extras: 37m 06s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 5, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play as a cat on some islands.
Blog: ᗢ is a game for cat lovers I guess.
So, the game definitely isn't bad. It's very interesting and the pixel art is nice.
However I felt as if this game was trying to portray itself as interesting when it comes to environmental storytelling. The thing is, it isn't showing anything. Even if you explore around and go to the various areas, there's nothing to learn story-wise except for maybe in one specific area.
The game was good but that one thing really brings it down.
TL:DR ᗢ is an interesting game but it tries to portray itself as having an interesting environmental story without actually having any environmental story.
_______________________
Game #239: WonderFlower
Platform: Browser
Main Story: 24m 54s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 6, 2022
Games Synopsis: Go around town, doing quests to grow your plant.
Blog: WonderFlower is really charming.
I like the platforming, and I think the game itself looks really good.
However this game goes all-in when it comes to fetch quests, and you go all over the place in this game. It's especially annoying having to go on the other side of town repeatedly.
It's fun overall, but man it could have been done better.
TL:DR WonderFlower is fun and cute, but the fetch quests are a bit much.
_______________________
Game #240: Mimi's Delivery Dash
Platform: PC
Main Story: 3m 17s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 11, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play as Mimi the witch, flying on her broom around town and delivering mail.
Blog: Mimi's Delivery Dash... kinda like Kiki's Delivery Service.
I feel like I'm repeating this sentiment a lot with the Itch games, but I find this game pretty fun and pretty cute to a certain point.
However, this is more of a high score arcade-y game than it is anything more. So after a run or two I just get kind of bored. Not enough replayability for me.
Fun game but needs more depth for me.
TL:DR Mimi's Delivery Service is a fun arcade-y game but I need more than a high score game to keep my interest.
_______________________
Game #241: Elden Ring GB
Platform: PC
Main Story: 18m 43s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: August 11, 2022
Games Synopsis: Elden Ring but on the Game Boy!
Blog: This might be the only "Elden Ring" game I play.
I think games like these demakes are pretty cool. It's really interesting to see modern powerhouses being turned into extremely small games. It's always fun to see.
However for me playing Elden Ring GB was just kind of a struggle.
The hitboxes don't seem to be very good or accurate. Often times I will see my sword go directly into the enemy, but they don't get any damage. There's really no point in fighting enemies because of the risk of death multiplied with bad hitboxes.
Also, there's music on the title screen. There's nothing in the rest of the game. Please, I need something. Anything.
TL:DR Elden Ring GB is am awesome demake game to see, but playing it is a struggle with terrible hitboxes that there's no point in fighting.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #242: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 128h 39m 15s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: August 26, 2022
Games Synopsis: A JRPG all about life, time, and death.
Blog: If there was one game last year that I would consider to be my game of the year. It would have to be Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I would even dare say that this is better than all the other Xenoblade games.
The story is fantastic, and the characters are great. It makes for a wonderful mix of enjoyment and I loved learning more about all of them.
The side quests are plentiful and they pulled me in like no other Xenoblade has, aside from X.
The combat is absolutely phenomenal. It's an action JRPG where you can have 6 or 7 characters out at a time, and you can even switch between them. The combos you're able to pull off are addicting. What's more is that the combat is so customizable. Mostly in RPGs I will stay the same classes and stuff but I actually really love switching to other classes as I play as there's so much different stuff you can do and experiment with.
I know I don't often talk about how games look, but this game looks gorgeous and the game still runs really well. Monolith Soft are wizards.
Finally there's the music. I loved the music. I added a whole bunch of it to my playlists and I love all of it. Xenoblade music always delivers.
Play Xenoblade Chronicles 3 if you like JRPGs! The first two games aren't required to play first although it will make more of an impact if you do.
TL:DR Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is great in every regard for me. I highly recommend it for those who like action JRPGs.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 128h 39m 15s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: August 26, 2022
Games Synopsis: A JRPG all about life, time, and death.
Blog: If there was one game last year that I would consider to be my game of the year. It would have to be Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I would even dare say that this is better than all the other Xenoblade games.
The story is fantastic, and the characters are great. It makes for a wonderful mix of enjoyment and I loved learning more about all of them.
The side quests are plentiful and they pulled me in like no other Xenoblade has, aside from X.
The combat is absolutely phenomenal. It's an action JRPG where you can have 6 or 7 characters out at a time, and you can even switch between them. The combos you're able to pull off are addicting. What's more is that the combat is so customizable. Mostly in RPGs I will stay the same classes and stuff but I actually really love switching to other classes as I play as there's so much different stuff you can do and experiment with.
I know I don't often talk about how games look, but this game looks gorgeous and the game still runs really well. Monolith Soft are wizards.
Finally there's the music. I loved the music. I added a whole bunch of it to my playlists and I love all of it. Xenoblade music always delivers.
Play Xenoblade Chronicles 3 if you like JRPGs! The first two games aren't required to play first although it will make more of an impact if you do.
TL:DR Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is great in every regard for me. I highly recommend it for those who like action JRPGs.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #243: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords
Platform: GBA
Main + Extras: 16h 36m 55s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 4, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play this classic SNES game on GBA, save the princess and the kingdom of Hyrule.
Blog: I unfortunately did not play the Four Swords content as that is hard to be able to do nowadays. So this is more of a Link to the Past on GBA review.
So I think this game is overall fun. I definitely had fun in this game. However, I am not in love with it like a lot of people are. There are things in the game and how it works which rubs me the wrong way.
One thing is that whenever you hit an enemy with a sword, you receive a massive amount of knockback with it. This is a huge problem in tight areas where you're surrounded by ledges, or near other enemies and you end up getting damaged.
Sometimes you'll have enemies or boulders up in the air, coming down towards you. It makes sense that if they touch you on impact then you receive damage. However, in this game if the enemy or obstacle overlaps the player at any point, then you will receive damage, that includes if said obstacle is in the air. That doesn't make sense to me, because in those cases you should be able to go under with no problems, but that's not how it works here apparently. It's especially an issue on Death Mountain.
Finally, I just don't find the game very memorable. Especially the dungeons. They all kind of felt the same to me.
I enjoyed it overall, but in my view I don't even see this as the best 2D Zelda let alone the best Zelda as I hear a lot. It's not a bad game though.
TL:DR The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a good game overall, but I personally think that it's a bit overrated and that my issues with the game brings it down for me.
Platform: GBA
Main + Extras: 16h 36m 55s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 4, 2022
Games Synopsis: Play this classic SNES game on GBA, save the princess and the kingdom of Hyrule.
Blog: I unfortunately did not play the Four Swords content as that is hard to be able to do nowadays. So this is more of a Link to the Past on GBA review.
So I think this game is overall fun. I definitely had fun in this game. However, I am not in love with it like a lot of people are. There are things in the game and how it works which rubs me the wrong way.
One thing is that whenever you hit an enemy with a sword, you receive a massive amount of knockback with it. This is a huge problem in tight areas where you're surrounded by ledges, or near other enemies and you end up getting damaged.
Sometimes you'll have enemies or boulders up in the air, coming down towards you. It makes sense that if they touch you on impact then you receive damage. However, in this game if the enemy or obstacle overlaps the player at any point, then you will receive damage, that includes if said obstacle is in the air. That doesn't make sense to me, because in those cases you should be able to go under with no problems, but that's not how it works here apparently. It's especially an issue on Death Mountain.
Finally, I just don't find the game very memorable. Especially the dungeons. They all kind of felt the same to me.
I enjoyed it overall, but in my view I don't even see this as the best 2D Zelda let alone the best Zelda as I hear a lot. It's not a bad game though.
TL:DR The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a good game overall, but I personally think that it's a bit overrated and that my issues with the game brings it down for me.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Hello everybody! Its been a few... years...
Why I stopped blogging
As anyone can probably tell, I have not been making any posts on my blog for some time. I tried to review every game I had played, and due to the massive amount of games I play in a short time-span, I in-turn made a backlog of blog posts. Due to this and also going through college and an internship at the time, I eventually burnt myself out, and it only got worse as I kept falling behind in my blog posts. Some games also just aren't worth an entire post dedicated to them.
However, I kind of miss writing blog posts. But I'd like to do it on different terms. I will not be doing posts for every game. I want to include blog posts as I do my yearly game challenge. I will explain what that challenge is.
R2's Personal Challenge
In 2024, I started a new personal challenge where I would have users from the HLTB Discord pick games from my backlog for me to prioritize before the end of the year. This would help me play games that I probably otherwise wouldn't have played until months or years later, as well as help me discover some of my favorite games! Some of which I hadn't really heard of before, like Signalis or Summon Night: Swordcraft Story. Not all the games were great of course, but that's part of the fun.
This is a challenge I would like to do again in 2025. This time for every game picked, I'll write a blog post about it. Love it, hate, mid it. Doesn't matter, I'll write about it.
How to get involved
For anyone reading who wants to pick me a game to play in 2025, just pick a game from this collection. This collection not only includes games from my backlog, but also games that are wishlisted. There's just a few simple "rules" to keep in mind
1. One game per person.
2. Don't choose a game someone has already chosen. Games chosen will be marked.
3. Please make a pick before the start of the new year, so before January.
4. You can change your pick as long as it's done before January.
And that's all. Super simple. Just let me know what your pick is either posting it on here, DMing me, or @ing me on the HLTB Discord. Here is a collection of games users have chosen for 2025. I will be referring to that collection throughout the year to keep it all in one place.
Other Notes:
-The order in which I play the games will be random. I have no idea what the next game is until I beat the previous one.
-I have to beat and blog the games before 2026. This is more of a personal challenge for me than anything else.
-I might extend the submission date from January to February. I will make an update if that happens.
-There are no prizes. Everyone's a winner!
-I will still be making blog posts on games I play not during the challenge. But only for games I want to blog about.
Why I stopped blogging
As anyone can probably tell, I have not been making any posts on my blog for some time. I tried to review every game I had played, and due to the massive amount of games I play in a short time-span, I in-turn made a backlog of blog posts. Due to this and also going through college and an internship at the time, I eventually burnt myself out, and it only got worse as I kept falling behind in my blog posts. Some games also just aren't worth an entire post dedicated to them.
However, I kind of miss writing blog posts. But I'd like to do it on different terms. I will not be doing posts for every game. I want to include blog posts as I do my yearly game challenge. I will explain what that challenge is.
R2's Personal Challenge
In 2024, I started a new personal challenge where I would have users from the HLTB Discord pick games from my backlog for me to prioritize before the end of the year. This would help me play games that I probably otherwise wouldn't have played until months or years later, as well as help me discover some of my favorite games! Some of which I hadn't really heard of before, like Signalis or Summon Night: Swordcraft Story. Not all the games were great of course, but that's part of the fun.
This is a challenge I would like to do again in 2025. This time for every game picked, I'll write a blog post about it. Love it, hate, mid it. Doesn't matter, I'll write about it.
How to get involved
For anyone reading who wants to pick me a game to play in 2025, just pick a game from this collection. This collection not only includes games from my backlog, but also games that are wishlisted. There's just a few simple "rules" to keep in mind
1. One game per person.
2. Don't choose a game someone has already chosen. Games chosen will be marked.
3. Please make a pick before the start of the new year, so before January.
4. You can change your pick as long as it's done before January.
And that's all. Super simple. Just let me know what your pick is either posting it on here, DMing me, or @ing me on the HLTB Discord. Here is a collection of games users have chosen for 2025. I will be referring to that collection throughout the year to keep it all in one place.
Other Notes:
-The order in which I play the games will be random. I have no idea what the next game is until I beat the previous one.
-I have to beat and blog the games before 2026. This is more of a personal challenge for me than anything else.
-I might extend the submission date from January to February. I will make an update if that happens.
-There are no prizes. Everyone's a winner!
-I will still be making blog posts on games I play not during the challenge. But only for games I want to blog about.
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Just a reminder that there are about 24 hours or so until I stop accepting picks for my personal challenge. I think currently there are 17 or 18 games picked so far.
7 Yrs♥$✓#
ThomasE
7 Yrs♥$✓#
I love Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, so that's my pick for you. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Don't burn yourself out on blogging. I think that's what several people do/did on the forum. Blogging should be fun.
Happy new year to you!
Don't burn yourself out on blogging. I think that's what several people do/did on the forum. Blogging should be fun.
Happy new year to you!
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Aaaand choosing has now finished. Thank you everyone that participated
There are 19 games, all chosen by 19 users. There's a lot of different varieties of games, ranging from visual novels to first person shooters.
To see the 19 games chosen, and who chose them, this collection contains them all:
https://howlongtobeat.com/user/R2D21999/lists/53357/R2D21999-Games-to-Beat-in-2025
But now is the time to choose which game to play first. The way I like to do it, I put all the games into a custom tab, and then I click the random button.
The first game will be...
Gravity Rush! Picked by NoOne!
It's been a while since I've used my Vita. So this will be exciting!
There are 19 games, all chosen by 19 users. There's a lot of different varieties of games, ranging from visual novels to first person shooters.
To see the 19 games chosen, and who chose them, this collection contains them all:
https://howlongtobeat.com/user/R2D21999/lists/53357/R2D21999-Games-to-Beat-in-2025
But now is the time to choose which game to play first. The way I like to do it, I put all the games into a custom tab, and then I click the random button.
The first game will be...
Gravity Rush! Picked by NoOne!
It's been a while since I've used my Vita. So this will be exciting!
5 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219995 Yrs♥✓#
Game #244: Gravity Rush
Platform: PS Vita
Main + Extras: 14h 42m 42s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: January 4, 2024
Picked By: NoOne
Games Synopsis: A girl wakes up in a strange world with amnesia, with an even stranger cat that gives her the ability to control gravity.
Blog: This is the first game in the challenge where people pick games for me to beat.
And what a tremendous start this game just so happened to be!
This game has a bit of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out the controls as well as the camera, but once you get over that curve the gameplay is so much fun. I often found myself just soaring through the sky for fun, especially in the later parts of the game when you aren't as limited by your gravity gauge. Using gravity kicks to launch yourself at enemies, hearing the shattering sound effect as you burst their weak points in a single hit. Flinging objects at any airborne enemies as if I was shooting homing missiles. A lot of fun can be had with just the basics of the gameplay, and that to me goes a pretty long way for my enjoyment of a game.
Something I recommend for anyone playing the Vita version: once you're used to the controls, I suggest increasing the camera sensitivity by about a quarter more. I found this to be better for me and would allow me to react faster when shifting gravity, especially in any racing challenges.
The controls aren't always a hit however. One of my least favorite things the game has you do is sliding. The way you do it: put both thumbs on the touch screen to start sliding, physically tilt the Vita left or right to turn, and shake the Vita to jump. This was all super weird for me. I felt like I was playing Mario Kart on a mobile phone instead of playing Gravity Rush. The good thing is that the game doesn't ask you to really use this too much. There's one story mission where you need to use it, and then there's of course some challenges where you need to use it. Otherwise, you don't need to worry about it.
Speaking of challenges: I feel like these need some quality of life adjustments. Especially for any of the racing challenges. In these races, you have to touch a series of checkpoints as fast as you can, the faster the better. I think the hitboxes on the checkpoints should be adjusted. The hitboxes are about half the size of what they appear to be, which is kind of annoying when trying again and again to get a gold medal.
Another nitpick, I wish there was a retry button on challenges. So many times there were moments either in a race, or in a time attack where I would just mess up pretty badly and want to start over. There are two "solutions" to this: finish the challenge you're already on and retry at the results screen or quit the challenge, wait a really long time for the load screen to bring you back to the overworld, select to play the challenge again, and then wait a long time on a second loading screen. If there could just be a retry button in the pause screen, that would save on a lot of waiting.
I would say both complaints on challenges are just things that could be changed in a quality of life update, and I would also admit that they're a bit nitpicky. But one real complaint I have is that the story ends with too many unanswered questions. I don't want to spoil too much in this review, so I'll pick an example from the very start of the game: Who is Kat?
From the very start of the game you're given this question. It's probably the first questions you're given about this game. "Who is Kat? Why does she not remember things? Did she originate in this world?" None of these are answered. I think there's some hints in the later part of the game of what she could be, but it could be that I'm just completely overthinking everything, as you're not really told anything about her past at that point. And you never are told. This is only one of the storylines that are just left hanging by the end. I would say the only real storylines that are answered mostly have to do with Raven, and then the stuff concerning the final boss. Everything else is left for a sequel.
It's kind of disappointing. The characters were fun. I thought Kat was great and made me think the story was going somewhere but then it ends with so many questions without even a single half-answer. I don't mind unanswered questions in stories, but this one just had too many. I really hope Gravity Rush 2 has answers.
Some other things I want to bring up: the game has long loading times, and there are times where the framerate stutters. I usually don't tend to notice either of these in games, but it's so hard not to notice either of them for even someone like me.
Back to the positive: I think this game is gorgeous. I played it on an OLED Vita and the colors were popping. They really did this game favors with the artstyle. And then there's also the comicbook cutscenes that I really enjoyed. They gave the game a lot of character and charm.
I recommend anyone to try it out. Luckily the Gravity Rush remaster and the sequel are both on PS4. It's a great time and very different from any other game out there. I give Gravity Rush a 9/10.
TL:DR: Gravity Rush is filled with twisting and turning gameplay that is a blast to master and a beautiful artstyle. However the story leaves on an unsatisfying note, leaving everything to be answered by its sequel.
Up Next: With Gravity Rush finished, there are 18 games left in the challenge. Time to randomize what the next game will be...
Shrek Superslam! Picked by Kam1999! I'm pretty excited for this one!
Platform: PS Vita
Main + Extras: 14h 42m 42s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: January 4, 2024
Picked By: NoOne
Games Synopsis: A girl wakes up in a strange world with amnesia, with an even stranger cat that gives her the ability to control gravity.
Blog: This is the first game in the challenge where people pick games for me to beat.
And what a tremendous start this game just so happened to be!
This game has a bit of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out the controls as well as the camera, but once you get over that curve the gameplay is so much fun. I often found myself just soaring through the sky for fun, especially in the later parts of the game when you aren't as limited by your gravity gauge. Using gravity kicks to launch yourself at enemies, hearing the shattering sound effect as you burst their weak points in a single hit. Flinging objects at any airborne enemies as if I was shooting homing missiles. A lot of fun can be had with just the basics of the gameplay, and that to me goes a pretty long way for my enjoyment of a game.
Something I recommend for anyone playing the Vita version: once you're used to the controls, I suggest increasing the camera sensitivity by about a quarter more. I found this to be better for me and would allow me to react faster when shifting gravity, especially in any racing challenges.
The controls aren't always a hit however. One of my least favorite things the game has you do is sliding. The way you do it: put both thumbs on the touch screen to start sliding, physically tilt the Vita left or right to turn, and shake the Vita to jump. This was all super weird for me. I felt like I was playing Mario Kart on a mobile phone instead of playing Gravity Rush. The good thing is that the game doesn't ask you to really use this too much. There's one story mission where you need to use it, and then there's of course some challenges where you need to use it. Otherwise, you don't need to worry about it.
Speaking of challenges: I feel like these need some quality of life adjustments. Especially for any of the racing challenges. In these races, you have to touch a series of checkpoints as fast as you can, the faster the better. I think the hitboxes on the checkpoints should be adjusted. The hitboxes are about half the size of what they appear to be, which is kind of annoying when trying again and again to get a gold medal.
Another nitpick, I wish there was a retry button on challenges. So many times there were moments either in a race, or in a time attack where I would just mess up pretty badly and want to start over. There are two "solutions" to this: finish the challenge you're already on and retry at the results screen or quit the challenge, wait a really long time for the load screen to bring you back to the overworld, select to play the challenge again, and then wait a long time on a second loading screen. If there could just be a retry button in the pause screen, that would save on a lot of waiting.
I would say both complaints on challenges are just things that could be changed in a quality of life update, and I would also admit that they're a bit nitpicky. But one real complaint I have is that the story ends with too many unanswered questions. I don't want to spoil too much in this review, so I'll pick an example from the very start of the game: Who is Kat?
From the very start of the game you're given this question. It's probably the first questions you're given about this game. "Who is Kat? Why does she not remember things? Did she originate in this world?" None of these are answered. I think there's some hints in the later part of the game of what she could be, but it could be that I'm just completely overthinking everything, as you're not really told anything about her past at that point. And you never are told. This is only one of the storylines that are just left hanging by the end. I would say the only real storylines that are answered mostly have to do with Raven, and then the stuff concerning the final boss. Everything else is left for a sequel.
It's kind of disappointing. The characters were fun. I thought Kat was great and made me think the story was going somewhere but then it ends with so many questions without even a single half-answer. I don't mind unanswered questions in stories, but this one just had too many. I really hope Gravity Rush 2 has answers.
Some other things I want to bring up: the game has long loading times, and there are times where the framerate stutters. I usually don't tend to notice either of these in games, but it's so hard not to notice either of them for even someone like me.
Back to the positive: I think this game is gorgeous. I played it on an OLED Vita and the colors were popping. They really did this game favors with the artstyle. And then there's also the comicbook cutscenes that I really enjoyed. They gave the game a lot of character and charm.
I recommend anyone to try it out. Luckily the Gravity Rush remaster and the sequel are both on PS4. It's a great time and very different from any other game out there. I give Gravity Rush a 9/10.
TL:DR: Gravity Rush is filled with twisting and turning gameplay that is a blast to master and a beautiful artstyle. However the story leaves on an unsatisfying note, leaving everything to be answered by its sequel.
Up Next: With Gravity Rush finished, there are 18 games left in the challenge. Time to randomize what the next game will be...
Shrek Superslam! Picked by Kam1999! I'm pretty excited for this one!