@Ralizah I had no idea Telltale once tried to turn a comedy X-Files script into a puzzle game! This review reminds me of your previous pieces about Wizorb and Tokyo Dark, drawing from that same kinda range of mid-table Steam sale clutter. Would that be a fair comment?
It's a shame the writing lets itself down in the end (there's a fine line between satirising a genre and ending up yet another bad example of it) because I quite like the premise you describe. As the Layton games prove, you need more than puzzles to tie a puzzle game together, otherwise you might as well be a throwaway mobile release. Sorry you had to play through some proof of that, although at least it briefly scratched your Layton itch (memorising pi to seven digits notwithstanding).
A fair assessment, and another enjoyable one to read. Thanks!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger Humble Bundle clutter, more accurately. Tokyo Dark was the only one of these games I actually wanted in my library. The others just came along for the ride when I bought bundles for other games. With that said, there's something fun about checking out obscure games that nobody has discussed in years. You occasionally find some real treasures that way. The musty corners of online PC gaming marketplaces have traces of that same magic small video rental stores used to have before the internet demystified everything.
These games were actually also released on mobile, I believe! But yeah, a game doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to excel in something, and this one... doesn't. It's forgettable, frankly. The premise is a lot more attractive than the actual execution.
And yeah, agreed on satire/parody vs pure bad writing. There's value to be had in lovingly playing with common genre tropes, but that still requires some actual effort to be expended.
It's possible people who like the style of humor in this game might be able to overlook the nonsensical plot, but it just felt like a wasted opportunity to me. Because, yeah, the idea of an adventure/puzzle game hybrid where you solve a mystery is attractive.
Well, with humble bundle, the important thing is that you get an amazing price on the games you're buying them for, and then get this weird stuff on the side. Like, when I got the Crash and Spyro collections for $15 (total, not each) a few years back, the bundle also came with a Call of Duty game, the Shenmue collection, and a couple of games I've never heard of. For $15. It certainly reduces the risk with trying stuff I've never heard of before.
Game: Astro's playroom (PS5)
When I got my PS5 the first game I was going to play was miles morales as it was the game I was most hyped for but then I saw an icon on my home screen with a little robot on it. I started the game and I was smiling the entire time I played! Here are my thoughts.
THE GRAPHICS
From what I saw, the original astro bot on ps4 had some really nice graphics. This game, however, takes the graphics to a whole new level! The textures on the playstation artefacts look so realistic, the shine on astro's face, it all looks lovely. This game is also a stunner in 4K with HDR on! Everything is so colourful and shiny and high quality! Astro has a nice roll in the Memory Meadow. THE DUALSENSE
The dualsense is an awesome controller but not many games have used it to it's full potential except this one. Every footstep astro takes is a little vibration in the controller. When he walks in the sand, the vibration feels crunchy and when he walks on metal, the vibrations feel clangy (not a word). When you use big robot hands to get toys out of a capsule machine, the triggers make you feel like you're popping the capsules or crushing the rubbish cans someone put in the machine. It truly feels like you are a part of the game world and you really need to try it for yourself to get what I'm saying. Astro definitely loves the dualsense.
THE MUSIC
Every song in this game is a bop! Ever since I first played GPU Jungle I've been hearing "GPUUUU! TELL ME WHAT TO DOOO! AND I'LL DO IT FOR YOOOU!" in my head (it really is a problem). The main theme is an earworm as well. I highly recommend you give the ost a listen. EDIT: THE OST IS STREAMING NOW! LISTEN TO IT NOW! GO! GO! GO! Dance Robot, Dance! THE GAMEPLAY
Astro is a joy to control. From the little hover he does to the spin and even just running and hopping around, it's all fun! I don't really have much to say about the gameplay. This game has really nice ice physics too! THE CONCLUSION
From the insanely fun gameplay to the adorable references to the amazing music and graphics, Astro's playroom is an amazing game that you need to play if you have a ps5. Definitely worth keeping on your console unless you're running out of space. It's also a little short for my liking. Astro walks the long and winding road. THE PROS
-Incredible graphics
-Incredible music
-Nice little easter eggs
-Astro is such a cute little boi
@Ralizah Good analogy. You're also describing an element of gaming I lost when magazine-cover demo discs went the way of the dodo. Everything's worth a shot, even if it turns out to be supremely average, because the only way you'll find a new favourite is by trying it first... and hey, at least you're getting to write some quality reviews as a result, so bonus!
These games getting a mobile release is equal parts surprising and unsurprising. I know that's a contradictorily-bizarre sentence, but hopefully you'll know what I mean!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@Jackpaza0508 Sweet, nice review! People keep raving about this, even without it being a free giveaway. From what I've read elsewhere, you're not alone in the whole "you need to experience this for yourself" take on the DualSense feedback, either. I need to remember not to overlook this when I get my PS5, as I was never interested in The Playroom before.
And "clangy" is totally a word now, by the way! Thanks for sharing!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Game: Bugsnax (PS5)
This seemed like a joke game at first but as more info on it came out I started to become interested. I've put over 20 hours into the game so guess if I liked the game or not! THE PREMISE
You play as a journalist who is sent out to an island called Snaktooth to investigate a new species of bugs that look like foodstuff and discovers that the island has a lot of secrets. You find a grumpus called Filbo who is the mayor of a small ghost town called Snaxburg and your task is to get everyone back into the town. THE GRAPHICS
The graphics are pretty simple. The framerate chugs when you're in the town. That's all I have to say. THE MUSIC
The music is really fun and upbeat! From the slightly awkward sounding interview theme song to the catchy theme song, every song is great. THE GAMEPLAY
The bugsnax are fun and rewarding to catch as a nice little jingle plays every time you catch one. You have many tools at your disposal like a tripwire or a strawberry with eyes in a ball that you can use to lead bugsnax to where you want them to go. Some of the final bugsnax you have to find can be tedious to find if you don't have a guide and there's NO FAST TRAVEL IN AN OPEN WORLD GAME IN 2020 WHAT. OTHER INFO
The game is fully voice acted and aside from Beffica, every character is funny and charming. If you don't like a particular character you can turn them into a disgusting food monster and they won't even mention it so that's fun! THE CONCLUSION
Overall this game is great! There are a few technical hiccups and some flaws like * clears throat * NO FAST TRAVEL but aside from that, this is a really fun time!
The pros
-Fun characters
-Great music
-Great voice acting
-Rewarding gameplay
-You can turn the annoying characters into pickle goblins!
The cons
-Some of the bugsnax are a bit tedious to get
-Some minor framerate issues
-* clears throat again * NO FAST TRAVEL
-Beffica
9/10 Excellent
A bit late to the party but nice impression pieces there @Timleon on the reboot Tomb Raider games.
I've only played the very first Tomb Raider game myself and then Legends on the PS2 but thanks to Sol, Rog and some of the other folks I've been tempted a number of times on trying the reboot trilogy and thanks to you I have a much clearer picture on what to expect with them!
I hope Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is more up your alley then Rise was!
Bit late @mookysam but I finally got to reading your Super Mario Sunshine and it was rather delightful indeed! I love this new mythos you're creating for the mushroom kingdom including Witches, Lakitu, the devil and Pat Butcher
Your sharp wit made for a really enjoyable read... It's unfortunate it seemed to recieve barely any effort from the sound of things into porting it onto the Switch as part of the the collection but it sounds like a much more enjoyable experience then 64.
I look forward to seeing what your Galaxy review looks like!
... Well at least you haven't gone off the deep end this time @RogerRoger with your latest bond review!
Good stuff and it really was a facinating time when all these different versions of games were made with differing gameplay styles to accommodate the less powerful hardware. Some very nice screenshots you managed to rustle up there and that tune you posted is a bit of a jam lol
Good stuff Rog and glad you got round to playing a nice and enjoyable Bond game, even if it was a bit brief!
Like the others have said @Ralizah I'll have to chime in and say the absurdist plot of Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent 1 does sound rather fun to me but it's a shame it seemed to have gone a bit off the deep end for you in the sequel!
I actually really quite like the look of the visuals myself from the screenshots you've posted and the mash of puzzles and the typical brand of TellTale episodic adventure game sounds rather neat.
It's a bit of a shame we never got to see some more unique genre mashups like Puzzle Agent but thanks for bringing it to my attention all the same!
And apologies for the late reply in regards to your comments on Bowser's Fury & Galaxy (Didn't seem to get a notification for that curiously) but I've taken a bit of a deeper look into Galaxy 1 & 2 since the and I can see what you mean with 2 and the difference in the design philiosphy with the levels and worlds.
Hopefully when Nintendo "terminates" the 3D Collection games in the next few weeks (Which I find rather disgusting practice to be honest) they upload Galaxy 2 for people to grab a hold of alongside the other games just seperately instead of in a package.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks, Foxy! I just couldn't leave Mr. Bond behind on such a bum note. Glad you enjoyed reading, looking at and listening to my review!
***
@Jackpaza0508 Great follow-up with Bugsnax there, and I'll add to the screenshot praise! Although I'm sorry to hear about the lack of fast-travel, as that can really impact enjoyment and make sessions feel like a chore. Very odd choice.
Glad you liked most of the characters, but what was wrong with Beffica, I wonder?
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks! I would definitely recommend the reboot trilogy to any fan of the older titles, if only to find out whether you like the new approach or not.
I'm about 3-4 hours into Shadow now and it's looking good so far. Waiting to see how the whole thing unfolds though.
Game: Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5)
In the words of Caddicarus, "Are you feeling a bit sad? A bit down? WELL SHUT UP BECAUSE YOU'RE PLAYING SACKBOY SO YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BE HAPPY!" He wasn't wrong! This game is so uncontrollably happy that you don't wanna kill the enemies because they're so god-damn cute! The gameplay
This is one of the only things I don't really like from this game! Sackboy runs so slow! He runs at the speed of an old age pensioner! The jump height is absolutely tiny and the flutter jump is pathetic. However, the weapons you get like the whirly tool and jetpack are really fun! The music
The music in this game is pretty great! From whimsical orchestral tunes to upbeat dubstep and even some licenced music from Mark Ronson, deadmau5 and much more! There is a surfer version of Take on me by A-Ha so yeah. The voice acting
This game's voice acting is also great! Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley, French & Saunders) and Richard E. Grant (Withnail and I, Rise of Skywalker) steal the show as Sackboy's mentor Scarlet and villain Vex. The other characters like N.I.C.O.L.E and Gerald Strudleguff are great too! The conclusion
Overall, this game is fine but the boring gameplay holds it back from greatness.
Pros
Great voice acting
Lovely music
Overall peppy world
Some fun weapons
Cons
Slow movement speed
Painfully small jump
7.8 Good (almost great)
Sorry to hear you didn't get along with the gameplay in Sackboy. Would you recommend the game to somebody who's never played LittleBigPlanet before? Is it accessible enough without knowing what Sackboy's been up to in previous game, or is it a proper sequel?
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yeah, Galaxy 2 weirdly feels more like a predecessor to 3D World than it does a sequel to Galaxy.
I doubt Nintendo will remove the actual games. The collection itself will probably just be delisted with individual downloads replacing them. It'd be pretty dumb of Nintendo to not keep the games up for sale, and they could still say they weren't technically lying, because they did, indeed, take down the collection.
@Jackpaza0508 I hate when characters are slow in platformers. The best thing Nintendo did for the SM3DW Switch port was boost the speed of the characters dramatically compared to the Wii U version. Platformers are about movement and physicality. Slowness just works against that.
Game: Spider-Man Miles Morales
If I could describe the first spider-man in one word, I would use the word Free because of the small but dense open world where you're free to do whatever you want. The word I would use to describe Miles' game is Community. This is because instead of all the side missions being crimes, you help neighbours. From getting a man's cat back to helping someone who lost their car to even just having a selfie with someone. It makes the city feel alive in a way the first game didn't do for me. But that doesn't mean this is a better game.
Let's start with the gameplay. Instead of having the first game's focus meter, this game uses a venom gauge. If you fill it up you can use a venom punch which is basically a lightning powered punch. As the story goes on, you can store more venom in your gauge. If you fill it up all the way when It has been expanded, you can let out a devastating venom blast. You also have a camouflage meter which turns you invisible which is very useful in stealth missions. The normal combat is almost the same as the first game.
Next is the music. The ost in this game is pretty great. The first game used orchestral epic tunes to set the mood but this game goes a different direction by using orchestral music with some hip-hop mixed in there! It works really well for miles!
The graphics. MY GOD, the graphics. As soon as you turn the game on, you're greeted by a model of miles which looks so realistic! My first reaction was "OH MY GOD YOU CAN SEE EVERY INDIVIDUAL FINGERPRINT ON THE HEADPHONES OH MY-". The snowflakes even fall and melt individually on everyone's clothes!
While I've been positive about the game so far, that doesn't mean I can't bitch about it! This game is way too short! I got the game for christmas and no joke, I finished it on the 27th of december. THAT'S ONLY 2 DAYS!
Conclusion
This game is almost a 10/10 for me. Everything about it is great except the length. Please play it if you have a ps5!
Pros
-Nice music
-Fun and zippy combat
-Out of this world graphics
Cons
-Way too short
9.5 Excellent (Almost outstanding)
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