The last few games you beat and rate them 5

[Ceremony]

No need for attitude. It was a sincere comment, not intended as sass or anything. I remember the names, I just forget which personalities/post histories/identities belong to certain names. I'm not sure how you guys keep track of internet nicknames like that over a long period of time, when you encounter so many and there's no face to them. It's actually an unfortunate problem that annoys me, because there are actually posters that I admire the thoughts of and agree with/view as a good litmus test for what's out there that's likely good, whose names I've simply lost track of (Tame Impala actually could have been one of them, I'm not sure, I'm actually kind of curious if he had a different nickname before-- Edit: He's not BonMorrison or something, is he?).

Bottom point seems kind of meaningless to me. I value what I value. I'm not expressing these feelings out of some intellectual principle that goes against my base instinct to have fun or something. Spiderman wasn't fun to me, so I tried to reverse engineering the likely reason why, when asked. When videogames are like that, I don't like/care about the medium as a whole. If that means that they only fly on my radar and become something that feels worthwhile to me when I "take them that seriously" (whatever that even means), then so be it. I can only express my sincere thoughts. I wouldn't tell you to "take things more seriously" just because I disagreed with your judgements. You take them how you take them.

And for the record, I have tried having a more light-hearted/forgiving attitude when rating/reviewing when I was younger, and I found it way less personally satisfying and way more like I was just being disingenuous/compromising about how I actually felt (like I was just giving into peer pressure precisely to avoid THIS type of reaction). Hell, I still subconsciously catch myself doing that (incidentally, about games such as Spiderman, which I've probably given a more normal/agreeable score to in the past).

I was only teasing, I've been here for long enough to know how you post. I enjoy/value them and wouldn't interact with you if I didn't. It was just funny the way you said that.

My point about the gameplay is more related to your thoughts on something like Downwell. Obviously that's much more distilled than a AAA game but you enjoyed that predominantly for the gameplay because it was well done and satisfying to repeat over and over. It's not something that you seem to look for in the games you play. (This is also why I asked you about your music the other day, I don't know what your process is for picking out new things)

That's what I would see as the reason Spiderman games are popular, plus whatever attachment people have to the character/world already. I've not played them but I have played and enjoyed Prototype a long time ago which is a guy in New York with powers, so I understand the appeal in just launching yourself from building to building.

 

[Shareefruck]

I was only teasing, I've been here for long enough to know how you post. I enjoy/value them and wouldn't interact with you if I didn't. It was just funny the way you said that.

My point about the gameplay is more related to your thoughts on something like Downwell. Obviously that's much more distilled than a AAA game but you enjoyed that predominantly for the gameplay because it was well done and satisfying to repeat over and over. It's not something that you seem to look for in the games you play. (This is also why I asked you about your music the other day, I don't know what your process is for picking out new things)

That's what I would see as the reason Spiderman games are popular, plus whatever attachment people have to the character/world already. I've not played them but I have played and enjoyed Prototype a long time ago which is a guy in New York with powers, so I understand the appeal in just launching yourself from building to building.

I legitimately think Downwell is masterfully designed, creatively/originally conceived, and methodically precise in a way that I find 100% inspired-- that's the meat of its appeal for me. Its satisfying addictiveness (which it is as well) isn't really a big reason why I think highly of it. I think it's brilliant the same way that Tetris or Chess is brilliant-- Just absolute elegance. Or Celeste. Or Into the Breach. Or to a lesser extent Balatro. I also attribute a lot of value to things that are great in a minimalist way (for the same reason)-- the "more distilled" aspect is what I place great value on. None of these qualities really apply or are remotely in the ballpark of something like what Spiderman offers. I don't know if these other games are "transcendent works of art" either, but I find them creatively brilliant and deftly crafted in a way that I appreciate within striking distance of something like that, at least.

To go a bit further, I actually generally tend to outright hate things that are repeatedly addictive/compulsive without those more substantive qualities to go along with that (not that I really agree that Spiderman is even that addictively repeatable in the first place). When I hear that, I think of shitty exploitative habit-forming mobile games or something.

Frankly, I think "not everything has to be some deep transcendent philosophical masterpiece" is framing that's way too generous to games like Spiderman, personally. Even just as modest entertainment and nothing more, I feel like it lacks anything genuinely endearing, charming, infectious, or striking (these aren't exactly "transcendent work of art" terms). It doesn't really have a memorable identity or personality, and kind of feels like the videogame equivalent of a soulless/bland generically produced pop song that's merely fine/serviceable in a lot of areas, in my view.

I'm not sure why you're explaining why Spiderman is popular or why others enjoy it. I agree with your explanations for why that's probably the case, they're just not things that I value or find relevant in my own assessments/value judgements. Plus, I did give credit to how good web slinging feels, as the sole positive I could give it. It's just not a lot, to me.

 

[Andrei79]

No need for attitude. It was a sincere comment, not intended as sass or anything. I remember the names, I just forget which personalities/post histories/identities belong to certain names. I'm not sure how you guys keep track of internet nicknames like that over a long period of time, when you encounter so many and there's no face to them.

It's called having massive, massive brain power. Almost too much for my skull to contain, but somehow I manage.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora - 6.5/10

Open world action/adventure from Ubisoft, definitely has some Far Cry feel to it. You play as a young Navi of the Sarentu tribe that was kidnapped as a child 15 years previously by the RDA/Skypeople in an attempt to make them into soldiers, After escaping the human school/training center you work to unite the Navi tribes to drive off the humans from Pandora who are destroying the world with their pollution and drilling. The game starts a bit slow with all traversal on foot, but opens up when you gain the ability to fly after bonding with a small dragon like creature called an Ikran, the story is decent, and there are many side missions as usual with open world ubisoft titles. The environment was pretty cool with the colorful and lush areas of Pandora as well as the alien creatures, though the world was relatively empty. Overall an ok game, it looks pretty nice and plays well enough, but nothing stands out to make it a must play unless maybe if you are a big Avatar fan

 

[pistolpete11]

Hotline Miami - 8.5/10

Short, simple, but sweet. They got a surprisingly lot of variety out of such a simple game. Whether you choose to be quiet or go guns blazing, the different masks that give different perks, different weapons, a few switch ups in the story, etc. It definitely could have overstayed it's welcome, but they mixed it up at just the right times and knew when to end it.

The story is interesting and the music fits perfectly. There's no load time between deaths which is critical because it's very fast paced game play, you die quickly, a lot, and often times not very far into the level.

The only negatives I have are the couple of 'boss' fights (not particularly fun and very frustrating), probably better on PC than console (never was good at the twin stick shooter), and the lock-on was kind of wonky.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince - 7/10
This is really more of the same as the original Blossom Tales. If you enjoy the top down Zelda games, you'll probably find this one enjoyable as well. It's nothing mindblowing but it scratches that itch. The bosses and puzzles are fun and the game doesn't overstay its welcome. Sticking to just the story, you'll finish it in about 5-6 hours. I'm sure you can double or even triple that if you focus on exploring and unlocking everything.

If you like the original Blossom Tales, pick this up because you'll like this one too. If you're looking to scratch that old school Zelda itch, give this series a go.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 9/10

Remake of 1993 Gameboy title for the Switch, never played the original, but just loved the remake, felt like playing the NES original again, very cutesy graphics, but still posed a decent challenge and had an interesting story and batch of villains and bosses without shoehorning Ganon and Hyrule in there

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I don't have a Switch anymore, I gave it to my nephew. Whenever Switch 2 comes out and they inevitably get one, I'm going to ask my for my Switch back to play Link's Awakening, amongst just a couple other games.

 

[Jovavic]

Switch 2 will be backwards compatible

 

[Section337]

Kingdoms of Amular Re-Reckoning: 7 out of 10

Game definitely started out stronger than it ended for me, as it initially triggered some fairly high nostalgia endorphins.

Overall, it is a fairly big game, decently dense with material but nothing that really triggered much excitement for me. Basically a TSR level story (you may be old if you get this reference) that is mostly disposable. Was able to sink some time into it, particularly since I played it while mostly seeking distraction, However, I was mostly done by the time I reached the siege, glad there wasn't much left to finish.

Ok distraction, won't have much of a long-term impact on me (in either the good or bad column) but something deleted from the console as soon as the credits quit playing

 

[Le Barron de HF]

A Link's Awakening on Switch
8.5/10

First real Zelda game experience. I really enjoyed the game but still torn on certain aspects. I have a busy schedule so I could go weeks without playing. This made knowing what to do next really painful or tedious at times. It also made some parts in the game a little harder to figure out. Not proud but had to pullout the gamethrough probably 4-5x to know what to do next. Most of the time ended up feeling dumb but there were parts that I found were not super intuitive. I found the bosses a little easy at times but I can appreciate the nature of the game having you use different items to beat boss or require an item to get certain things like a Metroidvania would. Any other suggestions of a Zelda game that isn't long AF like BotW? I play maybe 2 hours a week if I'm lucky

 

[Jovavic]

Finished the Suikoden 1 remaster at under 16 hours, forgot where the point of no return was so I didn't get all 108 stars. It's still a solid 7/10 game but now it's on to the much better sequel!

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Turbo Overkill - 8/10
Turbo Overkill is a really good boomer shooter that unfortunately overstays its welcome a bit. It felt like Act 3 kind of got tacked on and many sections left me more frustrated than having fun.

The movement is impeccable. I think good movement is a requirement for a great boomer shooter and this one is awesome. Everything feels so crisp and precise. You'll find yourself zipping around with precision around the maps after you play for a few hours Having a chainsaw leg that deals damage to anyone you slide through is an added bonus! It's a fun concept and works perfectly with the flow of things.

The guns are enjoyable and you'll find yourself rotating through them often. Some of the battle arenas suffer from not having enough ammo to pick up and you'll find yourself stuck with the weakest weapons against the strongest enemies at the end of the waves. You'll find yourself replaying the fight just trying to memorize where all the ammo pick ups are to make sure to take the fight optimally. I personally don't like that in my boomer shooters, I want to go f*** shit up!

Some of the level designs in the battle arenas, particularly in the third act, leave a lot to be desired. There are no checkpoints in them and you'll often find yourself pinched in a bad spot because there's just too many enemies for the space and not enough space to move.

My biggest gripes and what took the most fun out of the game for me were the Ripper and Syn boss fights. The other boss fights were all really enjoyable. The ripper fight is just so damn long with no checkpoints and dying at the end is incredibly frustrating because it took you 10 minutes to get there... The Syn fight was more fun than the Ripper fight but its practically a bullet hell where most things will one shot you but you can only see the bullets in front of you to avoid...

There were definitely moments that had me pulling my hair out in frustration. Those fights didn't leave me feeling accomplished that I completed a difficult challenge, it left me relieved that I can finally move on from a frustrating, poorly designed fight. After about the mid way point of the game, you stop getting new weapons and abilities and all they really do is throw more and more enemies at you which already makes it feel like it overstays its welcome while these frustrating boss fights make the general feeling towards the end even worse.

Overall, it is still a good game. It's about 12 hours long. But if it was about 8 hours long and they cut out the last third, it would have been a great game.


Split Fiction - 9/10
Hazelight Studios does it again! I can't believe there aren't more games like this about a focused co-op experience. The gameplay often times feels simplistic so you can play them with people who don't play many games while fun ideas and awesome visuals make you enjoy every minute. You should be giving every game this developer makes a shot, they just keep making better and better games. I can't wait to see what they have in store next.

 

[pistolpete11]

Dredge : 7.5/10

Ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

The mystery of what happened to this place is enough of a hook at the beginning and the progression is quick enough that it never felt grindy. The day-night cycle and the horrors of night create some urgency and planning. Didn't overstay its welcome.

In the end, though, it's still mostly a collect-a-thon. The mini games while fishing or dredging get really repetitive after a while. I thought they could have added some more puzzle elements. I thought the side quests could have been fleshed out a bit more.