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03 Mar 2020
Comments: 0

Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit | Mar 3, 2020 | 3:30hrs | rating: 2.5/5

Play the classic board game on the big screen!

GAMEPLAY: You answer a lot of questions, preferably faster and better than your friends. The parts where you have to actually be fast or choose between many options simultaneously are the most fun, while the “one person gets to answer his question alone” ones are less fun.
AUDIOVISUALLY: The visuals are kind of lame, but you don’t need more than this. I wish the questions had been fully voice-acted, as it’s now only stuff like “here’s the next question!” and “here are the current results!” that’s spoken, and the actually questions are shown in tiny text.
STORY/PRESENTATION: No story, and the overall presentation could have been better. It looks like there’s so much to do, but there’s really only one mode to play with your friends, and it gets repetitive quickly. I don’t even understand what I’m unlocking when I supposedly unlock things after each round.
MULTIPLAYER: There’s an online mode (that I haven’t even tried) and the main draw: local multiplayer for up to 4 players. It’s fun, but 2-3 rounds is usually enough, because each round has the same structure and there’s no way to change things up.

It’s a great concept, so it sucks that it isn’t more fleshed out. If you could have chosen to only play the more action-y categories, it would have been a lot more fun. As it is now, you feel like you’ve experienced everything after just a couple of hours.

04 Jan 2020
Comments: 0

The Stretchers

The Stretchers | Jan 3, 2020 | 5:20hrs | rating: 2.5/5

Co-op game where you play as ambulance drivers with a stretcher to pick up injured people.

GAMEPLAY: With the press of a button, you grab on to the nearest object/human in order to get them to your ambulance. The controls are finicky though, often being way too hard to grab what you actually intend to grab. The “puzzles” are also just too simple to be engaging. Driving your indestructible ambulance between missions is fun but also a little shallow.
AUDIOVISUALLY: The animations and rag doll physics are the strength of this game. A lot of situations simply look hilarious, and there are so many goofy details like your feet sticking out of the ambulance window. Music is also catchy, and you can clap and sing for no reason at all. It’s goofy fun.
STORY/PRESENTATION: The plot is forgettable and very short, but the fully explorable island (with a lot of destructible and interactive objects) is a big bonus, and adds coherence and a convincing sense of place.
MULTIPLAYER: Although you can play the game alone using the two analog sticks to control each character simultaneously, it’s really meant for two players. If you’re fun people, the game will be fun! It’s quite free-roaming and a lot of the fun comes from goofing around.

With a few adjustments, this game could have been great. Along with the unpolished controls, the lack of rewards for doing missions well is the biggest problem. There isn’t even any ranking system, so it all feels a little pointless! Very charming, but too flawed to recommend unless you have someone who’d love this kind of game. Children probably would.

29 Dec 2019
Comments: 0

Kirby’s Dream Course

Kirby’s Dream Course | Dec 29, 2019 | 3:37hrs | rating: 3/5

I started this one up randomly in the SNES Switch app, and had no idea it’s a Kirby themed golf game, and also, that it’s fun!

GAMEPLAY: You choose between regular shot or chip, aim and go for the correct strength, like any golf game. There is a tutorial in the menu but I didn’t see it, so I only gradually learned that you can also bounce to get extra distance, and even steal your opponents’ abilities and activate while you’re in motion. At first I had fun playing through the courses with bad scores, but upon returning to them, I realized it also works like a puzzle game, using all your abilities to get a hole in one. Depth!
AUDIOVISUALLY: Standard isometric pixel graphics that do their job. Music is quite nice but nothing special.
STORY/PRESENTATION: You travel through eight colorful worlds for who knows why.
MULTIPLAYER: There’s a VS mode, but it didn’t quite work for us, since you kind of collaborate too in order to kill the enemies. I want to do it by myself! While competing.

I like golf games, and this is a very original take on the genre. As an adventure, it feels way short though, and although 64 courses is a lot as a golf game, it doesn’t give me the itch to replay to improve the scores.

06 Dec 2019
Comments: 0

Katamari Damacy Reroll

Katamari Damacy Reroll | Dec 6, 2019 | 4:55hrs | rating: 4.5/5

Make your ball bigger and bigger by rolling over objects smaller than yourself!

GAMEPLAY: Although the controls are a little clumsy, the overall design is incredibly good. Certainly one of the most clever and satisfying game concepts ever!
AUDIOVISUALLY: Simple but effective visuals and memorable music. Most of the songs are still stuck in my head days after playing.
STORY/PRESENTATION: The presentation is very Japanese-quirky, in the best way possible. The “main plot” is a bit too detached from the actual gameplay, but it doesn’t detract from the experience.
MULTIPLAYER: New in this remaster is a VS mode, but it’s too simple to stay fun after a few rounds.

It’s my first time with this series, and I’m amazed. It must have been a real feature to make this work on a PS2, with so many interactive objects on screen, and the sense of scale it manages. Too bad it ends so quickly, because I wanted more missions, more levels, more rolling, more everything!

31 Oct 2019
Comments: 0

Steamworld Heist

Steamworld Heist | Oct 31, 2019 | 9:32hrs | rating: 2/5

SteamWorld Dig 2 was a pretty nice metroidvania, but how does the team tackle a turn-based strategy game?

GAMEPLAY: You select and place the character like you usually would in an SRPG, but the twist is that you then aim your gun manually. It’s sort of fun, but I would have liked it more if there were more ricocheting and level design for it, mini golf-style. As it is, it never felt clever or out of the ordinary to hit the enemy.
AUDIOVISUALLY: It looks clean but quite monotonous, and I’m not a huge fan of the “flash”-like visuals. The music is alright, and I kind of like the vocal cowboy tracks.
STORY/PRESENTATION: The story/world ended sooner than I had expected, but it wasn’t a bad thing since I wanted it to be over anyway. The plot and dialog just didn’t do anything for me.
MULTIPLAYER: None. Could have been cool to compete against a friend though, see who’s the best sharp-shooter and tactician!

Unfortunately this game didn’t do much for me. The gameplay felt too light, and the levels being randomly generated certainly didn’t improve on things.

11 Oct 2019
Comments: 0

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Oct 11, 2019 | 62:30hrs | rating: 3/5

I used to love the Fire Emblem series, especially the Radiance series and to a lesser extent Awakening. But it was really hard to get into this one because of all the slow side-stuff and no sense of progress.

GAMEPLAY: At its core, it’s still a lot of fun to move around your characters and feel awesome when your tactics worked out. But the monestary parts get tiring really fast, and there’s just too much customization for my tastes. I also miss encountering new faces on a journey and get them to join the team.
AUDIOVISUALLY: Ugly and inconsistent visuals, and although the music is good, it’s been better in some of the older games.
STORY/PRESENTATION: It’s nice that ALL lines in this dialog-heavy game have been voiced. But the story being grounded in the monestary ruins the adventurous feeling of the older games, and it’s way more repetitive.

At first I was really into it, but the extra fluff got so boring that I lost interest. Luckily you can skip all of that and proceed directly to the next battle, which made it tolerable. I’m still excited about the series, but I hope they change things up for the next game.

10 Sep 2019
Comments: 0

Overcooked

Overcooked | Sep 10, 2019 | 11:00hrs | rating: 3.5/5

Multi-task to run the restaurant kitchen as efficiently as possible!

GAMEPLAY: A little wonky and imperfect controls, occasionally buggy, but really original and fun despite that! Collaborating with a friend has insane depth.
AUDIOVISUALLY: Nicer looking than I expected from a 3D indie game, and the music is catchy.
STORY/PRESENTATION: It’s a silly story, but it works, and there’s a nice overworld map to give the game a sense of journey and progression.
MULTIPLAYER: I only played this in co-op, and I think that’s how it’s meant to be played. A ton of fun, a must-play if you’re the collaborative kind.

There was a lot of talk about this one, and I think it delivered. Can’t wait to see the improvements of the second game!

04 Mar 2019
Comments: 0

DeltaRune Chapter 1

DeltaRune Chapter 1 | Mar 4, 2019 | 2:45hrs | rating: 1.5/5

A short comedy adventure story with a bit of walking and a bit of menu selecting.

GAMEPLAY: Walk down a corridor, read text and occasionally click on stuff. It’s the simplest thing possible, and I get that gameplay isn’t the point, but that makes this game not for me.
AUDIOVISUALLY: Visuals are ugly but cute enough. Music is actually good!
STORY/PRESENTATION: It’s quirky and humoristic. I just can’t care since the gameplay itself doesn’t hook me.

I’m repeating myself, but although the plot and events are entertaining, I’m always bored to death when the “game” happens. And since it’s always obvious what to select in the menu to win, I might as well watch a video of it.