@Buizel tbh I think what has put me off Hades (other than not really liking rougelikes in the first place) is the sneaking suspicion that it'll be yet another highly-praised indie that just doesn't blow me away. I'll grab it when it eventually hits $10, like I did with Celeste, but it's usually the less celebrated indies that I end up digging more.
@kkslider5552000 It's a perfectly acceptable Super Meat Boy/Slime-san style game gameplay-wise, but I wasn't hugely impressed with it otherwise. Level design is probably the area where it most consistently shines, but too often I found the rage platformer aspects conflicted with the exploration and nested narrative focus, which, as I pointed out before, was a bit overdone to my liking.
I think what most rubbed me the wrong way about it was the pixel art: there's good use of color throughout, but the actual characters are so low on detail. There's no excuse for it when you have small teams and even single individuals creating gorgeous pixel art in games like Owlboy and Iconoclasts. Or even something more basic like Stardew Valley.
Level design is probably the area where it most consistently shines, but too often I found the rage platformer aspects conflicted with the exploration and narrative focus.
I guess that didn't bother me because it wasn't that difficult? At least the main story. It was difficult enough that it felt like a struggle for the character, but not so much that it overshadowed the story.
Probably also helps that I avoided all the B side levels and the like until I beat the game. So it was a strong like 8 hour story in a game, and then all the rest was a platforming, challenging extra.
@kkslider5552000 I didn't mean it that way. I meant more in the sense that I don't think the sub-genre of platformer this game belongs to necessarily works well with the sort of level design and omnipresent theming this game is going for. I think it detracts from both, tbh, and they from it, so you end up with this sort of mish-mash game that wants to be this holistic metaphor for someone's psychological journey toward self-acceptance, but it ends up feeling like someone stapled pages from a self-help book into Super Meat Boy and opted for level design that felt at odds with the 'line nearly every inch of every surface with spikes' design of this sort of game.
It's not a bad game. I enjoyed it well enough to play it thoroughly.
I mean, we'll have to agree to disagree. Which is fine.
I mean, the only thing I will say, is that I'm self-aware enough to realize that of course I was gonna be into this game. "God I can't believe I love a 2d platformer critics also loved?!" This is not a shocking revelation.
@Link-Hero Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it just doesn't help the fact that I didn't find the game enjoyable tbh. Also - now that you mention it - I think it was running out of energy that was my main problem rather than the in-game time itself. Hits too close to home - I have these constraints on my real life, I don't necessarily want them in a game. Perhaps it just means the genre isn't for me.
@kkslider5552000 Well, OK, I'll admit I probably wasn't being fair to the soundtrack. It's a highly decent soundtrack. One of the best I've heard in an independent game, actually.
On the subject, I can't be the only person who kinda hears the Resident Evil save room theme in this track, right?
Currently Playing: Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PC); Unicorn Overlord (NS)
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
@JaxonH It's now available, I guess we're seeing an increase of non-Nintendo published games moving away from the midnight local time release that was common before. It's becoming the case on other platforms too like Halo Infinite isn't a midnight launch.
I'm quite surprised to see the Harvest Moons and Story of Seasons there, but not the Farming Simulators, which is generally what I would consider more time consuming. (in the... "Leave it running in the background" way)
Anyone who has ever enjoyed a visual novel and wants more of an interactive AAA approach with way better voice acting, animations, dialog and story, investigative gameplay with choices that actually matter and impact the outcome, this is a game you absolutely shouldn't sleep on
Even if you've never played a game like this before- I strongly believe in my very core, every gamer can love every genre, it's just a matter of playing the right game. And at least for me, exploring new types of games and finding new types of experiences is one of the most thrilling aspects of this hobby.
1 hour in and I'm utterly captivated. I can't imagine anyone playing what I just played, and hating it. I think the biggest hurdle this game has, is just convincing people to try it. I know it's very different than the types of games Nintendo fans typically engage with, but it's so good. Highly recommend.
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
I would say the one problem with True Colors is choices don’t really matter, especially when taken in the context of previous Life is Strange games. TC is a much more muted game, many choices are more like different flavourings or nuances in scenes, rather than dramatically altering the course of the story/characters. That isn’t to say there aren’t big choices, because there are, but it is a lot of small, mostly meaningless, choices in between a few key ones.
But yeah, such a crush on Alex. Some of the later stuff with like the LARPing is so good. The two romances you can explore actually feel quite different and I enjoyed exploring both. Plus, as a portrait of grief, it is one of the better ones I have experienced in media.
Review for Life Is Strange just went live on Switch Up (the only reviews I trust nowadays). Seems they nailed the performance. Framerate is solid. Maybe even more stable than PS/Xbox versions when they released.
@Pizzamorg
I'm so glad this port turned out well. No gameplay shown before release, not even an eShop listing! I was beginning to think they were hiding something. Turns out, the game holds a rock solid 30fps and runs 1080p docked and 720p handheld with impressive results!
Like, you can tell it's been downgraded. For sure. But still, for a Switch game it looks dang good. Especially in handheld mode.
I'm currently playing with Hifiman Arya headphones... gotta use quality headphones for this one. The music is so integral to the experience. And the audio quality is superb in this game. Even with the Switch OLED speakers it sounds great. The facial animations are so well done, and the voice acting so quality, and story so grounded, it really feels like I'm there. Like I'm playing the role.
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
Yeah @JaxonH I totally forgot to shout out those facial animations, just insane how good they are. Makes everyone seem so real, I am not sure I’ve seen such detailed and realistic faces, this is even despite the stylised graphics. It had a risk of feeling a little uncanny valley, but I think they really nail the balance.
The soundtrack is really great as well, really surprised to see smaller British artists like Gabrielle Aplin and Keaton Henson show up along the way.
Something just happened. You probably know what I'm talking about. Holy crap! I wasn't ready for this, I wasn't ready at all.
This game is determined to break my heart playing it. Oh man...
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
Something just happened. You probably know what I'm talking about. Holy crap! I wasn't ready for this, I wasn't ready at all.
This game is determined to break my heart playing it. Oh man...
You just got to the end of chapter one? Yeah, ooooft. Shows how effective they are in emotionally hooking you in, because that ending hits like a landslide of rocks following an explosion despite only meeting these characters like a couple of hours earlier.
There are some other big emotional punches coming along the way too, especially depending on some of the choices you make/how you use your power.
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