Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 543 681 Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime A Co-op focussed hybrid of SHMUP-lite and Plate-Spinner gameplay, the awesomely named Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime sees up to four players take control of a spaceship as members of the League Of Very Empathetic Rescue Spacenauts (or L.O.V.E.Rs.) Thier galaxy, powered by affection, has been hit by a calamity, as the forces of Anti-Love have destroyed the Ardor Reactor - the heart-shaped spaceport and centre of the civilisation of anthropomorphic space-faring animals - and has kidnapped and entrapped a large swathe of their number. The players must pilot the craft around the various procedurally-generated 2D levels, rescuing the trapped LOVERs, and defeating the forces of Anti-Love, to restore peace and tranquility to the galaxy! The game is, at its core, essentially a somewhat slow paced, rather more varied and variable version of the core gameplay of old arcade game Asteroids. played on a flat 2D plane, the players manoeuvre the large, somewhat (deliberately) unwieldy craft around procedurally generated and randomised level layouts, searching for the missing members of the L.O.V.E.Rs, and dealing with the various enemy types, and space-based hazards along the way. It's a good concept, and here, with the addition of the Overcooked-style multi-player, plate-spinning chaos via the odd controls of the vessels, it works well. Each element of the control of the vessel - various gun turrets, shielding, specialty weapons, engines and the map - must be manually walked to and interacted with to control, and so no matter how many players are playing together, the dynamic of the game changes quite considerably. If there are 4 players present, it is reasonable for one to remain exclusively the pilot, one as the shield operator, and two manning the different gun turrets, however, in a two-player game (the way I played the game in its entirety,) there is rarely ever the possibility of a single person remaining solely responsible for one element of the game. While one player might stick primarily to the engines and steering, for example, and another player concentrates more on shielding, both must be prepared to flip to any of the gun turrets as required, and there is a constant feeling of controlled chaos as the players try to divvy up the responsibilities as each new situation arises. This aspect is actually played with quite effectively with the addition of multiple spacecrafts too. While the "default" spacecraft - the "Gumball" - allows all players access to all turrets, and therefore leaves the dispersal of responsibilities entirely to the players, some of the "alternative" crafts have their own unique eccentricities. The "Banana Split" features specific uncrossable walls, meaning each player only has access to certain turrets, and the players must adapt to suit that, while the "Jelly Roll" retains the full suite of accessibility, but changes the steering method quite significantly, giving control of the ship orientation to the engine pilot, and therefore requiring the gun-operators and pilot to work together much more dynamically. This element works, though in one case I do think some lack of awareness is demonstrated on the developers part with regards to two player games - specifically, in the case of the "Banana Split" ship. Because in a 2-player situation, the same player who has exclusive access to the engines is also the player with exclusive access to the shields, it does tend to slow the (already relatively languid) pace of the game even further. The pilot must essentially let the ship come to a full stop at each combat encounter, in order to man the shields effectively. This ship, in particular, does feel more specifically suited to 3 or 4 player games. On the co-op, in fact, it's worth noting, the game is very good in 2-player, and would clearly work great with 3 or 4... but is not really suited to single player at all. The developer does - to their credit - account for the lonesome L.O.V.E.R playing: starting a single player game gives an AI companion who can be sent to different stations at the player's discretion. That AI companion is effective actually - proving useful in combat... but this mechanics slows the action of an already relatively slow-paced game down further, and does make the game feel odd and unwieldy. That is unfortunate, given that the game has no option for online play - this is a couch-co-op experience only, which does make sense, given that constant communication is the key to plate-spinning games like Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime or Overcooked... but it does lift the barrier to entry for the best experience playing the game quite a bit. The game operates in discrete "campaigns" - each featuring 4 levels then a boss, with decent variety across them. While the meat-and-potatoes of the game is the standard "find the lost L.O.V.E.Rs and escape at your leisure" type level, there a a few non-standard variants mixed in. Some of these - for example, the "warp" levels, where the ship remains centre-screen, and the shield is replaced with a mcguffin that must be defended against wave-based-hoards - are nice distractions, while some others (in particular, one very irksomely tightly timed level,) do provide a change of pace, while being perhaps a little less welcome! This timed level is, I believe, only used once, but it is genuinely frustrating, as it is the only time the good elements of the game seem to work in direct opposition to one another. Because the levels are randomly generated, the introduction of a strict time limit does mean that this level can be either easy, or brutally difficult - to the extent I question if it is even possible - simply based on luck of the draw. My co-op partner and I failed it spectacularly 3 or 4 times in a row... then managed to complete it with more than half the time remaining. That change does not represent a dramatic change in our abilities or skills (trust me!)... its was purely a result of luck-of-the-RNG-draw. Over the course of a campaign, the ships start out as their basic versions, however, there is a pretty fluid and dynamic upgrade mechanic introduced, in the form of "gems". Stations, (guns / engine / shields / special weapon,) can all be upgraded with up to two "gems" of three varieties, and each combination has different effects. Two "power" gems will give a gun turret a greatly increased rate of fire, however, adding one "metal" gem a will turn it into a ball-and-chain flail... and adding a "Power" gem to that, will turn it into a remote controlled rocket. Adding a metal gem to the engine, will leave damaging caltrops behind... but adding a "Beam" gem to it, will also have a deadly laser pointing from the stern of the ship. Combining different elements with these gems has a constant source of interest and variation to the game, and results in a very fun push-pull of figuring out which slot would best take each new gem acquired. Even deep into the later campaigns, my co-op partner and I were still discovering new combinations of gems to try out and - much like any well balanced variable upgrade path, with each new one, we would say "Oh, THIS is the best one..." only to double down when we discovered something else... "No, scratch that, THIS is the best one!" The game difficulty ramps up quite steeply in later levels, with some pretty frustrating elements being introduced - all of which have the potential to really become a challenge, depending on the whims of the RNG (White Dwarfs in particular proved an enduring menace in our playthroughs!) however, good variety keeps it feeling fun, rather than frustrating, and a wealth of difficulty levels are present in the settings, to cater to all players. Visually, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is quite the looker - its not a graphical powerhouse, but it does have a distinct and really cool style to it, a really fun, vibrant and whimsical colour palate and art-style, and its low-poly, cartoonish visuals look absolutely gorgeous in motion. The whimsical tone of the love-themed game is carried principally by the design aesthetic - a hot-pink and yellow psychedelic pastiche, and it works to a tee. The music is fun and goofy - not something I'd listen to divorced from the game experience, but it works really well in game, and during the (rather infrequent) moments where the players aren't barking frantic orders at one another, they might manage to hear some of it! Overall, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a smart, fun, well put together and endlessly charming little co-op chaos simulator, that has settings for all levels, caters to all combinations of players, and has entertainment for all, without wearing out its welcome. (For original review and Scientific Ranking see HERE) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 544 682 Tunic An action RPG and Puzzle Game hybrid from virtual one-man-band developer Andrew Shouldice, Tunic takes significant inspiration from 16-bit era Action RPGs - most notably The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - applies a slight Souls-like overlay to the structure and format of those games, along with a modern, sleek isometric visual style, then weaves a web of puzzle-elements into it so deep that it gives the likes of The Witness or Fez a run for their money! Taking the role of a young anthropomorphic fox, the player is thrust into a world that is already in ruin. There is little information to guide them as to what they can do - indeed, the language of the world is alien to the fox (and therefore the player,) and there are no real NPCs or civilians to be found - just the forces of some seeping evil intent on killing him, and withholding the secrets of the broken world. However, he (and the player) do have one clue as to what they might do to stop it... in the form of the game manual. Yes, that's correct - the actual game manual. Remember game manuals? You'd be forgiven if the answer is "no". It's been a while. Back in the NES / SNES days, when games - and particularly Japanese developed games - were often obtuse or lacking in overt tutorialising, and when games lacked the technical prowess to convey the gravity of their concepts through in-game art, the manual often served as the way to not only tell the player what to do, and how to play, but to build the lore of the world, and set the tone of the fiction. As games gained technical and graphical prowess though, and introduced more player-friendly on-ramps and explanatory tutorials, the necessity for the game manual as a part of the game package dwindled into virtual non-existence. All those advances were, of course, beneficial, however, the removal of game manuals did result in something of a loss... as (at their best) they were often quite beautifully crafted parts of the package, featuring artistic depictions of enemies or locations, background lore, hints, tips... and even the odd little secret hidden within their pages. Pouring over the manual for a game is something some folks remember quite fondly. I do... ...and Andrew Shouldice sure does. Essentially what Tunic does, is take that old concept - pouring over the game manual, looking for hints as to what to do in an obtuse game - and pushes so hard on the lever that it breaks off in his hands. At the outset of the game, the player finds the first in-game "manual page" collectible, containing a single sheet of the 50-odd page manual (so two pages, front-and-back,) and is given a few hints of not only their quest, but how to play. as they explore the world, learning in the more traditional "in-game" way one does when feeling out a new game world, they will come across many, many elements in the game that seem like either decoration or simple visual or audio flourishes... but also more and more of these pages - and with virtually every single one, their knowledge of how to play the game, and where to look for secrets grows and grows. In many ways what Tunic manages to do via this method of play, is to create a layer of Metroidvania gameplay. without using the actual toolset of a Metroidvania. Now to be clear - there are genuine Metroidvania elements in play in Tunic as well. Certain items, such as a lantern, a "hook shot" equivalent, a magic wand etc are used to gate progress or facilitate shortcuts and new paths, in much the same way any Metroidvania does. However, on top of that, Tunic also manages to use player knowledge as a gate to progress, in the most Metroidvania-esque way I think I have seen. For example, the player does, right from the very beginning of the game, have access to a huge amount of the world. They just don't know that they do. There are doorways with specific patterns, flowers arranged in certain ways, hidden paths obscured by nothing more than the isometric view of the game, - even an entire fast-travel system - that they could avail themselves of instantly... if only they knew what to do. But they don't. The manual pages with clues or instructions telling them the combination of buttons to press, or the action to take, or the specific movement to make to activate these are buried deep within the game. This means the game gets to weaponise player knowledge in the same way it does a traversal item like a Hook Shot - not only does the player, upon learning a secret piece of knowledge get the usual Metroidvania rush of "oh, there are so many spots I've seen where I can use this!"... but it is heightened and compounded, as they realise not only can they access somewhere they previously couldn't but that the ability was there the whole time, they just couldn't see it! It's a great concept, and one executed on exceptionally well. The actual land-mass of Tunic is not enormous - there are 7 or 8 distinct areas/ dungeons, seemingly facilitating a game length roughly analogous to the old 16-Bit RPGs to which it owes its tone and timbre, however, the combinations of, and compound nature of, the puzzle elements within every inch of that land-mass is quite simply astounding. Over the course of a blind playthrough, where puzzle elements are being solved organically, (either through pure puzzling prowess, or via the well implemented hint-system via the PS5's "Trophy Tips" features,) a player will often return to the same area 4, 5, even 6 times armed with new knowledge or ideas, and sure enough, that knowledge almost always results in something new being revealed there. That the same area that was once simply a battlefield to be fought through is now a piece of an intricate puzzle to be solved, but dollars to doughnuts, in a few hours, and with a few more pages of the manual found, or a few more of the little secrets within those pages deciphered, the player will be back there again, solving another part of an even more devious or obscure puzzle solution hidden wither within the first one, or beneath it. Tunic, in fact, uses the (genuinely difficulty to implement) "hidden in plain sight" aspect of puzzle gaming to a degree and level of success I have almost never seen, and in that regard, sits proudly alongside such pillars of that genre aspect as Outer Wilds, or The Witness... and it does it over and over and over again. The puzzles are, themselves, fantastic and extremely varied. Because they are compounded so deeply, the breadth of puzzle "types" and ways in which information can be hidden is - by necessity - varied also. The game manual is a lovely thing to look at, evoking perfectly the art-styles and layouts of the old SNES manuals, but there are little clues and hints everywhere within it. A picture denoting what each bit on on-screen UI means is useful, of course, and looks just like it would have in a real manual in 1992... but look closer at the particular screenshot chosen and the player might notice a chest in that location, that they haven't seen in its real, in-world counterpart, thus piquing their interest. They might also notice a scribble in the margins of that page, that means nothing at first... but might mean something very important, in conjunction with another scribble on another page. Look even closer, and the fact that one of the lines pointing to a piece of UI is an odd shape... and that might match something else. There are little clues, little puzzles, riddles, cyphers, spot-the-differences, combinations, shapes, colours, scribbles... but interestingly, never any red-herrings. Every single detail of that manual is serving more than one purpose, and nothing in the game is wasted. If a puzzle can fit in it, Shouldice fits four in. Then puts a fifth on, for good measure. This makes playing the game feel incredibly and genuinely rewarding, as there is virtually never an instance where something turns out to be nothing. If some part of the game feels like it might be a clue - make no mistake it is. If the player can't seem to figure it out, it's not because it isn't there, it's just because they haven't got there yet! The overall narrative of Tunic is relatively simple - as it is required to be, given that interpreting it though a (largely) indecipherable language is a core element - however, it does do exactly what it means to do, namely, to evoke the SNES ere JRPGs. The young fox the player controls is somewhat lost in the broken world, but comes to understand that some great truth about the world has been hidden and kept a secret. Hero's past have struggled to reveal it, through collection of magical crystals, and he must do the same, all the while being broadly and vaguely guided by the hand of the previous Hero to attempt the feat - an adult, female fox who appears to him as a ghostly apparition. In fact, the game plays very cleverly with its narrative concepts, to quite winning effect at the climax of the narrative. While I will not spoil anything, I will say the game has two different endings, and the ways in which these differ are significant. The "Good" ending serves as a well paced final puzzle piece in understanding the mythology hinted at in the world, and built within the manual, providing the final "ah-hah" moment to the player in a way that provides both a gameplay and emotional catharsis. The game looks and sounds fantastic - it is a simple aesthetic, a sort of hybrid of old 16-Bit era oblique-view action RPGs, and modern isometric iOS style puzzle games - and it works perfectly on two fronts. Firstly, purely aesthetically. The game feels cute and welcoming and warm, even where the world depicted is ruined and haunted, and goes some way to keeping the tone approachable, even when the narrative gets darker. Secondly though, the isometric viewpoint does a great job of allowing the developer to hide paths, objects, shortcuts etc in plain sight. Because of the fixed perspective, a completely open path can be effectively hidden simply by placing something in the foreground - and that allows clues as to the paths whereabouts to be hinted at in the in-manual map, providing subtle hints, without hanging a lantern on it. This therefore gamified elements not normally prone to gamification... and adds yet another puzzle type and layer. The score is great - it isn't on a level where I'd play it independent of the game, but it is close, and really sets the mood of the game well. The one area of the game that, unfortunately, does not live up to the high standard of the puzzles, world design and lore, is the combat, however. While it is fine, and certainly does evoke the 16-Bit era Zelda games / Secret of Mana style action JRPG, that does make it quite simplistic by modern standards, and because the game is evoking Souls-style combat in terms of the unforgiving nature and respawning enemies etc, that simplicity, combined with the fixed isometric camera can be prone to irritation when it comes to combat placement, visibility and gauging distance of sword-swings etc. There are a few boss fights in the game, and while the idea of the bosses do work and seem interesting, the game just never quite manages to make them feel great. Most boss encounters can be won through attrition, and over-provision of items, and even without that, they just don't reach the combat-puzzle level of similarly Dark Souls inspired games. In fact, I feel a comparison is worthy of being made with recent similarly isometric puzzle-RPG-souls hybrid Death's Door. While those folks who read my review of that game may recall, I was cooler on it than many, primarily due to my dissatisfaction with the puzzles, and the lore. The combat, had some issues, (particularly with balancing,) but was arguably the highlight of that game. In many ways Tunic feels like the perfect inverse of Death's Door. The games are similar in concept, but Tunic nails all aspects of puzzle, lore and narrative, yet has weaker combat. Death's Door doesn't reach its potential in the puzzles, lore or narrative, but does feature the better combat encounters and boss design. Overall, that makes Tunic the far superior game, however, the proximity of its release to Death's Door's does serve to highlight its one weaker element. Overall, Tunic is a really fascinating and clever concept, executed to a very high standard, and providing a depth of engagement through its unique puzzle mechanics that is as baffling and impressive as it is unexpected upon initial engagement with the game. It looks and sounds great, works, as both a JRPG and a puzzle game, and while the combat can be a little flat, it serves the purpose it needs to... to flesh out a game where puzzle-solving is the raison d'etre, and all else is secondary to that. (For original review and Scientific Ranking see HERE) 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 545 683 Fear Effect Sedna The revival of the dormant Fear Effect franchise in the form of an indie tactics-lite isometric RTS from French developer Sushee, Fear Effect Sedna - the third game in the franchise, and first since the original Playstation days - sees mercenaries Hana, Rain and Deke hired to steal a mysterious artefact in Paris. When they are beaten to it by another group of mercs, hired for the same job. Barely surviving the encounter, and losing the artefact in the process, they head to Greenland in pursuit, meeting up with old series character Glas, and piece together a plot involving a modern-day Inuit cult, hell bent on resurrecting Sedna - the Inuit goddess of the Sea. Now, to be clear - I did not play the original Fear Effect games on Playstation. They always appealed, and the way the were marketed - as essentially a more "grown-up" take on Resident Evil style survival 3rd person action seemed right up my alley, but for whatever reason, I simply never got around to them before the franchise dwindled off the map. What always struck me about the little I saw of the games back in those days though, was striking - and for one primary reason: the visuals. The original Fear Effect games had a great early cell-shaded art-style, and really popped off the screen - particularly at that time, 19-odd years ago, when most 3rd-person action games were in one of their, (frequent, and rather cyclical,) periods of "it's all brown and black and grimy, 'cause we're edgy teens now, man!" That visual pop and flair has, to be fair, absolutely carried over to Sushee's game. Fear Effect Sedna looks really quite great. In terms of the general gameplay, it's already a nice looking game - the isometric environments are simple but effective, nicely varied, well rendered, and actually look quite stylistically similar to Invisible Inc... (and any regular readers of mine will now instantly understand what drove me to buy this game!) More than that though, there is the cutscenes - and those look fan-fucking-tastic. Really, the cell shaded look used in the cut-scenes of Fear Effect Sedna work incredibly well. There are modern cell-shaded games (for example, Rollerdrome, or Void Bastards,) which undoubtedly look more sleek and finessed, however, Fear Effect Sedna is not quite going for that same fidelity. Instead of looking like a perfect modern-day cell-shaded style, Sedna is going for a modern take on a 20-year-old cell-shaded style - a brand new, modernised version of a style originally cemented with the first two games - and in that capacity, Sedna is a resounding success. The characters look cool, they look slick, and the animations look both old and new in just the right ways. These cut-scenes are a joy to look at, and they would be a joy to listen to as well... ...if only the dialogue wasn't atrocious. Now, I will say, the actual plot of Fear Effect Sedna - while simple and silly - is fine. Actually, it is pretty much on par with the kinds of plots that would have graced a PSOne B-Game - which Fear Effect effectively was - and in that regard, feels quite at home. The characters even, while cliches to be sure, are actually pretty fun and varied. The issue though, is that they never seem to be able to say more than two words, without it rendering the whole game laughable. The dialogue is both very poorly written, very on-the-nose, stultifyingly awkward, and, unfortunately, pretty poorly delivered. I will say, it's hard to full blame the voice cast here - they aren't great, but to be honest, given the calibre of writing they have to work with, I'd wager the greatest voice actors in the world would struggle. The issues with the dialogue range from the unnatural, to the tired, to the cringe-worthy, to the borderline problematic at times (the relationship between Hana and Rain is particularly ridiculous - not since Bound has a lesbian relationship so clearly been written as male-fantasy, as opposed to female reality.) That would be forgivable (or, at least, ignorable,) were the gameplay good, but unfortunately, the writing is the least of Fear Effect Sedna's problems. The gameplay operates as a real-time tactical experience, with the player able to flip between different characters, each of whom have different special abilities. The player can "stop the clock" at any time, and control individual characters in a sort of tactical "stasis" - moving and controlling them in real-time, but with the rest of the world frozen in time, and by doing so, is able to set "paths" and actions they will take once the clock is started again. By this method, the player can - in theory - independently control all four characters to act simultaneously, by playing each role in "stasis", then unfreezing time, and watching it all play out... ... if it worked. It does not. Because the characters are moved individually, and there is no accounting for the actions of the enemies, or each-other, this whole element of the game is largely useless. If, for example, a character is told to run to X, shoot at Y, then run back to Z, that only works if X, Y & Z remain undisturbed by anything else. If a character is told to shoot at an enemy, and then when time is started, that enemy moves, the character will simply move to where they were told to, and stop. They don't know what to do. That sounds bad, (and it is,) but what's worse is, after setting a path for one character, other characters cannot see that path during their path-setting. If controlling 4 characters during a time-stasis, the player happens to inadvertently have them bump into each-other, or stand too close together, or block each-other's shots (all very possible in the tight quarters of a gunfight,) the characters again, either revert to CPU control, or stop dead altogether. As a result, virtually all of this tactical element - arguably the primary selling point of the game - ends up being virtually impossible to use... and curiously, even when it does work, it is generally less effective than simply direct-controlling one character, and allowing the CPU to control the rest. Virtually the entire game - all gunfights, all bosses, everything can be easily completed simply by shooting a pistol at it over and over, reviving CPU characters who fall, and - if necessary - taking over a CPU character when the player falls. Because there is multiple characters, each with infinite revives of one another, all combat sections can be won through simple attrition. That combat is also, almost unbelievably flat an uninteresting. Gunfire is so limp and un-impactful that it can often be difficult to even register that gun is actually firing without looking at the enemy health-bar for confirmation. The controls are quite spongey already, and that lack of feedback really exhascerbates that issues... as does the fact that there are some technical issues, in the sense that button pushes occasionally seem to fail to register. Hit-boxing is a major issue also - not so much with gunfire, but when fighting bosses/ enemies who use melee attacks. There is a dodge-roll mechanic, but it has no invincibility frames as far as I could tell, and so the player has to simple stay out of the way... and by "out of the way", I mean out of the way by about 3-feet... because the hit-box extends that far beyond the visible enemy swipe! The game has some stealth sections too - these work modestly better than the combat does - when crouching, an un-discovered character can see vision cones of enemies, facilitating an old-school stealth style, and enemies can be instantly dispatched in this posture, providing they do not see the player - but this has two major issues as well. Firstly, the CPU controlled characters, while useful in combat, are a menace in stealth - and will happily wander right into the vision of an enemy. The player has to be careful to always tell them to stay put at the beginning of any stealth section... but of course, this means that if the player is discovered, their CPU backup is miles away, and thus they are left exposed. The only solution is a sort of "all or nothing" approach - if the player thinks they can fully stealth a section, they need to leave all backup behind... but if they think there's a chance they might get caught, then they might as well just run in, guns akimbo. There are a few decent puzzle elements to the game - actually taking some cues form Adventure games and older-style puzzle games, where there are few clues, and the player must infer solutions from the level environment, and these are pretty good. There are also a few "unique" event type sections that are simple but clever - for example, an early section where a player is disguised as a waiter in an upscale event, and must "overhear" information from chatting groups of people, while serving drinks at a pace consistent enough not to blow their cover... but even with these puzzle or unique elements, there is a major issue - instant failing. Failing a puzzle has no margin for error, and always results in a lengthly death scene, followed by a loading screen to restart the puzzle. This is fine in general, but maddening in some of the more trial-and-error puzzle types, where the player is having to deduce information and figure out how it relates to the puzzle. The final aspect to mention is the audio - as said, the voice work is pretty ropey, and unfortunately, this follows to the foley work. Gunfire sounds as limp as it feels... and man, does it feel limp. There is some decent original score in the game though, to its credit - nothing as interesting or accomplished as the visuals, but certainly on the good side of mediocre. Overall, Fear Effect Sedna is a pretty resounding belly-flop. It's a tactical game in which tactics are both under-powered, and under-developed, a visually nice game let down by the quality of its writing... and a combat, stealth and puzzle game, each element of which has some serious technical or design flaw holding it back. I went in wondering whether I should have tried to find a way to play the original games first, and worrying that I might be lost, but to be honest, I am in some ways glad I didn't play those games. From everything I know of them, they are pretty good. I'd imagine prior knowledge or affinity for the Fear Effect franchise would not have enhanced anything about Fear Effect Sedna... ...except perhaps disappointment with it. (For original review and Scientific Ranking see HERE) 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 #1,715 PS4 version of Roll The Cat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lightsp33d1987 Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post insaneeeRob Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 Commendable Sevice Heavenly Bodies So this was a fun/frustrating experience... Sometimes i just wanted to kill that silly astronaut and the damn gravity lol. The spaceship level was a nightmare bc of the controls of the ship and the 10 minutes challenge was a hard one too bc I DID IT IN 9:57... The newtonian difficulty was ok tho. (Thank god there's no dlc hehehe) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post raphasauer Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 (edited) #29 God of War (2018) I was cleaning up my backlog and decided to have a go at the platinum before my copy of Ragnarök arrives. I hate collectibles. Edited November 10, 2022 by raphasauer 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post erwint0920 Posted November 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 10, 2022 #72 - LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Thank god I'm done with this game, this is the most tedious game I have ever played. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MissShake Posted November 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2022 #100: Sonic Frontiers Trophies Completed! Collected all trophies. I finally hit triple digits, and with a series that means a lot to me, PLUS I'm sure to be in the leaderboards as one of the first fifty to plat this version. A certified Gamer Moment. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post StraightVege Posted November 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2022 (edited) Platinum #310 - Mortal Shell Admittedly, I approached this indie Soulslike in tentative fashion, half-expecting a clunky mess in the vein of Lords of the Fallen. This turned out to be unfair of me, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that some imaginative mechanics and concepts coalesced to make it a fairly engaging experience, almost on par with the likes of the best offerings out there, such as The Surge or Nioh. My favorite aspect must be the quite cool "harden" ability. In lieu of shields, your main defensive option is the capability to quickly transform into a statue, becoming impervious to basically all forms of damage until hit, which then breaks the hardened state. Initially, I convinced myself that harden was a gimmick I'd ignore entirely, in favor of dodging everything, since that's always been my main playstyle in these third-person action RPGs. I was wrong! It's actually incredibly useful and versatile, allowing you to do awesome stuff like harden in the middle of your attack, safely following through into a combo after the targeted foe foolishly strikes you. Moreover, you can go hard in midair (hehe), protecting you from otherwise lethal falls, while simultaneously crushing any poor sap unlucky enough to be situated beneath you at that moment. Don't neglect hardening if you play this, because it makes certain challenges far easier, particularly the final boss. They could have just thrown in shields and called it a day, yet chose to take this creative risk instead, a fact I respect a great deal. Parrying is totally a thing, too, but I found timing them to be very strange, and not really worth the risk when harden is so reliable. Mortal Shell also handles its character classes in a unique manner I rather liked. As an emaciated spirit husk, referred to as a Foundling by NPCs, the player is extremely vulnerable, requiring them to seek out and possess the corpses of various fallen warriors (shells) to stand a chance. Each body you occupy comes with their own stats, abilities, and an individual backstory that's gradually revealed as you level them up. Additionally, they function as a kind of extra life, with fatal damage ejecting the Foundling from its current shell, and providing a brief opportunity to reclaim it before something finishes them off. After collection, shells lay in a mausoleum of sorts for the remainder of the game, ready to be inhabited whenever the need arises, so you're never locked into one build. If you feel it necessary to be more durable for a tough encounter, simply hop into Eredrím's tanky cadaver. Want to learn more about the item lore? Then it's time to reanimate Solomon's scholarly remains. Certainly more interesting than the typical character creation screen, I'd say! Players who enjoy a difficult journey can even forgo shells altogether, opting to control the naked Foundling, and although it dies in a single hit, it equally benefits from a nearly endless pool of stamina and generous invincibility frames while rolling. To earn the platinum, I was forced to defeat the last boss in this fragile form, but it only took 10-15 tries, which goes to show how viable the character really is. Of course, this low-budget title does lack polish in several areas. For instance, the hub region, Fallgrim, could have used more work. Visually, it's unappealingly muddy and samey, resulting in somewhat confusing navigation and a generally "bleh" kinda vibe. To make matters worse, every single time you defeat a major boss, it temporarily becomes populated by extraordinarily irritating vampire enemies. Out of nowhere, these cheap Nosferatu knockoffs constantly fall on your head, or command grab you from across the map, while a thick fog obscures their position. The section was already not terribly enjoyable to traverse in its usual state, so why do this? I assume they wanted to squeeze more mileage out of the limited areas available, but it didn't pay off in my view. Furthermore, I found the majority of consumable items to be essentially worthless, primarily munching on healing mushrooms throughout, along with popping the occasional hard currency item. It felt like I was collecting useless junk constantly, but I suppose actual Souls games aren't much different in this regard. Finally, I should mention that most boss battles aren't particularly exciting, since they can be triumphed over with basic hit-and-run tactics. In general, the AI isn't impressive, I'm afraid; often, you'll watch baddies get stuck on corners or objects, pitifully walking in place as if they're on a treadmill. However, the game more than compensates for its janky elements with creativity. Not content to simply mimic Souls, Mortal Shell tries out novel ideas of its own, not to mention features some reasonably fascinating lore, which seems to have atheism vs religion as a component. Funnily enough, black metal act Rotting Christ recorded alternate boss themes, available to be toggled on in the options menu. That alone played a small part in winning this old metalhead over. Honestly, I didn't have the chance to absorb everything Mortal Shell's obtuse story was putting out there in my short time with it, but I plan to watch one of those explanation videos before I eventually tackle the DLC. Speaking of that, The Virtuous Cycle adds a roguelike mode, and I've heard it's a decent one, at that. Yeah, I'm glad to say this game surpassed my expectations. Do beware of mild end boss spoilers in the platinum screenshot, if you care about that sort of thing. Spoiler Edited November 11, 2022 by StraightVege 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,716 PS5 version of Roll The Cat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,717 PS5 version of The Iron Age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,718 PS4 version of Cat Break Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Viper Posted November 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2022 #291 Cat Quest Le Platinum Trophy Pawesome! What a Purrfectly fun little RPG-lite this was. Simplistic in nature, but full of heart, colorful art style, sassy humor and more cat puns than you could shake one of those feather toys at. As I said it's simple, you're a cat who's sister gets catnapped, and you become the chosen one to save her. A story we've seen a bajillion times, but there's a couple of twists here and there that makes it fun to explore. You fight monsters by simply slashing a weapon and dodging their attacks, and you get powers to use (you get 7 to choose from, but some of them are pretty pointless). You level up really fast, as your goal is to hit level 99, so it doesn't take much grinding to get there. You also unlock a nice list of Armor, Hats and weapons to customize yourself. The only thing I think got a little annoying, is you have this Cat Fairy thing that follows you and does all the talking in the game (very reminiscent of Navi in Ocarina of Time), and while it's all text based, it constantly stops you before you enter a dungeon to tell you what you already know. Or there's a lot of purposeful dead air during conversations represented by ". . . . . . ." and they lean into that a little too much. Otherwise, there's not a lot to say...it's not a long game it's not difficult at all or complex in any way. It was just a fun, cute, relaxing cat game. I think I'll jump right into the sequel and get both done before the year is up. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post No longer here Posted November 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2022 #181 - Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5) Enjoyment/Rating - 8/10 Difficulty: 3/10 Time: 70 Hours PSNP Rarity: 12.94% PSN Rarity: 1.3% (Spoiler-free) Finally after two years of waiting for this game to fix itself, I have to admit it was worth it! The gameplay was fine, but had to adjust to it. I did not like the gunplay a lot, so I decided a melee build was better, and it was more fun and brutal. I stuck with this melee build till the end, dismemberments are always fun in any game lol. The immersion and the story was the best part for me, I can't imagine this game with so many bugs because it would've took me out of it right away. There were only minor bugs for me and few frame drops but other than that the game ran very well. The characters in the game are certainly memorable and have depth with most of them. However I felt that after finishing the game, I wanted more from the characters in the story, but I still think it ended off on a good note (dependent on the endings). The environments and small details in this cyberpunk world were very thought out and all in together impressive for the most part. The game's immersion really made me feel power-hungry and a badass at the same time, the game is a vibe!! A complaint I would bring up is the car controls, they aren't good and it can feel janky controlling most cars, but luckily fast travels are everywhere! I def recommend this game to anyone as of Patch 1.61! The story and its characters are nicely written, the environments and attention to details are immersive, and its a thrill to play this game when it reaches its peak in the story missions! The game has its shortcomings imo with some on narrative and on gameplay functions, however its a game that's only getting better with time! Can't wait for the DLC! The trophies were easy, nothing hard at all, just that before you start the game it is better to watch out for some trophies ahead of time. It is always a good idea to save before you do a mission/gig just in case it bugs out. Luckily i never had those problems but it is always good to be safe. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,719 PS4 version of Hot Tentacles Shooter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,720 PS4 version of The Jumping Falafel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Starrk_01 Posted November 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2022 Plat #214: LEGO DC Super-Villains It has been years (back in PS2 days) since I played a Lego's game, so it was a fun experience. Not sure if I want to continue with the LEGO games in the near future (depends probably how fast I can get a different orange game done in the Trophy Cancer event), but PS+ has given a few LEGO games so maybe. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 #1,721 PS5 version of Cat Break Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rias Gremory Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 Platinum #1000 Persona 5 Royal PS5 Rank #2 Speedrun Milestone 1000th Rare: 13.51% Difficulty: 2/10. Enjoyment: 10/10. Challenge: 10/10. Music: 10/10. Story Mode: 10/10. Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Persona, Romance, Harem, Ecchi, Murder, RPG, Hack and Slash and Beat em up. Grind Difficulty: 4/10. Platinum Time: 23 hours and 22 minutes. It has been a while since I have played Persona 5 Royal for the third time and I know there are alot of stacks on the PS4 version and not the PS5 version sadly. I had a excellent time playing the game well enough and made my focus sharper more then ever. I know skipping cutscenes is bad but I had to challenge myself to a speedrun. To be honest I feel really good right now going through pretty much all the main and side objectives in the game. The quality and the gameplay itself was well spot on and executing it perfectly. The adrenaline, the speed and all of it made me feel really ecstatic and crazy about it. The music was still and remain always perfect on the dot and I have very well enjoyed it immensely. I think there is quite a few music selections that made considered one of my top favorite ones of all time. There is Life Will Change, I Believe, Whims of Fate and more to go on. I do feel there is indeed quite a handful of all of the music in the game. Music like these matches the palaces perfectly and I already feel each and every single of all. Hmm I do recall one of heists is good but I can't remember what it was sadly. As I said above I do admit that skipping cutscenes is bad but I already played it before back in 2020 on my PS4 Pro and I already know the outcome. This is a speedrun challenge and manage to secure my spot at Rank #2 on the fastest achievers. I do feel pretty good gaining that power right now. I took zero breaks and still hammering this game like a bat out of hell. I wasn't able to get the platinum screenshot sadly as it won't capture at the end after obtaining the true end trophy. Bank of Gluttony: Cleaned Out Trophy! Spoiler Going Against the Crane Trophy! Spoiler Cruiser of Pride: Capsized Trophy! Spoiler I am very satisfied that I have made it to the top 5 fastest achievers on Persona 5 Royal PS5 and I am happy that I have made it this far. Highly and strongly recommend this game! Next 1050th Platinum Milestone Goal: Batman: Arkham Asylum. 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brainswashed Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 A Way Out Difficult: 1/10 Fun: 10/10 Time: 1 hr & 1 min the game is great I playing it from first release date i really enjoy it but about the plat i ask my friend invite me each chapter & get trophy then quit this is the easy way for platinum 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrZero_1983 Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 Platinum # 173 Platinum Idol 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Biertje373 Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 Platinum #66 The Medium Completionist Fun: 7.5/10 Difficulty 3/10 No idea about time because the timer on my acc is all over the place. So I got this game via PS+ and I thought that it looked kind of cool, I did take my sweet time with it. Especially when I only had Phantom left to get, because I was kind of dreading that one, thankfully I got it on my second run and now I have the platinum. I'll be honest, I find it really tough to talk about this game, it's a fun game with a beautiful story and an awesome setting, but I also have things that leave a poor taste in my mouth. But it's better to just talk about my feelings so let's start with the positives: + Marianne is an awesome main character, I couldn't get enough of her. + The powers that she has are amazing, while I do feel like there's more potential, the gameplay that is there is a lot of fun. + Getting all the collectibles was cool. + I like the butterfly theme of the trophies. + The monster was cool. + Awesome story. + Great setting. + Awesome ending. But there are some negatives, at least negatives for me: - Now this is the one thing that makes me not love the game as much as I want to. There's an option to resume activity, I did that once, and when you do that trophies won't be earned, it actually frustrated me. - Thesneaking trophy while not as bad, I did not love it. - A couple of crashes. - I also feel like this game was not optimalised, very long loading times, weird frame rates, etc. Those negatives (aside from Phantom being a pain) are kind of a shame, because this game could've been an 8 or 8.5 for me, but those things were kind of a downer to me. Still I highly recommend this game if you haven't played it. And here's the platinum screenshot: 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post slender_adrian Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 (edited) #107 Difficulty: 3/10 Enjoyment: 7/10 Grind: 5/10 Time: 77 hours Rarity: [Ultra Rare 3.8 / Very Rare 7.78%] “Weiss, you dumbass!” I loved this game, being honest, I didn't expect too much about it, I thought it was going to be a cool game but man its an incredible good game, even for its time period the original Nier truly rocks. The story was amazing, the soundtrack, the characters all were amazing. Weiss is a funny as hell character, and I love when he fights Kainé without any reason haha, and Emil, one of the most bizarre characters I've seen in a videogame haha. The cast was incredible, even the side characters where amazing like the King.This game only falters in very few things, mainly the empty design in all places and in the combat mechanics, feels very awkward in my opinion and I didn't like the main character design too haha, but for the rest this is a must play if you played Automata and liked the story, the original Nier is just the same, sadness and more sadness. After a long time of not getting a PS3 plat I came back for this game, and getting the plat wasn't to much big of a deal, but it was very grindy. My advice for anyone aiming for this classic is to play all the quests available and then continuing the main story, I did 95% of quest and it truly helped at the end, getting the materials on the ground is very helpful too, that way you minimize the grind at the end. I don't know why some people say grinding in this is a nightmare, sure is a tedious process but drops came pretty quick for me, that is in terms of farming of course, I didn't hace any farming problems whatsoever, in fact I think it wasn't a big grind honestly, I haven't done a farm/grind so far that tops FFX and FF13. Pretty simple plat if you got the time and patience for it I totally recommend it, although a bit ironic you must delete all your progress in order to get this plat, this is a really cool, dark, and sad journey! Time to do it again on Replicant! Edited November 15, 2022 by slender_adrian 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Daltero-Hitch Posted November 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 Hell Let Loose General of the Army Very proud of this one! Had a group of mates to play along with and enjoyed every second of it (even the grinds) ? Currently sat at 8th fastest achiever too as of today's date! For sure will continue to play this even after the Plat! Much recommended. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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