It feels weird butting this game in the Beaten category, since I'm only at the beginning of the bigger challenge, but I guess that's the nature of these infinite games, such as Slay the Spire, Luck be a Landlord, or Hades. Beating the main game might not be super hard, but getting the real win i.e. all the difficulty multipliers is when shit hits the fan

VotV definitely has a different rhythm to Slay the Spire. I think I still prefer StS, but ask me again once I've played 100 hours of VotV and I'll be able to tell you better haahahha

Definitely keeping this one in the "Still playing" list

A weird time. Welcome to Elk is a walking simulator, very focused on narrative and peppered with minigames that don't matter, but are there just to break the flow of the game a little bit and provide some diversity. It's extremely linear, which can be an issue for some people, but I didn't really mind it much.

Visually, it's simplicity is striking and the use of colors to denote interactions is generally well done, and I really like the animations that make the characters look like ragdolls. The soundscape is also really good, with music being mostly ambient but still showing personality while effectively setting the mood, and background sound effects never becoming too grating, generally pretty subdued but functional.

Where the game trips for me is in the narrative / writing. I just beat the game and it's unclear to me if I know what just happened. It walks that fine line between dream sequences, life/afterlife, real stories told by real people vs invented stories told by invented people, etc. It throws a lot on the wall, and I don't think it satisfactorily wraps everything with a bow. While some people might praise the narrative openness as it leaves a lot to interpretation, I don't think this was the intent here - I think here the game just suffered from poor writing, direction, or vision, and it feels unfinished. As other reviewers on Steam mentioned, the ending is just a cop out, and it feels like the game has just took you on a ride it never intended to satisfy you, which makes it a bit … cheap.

It looks cute and cool, but I don't think I'd recommend it after all. In a walking sim, narrative is king and the narrative here simply does not deliver

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I only played the campaign, but this was one of the most crack games I've ever had the joy and pleasure to experience. It's absolute batshit the level of action and spectacle that you have on display. Some of the most memorable and creative levels I've ever seen in a FPS game, movement unlike any other game that I've played, even the ones focused on parkour, and a 9 years old game still looks better than what's coming out from AAA studios today. After playing the campaign, it's no surprise at all the multiplayer scene is still alive to this day and kicking ass.

No FPS fan is complete until they beat this game with their buddy BT, the best boi

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Frog Detective 2 takes the best of its prequel and plays safe with it. Back is the incredible soundtrack, the quirky characters, the incredible dialogue and the interesting setting. There are new things too, the most noticeable being the notebook, which has pros (keeping track of your progress, fun commentary, the smallest sense of customization) and cons (brings the already slow pace to a halt), and extra scenes at the office with Lobster Cop. It's hard to say something is gone, but I felt the ending had less of a punch than the first entry, with the diminute dance party.

It's weird. I still like it, but if the third game doesn't shake things up a bit more, it'll be hard to justify it's existence. Also, for those who care, this is not as easy to 100% as the first game, since this requires some very specific interactions and two playthroughs. Not an issue if you use a guide, but good to know

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FEAR 2 has the unfortunate burden of being the sequel to one of the best games of all time. So it's obviously something very hard to accomplish, and while Monoltih tried to stir the pot and change a few things, it falls short from the previous game. So in comparison, it's a lackluster sequel, and probably I wouldn't recommend it only using this frame of reference.

BUT, if you forget that this is the sequel to FEAR, it becomes a pretty decent shooter in it's own rights. Sure, it's linear, and not super innovative, but at the end of the day this is a fun, mindless 10-hour campaign that actually was scarier than the first game, but with worse tactical aspects to the shooting. Let's break it into more detail.

Graphically, the game is not that different from FEAR 1, which means graphics that still hold out in 2025. The first third of the game is visually pretty boring, kind of reminiscent of the first game with its office cubicles and hospital corridors, but when it goes to the school and the underground vault and test facilities, the game starts to look more like itself and less like its predecessor. I'm for none very fond of the level design, and the look and feel of the game. It's also scarier during certain sequences, and I was very creeped out at many, many points, more than in the former. Much of that heavy lifting is provided by the sound design, which remains pretty good in this installment.

Where this game suffers versus the first one is in the gameplay. FEAR 1 was known for it's incredible AI and the tactical aspect of the gunfights, with leaning being a major part of the game. Here, enemies are less coordinated among themselves, and lack a sense of self-preservation. They frequently jump in the line of fire, and except for the few times they flush you out with grenades or in certain situations where they overwhelm you by sheer numbers (like the Still Island tram section), the game was usually much easier than the sequel.

The mech sequences were an incredible add-on that I thought never got old, considering it wasn't overused, and the gun lineout was different from the first game, but still had many interesting weapons. This time you can have four weapons on hand, and I usually kept the SMG and Assault Rifle throughout the whole game, switching the other two between one for mechs (usually missile launcher or laser) and one for tougher enemies (generally the nail gun, renamed here as the hammerhead, and the sniper rifle). I kind of don't love the HUD, but it didn't bother me too much.

So, if you're expecting more FEAR, don't buy this. But if you just want a regular shooter with some jumpscares and a plot that doesn't really matter, this is a great way of spending 10 or so hours

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If you ever wondered what's the importance of sound design for a videogame, play this and you'll get it.

A great introduction to the Frog Detective series. Great writing and awesome character designs. It ended before it god old, and it never got stale. It has charm for itself and to give away and then there's still some left. Don't expect much of a game, but enjoy and cherish the hour you'll with this experience. Sure, it's short, but this information is available everywhere. So if you buy it and play it and then come here complaining about it's length, sorry to say but the joke is on you.

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Having just beaten Ori, it's easy to see why this game is so beloved. It is an incredibly beautiful and well-paced game that does most things right, but I think it suffers a bit when put under the microscope in a few aspects. Not enough to make it bad, not enough to warranting a thumbs down or not recommending it, but enough to prevent it from being a masterpiece.

First, praise where praise is due. Let's start with the visuals, which, for the most part, are absolutely top-notch. It's been a while since I've seen a 2D game look that good. The parallax and depth of field is insane, always gorgeous and making you feel you're actually inhabiting a real world, not a 2D slice of one. The environments are varied, and the animation for all characters (but in particular for Ori) is mindblowing. The gracefulness of its movements is something you don't see every day. Effects overall are also really well done. My only criticism in regards to visuals is also a criticism I'll come back to when talking about combat - there's a bit too much visual noise at times to allow for effective combat/platforming. This was mostly an issue when enemies shot projectiles at me, and I either couldn't see them against the background or against all the visual effects already on the screen. While this is not game-breaking in regular gameplay, I can see that being a MAJOR issue if you're going for the no-kill achievement.

When it comes to sounds, there's nothing groundbreaking here, but what's on display absolutely delivers. Ori mostly features an orchestral score that dictates the mood of each scene and action sequence without being too intrusive. It's beautiful, it's haunting, it can get your heart pumping in the right moments, and in summary, works. It does what it has to, but is not a soundtrack you'll be remembering for ages, I guess. Could be good background music for studying or meditation, but hardly rises above that.

The lore is partially delivered via short sentences and long visual storytelling. The devs excel at 'show, don't tell', and it's pretty easy to follow what's happening and get invested in the world and its characters. I was still a bit confused about what really set all the events in the game in motion and I'm not sure I know the answer to that, having beaten the game, but that never prevented me from enjoying the story or getting excited about its developments. Personally I don't think Kuro works as a great villain / antagonist, but that's probably more a matter of personal preference. Last but not least, I thought the endign was a bit abrupt - I was sure there would be a final dungeon after you beat the three legacy ones, but no, credits rolled when I was still craving for more. The pacing towards the end is a bit unclear and I think the tension doesn't build as high as it could if you're expecting that kind of final challenge gauntlet, so the whole endgame experience was a bit jarring for me, but I can also see that being an issue for how conditioned I am with Metroidvanias pulling the point-of-no-return-last-dungeon trick over and over.

And finally, the area where I reserved most of my criticism - gameplay. I always review Metroidvanias saying they have three jobs that MUST be done right - combat, movement, and exploration. Exploration is the easiest so I'll start there - Ori is fine. There is a lot to find around the world, and most of it is not super hidden, so you immediately know there'll be backtracking. The map is really useful in keeping track of it for you, but the abilities that you get to unlock further exploration feel a bit tacked on - it's like, you know there's a breakable wall as soon as you start the game, and eventually you get the breakable wall ability, so it's a key fitting a hole and not an eureka moment. It works, but is not incredible.

Movement is 8 or 80: moving around with Ori is a blast for most of the time, in particular as you start to combo abilities. Bash is one of the most incredible moves ever created, and combined with double jump and hovering, it's a lot of fun. What brings movement down for me is that some areas (in particular chase sequences) don't communicate really well what they want from you, requiring prior knowledge of the obstacles in order to avoid them. I hate when you get to a point and die to an unfair obstacle without any chance to avoiding it, and I hate when the game uses that as a way to teach you what to do in the next attempt. A fair game will always let a skilled player clear a challenge like that in the first go, and Ori refuses to do that in pretty much all escape sequences. It's a bit frustrating that such a good moveset is hampered by somewhat obtuse level design, but it's not enough to abandon the game.

And finally, combat. Which is the weakest link. Combat is just not satisfying here, and I'm glad it's not a bigger part of the game. What you do is spam the attack button, since enemies are spongy from the beginning to the end of the journey and you don't get significant improvement on your combat options outside of Bash. To make matters worse, there's not a huge variety of enemies. There's the guy that jumps and you run under, the armored guys that rush you, the guys that rush you and explode, the slugs that don't move and shoot bullets you can bash, and the slugs that move but which bullets you cannot bash, the frogs and the owls. And they just keep repeating over and over and over with different palettes but the same strategies. To make things worse, some projectiles are bashable and others aren't, so even bash is not dependable throughout the game. Combat is at its best when you're taking full advantage of your moveset to avoid enemies mid-air and hitting them with their own projectiles, but very often you'll be on ground having to hold on to ledges to take poke shots at enemies while barely seeing their attacks. Again, it works fine for a regular gameplay, but I can see that being infuriating in a one-kill playthrough.

Overall, Ori does many things right and while hard, can be a good first Metroidvania for people getting into the genre. It's beautiful to look at and to listen to, there's an engaging and well told story, exploration is fine, movement is quite expressive although level design frequently plays against it, and if you can endure combat here, it mostly only gets better in other games of the genre. It's a great game that stops a few steps away from being a timeless classic.

The inspiration for Balatro. Finally managed to play it. It's fun, in a kind of brainless way. It feels that most of your decisions are micro-decisions, like "Should I pick another symbol or skip?", "Should I remove a symbol?", "Should I re-roll?", and it might seem the game is limited because of that, because of the limited choice of verbs you have to interact with the game. But when you learn how to make combos and start to try your hand at building them, it gets really funny.

My first two runs were blind, one on Floor 1 and one on Floor 2. I lost on Floor 2 and decided to read a guide, and the tips helped a lot to beat it in my third run. After all, it's not a super stimulating game, but it's a game I can see myself playing while I have Youtube running in the back, since it doesn't require a lot of attention. I'm playing on itch so luckily I can only see the cheevos in game, otherwise it would bring me severe anxiety hahaha

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I really, really tried to give it a fair chance, but Semblance never rises from the status of "cool-idea-on-paper-but-not-enough-to-justify-a-full-priced-game". The premise of shaping the world to complete your platforming goals sounds great, until you start to notice the controls are not finely tuned to challenges/mechanics, and you're suddenly trying to beat the controls, not the levels. This reminds me a lot of Hue, a cool gimmick that become a chore when it's forced into a full game.

The main issues with Semblance are that you can't finely control how you deform the ground, and that later on it requires precise timing without giving you precise controls to achieve that. It's one of those games where you're presented with a puzzle screen (puzzles hardly are bigger than one screen), look at it for a while, and probably is able to figure out what to do in a few seconds, but take minutes to actually achieve it with the given controls. In the worst case, you look at the screen and has no idea what to do, and decide to just try everything to see what sticks.

This is a puzzle design philosophy that is the opposite of great games such as Baba Is You, Snakebird, or Stephen's Sausage Roll. Those games are evergreen puzzle games for a reason, and it is because they take out all the mechanical difficulty of a puzzle (be it precision control or timing), relying solely on BRAINZ. Which is not what could be said of Semblance.

Arguably, the visuals are pretty good with great use of color and minimalistic, geometric environment and props, and the music is quite atmospheric and relaxing, fitting the game's world really well. Some say the best stories are told wordlessly, but Semblance's plot fall to the ground if you try to inspect it too closely. If the gameplay was good, I would be willing to overlook all of that but in the current state, it's not a puzzle game I'd recommend