Recent reviews by Flabberflib

Animal Well is an outstanding Metroidvania puzzler that is oozing with atmosphere and overflowing with secrets to discover. If you are a fan of games like Tunic and Fez, I highly recommend picking this up, grabbing a pencil and notebook (you'll need them), and losing yourself in the dense and beautiful world it offers.

Celeste is a fantastic precision platformer that is definitely worth the full asking price! There is so much content packed into this game, such as:

• Each "level" having a entertaining twist or mechanic to master, in addition to a B-Side - a completely unique, often brutally-difficult "hard-mode" version that will push the player and their knowledge of said mechanic to the limit.
  
• Absolutely amazing soundtrack - including an alternative guest-remix banger for the corresponding B-Side.
  
• Well-told and heartwarming, yet simple story woven expertly into gameplay.
  
• Nice pixel-art artstyle interwoven with a 3D world-map and pleasant 2D story scenes.
  
• A movement system allowing for interesting tech, such as wavedashing and longjumping, a great addition for speedrunning.
  
• Myriad of other features, such as a built-in speedrunning timer and plenty of extremely well-hidden secrets and collectibles.

Celeste is the best indie game I've played in 2018 and will please both the casual audience looking for a challenging platformer with a good story, and also the hardcore audience looking to complete every B-Side or complete the game in record time.


The first standout to me in Celeste was the soundtrack. Composed by Lena Raine and featuring remixes by plenty of guest artists - the sound of Celeste is dynamic and varied; slowing down or reaching a hushed volume during a particularly difficult room, or percussion fading in and tempo increasing when advancing to the next subsection of a stage. In a game where the player is likely to die very frequently and might spend a lot of time listening to the same track, Celeste did a great job of never making me annoyed or tired of hearing the music.

After I reached the end of the game, it dawned on me - this game is much bigger than first glance might make it seem. Each level is packed with strawberries - small optional collectables that either make you hunt for secret passages, solve puzzles, or pass difficult platforming challenges. In addition, there are other well-hidden collectables and secret unlockables in the game that require thinking outside of the box; a-la 2012's Fez. Searching for missed strawberries or other secrets in effort to full-clear each level added plenty or replayability that never felt like a chore. The unlockable stages are incredibly difficult - but I loved how they really pushed each mechanic as far as it could go - the split-second dashing and precision-platforming making my A-Side struggles seem like a breeze in comparison.

Finally, I'd like to comment on the story. Without spoiling, I felt that the narrative was woven really well into the gameplay - especially toward the end of the game. As often as internalized pressure and anxiety are used as a plot-point in storytelling, I felt like Celeste dealt with the topic in a very mature and refreshing way - in addition to never getting overly hamfisted or preachy. The game is filled with charming and engaging intro, outro and mid-level scenes in each chapter - funny, unexpected, and motivating - which push the story along and give the player a drive to keep climbing the mountain.

If I were asked to give a negative thought on Celeste, it would be quite difficult! In my opinion, for as many puzzles that were in the game, I felt like there could have been more - or perhaps some could have been altered to be either more difficult and less obtuse. I felt like the Chapter 1 and 2 puzzles set a good precedent that amounted to a missed opportunity later in the game. For example, I felt that the Chapter 3 puzzle was too easy for the reward.

As stated above, Celeste is a solid experience that everyone will be able to get something out of! Best of luck on your climb, and we'll see you at the top!

Okay, so it's time to write a review for this game since I finished it a week ago and would like to bestow my opinion on those who are on the fence about picking up this game. Lemme start this off right away by saying that YES I loved playing this game and YES I would recommend it for those looking for a fast-paced-top-down-arcadey-twitchy-shooter with some kickass heartpounding music.

The Good:
One aspect of Hotline 2 that I actually really appreciated was the way that each individual character was handled. In Hotline 1, you played as the same character and had an arsenal of masks at your disposal. A mask was chosen at the start of the level and the mask you chose would essentially determine your playstyle for the level. In Hotline 2, you play as a cast of multiple people who each have their own small set of selectable playstyle-providing attire. While some might disagree, I enjoyed being forced out of my comfort zone in HM2. I often found myself choosing the same mask over and over in the first game and as the game progressed I became accustomed to using the same mask. Hotline 2 forced me out of that zone and it was refreshing to mix up the playstyle every so often!

Another thing I adored was the music. Both of the games had great music in my opinion and it would be hard for me to compare the two. There is one specific track in the game that is perfect for the fast-paced and intense level it is featured in and I LOVE IT. The music is very atmospheric; eerie and spooky n' stuff when some zany ♥♥♥♥ goes down and insane fast-paced techno for when you are running from room to room causing chaos.

I also loved the story. Without spoiling too much, the story is told out of order and as a player it is appealing to rearrange each event in order in attempt to figure out what is really going on. Some levels make an effort to be truely unique and throw a curveball at you and when the game does this it is fantastic. There is much more I could say but I don't want to spoil anything.

NOT-SO-GOOD:
Some of the level design is just... ugh. Not to say it isn't bad. This is the major issue that some people have with the game. The problem is that some stages are very large and it is not common to get shot from somewhere offscreen. That plus the insane amount of windows littered around these places makes the game frustrating rather than challenging sometimes. On one specific occasion I had just cleared a large stage only to discover that there was one more enemy awaiting me. Lo and behold, before I can react my character is knocked on to his arse by some offscreen shooter. Dead. Press R to Restart. In a game designed to chain together combos, it is a little counter-intuitive to hide around a corner waiting for an unsuspecting enemy.

CONCLUSION
If you like dthe first Hotline Miami, I would say that you should pick this game up. You may not like it as much as it's older borther but it does a great job improving (for the most part) on what made the first game great. If you have never played Hotline Miami, this game may be a little bit difficult to you. It is almost as if the difficulty curve was designed with veteran players in mind. If you aren't afraid of a challenge, I would give Hotline Miami 2 a shot.

All-in-all, I found Hotline Miami 2 to be a great experience that I would recommend to those looking for a challenging top-down shooter.

You could say I...

Cried In Fear.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!

You've crushed me under boulders, had me torn apart by giant bugs, cursed by googly-eyed frogs, spooked solid in a flooded ghost town, thrown off the side of a cliff from a giant mushroom-man, poisoned from a swarm of mosquitoes, squashed by a hot chick with a spider body, and skewered by an oversized dude with an oversized spear.

I've traveled through labyrinths filled with gassy frogs and sprinted for my life in caverns full of man-eating clams. I got lost in a giant library guarded by lizards, octopi, and people made out of crystals. Hell, I even met up with a giant talking snake with a nose and ears in the middle of a black void at one point.

Although you keep smacking me across the face, pushing me off cliffs, and throwing the wierdest mosters I've ever seen at me, you're still one of my most hated favorite games. I'm talking about you, Dark Souls.

Easily my Game of the Year, Every Year.