Recent reviews by Raflcoopter

Never been a big CSGO/CS2 player (really just played source a few times) But I can absolutely say the state of their live service FPS games is laughable due to cheaters, botting, and lack of proper upkeep on these issues.

They need put forth the resources for the dreaded "treadmill work" of maintaining an anti-cheat for games they're treating as actively supported products. Like this game just got an overhaul and it even started having cheater issues in the beta.

Disclamer for this review: I am currently on the 3/4th layer of depth this game has to offer and currently working with friends/the community to figure out what exactly we need to do next. I've gotten all the collectibles we know of so far.

It should also be mentioned that if you stumbled across this review or one of the ones that ACTUALLY TALKS ABOUT THE GAME please understand those are the truest reviews here, I've heard many people are hesitant to check out this game because of all the """funny""" joke reviews. This is a genuinely great game that deserves your time, not an epic wacky wahoo youtuber moment. Remember that Dunkey is the publisher that helped fund/get eyes on the game, not Billy Basso; the dev who made 100% of everything himself.

Animal is a puzzle-focused metroidvania with little to no "direct combat". Rather than approach the game as a sort of action-combat platformer animal well is primarily focused on its collectibles post game content as well as its main first ending. Its hard to go into detail about either of this without spoiling much of the game itself.

This is a game that treats the player with a ton of respect, never outright telling you how an item or mechanic works but rather being forgiving enough (in most cases) for the player to figure it out themselves. Some instances of collectibles or pathways in this game often require the player to figure out a new clever way to use an item, often in combination with another at the same time Link's Awakening style.

At the time of writing this I've completed the first ending and I'm not sure how much more is deeper below, I've got a current goal in mind in finding the remaining items + collectibles but I know there's much more to be found besides that, this gaming having so much packed into it and only being 34 MB is genuinely a feat of programming and game design as a whole.

Overall? This is one of the best metroidvanias/games in general I've played in quite some time, it treats the player with a great deal of respect and trusts that they're smart enough to figure out even the wildest puzzles, alongside giving you mapping tools and markers the game is incredibly accessible no matter what level of completionist you may be.

Remembered this game recently after logging onto Kickstarter to see I was a backer.

This game is a fun bout for an hour or two but after that you've seen all the depth and fun you could possibly get out of it. The strongest positive this game brings to the table is letting you know Jack the Reaper exists and the "demo" for that game is amazing in itself.

This game's gimmick was rebalanced a few times but it really feels like a neutered smash bros in more ways than one, the reliance on hopping + heavy hits results in unsatisfying gameplay. As it stands many years later it still just "misses" the mark for me, I love the character choices overall but that isn't enough to save a game like this for me.

We're Costco guys, of course we look at the revolver in the safe when we get violet vessel on ante 8.

Charming art direction and a decent soundtrack. That's all I can say in terms of positives.

After the first few hours however this game falls into one of the roguelike genre's greatest pitfalls; monotony
Nearly every run feels the same and most of the gameplay and loot variety doesn't lend itself to enhancing gameplay in any significant way, sure there's optional content to engage with but the core loop is GRATING.

Writing this review years later after seeing an art for it on the publishers YouTube channel... I can attest that this game is a waste of your time and there's plenty of better games in the genre to spend your time with (for the same price OR even less)

I can confidently say this is by my standards... this is a perfect roguelike deckbuilder in every facet of its mechanics, character variety, and item unlocks.

Brutal Orchestra consists of controlling a 5 character party, usually centered around you, your 2 starting members, and whoever else you may find/buy along the way. Your characters and placed and shift around a 5 tile row to either attack or evade enemies, and with a few exceptions to the rule every character can move once and attack once. This makes strategy with your characters key and plays into the game's "MP"/Attack Point system.

Pigment is the name of the game with combat and its dropped by enemies, the player receiving damage or as a bonus upon hitting an enemy. There's multiple colors and each of these are used for various moves that require these difference pigments. The player doesn't need these exact colors to perform an action either, but doing so will result in a player taking a % of damage based off the number of incorrect colors! Alongside this your pigment meter has a cap, if this goes above the cap all party members may take damage based off how high the overflow is, often resulting in a player needing to have a party member take the front load of the damage by shoving excess points into an attack. This sounds complicated but it makes for a very fun and enagaging system that actively makes a player think about their positioning and actions, every scenario is winnable if you plan accordingly.

Alongside the combat characters you can get range from physical attackers, healers, status-inflictors, and many other types. It makes strategizing quite fun as you progress through the game, allowing you to combine these characters with a variety of items to find niche game-breaking combos or have a party that can instantly kill the final bosses on their first turn.

Overall? Its an amazing game I'd rather not spoil for anyone who's on the fence about playing it. Its easily one of the best deckbuilders because you're never completely walled by a boss or scenario (cough cough Balatro). Would recommend 100%

Every domain has a distinct theme, both musically and thematically which lends itself well to the immersion factor this game provides.

Besides this since I wouldn't want to spoil the game on a music review, all the story centric/cutscene focused tracks are top notch and deliver emotional beats any other modern release should be envious of.

Bought this soundtrack in a heartbeat and even decompiled all the files before the steam release just because its THAT good.

Despite its fairly short length this game is a masterclass in 3D platforming solely for the freedom Sybil's kit gives you as the game progresses onward.
I was initially going to say the progression was too confusing but I was simply being an idiot on a singular room so I can't fault anyone but myself.

Overall there isn't much to talk about other than play it if you're a fan of 3D platformers akin to the n64 era or games with a metroidvania structure, the only major negative some might have at the time of writing this is that there's no map to view. I was initially unsure about this feature not being included, but I personally feel making the play keep mental markers of certain rooms to remember branching paths and locations is way more fun.

This game is really something special and I genuinely hope a sort of sequel or continuation of this concept is made by the developer in the future, Sybil is straight up the most fun I've had controlling a platformer character since Super Mario 64 and that's a pretty big hill to climb.

Very simple gameplay loop that can technically be treated as a single-player experience, but that's the game at its weakest, this is a game that is most blatantly designed to be played with friends, if you go in solo its a ♥♥♥♥ and ball torture roguelike.

Lethal company is in a similar vein to Risk of Rain 2 in a really unusual way, in that it can be taken seriously in a group where you go for a score run/be as efficient as possible to reap all the funny late game rewards, or you can jump in with a group of new friends and everyone violently dies while screaming in fits of laughter. This is a game that is heavily enhanced by your friend group dynamic in the best of ways, further enhanced by the dozens upon dozens of mods that add gameplay and customization variety.

For 10 bucks its just a really great time and its still actively in development, even once its finished I can see this game having an incredibly long lifespan through its thriving modding community.

The pinnacle of the Risk of Rain franchise and don't let anyone let you think any differently.
With the better design principles of two combined with the formula of the original 2013 Risk of Rain, Returns combines everything I love about the series with a fresh coat of paint and then some.

Unlike RoR2 time does matter in this game, you're often encourage to give up a chest or two to keep up with the timer as scaled monsters can easily swarm you and instantly kill you on the higher difficulties, it truly feels like you're stuck on a planet where you aren't the one in control. In contrast to this once you actually get the ball rolling its a breaking run/power spike that feels not only unreal, but insanely satisfying to wipe monsters that would've been 1 shotting you 20 minutes ago.

Alongside this many items from RoR2 make a return, as well as a new take on the new interactables, such as giant imp shrines, item duplicators that give you a stack of temp items for a quick power spike, and many other great changes. My personal favorite being that no scrappers or 3d printers were brought back, if you want a good run you just gotta keep powering through, not relying on farming items to get your "perfect clickbait build".

Overall though this is a fantastic remaster of a classic, there's a reason why Risk of Rain is considered among the greats in this genre, and its that looting loop with tough as nails gameplay that rewards you for learning the ins and outs of every character... would recommend.