Recent reviews by Mercury

After playing Antichamber back in 2017, I remember looking for another game to fill the void that was my desire for another Escher-esque puzzle game. Someone on Reddit thought that this game, Manifold Garden, was similar. Though the art style of both games ultimately take inspiration from the same paintings, they are completely different in nature.

Yes, they are both wonderful puzzle games. Yes, they are both a bit mind-bending. But Manifold Garden isn't constantly tricking you in the ways that Antichamber does; it's paths are possible, just infinite. It's not nearly as confusing, difficult, nor lengthy, but it's got a lot of other things that make it great.

Manifold Garden is NOT Antichamber. In fact, I think it's outright unfair to compare the two. They're *that* different. In Manifold Garden, you'll find yourself immersed in beautiful infinitely reaching landscapes, falling between the world alongside a constant ambience.

The puzzles in this game simply consist of cubes, buttons, a gravity-switching mechanic, as well as water a little later on into the game. They're never too difficult; never once did I even consider using a walkthrough, apart from points in my playthrough where I simply didn't know where I was headed or what I was meant to do at all. I kinda wish that the puzzles were more difficult, but regardless, I had a blast with the game.

There is a second playthrough, completely different than the first, that can be done as well. There's tons of hidden paths I never would've discovered on my own that gain this game another level of respect due to how cleverly interwoven each and every level is. I recommend going through this as well; however, keep in mind that this would take a massive amount of time without any proper guidance.

This game is not that long. It took me about 4 hours to finish my first playthrough of the game. This feels like the perfect length; if it went on for any longer, it probably would've felt like too much of a slog. The only issue this may pose is complaints about the price, but remember that this is a beautiful, polished, labor of love that took many years to create. I'd recommend picking it up on sale if you get the chance.

8/10

Very, very poorly programmed. But at least it's free to play.

You can jump up walls by just mashing spacebar. Moving platforms give you momentum that never goes away after touching them. Bouncing momentum feels outright random. The final level is a nightmare. Four achievements don't even work.

It's a basic platformer at best. Extremely amateur programming. Is it never enjoyable? No, but it's definitely not noteworthy at all either. I think it was just made by some kid for fun, so that's cool I guess, good for him.

2/10

I never played Katamari, but I think I would enjoy it based off of my experience playing this game.

Just roll around building yourself up until you get big enough to consume practically the entire level. It's awesome. Is it original? Not at all. But is it still well-executed? Absolutely.

Small game, not a lot of content. But for a couple dollars it's worth it.

6/10

Fantastic action-adventure game based around the Lord of the Rings universe. There's this feeling that no matter where you go, you are NEVER safe. The entire world is always out to get you.

The achievement set is quite good, but the Test of the Hunt and Test of the Wild achievements are what I hate. Everything else, 72/74 achievements, are easy enough to do with the right amount of time, and none are really missable either luckily. However, these tests are really stressful to complete. Luckily they can at least be save-scummed.

Those two achievements, as well as "Repaid in Blood", are all breaking on December 31, 2020. Warner Bros. Games needs to really be better about adding server-reliant achievements, especially in single-player games. Stop adding achievements like this, or remove them when your servers inevitably shut down. It's garbage for newcomers, and it made my rushed playthrough of the game this week quite stressful as I spent most of my waking hours grinding out this game to make sure I got it done before the deadline.

Overall, though, it's a solid game, lots of fun, combat is great, and the DLC campaigns are short and sweet.

7/10

100 hours idle achievement and free game. It's like beats to relax and study to in game form. Worth using if that's your thing.

Crazy good fun first person platforming. THIS is the kind of game I love more than any other. Well worth taking the time to get 100% in, despite my playtime looking large it's not that bad at all to finish (most of the time was spent idling for the 66 hours achievement, which only accounts for time spent in a level session where you finish the level). Fantastic game, well-priced, and quite addicting to do speedruns for.

8/10

this game gives me the tetris effect. simple fun

also i accidentally idled it overnight for like 10 hours a couple years ago when i first bought the game, L

6/10

This game is a really short but at the same time really sweet and atmospheric experience. You feel the pain of solitary confinement and the simple expression of love despite a lack of dialogue. The music that plays throughout is beautiful and the story it tells is one worth living for yourself.

6/10

Verlet Swing, on the surface, is just some sort of parkour game where you swing around. But there's more to this game than just 100 levels to beat. There's 100 levels to CONQUER. Even with all perfect rankings, you've got quite a ways to go before you're finished. You need to get consistent on every level, enough so that you can speedrun the entire game in under 15 minutes. You need to be able to finish the Hardcore Marathon challenge, a set of 30 levels from the game (mostly the harder ones) in which you cannot die once. The satisfaction of getting great at a game like this is unmatched. It's a wonderful game, worth investing many hours into.

9/10

i wish i could go to this metro station in real life and eat the food