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Πρόσφατες κριτικές από τον Nachy

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Εμφάνιση 1-10 από 25 καταχωρίσεις
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16.1 ώρες συνολικά
Lobotomized Hotline Miami.

OTXO feels like a game that overcomplicates itself from its source material and misses the points that made the Hotline Miami games enjoyable while not committing fully to its roguelike design, resulting in a confused game that lacks cohesion.

The music is great and the game has some nice fancy visual effects. The particles, the environmental debris, the lighting, the shadows, and the ragdoll physics all add a lot to the game's feel and visual feedback. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the overall presentation. The monochrome visuals resulted in a very dull and samey-looking environment, which was a lot of the appeal I felt with Hotline Miami where each level had a distinct color palette that made them immediately recognizable even beyond the level design. Not to mention visual clarity is also lessened as the white bullets just blend in more with the monochrome backgrounds.

The problem also extends beyond the presentation, as the procedural generation of the levels despite the handcrafted rooms just results in everything feeling uniform and derivative. It's usually just a bunch of rooms on the left side and right side of the map, and a big open hallway in the middle. This also doesn't flow very well and clashes with some of the more enjoyable aspects of Hotline Miami, which is to try and fully combo the entire level as you figure out the best pathway in getting through the enemies in succession.

The whole scoring aspect is pretty much gimped too. You do still want to keep up high combos for the coins so you can get more abilities, but with the way things work, it's more reliant on having a lucky seed of RNG rather than mastery of the levels and mechanics. Outside this, it's a lot less exciting and inconsistent to score, which again is a shame since I felt this is one of Hotline Miami's main sources of fun.

Then we get to one of the biggest offenders which is the whole health system. I feel a lot of the flow and intensity of Hotline Miami came from the almost-always-one-hit-kill system. OXTO opting for varying damage and health makes sense for a roguelike, but it still clashes a lot with the overall feeling of the combat which undeniably does still take a lot from Hotline Miami. All the guns sound fantastic and punchy, but it's such a disconnect when they take 2 to 3 hits to kill someone, and there's a lot less feeling of danger when your character also can tank bullets for the most part. Some weapons can one-hit kill, which extends to the fact that the game ultimately even contradicts itself with the mechanic that allows you to remove weapons from rotation, and only select the ones you want. Thus you have the option of keeping only the weapons that can one-hit kill and negating the whole damage system in the first place.

The roguelike design overall just doesn't work with Hotline Miami's style, since another large part of what made Hotline Miami work is the quick inconsequential punishment of death where you can just instantly restart, and learn the level like a time-based puzzle where memorization and then execution comes into play. In OTXO, when you die you start from the beginning, and you're more reliant on getting good RNG with abilities that can help you or layouts that aren't too much of a mess. I did finish this game thrice, with a run that didn't involve using abilities, but most of it devolved into abusing mechanics like the bullet time and dodge rolls. Especially as you get further into a run where all the enemies have different modifiers and they all get stacked haphazardly with no real design in mind how they placed.

This then extends to the other poorly thought-out element, which is the boss fights. They're neat on paper, but poor in execution. Except for one samurai-themed boss, most of it comes down to spamming the dodge roll and waiting for your bullet time to cool down, while avoiding the same three or four attack patterns over and over again because the bosses are bullet sponges.

There's an unlockable 'Impossible Mode' that makes it feel closer to the original Hotline Miami games, with damage raised across the board, which translates to all guns pretty much being one-hit kills and survivable by two to three through lucky shaves. I wish the game was designed with this mode in mind as it resolves the bullet sponge problem with the bosses and retains the fast exciting pace of Hotline Miami. The rest of the problems are still here, but this is where I had most of my enjoyment.

I feel like this game would have been better overall if it's just a linear campaign with a dozen levels or so with an upgrade system slapped onto it. There are some neat elements with the systems here, but they just don't work well together. As a Hotline Miami clone, it lacks a lot of the original game's flow and intensity. As a roguelike, it lacks a lot of the extra systems and mechanics most roguelike games have, including permanent upgrades. Outside some modifiers and the ability to unlock guns and select which of them spawn during a run, there's little progression within the systems themselves.

If you're itching for a top-down shooter with some roguelike elements and a Hotline Miami flavoring, and you're willing to look past the shortcomings, this game is mostly fine. But if you just want more Hotline Miami in general, there's a whole bunch of well-made and creative campaigns, levels, and mods out there in the modding scene, even in HM2's Workshop alone. Not to mention the massive overhaul packs and standalone projects. And if you want a roguelike in general, there is a whole sea of them nowadays that also pretty much does a lot of its dedicated systems better.

Also, OTXO's a stoopid name.
Αναρτήθηκε 5 Οκτωβρίου 2023.
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8.7 ώρες συνολικά (6.6 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
(This is a review of both the main game and the new World EXplosion release).

Crimzon Clover is the kind of game where it can be immediately felt that it’s created by someone who has extensive knowledge and experience of the shmup genre. Not only does it play amazingly well, but it’s also a great love letter to the genre as a whole.

The mechanics pick and choose from various other shmup titles to create a familiar yet fresh experience, with a priority in making the player feel powerful by constantly encouraging the use of the various tools at the player’s disposal. On top of the bread-and-butter regular shot you’ll be holding onto, for the most part, you also have a lock-on weapon that deals extensive damage and can prioritize various parts in bosses to not only weaken them but also to milk out further score.

Instead of limited bombs, you’re given a Break meter where you can fill by destroying enemies and collecting stars. Fill it up enough and you can bomb to clear the screen, fill it up all the way and you enter Break Mode. Break Mode is this game’s hyper mechanic where your shot and lock-in damage get stronger, alongside faster lock-in. You can even go further by filling a second bar where you can go into Double Break Mode. This makes bombs, not just a safety net, but also the main mechanic you use often to gain optimal score.

These mechanics together create a dynamic feeling rhythm to the combat on top of weaving through the hail of bullets. There’s a lot of emphasis on aggressive play and you can cancel out enemy bullets consistently through mastery of these mechanics.

The feedback in general feels really good, the constant explosions that output stars to collect alongside enemy bullets that fill most of the screen is a consistent adrenaline rush throughout the game. The feeling of power your ship is capable of compliments the experience of facing an overwhelming enemy force.

The game also features an extensive number of extra modes to play around with. All these different modes provide a different take on the same core gameplay, making the experience feel fresh as you play through each.

On top of the brutal yet fair Original Arcade Mode, the Novice Mode provides a great experience for newcomers of the genre, providing a good balance between a softer pace and a genuine challenge that has to be overcome. You also have a Training Mode that allows you to jump onto any stage with any ship, and even adjust conditions such as lives, Break Gauge, and stars collected. It could be a bit more extensive, such as being allowed to skip through specific sections of a stage or at least a mid-boss. But it’s still a great tool to learn the game.

There’s the Boost Mode that also changes the way the Break Mode mechanic works, where it’s instead automatically triggered by collecting enough stars, and the player is put onto a constant state of Break Mode, only being stopped through bombing or dying.

Unlimited Mode can be described as the Original Mode on steroids, with faster bullets, more complex patterns, and overall harsher difficulty. People familiar with Mushihimesama’s Ultra Mode will be right at home with Unlimited Mode in particular. Finally, a Time Attack mode akin to older caravan-style shmups where you play through a single-stage within a 3-minute timer, with the goal to earn as many points as possible towards the end.

New to the World EXplosion release is the Arrange mode, which features a Gradius-style power progression system. Collecting stars will increase the gauge, which gives you various upgraded abilities such as faster speed, extra lock-ons, weapon options, auto-bomb shield, and the familiar Break Mode. It’s a really fun mode that adds a new layer of complexity to the core gameplay without straying too far from it.

You also have a brand-new soundtrack option, which features a noticeable different set of music. I still prefer the original tracks, and there are some songs I felt that were rather underwhelming with this new set, but there are still some good highlights here, such as the sortie tune and second stage theme, and it also gives another way to keep each playthrough feel fresh.

There’s also the addition of extra customization in the form of selectable new color palettes for each ship. I would have loved to see more color options, but the options provided are still a nice touch that adds a bit more personalization to the game.

The extra polish is also appreciated, including better resolution outputs for HD displays which scale better for modern screens. There’s no dramatic visual rework here going on, so it’s still the same original visuals everyone knows and loves but finally presented with more clarity.

Overall Crimzon Clover is an amazingly fun shmup, it’s designed and balanced in such a way that you only get from someone who has the experience and love for the genre as a whole. This World EXplosion re-release is also a testament to the passion both the fans and the creator have for the game and is overall a great experience for both seasoned veterans and new players.
Αναρτήθηκε 7 Δεκεμβρίου 2021. Τελευταία επεξεργασία 26 Νοεμβρίου 2022.
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53.5 ώρες συνολικά (29.8 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
MDickie's games have a history and reputation of being low-budget works where their ambitious concepts are endeared more on being barely functioning novelties rather than actual polished experiences. Of course, it's hard to deny the fun and absurdity of seeing the results of using the same broken wrestling core platform to power a boxing game, a prison simulator, a football game, and even an interactive experience based on Jesus Christ's life.

However, those years of creating a variety of games based on the same core platform and design philosophy may have finally paid off with Wrestling Empire. Not only is Wrestling Empire a notable improvement in terms of polish, but it's also a genuinely fun wrestling game that has an engaging set of systems and mechanics that makes it genuinely one of the best wrestling games around period.

The crude visuals may imply otherwise, but Wrestling Empire actually features a rather intricate combat system that actually leans more on the simulation side. The size and stats of wrestlers actually matter a lot, and regardless of the movesets you've chosen, each wrestler can fight and react differently depending on the environment, weight and height difference, and the overall capabilities of the wrestlers. Even the inputs and minigames required are less on button mashing and timing but instead based on context. The more simulation-like mechanics end up not only creating more dynamic-looking fights but also end up adding to the absurdity if you double down on ridiculous scenarios such as stacking 30 tables on top of each other while setting them on fire. Granted the way it plays is still a bit rough around the edges, but it functions just enough to be completely enjoyable where most of its mechanical faults result more in happy accidents rather than frustrations.

A familiar constant element with the MDickie games is the sandbox-like freedom, and Wrestling Empire is no exception in exhibiting that element. What Wrestling Empire lacks in production values, makes up for letting the player do anything. From moving around to your own entrance, with different props and gestures, to continuing beatdowns even after the bell rings for the end of the match. As long as you're in control, you can pretty much do anything and interact with characters and the environment as you see fit.

All these neat systems extend to the career mode, which is the highlight of the game. You start off by choosing and modifying any character to your liking, as you carry them towards a career that can span for years on multiple promotions. It's all completely unscripted, with a variety of feuds, events, and happenings that can happen based on a variety of conditions. This makes the game a sort of story generator, as anything can happen not only based on your own choices but just as how the game world simulates throughout.

If the base career mode wasn't enough, there's also a booking mode that lets you play as the manager of any of the promotions in the game, as you book your own matches, shape your own roster and try to take over the ratings throughout different territories. It all makes for a great excuse to mess with the game's systems by giving you an objective alongside.

The way everything interacts with each other just creates a large amount of potential. Even when you start to see the patterns of the content generated, it keeps itself entertaining just due to how much variation there can be and how everything actually moves forward with effects and consequences.

Unfortunately, there are some things that hold Wrestling Empire back. For one, there is a notable lack of raw content, from limited movesets to a lack of variety for character customization pieces. You can still create a diverse cast, evident by the game's recognizable lawyer-friendly versions of real-life wrestlers built-in. However, you really will start to notice the lack of things fast, whether you're just going through the career mode or trying to create a variety of characters.

Fortunately, the game is still being actively worked on, with it receiving updates that add content and other changes slowly but surely at the time of writing this.

All in all, Wrestling Empire is a really enjoyable game and almost feels like the dream wrestling game of every kid that grew up with the likes of Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain and Fire Pro Wrestling. The amount of freedom the game offers on top of its fun mechanics makes up for an experience that anyone can sink countless hours into despite its roughness and shortcomings of being a low-budget solo-developed game.
Αναρτήθηκε 30 Νοεμβρίου 2021.
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2 άτομα βρήκαν αυτήν την κριτική χρήσιμη
5.4 ώρες συνολικά
Nice little cute game! Tadpole Tales is a pretty simple horizontal shmup that exudes a lot of charm and straightforward mechanics that are easy to grasp but fun to master.

The game is all one continuous stage, separated by 3 checkpoints with each capping off with a boss fight. The game gets progressively difficult where it throws more enemies at you after each boss fight. I feel like this setup does a good job in creating a difficulty curve that warms up and familiarizes the player quickly while not being afraid to show its teeth just shortly after.

This also extends to the movement and shooting mechanics themselves, where it only takes a few seconds to learn, where you just have 4 buttons of movement and a single shot button to worry about. Shooting slows your character down a bit, which does add a small amount of decision-making as you have to be mindful of when to let go and be faster in navigating through enemy projectiles. There are no bombs and other weapon types to worry about, and instead, it ties your lives to your power and speed. This feels fine, with the starting 2 hearts being more than optimal already to deal with everything, and 3 hearts allowing you to move and shoot faster. I do find the maximum 4 hearts mode somewhat annoying, as while it does grant you a wider spread shot, it also increases your hitbox and lessens your movement speed again. Having a trade-off like this for such a linear progression system feels a bit unsatisfying.

Enemy variety is also nice, where each is distinct and have their own style of attack patterns. This extends to the 3 bosses throughout, where each feels completely unique from the other and employs different strategies that make each fight feel fresh.

I'm not a fan however of the game opting for completely randomized enemy spawns and placements, as I feel like it undermines the potential for the enemies themselves, where sometimes patterns can feel a little too empty or really messy when you get bad luck on certain runs.

The main highlight of the game definitely comes from the presentation. The visuals are lovely and the music really compliments its adorable atmosphere. Every character looks great, from the little tadpole the player controls to all the enemies and bosses. Despite only having two tracks, they all serve the game well with the final boss track, in particular, fitting the intensity of the fight nicely.

There's not a lot of extra content, but there is a surprising amount of room for mastery and replay value in the form of an unlockable expert mode after beating the game. The expert mode in particular I feel improves the base game itself, with a faster pace and just enough enemy tweaking that feels challenging but fair.

Overall Tadpole Tales is an enjoyable and charming shmup, and for a free one to boot, it exhibits some nice production values.
Αναρτήθηκε 28 Οκτωβρίου 2021. Τελευταία επεξεργασία 28 Νοεμβρίου 2021.
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23.8 ώρες συνολικά (21.8 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
Really fun! It Takes Two is the kind of game that does a lot of things, and for the most part, does it well. Coming from the same developers of the co-op-only game A Way Out, It Takes Two takes that familiar brand into a more gameplay-oriented experience.

The game at its core is a 3D platformer and builds on top of that by throwing a variety of different gameplay concepts and scenarios built around the co-op experience.

There's a lot of enjoyable platforming sections, and while going through them, you and your friend will be occupied as well with a different gimmick through each chapter of the game. Such gimmicks come in a mixture of different combat methods such as having one player cover enemies and obstacles with a flammable sap that the other player can detonate with their own unique fire projectile.

During sections where it takes a focus on puzzles instead, you get different gimmicks such as the player navigating through an obstacle while another uses a device or ability to help the other player get through things. I found myself just enjoying spitballing ideas and figuring things out with my friends, and on the times we got stuck, it's less on the game being obtuse and just more on us just having moments of hilarious stupidity, which is its own kind of fun.

Optional activities also are peppered throughout the game, with various competitive minigames and moments of exploration to serve as breathers between chapters. If you loved goofing off and playing minigames such as Connect Four in A Way Out, It Takes Two amplifies that idea further in this game.

The game keeps this pacing mostly consistent throughout, and you'll never be doing the same thing twice. However, it does feel like the ideas start to falter towards the end, where the new gimmicks start just feeling like less interesting variations of what you were doing a few hours earlier. The game could have merged and cut out a few things to make the experience tighter and make the last hour less of a slog. Still, for the most part, there's hardly a dull moment throughout the game thanks to just the sheer variety it offers throughout the hours.

Visually, the game looks fantastic. The environment variety alone is great, but the details put into them really show how much work is poured into the game. From experiencing daily household areas as miniature toys to beautiful snowy mountains, green gardens, and even really abstract spaces, it consistently manages to look really good.

The narrative itself unfortunately isn't as compelling as A Way Out, and at best you might find the dialogue passable with a few chuckle-worthy moments, and at worst annoying. Nevertheless, the premise does serve its purpose as a vehicle for the scenarios you go through the game, and it does have a few notable moments, which I won't spoil, but I can say that it's both hilarious and horrifying and can guarantee that it will elicit a reaction.

It isn't a deal-breaker but it would have been interesting to see if they minimized the plot further and just focused on the gameplay parts, as I feel like it is enough to carry the game, and taking out the story won't really impact the main enjoyment of the gameplay itself.

I personally played this twice with two different friends, with the playthrough months apart to keep my experience somewhat fresh, and absolutely enjoyed both playthroughs and had fun rediscovering solutions to the game, alongside finding new stuff I didn't come across on my initial playthrough. It isn't the easiest game to do full replays with considering its long length, though the option for chapter selections and jumping through minigames instantly is a nice way to do bite-sized revisits.

All in all, It Takes Two is a really enjoyable experience, and there is a lot of fun stuff to go through even on just a single playthrough. Like the neat thing with A Way Out, only one of you needs a copy to play the game together. If you're in the mood for a fun co-op experience, It Takes Two will provide a solid experience.
Αναρτήθηκε 25 Οκτωβρίου 2021.
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9 άτομα βρήκαν αυτήν την κριτική χρήσιμη
11.3 ώρες συνολικά (11.2 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
Throwback survival horror can be tricky to pull off. A lot of attempts end up missing the point of what makes older titles engaging, where a lot just throw in a pixelated filter, low polygon models, fixed camera angles and call it “inspired by classics such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill” and end up just feeling like a half-hearted attempt at it, with visuals that feel genuinely worse than any game from that period and gameplay that feels similar to contemporary dime-a-dozen asset flips.

Which makes Kwaidan a standout, for better and worse, as it genuinely feels like a survival horror game that came from the early 2000s, alongside the associated charms, warts and all.

Before diving into Kwaidan, the player is given the option to select either ‘Origin mode’ or ‘Modern mode’. ‘Origin mode’ uses tank controls with a keyboard and mouse, whereas ‘Modern mode’ uses direct controls with a gamepad. An odd quirk that’s tied to each mode is the visual style, where ‘Origin mode’ has a clean look and ‘Modern mode’ uses cel-shading. Both modes look fine visually, but it’s a weird choice to tie these styles to a given control method.

Both control methods work well enough, but I personally prefer the ‘Origin mode’ as I feel like the tank controls and use of mouse for the inventory and exploration works better for the overall experience. Although I will admit ‘Modern mode’ can feel a bit more fluid in some combat scenarios. Either option will also take some time to get used to, as there is a bit of jank to consider, but thankfully you only need to take note straightforward concepts with movement, weapon switching, quick turning and blocking.

The game wastes no time in throwing the player into actual gameplay. At the start, a brief tutorial serves to familiarize the player with its movement and combat mechanics, and immediately starts the player off with a boss fight. This kind of first impression also serves as an indicator of how the game is paced throughout.

The combat mechanics themselves are rather straightforward, but feels unique for a survival horror game. It’s a mostly melee focused system, but not exactly in an action hack-and-slash fashion. You have three options to cycle through on the fly. You have a regular attack that hits opponent in the middle about your height with the naginata, a mirror amulet that serves as an aerial attack for enemies above you, and a magatama which explodes with a small area of effect, which is primarily for enemies that your naginata can’t reach but can also serve well for crowd control. The latter two options consume ‘magic’ which you can replenish by killing enemies and blocking attacks.

The combat emphasizes positioning and timing, where you learn how each enemy moves and attacks. It’s rare to find yourself in a position that you can’t fight off enemies, as they all go down in one to two hits. It feels pretty good as well to master how the combat works and familiarize yourself with how each enemy works. This then extends to how resource management works. You only have two types of consumables, which is a healing item and an item that allows you to save or upgrade your weapons.

Saving works by using save amulets on shrines. Healing items are one-time use and heal about 40% of your health. The way these all works create the tension on how you approach combat, as while you never really run out of options to dispatch enemies, your character is completely vulnerable with limited ways to recover. Aggression is often punished and you have to take a patient approach on even the simplest enemy or else risk losing a bit of health that can set you back in the long term.

The game does balance resource distribution well enough, where you won’t have an abundance to just steamroll through everything, but you aren’t exactly starved off either to the point of frustration.
On top of the consumable healing items, there are a few spots that the player can eat or drink from a single time, which is a nice touch as well in giving an incentive to explore environmental backdrops.

The majority of the game takes place in the titular Azuma Manor, and it is quite a nice set piece to explore. There’s no space wasted, with each area serving a purpose, even if it isn’t obvious during the first encounter. Backtracking is also made less painful as you progress, you’ll uncover new shortcuts that interconnect parts of the manor even more.

All of this is further enhanced with the overall presentation. The visuals do feel like a game that’s trying its best to look good with early 2000s technological limitations, while having a few liberties here and there that further serves its purpose to enrich the visuals. On top of that, the game has a nice mix of piano and electronic music that serves the atmosphere and mood quite well.

The enemy designs themselves are all distinct, with animations and looks that look good and help in recognizing them on the fly during tense combat scenarios.

The boss fights themselves are neat, nothing amazing but they serve a good purpose of looking intimidating at first especially with how your character controls, but figuring out how their attack patterns work which encourages more on careful observation rather than just brute force.

Puzzle solving is also mostly straightforward, and a couple challenging ones that may require taking physical notes or screenshots. They aren’t too ridiculous and are fun to solve, but it actually would have been nice to have an option in-game to review what you found. It can be argued this serves to further enhance that ‘throwback feel’ where some games forced the player to actually whip out a pencil and paper to map things out themselves, but I feel like it just adds unnecessary tedium.

Speaking of tedium, without spoiling too much details, the game unfortunately loses some steam during the final stretch. You go through a new area which is a lot more boring visually compared to the manor, and it’s filled with some really frustrating moments. Enemies can just spawn suddenly near you and you have to keep in mind to block.

One moment in particular that stood out like a sore thumb is a part where you have to backtrack to somewhere while having no option to run or attack. All of this with enemies still chasing you and a timed obstacle you have to avoid. It’s not a deal breaker but considering how well paced the previous section was, it really stands out in a negative way.

You’re also forced to fight the previous two bosses again before the final boss, but this time with more health and enemies spawn alongside. This is less challenging and more on just making the same fights drag on longer. Which is pretty bad since the interesting part about these bosses are more on figuring out the safest approach how to damage them rather than repeating it numerous times.

At the very least the final boss is a bit creative, if somewhat a bit long as well. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, but once you figure it out it feels satisfying to do so. My only complaint is that it really could had its health lowered a bit and would have helped it flow better without losing its challenge.

In the end, despite lacking some polish and the noticeable flaws towards the final hour of the game, I still enjoyed playing through Kwaidan. It’s impressive how this is all made by a solo developer, and I think he managed to succeed in capturing the spirit of a classic survival horror game, even if it doesn’t exactly land on all of its ideas. There's a lot of charm to the presentation and atmosphere, and the largest chunk of the game is thankfully spent during its best parts.

If you’re a fan of said classic survival horror, and you have the patience for some jank, I definitely recommend giving Kwaidan a go.
Αναρτήθηκε 14 Οκτωβρίου 2021. Τελευταία επεξεργασία 14 Οκτωβρίου 2021.
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12.3 ώρες συνολικά (11.6 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
Pretty damn awesome! Intense shmup bullet hell in the form of a twin-stick shooter, Nex Machina is pure arcade fun that delivers a challenging and solid experience, alongside a nice set of extra incentives to go back to.

Controls are smooth and tight, whether you're playing on a gamepad or a keyboard and mouse. Moving around feels highly responsive, which makes it ideal for the game only giving you a single health point alongside the challenging enemies and bullet patterns you have to face throughout the game.

The basic tools in your arsenal come in the form of a rapid-firing gun and a dash. Your main gun can be upgraded with extended damage range and bullet spreads through pickups located in various boxes throughout the levels, as well as random spawns. Dashing allows you to phase through most enemies and projectiles, save for a select few special types. Dashing is under a cooldown, meaning good timing and quick thinking is required to make the best use of it in avoiding enemies.

You also have a secondary weapon that can be picked up throughout levels as well. Each secondary weapon has a different style of firing and projectile alongside varying cooldown periods. They're not only all unique to each other, but also are all viable which gives room for freedom in your playstyle.

There's the Sword which is a one-hit kill for enemies and can also destroy projectiles within a close-range arc in front of your character, coupled with an extremely short cooldown.

The Laser provides longer sustained damage while slowing you down, ideal for a long row of enemies or dense groups and durable enemies. The slowdown also helps in finer movements during heavier bullet patterns.

The Smart Bomb explodes around you killing enemies and destroying projectiles within a small circular area.

The Power Shot is like a railgun that charges up for a couple of seconds and penetrates through enemies in its direction, alongside a small blastwave in front of your character.

Finally, the Detonator, which is a ranged bomb that can phase through enemies and be detonated at any time.

They all feel great to use, with some working better for certain situations, which also provides another layer of challenge in which the player has to memorize and decide what is the best secondary weapon to pick up and use for the next encounter.

On top of the upgrades for your main weapon and secondary pickups, you also have powerups that give you the ability to dash three times before the cooldown kicks in, as well as an explosive effect that damages enemies where you dashed from. Finally, you also have a shield that can give you an additional health point regardless of the enemy or projectile that hits you.

The game runs on a lives and continues system, similar to most shmups. You have a maximum of five lives and differing amounts of continues depending on the difficulty level. What sets Nex Machina apart from most shmups is that anytime you die, the level fully resets to its original state, but with you losing one of your powerups or secondary weapons. You have the opportunity to pick up what you dropped on the subsequent life, but it will disappear if you die again before picking it back up. And when you use a continue, everything resets to your default state.

This provides another layer of challenge that encourages the player to play well to be more effective as each level goes. Because if you don't come equipped with most powerups and a secondary weapon, it becomes tremendously challenging to fight the later levels, especially the boss fights.

While this does mean dying during boss fights can create a rather harsh experience, this element provides an incentive to keep the momentum going and encourage mastery of the game's mechanics and levels.

There are a total of six worlds, with each world containing different levels and a boss. Alongside are secret levels that can be unlocked by shooting hidden arcade cabinets. On top of that, there are hidden enemy types, beacons and humans to rescue.

The humans in particular are also a major element in the scoring system. Each human rescued adds a timed multiplier to your scores. The way they're laid out on each level gives the player a challenge in finding the best routes and timing their movements alongside dealing with enemies. Especially since each human can die at the hands of the enemies.

All these systems put together overall creates a pretty exciting gameplay loop, where everything is chaotic on-screen and pulling off feats at the last second through skill and luck.

Coupled with the systems are the great enemy designs and beautiful bullet patterns from the boss fights. All are distinct from each other and are pretty fun to go up against, with each requiring a decent amount of memorization and planning to overcome efficiently.

Alongside the fun gameplay, the game is presented with nice visuals that are filled to the brim with satisfying particle effects, and varied environments that keep the game looking fresh through each world.

Topping off its nice presentation is an energetic electronic-synth soundtrack that fits the game's setting and gameplay rather well.

After you finish the main Arcade Mode, you also have a set of challenges through the Online Arena that provides unique conditions and challenges for familiar levels. Not only do you have a leaderboard to compete for higher ranks and scores with, but you also earn points that can unlock various cosmetics for your character. With various difficulty levels and unlocks, Nex Machina offers quite a lot to incentivize replays.

Overall Nex Machina offers a very enjoyable experience for fans of shmups and twin-stick shooters thanks to its well put together design and frantically fun gameplay that provides a lot of close call moments.
Αναρτήθηκε 19 Ιανουαρίου 2021. Τελευταία επεξεργασία 19 Ιανουαρίου 2021.
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9 άτομα βρήκαν αυτήν την κριτική χρήσιμη
15.1 ώρες συνολικά (9.5 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
A wonderfully unique game, NiGHTS Into Dreams is not only an impressive game from 1996 but also a game that remains one of a kind to this day.

Accompanying its distinctive gameplay mechanics, the game has a fantastic soundtrack and great visual design that truly captures its dreamworld premise.

The game has a simple control scheme that allows itself to ease the player into its aerial movement and level design. Despite the simple controls, the goal can be somewhat unclear at first, but it becomes more prominent quickly, especially after subsequent playthroughs.

Going from a simple clear to attaining higher ranks becomes the mantra over the course of the game. Each level also only takes a few minutes to finish, encouraging replays constantly.

The game separates level sets through a selection of two characters, Claris and Elliot. The former being the easier set and the latter being the harder one. You can start with any of the sets but it's generally encouraged to ease yourself with Claris first.

The levels are also well varied, not only in their environments and visuals but also in the layout and flow. You'll be traversing through sections each with its own unique design, ranging from different layers to another dimension of movement.

At the end of each level, there are boss fights as well with their own distinct gimmicks on how to defeat them. Facing them the first time makes them feel almost like a puzzle, and it feels very rewarding in figuring them out. Even better as you realize there are methods to defeat them all quickly, further boosting the potential for higher scores.

While there aren't a lot of levels, the amount of care and thought put into each does make up for it. Though it would have been nice if the final level was different for Claris and Elliot, or even just a slight variation from each other.

The story is also simple and charming, which works well for the dreamworld premise and showcases an easy to understand lighthearted plot requiring no dialogue to weave into the game's premise.

Overall NiGHTS Into Dreams is an enjoyable game that is remarkable both within and out of its genre. It's worth playing through even for just experiencing its unique premise all the way through. And to those who are willing to master its mechanics, it's a delight to come back to and improve on through subsequent playthroughs.
Αναρτήθηκε 13 Ιανουαρίου 2021.
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6 άτομα βρήκαν αυτήν την κριτική χρήσιμη
6.8 ώρες συνολικά (3.7 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
Competitive solitaire probably sounds like what your grandma and her girlfriends do on a Sunday morning, and it most likely is, and it's awesome!

The core mechanics is pretty much solitaire, but the experience is greatly enhanced thanks to the introduction of multiplayer. You'll be competing to clear out the deck of cards to get NERTS! as fast as possible while also maintaining a solid build of cards for your total score.

Playing against only a single person can get tedious at times, especially due to downtime during moments where both players lack the proper shuffled deck to get the correct or most optimized card deck possible. Group sessions with 3-6 people are where it really shines, and where the 'competitive' aspect comes into play more, alongside a lot more chaotic pacing.

It can get insanely stupid, and it's all the more funny and enjoyable for it. There's sadly no matchmaking, but this is a fun free game to invite some friends with on a group session, and it's worth at least a go even to those who haven't touched solitaire in their lives.
Αναρτήθηκε 5 Ιανουαρίου 2021.
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5 άτομα βρήκαν αυτήν την κριτική χρήσιμη
10.2 ώρες συνολικά (8.6 ώρες όταν γράφτηκε)
A very fun arcade-like sniping game. The premise and controls are pretty straightforward but the level design is surprisingly creative and provides a lot of challenging and fun scenarios.

The game feels like a spiritual successor to the free flash game Material Sniper, sharing similar aesthetics and mechanics. However, Heroine of the Sniper goes beyond its predecessor's premise and incorporates fully 3D levels and a variety of scenarios.

While the game only has 15 missions. Each mission feels unique to each other and never feels like you're doing the same thing twice. There's a lot of elements that gives a similar feel to some classic light gun games, such as Silent Scope and Time Crisis.

It's probably one of the best games that emulates an arcade-like experience without being directly an on-rails shooter. It does feature on-rails segments but are done really well. The game is full of charm with its level and enemy design, and there's even some cute and neat details with the animations and expressions of the protagonist that are context-sensitive to the happenings in-game.

The game's pretty short, where it'll most likely take you 1-2 hours to finish a first playthrough on Normal. But there is an unlockable Hard mode after beating Normal. The difficulty level differences are also pretty nicely balanced. One of the consistent differences is the sway and physics of aiming, where on Easy it's practically steady and on Normal gives a more shaky feedback. Hard mode in particular is also nicely designed thanks to providing new interesting twists on all the levels, such as new enemy types that don't particularly appear on the lower difficulties, as well as new conditions such as timed segments and new enemy placements.

There's also an upgrade system that'll allow you to upgrade a single trait every time you complete a level. You'll be able to upgrade things such as ammo capacity, reduced aiming sway, being able to hold your breath and steady your aim longer, faster reload speeds and less recoil. It's pretty straightforward but it does make for a nice progression and minor decision making on a first playthrough.

The music is also pretty good. Nothing too outstanding, but it does give a charming atmosphere that really fits the mood of the game and its levels. The sound design as well is pretty satisfying, and hitting your targets with critical hits is a joyful experience.

The controls also feel really good, snappy and responsive, which makes for a very smooth and satisfying gameplay experience. Along with the visual and audio feedback, everything just feels good.

My only complaints with the game is that it could had been a bit longer, like having 5 more missions to round it up to 20, and some extra modes like a score attack mode, challenge mode or a wave-based survival mode/endless mode would had been neat. An online leaderboard too would had been a nice feature.

Overall Heroine of the Sniper is a really fun game and for its small asking price it's more than worth a playthrough. I really hope the developer considers creating a sequel or even update the game with new content in the future. Highly recommended for anyone who likes shooters and light gun arcade games.

Update:

Just a little additional thing after my initial review. The dev had given the game a couple sizable updates. It includes a new customizable difficulty mode, as well as a speedrun mode with leaderboards. Really nice additions that adds an extra amount of replay value to the game!
Αναρτήθηκε 6 Αυγούστου 2019. Τελευταία επεξεργασία 22 Σεπτεμβρίου 2019.
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