Recent reviews by Nitro

Staggeringly beautiful game as always. Overall easier than the previous two games, but also a much more all-encompassing experience, with excellent storytelling and breathtaking visuals. Even now that "isometric perspective trick" games are becoming more of its own genre, Monument Valley is still able to innovate and surprise; there were some new illusions in this that really stunned me. Just like the other two, this game is an easy recommendation to anyone who appreciates the abstract. Just beautiful.

A fun take on the technical rhythm game genre!

Unlike their other rhythm game (Sixtar Gate: STARTRAIL, which is a relatively straightforward vertical scrolling rhythm game), STARGAZER is a technical rhythm game with notes that scroll from the four cardinal directions, using WASD and arrow key inputs on the keyboard, or D-pad and face buttons on a controller. This straightforward approach to the directions makes this accessible to beginners.

The higher difficulties in this game are focused on technical execution of groups of notes coming from the same direction, requiring you to intelligently split the work between your left and right hands. The ideal, most efficient gameplay here is to perfectly alternate your left and right hand for each note. In this way, this game is reminiscent of games like Taiko no Tatsujin, DrumMania, Groove Coaster or Muse Dash.
Less experienced rhythm gamers may perceive the high difficulties to be full of jackhammers, but every pattern is playable by alternating hands. In fact, every chart seems to be optimized for controller gameplay, where you only have one thumb for all 4 directions, twice over. Keyboard gameplay is also very fun though, especially if you imagine only having 1 available finger for each hand.
This style of gameplay does require a lot of thinking though, so if you're unsure about it from this description, make sure to try the demo and see if you like it. The difficulty ceiling feels like it has a ways to go, but what's currently here is very fun, if you're willing to engage with the technical aspect.

The music in this game is good and varied. Many songs are crossovers from STARTRAIL, however there are also many new songs in STARGAZER with a bigger focus on rock and rock-adjacent genres, befitting the main character. It might feel a little weird that many of the jackets feature a character that doesn't appear in this game's story.

There's not much to say about the story as of yet, since I'm reviewing this game on release, and it looks like the story will continue to be updated. The main character, Dorimi, is cute, energetic and likable, and it looks like she'll be able to carry the story alone. I do wish the "Captain" character was more than just a faceless self-insert, but that's how they are.

Overall I think there's a lot of promise in this take on rhythm gameplay, and I look forward to see where this goes. If you like rhythm gameplay that's more about technical difficulty than physical difficulty, this is for you.

A fascinating look into higher dimensions, not only with geometry, but with physics as well!

There is a steep learning curve to this, and it's not for anyone expecting a completely smooth ride, especially those slow on the uptake. I would consider this more of a puzzle game on the first playthrough, the puzzle simply being learning how to navigate in 4D itself and visualizing each hole.
With all courses complete, I still can't quite say if it's successfully given me an intuition for 4D. The navigation ends up feeling more like some kind of hidden path discovery mechanic than something that actually opens your brain up to 4D geometry. That being said, it's still an extremely fun and elegant mechanic.
The level editor is also great! It's very intuitive to use, and the tools to help edit in 4D make sense. But it does seem like if you want to make good and interesting levels, you really do need a good intuitive sense of 4D.

Eagerly awaiting VR mode and online multiplayer!

A very unusually beautiful and unique puzzle game. Where most other puzzle games of this type strive for elegance, this instead hands you four worlds' worth of visual chaos and asks you to make sense of it. The mechanics are really interesting, and it's fun to think about how they apply to the game's world. It's a strange feeling, because the game is basically linear, but you have to discover your path through it. A bit like a maze, but not in a bad way, because the puzzle *is* making sense out of the chaos. The sound design and soundtrack is also excellent, and I loved how it all came together in the climax. Never underestimate abstract imagery.

I also want to point out the seemingly anti-gamer points of this game. It doesn't let you back into levels you've completed, and once you've completed the game, it deletes your save. This would normally be a bad point for other people, especially achievement chasers, but I love it. Again, it feels like there was a strong intention to create a strictly linear experience through a seemingly chaotic overworld. This does mean I didn't get all the secrets on my first run, but I consider my experience of the game complete for now.

All in all, I think ETHEREAL is very much worth your time. It should take between 3 to 5 hours to complete once. Most puzzles are fairly easy, but it becomes just challenging enough when it needs to. Most importantly it's just extremely unique mechanically, and makes you think in ways no other puzzle game has ever done. Also, it's really cool looking.

This kind of game is the reason why VR exists. It's a simple action puzzle game at its core, but it knows what makes VR great and takes advantage of the VR space exceptionally well. Puzzles flow as they make use of your sense of 3D intuition and the gameplay just makes sense. The level design is ingenious and pushes the main concept as far as it will go, while still being fair.

That being said, there are some real spicy levels near the end that caused quite a bit of frustration. The obstacle orbs also weren't fun to navigate in my opinion, I found myself dreading levels with many obstacles, and I didn't think the obstacles were what the game is really about. Thankfully the game seems to agree on that point and doesn't do it too much and also made the last 2 levels pure movement challenges without obstacles so it didn't leave a sour taste at the end.

Speaking of knowing what makes VR great, the psychedelic visuals are just excellent, and everything that I want in VR. It seems silly and boring that VR offers so many possibilities and other developers just choose to make things that already exist in real life. So I massively love and appreciate these visuals.

This game is VR at its best.

This is the perfect VR rhythm game.

It seems unbelievable to me that this gem of a game seems to have been largely overlooked by both rhythm gaming and VR gaming communities. This game has already perfected VR rhythm gameplay and I don't think any other game has come close. The mechanics make great use of your full arm span, combining individual notes into big movements that feel amazing to execute. It has a high difficulty ceiling, ensuring you have many goals to work up towards, while the level design still ensures a good time. Even then, it doesn't forget its rhythm game roots, and has notes that require button inputs to mix up gameplay. Unlike certain other VR rhythm games, scoring on all notes is directly tied to timing accuracy only, so you can be assured that getting better at timing and executing movements will actually result in score improvements.

And yet, what really makes this game is all the personality it has. It's vibrant and colorful, with incredible environments that just feel uplifting to be in. The little hub world is a great space to chill in and wind down if you're feeling tired and need a break from the workout that the game gives you, with lots of toys to play with. The story is there for those who want it and provides good flavor, but can also be ignored for those who just want to get to the gameplay. The mascot character is cute!! She's cute!!! The way she extends her hand out for a clap at the beginning is such a great touch. It's just such a happy and good-feeling game to play, and it isn't preoccupied with needing to seem edgy or cool like other VR rhythm games seem to need to do.

Airtone really is the best of traditional hardcore rhythm gameplay combined with the best of VR tracked motion controller gameplay. No fuss around justifying the game with lightsabers, guns or punches. You're just going to touch circles and squares travelling down a line to you, and you're going to have the best time of your life doing it.

still the only idle game worth playing, even at $5

Pure delight, both visually and in gameplay. Absolutely gorgeous, especially in VR, where everything washes over you and every move you make feels substantial. You won't be able to go back to desktop after playing this in VR.

Even then, it's not just Tetris with a pretty paint job, the innovations it brings to the Tetris gameplay formula are really interesting and very fun as well. Zone mode adds extra depth to long games, and multiplayer Connected mode is an amazing experience with 3 people trying to help each other out in a huge area.

All this coming from a person who's just a casual Tetris player, you don't have to be great at Tetris to enjoy this game. It's just a great way to actually relax while playing Tetris (or go hard if you want).

I hope this leads the way for VR experiences as well. Realism in VR is overrated. Surreal, abstract, stylized VR experiences is where it's at.

There were never any doubts that PSO2 is a great game, it just needed to be a little more accessible to find success worldwide. Combat is great fun across all classes, and quests are exhilarating with friends. Anyone turned off by in-app purchases will be glad to know that it is playable and just as fun from start to endgame without spending a single cent. You get everything you really need from login campaigns, and paying mostly gets you fashion (though the outfits look damn good).
You owe it to yourself to at least try it out. It's very daunting but you will be rewarded immensely for your effort. And absolutely play with friends or find an alliance.

A really interesting rhythm game that blends rhythm gameplay with the intuitiveness of geometry. Both simple and unforgiving at the same time, it's extremely fun.