Recent reviews by Funny Fish

So far, I have had a lot of fun with this game. I'm glad to see a try/die/repeat game besides Dark Souls become this popular. Getting better at something until you finally get a high score on it is one of the greatest pleasures gaming has to offer. Even though Cuphead is difficult compared to most games, it is not particularly rage-inducing because of the shorter length of its levels and bosses.
The length and quality of this game really depends on how you approach it. Some might find it to be short. Personally, I am less than halfway through the normal difficulty with seven hours into the game. If I was playing the game just to beat the levels on the normal difficulty, I would probably be almost done with it. However, trying to get P ranks and A ranks has made me spend much more time.
Each of the levels and bosses feels incredibly fresh and varied. Game mechanics are introduced immediately, and then are never used again. In some games, this would be a problem, but it works well when you die a lot in each level. Moving and shooting are also very fluid. Bosses have enough move variety and variability to be fun after restarting multiple times.
I don't think I have to say the aesthetic style is great, but it is.
The only major con that comes to mind is that one of the run & gun levels won't let you get beyond a B score, unless you get a P score for some reason. I accidentally spent way too much time on it because of this.

Excellent game. I like the part where I see BIG number, pretty color, and achievement. i see REALLY GOOD rare card almost all the time, and it makes me super happy. worth my time, and very fun. gameplay consists of clikking, and you gotta be REALLY good at it to get the legendary cards. this game makes me feel REALLY special, because only 50% of the people that play it get the really good card!

also why the heck did i play this pointless game for more than 10 minutes

So far into the game, I can definitely recommend it. It plays like a more complicated and engaging version of Atari Breakout. It has most of the pros and cons of a brick breaker, meaning that I'd recommmend it to people who already enjoy the genre.

Pros:
- Quick-paced and keeps you on your toes with enemies and lots of collectibles
- Great amount of enemy variety and powerups that all do different things
- AWESOME graphical style
- Difficulty options
- Lots of levels to play through
- Good sense of accomplishment after beating every level

Cons:
- Though it is unavoidable in the genre, the endgame of each level can last for a long time. The game does compensate for this with some of its powerups.
- There is no real acknowledgement for finishing levels/collecting things on a higher difficulty. Some people might be incentivized to play on the easiest mode the whole time (which I wouldn't imagine to be too much easier, because I'd think it would make levels take longer+there would be less powerups; probably mroe of a "beginner" mode). The normal difficulty is recommended, and it is is what I'm going to play with the whole time, but it would be nice to have some sort of incentive to play on the higher difficulty.

It's still a lot more fun than most games, and it's worth the price.

This game is great in my mind, but only because it's part of a certain niche of games that I like to explore. To SS all the levels, the player has to thoroughly understand how the levels work, and execute them perfectly. For some, it is annoying and stress-inducing. For others, it's enjoyable and satisfying. If you're looking for a game that has a lot of variety in enemies and mechanics, this is not it. It uses masterful design to make levels engaging, rather than variety.
If you've played or enjoyed Speedrunners, it's aesthetically similar and often feels the same way with its momentum-based movement. The music is similar to something like N++ - it's zoned out, and it may help you focus.
All in all, it's exactly what it sounds like. Play it if you're interested. If you're not interested, don't play it.

Kero Blaster is a short game, taking me a little less than three and a half hours for me to finish in normal mode. However, that does not mean that it is a poor experience. Whether it's worth the full price is debatable. What you see on the store page is pretty much what you get.

Pros:
- The music matches the throwback aesthetic.
- The upgrade system is quite interesting. All the weapons were useful at some point or another. You can't abuse the coin system unless you spend way more time farming coins than you actually should.
- The game has a great sense of progression.
- Hard mode (that I haven't tried yet; it supposedly changes quite a lot about the game) and some rush modes (that I also haven't tried yet)
- There's a high amount of enemy variety.
- The game doesn't force you to fight minibosses after you beat them once, so you are still making progress through the level if you can't yet beat it.
- Beating every level in the game feels satisfying.

Cons:
- I felt that the game was too centered around having enough lives to get as much practice into the bosses as possible, -rather than having levels that match the difficulty of the bosses.
- Losing all your lives can make retracking through the level into something of a slog. I probably enjoyed the game much more than other people, because I managed to avoid having to do this, I enjoyed the game more.

I recommend this game, but only if it's the type of game that you'd enjoy. It's about putting details under scrutiny and detecting discrepancies, which are often well hidden and satisfying to catch (especially when nobody has tried the same trick yet). It's also about testing your morals, and being willing to interrupt your reputation as the greatest bureaucratic inspection machine to let or not let people into the country based on other factors. Many people may live and die because of your actions, including your own relatives and people that you let into the country. Can you afford to keep them alive?
Throughout the experience, you gain more familiarity with your job as a border inspector. Complex patterns of inspection arise in the player's nature as the game gets tougher, and more types of documents are thrown at you. Organizing your desk becomes one of the games challenges, too. It can be tedious, but it's varied and satisfied enough that it can be played with the intention of having a lot of fun.
There are elements of the game that show how well planned the game is. Patterns of more people coming from specifc countries on certain days can be detected. The game will intentionally train you with a "random" person that you must deny. Dull colors, faces that blend in with one another, repetitive intro music, the sound of cars moving by the checkpoint, and gunshots without any music playing compliment the themes.
From playing the game almost blindly, I'm pretty sure that this game takes place in a communistic country in Europe during the year 1982 an alternate history where the Soviets were more successful. Too much of the game's plot is easy to spoil, and talking about anything in the game after the first two in-game days could be considered a spoiler.

Final verdict:
Try Papers, Please if it looks interesting to you. Don't try it if it doesn't.

I'm only about 13 hours into the game, but I feel that I've already gained an understanding of how great this game is - and I'm only more excited when I read this game's description to see how much quality content this game holds. The combat feels incredibly fluid and is fun to try to perfect, even when backtracking through areas or exploring areas that aren't a challenge anymore. The fights train you for the boss battles, which have been some of my favorite in any game that I have played in my life.
See, these aren't your average "hit it a few times and it dies" or "drain its health meter quickly before it attacks you" bosses. These are long and drawn out boss battles that will make you feel like a fighting god who can wield magic, can sustain a long fight, and artfully dodges attacks. They have tended to require a few attempts, though the player may be able to beat some of the earlier ones on the first attempt (the window of time in which the game allows the player to do this gradually lessens throughout the course of the game).
I'm also very satisfied with the way that my time has been distributed. Though it is a Metroidvania-style game, I only got truly lost a few times, and even then it was resolved after a while. While I was lost, I was at least able to farm enemies and get better at the game - and I learned that it's a good idea to get a map. Navigation in the game is clear enough with signs and maps that it tends not to be frustrating (it's about as bad in this regard as it is in Ori and the Blind Forest), but it remains ambiguous enough for secret bosses, areas, and powers to be discovered. It's structured in a way that, after a few hours in the game, the player feels like he/she has a compelling choice of what things to do and where to go.
Aesthetically, Hollow Knight is unique. The soundtrack (which I plan to listen to beyond the game itself) and the art are masterful in tandem. The games areas start dully, but gradually grow to feel more unique. The music ranges from ambient to creepy to heart-pumping and invigorating to fit the experience.
All in all, don't spoil the game for yourself unless you're truly frustrated. As a full experience, it feels rewarding in its own way to be able to fight and navigate through the depths of Hallownest, as well as to be able to stomach the full scope of Team Cherry's game, which, only partway through the game, already feels fullfilled. Perhaps it'll take the spot of my favorite indie game over TowerFall Ascension.



TL;DR Play Hollow Knight if you like single player games that are about more than gameplay and high graphics

I might suggest that some people get this game only while it's on sale. However, I do believe it is worth the price in spite of only having played the solo gamemode in my nine hours so far.

This game is nothing graphically, but the level design and music are where it shines. The level design is perfect at inducing a sense of flow along with the music. Without having to collect the gold pieces or to beat levels quickly or to beat levels in a gauntlet without dying, it's an easy game for people who want to play it casually. Collecting the gold often forces a player to carefully balance their movement with two or more mechanics at once, and it's implemented brilliantly. For example, many levels require you to carefully balance on blocks that move with your weight as a laser homes in on you. Each level has a sense of motif, and challenge feels well-rewarded. Plenty of times a challenge ahead of me seemed tough, but not impossible, and the game has lulled me into spending 30+ minutes on specific levels to prove myself.

Pros:
-Great accessibility for challenge-seekers and people who want to instantly delve into gameplay
-Also a great game for casuals
-Music
-Designed with flow in mind
-Level names are funny
-Instantly launches the player back into the action after he dies

Cons:
-Few types of obstacles exist in the game, and though all of them are used amazingly and in different ways throughout the game, there could be some more.
-LET ME GET THAT LAST GOLD PIECE. D:<

Paladins is a great team shooter beside for a few flaws that don't awfully diminish the fun of the game.

Pros:
-There are plenty of opportunities to use skill to get kills and to not die.
-All the gamemodes feel unique, and fun situations are created in the game design.
-Stealth is actually properly implemented in a character.
-Even when you die, the game only keeps you out of the action for as long as it has to.
-Every character feels different and requires different tactics and skills (i.e. Androxus is about being able to aim properly, Lex is about hunting specific targets, Pip is about assessing the situation and predicting enemies, Evie is about whipping all over the place and being tough to hit while hitting opponents).
-The communications system is pretty good, even though there are voice coms.

Cons:
-Games often feel pretty one-sided. I'm not saying that it isn't fun to farm stats on other players, but matches
-I don't recklessly abandon matches, but in the few cases that something actually happens, a bot replaces you - which is worse than nobody at all.
-I personally don't care because it does not conflict with the way I play, but people have problems with the loot system. I've never ran out of my currency, and I've been pretty creative with builds and other things.
-It may just be that the game is in Beta, but I see similar things in Smite. A few bugs pop up every now and then, and some actually negatively affect the gameplay. At least they're not as bad as those that make the game literally unplayable in Smite.
-Some particular characters are a little boring, but every role has a few fun choices.

For anyone complaining that it's similar to Overwatch, I suggest you play it when you become somewhat tired of Overwatch. The gamefeel of Paladins is completely separate from Overwatch in three major ways. The first is that teams are made up of five players, rather than six. This means that an individual player's skill can heavily influence the match, for good or for bad. Secondly, every character feels somewhat tankier and can regenerate health when out of combat for some time, which changes the overall feel of engagements. Some may think that this takes the focus off of reactions and skills, but it creates a much more emotionally charged environment. It also makes 5v5 team deathmatch all the more exciting. Thirdly, the pacing is somewhat more gameplay-oriented. Maybe it's just because I'm far better at this game than I an at Overwatch (or all the players are bad) and die less, but I feel that the game wants players to meet each other around the objective. The maps are somewhat less nuanced and are shaped for engagement. The game also allows players to rush into the action after death on a horse.

In Hearthstone you'll never get the satisfaction of cornering your opponent with 500 wraithlings. 10/10