Recent reviews by Splints

Less of a puzzle game and more of a logistics game. I found myself making heavy use of out of game tools to plan out my factory. You may want to consider peaceful mode if you don't want the risk of enemies tearing down your factory.

Supraland could be described as a puzzle metroidvania. You collect upgrades that help you solve environmental puzzles to acquire more upgrades and advance the story. In the traditional metroid-like style, you will often need to go back to places you have visited before to use your new upgrades to explore deeper and find more upgrades.

The puzzles feel like they are in a great spot in terms of difficulty. I would frequently get stuck on a puzzle, but they rarely felt unfairly difficult or obtuse. The game 'follows its own rules' in that as it establishes ways of communicating the solution or goals to the player and consistently follows them. For example, planks that you can break with your sword glow faintly red so you will can distinguish them from non-breakable planks. This means that you will not be expected to just click everything to find the solution. This is an important way that the game is fair to the player.

The bright and varied environments are a delight to explore, and finding the small secret areas hiding coins or upgrades is always exciting. Despite the toy-like appearance of the environment, the game seems to be targeted at a mainstream audience. The puzzles are difficult enough to keep adults entertained. The game was surprisingly long, but did not overstay its welcome. It took me just under twenty hours to get 100% without the DLC.

The main weaknesses are a very simple story that does its job to motivate your adventure and little else. The combat often felt like more of a distraction from the actual game and with enough upgrades it became an easy chore. The combat was tied into the puzzles at one point, and it would have been nice to see more like that. These are relatively minor issues and do not have a significant impact on an overall great game.

Three games in one provides a pretty substantial amount of gameplay for the price. The graphics are nicely updated. One issue is that, for better or for worse, the gameplay itself is pretty much the same as the original games. This can feel somewhat bare compared to more modern platformers built for systems that aren't quite as limited as the first PlayStation.

As of writing this review I have completed the first two games of the three. I am at 30 hours now and have been 100%-ing the games as I play. I expect about 45 hours worth of content for someone going for 100%.

I did not play the original Spyro games. The first one I played was Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly which is not a part of this game.

Ignoring the fact that these games are remakes of previous games, how do they stand on their own today?

The games are not difficult. Most enemies die in a single hit, and only a few require two. The platforming is also mostly pretty easy for anyone with a moderate level of experience with 3D platformers. Getting through the games is pretty easy. However, some of the non-essential tasks can be more difficult. The skill points for not getting hit on the bosses in Spyro 2 especially come to mind as well as some of the timed skateboard skill points in Spyro 3.

This is my go to relaxing game. Completing each level can take several hours, but the process of completing everything and discovering the story of the level can be very laid back. Make sure you clean a path from the water bucket dispenser to the the incinerator first and branch out from there.

One of the most interesting multiplayer games I have played. The multi-faction competition is well balanced. Playing as a class-D or scientist is constantly tense and exciting. The emergent gameplay from groups forming temporary alliances is something I haven't seen anywhere else. It continues to improve with new gameplay features and SCP's. Far and away the best free game I have played on Steam.

This is one of the best puzzle games I have played. Compared to other games by Zachtronics this game is a bit easier to complete, but with the online leaderboard system you can set your own optimization goals to make the game as challenging as you want. This is a puzzle game that doesn't expect all players to finish it. Barely above 1% of players have the achievement for finishing the game, and you know some of those players cheated/used walkthroughs.