Seneste anmeldelser af Lysander

A good game, but not a good metroidvania.

The best part of the game is the boss fights and integration of SHMUP mechanics. Chaining together attacks by taking advantage of grazing bonuses allows for dynamic combat with a high skill cap.

The "currency as a stat boost" system is a novel spin-off of the Souls currency system.

The metroidvania aspects are virtually non-existent. The game is entirely linear. Each section/level of the game has two paths, where one path leads to an item and the other path requires the item to progress. So you either guess correctly and backtrack one path, or you guess incorrectly and backtrack three paths. Most of the items are just colored keys that are only used once. There is generally no reason to revisit any area because hidden power ups are accessible the first time you're there, and the only way you'd even know you missed an item is if you looked up a guide.

Not much for story, most dialogue is just "Hello Character1" "Oh hello Character2, [reference to something in the Touhou series]".

Metroidvania masterfully blended with pinball mechanics.

Miniature pinball tables are integrated into the map very well, and non-table segments have clever ways of utilizing flippers. Exploring the world and solving puzzles is fun. Art and music are great.

As with most metroidvanias, backtracking and pathfinding can be a bit frustrating, but the progression of movement options and shortcuts (including the most fun fast travel system I've ever experienced) help alleviate the tediousness.

Fun surrealistic adventure with very mild puzzle elements, heavily centered around music and music culture. Highly recommended if you love music or are a musician. The core gameplay is a bit mediocre, but it's really only there to make you walk around and see/hear cool stuff. Starts off really good (when everything is new and interesting), but once you have to start retreading ground it loses steam.

I highly recommend checking out the soundtrack even if you're not interested in the game.

Well polished action-platformer that successfully creates a dark and foreboding world.

The story is interesting but intentionally ambiguous/confusing. There are a wide variety of excellent sprites and levels made in a style reminescent of old Castlevania games. The music fits well with the dark atmosphere and retro style.

The gameplay is very good. Movement and combat feels tight and balanced. Subweapons provide combat variety as well as exploration and puzzle-solving tools. The many secrets and powerups provide bonuses to those who take the time to explore and revisit old levels. Some provide additional movement capabilities that benefit both exploration and combat. Interestingly, all of them seem to be optional, so one could play Odallus either linearly or Metroidvania-style.

The game wasn't very difficult until the final boss. There aren't any insta-death spots in the game, and almost every challenge can be overcome by precise movements and attacks. I never felt that any particular section was unfair (except maybe the minecart portions in an optional level). There is a hard mode for players who like additional challenge.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this game. I highly recommend it to Castlevania fans, retro gamers, or general fans of action-platformers.

Turok is a first person shooter that ends up feeling kind of like Doom. I really enjoyed it as a kid, having owned it on the N64, but I don't think it has held up as well as some other games.

Level design is often just big rooms or hallways with enemies thrown around. Some levels in the mid to late game are cool, but early levels are kind of dull and the last couple levels throw a lot of mazes at you. Some of the keys you need are easy to miss and the game doesn't give any indication of whether you've passed a key or if it's still further up. (I was missing level 3 key 3 and spent a long time searching for it because I didn't realize the level end portal teleported you to a boss instead of the hub.)

There is a good variety of weapons, although many share ammo and some are only upgrades of lesser guns. Most of the enemies don't feel very distinct, many are reskinned or feel the same. As the game goes on, enemies get more health, so it's easier and quicker to just run past everything and kill only enemies that are triggers.

If you played it back in the day and loved it, it is probably worth picking up. If you have never played it, I recommend getting it if you like Doom games or if you really like old 3D action platformers. I finished it in less than 6 hours, so keep that in mind. This version adds a lot of convenient graphical and gameplay options that helps bring Turok up to modern fps standards, but if you still have an old copy you might be better off just playing that.

Great downwards plaformer.

The gameplay is very good. There is a great balance between shooting and bouncing off enemies and obstacles. The downward guns feel great, particularly how they change your momentum. Bouncing off of enemies is fun and fluid. The levels are great; each area has different enemies and environmental hazards, providing new challenges and requiring new strategies to progress. There is a good amount of variety in characters, upgrades, and weapons to allow for many different play styles.

The graphics, music, and sounds are decent.

A successful playthrough doesn't take very long, but it takes a lot of practice to be good enough to win. Downwell is a great choice for short play sessions.

Overall, Downwell is well polished. I recommend this game for anyone, but it is a must buy for action platformer fans.

Short and simple, but very well polished.

The gameplay is nothing particularly new, but it is executed very well. OTS isn't too difficult, although there are secrets that require good platforming skills.

It only took me an hour to beat, but it was fun and very cheap. If you want a platformer you can beat on a boring day, I would recommend getting this game.

A short but well designed platformer. It's the type of thing you'd expect from a flash game, but with a lot of polish. Great music, simple graphics, interesting story.

The characters have fun personalities and each has a different movement mechanic. The way in which the mechanics interact is interesting, and the levels are cleverly designed to take advantage of the differences. (I particularly liked Thomas+James levels).

The game is a bit too easy. The narration is good, but often times your actions progress the game too quickly which cuts off the narrator's speech. To hear everything you have to purposefully slow down, which ruins the game's pacing.

The controls can be a bit odd when you're on rising or falling platforms, but it's not enough of a problem to hamper the experience.

Overall, I would recommend this game for someone who wants a fun, casual experience or for someone who likes platformers but is not for looking for a challenge.

Ether One is an exploration puzzle game about the tragic story of a dementia patient. Ether One delivers an interesting narrative, but ultimately I am not recommending the game due to poor gameplay elements.

Ether One suffers from a lot of negative possibility space. You will spend a lot of time exploring rooms that ultimately have nothing in them. The two core gameplay objectives are solving puzzles (to learn more about the story) and collecting ribbons (to progress through the game). There are hundreds of objects scattered across the levels. Similar to L.A. Noire (but even more poorly implemented), a lot of the difficulty comes from determining which items are needed to solve puzzles. The inventory system is atrocious: only one item can be held at a time. and picking up an item will put your currently held item in its place. Items can be deposited at vault-like location that is easy to access at any time, but the player will often not know if an item is actually part of a puzzle or not. So, if you were to pick up a puzzle item, travel a bit, swap it for another item, and then continue, you will no longer have any way of knowing where the puzzle item is located. In addition, movement is very slow and the maps are pretty big. You may know exactly what it is you need to complete a puzzle but end up spending a long time slowly trying to find a building or item. Solving the puzzles is not required to progress, but the puzzles are the only engaging part of the game.

Some of the puzzles are fun and engaging, but other puzzles are extremely lacking. The most frustration came from combing the levels for items and trying to determine which items are puzzle items. Many puzzles make you search for a needle in a haystack. Some involve leaps of logic that are difficult to make.

Ether One has some positive aspects. The narrative and writing are good. The environments are well crafted. You will find notes that do a good job of describing the residents and events of the village. The sound, music, and voice acting are all very good.

Overall, Ether One is too slow paced and frustrating to enjoy. The great narrative is hampered by poor design.

Mind is a pretty straighforward first person puzzle game. There are only a handful of mechanics, but the puzzles increase in difficulty relatively smoothly as the game progresses. I played this game hoping it would be similar to Myst, but it isn't. Mind is very linear. The logic involved isn't quite as engaging as Myst or Kairo, but you probably aren't going to get stuck due to a disconnect between how you think and how the developers want you to think. The game boils down to find a ball, put the ball where it's supposed to be, advance to next puzzle. A lot of people compare this game to Dear Esther. That is a pretty fair comparison. I would consider Mind to be 70% Dear Esther, 20% Kairo, and 10% Myst.

Mind has a lot of very beautiful scenery and magnificent lighting. Just looking around is a lot fun, Unfortunately there are huge amounts of empty space that ultimately don't add much to the experience. There is a desparate need for a sprint function. Early on I would explore to see more of the environments, but you have to slowly wander back to where you were supposed to be. At times, the only difficulty in progressing is trying to find the ball in a large environment. Still, a lot of the environments are pretty cool, especially the ones that are more surreal.

It may sound kind of droll, but the game is still pretty engaging. There's a somewhat decent story as you progress. It's not too long, which I consider a plus because it doesn't overstay its welcome, and I never got stuck for significant time until the last main puzzle.

Overall, Mind is pretty simple but incredibly polished. I love the small details, like rolling the ball if you hold it close to the ground as you move, or the effect of light shining through the ball's holes when you hold it up to a light source. I would recommend playing it if you're looking for an artsy eyecandy game with semi-casual puzzle elements.