Recent reviews by Phist

pewpew shmuppy RPG, I like:
- rewarding difficulty curve
- tight vector art style
- music and audio fits
- that it was made by a small team

- beat the demo a few times (15+ hours)
- couldn't beat 1.0 before the 1st patch (6-8 hours)
- finally beat it after some unlockables (about 15 hours)
- I want to see this dev do another traditional card game turned on its head
- this is one of the most addicting games I've ever played, well done
- stack those Uncommon/FoilHolo and Negative Jokers!
- easily an indie GOTY contender

15+ hours of messing around and 25% Achievements later...
Be sure to listen to the game to progress faster.
It's so chill but also can be a bit of a challenge, strikes a good balance.
I hope this team makes more games, stellar job.

Before early 2023 update:
I have an Alienware mobile RTX 3070 setup. I've spent hours fiddling with settings and this game runs like drying mud on low res + effects. No way I will pay more than $40 for Miles Morales with this kind of support. This is the only AAA title that can't be played on this laptop, as far as I know, my benchmark being if Cyberpunk runs decently. If you dig around, a lot of laptop owners seem to have the same complaints. Really disappointing because I love Insomniac's work.

After update:
Performance has a few hiccups during audio queues, but overall is very smooth. It took Nixxes a long time to get 2 or 3 updates past the unplayable builds. The game is a fantastic Insomniac title with a subpar, if not pretty bad, porting job overall.

PLZ get us some proper licensed ska tracks!!!
loved the playtest, updates are lookin good so far
got most achievements except S-Ranks
not very good at it but love the laughs + challenge

/ weird Banksy rip-off designs don't cut it as DLC
/ should've been included with the base game
/ the gear in the game is already decent
/ pre-ordered + didn't pay for this

- solid roguelike
- difficult, but lures you to press on
- considering mouse + key controls for more precise farming
- excellent art + design + music
- got blessed with this via Humble Bundle sub, inclined to grab DLC

- so Session controls are too hard, but you still want a sim-y experience
- graphics / frame rate shine a bit more than Session (Geforce supported btw)
- good amount of mods and unofficial maps, community support is existent
- barebones multiplayer mode, where Session doesn't (unless you mod it?)
- Replay Editor is average, you can grab decent clips with it
- get this before it hits a higher price point
- complimentary companion to Session and upcoming "skate."

an unconventional way to increase your heart rate

1.0 Review after 130+ hours:

this update edges Session over XL for best current sim
needs a few graphical tweaks and some bug fixing (especially with switch stance and mission glitches)
another update before the start of 2023 will provide some assurance
a lot of folks have dogged crea-ture for their work and I think they are doing a great job with a smaller team


Early Access Review:

Session : Android : : Skater XL : iOS

remember this is a sim title, this is totally not Skate and doesn't attempt to be
physics complex enough so you can literally grind on almost all edges
last update really changed early access to feel and look last/current gen
love the east coast maps, they don't feel like a lame suped-up NYC map from THPS
publisher Macon just picked this up, so expect this one to be AA tier
here's to having a decent lifespan of at least a few years and a supportive community
not better than Skater XL, but would compliment it (own both)