Recent reviews by Sho

O!

terrifying
10/10
My secret word: ORDER

Is DDLC+ worth getting, instead of the base FREE version?
Yes, but it's complicated.

-Is this your first time experiencing DDLC? Go and play the base free game, it just feels more "magical". The reasons why I say this are spoiler territory, and I will talk about them later in the review.
-Have you already played the game and want to buy this expecting an improved DDLC experience? This version is definitely not for you. DDLC+ does almost nothing to improve the base game, (which I already consider a 10/10, but it's still a bummer, since some details could have been polished a bit).
-Do you want to re-experience the base version (with 0 changes or improvements), a nice music player with the old and new OSTs, cute sidestories that explain the girls' relationship and backstory (no confirm on its canonicity), AND you'd like to dive into some more mysteries surrounding the game and its meta dyinamics ? Then go for it champ!

TL;DR DDLC+ doesn't improve on anything from the base game, but it adds some nice things like a music player, side stories and an art album. The mechanics that it became famous for are downgraded to export this version to consoles too, which is my main complaint with the game, other than some spoiler-related stuff.

I've been a MASSIVE fan of the original game by Team Salvato for years, and this newer version kinda came out of nowhere. I was hoping for a more polished version of an already amazing game, which already paid huge attention to details, but I was kind of disappointed. On twitter Dan Salvato said that they wanted to maintain intact the base story, but many fans have been hoping for years for some slight improvements, like a better 2nd act "death" for natsuki , more poems etc.
Now let's talk about the elephant in the room: the Metaverse Enterprise "launcher" or virtual machine/computer. Was it really necessary? I mean, it was the only way to port the game to consoles, but it just doesn't feel right compared to the base version of the game, which had you searching through the actual files of the game. Now those files are gone on the pc version, and you can only navigate them through the "in-game"(?) folders. This absolutely kills the magic and spookiness surrounding the game and Monika for me. It doesn't feel meta anymore. The folders are also used for you to uncover mysteries surrounding Metaverse Enterprise, Team Salvato and their new game/project. Personally, I feel like diving too deep into something that is spooky because it's unexplainable, kinda ruins it. Almost like what happened with FNAF. At first, a scary entity did somethig that it wasn't supposed to do. It was simple, it worked perfectly and blew up because of how well this idea was applied to break such a stereotypical genre (like dating sims and visual novels). Knowing the "why" or "how" paranormal horror works is the best way to ruin it.
The base game had this huge amount of popularity and success because it caught everyone by surprise and just by being a cute and fun visual novel dating sim that subverted your expectations. In this new version, that element is thrown out of the window and replaced with some deeper unnecessary lore. This is definitely NOT a problem for all those people who don't usually dive deep into secrets and details, which is a completely fine and valid way of experiencing games, but as a long-time fan I was kinda curious.
The base game that this version offers is still genius (even tho it just felt better in the original version), the music is nice, the side stories are cute and the music is as catchy as always.


Just Monika

Cute, fun, inspirational and challenging. Sick visuals and environments. Amazing soundtrack. The game gets right to the chase, and it's just one genius level design after another. 5/6 hours long + an extra 8th chapter. It's one big extraordinary mario maker level.
This game gets exactly right everything that it attempts to do, I almost regret only picking this up just now. Also, during the summer sale I got it for only 5 euros. Absolute steal for a game that is worth the full 20 euros price.

Fix the damn online. How did they manage to make the lobbies so much worse than the actual fights? Labbing for hours is less painful and hard than managing to start a game online.
The lobbies (other than looking pretty bad, but that's just my personal taste) take 2-3 minutes to load, because the game needs to "communicate with the server" EVERY TIME. If we sum it to the fact that just to login into the game it takes you 3-4 minutes (yes, even if you want to just stay in the training, or the story mode), it might potentially take you SIX MINUTES just to start a game. And after it starts, it disconnects you from the opponent.
The beta was rough already on Playstation, but they chose not to test the lobbies on PC too because they were afraid of datamining. In less than 24 hours after release the entire cast for the first season pass was leaked. Was it worth it? Don't think so, since now they gotta deal with both lobbies and leaks. Nice job arcsys.

(P.s. the rest of the game is amazing, from characters to music and stages, so I seriously hope they'll patch these issues soon)


EDIT: the games don't crash anymore! Come on arcsys, fix the times for login and entering the lobbies and it'll be a 10/10!

(Mild spoilers I guess? Nothing major tho)
I just finished playing Everhood. What a trip the game was! I really enjoyed the experience and the characters, but I have some feedback that I'd like to share with you, because your team (it's a team, right?) clearly put a huge amount of effort and passion into the game, and your next work will hopefully be even better than this one.
First of all, the non-combat movement feels kinda uncomfortable. This is more of a nitpick on my side, but in some sections, I felt like having a run button and the possibility of not having to go in a straight line while running would have been nice (especially because this game makes you explore HUGE spaces).
Second, I feel like the game, the battles and the story take a bit to "take off" (I am writing this all listening to my guts and right after finishing the game eh). Before you find your arm, the game spends too much time presenting you short battles that stopped right before they were about to become interesting. A similar thing applies to some other scenes, where the game seemed to lead to something interesting, only for you to realize that you can't really interact with some specific object/character right now, and you just have to get back to the story and not explore this amazing world's secrets. To sum these examples up you could say that the game spends its first half teasing you and dangling the cool stuff before you, only to take it away at the last second, and it felt kinda disappointing on the spot.
After the arm is secured, the REAL game starts. This is the moment where the game went from "it's pretty good I guess" to "MAN WHAT A BANGER". I adored the music, the themes, the trippy imagery, the philosophical questions and implicaions. And that music! Man, I wouldn't have expected the shopkeeper to have such an amazing track as a battle theme.

I started the game after expecting something like Undertale and Omori (two of my favorite games ever), but I feel like that wasn't the right thing to do. This game is a unique and special experience. What it does have in common with those two games are the amazing music and likeable pixelated characters tho.
Buy this game and support the developer(s)!

nanomachines son

Great game to sit back and relax with a cup of tea

NO SPOILER REVIEW, since I truly believe that this game has to be experienced 100% blind.

Simply phenomenal. The perfect balance between psychological horror and cool rpg elements. The artstyle is original and expressive, and the characters are deep and extremely well written.
The horror part is surreal and dark, and it's 100% based on the tension that's built up throughout the game's sections. There are 0 jumpscares (only parts where you'll skip a heartbeat), which is often a clear sign of a horror game done well.
If half of this game is considered a psychological horror, the other half is a cool rpg in an environment that has weird and childish vibes, which is perfect considering the cast and its adventures in that world. The rpg part has it all: explorations, side missions, goofy enemies, great designs for the boss battles, turn based combat, a really good sense of humor and some more serious (or even darker at some points) sections.
Some things that help incredibly with the set up of the atmosphere for the game's different sections are the amazing OST and the sound effect management. The music for the boss battles is always so cool, it really gets you fired up for the fight.

I want to point out that this game has 2 different routes and different endings. I am writing this review after finishing the "True Ending" and having seen all the different endings for the "real" route, which took me around 20 hours. I can't wait to jump back into the game and experience it again following the other route (which you can start very early in the game). I heard that it's an entirely new and different plot (kinda like the pacifist and genocide runs worked in Undertale). The hype is real, especially since it's supposed to be darker than the "real"/"true" one. How the heck did they manage to do that?

Extremely recommended, but beware: this game talks about many topics that can be sensitive for some people. Some of its imagery and messages can be a bit much for some players, especially those who already suffer from mental illness.
Depression and anxiety are no joke, so please, be sure about your mental health before you jump into a game like this.

The developer(s?) really outdid themselves with this work of art. And it's only 16€! Although I would like to encourage you to buy the soundtrack too to support the studio and to avoid spoilers in the Youtube video's suggestions. And of course because every track is a bop (duh)!

P.S. Mari is a cinnamon roll

This game can be summed up in one word: "fun".
This game's focus is not its story (even though it has some deeper lore), and it shows. The plot is fairly simple and some of its twists are kinda predictable.
But luckily, the gameplay is absolutely amazing. Slashing through all sorts of enemies (small angels or huge angelical creatures) with so many wapons and a great soundtrack is extremely enjoyable. Gampelay-wise, I think that this is arguably one of the (if not THE best) game of its genre. It does not have the same level of exploration as DMC (which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your personal tastes), and it's mechanics work better than Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (things like parrying, combos and dodging).
Bayonetta is almost at the same level as Dante when talking about style and attitude, and we all know you can't NOT love the red caped demon hunter.
Also, the price at which you can get it on Steam (especially during discounts) is a total steal, at least compared to its sequel, that's stuck on nintendo consoles at 2-3 times the price of its predecessor (or at least, its steam version).
Definitely recommended!