Recent reviews by speedchuck

Very easy to pick up and fun to play. Every moment of the gameplay is engaging, from choosing upgrades to blasting trains. If the devs can scale this very short demo up and keep this quality intact, it's a likely d1 purchase for me.

Haiku is Hollow Knight Lite. It is shorter, easier, and less grand than Hollow Knight or other Metroidvanias, but scratches that same exploration itch.
The combat feels good, but never gains much depth.
The story and world are neat. I like the way things are connected, and the way the story is presented. There are a few 'that's it?' moments (like the true ending) where I thought I was in for something more, and there were also a few lore comments in the world that aren't followed up on, but the story was solid.
After reading notes about humanity deserving another chance and how you need electricity and water to create conditions for life, I was hoping we would help kickstart that in the true ending, but nothing that amazing happens. I will admit to getting attached to an NPC or two, and I wish there was more interaction with them.
Presentation was great. I love the visual style, though the music could have been a little more musical.
It took me 6 hours to 95% complete the game. The remaining 5% would take me a while to find, as I didn't keep the 'secret finder' circuit active all game, and thus don't know where to look without another stroll through the map.
The game is short, pleasant, fun, and worth the time to unravel. If you're the kind of person who loves exploring but found Hollow Knight too difficult, pick this up! If you liked Hollow Knight and don't mind a step down to a smaller, less grand experience but want to scratch that itch, this'll do.
I heartily recommend this game. It's no masterpiece, but for a weekend kicker, it's one of the best 5-6 hour games I've played.

Note: If you want to play the game in 'hard' mode and get all of the achievements, just don't pick up the wrench!

My favorite thing about Hollow Knight is probably the extremely tight combat. But I don't want to undersell anything else the game does. Hollow Knight is all about moments. Every boss, every new area, every new little upgrade feeds a little more into the sense of wonder and import as you explore a dying kingdom. The game opens up, and every player will explor the labyrinth of Hollownest in a different way, but we'll all have the same memories. The predation of deepnest, the awe of the lords, the moment when you first enter the city. The origins. Trying not to spoil anything. It's like playing a giant piece of art, but it also plays as well as Celeste, just with a focus on different things. And there's still that feeling of satisfaction and gratification after nailing a difficult boss or area. The customizeable builds are fantastic. The... this post is long enough.

DDG basically combines everything I remember about SNES platformers, and pulls it off with exceptional style. From the whips of Castlevania, the physics of Mario, the blaster from Mega Man, and some ideas from other more modern games, this game encapsulates a lot of different styles in gameplay. Despite all of the items that change the gameplay in interesting ways, the game works as a whole, and feels tight to control. The Xbox 360 controller I used felt perfect for the game, and the simple controls allowed me to jump in. Every time, I started to feel tired of a concept, the game would throw something else interesting at me.

Aside from the gameplay, there are a few other important facets to the game. First is the visual/story style. The game is set in a premise and style that I have not seen in a commercial game before. It doesn't take itself seriously, but still manages to fit an interesting little story in, and some well-formed characters. These elements aren't intrusive, but they are memorable enough to make the game stand out from the crowd.

The difficulty curve is excellent. The game speaks of its own difficulty, and it delivers, but not at first. The game builds you up to the more difficult segments later in the game. To add to the difficulty, there are four different characters to beat each level with, three challenging paintings to find, and a scoring system that drives the replayability of the game. All of this is optional, but the game can last a long time if the player desires it.

The boss levels in the game are excellent. That's all I need to say.

Downsides of the game: A few levels have a slightly frustrating design. That's basically the only downside I found to the game. It is definitely worth a play!

Note: I am quite far into the game, but have not completed it yet.