Recent reviews by JAC

I have not had a game compel me to keep consistently put hours into it like this since The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. I am too lazy and unoriginal to say anything that all the other positive reviews haven’t said but please if you have even a slight interest in this game give it a shot.

If you are someone like me who loves games like Cuphead or Pizza Tower (specifically going for P ranks) where you enjoy games that are very challenging, but the fun comes from learning the level design and gradually getting a little better with each retry then I think you are going to like this game. The controls are snappy and responsive, the OST is pleasant, and the difficulty almost never feels unfair (It WILL get on your nerves if you are going for 100% completion though). Not to mention the honestly really impressive visual style. I've seen other games emulate the PS1 style, but this might be the best I've ever seen it done. The fact that the game features the classic PS1 texture warping as well as a very convincing CRT/analogue filter makes me feel at times that I'm playing this on an actual PS1. My biggest complaint would have to be the fact that the difficult curve is kind of all over the place. For example, the 3rd level might be the hardest in the first half of the game and I had a much easier time with 2nd boss than the 1st boss. But that really isn't a huge issue imo.

I’d be lying if I said this was not a well made game that most people are going to enjoy with an incredibly impressive art stye. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed that this game is not the groundbreaking, overly ambitious experience that its reveal made me think it would be. Not that it was misleading per se, but it had my imagination running wild with the possibility of the jumping out of the storybook mechanic. In the end the mechanic is used much more situationally than I would have hoped and the overall gameplay experience is pretty lacking in any kind of depth as the puzzles are pretty basic. That being said the game is still very charming and there is a lot of gameplay variety. While I’m disappointed The Plucky Squire isn’t the next indie masterpiece, it’s still a decent time.

7/10

This is the first metroidvania where I didn’t need to consult the internet once my entire playthrough. Automatic 10/10

What if A Short Hike was the hub world from Lego City Undercover?

The relaunch ruined local play. The removal of the ability to try locked characters in training and local play is a boldly anti consumer move by Wb.

I won this game in a Reddit giveaway 2 years ago and I randomly decided to finally try it out yesterday. Given how simple this game and its mechanics are, it feels like this was developed first as a mobile game and then ported to PC. That being said it's still a decent puzzle game given the $2 price tag. The pixel art is competent and it seems like there was definitely some effort put into the level design. This game seems like a nice little purchase if you want to support a small developer. Also as far as my testing went, I could not get this game to work on my Steam Deck.

Pepper Grinder reminds me a lot of the kind of games you would see on the wii shop channel or early 3DS/Wii U eshop. A several-hour long game with a neat gimmick, fun gameplay, and a simple yet stylized artstyle. It’s not the most mind-blowing indie action platformer, but it’s a fun time for what it’s worth.

I somehow managed to avoid any significant lack of polish moments described in other reviews and had a pretty fun time overall.

This game will gaslight you into thinking the Zelda CDI games were actually good.