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As a Sega kid I can definitely say I have a bit of bias whenever it comes to sonic-like platformers. I tend to judge them too harshly, or as rip offs. This platformer is actually.... very good. Why is it very good? Because it's passionate. These creators didn't just make this game to sell or to be famous, they LIKED making it and it's apparent in every detail from the fluent controls, the entrancing backgrounds and interactables to the amazing soundtrack. Let's get to the breakdowns I guess - Controls: The very essence of any platformer games, I judge this part the most harshly in any platformer game I play but here, well... The game controls great. There was never a time where I was frustrated from the controls, if you screw up, it's all on you, not because of input lag, or movement delays, feels like it should feel, like you're in control. Took me a while to get used to it too, since the characters don't control exactly how you would think they do. I enjoyed the fact that walking on walls is actually a thing, adds a whole new level of openness and exploration to the levels which I enjoyed greatly and it's done cleverly enough that you don't abuse it at every chance. Visuals: I can't even begin to describe how much effort was put into the visual design of each level, there's so much going on, but at the same time it's not TOO much that it's distracting. The sprites themselves are very well made and reflect the characters well enough. I would add a few more animations here and there for certain things, but all in all all of the enemies and characters are very well portrayed through visual means. The backgrounds are awesome, it's not just one big block that sticks in the background the whole time, no, they change with altitude and position and that's some thing I love. A lot of care was put into them and it shows. Sounds and Music: I love the soundtrack. There's not much more to say, it has its own style, it varies from level to level and even within the same level, keeping your ears satisfied for the experience. Voice Acting: Never thought I'd need to put this for a platformer... The weak part of the game, I'm afraid, is the voice acting... My favorites really are Carol and Torque, Brevon gives a good effort too but still... Lilac, Magister, Milla, Neera.... I wasn't expecting professional voice acting, and it's not like the voices are bad or unclear... just that they're too much? I dunno, it feels odd to say that about cartoony characters but they don't feel like they belong. Magister especially with his deep narrator voice doesn't feel genuine on any level. I think a lot of the voice acting would be better if they were trying a little more underplay. Its usually loud and in your face, especially in the more emotional scenes. Its not bad enough to detract from the experience, but it makes you roll your eyes, at least it made me. Story: Not much to it, simple and to the point, predictable and linear. I think that's a good thing, keeps the atmosphere flowing and the action going. Characters: I like them, they're each unique to play and control, each has their own abilities and movesets that diffrentiate their gameplay style a lot. Playing with Carol and her bike and Lilac are two different experiences entirely. Characters are portrayed pretty simplistically and not much is given about their background, which is a shame. I'd have hoped at least there'd be some bio for them. All we really know about the protagonists is that Carol and Lilac were part of a criminal group known as the Red Scarves, who were thieves led by Spade and that Lilac is a dragon. What happened to their parents? Where are they now? Why did they break off from the group? Not really explained. Otherwise each character's look and feel is unique and I like that. Extra Content: Collectibles of music, art and voices, not very interesting really. Aside from Adventure mode there's also another arcade sort of mode- no story, just playing. You can also unlock playing as Milla which is nice. Although I would have liked seeing the ability to play as other characters as well. Achievements aren't too complicated to get, providing that you have the time for it. All in all it's a great game for old school sonic fans. I think this kind of platformer is a good example for today's capabilities and can hold attention very well. It's fun, flowing, quick, intense, everything you need in a good platformer. The platformer it most reminds me of, ironically is actually Megaman Zero ZX with its different movesets, abilities, the incorporation of speed and exploration as well as story and cutscenes. To the creators - very well done. I think Sega can learn a few lessons from you about how to make a new sonic 2D platformer game. I really enjoyed it.

Before I begin this review I'd like to take a moment and talk about the "Deathinitive" Edition. Now, I'm really curious as to what kind of dev had the balls to release a "Deathinitive Edition" so completely riddled with bugs and glitches; Things that should have been ironed out and fixed on the first sales weekend are omnipresent in this version, from enemy AI ceasing to function to the player character being unable to damage anything, to animations getting stuck. I wouldn't bring it up except that almost every session I played I encountered one of these and it was really making it hard for me to return to it. I'll start by saying that I am NOT a fan of the Diablo style loot and leveling system. It is so redundant and unnecessary that it weighs down the game incredibly. I don't want to have to make a "build" to play on a higher level, I don't want to have to get stuck grinding to be able to beat a boss or an area, this is not what I play action platformers for. The first Darksiders made exploring fun and profitable, made levelling up your weapons worthwhile (even with the ungodly completionist spider grind), in Darksiders 2, each act of exploration and backtracking rewards me with... loot... woohoo. another piece of junk I probably won't be using, or would be sacrificing to one of my possessed weapons. War had an excuse to losing his powers and having to build again from scratch, why is Death so weak? The comic that came with Darksiders 1 presented death as superior to War and "practically invulnerable" whereas here he is often ridiculed and mocked by pretty much every character he meets? No one fears Death? Aren't the horsemen the most feared beings in existence, with the power to destroy anyone who threatens the balance? He has to learn how to fight from an undead human? Really? The platforing is by far the BEST part of this game. I've had an amazingly fun time figuring out ways to get from point A to point B and death's agility is a welcome change from War's clumsiness. The fluidity of being able to scale a wall using various tools and maneuvers is just satisfying on a deep level for me. The first time I got to the Eternal Throne I was blown away by how fun it was, short though it is, especially after long hauls of riding Despair back and forth in the Forge Lands. The story (and by that I mean a very limited perception of the main quest) is interesting, the expansion of the lore is welcome, however the RPG like questing absolutely destroys every shred of fun you can have with it. The entire game is basically a bunch of fetch and kill quests. That's all there is to it. No variety. "Go here, KillFetchActivate". This worked in the first Darksiders because it didn't have "sidequests". You didn't have to go and kill 50 Chosen. And what do you get for working your off? Rarely enough you'll actually get something good. But Mostly? Loot... woohoo. Why not make it so that each quest allows you to learn some ability? The world is massive and for most of it? The designs are amazing. Pretty much every locale has its own atmosphere and vistas, almost every dungeon is designed with great visuals in mind, pretty awesome. Fast Travelling is one of the things I do not object to in this case. Serpent Holes were pretty annoying after you went through them the first 30 times. Despair I'm not a big fan of. His controls barely work, either due to bugs or bad programming, half of the time if I tried fighting on horseback he'd just randomly stop and neigh. The soundtrack is pretty damn great, it fits the atmosphere of each level and area, it knows how to stir you up, it knows how to calm you down, it almost feels like the game tracks where you are and what you're looking at to play it. Well done! And lastly, the combat. Look, the combat in and of itself is fantastic, the moves, the combos, everything flows, everything is intuitive, unbelievable. I would give the combat alone the best score possible. But it's dragged down to the gutter by the stupid RPG mechanics that have no place in a Darksider's game! Why does death need so many weapons?! Aren't the Four Horsemen supposed to be equipped with legendary weapons that can only be surpassed by even more legendary weapons?! This beautiful masterpiece of control programming is bogged down by stupid RNGs and stats and items... And it doesn't even feel rewarding because it gets you so little XP.... But hey, at least you get loot... woohoo.

A Hat in Time is an amazing game. Well worth the wait. I first encountered this game through the Brutalmoose Youtube Channel, where he covered the beta for this game shortly. I was immediately impressed by the visuals and various moves displayed and Brutalmoose seemed to have a good impression of it. Having played the full game and completed it myself, I can say that this is definitely one of the best 3D platformers I've ever played. In my head, this surpasses the legacy of platformers like Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong and Super Mario 64. In A Hat in Time you play as Hat Kid, an alien child trying to get back home. However, you are forced to make an unplanned stop due to passing near Mafia Town. From here to there, you lose all 40 units of your fuel, also called Time Pieces, or Thingamajigs, or Junk, it all depends on who you're asking. Immediately you are met with a variety of colorful NPCs and enemies and released into an open world where you can practice your varied move set which includes Dashing, air dashing, double jumps, air recovery... and that's before you even factor in the additional movesets you gain with Badges and Hats. The controls are amazing. Saying they're "Tight and responsive" doesn't do them justice. To quote the legendary AVGN, this feels just like it should, like you're in control. Not one time throughout my playthrough of A Hat in Time did I feel frustrated by the controls in any way. Every movement was as I intended it. No slipping around, no delays, perfect. The sounds and voice acting are great. All of the voice actors did a bang up job playing their roles and made for enjoyable and memorable characters. The option to have the characters mumble (in Banjo Kazooie style) rather than talk is also fun. However, I must comment that unfortunately not ALL characters seem to have mumbles, which is a shame, I was really looking forwards to hearing the Jon Tron bird mumble. I never buy soundtracks on Steam unless they're in a bundle with the game. But for this game i actively went out of my way to buy the Soundtrack. It's that good. It's so good I hum it in my head when I'm at work. That's how enjoyable and memorable it is. Not to mention, it has some tracks by the legendary Grant Kirkhope! In addition, you also get remixes you can unlock within the game of certain themes, which you can even swap so they play in the level instead of the regular music. Talk about going one step beyond! The only gripe I have with this game is that it's a tad short for my liking (for now!) However, the creators had the foresight to make this game easily moddable, which adds plenty of hours of fun to it. I really want to see this game become a franchise, I want to see these developers take this even further! More Hats, more Badges, more levels! Congratulations to the crew for showing the world that it doesn't take Nintendo to do a platformer right.

AMID EVIL is a first person shooter coming to us from New Blood Interactive, made by the thrice blessed Indefatigable. Now let me set the record straight right off the bat. Despite what you might think, this isn't some throwback retro FPS game, oh no. This is an evolution. AMID EVIL is a spiritual successor to Heretic, Hexen and Hexen 2 just like DUSK is the spiritual successor of DOOM, QUAKE and BLOOD. It hits you home with its myriad of spectacularly designed levels, the awesome variety of weapons and it's smoother than life controls within the first 15 minutes. And let me tell you, you haven't even scratched the surface yet. The game is divided into 7 episodes, each unique in its design, enemies and environments. From medieval moon worshiping cults, to giant stone guardians, to sentient machines and crystalline arcane constructs. You're going on a journey, player and you better come prepared. Let's talk a little about the game-play, you're The Champion, you've claimed the Axe of the Black Labyrinth and you're ready to use it to bring order to chaos, life to death, but mostly, to destroy evil like the cosmic crusader you are. The controls are tight and responsive in the most literal way. You don't feel like you're in control, you are in control, it's all muscle memory from here because the game doesn't play around. You'll be dodging and weaving and platforming like you were born to do it, because that's how much control you have over your character. The game doesn't hamstring you and doesn't dictate your route for you. It gives you absolute freedom. I've skipped whole sections by using old-school quake techniques like rocket (or planet) jumping, or just figuring out inventive ways to use the scenery to my advantage. You've got 7 weapons to choose from and I'll put it right out there, there are no "good weapons" or "bad weapons". Each weapon has their use, has enemies that it is much better against. Fighting fire spirits? Use the water rod. Fighting projectile reflecting crusaders? Use the planet-tosser. Fighting incarnations of evil? Well, you got an axe made just for that don't you? Each weapon has a unique firing mechanism and unlike most shooters, they don't stand to imitate the classic gun, shotgun, rocket launcher. Instead, you got a sword that fires shockwaves, a rod that fires homing shots, a lightning shooting trident, a planet tossing claw (yeah, it shrinks planets and throws them at enemies, try not to blow up the earth will you?), a mace that shoots crystal spikes and of course, cosmic ribbon candy of death. You're going to be switching weapons on the fly constantly, within the same fight, you're going to be strategizing, prioritizing and you're going to do it without even noticing, because it's just a pleasure to do. I have to put a shout out to my man Andrew Hulshult for being the absolute master of FPS soundtracks and making the experience ten times better with his incredible tracks. I don't buy game soundtracks a lot, unless it's a bundle. But I went out of my way to buy this one, so I can listen to it everywhere. It's that good. I can't even describe it, just play the game and have a listen. The environments and level design are probably the pinnacle of their kind for this sort of game. I spent over 30 minutes every level just exploring and taking it in. The sky boxes, the maps, the environment, hunting for secrets, just getting into every nook and cranny, not because there's an achievement for that, but because it was just so well made. Though the game follows the John Carmack creed of plot design keeping it simple, there's a deceptive amount of lore in the game, given to the player through short messages hidden in each level. Such as rivalry between two factions of enemies you fight, or connection between episodes that you can see by exploring. It was more than enough for me, gave me more time to focus on the action and rewarded me for looking around where I could. (And yes Dave, I bought DUSK, thank you.) The second way they convey this to you is with a very helpful codex right in your menu, giving you info about places and enemies you'll encounter, which I can say was very helpful to me starting out and helped get me into the game. Kudos for that! All in all, like I said, this isn't a throwback, it's an evolution. I'm excited to see what more can be done with this genre now, New Blood and their partners are giving me newfound faith in the gaming industry. But, nothing's perfect and I do need to mention some drawbacks to the game. 1. Clipping issues when flying and jumping. I've gotten stuck on a ledge more than once, kind of a bummer. If you guys fix that, that'll be great. 2. This game NEEDS a map editor! 3. Bosses were too easy for me. Granted, I'm a veteran of FPS's and I've been finding EVIL difficulty easy, but still. I hope to see more from New Blood and Indefatigable in the future!

Alright boys and girls, let's start you off with a TL;DR - This is not a "Paid Doom mod". Not more so than Heretic or Hexen are paid Doom Mods. This is a game, the entirety of which is made from scratch using a free-to-use engine. This is legit. When I hear about a game that it's an old school boomercore FPS, I don't expect much. I expect intense circlestrafing action, clever level design and uncompromising difficulty. What does Hedon have? Tight controls and intense action? Check. Assortment of weapons to decimate all resistance? Check. An entire difficulty centered around using an entirely different arsenal of melee only weapons? Check. Tracks made by the legendary Alexander Brandon? Check. Thicc badass characters? Check. Surprisingly gripping story line and well developed world? Check. I can't sing enough praises for Hedon. This game was made by one guy, one guy, on a budget of virtually $0. I wouldn't put this game far off from Ion Fury and that was made by an actual studio. So let's cover our main points: Graphics - 100% original, I showed this to 3 of my friends, not one could guess this was running on a Doom engine. Assets are all unique and made from scratch, environments are immersive and beautiful, the environments are well designed and can tell you stories all on their own. There's some good looking retro shooters out there but Hedon takes it to the next level, there's love in every pixel. Sound and Music: Voice acting is few and far in between, would have liked to see more of it, but it doesn't detract from the experience, after all, we didn't have voices in FPS for the most part back in the day. Music knows how to pluck those strings that make me go 'wow'. A few tracks in this game just made stop and appreciate them, I'd buy the OST if it was on sale. Level Design: Immersive, rich, encourages exploration, there's not much more that I can say here. When you have fun going through the game twice in a row and writing a complete secrets guide, you know something was done right here. Plot: Simple but gripping, tells itself through the environment mostly, there's some notes here and there but nothing cumbersome and nothing that stops you dead in your tracks for 5 minutes reading long walls of text. They're short and to the point, everything else is told visually for the most part and effectively. The world building is what really gets me going, I'm invested. All in all, I'm more than happy to put Hedon up on a pedestal with the rest of the outstanding 90's retro shooter experiences we got in the last couple of years. Dusk, Amid Evil, Ion Fury and Hedon. The Pantheon of modern boomercore shooters. Pat yourself on the back Zan, you did good. Can't wait to see more.