Rabidhog66

Subnautica is a wonderfully designed survival open world game that does its job perfectly well. Each biome is distinct and fun to explore to some extent, and the game does a beautiful job at making the environments feel alive and real. The ecosystems of fish in most areas all feel realistic while being fascinating and otherworldly. The gameplay is smooth and does a good job at making you feel like you're swimming instead of just floating (due to the movement animation and how the water is shaded mostly). This game is also more terrifying than any horror game I've played while being a survival game. Maybe it's just my thalassophobia, but every time I see a biome drop off into another deeper area I have to gather genuine courage to even move a few feet forward lol. The story of the game is told in a pretty simple manner (voicelogs) and one could argue that this type of storytelling is cliche or hackneyed (a lot of games use this type of world building) but this game was one of the first experiences I had playing video games and therefore the storytelling has more weight for me than for other people (possibly). The inventory is way more forgiving than other survival games and the addition of different types of lockers gives you basically unlimited storage (which of course is a plus). Crafting is easy at first but later requires you to explore much more deeper in order to find the materials needed for vehicle modules and the end game goal. Base building is pretty easy and not very costly for the most part. The vehicles are pretty fun to control (especially the prawn suit) and you will need them to beat the game (or to really do anything in this game). Overall, this is a great survival game and worth every penny it goes for.

This game is pretty fun to play and is nowhere near the "challenging metroidvania" I have heard people call it online. Although a little bit average in gameplay, the controls are fun to play, and the enemies are satisfying to hit over and over again (especially when hitting a parry). The weapons are all very well weighted (especially for a pixelated art style game) and all of them feel decently fun to play. The map is easy to traverse and the only points I got stuck were due to my own stupidity. The art style, while a little repetitive, thankfully does not restrict all the biomes to being grey dungeons and whatnot. My favorite area is probably the top of the castle (for the view). The enemies in design are all pretty similar, but it is not too much of a problem in the grand scheme of this game since the bosses are all well thought out and fun to play. If I had one critique for this game it would have to be the story. To understand it you must read a LOT of monologues by characters throughout the game with no real visuals or cutscenes. This is definitely not the biggest problem in the world and I was not that bothered by it (and I can see readers enjoying this aspect more than me) but I think it's something you should think about before trying this out. I had to watch an 8 minute lore video to recap why the ending cutscene was important. It is a shame because the story is really unique and interesting and if I had taken some more time to pay more attention while reading I probably would've been a lot more invested, but it is what it is. Overall, check this game out if you like dark metroidvanias.

In this game two things happen; you shoot random badly shaded enemies that have tediously lifeless animation (not that every game needs the exact opposite) or you watch cutscenes which are actually decently animated but a slog to get through. Nothing really changes outside of this. There are a few bosses from what I remember but I genuinely forget most of them as they were so boring. Every level looks the same generally and everything kind of blends together into one big mess with no real reason to complete. I did anyways (as not to quit and give up immediately without a full opinion) but I really got nothing out of beating this game. I don't hate this game necessarily, I just don't feel ANYTHING whilst playing it.

Imagine a lush world full of wonder and magic, where the trees almost glow green with life and the sky is so big and is of so many colors that it looks like the backdrop for some beautiful Victorian painting. That is what I felt when I played this game as a little kid for the first time. Just the ability to experience so many emotions from one piece of art. The levels and areas are all beautifully drawn and take on a life of their own instead of being stiff drawings you walk through to progress. Every time I entered a new location I felt I needed to take some time to appreciate how much work went into the backgrounds when I replayed this game recently (especially the spirit tree, one of my favorite locations in any video game). This, of course, is not to say that the level design is the only good part of this game, as the characters are all illustrated very prettily as well, especially Ori. I love the fluid animation of the character, especially the jumping, wall jumping, and bash mechanics. Naru and Kuro are drawn very well additionally. The game makes Kuro seem a formidable foe during the first couple of acts in the game, and a tragic character by the end. Even though I usually like to see boss battles and whatnot in metroidvanias such as this, the lack of different bosses does not really matter too much when I am so entranced in the story of the game. The story, while somewhat simple, is beautifully told through animation and some mysterious dialogue that paints a picture of misunderstanding and sadness, but also hope by the end. You learn to love these characters without them saying a single word, and I believe that to showcase the game's strength in pulling at your heartstrings. The music has always stayed with me since a child, to the point where when I was listening to a random Jace! regalia song a few days ago it reminded me of the soundtrack of this game. I listen to a lot of the tracks from this game quite a bit on my own time, which is something I can't say I normally do for any game really. But all of these songs (especially Naru, Embracing the Light and Climbing the Ginso Tree) are beautiful and I believe should be way more recognized in terms of video game OSTs. I made this review because this game filled my mind with so much wonder and emotion as a little kid and I hope it can do the same for you. If you love platformers or metroidvanias, please check out this game.