elpsycongruent

Short and sweet, and really really special. The puzzles are fun, the humor was entertaining, and as for the way the story unfolds... I wasn't expecting a genuinely emotional experience, but that's what this game delivers.

I'm not usually a fan of deck builders, but I was told that this would be right up my alley, and sure enough, it was! It's crunchy enough to appeal to people who like that sort of thing, while also providing options for people who prefer a less complicated strategy. There are reasons beyond the card games to pick this one up- boy howdy are there ever- but even without that, the gameplay itself is super solid and fun. (Am I going to talk about those other reasons? No. Do yourself a solid and go in unspoiled. This is a game that throws you right into the deep end, and it's all the better for it.)

I can understand why people would be disappointed with this one, but I really loved it. It inspired a particular kind of emotional journey in me that I've only felt twice before: once at the Venice Biennale, and once on the night of November 5th 2020 (if you know you know). Expectation spoilers ahead: I would describe that emotional progression as: at first, dread, building to an almost unbearable degree until it reaches the point where the tension ruptures. At which point, the sudden release of tension floods you with endorphins; I personally burst into a fit of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter. After which, I found a moment of perfect clarity; my expectations for the game no longer mattered. I was ready to meet it where it was as it carried me down through the climax and into the denouement. TLDR: If you don't have that moment of clarity, the ending could easily feel frustrating, like a cop-out even. But if you do? The experience becomes something almost sublime.

I agree with everyone here: you really do have to experience it. But without spoilers, the organic way that the game unfolds is something really beautiful.

First off: I bought this on sale for, iirc, 80% off. I definitely wouldn't pay full price. The single-player mode works well enough, though since the AI never varies its play style, it gets predictable pretty quickly. The online multiplayer is great when it actually works, but holy glitches Batman! Laggy games, dropped connections; you name it, it's rife with it. I'm especially enjoying (/s) how the latest update somehow means that the character selection screen only works about half of the time. Still, if it goes on sale and you particularly want to play Clue, there are worse ways to spend your money.

First off: yes, the ending is a sequel hook. I saw that before going in, so I wasn't too disappointed, but I can understand how going in unspoiled would be frustrating. As for the rest of it, I found the gameplay fun, the puzzles a decent challenge, and the characters charming and endearing. Overall, I'd recommend it.

I don't think it would be exaggerating to call this the perfect roguelike. The gameplay, plot, and characters are all fabulous, and are all integrated perfectly. A true masterpiece.

11/10, a must-play on all levels. It's too easy to spoil things by going into details, but rest assured: it's a masterpiece.

The was my first Fire Emblem game, back in the day, and it still holds up really well.

I picked this one up on sale a while ago. I played through, enjoyed it enough, got to the ending and went, "hmm, that's not super satisfying." Then I started it back up and got the secret ending, and my complaints melted away. Yes, it's a single-player mafia/werewolf game. Yes, that gets repetitive. Personally, I found that more soothing than boring, but your mileage may vary. Overall, I think it's well worth picking up. Teasing out the snippets of story was satisfying, and it was really fun to have my expectations for certain loops upended.

If you haven't played 999 and VLR yet, STOP. Go do that. Right now. Still with me? Okay. While in the end, I think this is my least favorite of the trilogy, that speaks more to how amazing the first two games are rather than anything being wrong with this one. It's still absolutely fantastic, and while I spotted several reveals coming, Uchikoshi still managed to make my brain melt out of my ears in the end. YOU FOUND IT!

Absolutely worth playing, 110%. If you haven't played the first one, go do that. If you have, definitely give it a whirl. It's a solid Uchikoshi game, with twists and turns to match. I thought the story was a little weaker than the previous game, but I still loved it. My issues with it pretty much all stem from the attempts to make it spoiler-free for the first game. Yeah, you can opt-in for spoilery bits, but there are still several major things that feel like they undo the ending of the previous game, you know?

Overall, an enjoyable experience. I found the ending a little disappointing- not quite worth all of the build up- but the journey was fun enough to still recommend the game. The characters and their interactions really shine. (I actually thought that the best reveal in the game was one completely unconnected to the mysteries themselves: a running gag that turned into a different running gag. It really cracked me up!)

This game is the Uchikoshi we all know and love, with stellar voice acting and pretty decent visuals. What more could you ask for? Like all of his games, I only wish I could wipe my memory and start over again...

So, as a preface: the original DS version is easily a 10/10 for me, and has been one of my absolute favorites since I first played it back in high school. This rating is entirely based on the changes made in the remake, most of which are... baffling? Let's start with the new art style. I'm absolutely biased here, but it's just so... generic, when the original art was interesting and better fitting for the game. This is especially obvious with Eruca's design; not that I'm bitter or anything. On to what actually makes this version worth getting: the voice acting. It's great. REALLY great. But even that has its downside: they edited a LOT of the dialogue, in ways that just seem unnecessary. While somehow NOT fixing the typos from the original. (Looking at you, "alseep.") And then, there's the rebalancing. In the original, making money was relatively easy; I never had to grind overmuch in order to buy what I wanted. In this version... well, it's obvious that they're trying to get people to pay for the DLC. As for the new story content... well, they tried. But all it really does is undermine the original plot, without even the benefit of being interesting or at all plausible. In conclusion: the game is ABSOLUTELY worth playing. Go on, get it! But if you don't care about voice acting, I'd say just go for the original.