In my view this is basically a perfect game. The concept is largely connected to chess (8x8 grid, pieces that have their movement patterns) with many key differences (environmental objects, weapons, each "player" moves all their pieces on their turn). In that regard it maintains the same beautiful minimalism of chess but upgrades its richness in numerous ways. It's tied together by the variety of squads and how they really synergize with each other, on top of the additional synergies you get with in-game pickups.
7.75/10. Does a lot of things right but doesn't seem to tie it all together as the game goes on. What Tunic does best is capture the magic of being a kid playing any of the many cryptic NES games where you might not have a manual (or the manual is not all that helpful). The developers turned what should be a bug essentially into a feature, and they do it beautifully. The isomorphic, polygon indie graphics give the game its charm. The worldbuilding and sense of mystery start off very gratifying. Where it falls short is that the game begins to rely more heavily on the clunky combat as time goes on. The isometric graphics work against the player, making exploration very clunky in places, and makes the eventual backtracking unbearable. Finally, the story, which really starts off as this sort of metacommentary on gaming, just devolves into something more trite and self-contained. This will not be cracking Jonnythecat's top 115.
Just a heck ****. Some of the best platforming of all time along with elite controls, sound design, music and a solid little story to boot. Difficult but designed not to demean the player. Mild shortcomings were a little goofiness on the dash jump input with the sticks and I wish they had introduced some more concepts that were less derivative of each other.
8.5/10. Very tightly crafted platforming and combat; the sections that combine both aspects are most satisfying. The main story is pretty straightforward and not too challenging, but some of the side puzzles really ramp up the difficulty. The game introduces layering concepts almost perfectly which leads to some really creative sections. The color, aesthetic, and especially music really help with making this a blast to play. Main issues are the constant interruptions with unskippable dialogue and some issues with input recognition (sounds like this is limited to console only)
An awesome concept, but feels incomplete. I think where it falls short is the difficulty; the designers seemed pretty shy in ramping it up to an appropriate level. Many of the puzzles are way too easy or derivative of the puzzle you just did. They introduce interesting concepts but either fail to do anything with them or do not weave them with other concepts. Overall, this could have been an all-timer with more thoughtful design.
Pretty meh game. Mechanically the puzzles are not very interesting when you strip away the clone aspect. Even for 2013 this game looks pretty rough. Bleak ambigous graphics, blatant Super Metroid and Alien homage, and truly awful feeling main character. Leans heavily on the "consciousness is big mysterious" trope.
Interesting metapuzzling, but the roguelike RNG system is just flat out bad. Not the fault of the developer, I don't think, although maybe he could have adjusted the weights better. Somehow despite the frustrations this kept pulling me back in, but ultimately fell short. Roguelike and puzzling just don't mix no matter how well designed and thought out the idea is.
There are so many wonderful things about this game; the art style, music, Kim, compelling writing that somehow can keep you reading for hours with no actual gameplay, a beautifully executed interpretation of one's mind, compelling worldbuilding, etc. Where it falls short is that this is ultimately a graphic novel dressed up to appear like an RPG. Underneath, however, how you build your character and respond to interactions is largely irrelevant. And the story, while good, is not quite good enough to justify that.
It's fine, but ultimately empty. The concept, character mix, and power-ups are cool, but the gunplay lacks impact and the gameplay loop is extremely tedious.
This is a beautifully crafted and addictive game that needs about an hour or two to really pull you in. I'm still blown away at how the team made this work with 60 characters and multiple acts to cover using only a few freeze frames. Great stuff. Minor ding for no real replayability and the unnecessarily long loop when you first watch a scene.
This is a mid game at best, and extremely basic as far as JRPGs go. The Dark Souls-style parry system is an innovative addition to turn-based play, but essentially destroys most of the point of the mechanic. The music and art design are top notch, without a doubt, but the overworld gameplay, fights, and story are pretty average.
One of the most polished, smoothest feeling games I've ever played. Every movement is satisfying, tactile, and accompanied by perfect response and sound design. There is obviously a learning curve but once you get over it, Cuphead **** you in. Losing somehow becomes a joy because it's built into the games progression. Beating it and mastering it is among the most satisfied I've ever been with a game.
They took everything that made the first game unique and watered it down while spending more time on the worst parts. If you enjoyed the challenge of planning routes and traversing difficult terrain while throwing in stealth, you won't like this. Kojima spends even more time on the pretentious storyline and substandard combat. BTs are a joke now. There's even more cinematic scenes and even worse pacing. We really didn't need another Death Stranding to be honest, and especially a version that destroys the core of the first for seemingly trying to be more accessible. But really what seems to be happening is Kojima is just going even further down the rabbit hole of just trying to make movies in game format.
The game is beautiful, however the puzzles are quite shallow, unsatisfying, and derivative of other games in many parts. The massive space in and in between stages does some of the heavy lifting here. Many puzzles feel tedious because you're constantly having to traverse infinity to get back to something right next to you originally. I love the concept and imagery but the game itself is just above mediocre.
