#video game review

[rebelcourtesan]

I just played . . .

Taking place in a small town of Gallows Creek during the 1980's, you are Forrest Nash, the new radio DJ from Chicago who assumes the role of a late night show host for the town's only radio station. While expecting a slow night of music and silly contests, things take a dark turn when you receive news of a murder which throws Forrest into the role of savior for the town.

There's a killer loose in Gallows Creek and people are in danger and Forrest Nash is their only hope of saving lives and uncovering the town's dark secret.

Okay, a lot of things to point out.

Strong Narrative - Meaning there is a LOT of dialogue between Forrest, his producer Peggy, and the numerous callers who need their help eluding a killer. Walking a jogger who lost her keys hotwire her car to escape the killer and aiding teenagers trapped in an abandoned house come up with an escape plan are just a couple of the things you'll be doing in this game.

Puzzles - The puzzles that range from easy to mid level difficulty. I actually had a pen and notebook next to me to take notes of anything that seemed important, but they were all fun. As long as you pay attention and be investigative, you should figure them out. However, be sure to save often incase you get something wrong and want to retry, you can easily reload to a previous save so you can try again.

Interactive - You are literally a radio dj. Meaning you can put on songs from a collecting of vinyl records, fulfilling song requests, and play ads. There are hidden records you can find throughout the studio as you explore to find clues to aid you in recusing the citizens of Gallows Creek.

Game Length - The game is only a few hours long. Easily beatable in an afternoon or evening. (Better to play at night for the creep factor).

Atmosphere - Perfect. It really captures the tension and atmosphere of 80's slasher films. Every time I left the booth to explore the studio, the music would change to a low tense beat, reminding me there's a killer out there.

I know Diablo 4 is just around the corner for a lot of people, but I would for this gem to be buried under the hype for Diablo 4. While I'm sure Diablo will be a great game, I also believe Killer Requency is a great game too. And I also believe great games deserve great attention.

So give this game a shot on Steam, PS5, and there is also a VR version available.

#horror games #video game review #video game recommendation #pc gaming #playstation 5 #killer frequency #please reblog to get the word out.

[vermutandherring]

Horse Ranch was, without exaggeration, one of the most anticipated additions to The Sims 4. Perhaps, if the previous game had not set such a high bar, expectations for the fourth would have been lower. Although it cannot be less, given the game's initially tarnished reputation. Nevertheless, Horse Ranch significantly raises the bar of the game from the first seconds. The developers expose themselves, proving that the closed world is just an excuse for their own laziness and unwillingness to do anything more than small worlds of the same type. It turns out that even in a limited space there is room for majestic and graceful horses, the appearance of which players have been waiting for almost a dozen years. I often go to extremes, saying on the one hand that subsequent games in the series have the right to repeat themselves. If they don't bring to the industry or even the franchise itself, there's nothing wrong with that as long as it's a good game in its own right. But Sims 4 is not the case. I have repeatedly pointed out that this particular game is a leech, which, nevertheless, we continue to play. This waiting game has gone on too long. But, as they say, patience is rewarded.

The horses in the Horse Ranch expansion pack have undergone a significant improvement compared to The Sims 3. They look really graceful, their faces are no longer obtuse and silly, and in general they look relatively realistic in the game's cartoonish graphics. In the 3d game, you will need a bunch of mods to make the horses closer to their living counterparts and get aesthetic pleasure from their appearance. In the 4th, they are really nice to watch. Especially in a bunch with well-developed animations.

I last played Sims 3 not so long ago, so the contrast in the movements of both the animal and the rider feels good. They no longer slide across the ground like logs, and the reins are not glued tightly to their necks. Now you see how your character literally sets the direction and the horse, leaning and bending to turn or jump, reacts to the control by realistically stomping its hooves.

The style of the game is also focused on the western type of horse riding inherent in American culture. I will not say that this is the best idea, given that many players think of the classical school when they hear the words "horse riding". I myself would prefer to see more classic elements. But it is worth considering that The Sims is originally an American story about the American dream, created by Americans. I think, against the background of numerous additions that represent various cultures of the world, it is worth leaving something for yourself. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that the game has too… No. TOO little horse equipment per se. 3 saddles, 2 bridles and several accessories, including two saddle pads. For the money the add-on costs, it should have featured some more unusual equipment. In addition, the story of Native American tribes is woven into the expansion, so why not develop this theme a little deeper, and add more historical and cultural artifacts?

The first minutes of the game are really fun. Everything seems completely new, you want to try so many things at the same time. But this euphoria quickly passes when you understand that all improvement ends in the appearance and animations. The new discipline – barrel racing – is not impressive at all. All you can do is run in circles around the barrels. That's all. When I say circles, I mean it literally. No eights, complex tricks or at least movement in the other direction. With show jumping, or rather what was left of it, it is even worse. Instead of a chain of obstacles that could be built into an entire arena in The Sims 3, you can practice with just one small obstacle that is as high as your character's knees. At first it is interesting to watch, but then it is so depressing that training horses turns into a mortal routine.

By the way, now your horses have as many as 4 skills. One develops the character of your pet and expands the number of interactions with it, the other 3 - endurance, jumping and agility - have almost no effect on anything. Gold medals at the first levels of competition difficulty are very easy, even if the horse's skills are minimal. And yes, all competitions are our 'favorite' and well-known rabbit holes, where you cannot even conditionally observe the development of the event. What is even more annoying is the fact that now there is practically no point in training. Unlike Sims 3, in the fourth game foals do not inherit skills from their parents, only character traits. If earlier you could breed a foal with almost 100% skills, train it quickly, win a few competitions and sell it for good money, now you have to suffer for a very long time with one horse to get at least something for it. For these reasons, I see no need to keep a mare and a stallion to develop a pedigree. It's too long, too unrewarding and terribly boring. Considering the lags, it is also dangerous for nerves.

What is undoubtedly pleasing against the background of all these endless minuses is the mobility of horses. They no longer stomp endlessly in place when you try to interact with them, they don't need a lot of space to perform actions, and most importantly, no more ugly stalls that take up too much space. Now you have a 3x3 bedding where your horse can sleep, but which you can do without. Fortunately, instead of large, clumsy barns, you can now build luxurious stables. Another plus is that several horses can use the feeder and waterer at the same time.

In addition, all lots have small paddocks nearby. And all areas of the town have barrels and obstacles, so you don't have to place them on your lot. It is enough to build a house and a stable when the training area is nearby. Thus, on the largest lots, you can arrange whole farms and ranches with a bunch of animals.

Speaking of animals, I can't say much about goats and sheep. Yes, they are cute. But like the rest of the livestock, they have a more decorative function, if you, like me, don't really like to dig around with all this craftable stuff. They are not always friendly, they can butt and do not want your attention. Given that we already have rabbits that can help you in the garden, I think goats and sheep could come up with more interesting roles. If you have too many decorative animals, then taking care of them is a nightmare. Fortunately, the ranch hand you can hire is great at their job. In addition to taking care of the animals, they tend the garden, can do things and take care of the animals from Cottage Living. However, sometimes there are weird lags where they idle instead of leaving the lot when the job is done, or quits without notification and you have to hire them again.

Overall I like the new expansion pack. It adds long-awaited new experiences to the routine of Sims' lives. But as with all add-ons for The Sims 4, Horse Ranch is fun right up until you've tried all the features of the set. A week later, I no longer feel a burning desire to return to my ranch, because I know that nothing new or interesting awaits me. Rather the opposite: endless bugs, simulation problems and sheep that hate me. Undoubtedly, if you are crazy about horses and Horse Ranch was a long-awaited addition for you, it is worth your attention. After all, where EA has screwed up, there will always be talented creators and their mods. If horses sound empty to you, I don't think Horse Ranch will be able to dilute your routine for long. In any case, this add-on is not worth its full price, and despite the good idea that players have been waiting for, it is another heartless DLC that openly encroaches on our wallets like never before.

I think at this point I like the scale of the game more, which the new expansion pack adds to the game, which makes its world feel less closed. My sims can sit in the pond while the horses walk in the pasture and the little goats sleep under their feet.

#simblr #sims #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 horse ranch #sims 4 horses #ts4 horse ranch #ts4 equestrian #sims 4 equestrian #video game review #my articles

[moosieart]

(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GOTHAM KNIGHTS VIDEO GAME)

Ok, so I finished Gotham Knights, and here's my review.

I loved it! The story was amazing, and the plot twists! I totally did not expect Kane to be The Voice. And the Court of Owls!!! They're my all time favorite Batman villain/organization, so for them to be such a prominent villain made me undeniably happy. And the Labyrinth, it was so well done, I literally cried. The mind games and the way it hits you in the feels, it embodies the Court perfectly. The League of Shadow was well done as well.

The sibling bonding! I'm sad that only Dick, Babs, Jay, and Tim were there, but they did them so well! They showed Tim's insecurity and grief for losing Bruce, and I totally believe he's autistic. Dick struggled with whether to take up the cowl and whether he was good enough. Babs struggles through her own grief with her father's death. Jason grieves a father he barely got to know, and apparently the Lazarus pit gave him powers??? I'm all for it. And how Jay still struggles with the pit's effects, finally someone did my boy right.

But it's not all sadness and pain for the batkids. They bond, have fun and make fun of each other, true BatFam content.

I was spoiled for the end of the game, but even if I hadn't been I still felt the dread and realization that as we approached the Wayne cemetery that Talia was going to revive Bruce. That whole scene hit me in the feels and having to mourn Bruce a second time.

And Gotham city, I adored swinging/flying/driving around and patrolling. The subtle details like the fact that there is actually a Batman Musical in universe made me smile. The way citizens have differing opinions on vigilantes. I've never played a spider-man game, but I imagine they're pretty similar.

And the way Wayne Family Botanical Gardens was in ruins and not used, it made me so sad. How Bruce is buried next to his parents, how in the belfry he had the highest ranking score on the video game. I couldn't even bring myself to play it, if i removed Bruce from the leader board I would have felt so guilty and sad.

The graphics were amazing, the attention to detail made my artist heart excited and inspired, and I only ever experienced minor glitches, like the subtitles occasionally flashing, I've had way worse glitches in Skyrim or Knight of the Old Republic, so it really wasn't a big deal to me. I loved how both the end credits and Main Title adjust to whatever your heroes are wearing at the time. I haven't played multiplayer, nor do I plan to, so I can't give you a review on that.

This game was not only gorgeous and well thought out, but it actually made me feel with the characters. I would 100% recommend playing it. 100/10 would play again.

I'll be starting Arkham Knight soon, so stay tuned for that review. I've heard good things and I'm excited!

#batman #dc #batfam #robin #batfamily #bruce wayne #dick grayson #barbra gordon #jason todd #tim drake #gotham knights game #gotham knights #the court of owls #the league of assassins #video games #video game review #alfred pennyworth

[troythecatfish]

Here’s my personal Video Game recommendation. Paleo Pines. ( No Spoilers ). It’s a cozy ranch simulator with dinosaurs. The art style is very unique and cute. The gameplay is very calming and peaceful. There’s a diverse range of dinosaur species in this game. This game is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox series XS

#paleo pines #paleomedia #dinosaurs #dinosaur #dinosaur game #dino #video game recommendations #tumblr recommendations #recommend #recommendation #game recommendations #cozy gaming community #cozy games #gaming recommendations #paleoblr #video game #video games #gaming #gaming post #video game review #review #gaming review #coprolite posting

[culttonotfollow]

Why I love “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” so much

So as I stated, I'm writing a post about my experience with this game and why I think it's as good as it is, including my favourite aspects of it. To this day it's my favourite game and one of the few I've managed to 100% complete.

This post is going to include spoilers. Do not read if you do not want spoilers.

Disclaimer out of the way, I actually want to start by saying that before this game was recommended to me by a friend (thank you, Markus- shout out to you), I had no idea what it was about other than the fact that it dealt in some way with mental health. I mostly forgot about it until I saw it on sale sometime in October (it might have been the Halloween sale), at which point I made the decision to purchase it.

To begin with, the visuals are stunning—beautiful and terrifying at the same time. And just to get mechanics out of the way so I can ramble about the story and the way it made me feel—some of the puzzles are challenging at first, but they are so rewarding after you figure them out that I almost didn't mind the difficulty. The fighting feels almost perfect, particularly with the autobalancing option.

The premise of the game is that Senua, a Celtic warrior with severe mental illness, sets out on a journey to the homeland of the Northmen after discovering what had happened to her lover, planning to enter Helheilm, the mythological land of the dead, or what would be considered hell, and retrieving his soul through bargaining with Hela (or Hel, as she's more commonly known). Throughout the entire game- with the exception of a segment in the story- she wears his skull on her belt, wrapped in a cloth.

The Game uses sound to mess with you??

The game throws you right in with whispers bouncing all around your head (even during the menu when you first open the game)- I will never not applaud Ninja Theory for their choice of using binaural sound (here is an article by Splice on what it is), otherwise it wouldn't be what it is. This is one of the few experiences where the classic "Best experienced with headphones" recommendation should be taken seriously.

As you paddle past, well, burnt, staked and hung corpses that don't make it less tense either, the voices get progressively louder and more erratic until you don't know how many there are anymore or where they're coming from, urging Senua to turn back or calling her a coward in many different ways- with the exception of a few, who actually argue with the others and encourage Senua to push on.

There have been moments when the voices stopped for a little while, but by the time I realized there was nothing in the background anymore except for my own racing thoughts, I was already somewhat uneasy.

To add on to that, one of the trials Senua goes through relies solely on intuition an hearing to get throught the darkness safely, with an extremely limited field of view. I can safely say that was when I was most terrified and hyperfocused in my 12 hours of gameplay. I have to admit after my first run I went to bed and the whispers were still there because of how much I was hearing them the past several hours.

Mindfuckery taken to the next level

I spent the majority of the game in awe, watching the story unfold in front of my eyes. A lot of games or franchises, in my opinion, struggle to make their characters feel human, but Hellblade managed to do it. Even equipped with a sword, I felt vurnelable at all times, the game does a great job at causing anxiety even during the most mundane moments.

There isn't a combat tutorial of any kind; you have to either figure out the "guide" is in the menu, or keep failing the first battle until you figure it out. The game actually only gives you a single prompt in regards to combat: Each time you fail (die), the rot on Senua's arm spreads, and when it reaches her head all progress is lost. This alone made me so much more conscious of every move I was making for over half the game, until I learned the truth.

It's not an actual mechanic, it's only put in place as a warning to add another thick layer of tension to every other already existing, anxiety inducing element of the game, and further enforce the game's primary goal of distorting your perception: what's real and what's not, what/who can you actually trust, what is the truth? It brought me anxiety to the point where it was borderline uncomfortable, and that's exactly why I loved it so much.

I spent the majority of this game in awe, just watching the story unfold. Every twist or reveal felt like a gut punch (in the best way I could mean this), and it made Senua (the girl you play as) feel human, something not a lot of games can do properly in my opinion. This game uses everything in its arsenal to create a truly dreadful experience: visuals, audio, light, combat, etc. without abusing jumpscares or scary monsters (although fighting Fenrir scared the ever loving hell out of me, but so did dealing with him in general). Rather, it capitalizes on its strongest suit: the childlike fear of what lies in the dark- what might occur if the dark really does take control.

The ending made me question my entire purpose (sort of)

It's going to sound weird, or insane, but the ending changed me as a person I think. It made me seriously reconsider some major things in my life, and take a moment to appreciate some others. It's both some sort of psychological torture or terror and an enlightening experience. It brought me to tears and left me completely speechless for what felt- and actually was- hours.

In its own very special and well done way, it's not strictly a game about a girl that's gone mad, or a quest about retrieving a soul, but it sucessfully and sensibly touches upon themes of grief, loss, and folklore. I can safely say I've never been more immersed or touched by a game on every single level. There are tens of memorable moments that I think back on, and I can't believe I got through every single one of these.

The ending took a twist for me. It was far from what I expected, but I think that's what made me as satisfied as it did- and yet it left me wanting even more. Which is why I'm so incredibly pumped for when the sequel comes out. Despite warning about spoilers, I won't actually say how it ended. I'll let whoever reads this discover for themselves one way or another.

Conclusion?

I recommend this game with my whole heart to whoever can handle these kinds of topics. It's beautiful, the story is heartbreaking, the gameplay is fun, and the visuals are beyond gorgerous.

#game review #hellblade #senua #hellblade: senua's sacrifice #ninja theory #gaming #video game review #i love this game so much oh my god #hellblade brainrot #hellblade 2 #im so excited for the sequel holy shit holy shit

[wormdramafever]

A Fang in the wild!

#goodbye volcano high #edge magazine #video game review #video games #indie games #gvh #bomb rush cyberfunk

[somekidnamedkai]

So I got potion permit a while ago and have been playing it.

And it just makes me see how spoiled I am with all of my other farming games like Stardew and Story of Seasons

It’s not that its a bad game, it’s just that there’s only a few romanceable characters, one of who is practically as a child. She’s 19 apparently but she looks and acts like the literal child characters.

And then the characters have like no dialogue. They have 9 dialogue pieces total, 3 per friendship stage.

I love it but you can’t make characters with 10 sentences. Some of these are the blandest characters I’ve met. Some of their personal stories and quests are good, like Cassandra’s.

But some just make their characters even more blander.

Idk, it’s a fun game. You’re a chemist and make potions and heal people, and you forage for everything and are restoring the area to its former glory. But if you’re looking for friendships and romance it definitely isn’t something I’d suggest.

Also, you have to grind SO MUCH for everything. And your energy goes down fairly fast, especially at later stages, so it takes a long time. I make jokes that TWST is grind central but this game takes that to an extreme.

You spend more time collecting materials than actually having a story, and not in the way that oh you get a quest and have to grind. You have to grind, get 5 sentences of dialogue then have to grind even more.

It’s like all the collecting you do is the story and the dialogue is a side part. Like how the friendships are.

Also another part I was spoiled with is the actual friendships taking part in the game. Friendship doesn’t do anything in this game except for unlock 3 more sentences of dialogue for the character.

And maybe I’m pointing out all the obvious things that are different from stardew because Stardew is one of my favorite games, BUT I have seen multiple people saying “its like Stardew Valley but better”

Where is the better?? Or the like Stardew Valley? It’s an Indie game with foraging and “romance” but that’s where the similarities end.

There’s not even seasons in the game. Like you’d think if someone says a game is “like” Stardew there’d be seasons, but no.

3/5 stars.

The three stars are for

1. Doctor Strange enemies to lovers. I will bash on the crap ass romance, but I love Matheo, so yeah.

2. I really enjoy being a chemist and making potions

3. From what little story we do actually have, I’m enjoying it. There’s a lot of good lore behind all that grinding.

#the game review no one asked for #seriously though i do like the game #potion permit #stardew valley #indie games #game review #video games #video game review #switch #steam #xbox

[supertrainstationh]

Why I Quit “Pokémon Violet”.

I'm officially done with playing "Pokémon Violet".

No, I didn’t complete it.

Sadly I found my enjoyment of it so deeply sabotaged by lack of basic quality control, that I gave up on the game fairly early on, though I did put in a number of gameplay hours.

In terms of total concrete plot progress, I completed a single gym, and then briefly went into a Team Star base just to see what it was like.

The gym was by orders of magnitude the most easily completed first gym I ever encountered in a Pokémon game in terms of field-based challenges and Pokémon battles.

From what I heard, the gyms in this game can be approached in any order, but that they don't actually scale with your team's levels, or based on how many badges you already have.

If this is true, this is laughably lazy design for what is supposed to be an open world game in which you can approach challenges in any order, but if this is not true, then pardon me on not knowing in advance whether or not this is true, as I went into the game as spoiler-free as possible in the hopes of experiencing this game without outside bias coloring my experience.

The concept that gym leaders choose to face challenging trainers using a team selected based on the challenger’s current experience level is something that had already been explored in official Pokemon material more than a decade ago, so the failure to deploy it here when the game’s open structure obviously calls for it is inexplicable.

I did the Cortondo Gym first. My levels were similar to the Gym Leader's own Pokémon, but I effortlessly crushed them, and had more difficult encounters with ordinary Trainers out in the overworld in the areas I had been exploring near the city hosting that gym.

I'm someone who will ALWAYS peruse "easy mode" options if they are available. I am completely illiterate in regards to competitive Pokémon battles, and don't even have the full type advantage chart memorized. But even for me, Cortondo Gym was disappointingly lacking in difficulty.

I also want to comment on the pre-gym minigame, which was set outside the gym itself in an area on the outskirts of the town.

The olive roll maze was a neat way to tie in some of the cultural elements of the actual locations the games setting, the Galar Region, is inspired by, but the mechanic of moving the inflatable olive ball felt lame.

Though it is only a minigame which is supposed to be inconsequential, I am harsh on it because it seemed like minimal effort was put into it, regardless of its overall importance to the game.

The playable character's in-game model does not act as though they are interacting with the olive ball, and I would go as far as to say that it appears that they are unaware that the ball even exists within their universe.

Compare this to "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker", released decades earlier on far less advanced hardware of the standard definition Nintendo GameCube, in which the player character automatically looks toward objects of interest in the immediate area that can be interacted with, and the characters arms and face actually change to reflect the effort and intention of moving that object as the player makes this action happen.

But in this olive roll minigame in “Pokémon Violet”, you just walk at the ball to make it move in the direction you want, while the character mindlessly gazes forward as though nothing is happening. It doesn't feel like a minigame meant to entertain or challenge the player, it looks and feels like a collision detection demonstration assembled with minimal care or game design theory put into it.

And even so, the minigame was completely effortless to win, and I didn't even realize it was over, and that I won, until it took me to the result screen.

There wasn't even an on-screen timer to add any sense of urgency to the minigame, and I have no idea if being penalized for taking too long was even a possibility.

I've been interested in Pokémon since I first read a blurb in a gaming magazine in the mid-90's about a monster collecting and battling RPG for Game Boy that was becoming popular in Japan, and I was enchanted by its world and characters since the video games and anime first hit North American shores.

This franchise shaped my life for the better in ways too extensive and detailed to discuss here, so I'm not happy to be in a situation where even after counting down the days till release and roaming from store-to-store to find a copy, that my interest in "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" has deflated.

In spite of how much I wanted to give this game a full playthrough, in spite of mounting frustrations, my final straw was when I actually stopped looking forward to streaming on the days I announced I was to play “Pokémon Violet”, and felt regret that I "had" to play it on my show in order to fulfill the schedule I promised to my Twitch viewers to stream the game.

The mere complexities of modern games already made me feel a slight disconnect from this title.

Going from traditional 3D Zelda games like "Wind Waker" and "Twilight Princess" to the new style introduced in "Breath of the Wild" was an extreme learning curve for me, especially in regards to operating the more sophisticated interface, though over time I was able to get the hang of it and enjoy the game.

I never imagined that I'd be in a situation where a Pokémon game of all things had a more complex user interface than the latest major Zelda release, and that I'd be mashing one button after another trying to activate nested and cryptic functions that were accessed in very simple menus even as recently as the Nintendo 3DS era.

In addition to that, this game forces the player into tutorials for the simplest of things universal to most modern games of even the mildest complexity, yet leaves tutorials for mechanics newly introduced to the Pokémon series restricted to completely optional and easy-to-miss places tied to special events.

The real killer for me is the extreme lack of polish in almost every aspect of the experience. Characters even just a single body-length away from the player's character are frequently animated with frame rates resembling a flip-book in which half the pages have been torn away.

Obvious shortfalls in the timing and pacing of Game Freak's cutscene animations lead to thinly veiled shortcuts such as cutscene text scrolling unreasonably fast even for a literate adult with an above average reading speed.

Static screenshots are sometimes used during otherwise fully animated cutscenes, and at other points cutscenes loop clumsily and unconvincingly on a particular moment as the scene waits for a player prompt to continue the narrative

Other times the graphics fail to accurately depict things that players are expected to believe are taking place within the game world. Important details essential to gameplay or story beats are sometimes not shown on screen, are mentioned only in interface or character dialog, or are rendered in outstandingly unconvincing ways.

In the first decade of the 21st Century, I owned Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube, and enjoyed games on all three systems.

Since then, I have focused my gaming habits on Nintendo systems.

I chose Nintendo DS over PlayStation Portable.

I chose Wii over PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,

I chose Nintendo 3DS over PlayStation Vita.

I chose Wii U over PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

And today, I own Nintendo Switch, but not PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.

If I was concerned with enjoying ultra high-resolution visuals and maxed-out frames-per-second, I would not have been choosing Nintendo systems in spite of them being the lowest performance hardware options on the market.

But even within the limitations of the Nintendo Switch, which is running a low-power-consumption mobile chipset that was arguably already out-of-date when it first hit the market six entire years ago, “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet” completely fail at taking reasonable advantage of what the system is capable of.

"Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" are 2022 releases, published exclusively on Nintendo Switch, the same system that launched in 2017 with "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."

"Breath of the Wild" was was a game designed with the intention of being launched as an exclusive for Wii U, an even less powerful console released closing in on five years earlier than the Switch, and more than a full decade ago as of the time I'm writing this, with Wii U itself having been widely considered under-powered at the time of its 2012 release, being in the performance range of high definition consoles that entered the market as far back as 2005.

"Breath of the Wild" had its technical shortcomings, but even the Wii U version of "Breath of the Wild" completely annihilates "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" in terms of rudimentary technical proficiency, and when examining "Breath of the Wild" in terms of overall presentation in comparison to " Pokémon Scarlet and Violet", the comparison is such that I'm amazed that Nintendo, who founded their brand as a video game manufacturer and publisher on industry-leading high quality, would allow their name to be associated with the latest Pokémon entries.

I can not overstate the extent to which “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet” fails to deliver on the promise of basic quality control. Games with far fewer technical problems than this game have been criticized severely by review outlets and the gaming community, and I am convinced that these new Pokémon titles are being excused for their incompetence based on good will alone in ways that no other franchise would be permitted to get away with.

In-game tutorial screens featuring screenshots for illustrative purposes are from the Japanese versions of the game, and had this text censored out with a very crudely applied distortion filter in an embarrassing and ineffective attempt hide this fact. This is something appropriate for a work-in-progress demonstration build of the game, not the final product.

The first time I caught a Pokémon, the Pokéball animation froze in mid air, leaving me to think that this was the game's way of depicting Pokemon catching, and that these new Pokéballs hovered in the air rather than falling to the ground as Pokéballs in previous games did.

No matter how good this game is, when malfunctioning animations are mistaken by an experienced player to be representations of what is actually taking place in the game world, that is a serious problem, and anyone paying money for this game deserves better.

Shadows of environmental objects regularly flicker in and out of existence in a way that's not only unconvincing and an obvious malfunction of the graphics system, but in specific instances may pose an actual safety hazard to players susceptible to seizures triggered by blinking lights, which is something a product in the Pokémon franchise in particular should have been exceptionally aware of after similar light patterns in an early episode of the Pokémon animated series triggered seizures in children, which became an international news event, but a cause of widespread condemnation and ridicule aimed toward the franchise and the companies behind it.

The seizure incident caused by the Pokémon anime so impacted the culture of the franchise’s brand management that a particular Pokémon creature featured in that episode was never again depicted in animated form to avoid even the slightest association with the public safety disaster, and references to that particular character have been kept to an absolute minimum in the decades since, so the fact that glitches which cause blinking and flickering patterns being permitted to exist within the newest Pokemon game is mind-boggling.

Characters and objects within immediate sight of the player character frequently vanish and re-appear without warning.

The player character is liable to sometimes phase through the ground, or pass through what are meant to be solid walls, breaking immersion and sometimes causing the game itself to become impossible to play.

It's been amazing to watch Nintendo fans point and laugh for years at slipping quality standards for headline games on competing systems that were significantly more powerful than Nintendo's, using them as proof that more powerful hardware and better graphics alone don't make for better games, only to see them now accuse those who point out the shortcomings and fundamental deficiencies of the newest Pokémon games of being "haters" who are holding Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, and Nintendo, to unfair and unreasonable standards.

The more extreme and irrational defenders of the state of the game have gone so far as accuse critics of lying about quality control issues to make Game Freak look bad, and claim that that the ample footage of these easy to encounter malfunctions was either manipulated by hoaxers using video editing software, or even filmed using deliberately altered copies of the game that were made to suffer glitches.

I feel I am being generous to Game Freak in saying that everyone working on the game had the best intentions, but should have spent (or been allowed to have spent) at least another year on this title.

My already stated observations of the elements of this game which are obviously struggling to function properly don't even begin to address the parts that are simply reflections of either laziness, a rushed development cycle, or both.

When exploring the game's world, I encountered  multiple duplicates of the same stores selling the same items within eye-shot of each other within the same city, or even directly next door to one another.

This was so blatant that it made me speculate if these choices were cheekily made by rebellious lower level Game Freak employees to see how far they could push the limits of corners they were instructed by their superiors to cut, before they were actually confronted over them by their employers.

What's worse, the interiors of most shops are represented in the game only as text based menu interfaces, which pull me out of the game world just as much as laughably bad character animations that resemble fan-made parody cartoons posted to the internet.

Poorly rendered, poorly applied, and obviously repetitive surface textures that make certain objects such as cliff faces and buildings resemble assets lifted from a Nintendo 64 game are just the cherry on top.

"Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon", itself a Nintendo 64 title, has every single shop in the game rendered as a location with an interior that can be entered and explored. No matter how inconsequential those store interiors were, they helped to convincingly portray a living world that is real to the characters within the game.

Menu based shops do NOT do that.

My continued fascination with the Pokémon world, and its creatures, locations, lore, and characters, can not overcome the fundamental incompetence demonstrated by "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet", which completely demolishes my ability to enjoy it, which is a shame, because the intent to create an imaginative world thriving with lively creatures, memorable locations, and characters worth helping or fighting against, is clearly present, and in some cases the heights of care put into these elements match the lows of the bad quality control.

Unless an obvious revolution in The Pokémon Company's standards of ambition and quality is reflected by the next generation of Pokemon games, it breaks my heart to say that "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" will be the last mainline entries in the series that I will be excited for, or interested in.

I pushed myself to play "Pokémon Violet" in spite of all its bad points.

I'm regretfully ending my time with "Pokémon Violet" in spite of all of its good points.

---------------------------

This was written LIVE during Episode 1 of my gaming and writing Twitch show!

If you liked this, check out my SCHEDULE and join me live next time!

[Twitch] [VOD Channel] [Writing FA] [Ko-fi]

#writing #writeblr #pokemon #review #video game review #stsh streams #a griffin writes #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon violet #pokemon scarlet #pokemon review #nintendo #nintendo switch

[talesfromthebacklog]

Tales From The Frontlog: Princess Peach Showtime.

7/10

Princess Peach Showtime is good. It’s a game I’m willing to bet will be overlooked in the sea of Mario titles that exist on the Switch. It’ll probably be even a bit pricey down the line. The smaller weird titles like this tend to do that.

The best way to describe this game is that it’s a game about a being magical girl who uses various transformations to help people. When you look hard enough almost all the tropes are there and that alone makes this worth a pickup. Because games that are so blatantly like that are rare.

But you really feel like it’s missing something that could’ve made it truly special. Which is weird because it does offer a very complete experience. I guess the best way to put it is it has trouble feeling like a “Mario” world title. And not because Mario is missing. Give me some credit.

I had a fantastic time playing, but we’re about the dissect what I think Princess Peach Showtime is missing.

Firstly I want to get aesthetic out of the way. Partially because there were a lot arguments online if Peach was “fem” enough. Which was peak stupidity. Peach is the fem of fems. It was insane this was even an argument. Also these outfits rocked.

But more importantly her game really lacked that Mario pop. Peach is fun, the premise is great, but you really could swap out Peach for a different magical girl and the premise/world still work. Peach just sells better. And she’s cute. Just look at her.

And I’m not complaining about the absence of most of the Mario cast. Characters as individuals should be able to shine on their own. Peach being the only main cast member used was a great decision. But you don’t feel like you’re in that high fantasy Mario environment. Even when away from the Mushroom Kingdom mario still has a very specific look to it.

Mario is high fantasy in its own way. I wanted to see that better reflected in Princess Peach Showtime. Every once in a while you do see glimpses, specifically in a Paper Mario way. Where the backgrounds are obviously set dressing, the horses have strings, some thorns were cardboard cut out, etc.

I think they needed to lean into this more. In a way I think the environment needed to be less immersive. I get that “there’s evil magic” but I think it should’ve looked a bit more hokey like real plays. Also put some people in the audience watching Peach rescue people. Have curtains close at the end of levels instead of it fading to white and then closing. You’re closing the curtain. You don’t need the fade to white. They’re small details that would’ve gone a long way to really increase the look. Maybe even bring some of the lighting in as part of the platforming where you’re running on the equipment and then reenter on a stage over.

It might be a useless complaint. I think this might’ve been more of a quick budget title for Nintendo at the end of a console life cycle, but don’t quote me on that.

There’s small aesthetic nitpicks I have too.

Like what the fuck is this? And they do this with the green and blue dresses too where they add this clashing purple. I’m not going to sit here and tell you she looks hideous. She doesn’t, but let us have a dress that is completely blue! And they don’t match the shoe color to any of the dresses fyi. Those stay her traditional red. I know that’s a nitpick, like a really small one, but it still… bothers me. I understand why they put it there. I just don’t care. Purple and yellow? And so lazily executed? Hmpf.

And she obviously looks better when everything matches to some degree. Look at that! Why did they restrict the color palette on the dress options so much. I get that pink is her color but… come on. The costumes are allowed to break the mold but the dresses aren’t?

Also just missed opportunity for some simple easter egg dresses. Especially since some of those challenges are tedious as all get out. I did all that to earn this ⬇️ and not something genuinely cool. Fucking ick. It’s not bad looking but not worth doing a frustrating to control challenge for. I’m not even asking for new dress models. But let us put her in a Daisy dress or something. I don’t know.

And the levels… are always fun on a first play through. But if you’re playing without a guide as a completionist you’ll need to run through them more than once because it is easy to miss stuff. And it can be more time consuming than it’s worth. And when you’re on a fourth attempt that shit gets old quick.

Don’t get it twisted though: this game is short, sweet, and regularly mixes up the gameplay to keep gamer’s on their toes. There are no costumes or game mechanics that overstay their welcome. Whenever I walked into a new stage I was uncertain what I would be walking into and the costumes are all equally fun in different ways. They do a good job balancing out the adventure and recreation costumes too. So you get a break from faster paced action by baking instead. Smart. My favorite is you get a magical girl transformation for each new costume you get and only for the first time you get it.

The transformations are fun. Plain and simple.

From a gameplay perspective I don’t actually have that many complaints. It’s not complicated by any means, nor is it hard. But it’s not meant to be those things. Princess Peach Showtime is just a fun cozy game getaway. Maybe even something you play in between other games.

Then there’s Madame Grape. I get what they were going for. They wanted a fruit villain because they have a “fruit” protagonist. (I think there is an homage to Dionysus as well.) But it’s just very eh. I don’t know how to fix that to make it less eh. I think it’s a core design problem. Additionally Madame Grape, despite being mentioned throughout the entire story, isn’t very important. She is a vessel for the plot to exist. Which isn’t inherently a bad thing, a lot of Nintendo villains fill this role, but she also has no iconic qualities to her either. She’s just kind’ve this purple blob that shows up from time to time. I do like that Nintendo didn’t use Bowser though. It keeps the game female centric. So that’s cool.

I can’t get over how she needs to look more grape themed. I know Peach doesn’t necessarily have Peach themes but like… you could’ve told me she was the fucking plum queen and I would’ve believed you. But I’m nitpicking again.

Stella the helper is… nothing. She exists as the vessel to make Peach a magical girl. Stella is the magical girl pet/wand/narrator for the adventure. She’s not bad. She’s just nothing.

The other NPCs (both friend and foe) fall into that Nintendo hole of being the same cardboard cutout person in different costumes over and over too. (At least they had different costumes…) Which is to be expected at this point, they’re just “not Toads”. And I know not every game can have a Mario Odyssey budget but I feel like we needed more visual variety within the NPC cast. Though this is an old ass complaint folks have had about Mario titles for a while so I’m not going to dwell on it too much.

Also while “stars” make sense the little “not toads” should’ve been fruit themed too. That way you could at least swap out multiple colors and call them different “fruits” if you wanted to be lazy about it.

I guess that’s the issue with the game in general. The only real character that has any semblance of personality is Peach. Everything and everyone else is just set dressing so Peach can perform for the player. it makes sense but it leaves the world feeling empty. And I’m not asking for lore. This is not that kind of game. I think I just want more substance. Which is hard to do when you’re boiling down tropes into a 3 act structure for each costume.

And I have a lot of nitpicks here. Almost like I dislike the game. Which was not the case at all. I had a grand time. The costumes are fun, it’s fun to play all the way through, and the levels in the game itself also doesn’t overstay its welcome. At max you’re looking at a 12 hour experience if you’re a completionist.

Under ten if you just want to play it.

Visually the game is beautiful. The music was nothing to write home about.

But. I think because it’s a short experience I’m disappointed it didn’t push itself harder to be high aesthetic. Games that are both genuinely good and girly are hard to find. Often “feminine focused” games like this just fucking suck. You can tell Nintendo cared about this project.

But I think to be an 8 or 9 experience it needed to push its visuals a bit harder.

#princess peach #peach #princess toadstool #mario #mario bros #super mario bros #super mario #princess peach showtime #peach showtime #nintendo switch #nintendo #tales from the frontlog #magical girl #magical girls #video game review #game review #game reviews

[thebacklogreviews]

Jedi Survivor and Andor are thematic twins that represent the best kinds of stories that Star Wars can tell now - here's why:

#video games #star wars #cal kestis #jedi survivor #jedi fallen order #SWJS #SWJFO #sw jfo #sw jedi fallen order #sw jedi survivor #nightsister merrin #greez dritus #cere junda #bode akuna #andor series #andor #cassian andor #luthen rael #video essayists #video essay #video game review

[beatthegame]

Elden Ring just beat me...and it's a bummer because I REALLY wanted to like this game. It has all the ingredients to make up a killer game. An open world with crazy art direction. Plenty of challenging options to keep you playing. But what went wrong? Why do I hate this game so much? I'm getting angry just trying to think about it, so let's try to make this quick...

In a nutshell: The setting seems to involve a fantasy setting where you are a fallen soldier. Getting involved in a brief skirmish with a giant spider demon. Then waking up in some sort of medeval hellish landscape with giant gold trees? There seems to be a detailed backstory written by George RR Martin (Game of Thrones). Although I wouldn't know because I'm too busy getting gangraped by skeleton warriors every step of the way to take notice. It's a "souls" game. So these games are annoying by design. But the broken game mechanics and tedious grinding make this game unplayable. Let me break it down like this...

The Good: The graphics are visually stunning, let's be honest. The environments and character designs are insane! Every enemy you encounter is menacing and emit pure nightmare fuel. Which is exciting to say the least. Elden Ring offers one of the best character creators in modern gaming. You can get really detailed adjusting the most minor facial features. Multiple character disciplines that greatly affect your gameplay experience. Diverse skin and body types. You can be really creative, which I adore! And then you put on some in-game armor that covers up the details you spent hours building. Cool! But let's appreciate the good elements because there's a whole lot of bad. Where do I begin...

The Bad: My first attempt playing this, I noticed these glowing rocks scattered around the floor. Apparently they were messages from other players across the Playstation network. Messages like "hidden treasure behind boulder" was pretty neat and helpful. But then you see more and more of these glowing messages. With a lot of not-so-useful messages like "is this dog?" and "finger in ur but". But what crossed the line was "boss up ahead" and you know what? There was a fucking boss ahead! What kind of troll shit allows spoilers mid-game? Can you imagine playing Resident Evil. Right before opening the door of that iconic dog chase scene, you read a community message saying "bow wow ahead lol" Like, way to ruin the immersion asshole! At that moment, I hated the game and pretty much gave up. But after discovering you can disable online messages, I tried it again. Which made a huge difference. I was starting to enjoy the game at first. But once you leave that cave, it was a pure shitshow from there. But let's start with the name "Elden Ring". This would imply upon a grandiose adventure involving a magical ring of some sort. But I would have appreciated it more if they were honest and called the game "YOU DIED" Because that's pretty much what you experience throughout the entire game. Every enemy you encounter was a pain in the ass with little relief in between. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining about the challenge level. I appreciate a good challenging game. I hate to compare, but you have hard ass games like Cuphead, Doom Eternal and Battle Toads that are fantastic, despite their difficulty. There's a balance to their difficulty. Plus their controls are tight and responsive. But when you have to try and maneuver through shitty mechanics, you're not playing a fair game. I recall one instance where I was running around a stone wall to avoid an enemy. But I can't explain why the enemy's spear could clip through this stone wall for a one-shot kill? And what good is perfecting the timing of a defensive parry if a giant boss can just one-hit stomp you like a cockroach? And you get paid in turds so the risk/reward balance is off. I'd rather work a sweatshop, hand-sewing Lulu Lemon leggings than to grind hours for one stamina point. At least you'll get paid at the sweatshop. But if you play Elden Ring long enough, and memorize the patterns and "git gud" you'll eventually beat one of the bosses and get a weapon you can't use, because your charisma stats or whatever is too low. LOL! This game blows.

Overall: Video Games are supposed to be fun. But Elden Ring was a burden to get through. It felt like work after a while. Like an abusive unpaid intership in hell. You can hire a dominatrix if you enjoy the abuse. It won't take up as much of your time and it's better support for your local economy. LOL! Fuck Elden Ring.

(Edited: Just remembered more things I hated about this game, but adjusted the score to something more reasonable. This game is obviously not shit and had me hooked for a while. It just wasn't fun for me. Plus it's not cool to shit on a particular fanbase. Play whatever you want. Don't let my opinion take a shit on your cereal. This is just a place to vent since it would be super weird to scream about Elden Ring out in the real world, with real life problems. But the game still sucks in my point of view so whatever. LOL!)

D-Class

#elden ring #video games #video game review #game review #playstation

[gamegirlx]

so is no one gonna talk about how this game's graphics are 7 years older than twilight princess???

this game is called Samba De Amigo and despite not playing it as a child i now wish i did 😔🚑✨✨ (pls watch the cool intro cutscene they have here pls pls)

#samba de amigo #game rants #video game rants #video game #video game review #video game recommendations #nintendo wii #wii games #game recommendations #3D #3d graphics #aesthetic wallpaper

[the-rageaholic]

Our full review of Baldur's Gate 3!

#Baldur's Gate 3 #The Rageaholic #RazörFist #Reviews #Episodes #Video Game Review #Youtube

[thevideogameshutterbug]

The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog: Can We Get More of This?

No joke. You might have noticed from my sudden return to activity after a while, but I really, really liked The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. Gaming April Fools jokes are quirky and weird by nature - that’s the point. But every once in a while a game developer will release an April Fool’s joke that is so fun and unique in its quirkiness that it takes off and completely captures the audience with its charm. Sometimes these are even on purpose - attempts to test the waters and deliver some fun at the same time, like the trailer for Fighting Ex Layer. Sometimes it’s probably not, but... maybe it could be. I think that’s what The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog could be.

I‘ve been a Sonic fan for a very, very long time. I’ve loved most games in the series for the whole length of that time. There are few Sonic games I could say I outright dislike, tbh. But something I’ve long felt the Sonic series could’ve benefited from way back when was a stronger spinoff game. I think people give spinoffs a bad rap just on principle. “Why make disposable spinoffs when we can focus on making mainline games?”, people say (Sonic fans are also a bit unreasonably petrified of alternate gameplay styles). But I think that’s the missing the point. Spinoffs are a major part of what gives game series their identity - especially family focused series like Sonic. Not just because they give accessibility to a wider range of gamers, but because they make a buffer zone. Main line games take a long time. You have to wait years to see it, and if it has problems... well... that’s the reputation of the series for the next few years until the next game comes around. Spinoffs, however, mean that there’s always something involving the character out there to keep people interested. I means that if even if one game isn’t so good, there’s always others out there delivering quality. It gives the series something to look at at all times, and that gives it longevity. So why think about Sonic, a series about super speed and hi-momentum platforming, and make a visual novel spinoff? Visual novels are slow by nature, static images and careful deduction. Well... you make it for exactly the reasons everyone loved Murder.

People like these characters. People really like these characters. They’re fun. They’re all unique from each other. And they bounce off each other so well. But Sonic fans rarely get the chance to really experience the characters. Sonic’s long had a problem of loads of characters without quite knowing what to do with them. Characters like Rouge, a jewel thief primarily used for spy parodies, just plain isn’t going to be in most Sonic games - the games don’t have those kinds of plots often.

But that’s where a visual novel shines. Visual novels are all about going from scene to scene interacting with large swaths of characters, quirky conversations and unexpected character and plot developments. It’s not just that you can use tons of characters, but that you can give them center stage far more freely than you can in a platformer or a more action-focused plot. Sonic has been absolutely killing it this past year with adaptations and projects that were all about exploring the characters and what makes them fun, and Murder’s just the latest example. All the characters get segments to themselves to show off, tell jokes, and be fun - it’s silly and cartoony, charming with lots of character moments and eccentric turns, and it’s perfect for Sonic. So I really want to see more of this sort of thing!

We could get more parodies like this - hey, if Detective Pikachu can be a thing, why not more Detective Tails? Or we could get more involved stories. Something more Adventure-esque, or something more Saturday Morning Cartoon-y like Colors. Or a mixture of both! Character focused, or whole cast all at once just like this. Another everyman as the focus character, or one of the cast - Tails actually makes a very good protagonist for this sort of thing. The sky is the limit, here. Even this little April Fools joke gave us a surprising amount of worldbuilding and fun ideas I hope get revisited someday. Plus, it has to be said that visual novels take an entirely different creative process than platform games, and this game indeed was made by a third party, so the crowd nervous that any spinoff could take away from the development of the main titles doesn’t really have much to worry about: in the end, these would be made by different teams. It’s just a good idea all around. So I really hope this doesn’t get abandoned. Give us the continued spinoff visual novel / point and click adventures of Sonic and friends. I imagine any future ones wouldn’t still be free, but sure I’ll pay for it. Why not? I mean, you’ve got a perfect premise right here:

Eggman Industries’ Famous Eggscape Rooms! They’ll scramble your brains. And maybe your lifespan.

#the murder of sonic the hedgehog #sonic team #sega social team #greg batha #ian mutchler #min ho kim #ellen alsop #sega #i haven't been crediting everyone this whole time but credit where its due #sonic #tails #original the character #amy rose #dr. eggman #visual novel #potential spinoff #we want more! #video game review #the videogame shutterbug

[mblay-and-company]

A short review of Fashion Dreamer

Not a game to get if you are more interested in Story Driven game play, but still a satisfying game in it's own right. If you're someone who loves playing dress up with dolls, this might be up your alley.

A little expensive for what it is, but still likely cheaper than buying physical dolls and all the clothes.

Can't change the PATTERN on a piece, but there is full Color Slider customization, so you can pick that just right shade of red for something

3.8/5

#Fashion Dreamer #Video game review

[cipheralreviews]

Game Review: Tetris Effect: Connected

General opinion: Positive.

Tetris Effect: Connected is, obviously, a tetris game, with a modern graphical twist. It has classic and VR modes, both of which have their own pros and cons, but are also both worth checking out if you have the ability to. With several different modes, Tetris Effect: Connected offers a lot of different styles of gameplay for varying skill levels.

Starting off, I want to give the game devs credit where credit is due: this game absolutely slaps for it's visuals. A tetris game in the Unreal engine is certainly a choice to make, and they pulled it off really well. Sparkly particles, glowing animations, and surreal visual effects bring a magical experience to a classic arcade game, no matter if you play it in VR or on your screen.

It has both a main campaign where you play through different levels in a story-like sequence, as well as other, more casual AND more intense gameplay options. Marathon modes through themed levels, gimmick modes where you clear "corrupted" blocks or deal with mind boggling effects, and calm modes where you have no game over are all available to play, giving variety for any kind of player.

On top of this, they have colourblind modes of various kinds for the game stages themselves. You can play with classic colours, custom level patterns, or modes that add patterns and colours that make it easier to distinguish the blocks from each other. There's also multiple difficulty levels, ranging from beginner to hard, so you can adjust how many lines you want to clear per level.

The final point I want to praise is the audio experience. It's amazing. There's unique, original tracks made for the game, and the "title song" (used colloquially because it's not actually the title screen song, but it is the one from the first level in the story mode) is ABSOLUTELY incredible in my opinion. Heavy beats that are influenced by the ways you turn, flip, and drop blocks paired with each level having individual themes to them that inspire and match the music playing make it both engaging as well as good to listen to on its own.

And now the negatives...

One major issue I have with this game is that the story mode does not have options for speed, nor do they have a "no game over" setting. This means people like myself, who have visual processing issues as well as mobility issues, have a harder time clearing levels and unlocking the next theme in line. Some levels have rapid speed ups and slow downs that are a bit jarring, and while I understand the fact they might not be able to give the option to not change the speed, I'd have really liked if they'd given an option to have no deaths. It meant, for me, that I got stuck on several levels that I otherwise would have really enjoyed because they went from speed level 3 to speed level 8 or higher all within one lines difference. Having this option for the story mode would have improved the experience immensely for me, as I'm still stuck on the last level in the easy mode.

The only other thing I'd add as a problem is that if you're photosensitive, it could get painful very fast, especially in VR mode. They do have options to turn down or off particles, change graphics settings, etc. but that doesn't change the fact that there are strobing lights on some levels that you cannot turn off.

The above limits the people I can truly recommend the game to, which is genuinely unfortunate, because I know several people who would LOVE this game, if it had the accessibility features mentioned.

Final notes

Overall, it's a great game that brings a really nice, fresh twist on a game that's a decade older than I am. It really justifies itself as an iteration of tetris, much like Jacob Geller has said.

If you liked this review, please go and check out Jacob Geller's video Tetris Effect And Other Games With Immaculate Vibes! It's the video that introduced me to this game, and he makes some really interesting observations on tetris and marble games, and how they interact with their history.

Additionally, I post these in my free time, but if anyone has movie, game, or series recommendations, please feel free to send them in! I really do love reviewing media, and if I can turn this into an actual job it would be incredible.

#ko reviews #ko recs #video games #tetris #video game review #game review #game recommendations