Overall, The Academy provides a lot of entertaining puzzle solving and an entertaining storyline. While some of the puzzles are confusing or arguable, you get that in pretty much any puzzle game, and the few number of issues with understanding puzzle solutions really speaks for how well they're put together. There are plenty of puzzles, and enough little side missions to keep you entertained for a while. There are enough hint items floating around to help you through the core of the game, and they're easy enough to earn if you put the effort in. The Academy is an enjoyable puzzle solving experience that I would recommend to anyone coming off a Layton bend, or looking for some riddles to solve.
Overall, I have to say I had a surprising amount of fun with Touhou Mechanical Scrollery. The stages weren't too long, and the game finishes before it starts wearing on you too badly. Yes, it is rather short at only four chapters with about ten or so missions per chapter, but it was a nice pace. The graphics are decent, and the soundtrack quality isn't bad. You get enough material drops that you won't be farming a stage for six hours trying to get an azure dragonsphire equivalent, although the amount of money you'll need is a little aggravating. Weapon trees are pretty decent with a variety of options, and I didn't have the game crash while playing. That being said, it's very clunky and could use a lot of refining. As a step away from the standard 2D fare, I'd say it is a nice refreshing step. As a whole however, it falls flat in some key areas, although not to the point that it causes any critical issues.
Overall, I'd say my time spent with Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen was well spent. While the lengthy text may tend to drag on a bit, especially around the middle, the combat is interspersed well, and the breaks given allow to break up the monotony. The characters are interesting and unique, the scenes are well drawn, and the soundtrack selection is well done. Combat can be both smooth and infuriating at times, but is overall different enough to remain entertaining while not so overly complicated you need a guidebook every third turn. If you are a fan of Visual Novels and grid-based tactics, you'll probably get a fair amount of fun out of Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen.
While Infinite: Beyond the Mind doesn't really offer anything new or exciting to the genre, it's still a wonderful experience with a lot of solid design choices behind it. With stages that don't drag on past their welcome, a co-op mode, the ability to save between stages, and some pretty fun boss fights, you can get a lot of fun from Infinite.
Overall, the experience from The Inner Friend felt distinctly lacking, if not at least positive. The game is way too short, some of the areas felt either way too long (the ruins) or way too short (the mall literally took me less than 2 minutes to finish), and more often than not, just when a stage was reaching its end did I really start getting into it. The Inner Friend also suffers from a bit of a "genre disorder" halfway through, as it turns into less spooky, more weird mini games and escorting without the same eerie feeling, and some rather clunky handling on occasion. There was a lot that felt unfurnished and unexplored, and The Inner Friend would have really benefited from some refining and expansion to the different themes explored.
Overall, Operencia does a lot of interesting and new things to the genre. Unfortunately this is bogged down by some infuriatingly annoying fights, cringey dialogue, and some very aggravating skills from enemies, it's easy to lose the magic that the game starts out with. The synthesis is a nice break from the tedium and frustration that can set in, which is a shame given how hopeful I was when I started. While I really did want to like Operencia: the Stolen Sun more than I did, that doesn't mean it's bad, just probably not what a veteran dungeon crawler would really drive for.
Overall, La Mulana 2 is a great successor to La Mulana, much to both my joy and chagrin. With gameplay improvements that don't make me still want to throw something out the window and more reasonable puzzles, to harder platforming, enemies, and enough instant death traps to make me flip a table, La Mulana 2 really didn't trade out any of the difficulty, just shifted it. I can't express just how great this game is to play, especially for those looking for a bit of nostalgia for those tough as nails old-school games.
La Mulana is a really wonderful blend platforming, puzzle "attempting", solid music, and some nice updated graphics. With a slew of interesting interconnected areas, plenty of puzzles to bash your head against, and a great challenge that doesn't feel artificial or purely sadistic. Well, the jury's still out on that last point. I have very few gripes about La Mulana, mainly just bats and not being able to grab ladders while jumping.
Overall, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is rather lacking as a whole. While there isn't really anything that makes it unplayable, it certainly doesn't help you out a whole lot either. The concept ins interesting, but it just couldn't take off the way I had hoped it would.
While the genre doesn’t usually appeal to more than a niche audience, Sleepy Spider Studios sure did one heck of an amazing job making it both readily accessible to newer players, as well as adding features that will excite veterans of the genre like myself to keep playing. With many optional trials and a boss rush and survival mode, there’s definitely a lot that Project AETHER can provide, despite how short the main campaign may feel. Whether you’re a bullet hell veteran or just looking for a top-down shooter style gameplay, Project AETHER aims to please.
Azur Lane Crosswave – PC Review (February 26, 2020) http://chalgyr.com/2020/02/review-pc-azurlane-crosswave.html Overall, I’d say that Azur Lane Crosswave is a great way to help get the series out there, and while the battles can get a little repetitive, there’s nothing I can really point out as being truly wrong or bad. Although it does feel rather lacking in content, and how much you’ll enjoy this title is rather dependant on how much you like the mobile game, considering that Crosswave basically turned the mobile system into essentially a console type game, I have to say they did rather well, all things considered. ---------- Azur Lane Crosswave – Switch Review (February 24, 2021) https://chalgyr.com/2021/02/review-switch-azurlanecrosswave.html Overall I have to say I really did enjoy my time with Azur Lane Crosswave. While I couldn't really recommend it too heavily to someone not a fan of the series, it definitely should be something to keep on your watchlist to see if it goes on sale. The gameplay is pretty good, albeit with shorter and sparse battles at the beginning, and the game is primarily a visual novel to start, so if you are ok with that, you'll probably like Azur Lane. There's plenty of post game and extra battles to engage in, and the music is really solid. It feels like the game got a graphics and water physics upgrade from the PC port as well. If you do decide to pick this up for the Switch, I suggest playing on a TV if available. Also, go check out the mobile game so we can get more of these.
Overall, since the stages are procedurally generated there is a lot of replayability, and the different abilities from the different characters are really nice for keeping you coming back for another serving. The graphics are rather reminiscent of overcooked and the soundtrack is pretty decent. With monster filled levels, the meat of Nom Nom Apocalypse is definitely fighting through the hordes of mutant food monsters and throwing yourself out of the frying pan and into the fire. Facing off against the big bosses are fun, and every run feels a little bit different from the last. Nom Nom Apocalypse is a quirky top-down shooter that, while maybe not going too far outside the box in terms of gameplay, certainly has a delicious draw to it.
Ultimately I would have to call Orangeblood rather lacking as a package deal. There are tons of concepts there that could really rule, but just get pummelled and that ain’t cool. A game with a focus on music and hip-hop, should have some rhymes that just don’t stop. Instead what we get is some sub-par translations, I swear I’ve seen better in MTL stations. While combat and gameplay provides something unique, it just isn’t quite enough to get a winning streak. So while Orangeblood is definitely worth trekking, it certainly needs some quality checking. So while a somewhat subpar score I’m contriving, I really do hope these devs keep on striving. Peace out homes.
Labyrinth of Lost Souls definitely wouldn’t be my first suggestion for someone either new to dungeon crawlers or a veteran, but I’d probably lean more towards getting someone used to the genre before getting them on a different title, unless you really have a dungeon crawler hole you need to fill.
Despite these complaints, I quite liked what was being done here with Macrotis. It’s short, sweet, and to the point with very little padding or hair wrenching frustration. While it will probably only take 3 to 4 hours to complete, Macrotis: A Mother's Journey definitely has the puzzle platformer portion nail down to a decent extent. Now if only the physics and plotline could get a little nudge, it’d definitely be a pretty solid game.
There isn’t really a lot to Space Pioneer. You run, you shoot, you upgrade, rinse and repeat. Despite not being either in-depth or complicated, I had a lot of fun with Space Pioneer. With an option to play on your own or with your friends, Space Pioneer is a nice little time waster when you’re looking for something to do for about half an hour to an hour at a time. With over 60 stages in the main game, and an unlockable endless mode, there is enough to keep you entertained for a while, even if it isn’t the style of game you’d sit down for a few hours to play.
Overall, I really loved Tokyo Dark Remembrance. The feel of having your choices permanent with the constant autosave really gives weight to your choices, and the story and characters are really interesting. The artstyle is well done and the backgrounds are really well done. The story was engaging and with more than ten possible endings, there’s a lot of replayability value. Tokyo Dark is a game I almost instantly got hooked on, and with good reason too. I had a great time delving into the depths of Tokyo, and I hope you do too.
Dusk Diver was a lot of fun to play. While it does feel incomplete from a story perspective (heck, there’s even an extra inventory tab that looks like it’s for crafting materials, not that I ever picked anything up that went in there), it doesn’t feel “unfinished” as a game. There’s glitches and some wonky translations, but the characters were funny and the gameplay certainly had a solid foundation. Ultimately I finished the game thinking “I want more” rather than “it’s finally over”, and that’s pretty telling right there. I really hope to see a sequel in the future, where I can take Yumo and her flaming hair out into the world once more.
Overall, Earth Defense Force: Iron Raid is rather lacking as a whole. While the gameplay is ok and I don’t particularly mind repetitive stages (heck, I finished Robotron 64), some of the unfair situations you can get into really put a damper on it. While not unplayable, the combination of choppy frame rates and frustrating mechanics leave you feeling like Iron Rain can often feel like more of a demo than a full game. While I would recommend picking it up if it’s on sale or packaged with something else, I would be a little more reserved about getting it flat out, unless you’re a fan of the series or are looking for a multiplayer game to play with your friends.
Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient shows a lot of promise, and while I did really enjoy it, it only really took off towards the very end. Overall, Dead Patient is just too short with only one main chapter to really give it a true rating, although I found it quite enjoyable. While chapter 2 onward has been in development limbo for far too long, I would really like to see the continuation of this series. If you’re looking for something a little longer to tide you over after the last Corpse Party, unfortunately Dead Patient isn’t going to take long, as I clocked in at just barely over an hour and only missed a single collectible, but at least I had fun doing it, and hopefully you will too.