Reviews on Pixel Poppers

Reviews on Pixel Poppers 2025-12-31T00:00:05-08:00 https://pixelpoppers.com/review/ Doctor Professor docprof@pixelpoppers.com Hugo -- gohugo.io <![CDATA[Wanderstop]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/wanderstop/ 2025-12-31T00:00:05-08:00 2025-12-31T00:00:05-08:00 <main> <p><b>A cozy narrative game designed to heal the soul.</b></p> <p><em>Wanderstop</em> is a character-based narrative game with some life sim elements. The mechanics are about running a tea shop, most centrally by brewing drinks but also through simple meditative chores like farming drink ingredients and cleaning and decorating the shop and surrounding area. The story is mainly delivered through dialog between the player character and the shop’s customers, occasionally requiring you to fill a drink order before things will progress further.</p> <p>It’s clear that a lot of thought and effort went into making the game frustration-free. There is never any time pressure, and while there are a lot of dialog choices there aren’t any incorrect ones. Sometimes customers won’t tell you exactly what they want and you have to figure out the right drink based on clues, but giving someone the wrong drink just gives you the chance to try again, and if you are ever stumped there is an in-game hint system that tells you exactly what to do. You can also engage as little or as much as you like with the optional content; there are a lot of decorations you can fiddle with and the player character and shop owner have reactions to a lot of different drinks you can make.</p> <p>So the mechanics are gentle, the pace is relaxed, and the player has few constraints. The game is also beautiful and well-animated with a great soundtrack. Add it all together and the vibes are super cozy. A lot of work must have gone into this and it’s very effective, but ultimately it’s just stage-setting. It creates a safe space for you to take in the game’s real payload: its characters and story. They have the emotional depth and truth I’ve come to expect <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-beginners-guide/">from Davey Wreden</a>, but the scope is more ambitious than ever. This game is about burnout and self-care, trauma and recovery, coping with fear and finding peace. It’s by turns hilarious and heart-wrenching. And shop owner Boro is my favorite character in a long time.</p> <p>This isn’t a game for people looking for excitement or challenge. But I think a lot of people would find it therapeutic.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game (with all achievements, though that doesn’t mean the same thing here that it usually does).</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/five-stars" title="Five Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span></a> </p> <p><i>Five Stars: <b>Favorite.</b> This is one of my all-time favorite games that made a significant impact on me or that I've returned to time and again.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.wanderstopgame.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.wanderstopgame.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/wanderstop/cover_hu_2bef19d145187db2.png" alt="Wanderstop cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.wanderstopgame.com/">Wanderstop</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/interactive-storytelling/">Interactive Storytelling</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2025/">2025</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/ivy-road/">Ivy Road</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/annapurna-interactive/">Annapurna Interactive</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <![CDATA[Haven]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/haven/ 2025-12-31T00:00:04-08:00 2025-12-31T00:00:04-08:00 <main> <p><b>A cozy sci-fi RPG that's all about the well-developed relationship between its two leads.</b></p> <p>Play as couple Kay and Yu who have recently fled to an uninhabited planet in order to be with each other instead of the mates assigned by their authoritarian society.</p> <p>When judged against other RPG video games, it can easily be found lacking. In most traditional categories (exploration, farming/crafting, combat) its mechanics may seem shallow. But looking at it this way would be missing the point: this game is about Yu and Kay. The mechanics use the familiar framework of an RPG but the point of <em>everything</em> is to let the player inhabit the characters’ relationship and world. That includes cooperation-based systems, <em>lots</em> of dialogue and interaction scenes between Kay and Yu, a very cozy home base and camp sites, and an absolutely beautiful setting and soundtrack.</p> <p>Yu and Kay level up by doing things together, including obvious things like winning battles (which requires some rhythmic cooperation) and less-typical ones like enjoying home-cooked meals, and it always comes with a relationship scene that’s at least as much of a reward as the stat boosts. But to spread out the pacing and add weight and structure, these moments punctuate a lot of rote activities. There are a lot of samey regions to clean up and to explore for cooking ingredients, and while this <em>can</em> feel like you are part of Kay and Yu’s relaxing routine in a life-sim-lite kind of way, it can also feel like repetitive chores that slow down the story.</p> <p>All in all, the game is enjoyable if and only if the core relationship works for you. For me, it works beautifully. I loved the way Yu and Kay act as a team and the fact that much of the game is a cozy way to hang out with them; this is more than enough to let me look past any complaints about some of the less-polished mechanics and I was absolutely left wanting to spend more time with Kay and Yu.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game with all achievements. A couple months later, The Game Bakers celebrated the game’s fifth anniversary by releasing a free <a href="https://thegamebakers.itch.io/haven-5">auto-runnner tie-in game</a>. It may not have much story, but it’s a cute way to revisit these characters and world, and it’s a wonderful gift from creators who love this game as much as its fans do.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/haven/cover_hu_ebc0b13fd499f1ad.png" alt="Haven cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/">Haven</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/role-playing/">Role-Playing</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2020/">2020</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/the-game-bakers/">The Game Bakers</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/the-game-bakers/">The Game Bakers</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2019/07/premature-thoughts-about-haven/">[THOUGHT] Premature Thoughts about Haven</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[DC's Justice League: Cosmic Chaos]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/dcs-justice-league-cosmic-chaos/ 2025-12-31T00:00:03-08:00 2025-12-31T00:00:03-08:00 <main> <p><b>An action RPG with a vibe like a playable superhero cartoon that really should have had multiplayer for the main game.</b></p> <p>Play as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (swap freely between them) in a smallish open world where you can wander around picking fights, explore the “dungeons” (some of which are used in missions and some of which are just there to explore), find and complete side quests, or do the story missions.</p> <p>There’s a surprising amount to do. Most of it is centered around combat, though there are also exploration and even some platforming elements, and there are a lot of themed areas/missions that change up how you play (the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Snowman">Blue Snowman</a> dungeon, for example, has a temperature mechanic requiring you to periodically warm yourself near fires, which changes how you explore and fight in it). Combat itself is approachable but surprisingly deep as character-specific upgradeable skills as well as equipment that anyone can use allow for creating a variety of builds, and since you can freely switch between three characters you can absolutely specialize them for different situations. There are also a few kinds of minigames, unlockable costumes for each character that are (occasionally very deep-cut) references to classic comics, some just-for-fun toys like carnival games and rides, and a high polish level with full voice acting and sharp writing that’s loaded with DC characters and lore.</p> <p>The only significant omission is the lack of multiplayer for the main game. The basic setup here is <em>screaming</em> for co-op, but the only multiplayer is in a slapped-on-feeling free-roaming “Instant Action” combat mode. I suspect this is why the game is so overlooked despite its high quality and the popularity of its IP.</p> <p>But it can still be a lot of fun to play alone, if you enjoy DC and open world beat-’em-up gameplay.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game with all achievements.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://outrightgames.com/games/dcs-justice-league-cosmic-chaos/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://outrightgames.com/games/dcs-justice-league-cosmic-chaos/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/dcs-justice-league-cosmic-chaos/cover_hu_126d8354adf6ed77.png" alt="DC's Justice League: Cosmic Chaos cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://outrightgames.com/games/dcs-justice-league-cosmic-chaos/">DC's Justice League: Cosmic Chaos</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-role-playing/">Action Role-Playing</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/open-world/">Open World</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2023/">2023</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/phl-collective/">PHL Collective</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/outright-games/">Outright Games</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/justice-league">Justice League</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/justice-league-heroes/" title="Justice League Heroes (Two Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/justice-league-heroes/cover_hu_6db580b9c93f69db.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Justice League Heroes</h4> <time datetime="2017-09-09 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Saturday, September 9, 2017</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <![CDATA[Caravan SandWitch]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/caravan-sandwitch/ 2025-12-31T00:00:02-08:00 2025-12-31T00:00:02-08:00 <main> <p><b>A cozy exploration game that's a bit less than the sum of its parts.</b></p> <p>Mechanically, <em>Caravan SandWitch</em> is an open-world game with no combat. Traversal is both on foot (you can run, jump short distances, and climb a bit) and in the van (which starts as just a normal van but accumulates several upgrades over the game that add new options). Missions take you back and forth across a small open world; along the way you can encounter points of interest that generally present simple puzzle platforming segments to reach collectibles and/or plot tokens (and that often have additional semi-hidden collectibles). There’s no combat, fall damage, or risk of death, though there are places where if you are careless you can fall and have to redo a decent bit of platforming (but you can teleport to the van at any time, so placing it strategically can help a lot).</p> <p>There are some Metroidvania elements to the exploration: most places you go, you’ll run into areas you can’t access until you get more van upgrades, though this usually just blocks some more collectibles you can come back for later. I know some players like this for the sense of progression it creates, but for me it mostly just felt like the game was constantly giving me homework, and it didn’t help that there wasn’t a good mechanism for tracking what places I needed to come back to. For me, that often made exploration unsatisfying and uncozy.</p> <p>On the narrative side, this is a sci-fi story set in an interesting world. You spend nearly all of the game on a planet that was abandoned forty years previously by an interstellar “Consortium” who were basically strip-mining it for resources to power their civilization; you meet people who miss the jobs and support from the Consortium and people who consider them ruinous exploiters who were destroying the natural life on this planet (including a very interesting sentient race that I would have loved to learn more about).</p> <p>The problem is that the translation is surprisingly weak, making it hard to feel immersed in the game world or like you are really getting to know its characters and sometimes making the plot hard to understand. (<em><strong>STRUCTURAL SPOILERS IN THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH.</strong></em>) On top of that, the ending is structured in a frustrating way–it doesn’t really serve as a climax of what the story had been setting up, and it culminates in a completely unnecessary <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2019/01/q.u.b.e.-2-and-binary-ending-choices/">binary ending choice</a> that just serves to make you replay the ending sequence, robbing it of what emotional impact it does have, so that you can see both anticlimactic endings. (<em><strong>END SPOILERS.</strong></em>)</p> <p>The aesthetic and vibes are really good. The visuals are beautiful and the soundtrack is super chill. I got some enjoyment spending time in the game’s world, but by the end of my time (I 100%’d the game in almost exactly twelve hours) I was very much ready to be done.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game with all achievements.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/three-stars" title="Three Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Three Stars: <b>Good.</b> I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.</i></p> <p><a href="https://caravansandwitch.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://caravansandwitch.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/caravan-sandwitch/cover_hu_b9e0b2bdc0a49bfe.png" alt="Caravan SandWitch cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://caravansandwitch.com/">Caravan SandWitch</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/open-world/">Open World</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-adventure/">Action Adventure</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2024/">2024</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/studio-plane-toast/">Studio Plane Toast</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/dear-villagers/">Dear Villagers</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <![CDATA[The Gunk]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-gunk/ 2025-12-31T00:00:01-08:00 2025-12-31T00:00:01-08:00 <main> <p><b>A beautifully-animated platform adventure without much depth.</b></p> <p><em>The Gunk</em> is an action adventure with 3D platformer and puzzle platformer elements. Explore a quasi-post-apocalyptic alien world and gradually learn what happened there by cleaning up the gunk, solving environmental puzzles, and engaging in light combat.</p> <p>Your main tool is a vacuum gun; it’s used for cleaning up the titular gunk as well as solving puzzles by pulling some things and picking up and throwing others. You also get a simple projectile mostly used to hit switches; there are optional upgrades to make it useful in combat and to provide a defensive decoy for combat as well.</p> <p>None of the mechanics are especially strenuous. The platforming and combat are simple and the punishment for death is extremely gentle. The puzzles are also mostly trivial until the lead-up to the final boss. There is optional exploration for hidden collectibles; this is not necessary in order to finish the game but it is necessary to get all the upgrades and all the achievements. (Unfortunately, exploring the environments thoroughly will often lead to getting stuck on the geometry; thankfully I never ended up having to reload.)</p> <p>While the game is strong on atmosphere, there isn’t a lot to recommend about the story. The writing is shallow, the plot and backstory are thin, the relationship between the player character and the main supporting character is weak, and their voice acting isn’t great, so I found it hard to like these characters or get invested in any of their situations.</p> <p>Fortunately, both the soundtrack and the visuals are beautiful. The gunk in particular is well-animated, which I’m sure was challenging. So even though the rest of the game never really rose beyond just okay, I didn’t mind spending several hours in this world, and the mechanics were low-friction enough that I never got particularly frustrated.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game with all achievements.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/three-stars" title="Three Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Three Stars: <b>Good.</b> I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.</i></p> <p><a href="https://thunderfulgames.com/games/the-gunk/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://thunderfulgames.com/games/the-gunk/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-gunk/cover_hu_9441179fd544f7e4.jpg" alt="The Gunk cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://thunderfulgames.com/games/the-gunk/">The Gunk</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-adventure/">Action Adventure</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2021/">2021</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/image--form/">Image & Form</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/thunderful/">Thunderful</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <![CDATA[Cat Quest III]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-iii/ 2024-12-29T00:00:01-08:00 2024-12-29T00:00:01-08:00 <main> <p><b>Cat Quest II, plus pirate ships, minus a lot of other things.</b></p> <p>The first <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest/"><em>Cat Quest</em></a> was a cute, fun, bite-sized experience marred a bit by unbalanced progression and tedious backtracking. About two years later, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/"><em>Cat Quest II</em></a> came out and it was bigger and better, with new features and polish smoothing out the flaws. Then after almost <em>five</em> more years, this third game came out. I expected it to be another incremental improvement, that much bigger and better with more polish and new features (in this case, ship battles to match the pirate theme). That’s not really what it is. While it is still a bigger-and-better <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest/"><em>Cat Quest</em></a>, it feels like an alternate take on that and a sidegrade to <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/"><em>Cat Quest II</em></a>, discarding some of its improvements and adding different ones.</p> <p>The core is still here: a cute and simple action RPG set in a world populated by anthropomorphic cats, dogs, and now rats. There’s a 2D overworld with quick fights, mini-dungeons to clear, and quests for NPCs. This time, there’s also a pirate ship to sail and ship-to-ship combat, as well as a number of overworld puzzles for hidden treasure. The story is still mostly about setting a light atmosphere with occasional out-of-place, hard-to-understand melodramatic sci-fi bits. And the mechanical emphasis is still on combat and related progression, with straightforward combat whose depth comes from positioning, timing, and build options.</p> <p>The dual-protagonist thing from <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/"><em>II</em></a> is gone, though, so you can’t maintain two different builds simultaneously. And while there is basically no high-level-content-next-to-low-level-content anymore, there isn’t a linear progression through the different islands or signposted level requirements so it’s not always clear where you should go next (around level 40, I couldn’t find any level-appropriate places to go, so jumped ahead and did level 50 content… and then later found the level 40 stuff I’d missed, which was now trivially easy). And the game is actually noticeably smaller than <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/"><em>II</em></a>, taking me about as long to get through as <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest/">the first one</a> did. (Also, I was kind of shocked to be playing a studio’s <em>third</em> game, in <em>2024</em>, where falling in combat reset me to my last manual save and undid unrelated progress and required me to repeat boss intro scenes.)</p> <p>Overall, I did have some fun here, but I definitely enjoyed <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/"><em>II</em></a> more, and seeing now that the series’s trajectory is more “experiments and offshoots” than “steady improvements” and a lot of the friction I dislike is probably sticking around, I’m less excited to check out future installments.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished a solo playthrough including all side content and achievements. As usual, I did not bother with “Mew Game +” or the “Meow-difiers” challenge modes.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/three-stars" title="Three Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Three Stars: <b>Good.</b> I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.thegentlebros.com/catquest3/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.thegentlebros.com/catquest3/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-iii/cover_hu_8c8fe4785c439ce0.jpg" alt="Cat Quest III cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.thegentlebros.com/catquest3/">Cat Quest III</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-role-playing/">Action Role-Playing</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2024/">2024</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/the-gentlebros/">The Gentlebros</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/kepler-interactive/">Kepler Interactive</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/cat-quest">Cat Quest</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest/" title="Cat Quest (Three Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/cat-quest/cat-quest_hu_1f7daddc9962b7c8.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Cat Quest</h4> <time datetime="2019-02-22 00:00:00 -0700 -0700">Friday, February 22, 2019</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/cat-quest-ii/" title="Cat Quest II (Four Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/cat-quest-ii/cat-quest-ii_hu_e9a87bf8ccd4ca22.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Cat Quest II</h4> <time datetime="2019-11-27 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Wednesday, November 27, 2019</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <![CDATA[Dungeons of Hinterberg]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/dungeons-of-hinterberg/ 2024-12-29T00:00:00-08:00 2024-12-29T00:00:00-08:00 <main> <p><b>An action RPG with life sim elements set in the Austrian Alps.</b></p> <p>The game takes place in a world like the real one, except that a few years ago magic suddenly emerged. In several towns across the world, monsters and dungeons appeared, and people visiting these areas gain magical abilities that can be used to fight the monsters and progress through the dungeons. A tourist industry sprung up as people journeyed to these towns to become “slayers” and run the dungeons; some slayers were popular enough to do it for a living like athletes or influencers.</p> <p>You play as Luisa, a burnt-out legal trainee taking a vacation to Hinterberg in the Austrian Alps to try her hand at slaying. Structurally, it’s a bit like a mix of <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/persona/"><em>Persona</em></a> and <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/the-legend-of-zelda/"><em>Zelda</em></a>: the first half of each day is spent in the field (exploration, combat encounters, and the dungeons) and the second half back in town (get to know various locals and other visitors to advance their stories and unlock mechanics and stat bonuses). There is no day limit or real-time clock, so you can take your time and do things on your own schedule.</p> <p>The game is beautiful and does a great job setting a cozy atmosphere. Hinterberg seems like a wonderful place to visit and lets both the player and Luisa get away from their normal lives for a while. The story is a little bit of a mixed bag: rather than let the player soak in guilt-free escapism, it raises questions about whether the influx of tourism is actually good for towns like Hinterberg. This theme is mostly present as a way to tell the various individual character stories: for example, you get both the perspective of a local small-business owner and the owner of a larger competing business moving in to cater to the slayer tourists. But don’t expect a clear resolution, since in the context of the overall plot it ends up being a <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DebateAndSwitch">debate-and-switch</a> that becomes irrelevant in the face of a larger and less-nuanced problem.</p> <p>There are some rough spots that could have used more polish. A few mechanics make instant or near-instant death too easy to trigger, which doesn’t go well with the vibe. Luisa becomes important to both the individual character stories and the overall plot story way too easily and quickly, making the world feel less real. And for some reason the game seems to be tuned with the expectation that you’ll only do about half the individual character stuff–you’re likely to run out of things to do in the field at that point and if you want to see the rest of the character content, you’ll still be forced to go into the field every day for no reason which destroys the pacing, and the stats and other improvements you unlock will have you significantly overleveled, destroying the balance. (Note: after I finished the game, an update <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1983260/view/4516639323493839678?l=english">added New Game +</a> which is an alternate way to resolve this mismatch.)</p> <p>But those quirks aside, there’s a lot to love here. The vibes and atmosphere are fantastic, the characters are mostly charming, the world is fun to explore, combat is satisfying with a lot of choices, and the spells are fun to use both for combat and environmental puzzles. I really enjoyed my time in Hinterberg and I’ll be keeping an eye out for what this studio does next.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I completed a full playthrough including all achievements and optional objectives.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.dungeonsofhinterberg.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.dungeonsofhinterberg.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/dungeons-of-hinterberg/cover_hu_308fec1311b48eec.jpg" alt="Dungeons of Hinterberg cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.dungeonsofhinterberg.com/">Dungeons of Hinterberg</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-role-playing/">Action Role-Playing</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2024/">2024</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/microbird-games/">Microbird Games</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/curve-digital/">Curve Digital</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <![CDATA[Star Trek: Resurgence]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/star-trek-resurgence/ 2023-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 2023-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 <main> <p><b>A narrative adventure set in the Star Trek universe with compelling characters and decisions to make along with some flaws in story and gameplay.</b></p> <p>Created by veterans of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telltale_Games">Telltale Games</a>, <em>Resurgence</em> applies the interactive storytelling formula to the <em>Star Trek</em> universe. The most important gameplay is making dialog choices, though there are also walking-around-and-investigating, shuttle-piloting, cover-based shooting, and stealth segments plus QTEs and a few different minigames. The story takes place about a year after <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek_Nemesis"><em>Star Trek: Nemesis</em></a> and has you alternately control two officers on the USS <em>Resolute</em>: Jara Rydek, the new first officer, and Carter Diaz, a junior engineer. The plot has the <em>Resolute</em> sent on a diplomatic mission that ends up being much more complicated than it initially appears.</p> <p>I am supremely biased and this game succeeded in making me feel like a Starfleet officer, so I’m willing to forgive a lot. But if I’m being honest, both gameplay and story had some flaws and a non-biased rating here probably caps out at three stars. (The game also apparently launched with serious technical/performance problems; I played the PS4 version on a PS5 after the first major bugfix patch and ran into only minor glitches and a single softlock that forced me to restart a chapter.)</p> <p>Starting with the gameplay: The dialog choices are on a time limit, though thankfully you can pause the game in the middle of a choice if you want to take more time to think about it, though while paused the options aren’t visible. Also, the options do the thing where they only show you a short summary instead of the actual words you’d be saying, and this occasionally misled me but didn’t cause any major frustration.</p> <p>The QTEs were fine; I found they enhanced the tension and the immersion without being too disruptive. I think the only ones I failed were intended to be impossible for story reasons. I also enjoyed most of the minigames, but there were a couple where I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing and just fumbled around until I succeeded, which took me out of the story. The combat and stealth segments were terrible; the engine just doesn’t provide a good experience for either kind of gameplay and they were sufficiently awkward and frustrating that they always took me out of the game rather than enhancing the immersion. They’re pass/fail anyway, so I’d argue they should have been implemented via QTEs instead (with maybe an option to just make them straight-up cutscenes).</p> <p>As for the story, which is the main attraction in a game like this: the foundation is excellent, especially for <em>Star Trek</em> fans. You get to know several of the <em>Resolute</em>’s crew members and they’re an intriguing and mostly-likable bunch who could clearly support an ongoing series, and the state they’re in after their previous mission (as depicted in the <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Resurgence_%28IDW%29">prequel comic</a>) creates a lot of opportunity for drama and interesting choices for the player to make. Characters have plausible relationships and differing perspectives, making them feel like people with depth who are worth interacting with and paying attention to. (Perhaps the most intriguing backstory is actually that of the other junior engineer Nili, who shows a viewpoint on Trill culture we’ve never seen in canon but which makes perfect sense in context and which has real-feeling ramifications for her arc during the game.) There’s also a feedback system that tells you how the supporting characters feel about your decisions which adds some extra depth, though there are a few points where it seems clear that a character is reacting in an unrealistic and over-the-top way in order to create drama.</p> <p><em><strong>MINOR SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH</strong></em></p> <p>The early events of the game also set up two themes that provide tension for many early choices: first, whether a first officer’s duty is to their captain or to their crew, and second, the Federation’s responsibility around (and occasional complicity in) colonialism affecting other cultures. Soon, though, plot twists completely derail both of these themes and replace them with a conflict with greater scope and stakes but far less nuance. This, plus the fact that for various reasons a number of characters whose relationships you may have been developing and following with great interest can suddenly become unavailable at various points in the game can make several of the plot- and character-arcs feel like they end suddenly and without closure. Add in the fact that several significant questions (including the ultimate fates of multiple major characters) go completely unresolved and I found the ending unsatisfying.</p> <p><em><strong>END SPOILERS</strong></em></p> <p>Overall, while the game certainly has some flaws I had a good time with it and I’m very happy it exists. I’d love to see more <em>Trek</em> games like this (the format is a great fit for what’s special about <em>Trek</em>) and will keep an eye on <a href="https://dramaticlabs.com/">Dramatic Labs</a>. The low point was the kludged-in “traditional gameplay” combat/stealth sequences; the high points were the character/relationship work, the interesting choices, and the lovingly-built backdrop of the <em>Trek</em> universe.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished a complete playthrough. I didn’t go back to see the outcomes of other choices because I liked the versions of the characters that I’d created and wasn’t interested in undermining them.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.startrek-resurgence.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.startrek-resurgence.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/star-trek-resurgence/star-trek-resurgence_hu_fa19ea338885dd0d.png" alt="Star Trek: Resurgence cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.startrek-resurgence.com/">Star Trek: Resurgence</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/interactive-storytelling/">Interactive Storytelling</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/action-adventure/">Action Adventure</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2023/">2023</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/dramatic-labs/">Dramatic Labs</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/bruner-house/">Bruner House</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/star-trek">Star Trek</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/star-trek-prodigy-supernova/" title="Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (Three Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/star-trek-prodigy-supernova/star-trek-prodigy-supernova_hu_29c4f4acd3da7b8a.webp');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova</h4> <time datetime="2022-11-06 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Sunday, November 6, 2022</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2023/09/minor-design-decisions-and-immersion-in-star-trek/">[THOUGHT] Minor design decisions and immersion in Star Trek: Resurgence</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[Sonic Frontiers]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-frontiers/ 2023-06-11T00:00:00+00:00 2023-06-11T00:00:00+00:00 <main> <p><b>A flawed but promising take on Sonic as an open-world game.</b></p> <p>A new formula for modern Sonic gameplay where traditional linear levels are present but only as one of many interconnected systems wrapped in an open-world structure.</p> <p>The game takes place on a series of large islands that Sonic can explore mostly-freely. The islands are dotted with tons of short platforming segments, varied combat encounters and minibosses (some of which also incorporate platforming), minor puzzles and challenges, portals that take you to the traditional linear levels, and a lot of collectibles.</p> <p>Some collectibles make Sonic more powerful (“skill pieces” gained mostly from combat help unlock new attacks and combos from a skill tree, while a few other collectibles can be traded in to increase Sonic’s attack, defense, speed, and maximum ring capacity) while others tie in to story progression (“memory tokens” gained mostly from the short platforming segments are needed to access story scenes while using the portals requires “portal gears” gained mostly from minibosses; beating the traditional levels and optional objectives within them rewards “vault keys” used to get the Chaos Emeralds which are required to finish each island). While there are some story chokepoints, you can approach most of the content in whatever order you want and most of it is optional. Aside from the Chaos Emeralds, there are way more of every type of collectible than needed and several ways to get each of them.</p> <p>There are some frustrations and parts that feel unpolished. A few minigames that are required to complete the story are shallow and unfun while being overly strict, a few boss fights feel like they needed a bit more tweaking (like one that requires you to pick up balls of light hovering above rails, and then locks the camera to a position where you can’t tell <em>which rail</em> the light is hovering over), and it’s annoyingly common to run into bugs that break platforming segments (like going through a dash panel and getting sped onto a spring and clipping right through it and falling off, obliging you to restart the platforming segment from the beginning). Probably the worst problem is that there is omnipresent pop-in with the platforming segments and some other environmental features, which can be a problem when you’re trying to figure out the path to a particular collectible but you can’t see the features that make up the path (especially when it happens because they are high up above the ground so you can’t feasibly get close enough to pop them in), but this never blocked me for long. Most of the stumbles seem like growing pains from this being the first Sonic game of this format, and I’ll be very interested in any follow-up titles that build on and improve the formula based on the lessons learned here.</p> <p>Someone who just wants to master the linear levels will likely be frustrated and bored by the open-world structure they’re trapped in (there is an “Arcade Mode” that lets you access the levels directly, but you have to beat the story mode to unlock it). But if you’re interested in the idea of hanging out in Sonic’s world with experiences that vary more in scope and tension and give you a lot of flexibility in what to tackle based on your mood, there’s fun to be had here. Personally, I really appreciated the setup - running around doing all the little platforming segments and gathering way more collectibles than I needed was a great way to relax, and then I could jump into miniboss fights or the linear levels when I wanted a more-directed and higher-intensity challenge.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game with all achievements and many but not all of the other optional objectives.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://frontiers.sonicthehedgehog.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://frontiers.sonicthehedgehog.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-frontiers/sonic-frontiers_hu_ec57a004ae05c363.jpg" alt="Sonic Frontiers cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://frontiers.sonicthehedgehog.com/">Sonic Frontiers</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/platformer/">Platformer</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/open-world/">Open World</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2022/">2022</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/sonic-team/">Sonic Team</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/sega/">Sega</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/sonic-the-hedgehog">Sonic the Hedgehog</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/" title="Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (Zero Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/cover_hu_e15c195df26b66f.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood</h4> <time datetime="2017-08-10 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Thursday, August 10, 2017</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-runners-adventure/" title="Sonic Runners Adventure (Two Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-runners-adventure/cover_hu_7d15e91dfe3bbe87.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Runners Adventure</h4> <time datetime="2018-05-11 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Friday, May 11, 2018</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-forces/" title="Sonic Forces (One Star)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-forces/sonic-forces_hu_4b617f12a331d393.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Forces</h4> <time datetime="2020-04-08 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Wednesday, April 8, 2020</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-murder-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/" title="The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (Three Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/the-murder-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/cover_hu_ee698419be5e2e7b.png');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog</h4> <time datetime="2023-04-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Sunday, April 16, 2023</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2023/06/sonic-frontiers-on-hard-to-understand-mode/">[THOUGHT] Sonic Frontiers on Hard (to understand) Mode</a></li> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2023/06/steam-deck-and-new-aaa-games/">[THOUGHT] Steam Deck and new AAA games</a></li> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2023/05/the-right-game-at-the-right-time/">[THOUGHT] The right game at the right time</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-murder-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/ 2023-04-16T00:00:00+00:00 2023-04-16T00:00:00+00:00 <main> <p><b>A light-hearted murder mystery visual novel punctuated by an auto-runner minigame.</b></p> <p>A surprise free release for April Fool’s 2023, this is a full (if somewhat short, clocking in at under two hours) game that’s much better than one might expect from that setup.</p> <p>The game is primarily a point-and-click visual novel with a mystery story that plays like a greatly simplified <em>Ace Attorney</em>. Read through dialog making occasional dialog choices, click around a scene collecting clues, interrogate characters and occasionally choose from your collected evidence to refute their claims or advance your own theories, then move to the next scene and repeat. There’s also a minigame that comes up repeatedly during interrogations: Your character thinking through their arguments is represented as an auto-runner where you collect rings and avoid hazards as Sonic, and you need to end each level with a sufficient number of rings to advance the story.</p> <p>The visual novel side of the game is pretty great. The situations and dialog are funny, the characters are well-captured and fun to hang out with, and the mysteries are small in scope but engaging and clever. The auto-runner is a jarring inclusion - that sort of reflex-testing gameplay is about as far as you can get from the point-and-click-and-read experience the game otherwise presents, and it adds <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/glossary/game-design/#elements-of-difficulty">punishment</a> the game otherwise lacks: making the wrong dialog/evidence choice just gives you different (and sometimes funny) dialog and then you can immediately choose again, but failing an auto-runner level means restarting it. Thankfully, there are optional assist features that allow you to tune the difficulty of the auto-runner down to trivially easy, so even if you struggle with this sort of gameplay, it’s not <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2022/07/all-hail-no-fail/#failure-puts-up-walls">a hard wall</a> - but you still have to sit through the levels as there is no way to simply skip them.</p> <p>I don’t want to complain too much about a free game, but I really don’t understand this design decision. The auto-runner would have been a cute <em>optional</em> minigame you could play from the menu or something, but cramming it on the main path of a visual novel is just bizarre. But then, would it even <em>be</em> a <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/sonic-the-hedgehog/"><cite>Sonic the Hedgehog</cite></a> game if it <em>didn’t</em> pad its runtime with weird off-genre gameplay that isn’t what you came for?</p> <p>That aside, <em>The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog</em> is an enjoyable snack of a game if you like the <em>Sonic</em> cast or simple mystery games. It’s free and a short time investment, and even if you dislike the auto-runner it won’t block you. If you’re curious about the game, it’s worth checking out. I had a good time with it.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/three-stars" title="Three Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Three Stars: <b>Good.</b> I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.</i></p> <p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2324650/The_Murder_of_Sonic_the_Hedgehog/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2324650/The_Murder_of_Sonic_the_Hedgehog/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-murder-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/cover_hu_ee698419be5e2e7b.png" alt="The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2324650/The_Murder_of_Sonic_the_Hedgehog/">The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/visual-novel/">Visual Novel</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/auto-runner/">Auto-Runner</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2023/">2023</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/sega/">Sega</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/sega/">Sega</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/sonic-the-hedgehog">Sonic the Hedgehog</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/" title="Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (Zero Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/cover_hu_e15c195df26b66f.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood</h4> <time datetime="2017-08-10 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Thursday, August 10, 2017</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-runners-adventure/" title="Sonic Runners Adventure (Two Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-runners-adventure/cover_hu_7d15e91dfe3bbe87.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Runners Adventure</h4> <time datetime="2018-05-11 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Friday, May 11, 2018</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-forces/" title="Sonic Forces (One Star)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-forces/sonic-forces_hu_4b617f12a331d393.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Forces</h4> <time datetime="2020-04-08 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Wednesday, April 8, 2020</time> </a> </article> <article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/sonic-frontiers/" title="Sonic Frontiers (Four Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/sonic-frontiers/sonic-frontiers_hu_ec57a004ae05c363.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>Sonic Frontiers</h4> <time datetime="2023-06-11 00:00:00 +0000 UTC">Sunday, June 11, 2023</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2023/05/the-right-game-at-the-right-time/">[THOUGHT] The right game at the right time</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[Shadows Over Loathing]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/shadows-over-loathing/ 2022-12-31T00:00:07+00:00 2022-12-31T00:00:07+00:00 <main> <p><b>A Lovecraftian-themed comedic RPG with monochrome stick-figure art and surprisingly good music and sound effects.</b></p> <p>Follow a trail of cursed objects to find your missing uncle while dealing with sidequests and random encounters featuring turn-based combat, puzzles, and a lot of humor.</p> <p>This is mostly a bigger-and-better <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/west-of-loathing/"><cite>West of Loathing</cite></a> in a new Lovecraftian setting and with a more cohesive frame story (though many of the side quests and such along the way are still effectively standalone). It’s still warm and safe with no game overs and very few permanent fail states (and none in the main story),</p> <p>Combat has become deeper through the addition of new systems (elemental damage types, skill points, and a crafting system for gear and consumables) and a slightly larger party (you can swap between several partners and combat pets). It’s still very optional, though - most situations that can involve combat also have non-combat solutions and it’s possible to get through the game without participating in a single fight. There are plenty of other ways to power yourself up to pass stat checks through getting XP from non-combat sources, getting gear, and using the crafting system. This means that the difficulty level is very much up to the player and they can use the set of systems they enjoy. In my playthrough on Normal difficulty, I frequently engaged in combat and paid attention to gear but completely ignored the crafting system and rarely lost a fight or struggled with a stat check.</p> <p>The story has much more of an arc this time, though a <em>lot</em> of the sidequests and other content along the way is effectively standalone and could have fit into any story. The individual experiences are well-done and generally amusing and satisfying, and it’s nice to have the running thread of searching for your uncle, dealing with the curses, and learning more about the villains. The ending (or at least the ones I saw; there are a bunch) are still anticlimactic, though.</p> <p>There is a huge amount of player choice here. You have a few choices when building your character that have some effect on the game’s content (most notably, you have a different nemesis based on your chosen class), a lot of ways to set up and develop your combat build, a ton of optional quests with multiple resolutions, and a variety of endings depending on what choices you’ve made along the way. As such, the game seems to be set up to be replayed, though to do so you’ll still have to repeat a lot of content that will not be as funny or surprising after the first time.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished a playthrough having done a lot (but not all) of the side content. The game saves right before the final point of no return, so I went back and tried for a different ending, but this involved a lot of unskippable dialog and credits (and both endings had been anticlimactic) so I didn’t bother going for more. As with <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/west-of-loathing/">the previous game</a>, I don’t expect to replay it at least until enough time has passed that I’ve forgotten most of it and can enjoy the humor and surprises again.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/three-stars" title="Three Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Three Stars: <b>Good.</b> I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.shadowsoverloathing.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.shadowsoverloathing.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/shadows-over-loathing/shadows-over-loathing_hu_350b32ce7bbce755.png" alt="Shadows Over Loathing cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.shadowsoverloathing.com/">Shadows Over Loathing</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/role-playing/">Role-Playing</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2022/">2022</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/asymmetric-publications/">Asymmetric Publications</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/asymmetric-publications/">Asymmetric Publications</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>More Reviews from the <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/kingdom-of-loathing">Kingdom of Loathing</a> Series</h2> <section class="thumbs"><article class="review thumb"> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/west-of-loathing/" title="West of Loathing (Three Stars)"> <div class="cover" style="background-image: url('/review/west-of-loathing/cover_hu_98abba9f803db167.jpg');"><span class="rating"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></span></div> <h4>West of Loathing</h4> <time datetime="2018-09-26 00:00:00 -0700 PDT">Wednesday, September 26, 2018</time> </a> </article> </section> </aside> <![CDATA[Vampire Survivors]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/vampire-survivors/ 2022-12-31T00:00:06+00:00 2022-12-31T00:00:06+00:00 <main> <p><b>A streamlined but flashy shoot 'em up with roguelite elements.</b></p> <p>Move your character around a top-down 2D battlefield while enemies spawn in endlessly with increasing power and numbers. You start with one weapon and as you level up from defeating enemies you accumulate and power-up more weapons and abilities, but they all fire automatically. You just steer your character and choose power-up options. Skillful play, good choices, and some luck will keep you alive for a while but at the 30-minute mark, Death will come in and put an end to your run. Coins collected during runs can be spent on permanent upgrades (though you can respec freely) and more characters, stages, and power-ups can be unlocked by getting achievements.</p> <p>The controls aren’t very deep, but the action is frenetic and rewarding. Managing threats and collecting dropped experience and treasures does take skill and the variety of weapons, stages, and power-ups makes for a large number of potential builds with different viability, so runs can be quite different from each other. It can be easy to fall into just using your favorite build over and over, but achievements provide directed goals that push you into using weapons, characters, or strategies you otherwise might not, keeping the gameplay varied as long as there’s more stuff for you to unlock.</p> <p>Once you have unlocked and tried out everything, all that’s really left is a progression treadmill, but the fact that most sessions are capped at half an hour (though there are ways to go beyond this) means it can easily still serve as something bite-sized to dip into periodically to relax with.</p> <p>If you enjoy the basic gameplay loop (which you can try for free on mobile or <a href="https://poncle.itch.io/vampire-survivors">in the browser</a>) the game will give you a <em>lot</em> of enjoyment for a very low price tag. I just wish the mobile version were a one-time purchase too instead of being ad-supported.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I mostly played during the game’s Early Access period, so I repeatedly unlocked everything and got all achievements and then put the game down until the next update adding more stuff to do. Eventually it started feeling samey to me and I moved on, so while the game has still gotten some new updates and DLC since then I haven’t come back for it. At this point, I think I’d need a new <em>mode</em> instead of just new characters, weapons, and stages.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/four-stars" title="Four Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Four Stars: <b>Great.</b> Not only did I finish the game, I probably played through the whole thing again and/or completed any optional objectives. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan.</i></p> <p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/vampire-survivors/vampire-survivors_hu_9b3c4437d6d2bbe9.png" alt="Vampire Survivors cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/">Vampire Survivors</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/shoot-em-up/">Shoot 'em Up</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/roguelike/">Roguelike</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2022/">2022</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-series-x/s/">Xbox Series X/S</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/mobile/">Mobile</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/poncle/">poncle</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/poncle/">poncle</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2022/07/so-i-got-my-steam-deck/">[THOUGHT] So I got my Steam Deck</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/kirby-and-the-forgotten-land/ 2022-12-31T00:00:05+00:00 2022-12-31T00:00:05+00:00 <main> <p><b>A triumphant leap by the pink puff into full 3D.</b></p> <p>The first fully-3D mainline Kirby title. After <a href="https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2022/March/Ask-the-Developer-Vol-4-Kirby-and-the-Forgotten-Land-2187039.html">much experimentation and many false starts to overcome the challenges of this change</a>, the team found an approach that works and ironed out nearly every snag. The result is a game that feels great to play and where most of the effort and tricks are invisible because the experience Just Works.</p> <p>The game is beautiful, with colorful and compellingly-themed levels that look like real spaces. Everything is set against a surprisingly cozy postapocalyptic/reclaimed-by-nature setting and all the character designs and animations are cuddly-looking, even the enemies. The soundtrack is also great and fits very well.</p> <p>Gameplay has you navigating levels while dealing with the enemies and some environmental obstacles and puzzles, exploring for a few different kinds of collectible, experimenting with a variety of copy abilities, and going after optional bonus mission objectives, with a few boss fights along the way. As you find collectibles, you also develop a hub area that has an arena, a handful of minigames, and other similar activities.</p> <p>Copy abilities are handled fantastically. Most are recurring ones from previous games adapted to work in 3D, but a couple new ones are added too. They all feel distinct and decently balanced (though I suspect most players will have their favorites and unfavorites) and extra variety is added through an upgrade system that gives them new properties. On top of this is the new “Mouthful Mode” which allows for new situational abilities that are somewhere between copy abilities and vehicle sections - wrap your mouth around a car and you can drive around, suck in a vending machine and spit sodas at enemies and obstacles, and so on. They don’t all have the same level of depth but they all change up the gameplay in interesting ways, and the optional “treasure road” challenges that task the player with skilled use of each copy ability and mouthful mode nudge the player into advanced techniques they might not otherwise thought of.</p> <p>The game is kid-friendly and adults will likely find it fairly easy on its default difficulty (though it also has an easy mode and a few other ways to make its harder challenges easier such as using an Amiibo to get health pickups). I was looking for cozy fun and found the low difficulty and high level of polish gave me a great and low-friction experience. I really enjoyed exploring the colorful world and playing with the copy abilities, which is exactly what I want in a <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/series/kirby/"><cite>Kirby</cite></a> game.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I fully completed the game including all optional objectives.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/five-stars" title="Five Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span></a> </p> <p><i>Five Stars: <b>Favorite.</b> This is one of my all-time favorite games that made a significant impact on me or that I've returned to time and again.</i></p> <p><a href="https://kirbyandtheforgottenland.nintendo.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://kirbyandtheforgottenland.nintendo.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/kirby-and-the-forgotten-land/kirby-and-the-forgotten-land_hu_3ef1199700ff46f3.jpg" alt="Kirby and the Forgotten Land cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://kirbyandtheforgottenland.nintendo.com/">Kirby and the Forgotten Land</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/platformer/">Platformer</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2022/">2022</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/hal-laboratory/">HAL Laboratory</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/nintendo/">Nintendo</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2022/04/kirby-and-the-curved-difficulty/">[THOUGHT] Kirby and the Curved Difficulty</a></li> </ul> </aside> <![CDATA[The Fall]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-fall/ 2022-12-31T00:00:04+00:00 2022-12-31T00:00:04+00:00 <main> <p><b>A cinematic platformer with a great dark story, weak combat, and uneven puzzle design.</b></p> <p>A darkly atmospheric game structured and presented like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_game#Cinematic_platform_game">cinematic platformer</a> and which does have some platforming and combat but is mostly made up of inventory puzzles reminiscent of point-and-click adventures.</p> <p>The game’s highlight is its narrative. There’s an intriguing story with darkly compelling themes told through solid writing, characterization, voice acting, and art supported by environmental storytelling and occasionally the game’s mechanics. Everything comes together effectively to create a dark, moody atmosphere with a rich implied world.</p> <p>The mechanical side doesn’t fare quite as well. Combat is unwieldy and out of place, but not very difficult as long as you know to go for headshots. Controlling as a platformer does make the experience more immersive than a point-and-click approach, but since most interaction is menu-driven, collecting and using objects requires too many steps with awkward controls.</p> <p>The puzzle design is very uneven. A few puzzles feed beautifully into the storytelling and characterization, but several are obtuse to the point of being unfair. I played with a walkthrough at the ready, consulted it several times, and was always glad I’d done so because the solution was absurd and I had clearly just saved myself time stumbling in the dark trying to find it. Resorting quickly to the walkthrough was clearly correct and enhanced my enjoyment of the game.</p> <p>This game is also the first chapter of a planned trilogy. While the story does end with some closure for its immediate concerns, it leaves <em>many</em> significant questions wide open and most of the game’s pressing mysteries unresolved. As of this writing <a href="https://www.overthemoongames.com/#home-section">Part 2</a> is available but not Part 3 (and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/7yxfvh/i_am_john_warner_from_over_the_moon_we_just/dujykhf/">this comment</a> doesn’t exactly make me optimistic).</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game. Reviews are split as to whether Part 2’s story lives up to Part 1’s, but they seem to all agree that the gameplay is worse with all the issues of the first game pushed even farther instead of being improved after the creators learned from people playing the first game. It’s not clear to me how much of an issue this would be if I again played with a walkthrough at the ready, or how much the disagreement on the quality of the story is affected by people just being more frustrated with the gameplay. So I’m on the fence about whether I want to play Part 2.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/two-stars" title="Two Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Two Stars: <b>Meh.</b> The game has some merit - it probably held my attention for at least an hour or I came back to it for more than one play session. But there wasn't enough draw for me to stick with it for the long haul.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.overthemoongames.com/#the-fall-section">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.overthemoongames.com/#the-fall-section"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-fall/the-fall_hu_946329471d7489c1.jpg" alt="The Fall cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.overthemoongames.com/#the-fall-section">The Fall</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/adventure/">Adventure</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/platformer/">Platformer</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2014/">2014</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/wii-u/">Wii U</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/over-the-moon-games/">Over the Moon Games</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/over-the-moon-games/">Over the Moon Games</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <![CDATA[Inscryption]]> https://pixelpoppers.com/review/inscryption/ 2022-12-31T00:00:03+00:00 2022-12-31T00:00:03+00:00 <main> <p><b>A game that starts as a creepy roguelike deck-builder but which turns out to have a lot of surprises and tricks up its sleeve.</b></p> <p>Like <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/daniel-mullins-games/">Daniel Mullins</a>’ previous works, this is a sort of “haunted game” mystery that tells its story via a game-within-a-game. As before, there are sentient game characters, fourth-wall breaks involving you-the-player, metatextual surprises, and extra lore outside the game in an <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/glossary/game-design/#internet-scavenger-hunt">ARG-like</a> fashion. Discussion of the themes and gameplay changes all constitute spoilers, so I won’t be specific here, but I do think it’s important to know that this isn’t <em>just</em> a roguelike deck-builder. It starts there but cleverly remixes its systems and mechanics to create several other kinds of gameplay.</p> <p>Unfortunately, not all the gameplay is equally deep and compelling, and the pacing of the narrative changes along the way as well. I had a good time for roughly the first five hours, though I personally could have done with slightly less deck-builder during this portion. The atmosphere was great and the story was compelling, introducing mysteries and gradually making me feel like I was seeing more and more of the big picture. Then for the remaining five hours, the atmosphere was much less interesting, the narrative slammed to a halt, and the gameplay became much more of a slog. The end sequence had some great atmosphere and finally brought the narrative to its conclusion, but in a rapid-fire way that left many important questions unanswered and the overall plot in an unsatisfying state with little closure.</p> <p>While it is in some ways the most polished Mullins game yet, to me it feels like a step back in terms of making use of the formula’s strengths and falling into its weaknesses. The game-within-a-game is deeper and lengthier than before, to the point where it’s a bit of a slog if you’re just here for the story and surprises, but not deep enough to satisfy deck-builder enthusiasts. The story conflicts with the fourth-wall breaks even worse than it did in <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/pony-island/"><cite>Pony Island</cite></a>. The ending is even more confusing and unsatisfying than <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/the-hex/"><cite>The Hex</cite></a>. And rather than the in-game secrets and out-of-game lore just being extra context that you can safely ignore, here it seems to be required reading in order to understand important events in the game’s core plot.</p> <p><b>I Stopped Playing When:</b> I finished the game, though I missed some secrets and optional puzzles. I found the ending particularly unsatisfying and had really only enjoyed about half the gameplay.</p> <p class="rating"> <b>Docprof's Rating:</b> <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/rating/two-stars" title="Two Stars"> <span class="full">★</span><span class="full">★</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span><span class="empty">☆</span></a> </p> <p><i>Two Stars: <b>Meh.</b> The game has some merit - it probably held my attention for at least an hour or I came back to it for more than one play session. But there wasn't enough draw for me to stick with it for the long haul.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.inscryption.com/">You can get it or learn more here.</a></p> </main> <aside class="gamecard"> <a href="https://www.inscryption.com/"><img src="https://pixelpoppers.com/review/inscryption/inscryption_hu_df09292c3ff8fdd7.jpg" alt="Inscryption cover art" /></a> <div class="deets"> <h1 class="link_title"><a href="https://www.inscryption.com/">Inscryption</a></h1> <ul> <li>Genre: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/roguelike/">Roguelike</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/genres/deck-builder/">Deck-Builder</a></li> <li>Year: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/years/2021/">2021</a></li> <li>Platform: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/pc/">PC</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/playstation-5/">PlayStation 5</a>, <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/platforms/nintendo-switch/">Nintendo Switch</a></li> <li>Developer: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/developers/daniel-mullins-games/">Daniel Mullins Games</a></li> <li>Publisher: <a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/publishers/devolver-digital/">Devolver Digital</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> <aside class="related"> <h2>Related Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://pixelpoppers.com/2022/02/inscryption-and-privacy/">[THOUGHT] Inscryption and Privacy</a></li> </ul> </aside>