Sometimes, a review opportunity presents itself that, despite my not having previously heard of the game, IP, or developer, makes me curious about it by its genre and description alone. After all, while I have reviewed titles from almost every genre over the years, I of course do have favorites. Today’s game, Testament, is one
When the term “Metroidvania” gets thrown around, the expectation of a quality title usually follows. It doesn’t matter if it’s an entry from its namesake or a well-loved and amazingly made entry from an indie developer. You really have to put your best foot forward. The amount of lofty expectations for this genre is a
To the surprise of nobody, I was hooked from the moment I saw the trailer for Curse of the Sea Rats. I mean, an action platformer where you play as a cast of rats that look straight out of a 90s Disney movie with a fantastical ensemble of foes, what’s not to love? Well, as
After I was most of the way through 9 Years of Shadows, I asked our review editor if I was allowed to simply post an image to review the game. He was… not enthusiastic about that being the entire review, so I will instead write a full review. But I will include the image itself
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read more than a few of my reviews to know that I like games in the general metroidvania sub-category. That having been said, they are also still a genre I tend to be critical of; just like any other sort of game, it’s possible to
Let me start with an anecdote: Kandria, on both its official website and right as the first thing on its Steam page, proudly boasts that the game has zero ability gating and you can go anywhere you want right from the start of the game. The same blurb expresses glee that finally, you will be
I forget exactly when it was I stumbled across Tower Hunter: Erza’s Trial on Steam long ago, but it was at least at a point when the odds of getting new metroidvania titles seemed… not great. So it was a while ago, and it definitely predates my working here. The game launched into early access,
The longevity of the metroidvania continues to impress. It feels as though every new year brings with it an ever flowing stream of new iterations to the genre that expand on its staples while throwing their own flavors into the mix. Astronite, releasing November 30th, 2022 from developer Dume Games Studio and publisher JanduSoft, is
William Goldman wrote the novel The Princess Bride inspired by stories that he told to his two daughters, who at ages 7 and 4 requested a story about “princesses” and “brides” respectively. That’s the origin of that title. Yes, an excellent novel which was adapted into an amazing film came from just slamming two concepts
You know, sometimes it’s really best to stick to what works. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” they say. And that, I can proudly proclaim, is the case here with today’s game, Cellar Door Games’ Rogue Legacy 2. I don’t usually let on exactly how I feel about a game in the opening paragraph,
I’m going to die. I don’t care about that. I care about what it means. It happens. I consider myself decent at video games, and I rarely get particularly angry with games. It’s part of my job. Sure, it might be a bit annoying to get stunlocked and killed, but there’s no reason to get
In the wake of the massive success that was Dark Souls, a whole crop of imitators popped up with gothic tones, corpse run mechanics, and expectations that you will die a lot. Few were quite as successful and memorable as Salt and Sanctuary by Ska Studios. With a shift to 2D platforming and a style
Have you ever watched a horror movie and found yourself rooting for the murderer/stalker/creature killing all of the main characters? Perhaps the characters you’re “supposed” to cheer on are all unlikable…or maybe you just enjoy watching buckets of blood being poured on your screen. Well then boy howdy do I have the game for you!
Ori and the Blind Forest was one of my favorite games in recent memory. One of the few long, exploration-focused games I committed to beating a second time. The melancholy world that focused on themes such as loss and rebirth really spoke to me. And of course the main character was positively adorable.
We honestly seem to be in the middle of something like a Metroidvania renaissance; while there were a few years wherein the genre was fairly quiet, these days there seems to be a surfeit of platformers in which you traverse a contiguous world and progress via new upgrades and killing bosses along the way. And
