Deliver Us The Moon - XB1 Review

Deliver Us The Moon by developer KeokeN Interactive and publisher Wired Productions—Microsoft Xbox One review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes 

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Having originally launched for the PC back in late 2018, the stressful atmospheric adventure of Deliver us the Moon has made its way over to the consoles. The world has died, we’ve basically ignored everything that we should have in order to save it and even when we did find a solution? Even that didn’t last for long. Needing to launch a rocket into space before a sandstorm hits and destroys it, you alone are humanity’s last chance to get power running on the space station in order to send that power back down onto Earth so that Humanity can last just a little bit longer.

Deliver us the Moon took me by surprise. The puzzles and the interactions with the environments make it much more than a “walking simulator” as you had to worry about which way to float in zero gravity, you had to worry about your oxygen running out, you had to worry about not being crushed in certain cases and electrocuted in others while you float around. Some puzzles while seemingly straightforward are anything but as you have to go the long way around because of a collapsed corridor or just simply not being able to go through the door right in front of you. Conceptually this title hits a home run but unfortunately the performance doesn’t always keep up but more on that later.

From a design perspective, the team really nailed the silent protagonist and they’ve done so in an interesting way. For the most part, you’re going to be running around and trying to get things back up and running or at least cleared out of the way in order to move forward. You’re going to push, pull, and use a laser to cut locks off to do it. Communications with the Earth are almost non-existent and while they can talk to you, you can’t talk to them. It’s really a one way communication path. So while you hear from them from time to time, and while you see holograms that reenact what happened in certain locations, the inner monologue is your own. I often found myself asking what happened, why did someone do that, where I should be going. So the character had a personality, they had mine and with that they didn’t need to speak until they finally did and everything came into clear focus of exactly who you are.

And I appreciated this. It also helps that oxygen in a lot of locations is limited so to conserve it, you may not want to do anything more than breathe lest you waste it. Floating in zero gravity while on the space station was neat. You can rotate yourself around as puzzles are a bit more than a floor to ceiling approach. Turning around in different angles can really help shed a light on what exactly you are doing in order to move ahead. By contrast, once you hit the Moon’s surface, the oxygen can still be an issue but you’ll at least have a semblance of gravity and a robot companion to help as they can fly around and use certain switches that you yourself can’t.

The stress of it all comes into play when your oxygen tank starts to count down because there’s no life support to help you out. Three Minutes. Three minutes is all you have and while you’re looking for the way ahead, you also have to look for extra small tanks that can give you anywhere between ten to thirty extra seconds. The sighs of relief when you make it into an airlock or back into your vehicle are almost palpable as I found myself holding my breath just to make it through. I was that invested.

So it’s with that investment that I was disappointed that Deliver us the Moon had a few technical issues such as frame rates and audio hiccups. Sometimes while going through the same hallway it would drop in quality, other times it would lag and finally sometimes it was just as perfect as it was meant to be. It was odd that all three types of things could happen and that it was never consistent. Let’s just say I had the chance to do this a few times as I wasn’t quite sure where to move forward at times while looking for that oneeeee little detail that I kept missing. For the audio though, there was scratching that came through in bursts or sometimes for long periods of time but at a lower level. I’m not sure if that was intentional in order to emulate the inside of the helmet’s audio, but it could be grating and I knew it was the title because the headphones have done it on nothing else before or after my adventure.

Even with these issues in scope though, they weren’t enough to take away from the experience. It’s not just the environments either. Heading to launch the rocket, being on the space station, moving down to the moon’s surface, there are books, notes, audio logs and holograms that can either be watched in a cinematic experience or from your actual vantage point that lets you look and listen while still searching around for other things. While you’re alone, these little items make the world feel real and not as empty as it currently looks because people used to actually live and work in these places that you’re exploring.

I would highly encourage anyone to experience Deliver us the Moon either on the PC or the consoles that have now launched. It’s not very long clocking in anywhere between six to eight hours depending on how lost you get, but it’s a well told and well built experience that had me feeling rather emotional by the end. With plenty of trials to overcome and a silent protagonist that is probably one of the better ones that I’ve ever had the chance to travel with, finding out if you had indeed Deliver the Moon is a question that you should answer for yourselves.

Score: 7.5 / 10

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Sakura Wars - PS4 Review

Sakura Wars by developer and publisher SEGA—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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Though there is a good chance most gamers do not have much knowledge of the Sakura Wars series, it has actually been around for quite some time. I think I first encountered the series back on the SEGA Saturn, but have not heard much out of the series in some time. The last time I personally had any interaction with the series was on the Nintendo Wii with the enjoyable if rough around the edges Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. This latest release in the franchise is not really a sequel so much as a soft reboot as SEGA tries to breathe new life into this series, and for the most part it works more often than not.

There is a bit of a kitchen sink approach here as there are elements of RPG / dating simulation, brawling action, turn-based strategy and visual novel genres present here. If that seems like a lot and a potentially jumbled mess, you would not be entirely wrong. This sense of chaos makes the narrative a bit as well, but at the same time? There is a fresh approach to the game that makes Sakura Wars rather unlike almost anything else out there.

The story follows our protagonist, Seijuro Kamiyama, is a Navy ensign who has been assigned to captain the new Imperial Combat Revue’s Flower Division. For those familiar with the prior games, the reason the term ‘soft reboot’ applies is the way it is set about a decade after the last game, but in an alternate version of 1940’s Tokyo. As for the Flower Division group itself, it is made up of women who have a joint responsibility. You could say that their day jobs is entertaining people through theater, and this is where matters of confidence and personal interactions tend to come into play.

However, the team has another responsibility, and this is where most of the action comes into play as interdimensional demons also attack Tokyo and when this happens, our protagonist and his team jump into their mechs to save the day. This is much more action-oriented, almost Warriors-like at times with the beat ‘em up vibe it presents. There are some small minigames sprinkled in here and there as well, but the majority of the gameplay takes place in one of these two areas. Of the two, the visual novel / dating aspect is certainly where most of the time is spent. If anything, this is what creates the primary pacing issue within Sakura Wars and will likely divide fans. I enjoy the various genres crammed into the game, so I generally enjoyed it – but it is not hard to see how this will not be for everyone. Many people play visual novels for a slower-paced experience, and may find the combat (and the sometimes finicky camera that comes with it) jarring by comparison. Also those looking forward to the mech combat may find themselves wishing more time was spent in battle and less time having to run around talking to people.

Now, it is possible to move through the game focusing just on primary quests, skipping a lot of the side conversations and streamlining the experience – but you would be missing a lot of what Sakura Wars has to offer. You would also be making the game more difficult for yourself when it comes time for the combat, because your relationships with the females on your team provide boosts to your combat ability. The action is pretty entertaining, but not overly deep and so it relies on these behind the scenes stats to help you perform better.

From a narrative standpoint, the concerns of the daytime theater seem almost comically minor when weighed against the mech missions. Worrying about a member of the team’s confidence performing on stage and whether or not your performances will be good enough to keep the money coming in so the theater can continue to operate seems somewhat paltry next to the somewhat general ‘save the world from demons’ vibe that comes with the mech side of the house. However, given the somewhat generic-ish ‘save the world’ theme, the characters actually became my primary sense of investment, which is why I’d argue that the theater portions became more important to me personally, if not the actual overarching plot. The past Sakura Wars games had more tactical elements baked in that frankly I wish this game would have provided as well. There are some missed opportunities with progression elements and combat growth that if this series continues, I hope the team takes some time to add depth here.

The visuals and sound are fantastic. I felt like I was wrestling with the camera during combat more than I would have liked, but the art oozes style and the music really compliments the scenes well. The cutscenes in particular look like they were ripped right out of an anime show and are quite impressive. Because so much of the game’s content revolves around the relationships you build along the way, there is a New Game+ provided, which is nice because it gives you the opportunity to try and approach relationships a bit differently along the way.

All five of the female characters in your group have interesting personalities, and your decisions matter over time. Usually a single conversation is safe and won’t make or break the potential relationship, but if you pay attention you start to get a good idea of their likes and dislikes, what they lack confidence over, things of that nature. There are some decisions where you simply “can’t win” – and what I mean by that is you’ll make some characters happy and others unhappy with your choices. It becomes a balancing act, as having too low of a relationship score with some characters might mean you cannot use them in battle or access certain parts of the game later, so while some gamers will be tempted to pour their everything into a single favorite, keep in mind that it is meant to be a team and you don’t want to go to extremes that alienate those team members. It is an interesting dynamic, to say the least.

In terms of the personalities and interactions, there is a bit of that anime awkwardness that comes into play at times. You quickly get the impression that neither Kamiyama nor his team have all that much real-life dating experience, which leaves them sometimes fumbling about themselves and their interactions. These can range from cute to cringy depending on the particular interaction. I can also see a scenario where someone feels that it is inappropriate that Kamiyama is essentially the supervisor or boss of these women, so should he be pursuing romantic relations with them at all? I would counterargue that this is escapism and we’re using mechs and demons to tell a story here, so don’t overthink it – I tried not to.

Sakura Wars is a welcome franchise reboot that I hope sees more titles released by SEGA in the future. The mech combat is fun, but could use some more depth. The majority of your time will be spent in the visual novel / dating simulation portions of the game, but the characters help to elevate the overall plot. Wonky camera angles hurt the presentation, but the overall visuals and music make this about as close to an interactive anime as you can get.

 

Score: 7.5 / 10

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Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PS4 Review

Operencia: The Stolen Sun by developer and publisher Zen Studios—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes 

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Operencia: The Stolen Sun is a nifty little dungeon crawler from Zen Studios. Taking inspiration from what I believe is Hungarian folklore, Operencia takes you through the adventures of a ragtag bunch of misfits trying to bring the sun back to the world of Operencia.

Over the years I've played my fair share of dungeon crawlers. In fact, I currently have two on the go right now in my spare time. While Operencia does offer some neat new gimmick and elements, it gets bogged down by some rather skeptical balancing issues and overarching issues. The first, and arguable biggest, example has to do with the plot. It's pretty cliché, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if played right. The basic premise in Operencia is that your main character, as named by you, has a dream about a deer, and ends up in a cursed castle. Once escaping the castle, it turns out the sun has been stolen, and so you venture forth to progressively more cursed castles, gathering one of the most eclectic groups of protagonists I've seen in quite some time.

While the key points of the plot are given to you primarily on entering an area, the bulk of the game backstory comes from visiting campfires, which act as sort of mini-hubs during your adventures, which I'll get into a bit more later. While this is quite an interesting way of breaking up exploration, puzzle solving, and combat, you also need to remember to visit campfires until you run out of conversation topics if you want to make sure you get all the backstory, a lot of which is surprisingly pertinent. Also, something I only really realized when I started writing this, but no-one ever refers to your character by name, which makes sense since you name your character, but it never really clicked until now. Banter between characters however is...bipolar, I suppose is the best way to describe it. Half the cast sound like they were forced into a basement somewhere until they gave a halfway acceptable performance, and are really only being held aloft by the other characters. The banter alternates between kind of funny and some of the cringes dialogue I've heard not out of someone with 8th grader syndrome.

While the storytelling can be best rounded off as "acceptably positive", the gameplay is the real crux of any dungeon crawler, and Operencia certainly has...something to show, although I'm not entirely certain how I feel about it. Like most traditional dungeon crawlers, you roam a map, and when you get into combat, you start a turn based battle system. Walking on the field map is performed in cardinal directions as you move on a grid, although you have full reign over the camera, so you're free to look around. In fact, you kind of have to in order to pick up key items, money on the ground, and interact with some items or levers. You can see the enemies wandering around as well, and attacking from behind gives you advantage. The camera freedom is an interesting concept in a dungeon crawler, and I mostly like it. Mostly because it's nice to get a good look at the area you're exploring, but it can make corners or u-turns a little awkward. Additionally, some items are placed with the intent to look for them, making them rather easy to overlook at times.

I will mention here that there are a limited number of fights in the game. That's right, after beating up that skeleton over there, it's gone for good. No grinding, no over leveling, no going back to get just a little more exp to make that next fight easier. On the one hand, no random encounters is nice, and being able to explore an area for all those hidden and secret areas you missed while trying to conserve health is nice, especially since the amount of times you can rest to heal at the campfire is limited to the number of firewood you pick up, although you are still able to use the other features at the campfire.

Speaking of campfires, you get a wide variety of options at a campfire. While equipping your main party and doling out stat points and level can be done at anytime not in combat, campfires allow you to save and rest, edit your party, go shopping, travel to previous campfires visited, even in other areas, and play the most addicting puzzle game I've ever seen added to a dungeon crawler. No really, you have a synthesis mini game were you do logic puzzles to figure out ingredients, with clues like "The root is not from the mountains or the plain" and "the crop is poisonous" and other such hints. You then have to select the correct order and types for each of the options in order to craft your items. Items are consumable, but replenish upon resting.

Props to the devs for allowing you to respect at anytime by the way, that's basically a godsend, especially when enemies start getting really annoying. Combat is turn based, with higher initiative characters taking precedence. While in combat you have a number of standard option: melee, ranged attack, and guard are your first three, and the rest are the skills you have your character learn, with a possible equitable item at the end. Skills require stamina to use, which can be recovered by guarding.

While it's fairly basic at it's core, it is a pretty tried and true formula. Operencia decides to go the interesting route of having cool downs in addition to a stamina cost, even for the guarding. While this doesn't apply to the standard melee and ranged attacks, or presents too much of a hassle, some of the fights in Operencia are basically relegated to relying on skills based on how horribly offensive the AI can be. The first instance is actually in the second area, where giant spiders will eat their allies at low health, getting a full heal and tripling their health. Then in the next area are theses stupid fungus things that have a healer in the back, and two tanks alternating taunts while the healer keeps restoring them. Next area has spawners that have just enough health to keep bringing more and more to the field, and after that you have enemies with the "evade" skill. I was honestly about ready to flip a freaking table by the end of it.

On the plus side, the rendered 3D graphics are a nice touch, and while the sound effects are annoying most of the time, they're a far cry from the worst I've ever heard. While there are a bunch of rendering issues for a chunk of the game, they aren't super noticeable unless you're paying attention most of the time. The neat environments and cool puzzles are really nice to see in something other than text.

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.

 

Score: 6.5 / 10

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Crumbling World - PC Preview

Crumbling World by developer Dani Marti and publisher Dume Arts—PC (Steam) preview written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher / download.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes 

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Right before the end of last year, I got to spend some time with the Alpha version of Dani Marti and Dume Arts’ Crumbling World which I covered in a Sunday Bite’s article. With the recent news that this Action RPG will be launching on May 21 of next month, we had the chance to take the latest Beta version out for a spin and it’s looking even better than it did before the holidays.

To recap, Crumbling World is an Action Adventure RPG that quite believes in killing you off at what is basically the end of the world. Equipped with a sword, shield and physical prowess, you’ll have your work cut out for you as you fight your way through groups of enemies and try not to fall off the map. This for the most part remains the same but there’s a lot more now under the hood and even more incoming later once they add in the other characters.

Taking things from the top, once you’ve gone through the cutscenes you’ll be treated to a quick tutorial on how to play. You can run around, jump, block and attack your enemies. Thankfully compared to the Alpha even if you get swarmed by enemies it’s possible to block and attack back as an enemy hitting your shield will momentarily halt them allowing you to counter. You’ll probably still take a few hits as each enemy is not attacking at the same time, but, it’s easier to manage than it once was.

Running around though, you’ll see that pathways are narrow and connect up to larger areas in almost a block like fashion. Before the holidays, I thought the layouts were cool as while you can fall off and hold onto the ledge to pull yourself back up, you can also kick your enemies off and simply be done with them. NOW THOUGH? Oh you can still kick your enemies off, however, you can now fall into the underworld which leads to some new and interesting adventures as the ground you walk on is now very much relatable to the title. It crumbles once you’ve walked over it so now not only do you need to fight for your life, you have to be quick about it!

With the world above crumbling below your feet and shown on your minimap what state of decay it’s in, you’ll also be visibly seeing this drop as the square will drop either once or twice below the rest before falling away completely. Once it’s gone, it’s gone and if you went the wrong way, you’ll literally have to jump down into the underworld and have to fight your way through a series of Anubis looking soldiers while looking for a portal back to the mortal world. And while things don’t exactly crumble below your feet down here, you can only stay so long through a meter that can be filled that allows you to survive in the underworld. Once it runs out, you’re just as dead as you would be if your health ran out keeping in line with the above ground’s “there’s no time to waste” theme.

With all of the improvement, it’s not to say that things are yet perfect as there were a few issues on my list that had me grumbling at times. Difficulty wise, Normal is a bit too hard and Easy is too easy. There was no real middle ground between the two so even on normal, there was a lot of dying. Thankfully, as of yet, there were no penalties for dying short of having to restart the current stage that you were on however you did get to keep your experience points, your level ups and your stat boosts. So eventually, with enough attack and defense bonuses you could survive, but in the meantime? It felt brutal.

The other major issue is how the collisions are currently handled. It makes sense that you can’t run through enemies or the NPCs following you but sometimes if you run into them, you get stuck. The same can be said with rocks and trees often making you have to wiggle out and almost mash the jump button to get enough distance between the two of you. Lastly, there isn’t enough opacity when running under the forest’s canopy so you have no idea if there’s someone there and you only really find out once your health bar loses a chunk.

Overall though, comparing the Alpha version from December and the Beta version from April, there’s already been a significant amount of work done making me easily believe that it could be ready for launch in May. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next and I’m excited to finally be able to try out different characters!

Score: N/A

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EWin Knight Series Ergonomic Computer Gaming Office Chair - Hardware Review

EWin Knight Series Ergonomic Computer Gaming Office Chair by manufacturer EWinRacing—Hardware review written by Robert with a copy provided by the manufacturer.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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EWinRacing’s latest entry in the racing back gaming chair, is an affordable and extremely comfortable chair in a market saturated with gaming-oriented furniture. Comfortable and as classy as you can get in the gaming world while still being purpose-built, the Knight is a durable chair for the every-person gamer and though the model that I picked out is black with yellow highlights and the four face buttons of a PlayStation controller embroidered on the seat back, is still subtle enough that it doesn’t stick out the way most “gaming” furniture design do; if you’d like to see more on it, head on over to EWin's website, but in the meantime, here are some of my thoughts on the E-Win Knight Series gaming chair.

First and foremost, huge shout out to the folks over at EWinRacing. When I first received the chair, which shipped in near-record time (only a two-day wait, which is spectacular as that’s in the realm of Amazon Prime shipping) I was a bit skeptical as the instructions that were sent were actually for the EWin Calling Series chair. Fortunately, a quick tweet and I had a PDF of the instruction manual within an hour, though not that one would need it; this chair is not only comfortable, but easy to build on account of it shipping in about 4 pieces. Even though the full color instructions (something I rarely see these days) were incorrect, EWin’s extremely fast response to the plight was reassuring that they stand behind their product, something not many “gaming” or “racing-back” chair manufacturers do (based on personal experience with three separate “gaming” chairs).

Assembly took about 20 minutes and then I was up and running (well, sitting) and like any new piece of furniture it needs a break-in period. Fortunately, with everything going on and there being a Stay At Home order in my State, the Knight was about to be broken in in record time. Over the past three weeks I have spent anywhere from 14 to 18 hours a day in the chair and am thrilled to report that one of my biggest concerns was unfounded. That concern? Durability.

In every sub-$250 gaming-oriented chat that I have owned, even under light usage, has started to break down within mere weeks of ordering; from the cushions simply breaking down to lifts and backrest angles simply breaking, every single one, with the exception of an AmazonBasics “executive” chair (that cost just shy of $200), have been duds. Even the AmazonBasics chair, while still being comfortable, squeaks and groans like no other when my slightly-under-weight 13-year-old daughter sits in it. The EWinRacing Knight series though? I’ve put this chair through its paces and the only issue I have found with it is that it seems to want to always gradually rotate to the left. Annoying at times, but generally not something I can tell until I’ve been at the computer for 8+ hours. Not exactly end of the world and minimal given the fact that the seat cushion, headrest, and lower lumbar support are all in top-notch condition.

Now, I’m not exactly a large guy nor am I a small one, but when the good folks at EWinRacing reached out to me with the opportunity to review the Knight series chair I was a little confused as to why they’d want my height and weight; I’ve bought plenty of articles of furniture (that’s lasted quite some time) without needing to divulge that I’m not only short, but slightly on the husky side, so I was a bit taken aback. The reason, I come to find out, is because EWinRacing has specific lines tailored towards all manner of sizes. So, no matter the height/weight of the person looking into a chair, they will have you covered. This was, to me, a fairly not-so-subtle wake-up call that this is a manufacturer who is so confident in their product (with good reason) and so concerned with the comfort of their customers, that they’ve tailored brands for everyone, even though not everyone is built the same way.

As I was putting the seat together I was a little concerned that it seemed large, and even sitting in it for the first time I felt like I had extra space at my hips that I just wasn’t used to. After a week of using the Knight, I plopped my chonky tail-end in my AmazonBasics chair and felt damn-near claustrophobic. The Knight’s wide seat, flaring armrests, and broader backrest are so damned comfortable that you don’t realize it until you sit in a chair that prescribes to the “One Size Fits All” mantra and oh boy is it noticeable. More noticeable? That the leatherette has yet to stretch around the seams and that all of the cushions are still in pristine shape. I still cannot get over how nice the Knight looks after nearly 300 hours of constant abuse. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that this chair was magicked into existence by the whimsical furniture gods, slapped with a sub-$250 price tag, and shipped out the door.

So, my final thoughts? In this day-and-age it is about making sure your money is well spent on durable products that are going to last while being faithfully supported by a company that truly values its customers. It is clear, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the folks over at EWinRacing fit the bill and deserve all the praise that one can bestow. They have taken a style of chair that has really taken off these past few years, made it comfortable, durable, and classy, while staying within the bounds of general affordability and in doing so bypasses nearly every pitfall the saturated gaming furniture market has.

What is even better? The awesome folks over at EWinRacing have provided us with a discount code just for you to take a little off the top… and by “little” I’m talking a whopping 20% off your order!

Simply use the code: chalgyr at checkout and watch that price drop!

So what are you waiting for!? Head on over to https://www.ewinracing.com and check out the Knight series and pick one up! You won’t regret it. Special thanks to EWinRacing as a whole for approaching us with this opportunity to review the Knight; it’s a fantastic chair that I foresee being in my office for many years to come.

 

Score: 9.5 / 10

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Castle of Illusion HD - Retro Reflection

Castle of Illusion HD by developer SEGA Studios Australia and publisher SEGA—PC (Steam) retro reflection written by Hamza with a purchased copy.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

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Sometimes all you need is a little innocence in video games. If you agree and your black heart needs something fun, innocent, sweet, charming, and whimsical to act as a much needed balm, then look absolutely no further than Castle of Illusion HD: one of recent year's most lovable games - even if the whole premise is unoriginal and clocks in about a little under two hours. A high definition remake of the 1990 Sega Genesis classic, this is the fifth in the ever lovable Illusion series which, in chronological order go; Castle of Illusion (1990), Land of Illusion (1992), World of Illusion (1992), Legend of Illusion (1995), and finally Castle of Illusion HD (2013). With all installments receiving positive reception (and continue to do so among the more retro of gamers), the gameplay has always been the same, with only slight and subtle differences implemented to better accommodate the ever-growing list of interested gamers.

Mickey Mouse, since his creation by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney, has always been a persistent presence in media. As one of the biggest icons of the entertainment world, it came as no surprise when the big eared vermin decided to pixelate himself and jump into the world of video games. And why not, seeing how he had conquered the TV, movies, lunchboxes, shirts, radio, daily English vernacular et al. But perhaps the video game industry was in need of another icon to lead the way and thus Mickey could not be as ubiquitous in this medium. But where he failed in making a mark, he succeeded in capturing our hearts every single time he appeared in a video game.

Developed by Sega Studios Australia, the HD remake retains the same formula, story and gameplay of the original; Once upon a time the evil Mizrabel kidnaps Minnie when the helium-voiced rodent and her eternal fiancé are taking a romantic stroll down the garden. Mizrabel intends to steal all of Minnie's youth and beauty and use it for her own dark, witchy use - and it is precisely these sort of things that equal to a serious no-no in children's fantasy imaginings. Our brave protagonist (albeit with shaky knees) must enter the dreaded eponymous castle, brave the unspoken horrors, best the perils, collect the 7 rainbow gems, rescue his eternal bride-to-be and save the day. Oh, and collect apples and other miscellanea and open chests along the way.

When the original Castle of Illusion hit the shelves back in 1990, the initial reviews were quick to point out several similarities to Super Mario Bros., and although the original has now come to be appreciated under its own spotlight, a sense of deja vu happened when the HD remake was released in 2013. Though it is still a side-scrolling platformer, it has dimension and perspective twists that are reminiscent of Disney's Hercules for the Playstation 1. In both the games (at specific moments) you can walk towards the camera and away from it. Both even include running segments. Unique to this game only is the overhead view in the early chapters. All this constant camera changing and perspective shifting is done seamlessly and majestically, with no awkwardness to speak of. Really, it was smooth and I hardly felt the bumps.

Mickey's primary method of taking down his enemies is via bouncing on them and this either knocks them out or makes them disappear into the void. As the game progresses, you're given projectiles (each chapter has its own unique projectile that keeps with the theme) and Mickey can use them to either take out enemies or obstacles that block his path. This addition does not eliminate our hero's original method of mowing down his foes as Mickey still needs to bounce off enemies if he is to reach higher places; usually where the Magic Cards and Golden Stars are hidden. Don't worry if you didn't time your jump correctly or misjudged your landing spot as the enemies or whatever it was you jumped on will respawn infinitely. Respawning enemies are a serious cause for concern for me in other games (I'm looking at you Castlevania and your GBA sequels), but since they are easy and swift to deal with in here, I hardly flinched.

The character animations, suffice to say, won me over. I have seen my fair share of impressive character movements but the level of fluidity and attention to the tiniest of twitches seen here is beyond impressive. Throughout the game I kept engaging Mickey in various tasks just so I could see again and again the beautiful movements in motion. The personal favorite has to be the standing-too-close-to-the-edge animation where Mickey tries to regain his balance by wildly flailing his arms and standing on tiptoe. This specific action has been an integral part of the Illusion games - and one feature that fans fondly remember - and all execute it beautifully; and seeing it once again in attractive (and big) 3D has left me with a feeling that is akin to meeting a dearest friend after a lengthy gap.

Over here I wish to digress just a tiny bit; If the more intrigued of you are hunting down the Illusion games (or roms) right now, I also want to recommend another platformer also starring Mickey Mouse but unrelated to the series mentioned here. Best known for as the first video game David Jaffe ever worked on - he's the mastermind behind the Twisted Metal and God of War franchise - Mickey Mania for the Sega Genesis is to me perhaps the quintessential Mickey title. With its implementation of huge sprites, engaging gameplay and enchanting production, Mickey Mania should please every gamer. Also, it has some pretty solid character animations going on, giving the effect that you're directly controlling a classic Mickey Mouse episode from the Golden Era. I cannot recommend it enough!

As far as platformers go, this game is arguably one of the most super attractive titles out there. Since Castle of Illusion's audience demographic was kids, naturally vivid colors are what permeate the game. Lush forests with neon colored leaves and spectacular use of natural color; the dark and stormy canyon tops with strong, bold hues with the odd muted tones thrown in for tremendous effect; the atmospheric residing place of benign and mischievous ghosts, with soft colors and strong shadows highlighting the path - it goes on. The world is alive, fresh and invigorating, and even the most smallest of areas brim with activity, giving the effect of a living, breathing world. Everything is kinetic and every activity is worth watching (from a safe distance, that is). Honestly speaking, I haven't seen a world so inviting, beautiful and captivating since Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time released on the N64 yonks ago. There's something charming about the locales and scenery that reels you in, and in Castle of Illusion HD, you really want to be there.

The game is divided into 5 sections, with a few having their own mini-section and each has its own distinct theme. The sections are accessed via Mizrabel's eponymous castle and further areas get unlocked when you meet the requirements of each, such as collecting the appointed gems or stars. Every section has three chapters and the third houses a boss battle which are among the most interesting, albeit easy, boss battles I've had in gaming. The strategy remains the same; evade them long enough until they do something stupid that knocks them silly, then bounce on them to take away one portion of their life. Once their health bar depletes, they will topple over and the gem is yours. This is the only strategy and alters only so slightly in terms of evading. Because the game has tight, responsive controls and easy combat, any failure is solely your own and your lack of mastering accurate timing and precise aim.

As much as fun the battles are, the ultimate showdown with Mizrabel herself is a tad disappointing; it's basically nothing but a lengthier version of the battles that came before. I was hoping to see some innovative techniques with which to defeat her, but as it was the case with previous bosses, you have to keep dodging her attacks and when the time is right, bounce on her to decrease her health bar. What was surprising, however, was the immediate cutscene that followed. Since this is a Disney game I guess you could say it was expected of them, but I never thought it would be so sudden. I won't spoil it for you but will say it has the potential to leave you slightly stunned.

From the voice-overs, there can be no argument that Richard McGonagle's warm narration ranks as one of the most best examples of sonorous voice-acting not just in video games, but in any medium where narration applies. It has the perfect recipe for a nice bedtime storytelling formula; conversational, trusting, warm, friendly, and smooth Even if the whole game had been one narration driven ride (a la Dear Esther), I would have given it the same praise I'm giving it now. Though his narration segments are lengthily spaced, they are worth every second; for when his voice comes up, it's like a coffee-warm hug from an old, dear friend. Bret Iwan voices the protagonist and does an excellent job in resonating the Golden Era Mickey Mouse's nervous stutter and chatter for the modern age, albeit with a slight twist around the edges. Nika Futterman voices Mizrabel, and though her voice-acting is strongly commendable.

In conclusion, Castle of Illusion HD may or may not be remembered in the annals of the industry as fondly as the original, but one thing can be of certain; it will be one of the most charming and attractive games you will have played and though you will have moved on to other game more quicker than Taylor Swift moving off her "boyfriends", the memory of Mickey's quips and Mr. McGonagle's warm narration will undoubtedly remain by your ears.

Score: N/A

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Biped - PC Review

Biped by developer NEXT Studios and publishers NEXT Studios, bilibili, META Publishing—PC (Steam) review written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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Introduction

Biped is a cute co-op puzzle game with protagonists Aku and Silo who embark on an Earthbound adventure. Their mission is to activate the beacons that are located at the end of various levels. But before players can dive into the levels, they are taken through a nice little tutorial where players learn the extremely basic controls. Once players start to play through the levels, they realize the challenge it can pose - especially on the bonus levels. After playing through the entire game with my boyfriend we both found it to be quite fun and enjoyable.

Gameplay

Biped is a fairly easy game to understand. If played in single-player mode, the levels are challenging but still doable. These levels are very much the same as the co-op ones but done with AI bipeds. Some of these bipeds are non-functioning characters that players need to pick up and place, while others are sentient and move at a set speed. As a result, I found that certain instances of the single-player mode were harder at times. Where human players can zip through levels with ease, AI characters don't think outside the box, forcing a specific method of completion. Therefore, the single-player mode was more frustrating to me because the AI doesn't make up for my shortcomings ( ^.^ )

In co-op mode, the mode that players are meant to experience, the game reminds me of Overcooked where it requires cooperation and mayhem at the same time. Biped is cute and made me laugh ridiculously, especially when watching the devs play through some of the levels. No one ever said Devs were the best players at their own game!

Anyways, I found the levels to be easier to complete with another person. Players can accidentally kill their partner and can have some hilarious missteps in levels. However, coop mode has its own challenge because the two characters have to stay relatively close to each other. If not, as players move further apart from each other, a bar appears that tells players that they are steering too far from the course. Some of the levels that require players to step on platforms of their color will end up with a large distance between the players. In the water rapids level, players are tied together by a rope, which ensures that they don't stray too far off course - especially since that typically meant falling down a waterfall!

A fun feature that Biped has is a clothing/apparel store. Players are able to customize their characters with hats, wigs, or even sunglasses. These are purchased through coins collected in each of the levels. It should be noted that coins carry over from the single-player game and the co-op game. Once a purchase is made, the outfit can be applied to either character without having to buy it again. When players have completed enough of the levels, they have enough coins to buy all the outfits! Personally, I love the pink and blue hair.

Controls and Puzzles

Players enter Biped Training before they progress. It is here that they learn how to walk, which is not done in a way that players expect.

Unlike other games where the left analog stick is used for forward or backward movement, where the right is camera vision movement, Biped uses the analog sticks individually. The left analog stick is used to move the left leg and the right analog stick for the right leg. Picking up items requires the player to be positioned close to the object and lifting one leg up. By doing this, players will 'attach' to the object they which to pick up. It is at this point where players can do all kinds of things like swing around on one foot, pick up carrots for coins, or open lockboxes. Another thing is that Aku and Silo are able to hold onto objects that need to be carried to other locations on the map. One might ask how that is done, well, when a player is on one foot, they can slide on it. Just don't forget which foot is being used! Sometimes this leads to interesting situations and possible death, so be careful.

Each level has different challenges. In the first set of levels, the Dense Forest, players are learning how to move in unison, as well as basic movement. Once they reach Cactus Valley, levels will require more cooperative tasks like both players need to grab onto certain containers to unlock them. Later on, players go through Snowy Peaks where snow and ice play an interesting role in puzzle solutions. My favorite set of levels is the Blue Rapids where players are bound together by a rope. This was important because one of the objectives is to save the stragglers that are stuck along the waterways!

Once players complete a level set, they unlock challenge maps. I found some of these to be rather easy and some of them were painful. In each level set, there is a 'Pro A' and 'Pro B' group which will test players' cooperative abilities. Each of these levels can seem deceptively simple, but require a lot of coordination. Sometimes this leads to hilarity. Often my boyfriend and I managed to complete areas with PURE SKILL (re: Luck). In other cases, I'm proud to say that we were able to complete the grab and pass tree chopping level faster than the developers did. In other words, while the game is fairly short, Biped provides a lot of entertainment.

Four-Footed Final Thoughts

Before I talk about my overall impressions, I have to address a couple of minor issues about Biped. The first is that in some of the menus, there is no back button! In order to exit out of the game, players have to leave a level to fully back out. But if players are in the lobby, there isn't a way to leave. While this doesn't do much when it comes to the gameplay, it was something that I noticed.

The second thing has to do with the controls. At times when my boyfriend and I were playing, the character wouldn't always execute an action. Since the whole game is played with analog sticks, sometimes the controller dead zone would think that the player was holding onto an object when they had already let go. Now, I realize this might not be a dead zone specific issue, it was something that made it challenging to complete certain puzzles. A controller dead zone is the only thing I could think of for this type of in-game issue.

The final issue I have with the game are some little grammar and spelling errors. Since the dialogue is sparse and often short, I found that the errors were much more noticeable. When porting a game to the English audience, hiring an editor or a proper translator goes a long way.Labels - Pick the ones you need for the article and delete the rest. Can have max of 200 characters.

To add to the final issue, I noticed that when players progress through the game in solo mode, none of the dialogue changes. When players begin the first level, the Biped addresses both Aku and Silo when only one of you stands before him.

However, my minor grievances about Biped are just that, minor. The two robots Aku and Sila are too cute to be mad at, and the 'store' that players can purchase adds character. Sure, one could argue that Biped is a little short but perhaps in the future, more levels could be added or perhaps a player-created section could be explored. Who knows what the future might hold?

Overall, Biped was a cute cooperative experience that my boyfriend and I both enjoyed. While there isn't a lot of dialogue in the game, the Bipeds had character. This is a perfect game for a wide range of age groups and is a great buy for it's price. As such, Biped receives an 8.5 out of 10 in my books.

Score: 8.5 / 10

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La Mulana 2 - PS4 Review

La Mulana 2 by developer Nigoro and publisher NIS America Inc.—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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Editor's Note: This is the second of two reviews. The Reviewer wanted to concentrate on both titles separately. Check out their review of La Mulana!

Hoo boy, here we are again. Those of you who regularly drop by our site probably noticed that I recently reviewed La Mulana earlier this month, and well, this is the sequel. But is it better? Is it worse? Did they do the original justice? Are the puzzles still arse? The answer to all those questions is "yes".

After the events of the first game, which will be spoiled for you in the second if you haven't played the first, the ruins that Lemeza Kosugi, ninja archaeologist, was exploring have mostly collapsed and have since been turned into a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, monsters have been recently coming out of the ruins ruining Elder Xelpud's business model. He sends a message off to Lemeza asking for help, but instead his daughter, Lumisa, shows up. Less of an archaeologist, more of the adventurous sort, she sets off to explore the ruins of the newly discovered Eg-Lana.

For those of you who've played the first game, the play style is going to be extremely familiar, with a few little tweaks. For those who haven't played the first game, do so. If you really aren't going to, your loss. After having played both games, I feel like the gameplay primarily revolves around vainly attempting to solve puzzles you have no idea how to even approach while dealing with some of the most frustrating bats I've ever seen. La Mulana 2 is quite similar. Lumisa, like her father, starts off with a whip to attack, a jump that you can actually control midair now (praise be the devs), sub-weapons that are generally ranged consumables, and an "action item" that can be generally used whenever by holding it above your head.

La Mulana 2 is a lot of platforming, a lot of puzzle-solving, and a decent chunk running around in circles. Being a 2D platform, Lumisa can jump, climb ladders, double jump (upon getting the item for it), and a number of other options as you progress through the game. You will also collect new items for sub weapons, main weapons, andantino items, in addition to the "gameplay enhancement items. New for those who've played the first title, you can crawl, and YOU CAN FINALLY GRAB LADDERS WHILE JUMPING.

Also, a lot of the handy items from the first game that take a while to find, such as the app that lets you record text, are given to you basically right off the bat. You veteran players are probably currently eyeing that last sentence and thinking warily "what's the catch...". Well, in exchange for making the puzzles a little more manageable, and not having the clue 20 hours later into the game, or having the puzzle somewhere you'll forget the clue by the time you get there, there are a lot more instant death traps this time around. Often after you've beaten a boss. Or near a boss room. Guess how I found that out?

Overall, La Mulana 2 plays almost exactly like La Mulana: you run around ruins whipping bats, getting knocked off ladders, shouting at tablets that don't make sense, and hoping you won't get crushed by a random wall. Thanks to adjustable jumping and ladder grabbing being implemented, this feels really great. In addition, you get way more sub-weapon drops and money. The trade-off is that things are generally more expensive, and you'll be using those sub-weapons a lot.

Many of the room guardians this time around are rather...resistant to melee weapons, as in they stay away from you, or have counters to close range combat that will take half your health at least. The computer applications that can affect gameplay are still around, allowing you to combine different programs to still get that increased damage on hit. The axe is a lot less broken now though. Speaking of, I never did find the bombs this time around... I know they're there, you can buy the ammo, I just never found them before writing this review, which is at 7 of 9 guardians killed and about 35 hours in. But hey, the game gives you TONS of leeway in how you approach the game, with tons of different branching areas and different entrances and exits into those areas.

The graphics are similar to the remake of La Mulana, but with what seems to be slight upgrades, although not super noticeable if you don't play them back to back. Characters all now have actual portraits instead of just pixel art when you talk to them, and they're dynamic too! The individual areas that the game is split up into are generally sprawling, and while it doesn't follow that wonky "fit the zone into a 5x5 box" like the first game, this just means areas can get much larger. Let's not forget the music, either. Just like its predecessor, La Mulana 2 has an absolutely stellar soundtrack. With areas themed after well-known mythologies instead of historical ruins this time, the individual zones feel like a solid departure from the first game, while still keeping a similar feel to them.

Characters from the first game return in the second, a few of which you might actually remember fighting from the first game, now distinctly more amicably. Well, at least until your dad and gramps try digging through a wall. Turns out deities aren't too fond of people breaking their temples. La Mulana 2 is, at its core, very tongue-in-cheek. A lot of the dialogue is pretty quirky, occasionally mocking the game itself, or the state of gaming as a whole nowadays, or is meant as a gag. This isn't to say there isn't also serious dialogue, it's just that La Mulana knows what it is and doesn't shy away from the fact.

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. With some rocking background music to accompany you, grab a pen and paper to write everything down in each room, including background objects, and try and play through the game without touching a walkthrough. Trust me, it's a lot more fun that way.

 

Score: 9 / 10

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Tangledeep - Legend of Shara - Switch Review

Tangledeep - Legend of Shara by developer and publisher Impact Gameworks—Nintendo Switch review written by Pierre-Yves with the Base Game Provided by Publisher, Legend of Shara is a free DLC.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes 

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Early in 2019 I had the pleasure to sit down to Impact Gamework’s Tangledeep which had just seen a port to the Nintendo Switch. Well designed gameplay with a ton of different classes that you either start off with or that you can unlock, there was enough gameplay to survive being stuck inside for a while, see present 2020 global situation. Instead of just leaving things be however, the team have kept working on it and have recently released two massive updates that have been on the PC for a while to the Switch which is what brought me back to this Roguelike wonder.

The first of these that I will be covering today is the free DLC of The Legend of Shara that revamps most of the framework and even adds another character to experience Tangledeep from another point of view. Adding in a new class for your main protagonist, she’ll have new ways to explore Tangledeep, new dungeons to test her might and new items to help keep moving forward all under an already seemingly well balanced package.

So taking things back from the top, Tangledeep is in essence a traditional Roguelike RPG. As you move across each floor, your enemies move at the same time. Adding a few unique to Tangledeep features are that while you can eat food, you don’t need to do it in order to stave off starvation. Instead, eating food and drinking potions can be used to regenerate stamina and energy that are used for different types of abilities that can be learnt from the various classes that you change into. Another neat feature is that there’s a meter that exists granting you an extra turn once it fills out allowing you another edge to this adventure, and believe me, you’ll often need every edge and dirty trick that you can think of.

So the best way to experience this new content is from the beginning as it changes things from fairly early on. And by fairly early, I mean the beginning. Now after having completed the tutorial there’s another more challenging path that has been designed and opened up to explore on the way to the first boss instead of taking the one that a player may know fairly well having already played through either multiple times or with multiple classes. This new area was great for leveling up a bit faster even if it was a bit tougher to go through. I’ll admit I died a few times having moved up the floors a bit faster than I should have so if anything, it keeps you a bit humble.

Speaking of humble, alongside the new starting area and the experience that can be found therein, there’s a whole new set of dungeons that can be explored and unlike the rest of Tangledeep, you don’t need to be leveled. Instead, these dungeons are challenge dungeons in which you head in as level 1, with no skills, often no items, and an extra set of conditions that are along for the ride. Why would you do and do these you ask? For the awards that can be found within. Some of these dungeons let you bring back items. Others let you bring back loads of cash. There’s one dungeon in particular that granted me a purple weapon that honestly made certain floors in the actual adventure be ridiculously hard, to moderate as I cheaped out the denizens of those floors for experience points.

There are loads of other modifications however the biggest new addition to the adventure is a brand new story mode that acts as a prequel to the main story’s events. The Legend of Shara is the story of how Shara came into her power and the journey that lead her to the point. Gone in this mode are classes to change into and learn abilities from as Shara has only her own power to rely on as she doesn’t even have a hub in which to rest at or teleport to for safety. Compared to the core experience, this truly felt like a Roguelike as there really was no way back, only forward.

To make things more unique, Shara because she doesn’t have job classes in order to learn skills from, instead gets to use the accumulated job points in order to raise her base stats as she also doesn’t level up in the traditional sense. Each stat point will raise an attribute by several points and then increasingly cost more in order to further level it up. So strength which increases attack and health was a good place to start. So to answer the obvious question, Shara if she doesn’t learn skills the traditional way learns skills in one or two ways.

The first way to learn skills as Shara is to find the Pandora boxes on each floor and open them. Once you’ve opened the box, you get the choice of one of three skills that can be learnt. These skills are random from any of the core game’s classes which means that you won’t always be getting what you want or even get choices that help you out at that current point in time. It also means that you get to create your own custom class as you go but the challenge factor is that you have to work with what you’ve got.

The second way to learn skills as Shara is to keep plowing forward and to make it to those wonderful camp sites which let you either fully rest or use the campfire in order to create stellar items to restore health, stamina or energy. Once you’ve made it to these floors Shara will have the choice between two new abilities that can be chosen. So between the Pandoran boxes and the campsites, it doesn’t take long before you’re trying to figure out which skills go where in your setup and which passive abilities you want equipped and which you’ll keep on standby.

Now like the original, the new flavour of gameplay also comes in two of the original three flavours. The first of these is permadeath as there’s no hub to go back to. If you die. It’s all over. The second of these will have you respawn on the floor while losing half your money and your job points but let you continue moving forward so that you don’t need to start all over again. While this changes the gameplay, it will not change the story so it really factors down to what kind of player you are and what level of challenge you are up for.

Being a free update to the core experience is honestly a steal if you’ve been thinking of diving back into Tangledeep or starting it up for the first time. The amount of items and features that have been revamped or added it almost felt like a new game at times, and this is just the beginning. Also new, and the review coming soon, is the Dawn of Dragons DLC which launched at the same time for the Switch which adds post game content and its own new gameplay flavours to the mix.

Score: 8 / 10

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