LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4:
It's a typical Lego game but in the style of Harry Potter, but this game does stand out to me in some ways in that it reveals the limitations of the Lego forumla using the Harry Potter brand. For example, the fact that so much of the game takes place in Hogwarts, and so much of the game is going from mission to mission and learning new spells along the way, the fact that that you will go back to Hogwarts so many times and the scenery never really changes gives the game the feeling reptition that no other Lego game that I played even has. I got so sick of seeing Hogwarts after a point since it just the same dull corridors and hallways getting inbetween the main levels. Another issue is that since HP characters don't have different abilites like say Star Wars, Marvel and DC, that means everyone has the same moves and spells except for Hagrid, that means that you can plays this game switching between character on occasion. Everyone has the same basic spells with the only difference between character being Ron and Hermione both just mainly having one special ability that you need to switch to once or twice to solve one puzzle or two then you just play as one member of the trio for the whole level switching between the same spells, at this point the only reason why multiple characters are even here is because of the coop gameplay. Final issue, is that the game reuses the whole, "collect 3 to make a potion to progress" that it got aggrevating due to the monotony, the game shoves in one of these puzzles every few levels and it just gets old and feels like the devs couldn't come with any more interesting situational depth to change up the pace.
Not a bad game, but out of the all Lego games, this is easily the most fascinating due to how flawed it is. If you like Lego games, you'll like this game but playing this remind me why previous Lego games worked better than this one.
ICO:
I remember playing ICO many years ago as a teen and remember liking it a lot. Probably because it reminded me of games I liked at the time like Prince of Persia and God of War. Playing it now just reminds me why I would rather play those games instead. This isn't a terrible game, but just feels like an incredibly unrefined one. This feels like a cinematic platformer before Prince of Persia Sands of Time, and the combat in this is just as bad as it was in that game but the movement doesn't feels as smooth as refine as it does in SoT. My big issue with ICO is that combat can be frustrating due to the lack of combat options like blocking, evading and combos and how much of there is in the game. The puzzles and platforming feels decent if unrefined since ICO's movement can feel awkward, stiled and not as precise and you want it to be since there is a jitteriness to how he moves, if you bare with it, you can get used to it even if still feels stilted. The puzzles are also decent and I like how they are simple enough for a guy as impatient as I am since puzzle solutions are usually right in your vincinity and the big challenge is escort Yorda with you.But back to my big underlying issue is the combat for a game with combat as bad as this, there too much of it for me to overlook, I wouldn't mind if there was one every once and a while but no, this game has a combat section every time you solve a puzzle and it all feels awkward and basic. The enemies can also be very big damage sponges at times and you have no way of killing them faster other than wail on the sqaure button hoping they die.
The story is decently told enough with it's atmosphere and the music during the credits is great but overall playing this game reminds me how this game was a great stride for it's time and decent for a game lacking in development hindsight but it got surpassed by later "cinematic" platformers and action games and why later Team ICO games would forego combat since they knew they were never good at it.
Mirror's Edge:
Mirror's Edge is a game I can't get into for the life of me, I like games like Prince of Persia, Jumping Flash, Titanfall 2, and even it's much more divisive sequel Catalyst but this game I always start but always get frustrated and then eventually stop playing and could never see through to the end despite how short this game is. This was the furthest I ever got into the game and I got up to the penultimate level but I just give up, every time I play it, I get super annoyed by its design quirks. I always wanted to beat this game since I got it for free on PS3 back when EA gave it out without any charge digitally during the Playstation Experience back in 2014, but as a free game, I still can't beat it, and I will go into more detail
3D platforming is hard enough as it is and 3D platforming with the first person perspective is even harder, its hard for it not become a game of being painfully automated where it feels like the game is controlling itself with barely any input. With all that said, my biggest issue with the game is that even though the game is said to be short, I spent a lot of time dying and reloading levels over and over again due to two big issues. Runner's Vision and the first person perspective, in fact both work in tandem to counteract any fun I could be having from this game. The biggest issue with Runner's Vision is that is it's basically a complete and utter farce. The game will highlight level progressing platforms in red but the thing is, this only works about half the time, the game will never highlight madatory level interactive object in red fast enough or efficently enough to the point where you feel like the badass parkour enthuasist the game's marketing shows her to be. A lot of the time, my time was spent bumbling around the level dying dozens of times, since I didn't know where I was supposed to go and partner that with the first person perspective where depth perception with platforming is harder to judge of how far I can jump and if I can reach it and it's one of the most frustrating 7th gen platformers you can find. As much as it pains me to even say I like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed "platforming mechanics" they do feel more consistent and easier to follow than this game's. Prince of Persia reboot from 2008 came out the same year as this game and I feel like that game is much superior to this game since it's in third person and it was easier to tell how far I can land on certain platforms. Sure, this game is derided for being short, but the thing is, if you are playing this game for the first time, without any knowledge of levels or routes and you rely on the Runner's Vision to consistently guide, you can spend hours dying over and over again, and looking up walkthroughs on where you are supposed to go. Catalyst's Runner's Vision is arguably too "hand holdy" but it at least works as a consistent guide compared to the implementation of it in the first game.
Another issue with the game is the combat, I am not sure if EA mandated there was supposed to be combat but whether or not if they did, doesn't make it any less terrible, and the fact you get attacked by so many enemies with hitscan guns just makes the game even more insufferable to play. You will get shot at repeatedly by enemies while you are bumbling around for the first time and it's hard to tell if you are supposed to fight them since the combat feels so terrible since enemies don't react to getting shot and hand to hand combat feels bad since it's a game of disarming them and then hoping you can kill them that you don't want to do it.
At first I thought I could finally beat this game because it checkpoints well and it had an easy mode, but I can't even as a freebie from years ago, I still can't get to the end for the life of me due to all the issues I mentioned. I tried to get into this game, I even enjoyed Catalyst but this first game is a mess.
3D platforming is hard enough as it is and 3D platforming with the first person perspective is even harder, its hard for it not become a game of being painfully automated where it feels like the game is controlling itself with barely any input. With all that said, my biggest issue with the game is that even though the game is said to be short, I spent a lot of time dying and reloading levels over and over again due to two big issues. Runner's Vision and the first person perspective, in fact both work in tandem to counteract any fun I could be having from this game. The biggest issue with Runner's Vision is that is it's basically a complete and utter farce. The game will highlight level progressing platforms in red but the thing is, this only works about half the time, the game will never highlight madatory level interactive object in red fast enough or efficently enough to the point where you feel like the badass parkour enthuasist the game's marketing shows her to be. A lot of the time, my time was spent bumbling around the level dying dozens of times, since I didn't know where I was supposed to go and partner that with the first person perspective where depth perception with platforming is harder to judge of how far I can jump and if I can reach it and it's one of the most frustrating 7th gen platformers you can find. As much as it pains me to even say I like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed "platforming mechanics" they do feel more consistent and easier to follow than this game's. Prince of Persia reboot from 2008 came out the same year as this game and I feel like that game is much superior to this game since it's in third person and it was easier to tell how far I can land on certain platforms. Sure, this game is derided for being short, but the thing is, if you are playing this game for the first time, without any knowledge of levels or routes and you rely on the Runner's Vision to consistently guide, you can spend hours dying over and over again, and looking up walkthroughs on where you are supposed to go. Catalyst's Runner's Vision is arguably too "hand holdy" but it at least works as a consistent guide compared to the implementation of it in the first game.
Another issue with the game is the combat, I am not sure if EA mandated there was supposed to be combat but whether or not if they did, doesn't make it any less terrible, and the fact you get attacked by so many enemies with hitscan guns just makes the game even more insufferable to play. You will get shot at repeatedly by enemies while you are bumbling around for the first time and it's hard to tell if you are supposed to fight them since the combat feels so terrible since enemies don't react to getting shot and hand to hand combat feels bad since it's a game of disarming them and then hoping you can kill them that you don't want to do it.
At first I thought I could finally beat this game because it checkpoints well and it had an easy mode, but I can't even as a freebie from years ago, I still can't get to the end for the life of me due to all the issues I mentioned. I tried to get into this game, I even enjoyed Catalyst but this first game is a mess.
Gone Home:
The story in that game is alright. It's basically a story about teenage angst and coming of age told in the form of a game. I can kind of see why there was a hate boner for it at the time of release since it has no fail states or actual gameplay and the subject matter probably pissed off a certain group of people. The ending was pretty surprising, you thought it was building up towards suicide but she just ran away with her girlfriend. You can also beat the game in less than a minute, but that's what you get if you theoretically remove the combat from a game like Bioshock and all you have left is the story that you piece together by reading notes, and listening to audiologs, I find it a more interesting thought experiment than I do as an interesting game. It also goes to show what the ludonarrative dissonace people should be careful of what they ask for because if your game leans too far into the story side of the game, you get minimal to barely interactive gameplay. It's interesting you can tell a story like this in a game at all without resorting to fail states and combat to create tension, at the same time, the game scarifices so much of what makes a game interesting just to acheive this.
Kena Bridge of Spirits:
This was a really well made game by an indie studio not less. It kind of feels like those action adventure games you'd find in the 6th and 7th gens like God of War, Okami, Darksiders, Beyond Good and Evil and more. It has the action, puzzles and the pacing as those games do and the game never overstays it's welcome, the last area does end a bit too fast but it never really bothered me since I prefer rushed final sections of a game over ones that dragged themselves endlessly.
The game gives you enough combat and puzzle abilties like bombs and arrows which work in tandem together to have enough scenarios where all your abilties are used, you will use bombs to have platforms in stasis to jump and hurt certain enemies, on use arrows as a grappling hook, to activate switches and manipulate the rot to destroy obsticles. Combat feels like modern God of War and it gets the job done overall. I like how shooting and melee attacks are both important parts to combat. You have long range enemies to fight as well as close range so you have to switch between close and long range combat constantly. Some bosses have weak spots and can only be hit by arrows and the bombs need to be used to attack some enemies. The game's length as well as your abilties being used actively in combat and gameplay makes for a solid action adventure game. There is a late game dash ability you get which I wished got more use but even with that said there is still a good late game sequence involving them where you need to time your bombs and make sure you have enough time to make it to the platforms.
My only gripes is that the story feels a bit too episodic for my liking and Kena's past only gets alluded to once and that's it. The individual stories are okay but it feels like it's just an excuse to be there so Kena doesn't get to the Mountain Shrine right away and the game is over far sooner. There is also some parts of the game lacking in polish like how the way jumping is handled and how you can only grab up to ledges covered in white and there is some weird moments where you can lead to random deaths. Finally the hit boxes for dodging can feel off which meant I would get hit by an attack even though it looked like I dodged it. Bosses are also annoying but easy mode made them less of an annoyance, easy mode felt like normal when it came to fighting bosses.
Overall, this was a great attempt at creating the action adventure games of yester year with a shorter budget and by an indie studio and I commend them for what they accomplished.
The game gives you enough combat and puzzle abilties like bombs and arrows which work in tandem together to have enough scenarios where all your abilties are used, you will use bombs to have platforms in stasis to jump and hurt certain enemies, on use arrows as a grappling hook, to activate switches and manipulate the rot to destroy obsticles. Combat feels like modern God of War and it gets the job done overall. I like how shooting and melee attacks are both important parts to combat. You have long range enemies to fight as well as close range so you have to switch between close and long range combat constantly. Some bosses have weak spots and can only be hit by arrows and the bombs need to be used to attack some enemies. The game's length as well as your abilties being used actively in combat and gameplay makes for a solid action adventure game. There is a late game dash ability you get which I wished got more use but even with that said there is still a good late game sequence involving them where you need to time your bombs and make sure you have enough time to make it to the platforms.
My only gripes is that the story feels a bit too episodic for my liking and Kena's past only gets alluded to once and that's it. The individual stories are okay but it feels like it's just an excuse to be there so Kena doesn't get to the Mountain Shrine right away and the game is over far sooner. There is also some parts of the game lacking in polish like how the way jumping is handled and how you can only grab up to ledges covered in white and there is some weird moments where you can lead to random deaths. Finally the hit boxes for dodging can feel off which meant I would get hit by an attack even though it looked like I dodged it. Bosses are also annoying but easy mode made them less of an annoyance, easy mode felt like normal when it came to fighting bosses.
Overall, this was a great attempt at creating the action adventure games of yester year with a shorter budget and by an indie studio and I commend them for what they accomplished.
Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe:
Solid platformer overall, I wouldn't call it great but it mostly hits ticks the right boxes when it comes to being an entertaining 2D platformer, nice and varied stages all though they are the kinds of themes you always see in these kinds of games like a forest, ice, rock and fire worlds, none of it is stuff you haven't seen before but it's entertaining enough. The power ups feel solid and varied and I do like experimenting and trying different abilities. Sword and Hammer being my favorites since they do high damage, have good feedback, and have my favorite animations. The super power ups all look very over the top and visually appealing but are used sparingly enough to the point where they lose their luster. When it comes to being a 2D platformer, it's got everything needed to be entertaining.
My big issue with the game despite it being a solid game is the difficulty, yes I know Kirby games are known for being easy but the game feels like it is sort of stuck in limbo of being relaxing and being stressful at times. The early levels of the game do a good job at being that relaxing easy game that isn't brain dead easy, but later stages have me dying a lot more and since I get no health refills in between levels and the game having a lives systems means I might feel more tense of possibly losing all my lives and restarting the level especially since this was my first time. I did play most of the game on the "normal difficulty" but later levels did have me die a lot more and it didn't feel as "easy" as fans of the series make it out. I played on the "easy" mode and I played a lot better without the stress of me possibly losing all my lives. I also barely fell into pits to get and got "saved" nearly as much either.
Overall, game is a solid 2D platformer and the easy mode helps make it feel even more relaxing to play. Worth checking out even if it is debateble to buy this game at full price when there are dozens of indie platformers out there and the latter also goes on sale.
My big issue with the game despite it being a solid game is the difficulty, yes I know Kirby games are known for being easy but the game feels like it is sort of stuck in limbo of being relaxing and being stressful at times. The early levels of the game do a good job at being that relaxing easy game that isn't brain dead easy, but later stages have me dying a lot more and since I get no health refills in between levels and the game having a lives systems means I might feel more tense of possibly losing all my lives and restarting the level especially since this was my first time. I did play most of the game on the "normal difficulty" but later levels did have me die a lot more and it didn't feel as "easy" as fans of the series make it out. I played on the "easy" mode and I played a lot better without the stress of me possibly losing all my lives. I also barely fell into pits to get and got "saved" nearly as much either.
Overall, game is a solid 2D platformer and the easy mode helps make it feel even more relaxing to play. Worth checking out even if it is debateble to buy this game at full price when there are dozens of indie platformers out there and the latter also goes on sale.
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