Recent reviews by Dera

I played the original Melody's Escape for hundreds of hours and I anticipate I will be spending just as much time playing the sequel.

ME2 has a new behind the shoulder view that solves the blurry screen tearing the old game had, and vast improvements on the music engine to ensure even more songs can be played than before.

This game is still in EA and doesn't have the customization yet that the OG has, so I'm reserving my thoughts there and plan to add to this review when ME2 exits EA and has workshop access.

Honestly, Plague Inc is just a good way to pass the time when you yourself aren't feeling well enough for anything else. It gives you just enough thinking to distract you from yourself without making you feel like an idiot by making it super complex.

I've played a lot of basic rpg games that have mediocre music and graphics and unispired stories, and let me tell you, this is not one of them!

First off, the graphics in this game are beautifully stylized. The characters look colorful and unique without overshadowing the very pretty, if somewhat small, world maps. The game generally sticks to a 16 bit style, although its cheating and going a bit over that limit- to good effect. Interspersed in there are hand drawn frames, stills and animated scenes normally about 3-5 seconds long, that have a simple but colorful style to them that mesh with the normal graphics very well.

I was not expecting anything more than a 10 second loop track or four with this game and boy was I wrong! This game has at least 8 tracks that are over 1-2 minutes long for each chapter, and I rather liked quite a few of them. They are left open in the games files so you can drag them right onto a music player. They are very soothing to listen to, many of them are quiet music box ones but there are some others that are more robust.

The gameplay itself is rather basic rpg format. turn based with limited ability menus. There are item upgrades if you want to search the wold maps but I found that it really wasnt neccessary until the final chapter when you have to battle a fairly tough boss without your AP recovery guy around. The game itself is extremely short, clocking in at around 4 hours for me to unlock all endings, but I still haven't unlocked over half the acheivements.

The story is engaging if you like fantasy. Its nothing too mind blowing but still enough to make you cry a little. Reminds me of a Miyazaki film a bit. The characters are easy to grow attached to.

Over all I really enjoyed Lieat a lot more than I thought I would, and highly recommend it for anyone looking for an easier game to chill and get lost in for an evening.

I'm a little hesitant to say I recommend this game, but it is a very nice game and in the end I feel that the quality overrides some of the cons.

Winter's Curse is more like a visual novel than an RPG, it just happens to have some RPG elements to break up the story. Overall the combat is paced nicely in the storyline, but it still feels like it was attached to make it a game instead of the game making the storyline. This game packs a punch in the early chapters and draws you in well, and the resolution is fantastic, but it stalls out a bit in the middle, meandering just a little too much to pander to the movie and "look! remember this from the movie? AND THIS?"

The art is very nice, a duller fairytale grimm kind of look. The characters are generally unique although they re use the same models for nameless side characters often enough for it to get a bit irksome.

The combat system is nothing too new, but its one I havent seen in quite a while and is executed very well.

There are a few typos in the later books but nothing too cringe worthy, I would reccomend this game to pass the time, but all in all it isnt very long. The only reason I have as many hours as I do already is because I got a new computer and discovered this game does not use the cloud so I had to speed through the first three books again. All in all the game is only around seven hours long total, and there isn't much replay value, but its got a great story.

I've been with ME since it came into early access around two years ago. There's been ups and theres been downs and this game has changed a lot during this time. But there is one thing that hasn't. This has been one of my favorite games to relax into since it first appeared.

To be honest I didn't think I was going to fall for melody's escape half as hard as I did. I saw it on steam and thought it would be worth a few hours of fun. As you can see by my hours a few turned into a lot.

ME has basic minimalistic visuals meant to stimulate you with popping colors and shifting moods with the music, don't be fooled though in the background it visualizes your music in the sky as an aurora and that can take quite a bit out of the average potato computer. Due to the fast movements and vibrant colors its also prone to screen tearing if your moniter is more than three years old, it refreshes too fast. It may look simple to run but be sure you really are up to specs to play it or you'll kend up with a giant headache!

ME's beat system is one of the best. Almost as good as audiosurf, but in a different genre. It was primarily made for 4/4 beats since thats what the average joe would normally try to play music wise. If you try to confuse it you will just like you can confuse audiosurfs beat detection. For the most part any song that has a strong beat and steady tempo works great, its amazing fun to jump and punch and kick your way through on the beat.

The difficulty is below that of audiosurfs for the most part. This is a game made to relax and enjoy your songs to, not make you rage and scream. The game is fun but most of it is just visualizing your music to pull you into your songs deeper. It's good for a chill out day or just trying to unwind after a hard day, but if you're a hardcore OSU player of audiosurf top ranker you may find this game lacking after a few hours play for challenges. If you go into this game trying to pump yourself up and tensing all your muscles for a keyboard smash fest you will be dissapointed, because thats not what ME is about, and it never was.

I love using this game to listen to new music, it really lets me focus in on things I may never have noticed in the songs before, and it really helps me get into a good mood for whatever I need to do next. Definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys the little moments to just take a breather.

This game has kind of a megaman/sonic (extremely sonic visuals wise) vibe to it.

It does a really good job of doing what it was meant to do, which is to be a 2D smash and bash platformer. To put it simply if you didn't like both Sonic AND megaman you WILL not like this because while it is an absolute blast of color and pixel art and drool worthy chip tune music, it has ALL the problems that both sonic and megaman have. If one of those games you could not stand for the problems, be warned that they are in this game.

With that warning out of the way I adored this game. The levels were juicy and filled with color, and you got to actually explore them because of how large and multi tiered they were. Part of this exploration is due to the fact that many of the levels required you to snatch keycards and push buttons in order to progress, like in megaman, while keeping a flowy pathway and physics ALMOST the same as Sonics. The difference being that unlike sonic you can still walk up those sloped walls without gathering a ton of momentum. A bit more like space physics than real life but considering that sliding down slopes was my biggest pet peeve at the original sonic, I still consider it an improvement because it makes your experience smoother with less having to run back just to get up speed. You also move much slower in this game than sonic, which is okay since the combat system is more out of megaman. No jump bopping enemies here, you'll be stopping to punch, kick, claw, or shoot the enemy unless you are able to bypass them.

The story was extremely cheesy, but in a nostalgic way, at least for me. Many of the actors were amateur voice actors with less than stellar recording equipment but it worked somehow, fitting in with the pixel art, and definitely adding to the stories cheese. If you aren't a fan of what amounts to a pajama sam story + the odd dark gory scene you may want to skip it and go right for the game however. Especially since the story scenes are unskippable if you choose story mode and some of them are loooooooong cutscenes.

Definitely extremely hard, the bosses start out easy letting you get a feel, but around midway through the game it decides you have figured it out and ups the difficulty by at least twice what it was before. This made things really fun for me but if you are a casual player, you might not enjoy it.

There are three different characters available to play at this time and each has completely different movesets. Two of them even get their own specialty maps. The strongest and easiest to play is Lilac, the medium difficulty being Carol, and the hardest player being Millia. Each are fully voice acted as well.

All in all this game is pretty fun, It took me about seven or eight hours to finish a single storyline playthrough without stopping for collectibles. The replay value is high with multiple characters and a generous amount of collectibles as well as a good amount of acheivements to get.

If you like fast paced platformers you will like this.

You play as an "element" trying to find other elements to breathe life into, and its very interesting how the dynamics work together. You have four forms. Air(a bubble which pops if it touches anything but water) Ice (which melts into water sometimes) Fire (which bounces off lava but explodes if it touches anything else) and earth (the sturdiest but also heaviest). Using these different forms you need to float, bounce, slide, and smash your way through the obstacle course of good old mother nature to reach the lost element and save it. There isn't much of a storyline, but that really doesn't matter. This game doesn't need a storyline. Its simple and brilliant with the vague story it has that lets us, the player, compound it with our struggles as we push through level after level.

Pros?

It has amazing art that runs very smoothly. Its actually kind of relaxing. A far different experience than ESJ for sure with soothing colors and almost water color-esque landscapes. You won't find any dizzying sickness or seizure warnings here. The graphics are beautifully crafted and friendly and inviting. Perfect for winding down from a long day with.

The soundtrack is completely unique and ten kinds of amazing, AND it comes FREE with the game, no extra purchases. The music tracks are all long fully fleshed out pieces and are also very soothing without being sleep inducing. They keep a fast pace while using soothing xylo sounds and fit in with the game completely, pulling you in and making you forget about the world outside for a bit.

The gameplay? Fabulous. Its easy enough to get through a level, the question is, can you get through a level without dying, catch all the "sparks" and hit the finish line in a short enough time to get a gold medal? Thats the hard part. Even getting just one of those is the hard part to be honest. The game may have soothing graphics but don't take it lightly- it can still definitely be rage inducing at times. It IS a challenge.

The game has a ton of replay value while you race through levels trying to beat your best time and find that one spark you missed, as well as a racing mode that is incredibly fun if you ever get bored of the solo levels.

Cons?

It tends to get a bit demeaning at times. After you die a few times in one place, I think the number may be as little as three, no matter what level you are on it will start prompting you to ask it for help so it can teach you how to do what it wants you to with a little ghost element for you to follow. This can feel particularly like its just mocking you if you are already doing what it suggests and just havn't quite got the right angle yet and are over shooting or under shooting or not gathering enough momentum.

The levels are quite long for a platformer of this speed, and the save system unhelpful as if you leave and come back you will have entirely forgotten where you are going or how to get there. This is not something to play for a few minutes at a time.

Going to be honest, the level design art is lovely. The cutscene art creeps me out a little bit. It might creep others out as well. Giving cells cute baby faces might not have been the best idea.

Okay so here's the deal. The first half of this game? Amazing. Second half? NOT worth the wait and a complete drag to pull yourself through.

The first half of this game throws us into two completely seperate worlds. The fantasy realm of Vella and the sci-fi world of Shay. Both are works of art visually and plot wise, with mechanical creatures covered in kid-friendly yarn and controls made out of baby toys to sacrifices to ancient monsters and snakes who hate the sound of tubas.

The characters are interesting enough, with plenty to say and the protragonists willing to chatter on about almost anything you click on. Plus the mid game reveal? It will have you on the edge of your seat.

Sounds good right? Then you get to the second half...

WHICH immediately strips the game of most of its most charming qualities, re-uses almost all the stages from the last half (there is only one new stage you really explore) and ties everything together with a rather shoddy villain collaberations which I really feel was a last minute descision.

Especially the fact that they plucked a character who had minor screen time in the first act and settled her into the villain conglamorate where they REALLY stuck out with how different their character design was from EVERYONE ELSE and reused the same exact lines they used during their limited screen time before rather than have the voice actor come back and at least change the inflection of the voice to be more dramatic.

Also the puzzles in the scond half are an absolute chore, there is a difference between a good puzzle, and a tedius one. Many of the puzzles in this game are defintely the latter in the second half, and also pull you out of the storyline as they require info from one protragonist be used with the other protragonist with no communication between them they just "magically know the answer" due to you (the players) intervention.

All in all, if its on sale I guess get it but know that only half of the game is really worth playing and the final resolution will feel cheap and unfullfilling despite the first halfs quaint charm. Definitely not worth full price.

I feel like 75% of the plot is missing.

I'm just a little confused. Just finished playing and... I feel a little let down to be honest.

I was excited when I heard that this game represents the LGBT community and people sure seem to like it. The nay-sayers all seemed to be rather retarded talking about nonsense and such.

But... is this really what the story is?
Okay, let me get this straight, from what I understand... WARNING. SPOILERS PAST THIS PART!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE HAVING THE STORY SPOILED!!!

So you got this chick Katie's sister, Sam. She's a minor in highschool. She looks up to this chick, possibly a grade ahead of her possibly in the same grade, I don't really remember she only talked about that once at the very beginning of the game.

They become friends. And then get into a relationship. Sam is from a mild christianesque household with a mother who has a thing for nature and an amateur writer father. Lonnie is from a broken household with an absentee mother and a barely there father. The disperate backgrounds means Sam is learning a lot from Lonnie about the outside world.

Lonnie is going into the military. Obviously this means the end of relationships forevaaarrr (because you know, its not like they can wait until she gets released back into reserves after shes done her time with active duty or anything. That is a thing.)

They get into all kinds of shenanigans at the end of the year with a new times feminism comic (muh patriarchy) because they are too shallow of characters to deal with any real issues that true feminism focuses on. Instead: MAELS R BADD. Obviously this gets them in trouble.

Depression and angst abound. Which is fine. Shes a teenager. Except then. Lonnie deserts on the way to her outpost and tells Sam, "Hey yo, come run away with me and we can be together forever." So she just packs up, takes her car, and leaves. So now you have a minor who has run away from home. And a desertee. Awesome. Except not really because they have probably both ruined their futures based on spur of the moment choices.

It ends there by the way. You don't get to check and see if your sister is okay, or presumably ever talk to her again.


Also there is this dude who Sam does not like but he's okay and gives her a hug near the end when he comes to get his game back.(???) Theres also this whole spiel with the families psycho uncle but the game skirts around the issue, while making it enough of a main focus for there to be confusion on why the hell its not ever fully explained.

Sorry, but this is pretty... well, lets just say I wouldn't call the two protragonists in this game the sharpest tools in the shed. Or even usable period.

Contrast is one of those story driven games, but it has enough platformer to be a bit challenging. Its more of a beginner platformer than an advanced platformer so if you are looking for hard puzzles you won't find them here.

Its got a pretty unique game play style, and as the game is story driven, the plot is just amazing, and the whole feel of the world (as well as a few bugs) keep you on your toes the entire time. Its got that deep otherworldly feel to it while you are tackling pretty everyday(ish) problems in extraordinary ways. The voice acting is pretty amazing as long as you don't mind a LOT of it, you get attached to all the characters. And, I have to iterate, to enjoy this game fully, you MUST try to pick up the collectables and read through them as you go, as they are an integral part of the plot, especially later in the game, and you will get very lost very quickly plot wise if you don't.

All in all, its a little rough around the edges but its got a passionate heart that will move you in story and in some really cleverly disguised, if not a bit easy, puzzles. Its very much an open to interpretation game, like Journey, and with art I think is pretty influential and amazing to the atmosphere in a cartoony yet gritty style with fantasy splashed on it in the most fascinating ways.