Recent reviews by Kneebus

One of the best rouge-likes in my library, an absolute must-play for anyone who is even a casual fan of issac or gungeon.

Combines the item mixing of issac with the speed and gunplay of gungeon, while keeping a wholly unique identity that is absolutely worth your time and money. The sheer amount of items available is impressive enough. I am 30 hours in and still am nowhere close to unlocking everything, even though each run is already incredibly unique, almost never getting the same items as the last run. Along with this variety, the game-feel is just amazing. Everything is fast and snappy with a feeling of just non-stop action. Even the level transitions can be sped-up with the spacebar. At the base of everything though this game is wholly about choices. Your health acts as a currency to gain items, so making difficult choices is the backbone of the experience. You do need more range on your gun, but that would put you at only 2 health, is it worth it? This makes a fantastically engaging experience that makes you feel all-powerful at its peak, and totally weak at its valleys.
Even if you feel like the game is getting too easy, the game takes great measures to scale its difficulty to how you want, with game completion being tied to "shards" which increase difficulty in different ways, with you unlocking a new shard after completing the game with the latest one. With the unlockable items, weapons, difficulty, and even cosmetics, the game takes a long time to start feeling repetitive.

I do have some mild criticisms, for one the level variety. The sequence of levels is always the same, even the extra hidden levels get repetitive as they are required for game completion. So you end up with the same environments and enemies through each run. With the theme of levels, the level designs themselves are relatively uninspired and don't add anything to the experience. Basic small rooms with a platform or two get the job done, but no room ever stands out from another one.

Overall a game absolutely worth its asking price for anyone who is a fan of rouge-likes, will scratch that issac itch, but be warned, this is a very tough game to fully beat.

Another top-tier indie project from Analgesic productions. Surreal, introspective, highly personal, and incredibly fun.

Using cave exploration as a narrative device to tell the stories of the three scientists is a fantastic idea and executed wonderfully here, with some stages feeling like real places I could visit, and others being surreal extrapolations that make you question what is real. While the cutscenes after boss battles might be a bit much for some, I found the abstract storytelling to be extremely immersive, putting me right there with the character in this wild dream helping show their story and reminisce on their past. The stories told here are very real and almost seem like they could be inspired by actual people.

The parkour gameplay is unique, streamlined, and thoughtfully explored throughout the game. Having the sprint be an almost skateboard like motion makes every movement decision impactful in a way rarely seen in 3d platformers. With the addition of all of the different platforming mechanics introduces throughout each level the game play stays fresh and interesting through the whole experience, with the feeling of getting better really permeating through the whole game. The only criticism is that some of the level design is not totally straightforward, making progression confusing at times, such as one time where i skipped half of a level just by jumping over a gap I was not supposed to. This is accented with the block puzzle game-play, which is also really well implemented and is always a very nice change of pace, with decent challenge introduced where it needs to be.

If you are a fan of 3d platformers and block puzzle games, for sure pick this one up. A wholly unique and fun experience that I will for sure come back to.

Absolutely incredible flow-state style game. Makes you feel like a skating, spray-painting bad-ass and not once compromises on style. I 100% the game in about 2 weeks because I just couldn't put it down.

The only criticisms I have are that there are a mild lack of tricks available to do, and there isnt always clear instruction about how to do the available side quests. There are tons of extra characters to unlock, but you would never know because you have to talk to NPC's that are hiding around the map, with no indication of where they are.

Other than those small bits this was one of my favorite games of the year and favorite games of all time. Especially if you were a fan of the jet set series.

Amazingly creative and interesting game. If you are looking for a unique and satisfying experience you can't find anywhere else, this game is perfect for you. Especially if you like fishing minigames. My only criticism is that the game is lacking in difficulty, even in the puzzles. There is a system where your ship can take damage, but i'm unsure if you can even die because I never took too much damage at once.

Congrats to SokPop on this incredible achievement!

Videogames are an art and these fools are going down in history as some of the greats.

Best game to play in class

Thumbs up

This is a game that made one gameplay loop, and polished it to perfection. Each run is on the same farm, with the same areas to explore, and the same enemies to fight, but the random items, guns, is enough to keep it fresh. The drive to keep improving at the simple gameplay loop is addicting and will have me thinking about what I could have done better hours later.
In terms of difficulty, this ♥♥♥♥ is tough as nails. The first few runs will kick your ass to the dirt, but once you get that first win, its difficult to stop, and the ramp up in difficulty is done perfectly, as the second stage will feel impossible, even though you still have 8 other stages to beat.

If you have any interest in difficult rouge-like shooters, give this a try.

Amazing survivor-type game. You are in one small arena with enemies spawning that increase in difficulty, your only means of defense is to raise the dead in the form of warriors, bowmen, or other weird things like hellbats that push enemies away. You can then combine some of these minions to make more powerful ones, creating a massively deep and complex system of figuring out what the best combinations are. This is accented with relics which are upgrades that last the entirity of the run, and spells which you can cast to do fun things. All of that including the ability to purhchase upgrades for the arena itself, custimizing the traps and items to your particular playstyle. Overall there is so much content to digest and change up each run it is absolutely delightful to discover everything. And thats not even talking about the other classes and the unlocks to keep things fresh.

And it includes a card game on the side becuase ♥♥♥♥ you why not.

TLDR: Vampire Surviviors but more features and things to think about. Plus a fun card game to go with it.

While I think everyone should give this game a shot, this game has just enough flaws to warrant a lowered score.

First off, the combat is INCREDIBLE. Genuinely extremely well done. The only criticism that I have is that bosses can be confusing. Other than that the mix of theme game with bayonetta style beat-em up is amazingly well done. The combos are fun and satisfying, and while the game heavily encourages you to stay on beat, you can play just fine with not hitting every note. Along with this the overall style of the game blows any other game out of the water. Think spiderverse but with rock music, its suuuuperr well done. While most cut scenes are in 3d, it will occasionally switch to a 2d animated scene just because it looks cool. The music is great, the visuals are flashy and colorful, and the sound design is satisfying.

That being said, there are a few major gripes i have.

1. The first thing that really set me off from the start was how boring the characters are. The dude you play as is a generic "Ignorant hero with a god complex who can still be empathetic and caring". A trope done to DEATH and one that is not made very interesting here. This can be said for almost every character in the game. My least favorite is the robot who's only purpose is to state the obvious. That is his entire role, he has no other jokes, thats it. In general I found myself skipping dialogue often as hearing these characters speak was aggravating.

2. The platforming. The combat sections are broken up by platforming which was almost decent. There were some fun ideas, but they didnt get the base movement down to be fun. They made the movement for a beat-em up, not a platformer, so it dosn't feel good to jump around. This is incredibly frustrating as jumping around is 60% of what you do in the game. It isnt the worrrrst, but when you are encouraged to check every corner for secrets, it can get annoying.

That was my experience with the game. I will say I loved the inclusion of the different gameplay sections randomly thrown in to spice things up, they were simple but well done. And I have to applaud them for the variety in the enemies you fight, they were still introducing new enemies in the last hour of the game.

Overall, amazing concept done extremely well, just skip the dialogue.

Okay, this review says "edited" because I had to change the whole thing. To be honest, about 3 hours in I hit a point where I got so angry at the game I rage quit and wrote a nasty review. I am now here to correct that mistake. While this game has some incredibly frustrating moments, they are still greatly outweighed by the incredible presentation and story.

The presentation and visual design present in this game is the best, most creative, and good looking things you are going to get in the gaming industry today. It is unmatched in creativity and mood. The tone is horror but I was never once pissing my pants in fear. It perfectly encapsulates a spooky, dreadful mood, while staying lighthearted enough to play in the dark. There are some very dark themes presented so its not kid friendly, but it isn't outlast levels. This is where the game earns its badge. If this game doesn't win awards for visual design, that would surely be a crime.

Now I wish I could say the same about the game-play. The sequences that play out here are incredible on paper. Chased down by a gun wielding maniac through a dense swamp? Incredible idea. I just wish it worked better. As I stated before there were moments in the game so frustratingly bad, I simply had to stop playing. The combat being the most egregious example. There is no way to properly aim a swing, and enemies will be just out of your reach with you having no way of knowing with sparratic movement and weird attack timings. While it may have worked in dark souls, it does not here. There are also multiple stealth sequences that feel forced in and not entirely planned out, with the camera not showing you everything you need to see, and sight-lines being too vague to figure out. Luckily checkpoints are extremely common so if you do get stuck somewhere, you will not re-spawn far from where you died. Still some sequences may have you playing them out many more times than you would like to, so keep this in mind if you are going to purchase this.

There is also a minor story that plays out, however it is up to interpretation what it means and why everything happens, but it is still fun to see play out. So in conclusion the game is worth playing for visual design alone, but don't expect a masterpiece when it comes to the game-play.

I would recommend buying during a sale.