Recent reviews by Viking Skirts

Managed Democracy prevails once more.

Have you ever felt the crushing feeling of waiting literal YEARS for something to come out, only for it to be incredibly middling on how you feel about it as a whole? That's this game for me. While there isn't too much that I can say that hasn't already been said, I'm still going to give my two cents as to what this game does right, and why you should still consider picking it up, even if I've got some heavy gripes with it.

To preface, I'd been loosely watching this game's development over Twitter for the past few years, and was incredibly excited to dip my fingers into it day one. The steam nextfest demo absolutely fulfilled my expectations and then some when it dropped, so I had copped this game the second it came out. Not all that glitters is gold, as they say...

• Very cheap price point! $15 isn't much for a game of this quality, and it'll definitely be even cheaper if/when it ever goes on sale.
  
• Phenomenal sprite art. The entire world feels very stylized with a really clean and appealing artstyle.
  
• A wonderful soundtrack. I've bought the OST and have listened to nearly every track multiple times now, it's rare that you'll find good D+B / Jungle in indie games these days, much less having such a variety as this game does. Very good stuff.
  
• Eating dirt never felt so good. Drilling through the ground in this game is obviously what everything was built around, and when you're in the zone, it feels TIGHT. Hopping from pile to pile of dirt, sand, ash, or ice feels fantastic when it all lines up right.
  
• VERY fluid level design, overall. While there are some exceptions (listed below), pretty much every level is incredibly fun to play or replay, at least CASUALLY. (Again, more below.)
  
• Cute naming schemes for the main three characters: Pepper (The playable character), Grinder (Self explanatory, and together they make up the title itself), and Mint ("PepperMint" is an absolutely adorable name for the two of them to be partners with).

• Boss battles were absolutely an afterthought, and simply don't belong in this game. All of them feel awful, except MAYBE the first one. A pretty big part of that is the result of...
  
• Abhorrent air control. Whatever angle and speed you jut out of the ground at, you're following that trajectory with no way to change it whatsoever. This isn't really a problem in the main game, and in fact adds a feeling of accomplishment to lining your drill up just right to flow through the levels flawlessly. What it DOES impact, however, is the already abysmal boss fights; being unable to control Pepper once you leave the dirt puts you at the mercy of your own pre-aim and whether or not the boss decides to let you hit it, in essence.
  
• No way to permanently increase max health / health upgrades are lost in entirety once you've taken enough damage. (Think Soul Hearts from Isaac.) While some levels will have capsules you can dig up in order to get an extra hitpoint or two, the main complaint here is, once again, related to the bosses. The only consistent way to obtain these health orbs is through a gacha machine in each of the shops, up to +4 temporary health. The issue I take with this method is that it's very "all or nothing", as losing a life to a boss will put you back at the checkpoint with only 4 HP, and not the health you had upon reaching it.
  
• Not all gimmicks are good gimmicks; the hookshot in particular is a huge thorn in my side. Being introduced relatively late as a core mechanic, the game throws out any muscle memory you'd developed up until that point (Which, in most cases, will be just holding down RT as you plow through metric loads of dirt and grim in a very pleasing manner) and tells you to slow down in a game that's about being fast and precise. It simply breaks the flow of the game, and not in a positive way; Sonic 1 had a similar issue as well, forcing you to slow down and do precision platforming instead of just letting the levels flow well, and it's commonly perceived as one of the worse Sonic games, with that fact being largely to blame.
  
• Time trials are exceedingly strict. While this can present a fun challenge to some folks, it's simply frustrating to me. The precision needed to not throw each run out the window is infuriating. Not worth attempting more than the first level or so.
  
• Fun while it lasts... but that isn't very long. I've beaten the game, gotten all the skull coins, and bought every shop item as of 3.9 hrs on record. I don't like the time trials enough to pad out my hours with them, so this'll likely be the final playtime for my account.

While it's easy to notice that the criticisms listed stretch far beyond any praise I'd given this game above... I still believe it's worth picking up. The experience, when it's good, is REALLY good. That said, for every mountain so high, there's a valley just as low. The downfall comes with the lows of the game being excruciatingly demoralizing and sometimes outright frustrating, which is why some of the criticisms above are a lot more fleshed out. Buy this game, and its soundtrack, to support the developer if nothing else. It's a fun few hours, and despite the conflicting feelings, I can say I overall did enjoy the game at its core.

As of today, Virgil will no longer be able to sit in a plastic chair.

Screw Capcom's ♥♥♥♥♥♥ DRM.

While I haven't played long enough to leave a legitimate review for the game, I will say that I've enjoyed my time so far.
That being said, Capcom *as a whole* is absolutely ruining every last game they've ever made by incorporating a DRM which FULLY prevents any kind of modding to it, causes huge frame losses and stutters, and obviously prevents any kind of cheating.
This does NOTHING but harm the folks who have legitimately purchased any of their games, and I cannot, in good will, support them by recommending ANY of their products from here on out, unless they backtrack and remove this abhorrent DRM from their games.

Unless it's removed, please steer clear of any Capcom games.

Fanbase sucks, but the game itself? S'alright. I guess.

Team Fortress 2's The Spy

Breathtaking visuals, wonderful soundtrack, and an amazing story that'll leave a few tears in your eye. The characters are amazing (especially Stan and Mitch!), and learning their stories through the eyes of a passerby is a really interesting way of telling a fantastic story. The message it's broadcasting is loud and clear, and I personally applaud the game heavily for that; there's no sugarcoating the state of a post-2016 world, *especially* these days.

Additionally, anyone who claims this game is "too political" for them would be a Tyrak supporter, undoubtedly.

Transphobic mods and owners. Do not support these ♥♥♥♥♥♥ devs further if you've already bought the game. If you haven't done that, then don't bother. There are better alternatives out there.

An absolute masterpiece. Pick it up if you're on the fence about it, because it's truly a game unlike any other.

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The soundtrack is phenomenal, and will leave you asking for more. The OST can be found on Bandcamp, so if you like what you hear, make sure to pick it up there.

The gameplay is snappy and responsive, mixing a strange concoction DOOM with Dark Souls and Punch Out into one tasty-as-hell gumbo of victory.

The visual style is unique and pleasing. It seems eye-bleedingly bright at first glance, but the combinations somehow mellow everything out and cause the end result to be visual candy that could only be described as crunchy and tasty.

The story is simple, yet sweet, with tiny little hints here and there about deeper lore. It doesn't get too intricate, and yet, there's just enough to satisfy the urge to find out more for curiosity's sake.

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For a game that's under 20 US bones, it's 100% worth your money and time to pick this game up and go to town on some ♥♥♥♥♥♥' gobbos and skurletons.

Godspeed, you glorious ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mess of a game. Godspeed.