Recent reviews by blake++

I've played a decent amount of precision platformers: namely N++, Dustforce, VVVVV, and some others.
While I don't have as much experience as dedicated fans of the genre, I do know what I like in terms of movement and gamefeel; I grew up on Source Engine movement which is known for offering massive amounts of depth. When I play games that involve movement, I usually know why and how they do or don't feel good.

Celeste is astoundingly responsive. Madeline, the protagonist, has satisfying movement that manages to feel extremely tight without feeling fake and lifeless, partly due to the animation. She's the most fun platformer character I've ever interacted with. Despite only having jumping and dashing for vertical movement options, with the amount of intended and unintended special tech[celeste.ink] in the game (some of which the game teaches you about!), her movement options almost feel unlimited once you learn a solid portion of the tech.
Additionally, all the external factors (except like one or two mechanics) feel great. They're responsive and have great depth to them, appearing multiple times throughout the game to teach the player new ways to interact with them. Even beyond that, there are more ways that you can interact with all of these mechanics that the game doesn't teach you about.

Celeste is a masterclass in good gamefeel and gameplay. I think this video by GMTK does a really good job at explaining why the game feels so good to play.

While mostly pretty simple and straightforward, Celeste's story remains one that I find incredibly empowering and emotional. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers, but it's just really solid. I won't say it's groundbreaking by any means, but it's gripping enough that it enhances the game.

While definitely a challenge, Celeste remains easy to pick up and play. It definitely turned me from someone who sucked at platformers to someone who was doing deathless runs of the chapters. There are plenty of hazards to watch out for, but Celeste makes everything feel like it's your fault, not the game's. Hazards are designed to have a smaller hitbox than they appear but still be enough of a threat to make playing extremely satisfying without the game taking it too easy on you. It goes a long way in reducing frustration in an otherwise difficult game.

Tech is shorthand for techniques; In Celeste, there exists "tech" based on Madeline's moveset. There is some tech that is intended and even taught to the player at certain points in the game, while other tech is unintended but still adds to the skill ceiling of the game without upping the skill floor. These new techniques get added to your ever growing arsenal, allowing for even faster completions or more skillful expressions of movement.

The music is just absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. Each track is perfect for the area it plays in and adds to the themes of that level, enhancing it. Lena Raine is insanely talented and deserves all of the fame she has and more.
On sound design, I'd say it's just overall really good. Most sounds are super cute (especially dialogue) but have the ability to be recontextualized and given a different appearance. For example, even though the dialogue sounds are super cute, in other moments, it can be heartwrenching or even stressing. Also, all sounds for the various mechanics remain distinct while remaining cohesive (except for Kevins/thwomps).

The game mostly uses pixel art, which while overused in the industry, I find still looks absolutely stunning. Instead of using more pixel art for the menu, it actually combines multiple other artstyles, which ends up working extremely well. The animators' use of animation techniques breathe new life into the pixel art and make it far more interesting and satisfying.

Celeste has a wide variety of accessibility and customization that allows for granular control on how the game plays. GMTK does a really great video on why Celeste's assist mode is so special, so I'll let him tell you why. The options allow for multiple types of bindings and the ability to turn off or on various features of the game, like screenshake.
There's also a large modding community that still is going strong to this day. There are ton of mods for all kinds of players, and even entire custom campaigns that take 30+ hours to finish easily, all with their own custom music and assets. It's really astounding.
Also, if you are interested in or are a speedrunner or TASer, this game is a perfect game to speedrun and also to start with. It's very based around user skill and features next to no randomness, and the game has many built in features for speedrunners to make it easy to try and speedrun.

• Getting a better boost on the bumper (something that the game expects you to understand) is not easily understandable compared to the other mechanics; however, this is different for each person on whether or not which ones you're able to grasp the deeper meaning of it through experimentation and gameplay. I definitely didn't on my first playthrough
  
• Kevin's sound effects feel mildly out of place compared to the rest of the mechanics in the game
  
• One block in Farewell results in confusion (the kevin coin room) where you assume the rest of the blocks of the same texture next to it aren't breakable even though they are
  
• Some strawberries are extremely poorly placed and offer no challenge to get to them. They don't teach you anything either
  
• The "point of no returns" that Celeste puts you through are really stupid 99% of the time; Sometimes it's not 100% clear if there will be a point of no return at certain parts and you're just stuck with it instead of being able to go back (often you would want to go back to explore for collectibles or to check other pathways)

This review does not do Celeste justice. The game is just truly a masterpiece. The level of quality and polish present in Celeste is astounding, and along with easy to install mods and custom levels, you could easily never stop playing it.

On a personal note, I'd like to share my journey with Celeste. The game helped me a lot with growing emotionally and mentally, as well as treating others and myself kinder, so I'd like to share how far I went with the game that Steam achievements don't really track.

My Celeste Spreadsheet[docs.google.com]

4 years ago, I 100%ed this game. I had to restart halfway into my 100% attempt because I had a power loss while playing and it corrupted my save entirely. But eventually I did 100% it, and I don't feel like revisiting it, but I do feel like I should tell people that it's good.

I don't quite remember all the reasons I loved it so much, but here's what I can remember best:

• The expanded narrative and variety of cast of characters is interesting
  
• The way the game limits the arsenal but also expands it in certain areas is interesting
  
• The brutal difficulty is incredibly fun
  
• I love how the game allows for both extremely fast-paced massacre sequences and slow, methodical gameplay
  
• I love how there's mod support and custom level support
  
• The story in general and the ultimate message
  
• The final sequences of the game are some of the best in any game ever
  
• The downtime and calm sequences are iconic (to me)
  
• The music and art are phenomenal
  
• All these years, all the clones it spawned still cannot come close to this level of mastery

I'd be remiss if I didn't put in a positive review at this point for this game that I love so dearly. I hope you enjoy it too!

• 90 FOV
  
• DoF, FSAA
  
• Used hints as a last resort

• Interesting areas and settings
  
• Incredible ambience and a feeling of dread follows you through your first initial trek

• Movement feels strangely icey
  
• It feels like this game runs at 60fps only or something
  
• The puzzles just aren't fun and are strangely designed

None of the puzzles feel rewarding to complete; I would've much preferred if this game was just a pure walking simulator exploring strange environments with powerful ambience. Instead it features an obtuse progression along with backtracking and stupid hidden collectibles forced into huge environments that lose their "wow" factor once you double back.

It's a good puzzle game with interesting lore and beautiful environments, all enhanced by a first person viewpoint. I was not "hooked" enough to dedicate my time to finishing the game and solving all of its puzzles, but I'm not big on difficult puzzle-focused games like this in the first place. I did enjoy my time with it though.

Recommend buying on sale.

Considering my low hour count, I'm not the most equipped to talk about this game. I will recommend the review of this game by Matthewmatosis as well as this video covering the game by Mental Checkpoint.

For the short version, this game is incredibly tight and well put together, with unreal sound design and extremely deep yet simple movement and shooting mechanics. There is nothing like it (besides HYPER DEMON, also made by this developer). The skill ceiling is incredibly high, and the skill floor is relatively low, allowing for any players that's decent at FPSes to jump in and start learning the game.

Buy this game if you like intense FPS experiences and enjoy challenges. You will not regret it.

• 90 FOV
  
• High preset
  
• Survival mode

• I love how the game just kinda sets me loose to figure out what i need to do
  
• World feels delightfully alien. Sound design is impeccable and the creatures make noises that are alien but familiar
  
• The plot is super interesting. the Sunbeam moment shocked me

• HUD elements aren't pinned to corners and take up too much screen space; subtitles are REALLY high above the toolbar
  
• Carry-all is useless
  
• Recipes not showing pros and cons of various fish is lame
  
• Code entering UI is trash
  
• It is not clear at all that you can repair the damages made to the drive pool in the crash. The dialog tells you basically not to
  
• Subtitle border unnecessarily big and in the way
  
• Using a wiki is really important as some stuff only crafts into one thing and one thing only, which could save you a ton of space. Using a wiki in general is good to make sure you understand aspects of the game, like the difference between a large wreck and a regular wreck

Frankly, I wish I had more to say about this game. It's cool and interesting for 10 hours, but after that point I realized just how much pure grinding and resource gathering I had ahead of me to progress. With all the grinding I had done up until that point, I didn't really see reasons to keep going. The world is stellar, the soundtrack is great, the graphics are gorgeous; I just could not enjoy the core gameplay loop for that long. It's been 4 months since I last played and every time I saw that game in my library, it just didn't seem like fun to hop back in.

I'm sure this is an impeccable game for others, but for me this is one that just didn't pull me enough to make me want to keep going.

Fantastic campaign and great Spec Ops. A total classic. AI is still a bit off sometimes and your teammates still suck, but it's still good. Completed on Veteran in 5 hours.

NOTE: If the game bugs and has too high of a resolution, visit here: https://blendogames.com/thirtyflightsofloving/faq.htm

Thirty Flights of Loving, like Gravity Bone, is a narrative experience rather than a game. There is some interaction, but it's limited, and extremely linear. It's a great experience that leaves you totally confused and absolutely wanting more from this weird world. You are utterly starved of context, dropped into the end of someone's life as you go through the events they went through before they arrived at that point.

I am far too out of my depth to critique this in any meaningful way, but I will say I heavily enjoyed this experience. I don't know what it all means, but I recommend it.

• Environment, soundtrack, and vibes are stellar; game is oozing with style and imagination
  
• Strange but charming methods of storytelling and exposition; it'll stick with you, even though you don't know exactly what stuck
  
• Platforming sequences feel nerve-wracking but aren't punishing

• Extremely simple mechanics are introduced but game is too short to do anything with them, so they just kinda feel pointless
  
• Crashes when changing resolution and pressing escape again
  
• Mouse accel; can't turn off
  
• Character move speed is a bit fast in the first level
  
• Ends way too soon

If you like Jazzpunk, or you liked the trailer for Jazzpunk, or you just like the idea of this game, download it and play it real quick. At worst, you'll lose 15 minutes. It's truly a delight.

Warning for rose-tinted glasses here: This is a super nostalgic game for me; I played it back when it was free on Desura (I think).

How. How in the ♥♥♥♥ do you make a game like this so reliant on twitch aim and not include a sensitivity slider?? The ♥♥♥♥ are you smoking? Dennaton learned from Hotline Miami 1 and included a slider in Hotline Miami 2; How could you not learn from THEM and include one in your Hotline Miami Roguelike? I'm not changing my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Windows sensitivity just to play this game.

The developer is aware of this issue and has no plans to fix it: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1608640/discussions/0/3819658443212585620

I saw it in the trailer but apparently this game REALLY relies on slow motion which is so incredibly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ boring. It was boring in Katana Zero, it's boring here. I don't want to slow the game down. I want my adrenaline to rush. But the game is so designed around this mechanic existing, so enemies are much harder to deal with without it.

I am angry because we were so close to greatness here. I came here because Raycevick (YouTube content creator) made this game sound like a gift from the heavens, but having played it, I am sorely disappointed. I regret my purchase.