Recent reviews by Vintage Devilry

Another nail in the console coffin. I can count the number of exclusives I want to play on one hand now.

Stunningly beautiful game. The UI appears to be upscaled and gets a bit pixelated at higher resolutions, but the game itself is bright and crisp - hopefully that one complaint gets ironed out in time.

Otherwise, this is a great port and a steal at what ArcSys is asking.

Edit: Including all the DLC for free at launch is pure class. Take advantage!

This is a wonderful game; one of the most underrated in the entire franchise and a lot of fun to play. I would love to recommend it to newcomers, but this port is a mess. I have high hopes that the fans will eventually polish it into something playable, but in its current state it's almost unbearable. I'm fine with the new sprites and it's a joy to see such large Amano portraits, but there's an issue going on where literally none of the tilesets properly align. Every screen is an ugly visible gridwork of jumbled tiles. I don't ask for a lot when it comes to these lazy SE ports, but when even the shoddiest RPG Maker games look better, that's a problem. That SE released the game in this state is shameful.

If they address this issue themselves I'll give it a proper recommendation, but for now I'd advise anyone on the fence to pass.

Undertale is a relentlessly charming and clever indie RPG by developer Toby Fox, often matching - and occasionally surpassing - the quirky sentimentality and keen self-awareness of the SNES classic, EarthBound. While you can absolutely use the unique, bullet hell-esque battle system to slay your foes, the game encourages you to understand them and show them mercy, or even befriend them. The level of detail and often abstract mechanics (for example, staying in the room Toriel asks you to remain in at the start of the game will result in a string of bizarre cell phone calls if you're patient enough) clearly communicate that this is very much a labor of love. Beautifully written and beautifully presented; pick up the soundtrack bundle if you can.

Consider this: I bought The Phantom Pain to tide myself over until Undertale finally released.

A Hideo Kojima game.

(It's a lovely port, to boot.)

If this game ended after the first level's fight with Metal Gear RAY, it would still be one of the greatest action games ever made. Thankfully it doesn't. Lovely port, too.

Platinum are peerless in this genre.

Please note that I have just over an hour of playtime logged for this game despite owning it for several weeks now. That's because I can't actually play it 9 out of 10 attempts due to the server being down. Even barring that, the nauseating, undoubtedly focus group-tested dudebro aesthetic is embarrassing to watch and painful to listen to.

Avoid this garbage.

Had Metroid been developed for the Turbografx-16, it likely would have looked an awful lot like Axiom Verge. I honestly can't think of higher praise than that. An astonishing and inspiring achievement for Mr. Happ.

Possibly the jankest port on Steam. I wish I could have refunded it. You could build a PC that was completely made of GPUs and still never hit a consistent 60 fps.

A shame, too. This is the best game in the XIII "trilogy."

One of the few remaining reasons to own a PS3 makes its way to PC.

Instead of reviewing the game itself (which is excellent and has been written about endlessly since its PS3 release in 2008), I'll instead comment on Sega's commendable port. Display options aren't quite as robust as some would hope, but the major boxes like hi-res support, rebindable keys and 60+ fps have all been ticked. Throw in achievements, trading cards and all the DLC included at no extra cost, and you've got a port that is absolutely worth supporting.

Attention Japanese devs/publishers trying to gain a foothold on Steam: THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE.

Kan Gao Tries to Make Me Cry: Part II

This isn't so much a "game" as it is an interactive short story, and for my money, nobody in gaming tells stories that resonate on a deeply emotional level like Freebird Games.

A beautiful little experience.

Watch for that last reveal after the credits; it made me smile.