Recent reviews by murderbits

Braid Remastered: Masterpiece

When Braid first hit the gaming scene, it was an instant purchase for me. Why? Because even back then, something about its unique charm and the promise of something different drew me in. But let’s rewind a bit – initially, I misjudged it. I saw what I perceived as emotionally-indulgent pretentiousness and was put off. However, with time, I realized how profoundly wrong I was. Braid is, in fact, the antithesis of pretentious. It's a beautifully crafted game that speaks volumes through its gameplay and narrative.

As I grew to appreciate Jonathan Blow’s vision, I became a fan. His work stands out in the gaming industry for being genuinely interesting, unique, and aesthetically stunning. The Witness, another gem from Blow, remains one of my favorite puzzle games of all time, even though I'm not typically a fan of the genre.

Now, let’s talk about Braid Remastered. This isn’t just a simple facelift; it's a thoughtful, meticulously crafted reimagining of the original. The visuals are more vibrant, the audio crisper, and the gameplay smoother. This is how you do a remaster. Care has been given to ensure both newcomers and long-time fans will have a remarkable experience.

But don't just take my word for it. Let’s revisit Soulja Boy’s infamous 2009 review of the original 2008 release. Here are a few memorable quotes:

- "This a game for people who smoke or drink."
- "It's about this lil guy in a suit and he just walk around it aint got no point to the game he just walk around jumpin' on ♥♥♥♥!"
- "Dude looks like Mario in a business suit."
- "Whoooooooop! whooooooop!"
- "He just be goin' back in time."

Soulja Boy’s colorful commentary, though not entirely accurate, highlights the quirky, memorable nature of Braid. The game’s time-manipulation mechanics and complex puzzles are anything but pointless – they’re ingeniously designed to challenge and intrigue players in ways that many games fail to achieve.

Jonathan Blow’s creative genius shines through every aspect of Braid Remastered. His ability to craft compelling, thought-provoking games as a solo developer is nothing short of extraordinary. While I wish we could see more frequent releases from him, the quality and depth of his work are worth the wait.

If you enjoy indie games, platformers, or puzzlers, and want to experience a game that played a pivotal role in shaping the indie game landscape we enjoy today, Braid Remastered is a must-play. It’s a testament to what makes gaming an art form and a true masterpiece that deserves a place in every gamer’s library.

Despite over 500,000 copies in Early Access sales, Kerbal Space Program 2 is an utter catastrophe, a festering sore that epitomizes the rot within the gaming industry under the auspices of Take-Two Interactive. Marketed as a bastion of innovation, this game serves as a stark reminder of the consequences when profit margins are prioritized over the well-being of both players and developers. Instead of a polished product, players were handed what can only be described as a glorified alpha test masquerading as a full-priced yet Early Access release, rife with half-baked features, game-breaking bugs, and massive chasms where necessary content was roadmapped.

Recent scathing criticism echoes the sentiments of a community betrayed and left adrift by a publisher that turns a deaf ear to their pleas and offers nothing but hollow promises in return. The shuttering of Intercept Games is not just a blow to "KSP2"; it's a slap in the face to everyone who dared to invest their time and money into this sinking ship. Take-Two's callous disregard for the studio's closure speaks volumes about their attitude towards both their player base and the talented individuals who poured their hearts into this project.

Take-Two's handling of the situation is nothing short of a betrayal, a betrayal of trust, a betrayal of loyalty, and a betrayal of the very essence of gaming itself. This isn't just a failure of a game; it's a damning indictment of an industry that's lost its soul to corporate greed. Avoid this train wreck at all costs.

Yet, even as outraged voices rage, the siren call of GTA VI looms on the horizon, ready to seduce the same players who now find themselves nursing wounds inflicted by the very hands they eagerly feed. Such is the tragicomic cycle of an industry that thrives on the blind loyalty of its patrons, a cycle destined to repeat until players muster the courage to demand better. Until then, the warning remains clear: steer clear of this smoldering wreckage.

In short, fk Take Two Interactive and fk KSP2.

Graphically interesting, good performance, and solid mechanics.

Your time will be split between the map view of the USA, travelling from point to point, and sometimes actually driving for 2-5 minutes at a time on the streets from driver-view. Sometimes these will be races against other (CPU) drivers and sometimes they'll be police chases.

The concept is that you're a bad-ass woman driver fleeing from... uh... your fear?

Unfortunately, you don't feel like a bad ass. First of all, your name is "Jackalope" *eyeroll*. Second of all, you don't do any cool stuff that would make you feel like you're immersed in the movie 'Driver', 'Cannonball Run', 'Death Race', Gumball Rally', or anything else. Instead, you're presented with series of interesting encounters that are presented like a comic book that often offer you a choice upon which will depend the raising or lowering of stats like fame, reputation, focus, and cash. The mechanics are part arcade racing, part visual novel/choose-your-own-adventure.

What kind of badass stuff will you be doing? Listening to brief lectures about global warming, consumerism, reproductive rights, sex-workers, inflation, the industrial military complex, conflicts in Israel and the middle east, or helping a woman flee her groom during a wedding.

The music is enjoyable enough, but entirely forgettable. The "radio stations" don't feel at all like radio stations. It's just the music tracks interspersed with all-too-crisp-and-not-at-all-processed-like-a-radio-sounding-audio segments by mostly zoomer-DJs with almost nothing interesting or amusing to talk about.

Overall, this is a positive recommendation because of the mechanics. I could take or leave the music and "radio stations", and narratively, it's trash.

How could it be improved? Music that doesn't sound like it came from Udio, fewer soap-boxes, and more badass events and choices.

I don't feel great leaving a negative review for Supernormal, but considering after about 70 minutes, I decided I wasn't enjoying it and would have refunded it if I hadn't bought it at launch and waited several months to get around to playing it, I feel that's a necessary sentiment.

It may have been inspired by Allison Road (and, in turn, by PT), but it is still a very low budget, small-time effort. The graphics are fine, though not on the same level as the aforementioned titles. The controls, sway, and performance are unpleasant. The writing is pretty rough. The spooks are... well, there are a couple okay spooks. Overall, this was not what I hoped that it would be and if I had played it early enough to refund it, I would have (and I have only refunded a couple games out of 8,000).

If this is an early effort for this developer, then it is quite an accomplishment from that perspective. I would certainly encourage them to continue creating. But in the shadow of other games and as a third party, looking for something more like what was implied by the promotional material, I can't reasonably recommend this.

Extremely short, but fantastic. Great concept, though I'd like to see more content.

For example, new venues, opponents (personalities, wagers, weapons, challenges -- knife, grenades, baseball bats, who knows). Even better, imagine if you could play against another real person?

It's Threes! -- exactly what you want and expect out of the game, but now on your desktop/laptop.

I'm too old to have been caught up in the whole Pokémon thing. I tried playing one of the games when I was in my 20s. I tried another in my 30s. I tried another in my 40s. I've never stuck with it for more than one or two play sessions before quitting. I just haven't ever been able to get into them. I don't like the "get some creatures and use them to fight each other" type of RPG. However . . . I've been very drawn to this game. Mixing it with the survival genre is exactly what was needed to draw my interest. It's such a blast, too. It really is more than you initially expect. I truly never thought I'd be enjoying this type of game at all.

Froguelike is a legit survivors-like with a fair amount of difficulty. It's a really novel take on the genre, thematically, while embracing the hallmarks of the genre mechanically. Different types of frogs, tongues, bugs and such. It's far more than I expected it to be.

A simple, but atmospheric experience to unsettle you if you play alone, in the dark. If you enjoy YouTube ARGs and found-footage stories like "Channel 58", then you'll enjoy this. The only thing that would have made it more enjoyable would have been if it were voice-acted, instead of just text.

What a clever and enjoyable take on the vampire-survivors-like genre. If you enjoy these games, but are getting a little exhausted by so many that are just the same thing, give Cursorblade a try.