Recent reviews by MushroomHedgehog

So, let's get the biggest thing about this game out of the way. If you're a Disnerd adult wanting to check out this game, keep in mind that it was definitely made specifically for young kids, and not with the mindset that any age group can enjoy it like plenty of other Disney games available here on Steam. I can't recommend this unless you either have young kids who need a PC game to keep them busy, or are bummed that characters from franchises like The Incredibles, Up, or Cars currently aren't in other more exciting Disney games like Dreamlight Valley or Speedstorm. Plus, it doesn't help that the game more or less is just a Pixar version of Little Bill. You're not interacting with the actual characters, just various kids pretending to be them, while you see whatever their imagination cooks up.

If you're still interested, the game still has some issues, but again, I imagine these would be overlooked by young kids. First off, I recommend staying away if you're an achievement hunter looking for an easy game to add to your completion list. The achievements are bugged, and it appears you can only unlock them one at a time. For the most part, replaying the level will fix this, but there's several moments where that wasn't the case. Sometimes I had to replay entire worlds (three levels) to unlock specific achievements, and again, it's never a concrete fix unless it does manage to work. It's just not worth the constant gamble of wondering if you'll waste more time because the game doesn't play by the rules it's claiming to have. It's better to not even bother, unless you want to be bothered by the fact that what should be an easy completion is affecting your completion average.

The other problem is that the Finding Nemo/Dory levels clearly show a lack of effort, as Dory's voice lines are just archive audio that don't even try to hide that fact. They don't even have an actor voicing the kid pretending to be her in the levels. She's just wearing a scuba mask and you hear muffled noises because she doesn't remove it, and the actual dialogue is shown via subtitles. I get that they wanted to add something from the original Xbox 360 release when it was solely a Kinect game, but it's better to not even bother if the bare minimum is going to be done.

Other than that though, there's no major bugs with the game itself, and it will be a good time waster for young kids. But if you're a Disney adult looking for a game that is made with such an age group in mind as much as it is for the kids, steer clear of this, and check out a different Disney game, even if it's the ones that have questionable monetization methods like Dreamlight Valley or Speedstorm.

This is yet another game where a neutral opinion on recommendation needs to be a rating option for Steam.

Disney Speedstorm on paper, and in some areas of execution, is a fantastic addition to the always prevalent mascot racing genre of games. The representation of iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Captain Jack Sparrow, Woody, and Aladdin are done well, as are the scenery of the race tracks. And most notably, this game does make a decent effort to try its own ideas for power-ups, rather than mainly cloning all of Mario Kart's like the Nickelodeon Kart Racer games.

However, the free-to-play model for this game has some major downsides compared to Gameloft's fellow Disney collab, Dreamlight Valley. Prices for adding new racers to your collection are a bit costly, though credit is due for having options to directly buy them instead of ONLY relying on random drop lootboxes like some games. In terms of cost, the best method for unlocking characters is to participate in the battle passes, Thankfully, there is usually one character you can unlock in the free tier. As of this review, it is Jasmine, due to the season being themed to Aladdin.

There is definitely a great game hiding in here, as long as you're willing to be patient on aspects like the daily rewards towards unlocking new racers or upgrading your current ones. So while I can't say it's a complete loss of potential, I can definitely say that this probably should have been a game with a regular price tag updated with new content over time. That being said, the F2P aspect does allow friends to join you fairly easily, but they might be bummed out that some of their favorite characters (in my case, Woody, Buzz, and Baloo) are just out of reach.

This might be recency bias, but to say this is a glow-up from Gun Media's previous work on Friday the 13th is definitely an understatement. So far, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is off to a really solid start, with a considerable variety in characters and their abilities, and keeping survivors on their toes.

EDIT: Okay, it was definitely recency bias. While I still highly recommend the game, you definitely are going to find folks who aren't using their abilities to stay alive, but to troll. Stay vigilant of survivors that don't keep running when they're next to doors, or anyone playing as Leland, because he's definitely going to abuse his shoulder charge instead of using it to get out of a pinch.

And while this may change as more people figure out the inner workings, this game actually feels like a slasher movie compared to other games of its kind feeling more like episodes of Tom and Jerry (DBD and Ft13th in particular). This isn't to say the other games didn't have their moments, but it can be frustrating when the overall thought behind playing it is "Will this be a good game or not?" And I must stress that doesn't mean "Will I win the game or not?" It's very possible to have a great game and still lose, but poor sportsmanship is usually the key reason for such issues. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it being the case for TCM, but there's not really any major issues I've had where players are exploiting specific aspects that can potentially ruin the game.

It also says something that I'm legitimately still having a good time when I mess up and either lose a survivor or get killed. Again, I'm not sure what's different about this case compared to others, but even with a revved chainsaw going through my chest, I still get more of a "better luck next time" feeling from a TCM game over a "lol uninstall you loser" feeling from losing a DBD game.

In any case, the biggest thing Gun Media does need to work on once most of the technical kinks are worked out, is to add more content. This game definitely has way more potential in comparison to the other potential DBD rivals I've seen, but more content is definitely needed to keep it alive, just as DBD does. How Gun Media will do this when they only have rights to the original movie is anyone's guess, but we'll have to wait and see.

After a long wait as an exclusive over on Epic Games, Sonic Colors: Ultimate finally makes its way over to Steam. For those who skipped the Wii back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, this is a great method to finally experience what's arguably one of the best modern Sonic games. There's a lot more than just a basic HD coat of paint. Mainly, you have customization options for Sonic's appearance, options to pick between classic and remixed music, and time trials on some levels against Metal Sonic.

The primary downside from the Wii version is that this remaster only uses one save file, as opposed to the Wii version having multiple save files. So if you ever want to replay the game, you'll have to delete your save file. Annoying, but given that this is PC, there's likely the option to just manually back-up your current save if needed. There is also the fact that if you start the game with Tails providing a tutorial, you can't disable him later. Make sure to start your game without him providing a tutorial, or he'll keep interrupting you with text boxes with advice you already learned about when replaying levels.

As for any major bugs, I'm not sure what other reviewers are experiencing that's causing problems. The only notable bug so far was a one-time mistake with a homing attack that hasn't happened since. I temporarily got stuck because the homing attack was triggered from a weird angle on the side of a wall.

Despite several inclusions like voice acting, this game falls flat of succeeding it's predecessor. You're better off grabbing the second game. I'll probably finish unlocking what I can in this one, but getting 100% just isn't happening for reasons I'll get to in a moment.

Pros:
+ Voice acting
We can finally hear all of our favorite characters being the chatterboxes we know them as, and the vast majority are all voiced by their original actors.
+ Good lineup of characters new to this game.
At long last, Jimmy Neutron is finally in one of the Game Mill Nicktoons games. Hopping over from Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is Jenny, Garfield, and Powdered Toast Man.
+ Massive improvements on graphic detail from the previous game, as well as resolution options.
If you played the second game, you'll notice a lot more detail in the environments of tracks that returned for this game.

Cons:
- Questionable character choices
While it's okay to take notes from Mario Kart, maybe don't include the part where minor variants like Baby Mario or Pink-Gold Peach are included. That's pretty much what Purple Reptar and the Kamp Koral versions of SpongeBob and Patrick are for this game. Also, why remove Tommy? Was E.G. Daily unavailable to voice him? Speaking of being unavailable, why bring back Jojo Siwa if she's still silent? If you're gonna cut corners like that, give us Carl Wheezer since Rob Paulsen is already here as Raphael.
- Tedious or impossible to unlock characters
While most characters are available for purchase with slime tokens earned during races, Donatello, Raphael, Helga, and Cindy are far more annoying to unlock. Methods include completing fifteen cups, beating all 36 time trial ghosts, playing 80 arena matches, and winning 20 online races. The latter is for Helga, so don't expect to unlock her since the online lobbies are dead. Why change what worked in the last game where most characters were unlocked from completing individual cups?
- Some challenges are near impossible.
I only managed to complete the challenge that unlocked Jenny by pure luck. Compared to the last game, where you could pick power-ups and your racer to help you, here you're stuck with whatever the game gives you. Often times, past the third set of challenges, a sole racer will be WAY ahead of the rest, and it is increasingly frustrating having just that one opponent ruining you from completing a mission. One mission with Kamp Koral Patrick is also impossible because you can't focus on using speed boost pads and simultaneously find a way to pass that one annoying fast racer way ahead of everyone.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a lot of fun as an arcade racer, but it is concerning how much paid DLC has been added to the game despite it not even being a year old at this point. Even with the occasional free car, it's still a lot more extra payment than necessary. The main issue is that the game has already gone through three event seasons that were available for a limited time only. This concept is reasonable for free-to-play games like Fortnite, Rocket League, or Brawlhalla, but not for games that only just launched a few months ago at full price. The randomized unboxing for new cars at the shop only further convinces me that this was planned to be a free-to-play game, but the plan was changed at the last minute.

I still had an enjoyable time with the game, but depending on the customer, it's easily held back by the mere thought that a lot of great cars are either lost forever because of the limited events, or an overwhelming number of them being paid DLC. You could even argue this is the racing game version of the launch version of Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017), except this game doesn't get nearly enough notoriety for going a bit far on the DLC. If you're wanting a casual racing game that removes the weapons of other iconic racing games like Mario Kart, but still want some of its fantasy aesthetics, this might be up your alley.

But either wait for a sale on the game and/or its DLC, or find another racing game. These are relatively older and follow the aforementioned Mario Kart concept I mentioned, but I'd recommend Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed and Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2. You get the full package from those, and either some or no DLC is offered in both. It's probably the better choice anyway since a major grab for this game already seems to be the guest characters.

Did folks really just start giving negative reviews the moment the first batch of paid DLC was announced, while fully knowing the devs said further DLC after Garfield and Shredder would be paid? You can't be mad at what was known WAY ahead of time.

Anywho, let's get one thing out of the way. Comparisons to Smash Ultimate aren't exactly the best idea since Smash had four previous games to take entire notes from, hence the "Everyone is here!" campaign. If we were wanting a Smash Ultimate roster, it would have been far more likely if the devs ripped entire movesets instead of a handful of moves on certain characters. That, and I'm pretty sure Melee was the primary influence while making this, seeing how that somehow still has a playerbase two decades later. So it's not too far off from Melee's content.

That being said, the main aspects this game is suffering from are a lack of voice acting, and a limited variety in the gameplay. On Steam, the former is the least of our concerns seeing how the modding community was quick to address it. It works for a game like Brawlhalla for using their own characters, but not for a game capitalizing on popular IPs, many of which are known for being chatterboxes.

As for the game mode issue, the basics of a fighting game are included, which is a step up from some fighting games the focus solely on their online modes rather than few single player modes. Particularly, we should have seen a few boss battles or minigames reminiscent of Smash's Master Hand and Target Smash, respectively.

Despite its shortcomings, I'd recommend picking it up if you're either a big fan of Nick's animated library, or want to play Super Smash Bros, but you or your friends don't have a Nintendo system. However, WB's upcoming Multiversus might be the better option for the latter until crossplay is enabled for this one.

There's been some further adjustments to the season DLCs since the SpongeBob season. Particularly, I think it's noteworthy that all coins and gears acquired through the pass are free without buying the pass. Higher XP from the daily missions was also added during the SpongeBob season, which does make it somewhat less of a grind.

While I still appreciate this concept for keeping the game alive, I still think that the default XP offered for finishing a race needs to be increased as well, especially in regards to the length of the racetrack. It's not right to reward 10 XP for finishing a race on any length of track. It should be higher if the track is medium or long, and even more so if it's a boss track like Haunted House or Nitro Bot.

The season passes are a decent idea to keep folks playing, but a lot needs to change in some of them. Particularly, more XP needs to be rewarded for other reasons than just where you placed in a race. More XP should be rewarded for choosing a longer course or higher AI difficulty levels, for instance.

Also, this suggestion may be frowned upon, but it's an essential for battle passes, especially here. There needs to be a way to level up quickly, even if that means spending gears, coins, or via a microtransaction. Once there's only a few days left in the season, there's no point in grabbing this unless you only wanted Sandy's car. But you're out of luck if you want other items, particularly SpongeBob himself.

But putting that aside, I'd say this pass has more to offer than the DC Super Villains one. The customization items are more interesting in my point of view, particularly the basement wallpapers and profile tags. I haven't been too invested in the official Hot Wheels catalog, so I imagine these might not even exist. But I'm wondering why some vehicles within the SpongeBob lore aren't in this pass, mainly the submarine bus. As for the cars, there's only so much that can be done since they're based on official Hot Wheels cars, but I think there could be more for the SpongeBob car to resemble its namesake character. It doesn't have as much of the face or clothing designs that the other character cars have.

In any case, pick this up if you're either willing to play the game a little each day, really enjoy SpongeBob and already happen to own the game, or need a quick way to earn coins and gears for upgrades or finally grabbing a legendary car from the random boxes. But it's not required to enjoy the full game, and that's something I feel is being lost in a lot of reviews here. It's serving as actual DLC that's further content for a relatively lengthy base game, not completing one lacking in base content.

The first major expansion for Hot Wheels Unleashed focuses on the Caped Crusader, and a few of his supporting cast as character cars. Fortunately, you aren't required to complete any of the challenges in the expansion levels to unlock the cars as opposed to the game's previous DC Comics collaboration. Said challenges are a major issue I'll get to shortly, though. The pack includes two character cars of Batman and one each for Robin, The Joker, and Penguin. A fairly decent loadout of stats for each, and continuing to switch up said stats for more variety on what the player will find best. Personally, I found that the Rebirth Batman car has been quite useful for building up five boosts from drifting.

The Batcave environment is also really great to look around in, but its courses can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're playing the time trials for its courses. For a game that is a stickler for finding shortcuts by placing checkpoints that you must pass to maneuver the race properly, time limits like these are outrageous, and you're better off just ignoring it.

Still, if licensed cars like the TMNT Party Wagon or the DeLorean were a major reason you even tried the game like I did, there's a good chance you'll find something to enjoy here. I've mostly been playing as the Rebirth Batman car in this pack, along with Superman and the DeLorean Time Machine. If you managed to complete the campaign and still haven't recieved the Batmobile included in the base game, this also might be a preferable alternative. Just steer clear of the time trial levels. Ironically, they are about as unforgiving as the ring races of fellow DC game, Superman 64.