Recent reviews by Veralos

I've seen a lot of people comparing this to Hollow Knight, and while I see where they're coming from, I ultimately disagree. With obvious exception of the jade system being similar to HK's charm system, Nine Sols is a distinct take on the Soulslike-inspired Metroidvania.

For starters, the actual Metroidvania part of the mix is downplayed. While it does have the expected progression of "obtain new abilities to unlock paths in previous areas", most of this game's abilities are handed to you along the main path rather than being something you have to actively seek out. Likewise, exploration has less focus here. There's generally only one or two areas to visit at any given time, and you often get direction about where to go next. Though this is typically just a general idea of which region to visit rather then a waypoint. I found the amount of freedom fine, but some bigger exploration fans might not enjoy it.

There's also the fact of the story of having much bigger focus than in other MVs. I found it somewhat refreshing that the protagonist Yi has a distinct personality and dialogue, as well as established relationships with other characters. Rather than being vague monsters with maybe some cryptic lore, all the bosses have strong characterisation and backstories too. I was also surprised how much I enjoyed the relationship between Yi and Shuanshuan, the child Yi takes care of. That kind of thing could've been trite but I found it compelling here, particularly with touches like having Shuanshuan's drawings show up around the home base as you form a bond.

Of course, there's still a strong Soulslike influence in the combat. I'm generally not a fan of the corpse run mechanic, but it's pretty inoffensive here. The levels are designed in a way where you're constantly opening shortcuts, so you can usually get back to where you died easily. Even with a couple big losses from failing to make it back, I had more than enough money/XP to get everything by the end. The boss difficulty was tuned a little high for my liking, with many taking dozens of attempts. There's a high level of trial and error: combat is less about reflexes, and more about learning the exact parry timings for each attack. That said, it is very satisying when you master each attack to pull off a victory, and I ultimately did enjoy fighting my way through the challenges Nine Sols presents.

I remember playing this game back when it was just a simple jam game - it had single level and just some basic combat mechanics. But the one thing that stood out was the sheer level of polish. In the full version, that hasn't changed at all. There's loads of details like the lighting effects, the way blood splatters land on the walls, and the way corpses bounce around. The sprite animations are super smooth, and the sound design is both satisfying and good at communicating important actions. The music is great too. One detail I particularly like is how your home base gets improved as you buy persistent upgrades.

All that would be a waste if the game wasn't fun, so thankfully it is! The basic movement feels really good, and all the weapons are satisfying to use. There's a nice variety in both melee weapons and guns, as well all the different items you can find to help you along the way. Even with the small amount I've played so far (furthest I've got is beating the first boss and reaching the second part of area 2) there's plenty of variety in the enemies and obstacles - and it's clear I've barely scratched the surface. If there's one gameplay complaint I could make it's that it's easy to run out of ammo, though that seems to be an intentional choice to encourage use of the melee weapons.

It's obvious that anyone who likes Ace Attorney should play Ghost Trick. So instead I'll discuss the less obvious: Why someone who doesn't care for Ace Attorney (or simply hasn't played it) should still play this game.

Tight pacing: Ace Attorney games often have filler cases that are barely related to the main plot. Even in the important cases, there are still parts that drag. Ghost Trick, on the hand, has very little fat. Pretty much every person or location is important in some way. Every chapter has some exciting reveal, or at least a memorable set-piece. It's a roller-coaster ride from beginning to end. This does come with the caveat that Ghost Trick is a lot shorter than the average Ace Attorney game (about a dozen hours for a first-time player). But quality over quantity, and all that.

Consistent tone & rules: While Ace Attorney sets itself up as a logical - albeit quirky - legal drama, anyone who's played it can tell you that it rarely matches the actual law. And that's before the magic gets introduced. This can be frustrating both for the story, and when trying to solve the game's puzzles. Ghost trick avoids all this by mainly relying on it's own set of rules surrounding the ghost world. Time travelling ghosts may be an out-there concept, but it works because of the internally consistent logic. The basics are established early on, then expanded upon as the game goes. This also means that learning the how and why of ghost powers becomes a fun mystery in itself.

Detailed animation: As a visual novel, Ace Attorney's animation is charming, but limited. Anything beyond the most basic actions relies heavily on the player's imagination. Not in Ghost Trick. Everything is presented in a detailed side-on view, where characters constantly interact with the environment and each other. This isn't just for show, either: These interactions are often used in puzzles, too. But Ghost Trick isn't content with just functional animation: Every action is lovingly animated with as much personality as possible. From a dog's excited barking, to a novelist's furious typing, to Cabanela's... everything. The biggest selling point for the remaster is seeing all this great animation made even better with a higher resolution and frame rate.

I have to give Outer Wilds one of the biggest compliments I can give a game: It reminds me of Metroid Prime.

Not in the structure or progression - they're very different there - but in the way the story is told. It exists less as a series of events that happen to the player, and more as a history to be uncovered. Exploring the ruins of an alien civilisation to learn about them via environmental details... Deciphering words of long dead writers to understand who they were and what happened to them... It's one of the most the compelling parts of Prime, and it's even more compelling in Outer Wilds since it's given a much larger focus.

TL;DR: Good game

On a scale of Metroidvanias from structured to open, Rusted Moss belongs on the latter side. The required upgrades can be counted on one hand, and most of them are acquired early on. After that, the game lets you loose to find a number of macguffins scattered across an expansive world. There's plenty of optional goodies to find along the way, from health and magic upgrades, to new weapons, to "trinkets" that you can equip for various effects (think charms from Hollow Knight). The world is designed is a nice way where you're always opening shortcuts and finding the occasional teleporter to make traversal easier.

Gameplay wise, the grappling hook is the big star of the show. Grappling hooks are fun in most games, and this one is no exception. It can be a bit tricky to use sometimes, but it's always satisfying when you manage to pull off a cool manoeuvre. Upgrades and enemy encounters do a good job incorporating the core grappling mechanics. For example, a super jump can be used to add extra vertical momentum to your swings. Smartly, tougher platforming sections are (mostly) off the main path, designated with "difficult climb ahead" signs, or relegated to time trial challenges for optional items.

Another significant part of gameplay is the bosses. They're all cool, with distinct designs and often importance to the story. As with the rest of the game, they utilise the grappling hook mechanics in neat ways. They're also tough as nails. Many of them took me repeated tries and experimentation with trinket loadouts to beat. And that's with me collecting most of the upgrades throughout the game. And unlike the harder platforming sections, many of them are required to collect the games major items. The difficulty isn't necessarily a flaw, but just something to be wary of.

Regardless, the presentation is top notch. The pixel art style is very appealing and has lots of nice details. One small touch I enjoyed is the way the eponymous moss is pushed down as the player walks over it. Sound design is solid too, and the music does a great job of setting the tone of each area. Speaking of which, the areas all feel distinct in both tone and mechanics. Sometimes you're slowly floating though a serene waterway. Other times you're rushing from a monster in the darkness of a ruined lab. It all works together to make Rusted Moss a great experience, and definitely a game I'd recommend.

A fresh twist on the typical Portal gameplay that provides new challenges even for long time players of the series. It does take some effort to fully understand the consequences of the time mechanic but once learned it's a smooth experience. There's a good amount of levels to show off the mechanic without making it outstay it's welcome. If you're looking for "Portal 3" this game isn't it, but it's definitely a worthwhile experience.

Out There Somewhere is a small game that focuses around the mechanic of gun that will teleport you to wherever you shoot. Though this seems quite simple at first, it's used in many interesting ways. The game is pretty short, which isn't entirely a bad thing. It's about as long as it needs to be to make the most out of the central mechanic without things getting too stale. There's a few well-hidden secrets and some tricky achievements that add to the replay value, so you can get more mileage out of it that way. There's also some story points sprinkled throughout the game. They aren't much, but they help to add some flavour.

My main complaint would be that there's no option to turn the dialogue off. Though it's not usually an issue, it gets pretty annoying getting the tutorial messages all over again when you need to restart the game after messing up the Daredevil achievement for the 50th time. I'm also not a fan of how the level design often prevents backtracking. It's clearly a deliberate design decision that aids in the cleverness of some of the secrets, but I still found it kind of irksome.

Ultimately, I would recommend this game. It's a little thin on content for the price, though, so I'd wait for a sale if cost is an issue. I managed to get it for under a dollar, so I was satisfied.

The combat is fun, but the controls can be a little iffy at times. It seems uneccesary using only one button. Fighting airborne enemies (outside of launched shamblers) is awkward. It feels like you should pause momentarily when attacking in the air or something.

The platforming controls, however, are spot on. Movement (usually) isn't too slippery, jump height is very controllable, and it's easy to jump on/off walls. The dash is also useful. It's very satisfying when you successfully navigate a dangerous segment.

The two gameplay styles didn't always mix that well for me, unfortunately; it can be frustrating having to fight enemies when trying to avoid obstacles, and vice versa.

The most unique mechanic is the ability to place your own checkpoints. It's cool and intuitive. Honestly, I'm surprised no other game (that I know of) has anything similar. This idea seems a little token in the later levels, though, as safe spots are both rare and specific.

The cutscenes are neat - equal parts cute and creepy. It's a nice (as far as that word can be used with the subject matter) little story, and can be easily ignored if you don't care for it. I especially like the protagonist's design.

Outside of the cutscenes, the audio and visual presentation is good, but not outstanding. The backgrounds are pretty, though.

Ultimately, though, this game is a precision platformer. Your decision to get it or not should reflect that. There's no unfair hidden traps or anything, but there will be plenty of deaths from missed jumps or poor timing. If you can deal with that, you'll like this game. Otherwise, stay away. Fortunately, I can.