Recent reviews by Plucky☆Star

While this game certainly isn't without its flaws, it nonetheless manages to be a fun, magical, and deeply emotional experience, with a very strong identity to it that sets it apart from any other game.

The gorgeous artstyle and heart-tugging story are definitely the most striking aspects here. Everything in this game is super pretty to look at, and I simply cannot believe how much detail, and especially how much raw emotion this game is able to portray using its extremely limited colours and simplistic shape language. And I do mean RAW EMOTION. The story had me in absolute shambles at several points, making me question what I believed about the world and characters, and in the end delivering a truly unique and powerful message through a combination of heavy symbolism and interaction with gameplay elements. In that regard, this game is something special.

The gameplay is great as well, though it does have its issues at times. For the vast majority of the game, it plays really well. The haunting mechanic is very fun to interact with, and the methods of obtaining stars (the major collectible) are somewhat repetitive in concept but each usually has some fun twist that makes it enjoyable to collect nonetheless. It's nothing special, but it carries itself along well with its heavily Super Mario Odyssey-inspired format, merged with a twin-stick shooter gameplay style, and is more than enough to keep you engaged through the story and wanting to explore each area to the fullest.

Like I said though, it is not without its problems, especially in its last quarter. While most stars are fun to collect, there are definitely a few frustrating ones, or ones that DO feel repetitive, but that's bound to happen in a game with this many of its major collectible, so I can forgive this. There are other smaller issues too, like the camera making gameplay harder than it needs to be at times, the map not being very helpful for navigating areas, a bit of an annoying difficulty spike in the Eternal City, and generally a number of bugs and oversights (immediately taking damage when un-haunting some enemies, the camera panning up to the sky for seemingly no reason, the fast-moving shuttle enemies in the final area being a bit too fast to react to them coming on-screen, etc.). These issues did not do much to bog down my experience personally, but they are worth mentioning.

Hauntii is not a perfect game, but it touched my heart in a way few others have managed to do. I truly think Hauntii is special, and I hope that others can look past its flaws to see the beauty that I see in it.

No doubt one of the best-feeling 2D platformers ever made. The movement is fluid and extremely rewarding to master, and the way it works into the combat makes it somehow even more satisfying than normal to blast enemies in the face with a shotgun. The story hooks you fast and turns out to be an absolute roller coaster, with very heavy themes and story beats that had me genuinely in tears after all was said and done. And all that isn't even to mention the fantastic visuals, immaculate music and sound design, and everything else that went into this unforgettable experience.
Doinksoft's best work by a mile, and one of the best games Devolver has ever published. Even when 2023 has been stacked full of incredible games, Gunbrella still manages to stick out to me as one of the year's best.

Genuinely CANNOT recommend this game enough.
It's got super unique and engaging gameplay, with its puzzle-esque JRPG combat in which you have to use everything at your disposal to figure out the winning strategy.
It's got one of the most fun and silly, yet emotionally complex protagonist casts of ANY MEDIA (yes, I'm dead serious), who will no doubt get laughs, smiles, and maybe even tears out of you.
It's got an absolute BANGER soundtrack.
It's got aliens. It's got catgirls. It's got alien catgirls.
IT'S GOT THE MOTHER-ANGLIN' EVOLOBSTER!!!
And most important, it's got a metric ton of love and heart poured into every single corner of it.
All for less than what an order from McDonald's would cost you.

So tell me, would you rather McDonald's, or THIS AMAZING GAME?
You should already know the answer.

cute/10 would snuggle with the deer again

What an absolute TREAT of a puzzle game! Whenever I thought I'd seen the craziest new mechanic, the game introduced something even CRAZIER that I never could have seen coming, and it blew my mind every time.

It has all the qualities of a top-notch puzzle game, give or take maybe a couple somewhat obtuse solutions, but even the best puzzle games suffer from that. Plus, they're few and far between here, and in general the mechanics are taught in very clever and intuitive ways. Nearly every puzzle was something unique, showing off some sort of cool interaction or new way to use the mechanics, and it makes every facet of the game feel like it's fully realized.

The best part is that the game is very beginner-friendly as well, in no small part due to its absolutely GENIUS hint system. It's such a crazy amount of work for a hint system but the end result is brilliant, I HAVE to commend it!

Overall, please just buy this game. Do it. It's worth every cent, even at full price. If you like puzzle games, or even if you just like seeing cool and unexpected things happen in a game, you will NOT be disappointed with this one!

Unironically proabably the best written Sonic game ever

Everything I could ever want in a video game, and then some. A legit masterpiece that came out of nowhere, slapped me in the face 6 times, slapped my nuts once for good measure, and completely hooked me from start to finish. The single most satisfying gameplay I've ever felt, with so much charm, style, and personality that I genuinely forgot I wasn't just playing some super high-budget indie game.

How is this game even real

how the hell do you go from making Sonic Dreams Collection to this masterpiece

The quintessential parody horror game, with a whole slew of exciting new content to discover and to challenge yourself with! I've always loved how Baldi mixes lovable silliness with a genuine sense of fear, and it works just as well now as it did 4 years ago. This game is a certified fun time for horror game enthusiasts and challenge lovers alike!

Well yeah, of COURSE I'm gonna give a thumbs-up to the game where you fight through a gauntlet consisting of giant sentient bullets, ancient lovecraftian horrors with guns, and a giant dragon with a rocket launcher, with the ultimate goal of changing your past by shooting yourself in the head. What do I look like, some kind of madman?