Rayman Legends Review

Several months ago, I reviewed Rayman Origins, a colorful, creative, and tightly designed platformer that I came away from about as positively as I could. As such, it seemed inevitable that I would get to its sequel, Rayman Legends, and seeing as how the game has a Switch port due out in about a week, I figured that now would be as good a time as any. (more…)

Continue ReadingRayman Legends Review

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I Review

After going through the classic Genesis-era Sonic games last year with reviews of Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, CD, and 3, I thought I was done revisiting the classic titles. I am, but there was one mainline Sonic game that tried to recapture the feeling of these games, one that the upcoming Sonic Mania will basically overwrite. That is Sonic The Hedgehog 4, an episodic game series that must have done so poorly for Sega that they actually never finished it, instead stopping after two episodes. Seeing as how both games are surprisingly different for episodic titles, I will be reviewing the games separately, starting with Episode I naturally. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I Review

Freedom Planet Review

Well, this has been sitting on my to-do list for quite a while. After going through the Genesis-era mainline Sonic games back in 2016, I wanted to go through Freedom Planet as it was originally envisioned as a Sonic fan game, and takes many clear inspirations from the series. Yet due to my previous experience with the game, there was one minor mechanical decision that simply prevented me from giving the game my full attention. One that I will get to in a little bit. (more…)

Continue ReadingFreedom Planet Review

Owlboy Review

The storied history of Owlboy is one that stretches across almost the entire time in which independent game developers rose from an offshoot novelty to a mighty force in the game industry, and then transformed into an oversaturation of developers and games on the marketplace, where visibility and attention are in short supply. Or at least that’s how I see it. Originally announced in 2008, the game has gained something of a legacy, and just last year, it finally came out to a rather warm reception.  Considering I had been excited for this game since I first heard about it while in middle school, I was naturally looking forward to finally playing the game for myself. Unfortunately… Well, I’ll get into that. (more…)

Continue ReadingOwlboy Review

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove Review

Yeah, I know I’m late to the party on this one, as Shovel Knight’s heyday wherein it received copious amounts of praise was nearly three years ago. However, it was recently rebranded as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and given additional content just shortly ago, so now is as good a time as any to revisit the game and go through its three fully fledged campaigns… at least that was my intention, but I’ll get to that. (more…)

Continue ReadingShovel Knight: Treasure Trove Review

Rayman Origins Review

I have a personal policy where I like to revisit any game that I consider to be among my all time favorites once every few years. This is my way of ensuring that they are still quality titles that deserve to be placed so highly in my mind, help reinvigorate my affection towards certain titles, and allow me to more closely understand what makes these games so gosh darn good. Rayman Origins is the latest entry in this series of never ending exploits, and it’s still pretty wonderful. (more…)

Continue ReadingRayman Origins Review

Shadow The Hedgehog Review

_12After going through select entries in the Sonic series over the past few months, I think I’ve reached my end with this. A game that released eleven years ago, and served as a present for my eleventh birthday, because I was still a dumb little child young enough to find the edginess of this game to be cool. So I got the game whenever I did, including the limited edition Shadow The Hedgehog beanie. A collectible that I eventually threw away, but remembered well enough to reference it in a story of mine… because I think that the fact Sega sold this game with a beanie is funny. (more…)

Continue ReadingShadow The Hedgehog Review

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles Review

20161011212322_1After two months and four games, I am finally done with the Genesis era mainline Sonic games. It has been an annoying journey from the abysmal Sonic 1, frustrating Sonic 2, and surprisingly alright Sonic CD. Now I arrive at Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the complete version of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, which only exists because Sonic Team made too many levels to fit on a Genesis cartridge and had to develop new technology to make their original vision playable to the masses. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles Review

Sonic CD Review

com-sega-soniccd_screen1Continuing with my Genesis-era Sonic retrospective from parts 1 and 2, Sonic CD originally began development as a portion of Sonic 2 before mechanical differences led to the game being too vastly different, causing it to later be repurposed as the marquee title for the Sega CD. Unlike the three mainline games, I’ve actually never played Sonic CD as I simply lacked access to it as a child, and as such don’t have much of a history with it. So without further ado, let’s just spin dash through a loop, bounce off a badnik, and grab a couple of rings… or whatever. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic CD Review

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review

20160802204946_1Continuing my quest to revisit the mainline Genesis era Sonic games, one done simply for my own curiosity, I am brought away from the disheartening Sonic The Hedgehog and towards its far more beloved sequel Sonic The Hedgehog 2. A game I fondly remember playing at my dentist’s office while I waited for her to clean my teeth and tell me how many cavities I accumulated over the past six months. Good times. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic The Hedgehog 2 Review

Kirby Super Star Ultra Review

Kirby_Super_Star_Ultra_logoKirby Super Star Ultra is one of those games that regularly rings throughout my head whenever I try to pinpoint what my favorite games of all time truly are. A title that I remember as a purely joyous experience, and one that shines brightly as a more traditional Kirby game, when they tend to be solid and fun platforming affairs. Being a fickle and temperamental person, I chose to revisit and replay the title in order to remind me why I felt this way, and provide a review explaining why it is among my favorite games of all time. (more…)

Continue ReadingKirby Super Star Ultra Review

Sonic The Hedgehog Review

20160730143042_1After the unveiling of Sonic Mania, it occurred to me how little I personally remembered the Genesis era of the Sonic The Hedgehog games. I only ever played them at a young age, and I don’t think I played them very much at that. Heck, the first Sonic game was the first video game I ever played, and all I remember about it was being in Marble Zone, losing all my rings, and getting upset after I died. A memory that acted as a very poor first impression of video games.  Yeah, so I already have reason enough to not like this game, but being a poorly constructed relic doesn’t help much either. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic The Hedgehog Review

A Boy and His Blob Review

20160521100132_1This year has not been marvelous in regards to the games I’ve played. Most have been pretty average so, far, which is unfortunate since I try to curate my list of games to play to contain games that are generally well received. I enjoy being able to deconstruct elements of a game and articulate what exactly I dislike about them, but I’d rather be releasing relentless praise upon games, joyful that I had the opportunity to play them. …Unfortunately, I can’t do that here. (more…)

Continue ReadingA Boy and His Blob Review

Sonic Lost World Review

20160407175313_1Backstory for anyone who is not aware: I was a big Sonic fan during the Gamecube era, and despite recognizing that the majority of 3D Sonic games are messes on a technical level, I still hold some fondness for them and the franchise at large. …I really wish I didn’t at times. I’d be a far happier person if that were the case. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic Lost World Review

Sonic Adventure 2 Review

sa2xbla
Note: I re-reviewed this title in 2019. Please disregard this review.

Yes, yes, I reviewed this back in June, found it to be very upsetting, but felt I should give it another look after being compelled to look at its predecessor and finding myself enjoying the game far more than I expected. Mind you, the game in question is still riddled with problems and from an objective standpoint is not very good, but these reviews are ultimately subjective and just because something is not good does not make it unenjoyable. (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic Adventure 2 Review

Sonic Adventure DX Review

ChubbsNote: I re-reviewed this title in 2019. Please disregard this review.

Okay, backstory for me in particular involving Sonic. I was born in 1994, Sonic The Hedgehog was the first game I ever played, adored the hell out of the Gamecube Sonic games, and maintained some sort of connection to the franchise for… well, it’s still not gone as of yet, but is nothing like it used to be and is more akin to what people who got invested into something that continued well after they should have grown out of it, but can’t just stop. So here’s a review of a game that I loved at age ten, to celebrate me leaving my teenage years behind! (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic Adventure DX Review

Sonic Generations Review

pusher-gameNote: I re-reviewed this game in 2019. Please disregard this original review.

Why did I play this game again? Why did I go through the obnoxious challenges a second time in order to get a meaningless 100% that some may say is incomplete as I did not get four Steam achievements? Why did I buy a game I did not necessarily like a second time? Well, the answer there is that it was part of a Sonic Pack on the Humble Store, which was discounted 50% or 75%. But yes, I am reviewing it again as my library has been drying up a bit, and by chance I glanced at my Sonic Generations review from back when and was not happy with what I saw. So… let’s do it to it! (more…)

Continue ReadingSonic Generations Review

Kirby Triple Deluxe Review

kirby-triple-deluxe2Oh boy, remember when I was going to go through and review every Kirby game ever made? No? Yeah, that’s probably a good thing. Point is that I like myself some Kirby and played nearly every game starring the pink puff ball, so its only natural that I’d pick up his latest adventure when Best Buy decided that a buy one get one free sale for first party Nintendo 3DS titles was something they’d have stock for.

(more…)

Continue ReadingKirby Triple Deluxe Review

Cave Story+ Review

capsule_main_Cave_Story_It may seem to be more than a little odd to go out and review a title like Cave Story. A game originally released as a freeware PC title and developed by one individual who toiled away for five years in order to more or less become the archetype for many indie developers to follow. In fact, Cave Story is probably a good reason for why independent gaming is where it is today as the game served as something of an inspiration that not only was there milage in making retro styled games, but just about anybody could make them with enough know how. That said, I played the Steam version of the game after playing the Wiiware one way back in 2010, and trudged my way to the “good” ending because why would I ever go through something the creator finds challenging?

(more…)

Continue ReadingCave Story+ Review

Alice Madness Returns Review

alice_madness_returns_by_albertorayman-d3klbsrI have a small list of games that I feel I should have really played through this past generation, simply due to my own curiosity surrounding them, and if those games happen to be $5, then I haven’t any reason to pass them up, especially when they are technically two games. Unfortunately, American Mcgee’s Alice was very much a PC game, so controlling it with a controller felt odd, and the gameplay was more daunting than it had any right to be. So how is its more modern sequel? Pretty bad.

(more…)

Continue ReadingAlice Madness Returns Review