Recent reviews by Rafl

Why haven't you played this yet?
(this is coming from a dude that has this game on 4 different systems)

Its pretty good but, it should be mentioned that you have to drag objects to other objects to actually progress. It makes sense for a point and click, but its never mentioned that you can actually grab objects. Other than that though, the game's got charm and I definitely recommend checking it out, even if you're not a fan of point and click adventures.

*Updated Review after playing The Grimm Troupe:*
This is still by far the best metroidvania I've played in recent years, and this definitely comes from the multiple aspects that make a game great.

Hollow Knight is a game in which you take control of "The Knight" and explore the vast, ruined kingdom of Hallownest. On this journey you'll learn about the kingdom's history, why you've come to this kingdom, and how the fall of this once tremendous empire even occured.

-The art direction is absolutely superb, which always made me excited to find the next area.
-Every area has unique enemies that make you consider how to go about attacking/avoiding them.
-The NPCs you meet are all unique and most are actually voiced which really helps makes the characters feel alive.
-A sprawling underground kingdom for you to explore, which also includes fast travel points that you unlock for easier/faster travel.
-A multitude of bosses, each of which are just as fun as the last.
-A soundtrack filled with amazing songs that each fit the tone of their respective area.
-There's so much more I can't even put it into words
-There's also a charm system that gives you abitlies/slight combat changes and allows for too many combinations to count.

The Hidden Dreams and The Grimm Troupe DLCs have also been released which are completely free, and add more bosses, items, as well as secrets to the ever mysterious kingdom of Hallownest.

I couldn't recommend this game enough its easily one of the best games of its time and should be considered an industry standard for future metroidvanias.

This game is a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover.

(Updated after 100%ing the game with all 637 achievements)

After all the DLC expansions this game has received over the years I can safely say that this is by far my favorite roguelike of all time and easily in my top 10 games no question. .

With too many characters to count, multiple branching paths, and hundreds upon hundreds of items no really is truly ever the same. The sheer replay value this game offers even after getting 100% is insane in itself.

Overall its an amazing experience although I feel like there isn't much of an in-between for buying the DLC for a good experience. You either own it all or you don't. Base Rebirth is a fantastic game but Repentance adds so much more and fixes many of the base game and previous DLC installment issues that I can't NOT recommend going with the full package at this point, its nonstop content plus a completely re-balanced and better experience.

There's not much else to say, its a fantastic game and its by far one of the greatest of the roguelike genre.
There's also a fantastic modding community in the steam workshop, which isn't you can't say often about steam games with that integration available.

I really feel that if the developer expanded this into a game with different areas/worlds it would be even better than it is now.

(Early Access Player for context)

Easily one of the all-time greats in a not-so-great genre, Nuclear Throne is brutally difficult but respects your time via runs being quick bursts, unless you aim for score runs in the deep loops.

Everything about this game is great: Sound design, weapon variety, character variety, soundtrack, simple art direction, etc etc I could go on... Any negatives I have towards this game are entirely my own playstyle biases, such as melee weapons being too good.

My only other negative is more-so a ??? of confusion in relation to certain characters. Frog and Skeleton should have their own character selects rather than being locked behind a weapon slot or a risky rare scenario to achieve that often results in instant death even you manage it. Obviously this game will never be updated but it would've been cool to have them unlock via getting their steam achievements. Then again no one likes frog except for me...

But overall? Its one of the few roguelikes I've sunk a ton of time into just because the gameplay loop is that good, respects your time and doesn't have weapons locked behind an artificial drop currency (cough cough)

this game needs more love

this really isn't a game about ponies

Probably one of the best RPG's I've ever played.
I can honestly say I love this game more than Undertale