Recent reviews by Kelrycor

Have a nice Death is an entertaining roguelite (not a roguelike!) game like 20XX just without coop mode.


Difficulty ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (suitable difficulties for everyone)

What did I like?

* artstyle and game concept is pretty good
* good sense of humour
* the roguelite system like 20XX with some small progressive elements
* different endings bound to story progression over multiple playthroughs
* about 17 different difficulties suitable for any player
* good fight system with intersting bosses
* game is qutie forgiving due to some legit abusable exploits to win the game easily, so getting all achievements even for casuals beating highest difficulty is doable for everybody

What did I not like?

* level design is too repetive for a roguelike game
* no challenging platforming
* no coop mode (like in 20XX)
* unlocked stuff can't be locked again later for randomized drops during gampelay to create a kind of setup to make runs easier tactically (20XX showed it is possible to do)

Summary:

HanD is a good roguelite platforming game that delivered exactly what I expected. I am just a little sad that there was no coop mode, but it still is quite entertaining. It can be a little bit repetive playing all 17 difficulties through, but as even bosses get new attack moves it seems ok. Only the soundtrack, the not much randomized level layout and little platforming challenges were dissapointing. The rest was pretty much well done by the devs.

20XX is a pretty well made MegamanX style roguelite clone with coop mode


Difficulty ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (definitely not for casual gamers)

What did I like?

* I love the artstyle and the soundtrack a lot
* the roguelite system with the progressive elements is well made
* challenging platforming
* seed rendered level design
* coop mode (online and local couch coop)
* challenging old-school action
* 2 difficulties but plenty of customizable start conditions
* unlocked stuff for being randomized drops can be locked later on again to raise the chances to get good stuff

What did I not like?

* basically only one ending with just minor changes
* game is pretty hard, Steam achievements are absolutely only for hardcore gamers
* story is just a framework
* story cutscenes during game are only shown once, then never again (why? just why?)

Summary:

I totally love this games overall presentation as I was always a fan of the old Megaman games. This game not only delivers a good platforming action with well made reguelite randomizations, but also a coop mode to enjoy the game together. Yet, prepare yourself for a pretty difficult time to play it through.

Hated to see that the sequel 30XX was a step backwards to retro pixel graphics though. I understand why, but I liked the 20XX kind of presentation still way more.

Simple but well done open-world platformer with logic riddles focused on exploration rather than fighting.


Difficulty ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ (very forgiving, for casuals)

What did I like?

* beautiful graphics
* story is ok, but adds a lot of atmosphere
* characters work well together
* linear open-world with a teleport system
* the Rusty figurine in the Dust Bunny ;)
* cleaning the gunk is fun
* no spiders (so many games have them as enemies)
* the scanning plants and objects quest is a nice idea
* some of the social critics about humanity

What did I not like?

* one missables achievement (gunk dripper)
* aim assist is on by default (you can deactivate it in the settings though)
* hefty performance issues on the big elevator in the garden tower (FPS drop from 144+ to 28 for multiple seconds every level the elevator travels, fans were going crazy)
* later gunk drippers were not scanable although green tag (bug?)
* one of the elevators visually bugged out once (it still worked perfectly)
* no new game+
* rather short with only 7 hours playtime, some extra side missions or collecting quets would have been fine

Summary:

This game is rock solid. No gamebreaking bugs and delivers exactly what I expected. I liked the characters and the artstyle as well. The feeling I had was like playing a more 3D style horizontally 'SteamWorld Dig' collecting resources (same dev team, btw) paired with some style and elements from 'Beyond Good and Evil', and it worked out.

This game is worth it to kill some time.

Sci-fi TPS with an interesting story, but lots of flaws in it


Difficulty ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (at the beginning more difficult, later quite moderate)

What did I like?

* good graphics
* story line was good (with some lacks in the storytelling)
* interesting fight system that rewards you a lot using the right weapon for the correct weakspots
* 3 difficulties
* enough XP cubes to unlock anything without the need to find all of them
* traps and ammo does respawn over time as well

What did I not like?

* the face expressions are weird - you clealy see that they are coded and not motion-captured
* only rare placed checkpoints with a bonfire system like in souls games
* running passed enemies is sometime more efficient than killing them
* linear pseudo-open-world
* you gain still ability points if fully skilled, permanently highlighted in the HUD
* you need to charge the thermal gun for firing
* dialogues / logs get stopped when you trigger another audio unintentionally
* combat system flaws:
  1. enemies may occasionally shoot through other enemies
  2. hitboxes of attacks or enemies causes you to get hit or blocked by thin air
  3. (especially at the beginning) getting poisened is a death-sentence (too strong)
  4. freezing in some areas is just too fast
  5. controller even w/ aim-assist is still not as good as mouse w/ keyboard

What did I hate about this game?

I am in general not a fan of soulslike games. The bonfire technique, evading mobs and focus on boss fights is just not my understanding of a good gameplay. As this game uses some of those things, or at least tries to be a half-hearted soulslike game, I did not like it.

The game got tagged with open-world and Metroidvania as well, but it is in fact neither of it. Your backtravelling is quite limited and thus you have missables (like weapon upgrades). I know those tags are sometimes placed by players, but still it caused me having wrong expectations about this game anyway.

The final kicker was the fact that the game just auto-deletes your savestate as soon as you finished the game. A no-go if you ask me. No NG+, no chapter select, no repeating the finale how often you want to, devs just decided to force the player to begin from scratch.

Summary:

Good visuals and story driven game, but paired with a very bad executed gameplay concept. Problem is that you just can't like this game even if you want to, as long as the 'little flaws' just slap you in your face every 5 minutes or so. The game made just too many mistakes to be called good for me, unfortunetally - and it looked so promising at the beginning.

A hidden pearl amongst the indie games that is a must play for sneak adventure players that love good storytelling.


Difficulty ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ (at the beginning more difficult, later on it's a breeze)

The game is from 2018, so judging the graphics from that perspective and the fact this is a very small indie team, the graphics are very good. It can be enhanced though.

What did I like?

* very cute concept, many lovely details, and a complete back-lore to dive into if you want
* pretty good level design (especially the keep and all the shortcuts)
* lovely characters (eg Silas, Rolo, Kerold, Fatale and Gusto)
* very good sense of humour, a laughed a lot (really read all the dialogues, it is worht it)
* the main story, sidequests and backstories of everyone comes together quite well
* you can 'befriend' the enemies rats partly later on, and they are not just nameless mobs that fulfill only the purpose of being your enemies
* the riddles were awesome. Especially the song or textbook bound riddles were cool, liked it a lot
* ingame hint over the smithy Rolo (you can pay him to get them if you are in need)
* there is a day an night change that does matter for quests (enemy patrols stays the same)
* there is absolutely no fighting, gameplay around using tools or sneaking pass the enemies is quite intuitive
* most riddle are easy logical ones that might need to use some brain but are not too difficult
* many shortcuts that can be opened later on, there is no real need of a teleport system. Though you have to backtrack a lot for quests, be prepared for that
* awesome soundtrack, very fitting
* a lot of gears to put on with special set bonuses that are even needed for certain quest
* 3 extra challenges for a replay (don't eat food, don't get hit, don't get spotted by enemies). Sounds harder than it actually is

What did I not like?

* missable Steam achievements
* missable skills if you progress to quick in the main story (especially the skills of Gusto and Fatale can be missed easily)
* no dubbed audio, not even English
* after the toturial part in the jail, as soon as you reach the keep, things getting a little bit overwhelming - too many places and things to do, but you get accustomed to it
* difficulty does take a huge leap as you reach the keep first, but with later skills and gears things get super-easy
* no official VR support, although it really cries out for (but there is a way to use VRgin with version 7 of this game to play it in VR)
* no new game+ for those just playing for the story

Bugs and logic flaws:

There are no game breaking bugs or issues as far as I can tell. But a lot of minor problems that show that this is just an indie project.

* Playstation controller was not recognized the first time I started the game
* game visually bugged out once as I entered the basket to Sila (reload checkpoint fixed it)
* while Duinlan watches me I cannot burn purple banners
* game dialogs for accept/decline change position, so watch closely what you choose
* the sun rays and the sun during sunset is bugged (clipping through walls, sun is seen below horizon in the lake)
* quotation mark in the catacomb without any NPC to speak to (related to the bird I guess)
* ranger mask does not work visually
* dialoges are messed up sometimes: I speak to Duinlan, but Gusto (which is not here) is greeting me. Or while speakign to smuggler goards their dialoge lines get mixed with standard ones
* some lootpoints get not resetted with reloading checkpoint but with restarting the whole game. So if you miss a lootpoint or quest item (like an odol), save game and restart the whole game (fixed it for me in the catacombs)

There are a plenty of little logic flaws here and there. I will not list them here for spoiler reasons. Depending how complex the coding must be with the many different conditions, and the small dev team, I am still suprised how complex and yet consistent NPC react to different things my character did.

Summary:

SeithCG did a wonderful job - geniuses at work. Considering this is an IndieGoGo project and just a very tiny dev team, they put together a marvelous game. I do love the storytelling, the atmosphere, the level and character design, and even the gameplay. I didn't missed a fighting system at all. I am glad that I stumbled 2024 over this 2018 released game. This game is by far underrated if you ask me, for me it is one of the best games I played this year.

There is a sequel in the making, that is really good to hear. Seems they switch from Unity to Unreal 5 for that. And I hope that one day SeithCG will implement a native VR support like it happened for Hellblade. Unity and Unreal can do it without too much of problem, and I would even pay extra for a 'VR DLC' for the efforts as I don't like to use third-party software to play games VR.

So if you search for a stealth RPG adventure, you love deep game lores, don't mind backtracking or some spiders, this game is for you. Check it out and don't miss it.

One of my favorite nostalgic games messed up in a bad remastered port.


Difficulty ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

BGE is one of the most underrated games back the days although it does so many things right when it comes to gameplay, story and atmosphere. I just love it. This game will definitely be always in my nostalgic section of my gamer's heart :)

I was so hyped when I heard that they released an HD version of this game. But unfortunetally I had to witness that the so called 'remastered' port is so messed up I just cannot recommend it to anyone. Seems Ubisoft needs urgently money for BGE 2 developement. A story prequel to this game that will most likely never come but just waste their money. The dev in charge is just too ambitious and should have sticked to multiple similar sequel game like this one instead of trying to 'go Chris Roberts' (just my opinion).

What did I hate about the HD port?

* third-party software necessary that I needed to install twice to make it run
* awesome, 4K graphics with a little bit enhanced effects, but locked in 60 FPS that feels like 30 FPS (doh)
* 3D objects have the same polygon level as the classic version
* to unlock FPS you have to manually alter ini-files (common, it's 2024 guys, really?)
* audio not reworked, sounds very plain
* the game does crash most likely if you want to multitask
* only one single manual saveslot, classic version supported more
* performance is not well optimized (FPS is dropping occasionally below 60 FPS on a AMD 7900 XTX with Ryzen 7800x3D... w00t!?)
* game crashed the whole time, especially often in the first hovercraft fight (every 20 seconds, could not even finish this fight). Might not apply to Nvidia owners, but for me it is a desaster


Refunded as I don't want to support bad work and greedy publisher with my money.

Zany sandbox super rodent action or fans of games like GOATS


Difficulty ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (no big consequences when dying)

What did I like?

* concept and sandbox is fun
* good soundtrack (do like the fact that the main theme has different variation depending on the area your are, like the wedding theme)
* boss fights were awesome
* funny gameplay with lots of different tasks and intersting areas to explore
* nice outfits and cosmetics
* squirrel has a gun
* really, squirrel has all sorts of big guns
* squirrel is just imba :)

What did I not like?

* game performance is bad due to a lot of hefty post-processing shaders to beef visuals up artificially
* overall polygon level of assets and objects is a little but too low, the shaders don't helpt to much
* the sandbox world could be bigger and more detailed (game felt a little bit to fast to play through)
* there is no real resolution setting (just a slider) or option to set fullscreen or borderless windows mode, that slider can also get stuck on low and medium, you need hotkeys of Windows to fix this. I would like to have more particular control over those two things
* some clipping don't work out well
* would like to have different fatality moves for the same weapon
* climbing was bugged once until I reloaded the whole game
* camera control and car control does not work out too well with controller

Summary:

If you are a fan of crazy sandbox games, or you played GOATS and loved that, Suirrel with a Gun is pretty much exactly for you. Though GOATS, especially GOATS 3 does offer more (and even multiplayer fun, locally or online). SwaG has a great concept, it needs more polishing, more areas, more to do, and a multiplayer, and it could really stand out of the masses.

Don't get me wrong, the game is fun as it is, and you should really play it if you are interested in it, but it could be much much bigger. Hope this games get a proper sequel or some interesting new DLCs or other additions.

Purr-fect super-cute cat-simulator.


Difficulty ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (no deaths, no failing)

What did I like?

* nice characters
* awesome artstyle
* cat movements well made (like in Stray)
* lovely details and cat jokes
* a lot of funny cat-stuff things to do
* well made city also in vertical direction
* no missables (you can play on after finishing the game)
* portal system

What did I not like?

* you cannot prevent cat from jumping down edges (why not make it possible to sneak to edges to get at the most outer point?)
* bird hunting could be more challenging with various bird types
* would have wished that the city would be bigger and more stuff to do (game felt too short, needed 8 hours to 100% it)
* collecting trash quest took too long
* story and soundtrack just suits its general purpose nothing more
* would be pretty fun to have an online or local couch coop

Summary:

It is nothing with a lot of action, but exploration and little cat adventures that focus on a smooth atmosphere having fun doing cat stuff (good and evil things). The game could be enhanced further on with additional content, there is a lot of potential left. But all the things I disliked did not made me feel bad about the game.

The game made me laugh a lot of times and had a blast playing it. Total recommendation from me. If you are a cat person, this is a must play.

Hubris is a hybrid game between HL:Alyx and Robinson:The Journey with some crafting.


Difficulty ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ (based on highest difficulty)

What did I like?

* good graphics
* fight system very simlar to HF:Alyx
* climbing system is similar to Robinson:The Journey
* you can pull items from a close range to you
* a lot of healing items
* chapter select available
* arena mode available (but it does not work properly)
* AI does try to take advantage when your magazine is depleted (nice idea)

What did I not like?

* controls are a little bit weird sometimes (inventory, throwing grenades, vehicle controls)
* I do like the swimming idea, but during fights controls are a mess
* unlimited ammo (in a game with crafting? why, whyyyyy?)
* difficult to max out all weapons (even if you explored a lot)
* you have to deplete your magazine to reload like an M1 Garand (why not make the weapon slowly regenerate while not firing and only the need to push back magazine when you depleted it completely?)
* arena is somehow bugged, you don't start with a weapon at all and I can't find any (makes it useless to play)
* in climbing mode I have to press my sensor grip button of my Index knuckles very hard, which can be harmful to the controller over time I think
* the game does not tells you how to access the menu, needed to find this out by myself (for Index knuckles it is pushing left and right analog stick at the same time)
* no Laika ;)

Bugs encountered:

* items may bug out in the inventory (you will see the item counter, but the icon is gone and you cannot access it, you need to reload checkpoint to repair this)
* you can clip out coincidentally off map while climbing, which will lead to a sudden death
* German translation of the menu is horrible and seem to be translated by machine
* weapon can get stuck in the upgrade machine if you put it in too slowly (pressing B two times will fix this)
* faces did bug out for 80% of the game (weird holographic shader effect over the faces of NPCs, only beginning and ending was ok)

Important things to know:

* if you support you weapon with the second hand you will get an aim-dot which is great for sniping
* your magazine can be pushed back to reload not only with your hand, but with your whole body (just knock your gun to your waist or body), this is really useful as you can operate your gun single handed
* you can swap your weapon into your other hand by holding the B button on the corresponding controller, which is nice to fight around corner properly
* in the 2nd time in the loft you can technically craft unlimited healing items, make use of it

Summary:

The game does use a lot of things from other VR titles, but this is not bad at all. It does work out pretty well indeed. So if you enjoyed games like Alyx, Hubris is definitely worth buying. With 8 hours story playtime (and I explored a lot) the game is not long, but as it is not from a AAA publisher, this shouldn't hold you from supporting them, even if there are some technical problems here and there, and some mechanics can be improved in the future. The story itself seems to be able to be continued if the game is successful, and I totally see forward to it.

I had fun playing, so a recommendation from me.

2D hack'n slay platformer meets story elements from Doom and Control in pseudo retro style.


Difficulty ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ (add two stars for the 'hell' difficulty)

What did I like?

* lovely characters
* setting and atmosphere
* overall presentation
* soundtrack
* sidequests and cosmetics
* upgrade system for character and weapons
* new game+ available
* three difficulties

What did I not like?

* a lot of bugs and glitches (some can completely softlock you)
* cosmetics have to be reequipped all the time manually
* bad enemy attack hitboxes (eg freighter boss)
* low 16-bit rendering causing ugly color steps
* basic fight system
* the decision for the retro artstyle was not the best choice
* difficulty is not balanced properly (nor raises linear or stays the same during gameplay)
* bad checkpoints before some boss fights

Summary:

The game is pretty good if it fits your taste. But the biggest downsides for me is that the pixelart retro style doesn't work out with the 3D elements too well, would have liked to see the visuals be more like in Forgotton Anne, in a comic/anime style. Would have worked out more if you ask me. The fight system was very basic, nothing too fancy and new to be honest, but on the other hand you get into it pretty fast due to that. A lot of annoying hitboxes, bugs and glitches still exist, and the difficulty needs some tweaking also. For a game that is 2 years old not bearable.

I give it a recommendation though, but it was a pretty close call. If Steam would allow neutral reviews, this one would have been one.