Recent reviews by SNESmapper

3.0 / 5.0

A good stepping stone for the rest of the Shantae series. The game has some mechanics that have been greatly refined by other games of this genre over the years but in general this is solid game with lots of charm.

Exploration and backtracking can be cumbersome since the map is not incredibly helpful but all in all a solid effort for being an early game in the series.

https://youtu.be/G4Lj_rdkHKw

3.5 / 5.0

Fun free to play first person shooter. For being a free game, the gameplay and content are great so I'm not surprised at the popularity and success of this game. Like many other reviews say, this is basically an online competitive first-person shooter blending Halo and Portal elements. The result is surprisingly good; definitely worth checking out considering it's free and can provide several hours of entertainment.

4.0 / 5.0

This is yet another indie game triumph in the sense that the game delivers a great overall product featuring an interesting (yet simple) story, dark setting, challenging but rewarding gameplay, and good soundtrack.

Despite its dark and gloomy nature, the game and its characters have a lot to show. This is a must play if you are into challenging (yet fair and rewarding) adventure games.

https://youtu.be/6Q-4qVc5Mx8

3.0 / 5.0

It serves as a tech demo for the Steam Deck with a story backdrop based on the Portal game universe. Despite its short nature, it's a fun tech demo that showcases the possibilities of the Steam Deck hardware with great Aperture-based presentation and even writing. I just wish it was longer but can't complain much for the price of free.

3.0 / 5.0

An interesting indie narrative-driven investigation cRPG with a cyberpunk setting. Story has ups and downs but ultimately the end is strong and worth playing through the game to experience some interesting plots. Gameplay is basically reading and investigating to find clues and make determinations to solve cases that occur both in the real world and a virtual world.

Writing in the game is not perfect but overall fairly good considering the indie nature of the game. No voice acting (not even partial) is available for this game. Recommended if you can find this on sale.

https://youtu.be/LxL-6KZLWC0

3.5 / 5.0

Shadowrun Returns is a good tactical cRPG set in a very unique and interesting setting that combines fantasy elements such as mages, elfs, trolls, etc. with a modern/cyberpunk setting, creating a unique universe that becomes very intriguing. While the game has a ton of room for improvement, it's important to keep in mind this was crowdfunded and it's impressive to see what the developers were able to achieve with this game since it features a very good story, good characters and good (albeit linear) level design and combat. This is the perfect game for newcomers to the cRPG/tactical RPG genre considering its length and straightforward tactical turn-based combat system.

https://youtu.be/8adbJOS0sTk

2.0 / 5.0

Kokoro Clover Part1 does a lot of things right, mainly its sunday morning Japanese show presentation both visually and from an audio perspective with a very catchy old school theme song. However, as a game, it falls really short in terms of gameplay (overly simple combat, physics), bland level design and poor boss battles. For whatever reason, you have to manually scroll through the story segments and levels, almost like a chapter select of sorts but completely unnecessary. If you are interested in this game is probably worth waiting for the Complete Season upcoming game which will combine parts 1 and 2 and include new levels.

2.5 / 5.0

Turnip Boy takes its main inspiration from classic Zelda games and other 16-bit games to provide a decent and short experience. The fetch quest nature of the game can become tiring quickly but the game's short length helps in that regard. There are enough interesting characters, dungeons, collectibles, and puzzles to keep the game engaging, combined with a very simple (in the surface) story that surprisingly becomes interesting and dark. Recommended if you are into classic Zelda-like games and if you find this on sale considering how short the game is.

https://youtu.be/1Gr9MwYBbe4

3.0 / 5.0

Murder House pays homage to the 80s slasher horror films and therefore features sloppy writing, characters making terrible decisions, and tons of gore and blood. The game is presented in a PS1 era type of early 3D graphics with fixed camera angles (although the game does feature the option to play it as first person).

Unfortunately the camera angles are not fully fixed and have a cinematic dynamic movement trying to convey the use of a movie/security camera feel to the presentation (a la RE Code Veronica) therefore creating this wobble effect that can induce motion sickness. I was only able to handle this game in shorter sessions, but other than that the gameplay is decent and it's set in such a way that the game does not hold your hand. Chase and enemy encounter sequences are very effective and create a very tense horror atmosphere.

https://youtu.be/r_kydavxMYc

3.5 / 5.0

Paradise killer is a first-person open world investigation game that revolves around solving a murder mystery. The game has a lot of character and style and it's undoubtedly influenced by the works of Suda 51/Grasshoper Manufacture in several aspects such as character designs, visual art direction, quirky stories/dialogues, and even audio effects. The world/island is very fun to explore and features collectibles and different places to explore and gather clues for your investigation.
Interestingly enough, you can go to the final trial as soon/late as you want.

The idea is to gather as many clues as possible to hone down on what characters are suspects and finally guilty but ultimately there is no right or wrong ending in terms on who's at fault; it all depends on your personal judgment and interpretation of how the case went based on the testimonials and clues you gathered.

Overall, I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of Suda 51 works and are looking for a unique investigation/detective game thanks to its setting and characters.

https://youtu.be/g7N7NYErWCc