Recent reviews by Juice Kelly

Animal Well is a very good game that ate my entire weekend and a few pages of my notebook, but I'm hesitant to call it a masterpiece and I'm still trying to understand why.

The art is the biggest positive for sure. Basso's pixel art is extremely simple, and the layers of processing and effects combine to make it an extremely alluring thing to look at. He picked a very good color palette too. I read in an interview that Super Mario 2 and FEZ were both big inspirations, and aesthetically speaking that absolutely shows. The Mario 2 indoor mini golf course look is pleasant and cool, and it's neat to see a genius like Basso agree with that. A few of the animals are constructed with what I think are procedural animations as well, which makes them appear especially lifelike. I think more background elements like the Cranes, Sloths, Groundhogs, etc would've been really neat and probably would've helped me be less frustrated when backtracking.

It's an extremely competent Metroid-like with an underlying current of puzzle solving and deciphering, which is pretty much what I was expecting based on videos and trailers. The levels and world of Animal Well are also masterfully designed, and there are little to no "dead-ends" due to the fact that the areas of the Well are designed to be navigated in pretty much any order, which makes the game feel almost friction-less to play at times. You can just go.

The best parts of Animal Well are the parts where you're not backtracking. Exploring the Animal Well for the first time is magic, almost every screen contains some entity or interesting thing and it makes for a really interesting experience the first time through. The fifth and sixth times are exponentially less interesting though. FEZ had a really nice map, that would show you which screens contained mysteries still without telling you what the secret is or whether or not you had the knowledge to solve it, and I think something like that would've really helped this game. I was able to find a few bunnies and about 59 or so eggs before eventually giving up on scouring the entire map and looking up the locations (not the solutions) of the remaining eggs and like 3 of the bunnies. I just didn't care very much after a certain point. I care a lot more now after seeing some the bunny solutions though and I'm hoping to solve the rest of those on my own (except the one(?) I can't).

I also have to bring up the price. This is a product and I am a consumer, and while it isn't necessarily fair to appraise like this, I have to compare it to the prices of other things I could be buying with that money, cause I do that for everything I buy at a subconscious level (same as any other human). For 25 USD, I could buy FEZ and Hollow Knight at the same time, which are masterpieces that convinced both my head and my heart that they were such near-immediately. FEZ is a masterpiece, with puzzles that also require the player to do things in meatspace while also incorporating elements of archaeology, anthropology, and codebreaking. Hollow Knight is a sprawling, well realized, and tight Metroidvania filled with things to see and do, and I was convinced of it's greatness when I realized I initially beat the game without ever going to the Queen's Garden. The problem is that it's hard to recommend one good game over two great games when they both cost the same. I have a hunch that Basso isn't to blame for that though, and if you already own those two then just buy this one anyways.

In closing I think Animal Well is worth your time and maybe your money if you enjoy well-crafted puzzles, note-taking, and pretty colors. It's clear Basso worked hard on this, and it shows at every level. Basso is undoubtedly a talented mind, and he's clearly capable of a lot, I just don't think this game is a masterpiece the same way similar games are. I do think that every game would be better with a blacklight now though.

To be brief, this game is NOT complete and you shouldn't buy it expecting such. BUT, if you want to get a good deal on something that will obviously (eventually) mature into something immersive and fresh then yeah buy it.

This is probably the most fun Early Access game ever made on the basis that it's clearly being designed to be a sprawling narrative experience but it's drip-fed to you on a per update basis. You get to watch the evolution of the world and re-experience old areas with new furnishings and weapons and GOD its fun.

Additionally, its fun to watch the bugs get fixed. I'm vaguely familiar with Unity, and seeing the various bugs and being able to be like "Oh yeah! I recognize that problem!" is oddly endearing. This is admittedly very hard to explain in a way that doesn't make me sound like a total ♥♥♥♥, but somehow the bugs inspire me. They fuel me and make me realize that even games THIS reliant on emergent systems and genius programming have kinks. It's empowering. Makes me feel like I can do a Gloomwood too. Wannabe devs should buy it on that basis alone.

That all aside, this is a unique stealth thingy. It's not Thief, it's not lo-fi Dishonored, it's something new and cool and I can't wait to play the full release. I hear the devs REALLY hate money so you should buy it now before it Ultrakills. You don't wanna miss this.

The major positive to this game currently is the level design. Taffer has done expectionally well-made maps for TF2 in the past and it shows here. He's showing off with some of this ♥♥♥♥ I think. I enjoy playing the Fishery more than I enjoy Coldwater Prison, epic bridge setpieces aside.

My only complaints are that the devs (dev?) have been seemingly prioritizing making new areas as opposed to fleshing out things like enemy behavior and weapons. Currently, the enemies operate on basic patrols and the classic "looking out over a ledge", and it'd be nice to see that mixed up a bit. I went back to play Dishonored a little bit after finishing the Market update and in that game it felt like the enemies were doing more than walking around in circles and investigating noises, but I could be misinterpreting. Additionally (and this is just my opinion), the Undertaker needs a substantial touch-up. The Slugs feel fun to use, but the Choke bolts are virtually worthless and the Incendiary rounds are too easy to cheese. Fire spreads FAST in this game, and it's extremely easy to lure several enemies to one spot, fire an Incendiary bolt, and wipe them all out in one fell swoop using a single round since they all clump up in one spot when they hear a noise. I don't want to call it a dominant strategy, but currently it kind of is.

I'm in a decent mood to review this so lets start. I think stream of consciousness is the move.

TLDR, this game works best as a companion piece to Hypnospace Outlaw. I do NOT recommend this game unless you're familiar with that game, UNLESS you're a 30-35 year old burnout who remembers listening to their censored Target copy of Limp Bizket on CD. OR if you grew up writing and doodling in a notebook about your totally sick game ideas about a guy who's totally not you wielding a sick ass sword and duel pistols. If you're not in atleast one of those three categories, you probably won't be able to justify the price you paid.

If you DO fall into one of those categories, then you're in for a wonderful experience. Where games like Ion Fury and DUSK assert the primacy and raw artistry of the now watered-down "boomer shooter" genre, Slayers X instead hearkens back to simpler time. This game uses the Build Engine, and it plays like an expert modder's attempt at emulating a beginner modder's attempt at making the best game they can. The weapons are fun to use, the level design is fascinatingly intricate, and the strength of Zane's character is so strong that you'll likely continue playing just to see what happens next.

If you're familiar with Zane's character and the general kayfabe behind it, the game serves as a fascinating meta dissection of his character. The game forces you to see the world from his perspective with the way levels are designed and populated with detail. In the first level, you walk into Zane's apartment and it's immediately obvious that he's lived a hard life. Him and his single mother live in a run-down, single bedroom apartment. His mom lives on the pullout couch in the living room so that her son can grow up with a bedroom of his own. "Fancier" areas, like the McMansions of the Cult Die Sack level, are filled with out-of-place decorations like particle board walls and glass ketchup bottles, to further drive home the point that Zane is completely unaware of anything outside of his bubble. Zane is a lolcow in a vacuum, and the game is built in such a way that the player is forced to ponder Zane's life leading up to this point. Maybe things had to be this way.

There are also several good jokes involving the low-budgetness of the game. The fully 3D cutscenes are a treat, and are filled with voice acting and 3D models of varying quality. I particularly enjoy how out of place Zane's model looks when compared to just about every other character.

There's also a significant amount of replay value here based on the density of secrets and hidden areas/jokes packed within each level, moreso than typical shooters of it's nature. There's lots of replay content here. And the difficulty levels are accommodating enough to warrant every conceivable level of play. You could probably beat the game on the easiest difficulty level using a laptop trackpad if you really wanted.

In closing, this game is not for everyone. But, if you're plugged into the same death matrices that I am, you'll want to play it through once. I enjoyed it more than Boltgun, if that's worth anything to you.

Ion Fury is simultaneously a great introduction for Build Engine games and a testament to all they could ever hope to be. It feels like what people in 1998 thought video games would be by this point.

I expected nothing and got raped.

10/10, would recommend, don't play it unless you ever wanted to see what life would be like as a side character in Berserk.

I don't like lengthy reviews but I do like this game.

I love Jet Set Radio. I even beat it's tutorial!

I love Hotline Miami. I placed pretty high in its leaderboards back in the day, even among all those people who magically got 999,999,999 points in every level.

I love Rollerdrome. It's exactly what I want when I imagine those two games mashed together. It's one of those games where adding or subtracting ANYTHING would detract from the overall experience. It's frentic. It's fun. The gameplay is layered without being convoluted and the style is absolutely superb.

Again, I'll be brief. If you enjoyed Hotline Miami even a little bit, you will also like this game.

There's gang violence and you cut guys