Recent reviews by Ad Massive

For any Theme Park enjoyers out there, this carries the vibe of those games perfectly into the future with them.

A surprisingly great and fun management sim, plenty of 80's references, different styles and techniques, fun visuals though nothing amazing, they service the game very well. The amount of depth and differences will keep you coming back for more.

Still just as obtusely complex and vastly rewarding as the first times I played it. The new background art is beautiful and I still love the old pixels so it's a nice mix for me. Combats still what you make of it and you need a plan if you don't want to get whupped or cheesed to death.

No issues with anything here performance wise either so all in all it's a great show.

Order of Ecclesia and the Remix of the original Arcade game are awesome, my first time player OoE too and the other DS games so this collection was a blessing.

Slight quibbles that might mar the experience for you, they don't bother me in the slightest but it's always worth noting these things... First, ya gotta press Alt+Enter to full screen and it'll be displaying at DS Resolution. Who cares they still look sick and you can go into the files to fix it manually if it's a huge deal for you.

Second, they're exact ports that have only had their screens tweeked which means a part of your screen will be taken up by the alt ds screens display. This also means prior bugs for the games remain intact. Warts and all baby.

The notable exception to this is that the controls for certain touch screen only mechanics have been tweaked to allow for them to function on PC, which is awesome.

Dawn holds up beautifully, even the sometimes painful soul grinding going for 100 percent was a genuinely great experience, excellent castle design and some memorable bosses.

Portrait of Ruin was a wonderful new take on the old formula and in terms of imagination and movement is probably my favourite of the three vanias on this collection. Even the constant Charlotte/Jonathan spam filling my ear drums was amusing and enjoyable, which considering how irritating it had the potential to be is saying a lot.

Now get in here and play these masterpieces.

Probably my favourite roguelite. Wonderful soundtrack, tight controls, great guns, hard as anything and fun.

This isn't your typical Metroidvania, the movement is quirky and can feel sticky even when you've gotten used to it, you CAN get used to it though, it's just a bit finicky. It frustrated me in only a couple of spots though and I'm going to put that down to a skill issue.

The games visuals are striking and you can tell a lot of care and attention went into the sprite work for them, the story is also pretty compelling albeit a little too on the nose sometimes. I found the multiple paths refreshing though later had to abandon a run because I'd caused untold chaos just by doing something ahead of time.

The real focus of the game however is the combat, and oh boy there's a lot of it. I can't stress this enough, if you're not wanting to get your dodge and parry on, this won't be the game for you on harder difficulties. God Slayer kicked my ass hard a few times and I had to learn the hard way. Some enemies feel kind of cheap when trying to s rank them and I wonder what the actual intended strategy was.

So if you've read this far and you're not put off, get in and get your feet wet.

I'm a ♥♥♥♥♥ for Igavania's and SOTN is one of my favourite games ever, this does a damn good job of delivering the gameplay and some of the experiences and adequately quenched my nostalgia. It has a few bugs and issues here and there that the especially wary buyer should take note of. Though, I wasn't affected by such I've heard tales.

The DLC and kickstarter rewards have meaty content and add more to an already very polished experience, my only petty gripe is that I miss the old visuals. I don't dislike these, they're full of character and unique, but man those old 2D sprites were so evocative and beautiful.

Still if you like your metroidvanias. Give it a shot. Though be prepared for some difficulty and traditional gameplay. Especially where the DLC is concerned.

Fun game, novel concept, well executed. Gameplay feels fresh and relatively inventive and the game doesn't hold your hand, there's no rocket science here though to be fair. Combat feels weighty and your meals (enemies) are numerous and pretty well armed.

The environmental sound and general sound effects are awesome and really visceral. Music is solid and thematic but isn't anything that blew my mind.

Overall it's a great package that doesn't outstay its welcome and is genuinely fun, movement in the final form feels a bit clunky in places and feels like you're trying to goad the game into recognising which end is the front/centre of mass. But it was never game breaking or truly frustrating just a slight blemish an otherwise very polished experienced.

Give it a toothy whirl.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, what a beautiful game. All the panache of games like Gregory Horror Show and early puzzlers but with a solid logic behind it, observation actually pays off, thinking things through actually pays off. To add to that it's beautifully told and heartfelt, with a masterful musical score. Doesn't overstay its welcome, rewards you for thinking and exploring and doesn't kick your teeth in for being wrong.

10/10.

Welcome to Raft where you're the thirstiest, hungriest, asthmatic you've ever seen.

Jokes aside, and with the above in consideration there's a lot to enjoy here, from the calm waters when you're set up to the, frantic boss battles, and the never ending quest to make your tummy stop rumbling. Technology progresses nicely and the world building is excellent.

Movement can be a little clunky but the general minute to minute gameplay is captivating and fun, especially with friends. Visuals are quirky but it's a nice aesthetic that feels warm and summery for the most part. Very good stuff.