Neue Rezensionen von Rorack

I want to give this FLATHEAD a thumbs up. It has a great style, great sound and generally a quality creepy game, but there are a couple of major flaws that force me to not generally recommend. You are told very little of the mechanics, but I think that works fine for this type of game. It is mainly a game of chance (at least until you understand) and that means you will get screwed over many times. The effect of losing to chance turns the fear or confusion into anger and impatience, and this removes the tension.

This is a game that tells you the story, or at least enough of the story for you to kind of understand what is happening, through enviromental cues and audio/text logs you unlock after playing. Here is the problem: You unlock the logs too slow. You will have to beat the game so many times you start to lose interest unless you are really invested or really want that 100%. It starts to feel like work even when you crack the code for how to farm.

I enjoyed it for what it was the first 1,5-2 hours, but after that it become a chore. If you are looking for a short creepy SCP-similiar game with gambling and don't mind a little work, then you should definitely play FLATHEAD. If not, then you can stear clear.

EDIT 22.7: After dev commented that there is a way to get all tapes easy if you don't want to spend the extra hours gambling for them, I changed my opinion about this game. My biggest problem was with time required for getting all tapes and how that time use will take away the creepy and eerie feeling that makes the game good. I recommend you play as much as possible and then use the toggle in the menu when it begins to feel less like a thrill and more like a job.
This review was orignally "NOT RECOMMENDED unless...", but now I am more towards to "RECOMMENDED" so I have swapped my score

Visual novel with point and click mechanics where you investigate and solve mysteries as a Japanese lawyer in Victorian England. The story is complex and it is a wild ride with many twists and colorful characters. There is much reading and thinking to be done. Chronicles consists of two games that were released seperately in Japan. The story spans both games.

The Ace Attorney series should be familiar to most gamers and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is another stellar addition to the series. It has no linear connection to the Ace Attorney main games apart from courtroom drama, style and gameplay so there is no problem if this game is your first in the series. You swap between investigating crime scenes, collecting clues and interviewing people and fighting to defend your client in court and uncover what really happened.

The art style is good (though some of the 3Dish stuff is a bit rough). The music is simple, but amazing. It is impossible to not get goosebumps when the music changes to the more intense tones during the court battles.

The gameplay is similiar to the other Ace Attorney games with a few new additions. You can interact with the evidence, like for example turn it around or open it, to discover more clues about the evidence. There is also a kind of "deduction mini-game" that is introduced after the first case, but I found this to be more tedious than challenging. It is simply too easy (though in two of the cases it done really well). This doesn't ruin the experience, but it drags some parts out a little bit. Something this game does very right though, is that it doesn't have any "How the ♥♥♥♥ was I supposed to know that?!" moments. Everything is possible to deduce if you just think.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a great game. There are a couple of things that bugged me during my playthrough. The first is the lack of Japanese voice acting for the Japanese characters, or just that they added voice acting some parts of the game (I am not talking about the "OBJECTION!" and that stuff, but regular voice acting). It doesn't fit, but it doesn't ruin the experience. The second is at least two instances where evidence will change just because the plot has moved forward. Again, nothing major and it doesn't ruin the game, just remember to check some of the evidence in your possession more than once.

It is one of the best "detective/mystery solving" games out there. Going through testimony and then finally realizing what the contradiction is, is amazing and very few games manage to copy that feeling.

Nine Sols is what you get if you mix Hollow Knight's structure/world setup with Sekiros parry focused combat/traditional faith and add a good dose of sci-fi. It is a wonderful game. It has a unique and well done art style. The music is beautiful and everything fits together perfectly.

The main attraction of this game though is the gameplay. The combat is tight and focused on parrying and reaction. You will get mulitiple abilities, but the general skill set is limited. This does not take anything away from the experience. Controls are good and responsive. You will fight many different bosses and you will probably get frustrated at some point, but it is very satisfying to finally win. All of the bosses except the final boss feels fair. The final boss almost ruined the experience for me because it felt like such a big jump in difficulty, but it turns out that was my own fault and when I finally beat it the anger went away.
You have many different levels with secrets, lore and upgrades to discover, and you will meet some colorful characters. There is a "twist" to each level usually which gives some nice variety from just hacking down minions before finding the boss. There are two difficulty settings, but I recommend playing on normal. The other one is for people who just want to see the story. I played with a controller and I believe that got to be the best way to play this game.

2D Metroidvania parry combat platformer with sci-fitrad style. This is a fantastic game. Loved every part of it (except the last boss as mentioned, if you want to know why just ask and I will try to explain spoiler free). It is a hard game, but it is so rewarding to get through. This got to be one of the best games of 2024 easily and I believe it will be looked back upon like Hollow Knight is now. Must buy, even when not on sale.

Neat puzzle game with cute theme. Easy to pick up and relax for few minutes solving a level (or get really frustrated when you can't solve it). It is satisfying to clear a level. The game is simple, but well made

Detective game where you search the old web and try to sort out a giant complicated family tree. This game is if Return of the Obra Dinn and Hypnospace Outlaw had a child that got into genealogy. It is such a great investigation game, I almost can't believe it. Been looking for something that would feel like it felt to play Obra Dinn for the first time and The Roottrees are Dead was a perfect match. You will search around the web and look at evidence to find clues about who people are and how they are connected. It is so satisfying when you lock in new people.

The game plays like a "virtual PC" where you use a browser and search engines to find information that will help you. I highly recommend that you turn off the option that shows how many leads are left on a piece of evidence. It is more distracting than helpful. You should also try to avoid using hints simply because it takes away some of the joy of figuring out the mysteries. The game is not impossible and if you take your time you probably won't need to use hints. I got hardstuck at the two last ones because I had managed to lock in someone without a piece of evidence and I had to use a hint to point me in the right direction. The hints are good though, since they are layered and will not give away the secret instantly, but rather dripfeed so you should be able to figure it out without the game just telling you what to do. It did feel much more rewarding to not use hints. You should take your time, use notes and actually reflect on what you are reading. No shame in bruteforcing a couple of things, but you probably won't get far doing only that.

Highly recommended. This is the second best detective/investigation game I can think of, second only to Return of the Obra Dinn. Make sure to give yourself enough time when playing this. Turn off some lights, get something to drink and some snacks, remove distractions and make sure you have at least an hour to play this game each session.

Short boomer shooter with some replayability. You are blasting and slashing Chop Goblins while traveling through time. Good variety in how the levels look and with the weapons. The fourth level looked really good and is the one I enjoyed the most.

This game is meant to be played in one sitting. There is no save function as far as I know and if you exit the game you lose your progress. I wished this had some kind of save function just because I prefer to play these games one level at a time, but the game is not too long so it isn't too bad. You can't jump either, which is pretty weird.

Overall I think it is worth the price if you enjoy boomer shooters. Just know that there is no saving during a playthrough and that it is a very short game.

Short straightforward murder mystery VN. The characters of this game are high schoolers. They are stuck on a underwater train and have to solve a murder. You just follow the story. There is no interaction with the world or when talking to other characters. This makes it debatable if it can be considered a game at all, but these types of "games" can still be enjoyable though.

This is a type of game/genre I really enjoy, but Murder on Marine Express sadly did not live up to the expectations I had. I knew it was short and that you just followed the story without any interaction before I started playing, but I still thought I would enjoy it as a nice quick snack. Sadly this was not the case. There are too many things that don't work. I will start with some things that do work. The artstyle is good and the setting of the underwater train is cool. The music was serviceable.

Now for the things that didn't work and the reasons why I will not recommend this game even if you usually enjoy games like this. The flow of the game is not consistent and the story itself is very cliche. Alot of the dialogue feels hollow and forced. There is also a large amount of the dialogue that is completely unrelated to the game. Ace Attorney has dialogue that isn't 100% connected to whatever case you are working on, but that is kept to a minimum and fits in. In Murder on the Marine Express there is alot of random stuff being talked about and in a short game like this it doesn't make any sense to waste time or space like that.

The humor works sometimes, but not for the most part. There are some pretty heavy and serious themes in this game that are handled very hamfisted. At some parts it is down right preachy, which is a shame because I believe you can make a game with these themes without that happening. Things are also learned off-screen which is not good. There is very little chance to think and make connections on your own because major plot points are not revealed until they are explained right away. The main characters are inconsistent in how they act and handle the truth/being objective. They are ruling out stuff because someone is their friend, before there is any evidence to support ruling them out. This happens multiple times.

I was looking forward to this game and the sequel, but now I feel like this was a waste of time (even if it only took about 2 hours). There is no need to play this game. Maybe the sequel will be better and that this was more of a prologue type game, but I probably won't take the chance.

Puzzle platformer with light combat and beautiful style. You play as the main character and her companion going through a journey. There is no need to know more about the story. Very little is told directly to you, but you will understand what is going on. It is not complex or groundbreaking, but a classic tale done very well.

I really liked this game. It is the studio behind GRIS and you can see that they are similiar in the magnificent artstyle. Great use of colors, contrast and symmetry. Together with the music, it is like a meditation session. The gameplay is a dash of Hollow Knight and Ori. There is some combat, which is pretty simple, but works well. There is also some platforming and puzzles where you have to figure out how to get where you want. It is not a reflex platformer. There are two difficulties to choose from, with one of them being a "story mode" for those who don't want to combat I think. It is not a hard game, but can be challenging in certain areas.

I highly recommend this game. If you are someone that need constant action then you might find Neva a bit too slow. It is not very long (I beat it in about 4 hours without rushing), but I think there is replayability value here. Kind of want to replay the start of the game and just relax in the scenery. There are some collectiables and achievments to get as well.

First person horror walking sim with puzzles. I had high expectations for this game, but it failed to deliver. It is not a horrible or broken game, it just has too many issues. There are things in this game that are done right. The graphics and how the world looks (most outdoor parts) are beautiful. The forest feels fresh and living. The game also runs smooth and I never had any technical problems. Some of the chase scenes are great with a good flow. Some of the puzzles had potential. The game has different endings and at least one of them is kind of funny (not sure if that was the intention ) and I kind of want to play again to see how crazy the other endings are.

There are multiple things that ruin this game for me. The biggest might be the constant amount of handholding. The devs did not trust the player to solve things by themselves (apart from some secret puzzles that are not relevant to the story). The main character instantly says out loud what you should be thinking about when you are faced with a puzzle. The whole game is infected with the "bright paint = interact" sickness. You are not supposed to think for yourself, just follow the paint. Most of the puzzles are super easy as well, so you don't even need the help. It is just annoying, but sadly a symptom of modern games. Devs seem scared of trusting the player to think for themselves.
I kind of wish they had made a seperate game with the code solving CIA agent, because it feels somewhat tacked on here.

Another problem is the characters. Humans in cutscenes are over-animated and look awkward. The voice-acting can be decent, but most of the time it is subpar and hammy. In one scene you go from shouting and then right as you go out the door the character talks in the most relaxed voice even if you are being stalked by an unknown creeper. It breaks the immersion. They don't act like you would expect people seeing a creepy dude on their property and the arguments between the husband and wife are too stupid considering everything going on.

Many of the things you have to do in this game feels like an attempt at extending the game artificially. You will bend so many white wooden planks you will get sick of it. You will get chased by various things, and some of these chases are good while most feel like you are just on a roller coaster following the line and nothing really happens. I have nothing against walking sims, but I don't like games that pretend to be something else.

The saddest issue is that the game isn't even that scary. The start of the game is very promising. There are some really great work done with lighting and shapes that look like something in the distance and then turns out to be nothing scary. Sadly, this ends fast. The game uses jump scares alot and they are very predictable so you don't even get spooked by them anymore. This was very disappointing. I expected a good horror game like Amnesia, which could be creepy in the slow parts and scary in the fast parts, but The Beast Inside failed to deliver. The majority of the chase scenes are Scooby Doo chases were you run and run and something happens and you run, but you are just following a very obvious path.

The story is serviceable, but also extremely predictable. It can be a bit silly at times, but I kind of like that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Other times the story feels very pretentious. It took me about 6 hours on normal mode to beat this game which isn't very long, but still felt like it dragged on towards the end. Multiple endings gives some replayability, but only if you actually care about the game.

TL;DR: Thinly veiled "horror" walking sim with "puzzles". Disappointing, I expected more after seeing the reviews for this game. If you really enjoy this type of game you might get something out of this game, but for most players I think it will be disappointing.

N64-esque Platformer with goats. You are Seve who is in a dream looking for nachos, but the dream gets hijacked and the nachos are far away. The story is silly, but it isn't that important for the game and there are parts I won't mention here. You will meet a few different characters and see different places. The description on the Steam Store more or less says everything you are gonna see and do in this game. In some parts of the game you are told very directly what you need to do, but there are many things you have to figure out on your own. The game has many secrets.

You will run around, jump and use your other abilities to collect important stuff and exp. Some fighting too, but that is not the major focus of the game. Sometimes it is a puzzle platformer, other times it more of a reaction platformer. The controls and movement of the main character are good, though the running can be a bit floaty/slippery (like Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy). You should play with a controller, even if it is possible to play with keyboard and mouse. There are moments where you will be frustrated because you feel the controls don't work like you thought they would, but most of the time it is because you mistimed or mispressed.

The game captures the look of the N64 platformers very well. It has its own style and for the most part it looks good (in the context of being a N64 game). You have some options when it comes to the display settings like fullscreen and how old the game should look, and the game is normally locked at 30fps. There are other N64 platformer games on Steam that I think are better, but this is still a good game.

Overall I really liked this game. It is what I expected and many people have recommended it. My biggest gripe with Corn Kidz 64 are in parts of the dialogue or attempts at humor. There is a hint of post-irony and forced "random things are funny" in some of the stuff that is being said by the characters and the story in one of the worlds. It doesn't ruin the game, but it sticks out (at least for me) and takes away some of the N64 magic. Many of the N64 games had funny moments, but they all felt genuine and not forced.

I beat the game in 6 hours, but I didnt collect everything or did the secret level. I expected the game to be longer with more worlds to explore. Got some strong Banjo Tooie vibes at certain parts of this game and I was surprised that the game ended that "early" (the store page says 6-8 hours, but I didn't read that before I played). It would be nice if they did a sequel to this game with more connected worlds and story.

TL;DR: Modern N64 platformer type which plays well and is fun for the most part. I will recommend this game. It is worth the full price, but if you don't have an urgent need for nostalgia or a good platformer then you can wait for a sale. You need a controller (even if KB+M works these games should be played with a controller).
Two tips to avoid getting frustrated are: 1) There are stuff you are not able to interact with or do before you have gotten pretty far into the game. There is a certain flying grabable thing that seems very reachable that isn't until later. 2) Look closely when things open up. I spent too long trying to figure out how to get somewhere high, but it was not that hard to understand if I had just paid attention.