Recent reviews by DeviantDennster

Skill-based matchmaking is real, but only for games where you get completely dominated. The idea of winning games, or god-forbid a balanced match is nothing but a myth. This combined with the corporate greed behind Overwatch 2 makes this game the embodiment of anguish and despair, nothing else.

FixFox is a pretty good game! It has a nice art style and music that I quite enjoyed listening to the entire way through. FixFox has a lot of love behind it. Sadly, there are a couple faults that do hold this game back from being a truly great game.

As stated much by other people, FixFox is quite repetitive. Even within the story, it has you doing the same tasks over and over. Not that any of it is difficult or even annoying, just rather mundane by the redundancy. Even the core gameplay loop got repetitive because each 'new' mechanic are always a tiny variation of what you already know.

Another point of contention is that the central gameplay loop of fixing things does not vary a whole lot throughout the game and gives no challenge whatsoever. Since it is a cozy game, having no challenge is completely expected. However, the lack of problem-solving in fixing machines on a foreign planet gives no sense of real impact. You don't feel like you're ever truly fixing anything, so even by the end, the gameplay loop feels rather meaningless.

With both of my critiques, this game was still a ton of fun, and I did enjoy going through it to completion! I recommend this game if you do want a cozy game that has a strong story and interesting aesthetics. I wager it is worth the price, it's worth supporting indie devs anyway.

Lunistice is such a nice platformer to play! It's one of those humble small games that while doesn't have a whole lot special with it - reminds you of the value in small titles like this.

The movement is snappy and easy to control, and the gameplay reminds of Super Mario Galaxy in its basic 3D platforming. The music is good, I find myself enjoying a few world themes quite a lot. Lunistice has a fairly simple but good story, mostly obtained through collecting the letters throughout each level.

I honestly have nothing against this game! It's a good yet small platformer, and I'm happy with what it does. It's worth the playthrough if you just want a small 3D platformer to have fun in!

Cobalt Core is a genuinely fun and endearing game with a satisfying gameplay loop. I personally do not like roguelikes/roguelites even remotely; however, Cobalt Core was different. There is an emphasis on winning your runs rather than hitting your head against a wall until you prevail a long while later. For players like me who enjoy just enough challenge to require some forethought without the complete skill blockade many other games have, this is a good game to scratch that itch.

In regards to the challenge, this game isn't super difficult as it stands. Despite this, I would wager that is a good thing as it allows more casual players enjoy the experience without pushing a 'git gud' skill barrier. Obviously difficulty can be subjective, which is precisely why I appreciate the challenge that Cobalt Core gives me for my own personal skill floor.

There are a couple issues I will mention though. First, actual gameplay does not vary a whole lot, and even less aesthetically. While you can change out your crew to alter what cards you have access to, only a couple characters actually have truly unique mechanics. Along with this, the pool of cards for each crew member does feel a little lacking; often times - even unintentionally - it is difficult not to default to a specific strategy if you have a certain crew member just because you keep getting the same cards each time you use them.

Aesthetically speaking, the scenery does not change a whole lot. This also includes a significant drought of variety in enemy encounters and events as well. While the gameplay is magnificent, there was practically nothing to distinguish each and every run. This was slightly mitigated by dialogue and crew mix-ups, however that didn't exactly fix the issue of each run feeling like a perpetual cycle of the former.

Negative things aside, these problems did not bother me personally, but it is important to acknowledge where Cobalt Core could improve things. This game is a ton of fun and I recommend it wholeheartedly, it just needs to be well recognized that it is in-fact - a small, humble indie game with room to grow and flourish.

I will do anything for Isaac (he is precious and I love him) :3

Super Catboy isn't exactly all that fancy of a game, but there is something nice about a small and humble experience like this. There is a small void of content where it feels a bit barren; however the core gameplay is solid. I highly enjoyed the movement and combat within Super Catboy, although this is most likely because of how short the game was, there wasn't room to even get tired of the given mechanics. All in all, SCB is a good game and is worth playing - with the knowledge that this is a small and cheesy game that leaves a little bit to be desired.

the less you know, the better.

i love getting involved in international affairs

This game possesses breathtaking pixel art, really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with pixels. For whatever reason, 198X has absolutely amazing music, making each and every part of the game enjoyable from soundtrack alone. Also, despite my expectations, the voice acting and character designs (not many of them, but good nonetheless) are just beautiful, and does at first glance portray the obvious inspiration from the 1980s.

For as negatives go, there's a couple to be considered. First, while playing a couple of the arcade games, music would refuse to play as I proceed to new areas. They would play when I unfortunately die, but to expect me to do so every area is definitely not the intention I'm sure, and therefore most likely a bug of some sorts. Second of all, this game is insanely short, if not the shortest game I have ever played. Roughly an hour and twenty minutes to complete, which half the game is pure cutscenes. When half the game is nothing but staring at the screen, which goes for half an hour, that doesn't leave much time allocated for gameplay, which is kind of a big deal when making a game about.. well, arcade games.

Despite my concerns, this game does excel for what it does have, there's just a lot it doesn't. The key point to take away here is that 198X is a deliberate piece of artwork; a showcase of many masterpieces, the last forgotten one being... well the game itself. The big reason why I recommend this game is that it was quite fun, with a healthy amount of challenge. The story was corny and cliche. but charming to a certain degree. I would recommend picking up and playing this game, but only when it goes on sale, as $10 USD is a bit of a ripoff for what you're getting.

VA-11 Hall-A is a pleasant game all around. I absolutely adore the sprite-work in this game, and the music is one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard. The story and universe is nothing to scoff at, there's a lot of substance to immerse yourself in. I don't particularly enjoy talking about immersion, since I personally have troubles entering a world created by someone else - this game is a beautiful exclusion from that role.

I really only have one negative thing to say about this game, and that's the gameplay is very minimal. When you first buy this game, have in mind that you're looking for a visual novel with bartender elements, not a bartender simulator that's also a visual novel. Obviously it's difficult to expect this game being a high octane drink mixing game, so this isn't anything to really knock the game for, as the simple nature and lack of challenge was the intention behind its development. Despite that comment, I honestly recommend this game to anyone who wants to play a game that is both immersive and calm.

came for the style, left with tears in my eyes and a great ost