Recent reviews by Døubler

The residents of this mansion sure are evil.

Honestly, even if absolutely nothing about the gameplay entices you, this game is worth playing just for the atmosphere alone. That thick, almost dreamlike ambience that old video games were so incredibly good at that, an art that has seemingly been lost in the never-ending chase for photorealism and graphical fidelity. Don’t get me wrong, the modern RE games are great and the remakes are very impressive, but there’s just… something here that can’t be replicated. The complete desolation of a quiet mansion mixed with the tension of not knowing what’s hiding around the corner. The dark, foggy forest outside. The creaky doors, the unsettling decorations, the elaborate death traps, the dimly lit corridors – it’s like being trapped inside of a painting. And the fixed camera angles only add to the cinematic feeling of it all – sure, they can be annoying sometimes, but the gameplay is slow enough that I don’t think they’re too much of a problem, so it is a worthy tradeoff.

And all that without even mentioning the gameplay itself, which simultaneously defined a genre and yet still managed to be better than basically all of its later imitators. Ammo, inventory space, healing, even the ability to save – everything is limited. But every single item, every single enemy has been placed so meticulously that this intended scarcity achieves a perfect balance of being tense and stressful without ever becoming actually frustrating – as long as you play by the game’s rules, obviously (this is not a third person shooter). And sure, the camera and the movement and the shooting mechanics all clash with modern game design principles – but it all feels so intentional, it all adds to the tension and pulls you into the game’s world so hard that it feels unfair to call any of it “clunky”.

Yeah, this is one of the best games of all time.

No joke, probably the best platformer of all time. I don’t think anything else I’ve played even comes very close. The story is surprisingly good and even touching at times, but the gameplay is, obviously, where Celeste really shines. I’m not gonna get into technicalities (cause I’m not smart enough for that) and I don’t see the point in describing every aspect in broad strokes, so I’ll just say this – it is perfect. Everything about the gameplay is perfect. The level design, the jumping, the obstacles, the stage-specific mechanics that never overstay their welcome, the hundreds of collectibles, the difficulty curve, the hidden movement mechanics, the sound design – it’s all perfect. And the MUSIC, oh my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ god the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ music.

Just make sure to play through all the B-sides and C-sides and the free DLC level that’s like 10 hours long. Trust me, the “main story” is like MAYBE a third of the game – and these more difficult, “bonus” stages are where Celeste truly hits its peaks (pun intended).

Interactive art. The gameplay is not as much “walking simulator” as it is “an extremely advanced version of those interactive picture books for children”, and that is all I can say about that without spoiling anything. Incredibly immersive, meticulously designed and beautifully detailed. A touching kaleidoscope of short, intertwined stories that may seem bleak and hopelessly tragic, but ultimately serve to deliver a simple but poignant message. A mystery that turns out to be an explanation rather than a question – a necessity that only serves to distract you from what really matters. Or at least that was my interpretation – your mileage may vary.

Can’t recommend it enough, though it probably isn’t for everyone. But if anything at all that you’ve seen of the game has interested you in any way whatsoever, you should definitely play it.

This small indie game created by literally one person was, without question, my GOTY of 2019. The gameplay is ridiculously fun, it takes the tried and tested Hotline Miami formula of small screens jam-packed with tons of different enemies where everyone (including you) dies after one hit, but instead of masks and guns, this game gives you slow mo powers and a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ katana. The atmosphere, paired with the killer soundtrack and beautiful pixel graphics, creates a truly immersive experience. And the story is surprisingly well written and engaging. What I'm trying to say is, for what this title is trying to achieve, it basically does everything perfectly. I think my only gripe with Katana Zero is that it's way too short and the story kinda just cuts off at the end, but it is supposed to be continued in an upcoming free DLC. And as you can see from my playtime, if you REALLY enjoy the gameplay, there are still achievements, Hard Mode and speedrunning which you can use to squeeze out way more out of the game than the initial ~5 hours it takes to beat the story.

I have so much to say about this game...


After DR2 this was honestly a dissapointment. Yes, it has the best graphics and gameplay of the series, but no one plays these games for the graphics and gameplay. The writing just seemed a little... uninspired. Like the only reason they made this game was because the community wanted it or something. There is so much you could still do with the basic premise of Danganronpa, and yet here we just get... more of the same. The series which supposedly prides itself in breaking cliches has established its own cliches and sticks to them instead of doing something original and flipping the formula on its head (SPOILERS: the interesting protagonist gets MGS2'd for another boyscout - but this time he needs to believe in himself! wow, the 3rd trial is a double murder, the 4th trial kills off the buff person and in the 5th trial we get another "the victim is the mastermind of the murder" situation, which doesn't work nearly as well as it did with Nagito because guess what - it's not original and surprising anymore).

There just seems to be so much wasted potential here. There are so many ideas in the plot that actually would be cool and would introduce new, interesting plotlines and concepts but they get thrown out the window before they go anywhere (SPOILERS AGAIN: Kaede gets "fridged" for the sake of Shuichi's character development - which is the most cliche ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ever btw, but I already said that; the "resurrection" plotline goes nowhere and I still don't understand what was even the point of the whole thing; the cult plotline goes nowhere, Angie is just killed off, surprising nobody; the "2 potential murderers" thing in Trial 3 goes nowhere, Kiyo killed both of them because he's apparently an incest-loving idiot; Maki says people will target Shuichi cause he's useful and then no one ever does; the end of the world plotline turns out to be fake and a waste of time... I could go on and on).

It's interesting, because the ending seems to be the main thing splitting up the community when it comes to this game, and I honestly don't have that many gripes with it, compared to... well, the rest of the game. Though it wasn't really that great either. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, even the one thing that's supposed to be super controversial in V3 didn't get a big reaction out of me. I was prepared to either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it, and while it did provide some very good shock factor, at the end of the day my thoughts on it were just more or less "well... alright then."

And yet I still can't say I straight up don't recommend this game. Because it's not bad by any means, it just is a letdown after how good DR2 was. If you're a fan of the series, sure, go ahead and play V3 - just don't set your expectations too high. You may end up like me, with just a slight "meh" feeling about the whole thing, or you may end up like the thousands of people who hate this game, or you may end up like the thousands of people who adore it and think it's the best entry in the series (they're wrong but it's ok).

Just be prepared for very, very long trials.


And for the last time, SPOILERS: I guess you achieved your goal, Shuichi. It's not that I don't want it, but I just don't care for more Danganronpa. Though it sure as hell wasn't because of your cheesy ass speech about "THE FEELINGS IN MY HEART ARE REAL" and "FICTION CAN INFLUENCE REALITY, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!!!11". Give me a break.

This is the best game in the series and honestly one of the best games I've ever played. If you enjoyed the first one, it's basically the same thing with a better cast, better setting, better story, better twists, better trials and better gameplay (except for the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ "Improved" Hangman's Gambit). And if you somehow didn't enjoy the first one, then you've got trash taste and even this masterpiece can't save you you probably won't like this either.

Seriously, don't read reviews and just play this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game.

Watching teenagers brutally murder each other has never been so fun

The most fun way to get depressed.

Amazing game, I can honestly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a fan of platformers or not.

You can spend all of your life savings on pixels.

10/10