Recent reviews by Flexipop

⭐️ 8.75/10 ⭐️

This may have been the hardest puzzle game I've played to date. That's not because the puzzles were poorly written or unfair, quite the opposite actually. There's a clear intense love for games by the developers and they've made sure that the player has everything they need to do *something* without feeling like hand holding.

My biggest tip is to have a notepad and do some puzzles by hand!

Pros
✧ The different styles of game that are built throughout this really were *so* fun to uncover. I love playing a game that shares the excitement of the people who built it.
✧ I never felt stuck, all of the times where I was lost on what to do next I knew that I had something in my possession or in my memories that would lead me somewhere else. I just had to find it.
✧ So many red herrings which made this *difficult,* there were things that are introduced to you almost immediately that were not touched until the very end. You really are your worst enemy here, if a puzzle is making you insane it almost always was that you didn't have the tools you needed to solve it.
✧ The random generation! On the rare chance where I just wanted a small nudge; I found that everyone had different text, symbols, and orders of puzzles which made it pretty useless to look for solutions. One of those touches that really shows the developers wanted everyone to enjoy the game without it being super easy.

Cons
✧ A reconfiguration of the "A" / select button, every button being a "select" button was a little strange. I had to get used to "B" not being a back button. I'm actually realizing I never considered remapping the buttons, aw well.
✧ A search functionality for memories would've made looking for resources way easier; even just finding what documents reference certain names
✧ The turning/movement was a little clunky, took a bit to get used to but it was an interesting yet retro way to turn/move
✧ This is specific to touch screen devices but an area for scratch notes would've been amazing; not a super big deal I just had a notepad handy on my phone.

⭐️ 8.5/10 ⭐️

Reviewing this early into my play through because I know it's a keeper. In a world of what feels like thousands of roguelites this is surprisingly hard to put down and fresh feeling. I'm also a big sucker for a game that has an integrated town builder aspect (shout out to Ni no Kuni 2). At first I was afraid this game would feel too mobile-friendly (originally I thought it was a touchscreen game) but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it's very obviously developed console-first but could be ported to mobile!

Side note: I feel like these developers could make a sick pinball game.

Pros
✧ The art style is ffuuuunnnn, the uncanny valley-adjacent character designs are fresh and exciting. The whole vibe of the environment has that nostalgic modern day early 2000s PlayStation style while still being high quality.
✧ No character feels over powered from another; yes some are more challenging than others but they're all viable. Same with the items, they all have intentional synergies with certain characters which is really fun to figure out.
✧ The methodology of unlocks being tied to a town building harvesting mini-game is hella fun. I love the puzzle aspect of moving buildings to ricochet properly and build as many at once.

Cons
✧ I do wish there was a liiiittle more story, even just small moments of dialogue from the characters or milestone story moments in town (maybe there are but 8 hours in I haven't seen any).
✧ I think some QOL updates to the town would be helpful: things like a list view of all the interact-able buildings (ones like the shops) or even on-screen indicators when a harvester ability activates so you know when they're working.
✧ I fear as I progress skill will become less and less required, I hope to be proven wrong but I can see how the upgrades will end up making me unstoppable which will likely make the game feel a bit stale. We'll see!

⭐️ 7/10 ⭐️

Overall I'm recommending this game echoing the plethora of complaints about the writing. The game is just too visually gorgeous and sonically great to call it bad, though. Some more care for the writing would've made it an immediate recommend. If you're a fan of the Persona/SMT games, you'll find something in this to enjoy.

Pros
✧ The pixel art is so well done I was super impressed by the sheer AMOUNT of detail in every scene, it definitely hits the mark in creating fresh take on a very dense market for pixel games.
✧ The original soundtrack! I was shocked to hear not just one song for battles WITH lyrics, it's creative decisions like this that make me thrilled to play a game like this. They were also catchy!
✧ The enemy designs and the amount of them, I was happy to not see many of the same ones over and over as well as introduced to new ones as the game progressed.
✧ The lack of hand holding! I personally find this to be a pro, I enjoyed figuring out certain mechanics or places to visit without being explicitly told.

Cons
✧ I won't beat a dead horse: the writing is just not good. Nothing the younger characters say feels... right or something kids their age would be saying? It's hard to explain until you play for an hour or two and realize the dialogue just doesn't feel natural.
✧ I think this game desperately needs a quality of life update for things like gardening and monster combining. Having to plant seeds and water everything one by one got incredibly tiring and I abandoned the mechanic after awhile. The demon companion leveling also felt like an after thought.
✧ Unlike Persona sleeping doesn't really have a consequence which puts less pressure on the player but it felt weird to not have a downside to ending a day.
✧ I may have missed the quest for it but: why was there a bike teasing me for faster travel outside the house?! Let Emily ride it 😭

⭐️ 8.25/10 ⭐️

Reader if you think you can jump into these games without playing Yakuza, I'd reconsider. While this game does a great job at giving you quick overviews of who everyone is, it's still insanely confusing (note: this didn't effect my rating as it's my fault). I imagine people who have the complete backstory of Yakuza and all the characters would enjoy this game much more, I regret not spending the time.

Pros
✧ The side games were COMPLETE, they weren't half assed by any means nor repetitive. They felt like complete games within this game and, honestly, that's incredible. I found myself wanting to play the Animal Crossing island more than the actual game at times, lmao.
✧ The world design is insane, I was shocked to walk into a sushi restaurant or convenience store and find that the entire place was designed uniquely from the other similar places. This game really sets a standard for what effort looks like.
✧ The classes were challenging to unlock and rewarding to play, I loved finding synergies between them.
✧ A vibrant engaging story! Despite not having the backstory of Yakuza or some of the characters, the story as a whole made sense.
✧ Ichiban is the quintessential JRPG "good guy" but it never gets tired. I've played too many JRPG's where the main character's positivity can get EXHAUSTING but the writing for Ichiban balances accountability, positivity, and emotion without it ever feeling annoying
✧ Enemy power spikes felt appropriate, I never felt overpowered and was actually matched with the enemies by the end of the story when I thought I'd be over leveled. I also never felt like I needed to grind, the progression all feels natural

Cons
✧ Some of the story made me say "really...." like running up stairs toward the enemy when tear gas is thrown at the team downstairs when there's a door right next to them to leave.... (not a huge spoiler but adding a tag anyway)
✧ Weapon upgrading felt a little lackluster, it was pretty expensive in money and items to upgrade items (not craft) so I largely didn't do it. I don't think it's really necessary past level 10 unless you want to full clear the game.
✧ Some characters are introduced a little late to the party, I had a hard time wanting to use them or level them up.
✧ Small gripe: why can we not wave to people on the street while riding the scooter!

It's hilarious how this got ripped apart for being "woke" when it largely could've just been criticized for having terrible writing. The dialogue really followed along the quality of a Twilight book.

Pros
✧ Combat system was pretty fun and dynamic, I like how play style evolves as you unlock skills and perks.
✧ Synergies of equipment perks, I loved finding weapons and equipment that went together in a "oh the bleed from this blade works well with this ring" type of way.
✧ Equipment system was one of the best I've encountered, leveling gear as you find duplicate pieces and being able to upgrade pieces was great.
✧ Character creation was pretty stellar, my character *felt* like it belonged in the universe. I would forget that she actually was created by me sometimes.
✧ UI and style of things like chest rewards and notifications stayed consistently fun and exciting.
✧ The very last mission was actually written *really* well I really hope that the parts leading up to those moments were written with such effort.

Cons
✧ The synergies between spells was so... boring... all of the detonations do exactly the same thing? This was actually one of my earliest and most significant disappointments; the game excitingly introduces you to combos and then goes no where with them.
✧ Dialogue choices felt largely inconsequential, there's an illusion of choice but really you're going to end up getting the exact same result.
✧ For a game with "Dragon" in the title the dragon fights were.... so repetitive? Every dragon followed almost identical attack patterns.
✧ The dialogue, period. Say Ghilan'nain or Elgar'nan one more time. ONE MORE TIME. All of the characters lacked depth further than "we are the good guys." Where is the grit? The conflict? The levels of personality? Why are they all just drones of positivity and "you're right, leader"?
✧ The storytelling. Why are we fighting Solas? I still don't know.
✧ Pacing of the side quests for companions, why did all of their stories have to end almost exactly on the same chapter? Some felt like they should've ended earlier than others. It also ended up feeling like an absolute CHORE to keep talking with all of them.
✧ Loot and upgrade items felt WAAaaaayyyyy out of control, why were there so many crafting materials?!
✧ Ledge grabbing almost made me lose my mind, god forbid I wanted to drop down from a ledge the game just would not want me to.

So if you can look passed the really sluggish story line, the game was actually pretty fun which is why I'd recommend it.

The more I keep playing this the more I am impressed by how well the developers have grasped the frustrations their own game has (purposefully?) implemented. I'll be playing and thinking "damn having (functionality) would make this game so much easier" and then come to find out there's quest to give me that functionality. A good example is being annoyed that I have to wear the mermaid outfit to swim better and then later getting a quest that automatically changes you into that outfit when you're in water.. I'm not sure what I was expecting with this game but even the different maps shocked me, the game is actually massive!

My only *real* disappointment with this game is the housing and furniture. I just wish it was a bit easier to make a fully organized and themed house. The UI to put down furniture is clunky and a lot of the time the themed furniture doesn't really "go" with other items, it's also so hard to navigate and understand the themed icons. I actually wouldn't have minded smaller homes, especially since there are so many. It also feels weird that some visitors only want things like "5 mannequins" so their house looks empty and sad.

Time will tell how long this game will stick with me but for now it has been a nice hour-long (or more) daily session since release.

⭐ 7/10 ⭐
A chill fun pinball adventure. Loved some of the frustrating trick shots and lack of annoying hand holding. The final area could've been a bit more engaging, felt long and repetitive.

⭐ 9/10 ⭐
Itches the brain in such a specific cozy way and ends up making you feel very smart when you finally see a solution. Love the zero punishment, no rush puzzle concept with the gorgeous art and color palette. One of my favorites, I just wish there was more!

Pros: The story is VERY relevant to the times we're living through and the title of "Metaphor" really lives up to the name. Sound arrangements are incredible, Atlus never misses going all in on a JRPG soundtrack; this one was different from their usual theme which was refreshing. World building feels fresh, immersive, cohesive, and exciting. Finished on hard mode and it was a really nice challenge, but not frustrating. I thought the class system that replaces the typical "persona" collector was going to be cumbersome and confusing but it actually ends up being pretty intuitive and each character is "guided" into a certain path that makes sense. The class system also opens a completely customizable experience for those that want to build a specific team.

Cons: Like all Atlus JRPG games there comes a point in the dialogue where the overly confident and encouraging companions become SO heavy handed. There's only so many times I can sit through my companions talking about how great the captain is or recounting a battle before I just end up skipping the dialogue completely. I wish Atlus would remove the fluff rather than make us sit through the same conversation that has happened 5 other times. I'm also not sure what it is about this game in particular but I just did not fall in love with the characters in the same way that I did for something like Persona 5, but that's more of a me problem; aside from Heismay they all felt quite surface level.

⭐️ 10/10 ⭐️
Rarely do I ever give a game a perfect score but as I sit here to write a review I can't think of a single negative thing to say other than I wish it was longer which isn't really a bad thing.

It's really hard to find anything that surprises me with puzzle games anymore, many of them utilize the same tropes and the same solutions that hardly ever give anything new to the genre. Animal Well is the exception, the puzzles feel *fresh* and the items you pick up along the way are so *unique.* Every time I found something new the pang of excitement I felt was something I kept craving throughout the game, it was thrilling to continue discovering new ways to enter new areas or remember an area where something you picked up can help solve it.

I praise the developers for their *ZERO* hand holding and wish I could hug each of them for their very clear effort in execution. The game really drops you in and wishes you luck, my favorite type of adventure. But, they're clever in their helpful hints whether it be background markings or teaching you new ways to move by giving you rooms that provide you with a little more context about how an item works (purposefully being vague here to avoid spoilers).

The atmosphere this game builds is spooky but curious, horrific but charming. It's the perfect balance that somehow tells a story without any dialogue. I love that "the end" is not really the end, too. I can't wait to continue to play and really uncover everything it has to offer.

Congratulations to the team, y'all really killed it here.