Recent reviews by Mechjaw

Phantasmata is an extremely interesting game filled with some of the best personality you can find in a game. This being said though I think that I was not particularly the target audience.

There is no better way to start a review than with a pro/con list!

Pros:
- Interesting atmosphere
- Hilarious "hand drawn" art
- Interesting character combat dynamics
- Comedy
- Enemy design
- CLASSIC Turn based combat

Cons:
- Directionless story
- Sometimes music just sounds like horrifying background noise
- Confusing ability/item descriptions
- Obnoxiousness in dialogue

This list is MY take on what I experienced in this game. I should also mention that this game is in early-access and that the cons on this list could be fixed later in development, they are simply turn offs to me when it comes to the game in it's current state.

Now for kind of the bulk of the review. You are thrust into an exceedingly interesting side scrolling world that is full of wonderful colors, hilarious (yet obnoxious) characters, and memes. Seriously...this game FUELS itself on memes. You can tell right away that it's a labor of love and that you're delving into the mind of the creator. I said earlier that I don't think I'm quite the target audience for this game. At one point I found myself thinking and saying "this game is essentially Tumblr come to life". This isn't really my kind of style but definitely has an audience that would enjoy it!

The characters in the game are some of the strangest things in this world. One character in particular goes from screaming things like "Eat my nuts" (or something like that) to a much more serious "We need to accomplish this task to progress" in their dialogue alone. That is confusing when it comes to the character development. At least that's what I was feeling. Even still...it made me giggle. The combat for all the characters is very interesting, but I will say there is a lot to be worked on when it comes to the list of abilities. For instance; several characters have something like 23 abilities that you can use in combat...but there is no flavor text or damage numbers, or damage types that it shows the player. Lor became one of my all time favorite characters to use because she has an ability that does 800-7000 damage. That's not an exaggeration. Sometimes on the same enemy she could deal anywhere in that mix. The combat turn order could also be rather confusing. And finally the combat log in the top left corner goes so fast when playing I had no idea who was attacking and for how much they were attacking for unless I was looking RIGHT at the log.

All of this being said the game has a lot of charm and definitely has an interesting and wonderful world to delve in to, but simply just isn't for me. There are so many goofy moments, memes, and RPG tropes that get thrown out the window and it's refreshing to see a developer have so much fun while creating a game. And if you like perusing through the internet and giggling at the ridiculousness that it has to offer...I HIGHLY recommend this game. I will say as well, that a lot of these things I've listed could change, or they couldn't and it would still be on my recommendation. It's an experience unlike any I've had before.

Fragile Fighter is one of those games that you come across and you're like "Hey, this is kinda interesting looking."

Well I'm here to tell you that you're absolutely RIGHT! Sorta. It's INCREDIBLE! Fragile Fighter is hands down one of the best story telling experiences I've had in an indie game in a long time. If you're reading this review I assume that you are willing to read a bit of a lengthy one and that's what I'm going to give you today!

Graphics:

The graphics of Fragile Fighter are unique and very artistic. Everything feels hand drawn and feels intense. It's not "cute" nor is it bright or cheerful. The colors blend well with a dark sort of feel and atmosphere. Each level that you go through has it's own unique beauty and it's own emotion. The cinematics that you get between each level are short but leave such an impact on the rest of the game. In them you get small insights into the characters that are portrayed in each level. It's brilliant and emotionally wrenching.

Music:

The music in this game is TRULY magnificent. Featuring original vocals and excellent "chill giving" crescendos. When you being any one of the levels you will be immediately blown away by how the music pulls you in and immerses you in what's happening. You get an immediate feel for the world that you're thrust in to. I'm also a HUGE fan of as you progress through the levels the music will get more intense. I found myself bobbing my head more than actually killing enemies.

Combat:

The combat is simple yet unforgiving. This game uses the "1 hit you're dead, but so are they" kind of mentality. It's extremely challenging yet simple. Just pay attention to your surroundings and you'll probably be fine...probably. There are 3 different weapons that you can use and each has it's own strengths and weaknesses. Close quarter bubble, medium distance sword attack, and a long range, albeit inaccurate, "gun" attack. These can all be upgraded by simply playing the game and defeating enemies to be even more useful than they already are. Very fun to play around with and see which one fits the situation that you're in and is most helpful.

Level Design:

There's not a TON to say here as I am definitely not someone that pays TOO much attention to the way a level is mapped out. Having said that, the levels felt pretty straight forward. The first "world" that you enter was slightly confusing in the fact that I wasn't sure what exactly the goal was. As soon as I figured that out, it was absolutely fine.

And Story:

Without spoilers, this is where the game absolutely shines. The story telling in this game is astoundingly phenomenal. It's an incredible, basically vignetted, story where you meet and follow several character's "life story". This game does touch on some difficult topics but does so in an extremely respectful manner. It touches on physical abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders, failure, and more. The use of the short but poignant scenes between levels really pulls you in quickly and effectively. I'm not much one for tearing up in a game...but this one got me close.

Overall:

Thanks for reading this review! I hope this was helpful in giving you a feel for what you might expect from this game using my perspective as an example. This game is incredible. The story, the music, the atmosphere of each level, the art design, literally everything in Fragile Fighter is expertly done and has a unique purpose to telling the story. The game is short but leaves such an impression on you as a player. If you're paying attention to the small details in this game you'll see just how subtle the game can be with it's themes. **Hint** The enemy design is EXTREMELY important. I do hope you enjoy this game as I have!

-Mechjaw