Recent reviews by [e] Pyrocat

very addictive gameplay loop, fun upgrade trees, lots to unlock, persistent progress via gold on each run to unlock other passives ala Rogue Legacy. Very good!

Mindlessly pick up useless items for 40 hours. I don't get it, itemization in other Obsidian games is really good, they just completely dropped the ball here. The plot is sort of interesting, although the social commentary is ham-fisted.

I stopped playing after I realized every room required you to interact with every object in it to proceed to the next room. At that point why not just make a visual novel?

The writing was alright but it seemed to focus on depression for depressions sake. Nothing in the world could be good or had hope, every line seemed to be about something worse going on.

Spoiler-free review:

Absolutely the best puzzle or mystery game I've ever played. Flying through space and landing on planets feels better than any other game I've played. What a solid physics engine to handle orbital mechanics for an entire solar system. What ingenious design to have nothing in the galaxy gated behind any lock or item, but instead gated by your own knowledge that you've gained from exploring.

Melancholy, awe, terror, hilarity, joy, nostalgia, existential dread, this game made me feel so many emotions and think deeply about the universe and my place in it; I can't recommend it enough.

probably a cool game, but it's hidden behind way too much interface cruft.

At one point during a tutorial I needed to press tab to disable mouselook and enter interface mode, switch from my mining toolbelt to my tool-toolbelt by clicking and dragging it onto my suit, open up the toolbelt by pressing 6 on the keyboard, click and drag a crowbar to my left hand, and then switch hand what hand i'm using with E, re-enable mouselook with tab to target a panel, hold leftmouse to use the crowbar to open the panel, ALL so I could just click a button inside the panel to turn on a thing.

I had to laugh at how ridiculous it was, none of those actions were fun, I just felt like I was fighting with the interface.

This game is great! Beautiful pixel art, detailed animations for every enemy, and very tight tactical gameplay that doesn't feel overwhelming. The game does a good job of slowly introducing concepts to you so it doesn't become overwhelming, but after about an hour or two in you can start to see the real depth of the mechanics. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys tactical RPGs. Strong FF: Tactics vibes, which is always a plus.

SUPER FUN

kinda like a cross between super meat boy and the movement of Doom (2016) with a soundtrack reminiscent of Distance

This only comes with Golden Axe, despite the description.

This game is... so good? Like, I don't even know how to describe it. I'm not a writer, Christine Love clearly is. I went in expecting a refined and realistic portrayal of sexuality, and I got that, but also a really good story. And characters that won't leave my mind any time soon. And, like, way too many things that I want to try in bed. So, yeah, play this game.

Undertale, "the RPG where no one has to die", is my favorite game of 2015. It's like Earthbound with somewhat forgiving bullet hell combat and the emotional heft of a good visual novel. People are always talking about wanting more games that expand the medium, games that are more than just violence, games with unique artistic merit, and I'd say Undertale certainly qualifies. It isn't everyones cup of tea, but if you invest the time to really get to know this game it will surprise you. Did I mention it's also the funniest game I've ever played?

This game is VERY vulnerable to spoilers, so try and avoid the wiki if it all possible. If you get stuck hit me up and I'll try to give guidance without spoiling anything. It's a relatively short game so I recommend playing through it once casually then giving a 100% pacifist play-through a try. Give it a shot, at the very least you'll experience something different!