Recent reviews by Reckless

tromboners rise up

Fall Guys but slightly more cooperative. Content is a little slim - would be very good if well-supported in the next coming months.

It's a close-quarters, deckbuilding Into the Breach with a Superhot-style aesthetic. I'm a huge fan.

Suggestions:
- A single-use undo button
- Confirmation for non-combative cards (i.e. having to select Block twice so you don't accidentally use it when you don't want to)
- A little more incentive to start at later areas so it's not so brutal dying midway
- Would it be possible to speed up replay just a little so it's a little less obviously turn-based?

Otherwise, the music is spot on, the visuals are great, the tactics are interesting, and the sound design is crispy. I highly recommend this game.

You haven't lived if you haven't missed a 99% chance to hit shot.

First saw this game on Many A True Nerd and decided to give it a shot. I don't think this is my first management sim, but it is certainly one of the only ones I can think of offhand. It's fun, but it feels lacking. I have not tried 2130 at this point.

Pros:
- Love the art style and aesthetics. Opening movie is very charismatic.
- Music is on point.
- I like how you have the option of disabling rounded times (i.e. some things take 10 vs 20 vs 25 days, etc.)
- Early game really forces you to keep a close eye on your budget. You can't always just dump money into R&D.
- You can either play it and feel it out or keep a calculator nearby.

Cons:
- Tutorial was not that helpful. I learned more through a YouTube video.
- AI don't really do anything.
- Once you make it through early game (~700k/mo and up) everything else is a breeze.
- UI could do with more features: minimap (particularly on large maps) or city list, more explanations on what buttons do. Customizable buttons if possible (for instance, if I wanted to change the destination of my liquor factory, have an option to apply settings to nearby liquor factories).

A very clever mix of rhythm and dungeon crawling. The soundtrack is kickass to boot.

Very intense

Defeated the mothership while on fire and with one HP. 10/10 would piss myself again.

Stardew Valley is all about building relationships. The level depth that you can go to through friendships and romance is unprecedented, and you find yourself learning more about each character than you ever expected. In fact, the most silent character is your own avatar, which you might consider to be a reflection of yourself (the player).

On top of that, the art is gorgeous and the music is spectacular, though sometimes I wish I could see the characters in less pixelated detail.

I think the B side of this may be my favorite of the four CDs. It concludes the entirety of the series - main game, manga, and the CDs - so well that it kind of leaves a hole in my heart, especially considering how I have a total of over a hundred hours (at the time of this writing) in the lives and adventures of Yuna and co. I'd also like to consider the B side to be canon in a way, despite the obvious fourth-wall breaking, because it provides some closure for certain events that happen in the main game.

Somewhere I made a bold statement in comparing this series to Avatar, particuarly how it dealt with issues both real-world and in-universe in multifaceted ways. In both cases, this provided interesting and beautifully crafted characters that you really want to care for. In Kindred Spirits' case, the CDs reflect the sort of growth that occurs within each person. You watch (well, listen) as all of the characters from the game grow up, graduate, and leave Shirojo. Seeing Yuna in college with Miki in Rain Kick was a little jarring, and hearing the broadcasting trio talk about graduating from high school shook me a bit as I realized these precious characters were growing up. It made me recall my own final years of high school and all the regrets I released and retained as that chapter in my life closed.

Kindred Spirits on the Roof, after all, is about change, particularly change in oneself. If a work of fiction can make me feel a rollercoaster of emotions, well...it can't be bad, right?