Recent reviews by stray_pengo

TL;DR: The immersive on-rails rhythm & melody shooter got local/online co-op and pvp now. The new missile mechanic is easier to grasp but musically weird.

Aaero is one of the rare breeds among rhythm games that sheds light on the other aspect of music: melody.

Simply put, you follow a melody by riding a luminous strand with your left thumb. You keep rhythm by shooting down baddies with your right thumb and triggers. You do all that while passively flying over beautifully stylized alien landscapes on a nameless spaceship. It's incredibly engaging when everything clicks.

What's new to the sequel is obviously local/online co-op/pvp. It may be a little unfair not to touch on such a major addition, but as I don't have friends do MP, I'll leave it for others who do.

For single-player - it's a kind of side-grade. There are some welcome QOL improvements, such as a more readable metronome and a slight magnetic guide on the rail. Higher difficulties have become noticeably tougher, which may attract skilled players (that's not me, lol.)

The new shooting mechanic, though? It's a mixed bag. The timing is easier to grasp than that of the prequel for sure, but it's become subjectively less impactful at the same time. Devs have been trying to add some player agency to the obvious inspiration: Rez (*1), but I have to say it's not quite there yet.

Still, Aaero is Aaero, and it offers 18 more stages of truly unique visual/aural/player synergy not to be experienced elsewhere. I highly recommend it and its debut entry (*2) for their modest price if you are even remotely a music person (and own a controller.)

(*1 It's basically Rez-like hold-and-sweep-to-lock-on then release-to-fire, but the audio highlights launch instead of impact. Launches also have to be on either beat 1 or 3, so they fight for your attention against the snare drum on beat 2 and 4. It's a doubly strange design decision, but it is what it is.)

(*2 I have written a guide if you have issue with Aaero1's timing.)

TL;DR: Try the demo. It's as good as it looks.

Rogue Flight is a dear love letter to Sega's Super-Scalar era of arcade gaming, with 80's space opera anime narrative and keen art direction.

The gameplay is a refreshing throwback to simpler on-rails spectacle shooter the industry seems to have forgotten: you just hop on a killer spacecraft, graze iconic SF scenery at lightning speed, dodge raining lasers, unleash Itano Circus missile barrage, blast bosses' core and have a good time.

In addition to the obvious barrel roll ability, you can also perform sideway drift which lets you whiplash enemies with jet trails (in space, why not) in bullet-time slowmo. It's imaginative and looks awesome, thanks to modern 3D tech. The horizon is fixed by default but if you want it to "roll" for authenticity there is optional cockpit view.

The action is interspersed with anime-like cinematics to carry the Gunbuster-ish narrative. '80s nostalgia is driven home here by stellar voice cast, desaturated celluloid appearance, and VHS-like chroma aberration. The rocking OST by Fat Bard[fatbard.bandcamp.com] with genre-staple wailing guitar is an absolute banger too - it even has a cute theme song!

9 stages may sound a little shortish (I wouldn't have minded a couple more,) but there are various unlocks with plot branches to warrant replays. I feel the real meat is in the New Game+ mode where you have access to all unlocked weapons to match ramped up enemy activity. If you are score chaser there is "RogueFlite" (gauntlet) mode as well.

It took a filthy casual like me ~9 hours to experience everything the game has to offer on normal, and there are higher difficulties with scoring benefits if you are up for it. The post-launch support has been fairly healthy - they have already implemented M&K support, caravan mode, as well as balance tweaks in response to player feedback.

Perhaps the best "feature" of all is that there is no cynicism here. This is a genuine appreciation of a lost form of entertainment, executed with enthusiasm and mastery. It is the kind of well-rounded package filled to the brim with care and respect that is a delight to interact with.

I hope RF will find its well-deserved target audience. Now who is going to be the brave soul to retrofit it in a Galaxy Force cabinet?

1. Delay the PC version for 2 years
2. Set the price same as the initial launch price on console
3. Exclude PC from Deluxe/Season Pass discount
4. No loyalty discount, no multipack
5. Drop bunch of day-one DLC's
6. Announce the account link requirement only after the fact, after the whole mess with Helldivers 2

...profit?

I'm barely giving a thumb up because the account link is not needed for SP and the game itself seems to be a solid improvement over EDF5.

But seriously. D3 Publisher needs to hire better PC marketing staff. They have a potential GOTY/GOAT material in their hands. Why do they hate PC gamers so much?

TL;DR: pick it up while you can before October 5th 2023. It's an insanely generous deal. (It's effectively an "eternal pass" which grants 400+ songs as of September 2023 *and* all future monthly song packs and collab DLCs at no extra cost.)

Edit: devs even had a decency to put it on a farewell -25% discount. Whoa.

So what's the deal with recent review bombing, you may ask? Well devs tried to nerf and remove collab DLCs from the above benefit and some people were mortally offended. To be honest I think both parties are to blame: devs for carefree product description, and some players for unrealistic expectations.

On one hand the store does say "there's no need to pay for any further updates." On the other hand it was written 4 years ago when Muse Dash was just an upstart and devs didn't account for going after major players like Miku as they do now. Which requires major amount of license money. A change of plan was called for.

So it's unfortunate that some people held devs to their word and demanded all future collab DLCs, along with monthly updates, would be granted with no extra charge. They are certainly not wrong but they are also oblivious of practicality.

Personally I thought devs' initial plan before the backlash - discount for collab DLCs for Just As Planned owners - was totally within reason. But that's just me. Probably.

In the end devs have caved in and there will be zero cash flow from current Just As Planned owners which will surely kneecap the growth of Muse Dash we all love. Free is cool and all but was that really a win?

This DLC has made a glorious 4-year run, to be succeeded by slightly nerfed "Muse Plus" DLC from now on. Too bad it ends in such a sour note.

Top Dog is a kind of game you really should know what you are getting into before picking it up.

It may look like a feel-good power fantasy arcade shmup like Afterburner on the surface but it's not.

It's more like a git-gud muscle-flexer for arena FPS veterans where you are thrown into swarm of aggressive enemies and barrage of homing missiles in open space without cover. You are expected to swerve and turn continuously while looking for attack window. If you flinch, you'll die.

I can see that's what the dev is going for and I'm sure it will offer entertaining challenge for the intended audience so I'm still giving it a thumb up.

If you are looking for more paced experience like me OTOH you should move on. It's like starting Afterburner at the last stage. There may be some cool stuff like powerups, frigates or new biome down the road but I usually die in a minute or two before reaching there. It seems to lack the initial hook to motivate me to "git gud."

Like the title aptly suggests, this was clearly not for a filthy casual like me. YMMV.

Expected lewd yuri cyberpunk, got a cozy little mix of female Bladerunner, Ghost in the Shell, and a bit of Evangelion instead.

It may not score high on originality for that reason but the strong presentation pulls it all together. The handdrawn art in anime style, the color coordination drenched in neon (including UI,) and the Vangelis-like synthwave are treat for your senses.

The plot branch is simple and obvious and it's easy to achieve 100% which is always a welcome bonus.

It makes for an ~8 hour-ish good read if you feel like pondering on existentialism. Recommended.

Playing tip: there is a hidden accessibility feature (such as custom font size) that can be enabled with [A] key.

I feel this pack is a little under-appreciated so I would like to provide some backstory. TL;DR - both tables have clearly defined challenging goals and are good for short sessions. Wall of text incoming!

Big Buck Hunter is an exemplar easy-to-learn yet hard-to-master table. The layout and rule are straight-forward and you are always a few shots away to trigger something while the main multiball provides moderate challenge.

This was by design. Stern in 2010 was going through a cost-cutting phase to appeal to retailers which resulted in simple playfield + toys, front-loaded ruleset, and shallow flippers + greedy outlanes to shorten playtime (= better revenue on location.)

This concept was met with lukewarm reception but it's not so bad in retrospect. It's open to casual random flailing yet there is room for strategy if you look for it, but not so much as to drag down the gameplay. Competent code by the late Lyman Sheats of Attack from Mars/Medieval Madness/Monster Bash fame adds to the enjoyment too.

Be warned though as it can be pretty brutal. Stern may have been onto something but TPA's plastic physics has turned it into a hoseball beast. The ball zips through inlanes and there will be many outlane dunk without any bouncing action whatsoever; I'm sure they didn't mean to bring this much randomness to the table. Nothing preemptive nudge can't handle but it sure feels off.

In short - if you are after some short pinball session with 2010-ish sensibilities but not so much as to clog up your brain you could do far worse than trying BBH. However TPA version is an absurdly punishing game with high skill ceiling so you may like to give it a pass if you have low tolerance for being hosed many times over.

Moving on... Whoa Nellie! was a little indie that could, by two industry luminaries Dennis Nordman (Elvira/White Water/Pirates of the Caribbean) and Greg Freres (artist for Dr. Dude/Scared Stiff/Medieval Madness.)

They started to tinker with an old pinball table (Gottlieb's Continental Cafe... from 1957!) and made a "total conversion" out of it for WhizBang Pinball in 2011. It was so good Stern picked it up, mass produced in 2015, then it's made its way to TPA roster - demonstrating a commercial viability of indie pinball.

The playfield is a captivating mix of old and new. The focus on the top lanes shows its EM roots, yet the flow is smoother and more lenient thanks to the addition of modern side/right lanes. Now the mini-flippers are not as punishing, and feeding the top lane is a breeze. Rubber posts are bouncy as they should be so you can have some serious nudging fun.

The big game changer however is the introduction of the skill shot and the double-up feature of bumper/target value(*1.) This clutch function and the element of progression brilliantly mend EM's inherent shortcomings that single hard-to-hit lane/target can bottleneck the whole game, or you can run out of things to do after lighting/hitting everything.

Sadly the transition to digital is not as masterly - or should I say finished. TPA version lacks the final polish as if someone pulled the plug at 90% project completion. Overlit playfield doesn't do justice to Freres' colorful art, and the game will softlock if you ragequit exit mid-game(*2.) The main toy, the "bullseye" target, seems to be too harsh to register direct hits. The in-game instruction is obviously inadequate too (see below.) Nothing game-breaking, but shameful nonetheless.

Some players have reported poor performance but I haven't had any issue on my rig (Ryzen 5600X + RX6600.) YMMV.

All in all WN is a refreshing EM style table peppered with just enough today's conveniences while honoring the retro feel. Highly recommended if you yearn for EM's simpler goals but could do without accompanying harshness. I just wish FarSight would have followed through the whole deal. Poor Nellie.

There you have it. I know there's a moral dilemma of whether you should keep feeding certain lazy bastard or not. But good pinball is good pinball so I hope this review helped ease the bad taste in your mouth somewhat.

(*1 The skill shot is "smart" - it will light an unlit top lane, regardless of its position. When all top lanes are lit the center saucer will reset top lanes and bumpers then the bumper value will be doubled when lit again. Do it again and the target value will be doubled. These features are inexplicably and inexcusably undocumented in the in-game instruction.)

(*2 You can resolve the state by pulling all the way back to the table selection menu.)

Visually rich take on the Space Invaders formula with modern unlockable perks to match. The solo dev is keen to listen to player feedback which has been reflected in remarkably frequent content updates since launch. Totally worth the asking price.

Liblade is a 2.5D corridor hack&slash platformer which lives on its intuitive control scheme optimized for gamepad (it does *not* support kb&m, mind.)

One flick of the right stick is mapped to a swing of your blade, plus there are three modifiers at shoulder/triggers (one shoulder button is for jump.) It's direct, intuitive, and very satisfying to execute.

The rest of the game is basically an excuse to demonstrate your growing awesomeness as you traverse its deep skill tree, but that's perfectly fine when the fundamental manoeuvre is so gratifying. The boss fights are fun to figure out as well. There's not much replayability but there are no-damage clear achievements if you care for that kind of stuff.

It's short, sweet, and to the point - the best kind of indie. I heartily recommend it for its modest asking price.

Brave Pinball is an RPG-themed pinball which unfortunately fails to deliver on all fronts.

It's hardly a throwaway attempt, admittedly. The assets are cute and colorful and the flipper physics is okay-ish with surprisingly viable backhands. Other than that, I honestly can't think of anything that would hold your interest.

As a pinball it lacks ball flow nor compelling ruleset. You can't even nudge the table. I couldn't figure out where the "RPG" element would come from, other than the score multiplier(?) by loot pickups.

Basically the gameplay boils down to bashing what's in front of you to proceed to the next higher mini-table. The aggressive respawn rate of enemies and obstacles pretty much negates any chance of nuanced play. The RPG staple like equipments or stat growth are oddly missing, too.

Apparently there seems to be some unlockable paths, but that for me was not enough motivation to keep playing. Beating the same enemies/obstacles over and over to get back to where I was has gotten old and tiresome real quick.

Any structured rule to bring things together and/or the sense of progress could have turned things around, but the game is too simple and barebone to recommend even for the generous launch price of 6USD. Refunded.