Game #920: Kamen Rider - Memory of Heroez

 3 riders 1 bike.

 Ever since I first watched the original Masked Rider back when I was a wee lad I've been enamored by Kamen Riders. They look cool, they get cool power ups and the storylines are slightly darker than the ones in Super Sentai. With Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez they tried taking it seriously, making a game that older fans could appreciate too, and the end result, well.. it's not awful.

 While the game promoted W, OOO and Zero-One as playable characters, we also get a few extra sidekick riders too, which was pretty neat, so we get 6 different riders in all. W, OOO and Zero-One have multiple forms which was really cool. That said, W was the series that made me stop watching Kamen Rider, since even though I adored Decade, I really couldn't stand this double rider.... and he is quite clearly the main protagonist of this game and he is the character you're forced to play as the most. I was really looking forward to Zero-One, since I didn't watch his series but his design looked really neat.... and he is treated pretty much as if he were part of the sidekick riders. You are only forced to play as him once and his relevance to the plot is pretty much nil, as OOO and W are quite clearly the most favored riders. 

 The game is a very linear beat'em up. VERY linear. There are blue energy barriers gating you into the only path you can take through the game, even though environments look expansive, they really aren't. It also falls into the most repetitive and annoying Japanese licensed game trope: Loads and loads of useless text. It's not uncommon to trigger a boring cutscene in which characters state the obvious, spend 20 seconds walking to point B and trigger another boring cutscene in which characters either state the obvious again or talk about something that could've been condensed into something more palatable. It's a licensed beat'em up. give me a cutscene before and after each level and then just let me bash enemies, it ain't that hard. Or at least make the dialogue more succinct, interesting and worthwhile. And these 'pseudo' cutscenes are even MORE annoying because they usually change whatever Rider you selected, usually into W. I want to level up the other guys, I'm forced to play as W most of the time, he is already at max level, let me play as somebody else. But no, resets you back to W, so you have to enter the menu again, go to character select, pick another character, wait for the 5-second long unskippable cutscene of the Rider entering the scene and HOPE that the next checkpoint is a fight and not another pointless dialogue scene.

 Sadly, the combat isn't all that interesting, in fact, it's very rudimentary. Every character and every form has a basic weak attack string(Usually just three hits), a strong attack(Sometimes it's a string), a unique attack and a super move. You can dodge and change forms mid 'combo', if you can call them that, but that's about it. You don't unlock new moves, you don't get different attacks depending on when you link the strong attack from your weak attack, you don't get different attacks by holding different directions on the analogue stick, it's just mashing Y and pressing X every now and then and that's all you get. Needless to say, combat is pretty repetitive and shallow. Having different forms is neat, and to be fair they can have widely different attack animations or properties, but for the most part you'll be doing the same things with every character. Strong attacks, unique attacks and dodging are tied to a stamina meter, for whatever reason, which I felt was too limiting and dumb.

 There are a few silly mechanics like the Denden Sensor, in which you must follow a signal to a spot, then enter first person and follow another signal to find something. It's just a waste of time. A few stages will also have W get on his bike and the game turns into an on-rails shooter like Panzer Dragoon, but they are pretty forgettable too.

 As to really sell you on the whole low budget charm, the game has framerate issues on the Switch. It's not a bad looking game, but surely they could've optimized it better? One time a gun-tooting enemy spawned behind a purple barrier, so I had to cheese him into getting closer and then hit him with the very few moves that reached him. Another time the game got stuck on a loading screen.

 If you come at the game with lowered expectations you might fun some find in it. I know I did after I realized that this wasn't the epic mature, decent-budget Kamen Rider game they promoted it as. Playing as Kamen Riders is fun, the characters look cool and I'm sure with a bit more money they could've made something decent. If you ask me, the All Generation Kamen Rider games are a much better alternative.

 5.5

Game #919: BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - Special Edition(Playstation 4)

  Could it be any better on PS4? Of course not!

 So BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle: Special Edition... it's the same exact game as the Switch port, which I already talked about not so long ago, so there's no need to repeat my words. A mediocre fighter that runs on auto-pilot. ArkSys really blew it.

5.0

Game #918: Dragon Ball FighterZ Deluxe Edition

  Still not done with ArkSys fighters, but soon...!

 Dragon Ball FighterZ Deluxe Edition is a very special rerelease of this game, only released in Japan, this new SKU includes the first season of DLC on the disc, making a very appealing purchase since that means 8 new fighters. Sure, the game is up to Season 3, but hey, the more the merrier and it's not just a dumb DLC code.

 First of all, this is an all new SKU, an SKU that was never released outside Japan... so no English whatsoever. Purchasing this game means the menus, unlockables and what have you are all in Japanese. It's not too tough to move around since fighting games tend to be simple, but hey, it's something you have to deal with.

 Besides the 8 new characters... this game comes with SSGSS Goku and Vegeta as well as Android 21 unlocked from the getgo, so no need to dredge through the lengthy and silly story mode. That said, character colors must be unlocked, so you might want to give it a whirl to get some in-game currency.

 As for the new characters, I think it's made up of five really neat new characters and three very lame new characters. The lame characters are base Goku and Vegeta, because we really needed more Gokus and Vegetas... and I can't believe they had the gall to charge for this asset recycles. The other lame character is fused Zamasu, he looks dumb and he is a bit boring AND he comes from Super. On the other end we finally get Vegeto, one of my favorites, although he is in his SSGSS form, I would've much rather gotten the SSJ form, but I'll take what I can get. Android 17 isn't a character I care for too much, and he is wearing his Super duds, but he is a rekka character which made him very unique and fun to use in this game. Plus, he doesn't need to call on his sister. Bardock recycles Goku's head, but he was a fun rushdown character with 2 level 1 supers. He turns SSJ for his level 3. Lastly we have Brolly and Cooler, they are HUGE and very fun to use. I loved how nimble Cooler was despite his size.

 So... it's not necessarily a better game, but it's a better release than vanilla since we get 8 new characters and the boring-to-unlock characters from the getgo. Not having an English option is a bit disappointing, but the game is easy to navigate, so no biggie.

 7.5

Game #917: Blazblue CentralFiction - Special Edition

  It ain't pure fiction, all the DLC is here.

 This ain't just another port of CentralFiction, for y'see, Blazblue CentralFiction: Special Edition contains all the DLC, that means you get Es, May and Jubei, and as an added nicety, Susanoo comes unlocked from the get go, so no need to dredge through the dreadful story mode.

 There's not much else left to be said. The game has a lot of content, a total of 36 different characters, a lot of modes and the game is pretty fun to play. I've never been a fan of the fanservice-focused art direction nor the fanservice-focused plot, but despite that I've been able to enjoy Blazblue all this time because it's really fun. Even characters that resemble or are related to other characters have their own intricacies that make them unique to play as. And this version of CentralFiction allows you to just put the cart in and have fun since the only valuable thing you might want to unlock are colors and Noel's alternate costume.

 All in all, I'm glad the Switch got its own version of Blazblue's latest, and I'm happy that everything is in the cart.

 8.5

Game #916: Guacamelee! One-Two Punch Collection

 Reign in the Nacho Libre jokes.

  A bit late to the party, I know, but finally, Guacamelee! One-Two Punch Collection can be put under my belt. Both games are pretty much identical, so there's no reason to talk about them separately.

 Basically, this are Mexico/Luchador-themed Metroidvanias, yeah, you read that right. They are pretty fun and can be played with up to four players, which is rather interesting! You get a ton of different moves to defeat enemies and clear different obstacles, mostly in the form of color-coded blocks and walls. By the end of the game, Juan(and Tostada!) will be able shift between the world of the dead and the world of the living, turn into chickens as well as all sorts of wrestling-inspired moves. It's pretty cool!

 Both games offer a surprisingly tough series of platforming challenges in which you must make use of your special moves to traverse the obstacles. The second game is particularly challenging when it comes to the optional stuff, switching between Human and chicken form while also switching between the world of the dead and the living while remembering to use the action button to use jumping sigils.... Your fingers will get quite the workout.

 The fighting system is amazing because your super moves are tied to a stamina gauge that refills automatically after not using super moves for a short while, so you are encouraged to use them willy nilly when fighting baddies. An the combos you can create look quite flashy.

 I wasn't much of a fan of the graphics, as the sprites are vectorized, so it looks like a flash game. I'm much more partial towards pixel sprites, but while I wasn't a fan of the visuals, the game plays very smoothly.

 The Guacamelee! duology deserves all the praise it received way back when. These are fun games with a well balanced mixture of combat and platforming.

8.0

Game #915: BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - Special Edition

  The complete game!..... Kinda.

 Blazblue Cross Tag Battle: Special Edition was a game I was interested in ever since it was first announced. And then it was announced that half of the cast was paid DLC, being made up mostly of assets that they had already made, because like Capcom's finest crossover games, this is one of the largest asset-recycles ever done in gaming. So I kept waiting.... and here we are, Special Edition, which contains most of the game in-cart... and the last 9 characters through a DLC voucher. LAME.

 But the worst part about it... is that the game is rather lame. Combat has been reduced to 2 attack buttons, and every button is, you guessed it, a different auto-combo. Even character movesets have been horribly simplified, most characters missing some of their original moves. Heck, there's no walking forward, only running. I really, really disliked this approach to the game.

 Hey, at least I can pick which colors I want to buy for my characters, as unlocks aren't randomized.

 In a word? Disappointing. Sure, once you use the DLC you get a massive 50+ character roster, but the gameplay has been simplified to the point of boredom. This is not the kind of fighting game I like. And it's funny, because ArkSys made Guilty Gear, a series infamous for their complexity.

5.0

Game #914: Darksiders Genesis(Switch)

  There ain't no War without Strife.

 In an effort to keep the story from moving forward since the very first Darksiders game, the fourth entry in the series, Darksiders Genesis is yet another prequel, this time focusing on the only Horseman that's yet to be playable, Strife.... as well as the hero from the first game, War.

 Since with every installment they tackle a different genre, Genesis is a Diablo-like Isometrical beat'em up game. You could call it an RPG, but the game mechanics veer more into the beat'em up genre. So, yeah, not an RPG, and while it looks like a loot-based dungeon crawler, there's no loot here. 

 The upgrade system is alright, defeat enemies, obtain souls and use souls to buy new moves or a few enhancements to your potions. Exploration is the name of the game, as the game has a ton of secret items hidden behind puzzles that require specific tools and noggin' joggin' to complete.

 The game can be played in co-operative mode, in which each player takes control of each Horsemen. In single player, you can swap between them at will. I liked how each character felt very different. War is slow, heavy and very powerful, while Strife is much weaker but can zip around the battlefield, as well as shoot enemies from afar with various different types of ammo. Each character also has two unique tools they can use to solve puzzles, as well as three different wrath-consuming abilities.

 Instead of leveling up and obtaining equipment, you can obtain 'Cores' from fallen enemies, which can then be placed in a grid to enhance your stats as well as obtain nifty passive abilities depending on the core, such as leaving a trail of fire behind you every time you dash.

 The in-game map is serviceable at best, while it highlights every collectible, once you find the 'Map' secret, it won't mark where you are. The area in which you are will be highlighted, but not the exact spot you are standing on, which is pretty dumb. And you can't move the camera around, which will be an annoyance at least a couple of times.

 Not only was the game made on a budget, with cutscenes being made up of beautiful hand-drawn art, but there were plenty of little bugs and the odd typo here and there. It's easy to get stuck in the environment, although in single player you can usually get out by swapping characters. One time, when going through a door, the game failed to load the next area twice, I had to quite the game and restart it to get it to work. The cutscene before the first boss played twice, once before the fight, and another after the fight..... and the game crashed on me a couple of times. Lastly, this Switch version looked very blurry, at least in handheld mode, which was a bit disappointing since characters are pretty tiny from the get-go.

 Darksiders Genesis was a fine game, but to be perfectly honest.... considering how much I love the series, I expected something a bit better. I also expected Strife to get his own game and for the story to finally push forward, but I'll take what I can get.

 7.0

Game #913: Team Sonic Racing

  This ain't Supaaaaa Sonic racing.

 Team Sonic Racing is yet another racing game in which Sonic decides to handicap himself by driving a car. I've always wanted to delve into the Sonic Racing games, but for whatever reason never got my chance... up 'til now.

 The game offers 15 playable characters, which felt a bit... lacking. I mean, the basics are covered: Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow and Rouge are here.... but I feel like Sonic has so much more to offer, that just 15 characters feel a bit lame. On the other hand, each character has a very unique vehicle, and each vehicle has its own exclusive customization parts, so it's not like work didn't go into the game.

 Speaking of customization, these pieces are earned through a luck-based mini game in which you spend in-game currency. I've never liked hiding unlockables behind luck-based mechanics, and like any modern game, these luck-based mechanics include garbage you really don't care about, like 'start with a power up' bonuses that only work in Story mode. Utterly worthless. At least it's not like in ArkSys games, in which there's a ton of garbage you'll be getting instead of color palettes.

 Aside from parts, that change how the vehicle looks and performs, you can also edit the color of your car. Most cars have about 4 different pieces you can change the color of, and you pick from different 4-color palettes. But it doesn't stop there, you can give different textures to the paint, such as 'plastic', 'metal' or 'solid'.... and you can make some pretty cool looking stuff. Like metallic gold paint job with metallic red highlights. It's really cool!

 The story mode was alright. I don't agree with having objectives such as "You and your teammates must win in the first 3 spots' in a game that A) Has rubber-band AI so that enemies can catch up to you pretty easily and B) You are depending on two AI teammates. Needless to say, early on I decided I wouldn't care about fulfilling every objective, not only is it unnecessary, but you also depend on having luck. This mode offers various challenge stages, like having to collect rings under a certain amount of time. I'm terrible at racing games, so I skipped them. There's a single mandatory non-race event in the story mode, but thankfully, it was relatively easy. I've heard some people gave up on story mode when they got to this event, but it ain't too bad, trust me.

 As for the game mechanics, the game is pretty solid. You have drifting as well as mini-turbos earned from drifting. You can also spin on the air to generate turbos, like in Mario Kart, and it works pretty well. If anything, I felt like the power ups/weapons weren't too self explanatory. Like the white Wisp, how was I supposed to figure out it's a boost? The bomb wisp doesn't look anything like a bomb. So it might take a while until you are familiarized with how each power up works.

 Story mode is played entirely using the team mechanics, although you can turn them off and play without teams in the other modes, and the team mechanics are alright. You can send power ups between team-mates, and driving over the trail of whoever's the furthest ahead will grant you free turbos. I mean, I don't think I'll ever pick Team driving if it was up to me, but they were alright and didn't make me hate the story mode.

 All in all, it was pretty fun for what it was. It's not as colorful or fun as Mario Kart, but damn if it isn't a great attempt. The game feels good to play, which is what matters the most. I think it should've had a better roster and more noteworthy race tracks if it wants to compete against Mario Kart.

 7.0

Game #912: Dragon Ball FighterZ(Switch)

  Oh, boy, unpopular opinion time...

 The past video-game generation wasn't kind to fighting games, but if the genre had a critically acclaimed and fan-approved darling it was Dragon Ball FighterZ, the game that Marvel VS Capcom Infinite should've been. I'm a bit late to the party, for I was waiting for a complete edition, but I got tired of waiting, so here I am.

 Well, the game looks the part, just like Guilty Gear Xrd before it, it's a beautiful looking game that animates 3-D models in a way that makes them look like 2-D sprites. The character roster is pretty decent too, and while I really don't like Super, they limited the additions to Hit and Goku Black(Well, and SSGSS Goku and SSGSS Vegeta, but they are recycled, retooled and recolored SSJ models), and the rest of the cast were great choices. I'm not really fond of the new original character, Android 21 though. I do agree that the DB cast could use more females, but I would've rather have Videl instead of new half-baked characters.

 The story mode is incredibly boring, a case of 'attack of the clones', and the mode itself drags on for soooooo long. I also don't agree with how ridiculous the unlock requirements are for SSGSS Goku and Vegeta. As with every other modern ArkSys games, unlocking character colors is randomized, so you'll be playing the game, to unlock currency for a chance at getting what you want. Pretty lame.

 Firstly, I wanna make this clear, I think the game is fun. For a fighter, it's super simple to understand, characters have small movesets, there are friendly shortcuts for double-press combinations, input commands are pretty easy. And despite that, the game has depth, there's a lot of fun stuff you can pull off. My problem stems from the fact that the game feels like auto-combo capital. The light attack button produces an auto-combo, the medium attack button produces an auto-combo that ends in a super and the strong attack button produces another auto-combo. I feel like it somewhat robs the game and the casual player any interest to try out stuff. I've never been a fan of auto-combos unless they were optional, but this is a bit egregious in my opinion.

 I know, I know it's mostly complaints, but I did enjoy the game. It looks pretty, the base roster is fantastic and, to top it off, it's really fun to play. It's fast paced and colorful, and animations are just top-notch. I just wish auto-combos weren't so invasive and that unlocking stuff wasn't made so annoying.

 

7.5

Game #911: Stranger Things 3 - The Game

  What the hell did they do to my Steve?!

 The first season of Stranger Things was pretty good, but I felt the series declined in quality with each installment, to the point that I couldn't even force myself to finish the third season, the one in which Stranger Things 3: The Game is based on. Regardless, the game looked appealing, so I gave it a shot.

 It feels and looks like a mobile game, but plays like an old SNES game. And I don't mean that in a bad way, necessarily. The character sprites are very charming, and they were surprisingly faithful with the source material, sure, they skimped on some details and information, but I felt like it was a pretty decent adaptation. I mean, considering the game lets you swap characters at will so that you could play through Hopper and Joyce's adventures with Max and Erica, it's still a decent retelling.

 That said, the brunt of the game is going from point A to point B to point C while murdering a ridiculous amount of Russians and monsters. Oh, yes, murdering adult Russians with the kids never stopped being ridiculous, but hey, it's a game. Besides the main storyline, there are also plenty of side quests, which are pretty much the same thing, gathering stuff from different zones and battling ridiculous amounts of enemies.

 I felt the game at first was super fun, but as with most games with a ton of combat but not a whole lot of rewards... it quickly lost its luster. There are simply too many enemies who can take too much damage before going down. If there was some sort of RPG system it could've made it at least rewarding, and at least you'd grow stronger making combat go down faster. To be fair, you can craft trinkets to up your damage, but it's still not good enough. And sure, you could use a character's energy consuming abilities, but it's much better to save up your energy for Max's healing ability. The last couple of chapters were an unbearable slog. I just wanted the game to end already.

 Now onto the nitpicky.... why is Erica, one of the most annoying characters EVER conceived in a series, playable, but not my girl Robin? Robin was cool, gimme Robin. And Steve has always been my favorite character, but instead of giving him his trademark barbed-wired bat, which was given to Mike, his main attack is... shooting scoops of Ice Cream. Seriously? Is my boy a joke to you? And why is Hopper's main form of attack a punch? He is a cop, give him a gun. But it's flippin' Will the one that gets to shoot with flares. Oh, and characters with ranged attacks are just plain better. Most melee oriented characters are stronger, but they are easily swarmed by enemies. Heck, Dustin inflicts poisonous damage from afar that hurts enemies over time for a short while. Eleven was easily the strongest character, and one of the very few that consistently landed critical hits.

 It was an alright game, but I don't think people that aren't interested in the show will find anything of value here. That said a few refinements would've made it a much more pleasant experience, and I'm sure it's a bit more fun in co-op... provided you can find someone interested in playing this game the whole way through.

 5.0

Game #910: River City Girls

  No, I didn't wanna go back. NO, I DID NOT WANT TO PICK THAT UP!

 You know, I was never much into the River City Ransom series, if at all. I didn't grow up with the original, and when I got to play it the game was way past its prime. I tried a few of the other games, but the only one that really caught my eye was the Kunio-tachi SNES game, which was dark and stuff, with the boys even getting locked up in juvie, if I remember correctly. Regardless, Wayforward was tasked with making a new game in the series, River City Girls, so of course I just had to try it.

 Wayforward's trademark sprite expertise is in full display here, the animation is fantastic. Kyoko and Misako are super cute and badass, and the unlockable boys look beefy and cool. Oh, yes, you can unlock Riki and Kunio, and all four characters get their own unique movesets, which is amazing.

 The game is fairly simple, you have basic moves, strong moves and super moves that run on a gauge that fills as you land hits, although most moves must be purchased from the dojo. To be fair, you'll probably devise a combo that works really well and try to stick with it for the rest of the game, but hey, you've got plenty of options.

 Traversing River City while pummeling mooks is fun, but I thought the bosses were a bit lame. At least three of them felt super gimmicky, like friggin' Abobo who'll interrupt anything that isn't a 4-weak hit string, a Guitar-hero-esque boss and a shooter hell-esque boss. No obstacle is too high since you can spend money on restorative items, but still...

 I've got one HUGE gripe with the game that really got on my nerves: The basic attack button... that triples as the 'enter area' and 'pick up weapon' button. It's so easy to enter another area or pick up something when you're trying to bash baddies. And it's hard to remember to get away from an area entrance when as soon as you enter enemies go towards you, so you'll just hit the attack button and... have to sit through a loading screen taking you back from where you came. This was a constant annoyance throughout at the game, and it's a shame because the rest of the game is rock solid.

 This just might be the best game Wayforward has developed yet. It has their usual masterful spritework coupled with simple but enjoyable gameplay that makes their best games so good.

 8.5

Game #909: The Sexy Brutale

 All bets are off.

 I was enamored by The Sexy Brutale's premise the moment I heard about it: A giant casino in which every guest is murdered in the span of 12 hours... sans the main character, who has the power to rewind time, which he'll use in order to save everyone. If that isn't captivating I don't know what is!

 The game is a pseudo puzzle/stealth game. The only stealth comes in the form of having to avoid guests and murderers, but even if they see you you have ample time to evade them. The rest of the game involves tracking the person you need to save, seeing what they do, figuring their schedule and then finding how to save them.

 I found the game's pacing incredibly slow, to the point that I very quickly realized this wasn't a game for me. After I saved the second guest I just went to a guide and used it throughout the entire game. I don't mind though, the puzzles got incredibly hard and tracking the guests would've quickly grown too boring for me. 

 But that's alright, because I really enjoyed the story, and having my hand held through the game wasn't half-bad! I had fun seeing how you are supposed to save everyone.

 This is most definitely not a game for everyone, but if the premise sounds even a little bit interesting, I suggest doing what I did: Get a guide and enjoy the story.

 6.0

Game #908: Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix

  As fun as it is ugly.

 I've been meaning to play Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix for a while now, I mean, THUG2 is my favorite Tony Hawk game, and this version is supposed to add new levels to the story mode? Sign me up!

 Well.... the grass isn't always greener. The Tony Hawk games were never quite the lookers, but this game has visual glitches everywhere, the textures are muddy to the point that some cutscenes falter because you can't read what you're supposed to. Audio has always been a huge part of these games, but audio quality here is that of a potato. Audio lines have a nasty clicking on them at times, although the music is passable enough at least.

 Controls are as good as they can be. There's no R2 or L2, so the R and L button have to work for both trigger buttons and... it can be messy at times. Camera control is terrible because there's no right analog stick, so good luck with that. While on foot you can use the analog stick to move alongside you, and while skating you can use the left analog stick, the thing directly below the directional pad which you are using to move, to look around. No bueno.

 The new levels are.... alrightish. Only one of them is mandatory, which goes directly after the tutorial, something I don't necessarily agree with because the next level is much easier. The other three new levels are optional, as you get branching paths. The new levels are... mediocre. I'm not a fan of 'open' levels because it's easy to drive out of bounds, which sucks. The final new level, Vegas, was pretty good though. So 3 mediocre levels and 1 good level... I'd say nobody is missing much, plus, these levels would later reappear in American Wasteland.

 In the end, Tony Hawk's Underground 2 did what it could. I'm grateful I could play this game on the go if I so wished it, but this is no substitute for the console original. Having more levels is fine, even if most of the new content is mediocre, and I can take a loss in graphical fidelity, but it's the controls that that makes this version of the game infinitely inferior to its console release. It's still a good game though!... but I'll stick to the original release.

 8.0

Game #907: My Friend Pedro

 The tale of a man and his banana. And no, that is not a double entendre. 

 My Friend Pedro is super interesting, a 2-D sidescrolling shooter that feels EXACTLY like the flash movies and games that populated Flash portals in the early 00s, things such as Xiao Xiao, Madness and Thing Thing, the animations, the speed, the acrobatics, the mechanics, it's all on point and it's glorious.

 For such a simple set of mechanics, the game is a beauty to play and look at. Your character does all sorts of flips and jumps with ease, and your dodge move is a flippin' spin. And you can shoot while spinning! When dual wielding you can even shoot at separate targets, and like every and any game from the 00's, you get bullet time!

 It can take a while to get used to the controls because there are so many different functions, but when everything goes your way it's a sight to behold.

 The game is fairly short, clocking little over 2 hours, and the game is made up of 40 bite-sized stages, perfect for a handheld system like the Switch.

 While it's a relatively violent game, the story never takes itself too seriously. I can't say it ever made me laugh out loud but I appreciated the wackier levels.

 My Friend is Pedro is a fun time for anyone that digs action games in which looking cool is the main prerogative.

8.0

Game #906: The Missing - JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories

 50% platformer, 50% horror, 100% Swery 65.

 A game that took about as long to get a physical release as it takes you to say its title, The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories is a game that caught my eye the moment it released because it was another game by Hidetaka Swery.

 The game deals with hot topics such as gender and sexuality, so, y'know, if you're afraid of 'hidden agendas' this is not the game for you. Also, it's a game from a Japanese auteur, so even if you are into these topics bear in mind that this comes from another culture, from a guy that tried his hardest to understand people very much not like him.

 The game is as pretty as it is gruesome, JJ Macfield must mutilate her body in order progress, think Wario but without the slapstick. While JJ turns into a black silhoutte whenever she loses a body part, gets bisected or catches fire, there are plenty of disgusting fleshy sounds to accompany her screams. 

 The game is a nice blend of platforming with puzzle solving, but man, some of the puzzles are obtuse to say the least. There's a train you have to move by throwing logs into the furnace, but there's no way to realize that you should use the furnace for anything other than catching on fire. Another puzzle has you matching cardboard cutouts with images in the background, but there are no proper hints to aid you with which cutout goes with which background.

 The platforming does have a few frustrating bits, while JJ is close to immortal, as she needs to be down to her head and take a hit then for a 'true' game over, the game is very slow paced. Regenerating your bits, having to trigger 'states' while you figure out what to do... It can feel like you are wasting more time than necessary.

 The plot has some neat twists, and I think is as tasteful as it can get from a Japanese viewpoint.

 You can collect Donuts to unlock test messages with JJ's friends, further developing her character, as well as alternate color palettes, pretty nifty, although I think something as important as JJ's interactions with her friends shouldn't have been tied to optional collectibles.

 Not my favorite Swery65 game ever, but it was a fun little adventure that didn't overstay its welcome.

 6.5

Game #905: Gris

  Girl's feeling blue.

  As someone who really used to like the Knytt games, Gris was right up my alley. Not a Metroidvania, but a short, linear platform adventure with a captivating water-color art style joined with a simple minimalistic aesthetic makes for pure eye candy.

As with most indie games of its ilk, the game focuses on conveying emotions rather than a plot, with not a single text line spoken by anyone.

 While most puzzles were pretty simple, some had my noggin' joggin', but nothing I couldn't solve after a few attempts.

 The game lasts 2 hours, so it's very short and sweet. I can't say the game's themes of depression and sadness resonated with me, and I'm someone that loves sad stuff, but playing the game itself was good enough for me.

 8.0

Game #904: Unruly Heroes

  No more monkeying around.

 Journey to the West is one of my favorite books of all time, so waiting for a physical release of this game was pure torture, but thankfully, even though Limited Run Games skipped it, Pix'n Love decided to pick up the slack and give Unruly Heroes the release it deserved.

 The game is pretty lengthy, a bit too lengthy if you ask me, I think I would've cut a couple of stages. The game introduces new mechanics and gimmicks frequently, so it tries to keep things fresh, although sometimes I felt like it didn't quite manage it. The third world changes how the game plays completely, and I wasn't much of a fan. The other worlds are alright.

 The platforming is pretty neat, the game offers a decent amount of obstacles to clear, and it feels relatively tight despite how floaty movement is. and I like how you can purchase skins for your characters. The game offers a decent challenge, but offers you quite a bit of leeway in which to recover dead characters, so it's more than fair.

 I think the game faltered a bit in the combat department, you have plenty of moves but few reasons to shake things up, and basic enemies can take too much punishment.

 While the game doesn't follow any particular set of chapters from the original novel, I like how they brought the universe of Journey to the West to life, it felt like how I had always envisioned it.

 Unruly Heroes is definitely a fun time, as a fan of the source material, I commend it wholeheartedly.

7.5

Game #903: Ion Fury

  Duchess Nukem 3D.

 If you used to game on your PC in the '90s then you're surely familiar with Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Blood or Rise of the Triad. Doom clones at their core, these games were what people thought of when you talked about first person shooters. Loads of gore, loads of weapons, loads of fun.

 Ion Fury uses the same engine, albeit slightly modified, these old games used, so not only does it look the part, it also plays the part.

 The game is tough. Thankfully you can save anywhere, my normal difficulty run required a TON of save scumming. And it felt like I was constantly running out of ammo, which forced me to play with the game's entire arsenal of weapons, make of that what you will. Oh, and the basic gun? Its alternate fire makes it the most useful weapon in the entire game against basic human-type enemies.

 The game has a wealth of content, there are a ton of levels, in my opinion, way too many. I was a bit bored by the end of game. On the other hand, people that love these games will love the copious amounts of levels to go through.

 The Switch version of the game runs at 30FPS and has some slowdown every now and then, but I'd say even when it was at its slowest it never felt unplayable.

 7.5