Tag Archives: side scroller

Son of the Dragon King Looks Cool, but it’s Disappointing

March 24, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent Son of the Dragon King for free to review for my blog. while I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!

What is Son of the Dragon King?

Son of the Dragon King is a 3D sidecroller beat ’em up coming to PC and console. Fight your way through a fantasy feudal Japan realm as you attempt to rescue it from an impending doom. You’ll craft weapons and items to help you through your journey, use the environment to gain an advantage over your enemies and leave a trail of dead bodies. Will your skills be enough to save the realms?

Gameplay

Players will enjoy a classic sidescroller feel with a modern 3D aesthetic. Son of the Dragon King has 29 distinct and dynamic levels that players fight through. The combat system is simple. Players can jump, punch, and block their way through a sea of enemies until they complete the level. There are weapons and items scattered throughout the level to help players gain an advantage, and a unique crafting mechanic that adds a bit of depth to the gameplay. The most unique feature of the game is the trinket system that gives characters a noticeable buff in combat.

Thoughts

It’s a little tricky to review this game because it isn’t out yet, and it doesn’t feel done. The game looks good with a fantastic art style, but the gameplay feels clunky and rough. The AI gets stuck on some levels and can become invulnerable if standing too close to walls or crates making it difficult to progress through the levels. When the game works properly, it’s a neat little beat-em-up with a crafting mechanic. I also appreciate that they allow for couch co-op, but I didn’t get to try it.

What ruins this game for me is that I’ve played better games in the genre. Once you get the game’s graphics and aesthetics, the gameplay feels lacking. It is a little tricky to dismiss the game because it clearly isn’t finished yet, but it is hard to recommend in its current state. If you like the genre and can look past the clunky gameplay, it might be worth adding it to your wishlist, but I recommend you try the demo first. I would need the game to perform better before I can give it my full support because the story alone isn’t enough. I might return to reevaluate the game at release, but there isn’t enough to this game to excite me enough for that.

Head over to Steam to play the demo and add Son of the Dragon King to your wishlist.

video game reviews

The Colorful Retro Side Scroller PopSlinger is a Solid Good Time

March 5, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent PopSlinger for free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!

What is PopSlinger

PopSlinger is a retro style shoot ’em up side scroller out now for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC. I got to play the Xbox version. You are a magical girl on a quest so save the world with your magic soda-pop powers. Fight your way through sinister invaders in a colorful and vibrant adventure. Do you have what it takes to get save the world and get the high score?

Gameplay

The game is a simple and colorful 2D shooter. You move through a mob-infested city and clear the world of its invaders. What gives the game its complexity is its combo system. The game rewards players for shooting four creatures of the same color by granting them temporary power-ups.
Players can get a shield, a double shot, or summon Gin to shoot at enemies randomly. Shooting eight of the same color grants players a heal, but healing comes with a point penalty.

Unless you’re trying to earn the highest scores and perfect rank, powerups are useless. Gin would often break my combo, and the other powerups didn’t affect the gameplay enough to be worth the trouble. I stopped chasing combos pretty early on, but I also got the worst scores in the game. You should play the game as intended.

Thoughts

I enjoyed PopSlinger a lot more than I thought I would. It has a loud colorful aesthetic, a fun quirky story, a fantastic soundtrack, a solid cast of voice actors, and a fun gameplay loop.

I am a huge fan of the game’s colorful retro vibe. It is a clear nostalgic callback, and I am here for it. It has a cute and fun art style that makes it impossible to hate the game. The story isn’t filled with expansive lore, but it is fun and quirky. I loved the tone, and its cast of voice actors made listening to the cutscenes enjoyable.

The gameplay loop is incredibly relaxing and fun. Despite how cute the game looks, there was enough of a challenge to keep me engaged. Enemies had a decent variety, and boss fights were creative and challenging. I definitely wasn’t good enough to keep the combos alive or get close to a high score, but I had a lot of fun playing through the chill side-scroller this game became.

The game does get repetitive after a while, and trying for the combos can feel tedious after a while. This isn’t a game I could play until completion, but it is a game I’ll be returning to from time to time for its cozy change of pace and fun aesthetic.

If you are a fan of retro arcade side scroller, PopSlinger is a solid title to add to your collection. It is a cute, fun, and relaxing time with options to make it more competitive. You can pick up your copy of PopSlinger for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC for $14.99.

video game reviews

Tevi: The cute metroidvania game that almost could

November 29, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent Tevi as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

Tevi is a cute bullet hell Metroidvania releasing on Steam later today, but you can try out the demo in the meantime. You play as Tevi as she fights her way through intricate dungeons in search of ancient tech.

If nothing else, Tevi will be one of the cutest games you’ll play this year. I am a huge fan of the art and ethics, but the story didn’t do enough to hook me. I found the story a bit generic as it spent more time hitting certain anime tropes than developing an interesting story. There is voice acting, which is nice, but it is much more efficient to read through the cut scenes. If you aren’t already skipping them.

The main draw to this game should be the gameplay. The game runs great, and the gameplay has a retro vibe that I enjoyed until the novelty wore off. The game starts to feel repetitive after a bit, even when new bosses and skills are introduced to shake things up. I like how the game slowly introduces new combos and abilities as you progress through the game. It makes progression feel more fluid and manageable.

Combat is simple, but it has its charm. After memorizing enemy patterns, this turns into your traditional Metroidvania with the occasional boss to mix things up. Bosses are unique in flavor and strategy, and they never felt unwinnable. I played the game on Normal difficulty and found it too easy, but the game offers an easy way to change the difficulty in game when you need to.

Honestly, I am somewhat in the middle when it comes to Tevi. While I enjoyed the casual retro vibe, the pacing of the combat, and the cute aesthetic, this isn’t a game I can spend too much time on. I certainly wouldn’t finish the game if I bought it with my own money. The problem with Tevi is that if you don’t care about the aesthetic, there are simply better options. Even then, I would wait for a sale and play something like Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune if you want to play some good Waifuvania, or Nocturnal for something more serious. Don’t get me wrong, the game isn’t bad, but you have better options.

You can pick up Tevi on Steam later today. There is also a physical collectors edition available for $106.39 on the official website.

The Collectors edition includes:

Original Soundtrack SteelBook x1 (4 discs with a total of 72 tracks)
Enamel Pin x1
Art Board (Shikishi) x1
Astral Gear Wireless Charger x1
Commemorative Number Card x1
Collecter Box x1

Nocturnal just got its first major update!

August 3, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

I was very fortunate to get to review Nocturnal Earlier this year. Nocturnal is a beautiful and unique platformer for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation that might be worth looking into even if you don’t enjoy the genre. I had a lot of fun with this game and recommend it to those interested. Go check out the full review if you want to get the full opinion.

Well, Nocturnal just got its first major update, and I felt the need to share the news. The new update brings with it some much-needed quality-of-life changes, a new enemy, and new story bits to play through. The update introduces a new performance mode that opens up the game to lower-spec computers, which I always love to see. I remember the days when my toaster could barely run anything, it’s nice to see when companies care about their players.

There are also some nice updates to the level and UI design and improved combat feedback for both players and bosses. The game has been released, but it is nice to see the devs are still passionate to make the game better for their customers. It is even nicer that this update isn’t locked behind paid DLC.

I recommend you look into this game if you are in the market for something new. It looks like there are still plans for future updates. It is currently on sale on Steam for $11.89 (normally 16.99) until August 7th. PlayStation also has it on sale for $14.99 (normally $19.99) until August 16th. Sorry Xbox mains, you have to pay the full $19.99 for now.

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video game reviews

Nocturnal, the puzzle platformer where you get to solve it with fire!

June 14, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

If you have been enjoying my content and want to support what I do make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and share this with your friends. You can also buy me a coffee

I was sent Nocturnal as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will keep my review honest.

Nocturnal is a unique Metroidvania game with an interesting mechanic and a beautiful art style. You play as a soldier who returns after years at war to find his home afflicted by an evil darkness. As you investigate the cause, you will face off against the monsters that now inhabit the island, dodge deadly traps, and fight citizens afflicted by the darkness. Will your flame be strong enough to rid the land of this darkness, or will you fall victim to its inescapable allure?

What makes this game unique is its light and dark mechanic. You have learned to wield the flame as your own. Use it to light your way through the shadow, fight shadow monsters, solve puzzles, and even heal yourself. But beware, your flame isn’t permanent. If you don’t tend to your flame, it will go out. Stay in the dark too long, and the shadows will consume you.

Like any other Metroidvania game, you have to memorize enemy locations, attack patterns, and trap locations. What makes Nocturnal unique is that you also have to memorize fire sources. Your flame is on a timer. The only way to recharge it is by hitting lit torches. Torches are scattered throughout the levels, but not all of them are permanent. Some traps and monsters will snuff out your flame, leaving you helpless. I loved this mechanic because of how creative it is implemented, and how intense it makes certain moments of the game.

There is a story to this game, but you won’t need charts to keep it straight. I enjoyed the flavor it adds to the world, but I enjoyed the gameplay more. Even though I am bad at this game, I had a lot of fun with this game. The art is beautiful, the music is fantastic, and the puzzles were creative. The combat can feel a little repetitive at times, but I didn’t find it to be an issue. If you are a fan of the genre, Nocturnal needs to be in your library. If you have never played a game in this genre, this is a great place to start. If you are a veteran of the genre, there is a harder difficulty, permadeath, and some nifty speed run features you might want to check out.

You can pick up your copy of Nocturnal on Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox for $19.99, and Steam for $16.99.

If you have been enjoying my content and want to support what I do make sure you like, comment, and subscribe. You can also buy me a coffee

If you have been enjoying my content and want to support what I do make sure you like, comment, and subscribe. You can also buy me a coffee