+ Many different spell cards, modifiers and upgrades resulting in unique builds
+ Diablo inventory style grid levelling system forces experimentation and adaptability
+ Stamina usage leads to a balancing act between damage output and resource conservation
+ Multiple challenging and diverse bosses to battle (and a hidden boss on the 7th of each month!)
+ Great HUD with clear visibility and good accessibility options
+ A variety of difficulty levels to suit casual and hardcore players alike
+ Short cutscenes depicting the story in a cute sketchbook style
+ Spectacular soundtrack with varid instrumentation (not enough ZUNpets)

- No way to combine weapons/spell cards for more powerful attacks
- A lack of mobility options/no dashing may put off some players
- Enemy projectiles can be hard to track when lots of particles on the screen (Tip: Options menu lets you change colour and transparency of Player Bullets!)

* Permanent upgrades called talents make subsequent runs easier if you use them
* Each day of the week grants a set buff and starting spell card (You can swap day of the week/starting weapon in the main menu, but won't receive the buff.)

I was at first hesitant to pick this up because the screenshots didn't immediately jump out at me, but the levelling grid did spark my interest and I decided to give it a shot. I am very happy that I did!

The main appeal of this game is without a doubt the levelling system. Each time you level up you are granted a set of power-ups to choose from, be they a new spell card attack, a modifier to your existing spell cards such as piercing, poison or bounce, or permanent bonuses like crit chance or attack speed. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, right? Well, where Library Survivors differs from other Survivor games is what comes next.

Instead of merely selecting the upgrade, you need to place it in a hexagonal grid similar to the inventory management in, for example, Diablo and Resident Evil 4. The placement matters in a variety of ways. Spell cards take up multiple hexes and can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal, so you need to slot them in so they fit like in Tetris. Furthermore, modifiers only apply to adjacent spell cards so you'll want to leave spaces open strategically so that you can buff multiple attacks. Finally, there are some spell cards which are not fired directly, but instead activate on certain triggers such as when an adjacent spell card crits so you'll want to keep the spell cards' attributes in mind as well.

Then there's another layer of depth in the form of stamina. Every time you fire a spell card Patchouli's stamina will drain slightly. The more spell cards you have slotted, the faster you'll run out of energy. If the meter empties you'll be exhausted and unable to attack while it recharges. As such, you will also need to manage your stamina usage in addition to your damage output by slotting in stamina and stamina regen upgrades when needed and weigh the benefits and downsides of each upgrade to make sure you can fend off enemies without going overboard.

In practice what this means is that each level up results in meaningful player choice and gives a lot of strategy and depth to a game in a genre which tends to lack both.

I was also impressed by the HUD and accessibility options! In a game where the screen will be flooded with enemies, bullets and particles it is vital that the player can keep track of everything that's happening and thankfully Library Survivors puts a lot of effort in making sure that readability is as high as possible.

First of all, your stamina bar is visible both underneath Patchouli and around the aiming reticle. This makes it easy to monitor your stamina consumption without losing track of where you are, or where you're aiming. Secondly, enemy bullets are outlined in a clear and distinct way with sharp colours that pop out from the background. The player's bullets are monochrome blobs of desaturated red, blue, yellow, green or purple, which contrast well with the sharp red/blue and white orbs that enemies fire. Finally, if you still find it difficult to keep track of enemy projectiles there are options in the pause menu to make the player's attacks transparent and/or greyscale. This is a very helpful for accessibility and readability!

I also want to give props to the game's general presentation. While, as I stated before, the screenshots didn't immediately hook me, the visuals did grow on me while playing. The pixel-art is cute and it was always fun to run into a new boss and see how the game would depict them. The music is also very catchy and feel right at home in a Touhou fangame, although I personally wish it used ZUNpets. Finally, the cutscenes, while sparse, exude charm with their sketch-like aesthetic.

There are a few things which the game lack that I have seen in other Survivor-style games and could have further elevate the experience. These are really the only cons I could find with the game personally, and they're both subjective and may not necessarely have been a good fit for the game.

For example, there is no way to combine weapons into super weapons. Holocure did this with so called Collabs, and I found experimenting with different options discovering them to be a lot of fun. I think having a similar system here could have given Library Survivors even more depth. That said, this game has a lot of well-implemented and complementing systems that already give it a great degree of depth, so it's not a huge loss, and adding it might have caused balancing issues.

There is also a lack of movement options. There is no dash or similar mechanic to avoid bullets and make distance from enemies. While by no means necessary, I find that most players enjoy freedom of movement and it could get you out of a tough spot. In Library Survivors shooting slows you down, similar to gracing in the official Touhou games, but there is no way to dodge through bullets. The game already has a stamina bar, so it feels like it would have made for a natural fit and given the resource an additional use, however I can see why the developer may have felt it unnecessary to implement and that it might have clashed with their vision. As a side note, giving Patchouli a dash just wouldn't fit her character...

Finally, I believe it's worth to mention that the game makes use of permanent upgrades called talents which can be unlocked and toggled in the main menu. They are strictly upgrades to the player and makes the game easier, so feel free to use them if you find it a bit too difficult. Most of them aren't that interesting and really just % modifiers, but there is one that increases the amount of spell cards you can equip which opens up even more crazy builds.

The game also keeps track of what day it is, and each day of the week comes with its own starting weapon and buff. You can choose what day you want to play on, effectively choosing your starting weapon, in the main menu without having to wait for that day in real life, but you won't get the buff that way so the game does entice replaying it many times. This can be seen as both a good or a bad thing, depending on your outlook. It encourages experimentation and different builds since if you want the buff you'll have to use a different starting weapon each day. However, if your favourite spell card is assigned to a different day than the one you play on, you will effectively nerf yourself to start out with it. I found the buff doesn't matter that much though, and you can usually find whatever spell card you want by just levelling up anyway.

In summary, Touhou Library Survivors is one of the most fun Survivor-style games I have played! It encourages a lot of experimentation, and its unique levelling system and stamina management gives it a level of depth I have not seen elsewhere in the genre. Highly recommend to fans of the genre and/or Touhou!

Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost is a rhythm game with a visual novel story mode and bullet hell stages, filled with fan favourite tracks from a variety of doujin circles and a few original songs as well.

The story mode is presented in a visual novel format. There are essentially two different perspectives with each chapter swapping back and fourth between them. Reimu tries to recover her memories with the guidance of a spirit flame, while Marisa goes around Gensokyo searching for Reimu. I wouldn't say it's anything ground breaking but it can be comedic and heart-warming at times and the mystery did keep me hooked until the end. Seeing all the different character interactions was the highlight for me. Loads of characters make an appearance and it was fun to see what would happen next.

To progress the story you have to clear a few stages consisting of both kagura stages similar to games like Dance Dance Revolution or DJMax as well as danmaku stages which are unique to this game and in the spirit of Touhou.

These danmaku stages will feel instantly familiar to people who have played the official bullet hell Touhou games. You need to avoid barrages of bullets and eventually take down the boss at the end. The interesting twist here is that, as this is a rhythm game, you also have notes coming down the sides of the screen. Hitting the notes in time with the music will remove nearby bullets. As such, you need to split your focus between the bullets and the notes to make it through. It is a fresh and fun take on the bullet hell genre. The focus always remains on the rhythm aspect of the game, however, so outside of a few gimmicks like poison clouds and the very last boss it never gets too difficult. In other words, you do not need to worry if you're not particularly good at bullet hells.

You have a selection of difficulties to choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard and Lunatic. Previously Easy and Normal only used 4 keys while Hard and Lunatic used 6 keys. Thankfully the developers have recently added the option to choose between 4 keys or 6 keys seperate from difficulty level, so you now have a lot more control as a player over the level of difficulty.

Story mode stages also present you with additional challenges in the form of missions which upon completion grant rewards like mitama cards and new characters. The mitama cards are beautifully illustrated and can be equipped to give you powers like more score, easier to hit notes or immunity to stage gimmicks. The different playable characters all have their own passives, bullet patterns, HP and power stats, and bomb counts for danmaku stages. As such, completing all the missions is a fun and rewarding experience. Stages can be played on any difficulty setting (outside of a few endgame/postgame stages which are locked to hard/lunatic), however some missions can only be cleared on hard/lunatic.

Finally there's the freeplay mode which lets you play any song you choose and compete for high scores. A lot of the songs are locked initially but can be unlocked by completing them in the story mode, or by purchasing them with the in-game currency. There are also a good amount of DLC songs, which at the time of writing are still being released. Most are paid DLC, but some have been added as free updates which is great to see!

I do have a few gripes that keep the game from being as good as it could be. They could be fixed in patches, and hopefully will be addressed in the future.

- Mitama cards which empower you with buffs describe the strength of said buff with terms like "a little", "somewhat", "moderately" and "greatly". It's clear to anyone that "greatly" is more than "a little", but I think somewhat and moderately could be used interchangeably. This makes choosing what cards to use and level up harder than it should be. Using % values would be easier to understand and more transparent.

- One of the stage gimmicks, earthquake, shakes the screen so hard that it physically hurt my eyes. It only appears in a couple of stages in the story mode, so it's not a big deal, but those stages were painful to play. I believe the screen shake could be reduced a little and still have a similar impact without causing headaches.

- One of the missions, the one to unlock my favourite character Byakuren Hijiri, is incredibly finicky to complete. You need to collect 1000 points during the stage. Not to be confused with score, points are blue pickups that can be picked up during danmaku stages. They drop in small quantities from enemies, but you mostly get them by using bombs during spellcards to convert bullets into points. The issue here is that, being a pacifist, Byakuren doesn't shoot a lot of bullets. Therefore, there are just barely enough bullets to get enough points if you play it perfectly, get lucky bomb drops, and don't accidentally defeat her too quickly. Reducing the point amount required to 800 or even 500 would put it more in line with other missions in terms of difficulty.

- Speaking of unlockable characters, there are quite a few characters that you can "fight" on their respective songs, but aren't unlockable. This makes sense because they would need to put a lot of effort into giving any new character they add new passives, stats and bullet-patterns for danmaku stages. I do, however, think there's a decent middle ground to be achieved that wouldn't take much time or effort. In kagura stages, the character you choose doesn't affect the gameplay. They hover on the right side of the screen and is a purely cosmetic change. You could simply let players choose whatever character they wish to use in kagura stages/freeplay mode, including characters that cannot be played in danmaku stages. They are already available as enemies in these stages, so all you'd have to do is copy-paste and flip them. That way more players would be able to use their favourite character.

- Alt-tabbing during gameplay can mess up note timing as the game doesn't seem to always pause in time. This is a very minor issue in my opinion, but I have seen people complain about note timing and I believe this might be the cause for those complaints. I have never had the game de-sync during normal gameplay.

In summary, Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost is a wonderful mix between three of my favourite genres, set in a universe I love. There would have to be some serious flaws for me not to love this game, thankfully whatever gripes I do have are fairly minor. It is not the best visual novels I've ever read, but it is a decent read if you're invested in the Touhou universe. The danmaku stages are interesting and a unique spin on the genre. I played something pretty similar in arcades in Japan called O.N.G.E.K.I (which also starred Touhou characters and songs), but it was more focused on movement along a track and not so much the bullet hell aspect. Still, If you like this game, I'd recommend giving it a look if you ever have the chance!

The biggest selling points are the kagura maps, the music itself and of course the Touhou IP. In my opinion it delivers what you'd hope for, and should appeal to rhythm game fans and Touhou fans alike!

Overwatch was a 6v6 class-based hero shooter. The characters were fun, the gameplay was enjoyable and thanks to the unique 6-man teams you could experiment with different teamcomps like having an off tank that would harass the enemy backline while your main tank held down the fort. It introduced the west to lootboxes which were, and continue to be, a big problem in the industry, but you could unlock everything in the game without spending a penny (outside of the cost of the game itself of course).

Move forward a few years and Blizzard released Overwatch 2 which reduced the team size to 5, like pretty much every other game. Gone were the interesting teamcomps, now limiting you to having one tank every match like a million other games, and characters like D.Va and Winston suffered for it. Gone was the ability to play with 5 friends. If you had 6 people in your party, good luck finding a game that let you play together. Gone were the lootboxes (hurray!) but with them the ability to earn skins for free also vanished as Blizzard greedily upped the prizes for everything.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, Overwatch 2 was a huge disappointment to a lot of players, myself included. It seems Marvel and NetEase saw the huge number of players who jumped the ship and were looking for a new game to take Overwatch's place. They saw a gap in the market and they delivered. Marvel Rivals is similar to Overwatch in many regards, and I mean that in the best way.

Just like in Overwatch you have 6v6 teams again, allowing you to experiment with a variety of strategies and teamcompositions. You can have Venom and Psylocke flank while Doctor Strange protects the main squad, or roll a triple healer team with Mantis giving AoE heals, Loke providing versatility and Adam Warlock reviving everyone else when they finally get shut down. There's enough rooms for every role to shine and for all characters to have their place.

Just like in Overwatch you have appealing characters, this time drawing from the vast treasury that is the Marvel universe. There are well-known faces like Spiderman, Iron Man and Wolverine, but what caught me by surprise was the inclusion of B-list or even C-list heroes like Iron Fist, Moon Knight and Squirrel Girl. I found it surprising that they'd prioritise Mantis over Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy, but I'm not upset with these choices, rather the opposite. Before playing Marvel Rivals I hardly knew who Moon Knight was, other than another Batman copy-cat, but now I'm considering watching his series or even picking up some comics. Marvel has a huge cast of beloved characters, but by including these lesser-known ones they are introducing their players to an entire new world of stories.

Similar to Overwatch, this is a hero-shooter. Every character has a passive, a few skills and an ultimate ability. While not every hero is equal just yet; Mantis and Luna Snow essentially share the same ultimate only Luna can also damage buff her allies by tapping it, and Captain America's ultimate may as well not even exist, but they do for the most part feel distinct and fun in their own way. The big difference between Overwatch and Rivals is that this is a third-person game rather than first-person. This allows for brawler archetype characters like Iron Fist and Wolverine to function, and makes it possible to have web-slingers like Spiderman and Venom swinging around.

Additionally the third-person perspective lets you view and appreciate your chosen hero in all their glory. As a side-effect, this no doubt makes buying skins far more appealing since you actually get to see what you paid for rather than just an arm or a weapon, which brings me to my last point.

Unlike Overwatch, Marvel Rivals does not have lootboxes, but it does have a battle pass. I am not a big fan of either approach, but it is worth noting that this is the most consumer friendly battle pass I have ever seen. Once you buy it, you will have access to it forever. No fear of missing out attached. This is a great boon to people who do not have time to grind the game every single day, but still want to unlock the rewards they paid to access. You also get most of your currency back from completing the pass, which is a nice bonus. Additionally, you can get free currency from completing missions which can then be spent on skins, so you can eventually get whatever skin you want without spending a dime and without relying on loot box RNG.

This game has already become a huge success and you don't need me to tell you that it's a high-quality product, but I'll do so anyway because I think the developers deserve all the praise they are getting. It is by no means perfect: as mentioned already a few heroes could use a boost to reach the same greatness as their peers, but the developers are listening to community feedback and already releasing big patches to address our concerns.

Marvel Rivals is very much the Overwatch 2 we wanted. Let us hope it is here to stay!

DJMAX is not as innovative as Osu!, Chunithm or Groove Coaster with its gameplay style. Nor is it as accessible as Taiko and Muse Dash, or as charming as Deemo. It does not attempt to reinvent the wheel, instead employing the tried and true vertically scrolling setup used in games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. And while this approach is nothing new, I believe DJMAX does elevate the experience in multiple ways making it a real contender for the title of "Best Rhythm Game".

For one, the production value is through the roof. This allows the game to reach a level of polish both in terms of its core gameplay as well as the quality of its charts which I don't think has been achieved before. Every song has multiple charts for 4B, 5B, 6B and 8B layouts fitting loads of playstyles and skill levels. Every song is also presented with a music video (which can be turned off if you want to focus solely on the music, but it does add a lot to the game's presentation).

Secondly, the song selection is frankly nuts. There is so much music to discover and play through, and it is varid enough that it should please most people. They have done collaborations with lots of other Rhythm games, like the aforementioned Groove Coaster, Chunithm and Deemo, and other IPs such as League of Legends, MapleStory and Tekken. The only surprising omittance is Touhou Project, which have collaborated with various other rhythm games, but is nowhere to be found here.
To be transparent; much of it is locked behind paid DLC, meaning the game will cost you a lot more than you might at first think if you want access to everything. Still, the entry fee is affordable, and you can invest in the DLCs down the line if you want more songs. The Deluxe/Complete Editions tend to go on big sales, so wait for those if you are interested!

Lastly, the amount of content offered is commendable. In addition to the main game-mode there are missions which test your skill with various modifiers like hidden and shuffled notes, and extra game modes such as the horizontally scrolling Technika mode and the DJ-like Remix mode which has you switching to side-lanes to hit additional notes.

My only real gripes with DJMAX are twofold.

The game started using a Battle pass a while back, and it does not seem to be going anywhere. Personally I am not a fan of these as they tend to be grindy, expensive and preys on people's Fear-of-missing-out to make money. That being said, I don't think it's a huge deal here. I've seen worse passes, but it still somewhat lessens the experience for me personally.

The bigger issue is that it uses an Always-Online DRM, even for the single player modes. This means that you cannot play the game without an internet connection which may cause big problems for some players with unstable connections. It also means that the entire game may one day become unplayable if the developers stop supporting it and the servers go down. This is a big issue, and I really hope that we will eventually get an offline patch, but until then please keep this in mind when making your decision on whether or not to purchase the game.

In conclusion, DJMAX is a premier rhythm game! The game's polish elevates it above other games in the genre in terms of sheer quality, and its vast and varid song selection should entice most prospective buyers. While the core concept is nothing new, Neowiz have refined it to such a level that it makes returning to other rhythm games difficult. I easily recommend this game to everyone, with the caveat that the game runs an Always-Online DRM and may one day cease to function.

I got this game for free on the PS4 when I bought Genso Wanderer and loved it so much I bought it on Steam as well to support the developers. It is not a perfect game by any means, but it does many things right and what it succeeds with it excels at!

Right of the bat the game catches your eye with its cute characters and colourful backgrounds. AQUA STYLE always nail the presentation and this is no exception. The world is on the smaller side for a Metroidvania, but it is jam-packed with things to discover and exploring it is a joy in and of itself. It is honestly impressive how many Touhou characters they managed to fit into this short game while giving them all room to shine. This is in no small part thanks to the outstandingly expressive animations, it all feels lovingly crafted. The boss battles are another highlight: each feeling unique, and while a bit gimmicky, showcase the characters' powers and personalities.

+ Outstanding presentation: Beautifully drawn, well animated characters. An extremely adorable visual-design. Voice acting and a musical score that do their job with a few outstanding tracks.
+ Lots to explore and discover: Tons of characters to find and interact with, some as enemies or bosses others who will help you in the form of skills.
+ Two playable characters to swap between who play drastically differently. Momiji can run up walls, block attacks and dish out big damage up-close. Aya can dash through enemies and can attack from range.
+ A bestiary of sorts to fill out with Aya's camera. Some shots require specific requirements to be fullfilled!
+ Wacky humour that might make you chuckle. (To crawl into tight spaces, Shinmyoumaru sits on Momiji's head and controls her like Ratatouille.)
+ A nonsensical story to match, presented in cut-scenes and still images. I especially like what they did with the Final Boss.
+ Loveable cast of characters: As much as Reimu and Marisa are the "main characters" of Touhou, it's nice to see someone else get the spotlight for once. Aya and Momiji are a great fit for this game and also Byakuren is in it!

I love this game, but it is not without its flaws and to downplay them would be a disservice to anyone reading this. The game has some pretty serious difficulty spikes. Touhou games are generally difficult and that's part of the charm, but here it's less of a fair challenge to overcome and more of frustrations with the game's design. While exploration is a lot of fun, combat does feel rather stiff. This is due to the game not controlling as smoothly as many contemporaries. It's also a short game with limited replay value. A Boss-Rush mode or New-Game+ would help alleviate this.

- Questionable level-design and bad enemy placement. There are enemies who can attack you from off-screen with little warning.
- Some hitboxes feel a bit iffy as well, forcing you to block or dodge projectiles rather than outright avoiding them both of which drain stamina.
- Stamina drains way too quickly and is a resource used by essentially every action you perform. This leads to a lot of waiting around which kills the pacing.
- Movement in general feels a bit floaty and stiff. It's hard to describe but you can definitely feel it. This is further exacerbated by the lack of animation-cancelling.
- A rather short game that lacks replay value. No New-Game+ or Boss-Rush.

I do recommend Double Focus to Touhou fans as I think most of them could overlook these issues for the outstanding presentation and world this game offers. However, a more general Metroidvania audience might have too many gripes with the gameplay to appreciate the game's pros. I really wish this game got a sequel to tighten up some of its weaknesses and further improve on what this game did right!

It seems Valve looked at what Blizzard did to Overwatch, deleting it from existence and replacing it with an inferior Overwatch 2, and thought it was a good idea. So they did the same thing... Valve has always been very pro-consumer so this was rather shocking to me. Removing your own work and history, and removing player choice is not the way!

Rest in Peace CS: GO.

It's not the hardest, nor is it the worst, far from it. But it is the game that has brought me the most pain, specifically because it has such potential but squanders it.

Psycho Starship Rampage has a visually striking asthetic reminiscent of vector based graphics like the Vectrex and the ship-building part is fantastic. You can customize your ship with a variety of different parts and really make it yours. Do you want a small and nimble rocket that drops mines while avoiding enemies? You can build that. Do you prefer a gigantic Star Destroyer with loads of lasers and shields to power through enemy waves? That's also possible. A big cube of death that rams into enemies and crush bosses with its sheer weight? Go wild! Essentially any type of ship you can dream up, you can build.

But all this potential is wasted when you get into the actual game. It starts off fine, fun even! But as you keep playing It gets difficult in unfair and frustrating ways, and questionable design decisions sour what could have been a hidden gem.

My issues can be summed up as follows:

• Perma-death: In itself not necessarely a bad thing, many games have used perma-death in the past in ways that created tension and rewarded skill. But for a game to implement perma-death it needs to be fair to the player and avoid things like instant death traps which can lead to hours of progress lost in an instant without much warning, if any at all.
Speaking of...

• Insta-death: Psycho Starship Rampage has several instant or near instant kill mechanics which can ruin a run in the blink of an eye, many of which are unavoidable if you're unlucky. First of there's laser-type enemies. Yes, lasers are cool when you use them but giving them to the enemies is rather bold.

Not only do they cover the entire screen instantly making dodging them nearly impossible, but some enemies lock on making it actually impossible to dodge. They can also hide behind other enemies and asteroids while firing meaning you can't even reach them and attempt to destroy them before they fire.
There's no warning when they appear either, despite their extreme threat level. I'd say the laser enemies are more dangerous than most bosses, yet you don't get even a hint of a warning that they're there until it's too late. You need to keep your eyes peeled for them at all times which is difficult to do when the screen is filled with obstacles and other enemies. Even if you do spot them, good luck taking them out before they do the same to you. Now in the game's defense there are a few laser enemies that are done right. They move in a predictable way and only fire their laser in short spurts allowing you to move past them when the laser is down, but these are in the minority.

Then there are laser-type bosses which also kill you instantly and seem to be balanced around the player moving behind asteroids to hide from their beam, but sometimes asteroids don't spawn in. If your ship is fast enough you can sometimes outrun the laser, but some bosses lock on with their laser making this impossible.
There are also asteroids which often take up nearly the entire screen making it impossible to avoid them unless you have strong enough weapons and/or blend into the background making them difficult to see.

I do actually fancy myself pretty good at shoot-em'-ups and bullet hell games. I've beaten the majority of the Touhou franchise on Lunatic and CAVE's notoriously difficult Deathsmiles on the hardest difficulty setting. The difference between those games and Psycho Starship Rampage is that in those games the player is equipped to deal with the insane difficulty in various ways, be it a small hitbox or bombs that instantly clear the screen. Movement is precise and snappy and stages are always the same both in terms of enemy placement and bullet pattern, allowing the player to memorize them and improve with each run.
Here, such is not the case...

• Imprecise controls and unfair mechanics: In this game your movement is anything but precise. Your ship floats around as if on ice, which could work in a slower paced shooter where you want to emphasize the effect (or lack there of) which outer space has on a spaceships traversal.

But this is a fast-paced action games like the arcade shooters of old, and this type of movement does not mesh well with the rest of the game's design. You also do not have invurnerability frames when getting hit like in most arcade games, or a small hitbox to let you avoid damage to begin with like in bullet hell games with similar amounts of obstacles, instead your entire ship is a weakspot.

This could have been an interesting trade off where smaller ships are more maneuverable and safer to pilot but weaker against bosses, while bigger ships are riskier but can dish out more damage. It does start of that way but because of how enemy scaling works in this game, combined with how they leave behind wrecks when destroyed means you cannot afford to build a low-firepower ship or you will be swarmed and overrun.
All this paired with the fact that you do not have extra lives like in old-school arcade games, or meaningful powerups to help you makes for a very awkward and unfair difficulty curve with huge spikes owing to my next point...

Randomness: The game is full of it, and in my opinion it is perhaps its biggest flaw. I believe the developer's intent was to make the game more replayable with different outcomes each run, but it has some very harsh consequences which drag the entire game down and often leads to situations you cannot overcome regardless of player skill.

First of all, stages are random. There's no way to memorize enemy layouts or bullet patterns and you might get stages full of insta-kill laser enemies or be blessed with a stage void of them. Enemy drops which you can use to build your ship are also random. You might get a really good shield early on, or you might go an entire run without seeing one. You might get nothing but repairbots and generators, meaning your offensive capablities are so low you will get overrun by enemies.

All this means potential progress essentially comes down to luck. Luck in terms of getting good enough equipment to stat-check the enemies, and in not having the game spawn laser enemies or bosses. If you get lucky enough you can breeze through the game with minimal effort. If lady luck is not on your side however, you'll be in for a very rough time.

I wish the game toned down the use of laser enemies, or at least gave them a drawback like less damage to make up for their instant, screen-range coverage or a cooldown, that'd be a good start. If the game either reduced randomness or at least gave you more options from drops making you less reliant on luck to get a decent ship that would be another improvement.

I might be looking at this game from the wrong perspective in that I see it as a bullet-hell game with awkward movement and a hitbox covering your entire ship, but I think the game needs to give players more options for dealing with the onslaught of enemies and obstacles to make it a more fair and enjoyable experience. It feels like it's taking influence from both old arcade space shooters and more modern bullet-hell shooters, but it doesn't stick the landing because of the way they were combined. Add in the perma-death and randomness and you're left with a right mess...

It really is a shame because with some changes this game could be something truly special. But because of how it views difficulty and how it treats the player's time, I cannot recommend it.

Kannagi Usagi is blatantly a Sekiro clone, but it does such a good job mimicking what made Sekiro enjoyable that I cannot help but like it. It's a short boss-rush style game where every battle feels distinct enough from each other that you'll want to continue playing to see what the next boss is like. One is very aggressive with a two-handed sword, another uses two blades to try and throw off your parry timing, and a third utilizes a spear with long sweeping attacks that draws a stark comparison to Sekiro's Corrupted Monk.

Game feel is pretty much identical to Sekiro, so if you played that you know what to expect. If not, this might serve as an introduction to the system Sekiro uses and be an indicator for if you would want to pick that game up. Every move is well telegraphed and timing your blocks perfectly will parry the attack outright and do damage to the enemy's block bar. If you manage to fill it up completely you can execute the enemy without having to drain their HP. All bosses have two health bars with the second phase introducing more difficult to read moves and unblockable attacks that you have to either jump over or dash under/around.

Visually the game utilizes an anime-inspired artstyle with detailed character models, impressive physics on clothing and other details like the animal-ears, and backgrounds that bring some life to the encounters without distracting from the action. Steam marked this game as containing 'Frequent Nudity or Sexual Content.' This is not the case. There is some mild fan-service like jiggle-physics which may make some uncomfortable but nothing that should warrant the disclaimer.

Sound effects are snappy and effective, making every parry or strike feel more impactful and the soundtrack makes use of flutes and shamisen to further tie in to the theme of feudal Japan. The only thing I can criticize is a lack of voices for the characters, although for a smaller project like this the absence of voice-acting is completely understandable.

There is no big world to explore here, nor is there any story that I could find, it is strictly a series of boss fights for better or worse. I think being able to challenge the bosses without any downtime and perfecting each battle for a higher rank will appeal to some people, at the same time I think this could serve as a vertical slice for a larger endevour. The developers have shown what they can do in the Souls-like space, and it's very impressive.

Giving this out for free almost feels like a way to test the waters and gauge consumer interest before making a fully fledged game. If they decide to pursue this idea further it would be interesting to see what they could come up with.

NOYO-! is an homeage to the Mother/Earthbound series which aims to emulates the former's quirky and vibrant artstyle and humour, but unfortunately doesn't capture the same magic.

Battles are somewhat slow and repetetive with most encounters feeling samey. And although the battle scenes look reminiscent to the original games, the overly animated effects make selections feel unresponsive. You are also unable to use the ticking health dials to your advantage by healing before taking lethal damage, as you could in Mother/Earthbound, which I think is a missed opportunity when emulating the same battle system. There also aren't any elemental attacks/weaknesses meaning the highest power move is almost always the correct choice regardless of opponent.

Luckily the game has a lot of style, enough that some may overlook its shortcomings. Everything from the bubbly aesthetic to the bizzare music, and even the wacky story lends itself to a charming adventure that should appeal to fans of Mother/Earthbound. Enemies are unorthodox and your party is made up of a strange bunch. The world is nonsensical and the first time going through you'll be unsure of what to expect at every turn.

Unfortunately the story is essentially non-existent and doesn't make full use of the scenario, It's very basic and doesn't offer much in terms of character growth. The translation doesn't do it any favours either. Seemingly a machine-translation, lines are consistantly butchered and while it does add a bit to the wacky charm it more imprortantly means the player may lose key information when playing in English. On the plus side you can switch between Japanese and English on the fly, so it can be a decent experience for people studying the language to learn simple phrases. But with the English script being the way it is, even this might not be a good idea.

Despite being a highly linear experience, the lack of direction paired with the sometimes misleading translation means it's easier than you'd expect to get lost. Being stuck, unable to figure out where to go is a pain in any game, but NOYO-!'s enemies respawn frequently and further slow down your progression. If battles were fun this wouldn't be a problem, but as mentioned before they are too simple and slow to offer any fun challenge. Luckily there is an auto-battle function that lets you skip through any battle if you are stocked up on enough consumables, and once high enough level enemies will start to run away from you. But when ignoring a key part of your game is the more enjoyable way of playing, your game has some issues.

Overall I think NOYO-! does a good job capturing the atmosphere of the Mother/Earthbound games. The setting and aesthetic are spot on, and it does have some funny moments. But as a game it falls short in many regards; the battles are simply not fun and the translation needed another pass or two. Fans of Mother/Earthbound may find some enjoyment in it, but I would much sooner recommend Undertale or Lisa. These are two games which offer a similar feel to Mother/Earthbound in some regards, but take the original concept in different directions and stand on their own as well-made and polished titles. Lisa is a more mature title for sure, but Undertale should be approachable for all audiences (with a warning of some grotesque imagery, but then again Mother/Earthbound had Giygas).

If you've already played those games, or you are looking for something that more closely emulates the core of Mother/Earthbound, NOYO-! isn't a terrible title by any means. It simply needed a bit more time in the oven.

A polished metroidvania which rewards caution and experimentation. Caters visually to the anime crowd but should appeal to a broader demographic of players thanks to polished mechanics, varid gameplay and high replay-ability.

+ A good variety of different weapons, spells and equipment allowing for diverse builds and playstyles.
+ Pixelated characters and vibrant particle effects come together to form an interesting visual style.
+ Upon first clear, unlocks different gamemodes with new powers and limiters, further incentivising repeat playthroughs.
+ Has a sense of humour and doesn't take itself too seriously. References other media without being obnoxious about it.
+ Puzzles and platforming gives breathing room inbetween battles and helps keep the game fresh for longer.
+ Map is on the smaller side, but shortcuts and secrets makes exploration rewarding.

- Winged boots feel like they should've been part of the base mechanics and not an optional item.
- Lots of menuing required for optimal play, switching between equipment constantly gets tiring.
- Consumables are scarce early but become trivial later on, taking away from some of the challenge.
- Assassin mode is a big let-down compared to the other modes.

= Lots of suggestively depicted pixelated enemies, everything from slimes to harpies. May put some off.
= Makes use of both sarcastic and dark humour. Some may find the dialogue hilarious, others unappealing.
= Difficulty is high, at least for the first playthrough. Death is always near and caution is required.
= Some bosses can be cheesed using clever tactics and/or item usage as an alternative to pure skill.
= Crits are guaranteed from backstabs and not a random chance on any attack. Don't think it's explained in-game.
= Everyone is a psychopath, except the goblin-dude.