Recent reviews by cheeseburger in hell

im not a metroidvania person, but i liked peter shorts a lot! difficult but not overly frustrating fight mechanics or platforming (i guess this is a metroidvania-brawler-platformer), fun designs for each peter, and enjoyable to look at, simple spritework. buy this if you'd like a short but sweet game

feels right to post this after the quest update

i really like 9 kings! i bought this on a whim before they added king of time, and i've had a lot of fun with it since. despite how unbalanced things can seem between attacking kings(/rebellions) and yourself, i think runs are typically short enough (10-15 minutes, assuming you're paying attention the whole time) to not be too much of a hassle. restarting or selecting a new king or new perks is quick and fun. a lot of brisk enjoyment worked into a pick 3 kingdom-themed strategy roguelike. yay

the little i've managed to play has been really fun. i say "little" because this is the worst performing thing i've touched in a while; the stuck at 99% thing is unforgivable, not to mention the amount of resources it eats even in the menus. it's crazy when you have you make your own .ini file to get it somewhat playable on slightly older pcs (and then have it crash after one match). i have no idea if it'll ever improve, i don't know a lot abt UE5, i just know that as of right now i'm incapable of playing more than one laggy match at a time

i did have a lot of sun haven when i played it, especially with friends. the customization and fantasy aspects are fun when put into a farming sim/stardew-like game.

what i don't enjoy is studio that don't credit those that work on their games. why is this game lacking credits even in its full release? how can i expect to follow this studio and those that worked on it without knowing who made what assets, music, etc? and why would i continue to give money to people who don't respect those working for them? this is a no from me until this changes.

tbh i was not expecting to like this so much. i think raiding is fun in ff (the only real experience i have in it), but harder things scare me and so does grouping up with strangers. i thought this might be a good game to play a handful of times with friends and then let it collect dust

but i've played it by myself more than anything, and every unlock and cleared street makes me excited to play more. it's so much fun with friends, but learning on your own can be just as fun and rewarding, and lobbying up with randos really isn't that bad if that's something you're also scared of. it helps that the art is also cute and the music is really good.

for gripes, i guess things do get too busy on the screen sometimes, and the basic mouse sensitivity is Way too low - you're going to need to personally up it by a good amount. some item, buff, and debuff descriptions are also pretty unclear, though feeling them out doesn't usually go so badly.

in general, i really really like this game, and i'm excited to see more get added to it

i like this game, but i don't know if i'd recommend it to people i know unless they're looking for something to sort of scratch the souls itch or are a gamer who really likes a challenge. keep that and This in mind for this review: in spite of everything, i'm still enjoying it most of the time

NICE:

• music is phenomenal. no notes. keep it comin
  
• the writing is wonderful whether trying to be funny or somber; jokes never go on too long and the heartfelt moments stay heartfelt rather than be cut off by stupid one-liners
  
• enjoyable characters to both hate and love. everyone feels like they make sense - their decisions, their morals, what they say they'll do with the treasure; they're all in line with their personalities. my favorites are nemma and chitan :) (my one thing is with inkerton though. what accent does he have? australian? southern? english??)
  
• speaking of, the character and enemy designs are so fun and colorful. even the repeats in later levels say something about the area they're in, whether gunk-drenched or bleached
  
• unlocking abilities, practicing with them, and using them are all fun. i love the hammer and parry esp, but kintsugi has really saved my ass a few times
  
• the rewards you gain for exploration are worth it 100% of the time, and i appreciate that across all maps and levels
  
• levels themselves are really cool to look at, often bright and colorful or dank and moody
  
• the moon jellies outside boss rooms are appreciated. no more dark souls 2 boss walks

UH OH:

• the bugs. getting that out of the way. glitchy camera, being shoved through the floor, once after killing an enemy my screen blacked out and when i went to press Die Instantly my game crashed. these things will be fixed so rn theyre a minor issue to me
  
• i would kill for a homeward bone-type item. the exploration is worth it, sure, but what about the walk back? the walk from topoda's boss room to a previous moon snail shell is particularly egregious if you, like me, tried to fight them, got beat to ♥♥♥♥, and decided you'd be back later. not even mentioning the sands between with no moon snail shells at all, so if you die at an edge somewhere, you're all the way back at the ramp off carcinia (AND the bosses where you literally cannot teleport out at all and are stuck in their arenas, IE the fight after the old king. you win or you stay there.)
  
• in some of the levels (the factory mostly, as well as old carcinia) it's so easy to get lost and end up going backwards. this is compounded by...
  
• enemy placements. enemies that jump out at you or are far away and fire projectiles aren't my major gripe; it's the enemies on floating platforms (which the game has an abundance of Everywhere, being that we're in the ocean) that throw you off with a single hit. if there's no netting, you're losing health and may have to platform again only for it to happen Again. this isn't even getting into the issue of just getting juggled to death right after you hop off a net and onto damp land
  
• it feels like you can never quite react fast enough. cancelling an attack into a guard might be OP, but i wished for it more than once while fighting bosses. kril feels clunky even with small shells
  
• the issue that made a friend quit this game just after intimidation crab: MSG/umami is virtually useless until late game. the fact that topoda, a very hard boss fight who is Not worth it to fight after intimidation crab when you can technically go to their fight, is the one who upgrades your spells (you know what i mean), is crazy. if you want to go into MSG, put all your points into attack until you clear them and get the mantis punch and THEN respec. mantis punch seems like the only real viable spell to use anyway, but even then, it's really only after you fully upgrade it - its long wind-up means you're completely vulnerable and will probably be interrupted or miss UNLESS you have its short teleport.

i dunno. reading all these has made me wonder if i really should recommend this, but i like aggro crab and i am enjoying the game for the most part. i guess just really think about it and how much you like difficult games and souls-likes before you buy (though if it's on sale, get it for sure.)

as a fan of both roguelikes and turn-based combat, this game feels tailor made for me. i'd give this a good review even after the initial opening of the beta, but with the QoL update and new content from starship of terrors, i'm now even more willing to write up all the positives about the game. runs are fun and quick, with the ability to save your progress even when doing multiplayer, the characters and world are colorful and interesting, and you get character customization. i love it.

again with the QoL enhancements, it's hard to think of potential negatives. if you're not a huge fan of the repetition that comes inherently with roguelikes, i would probably stay away at least for another update or two. customization options (mostly hair) are a bit lacking. there's a battlepass that, though it has a well-stocked free track, can understandably be a turnoff for some. in general, i'd really recommend this game to anyone looking for something fun, quick, and easy to learn but hard to master.

no other game has really made me feel like im working on a team that barely functions. when we're good we're good but when we're bad we're screaming at each other and dying

i played this game once just a little after it came out, thought "wow that was cool!" then put it down for the next couple years. i picked it up again only recently while bored and managed to get hit by everything a lot harder.
the gameplay is quick, fun, and makes sense for the setting; you and your friends helping each other, you carrying them around as they do damage and protect the both of you.
other reviews complain about how dark the story can get, but i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. the game still manages to be light-hearted and funny when it can be, and the more heartbreaking moments hit all the harder for it. i remembered just about everything that happened from my first playthrough but i still shed tears at the very beginning, after [BIG SPOILER], and at the very end. it's good.
also the characters are really nice and the sprite work is beautiful. 10/10 otus is just a little guy

Really fun when other people are playing along/roleplaying. Otherwise, yeah, it's like Moonbase Alpha on a boat.
Not always a bad thing, but sometimes you just wanna work out your job and a mystery or two.
Besides other people, fun but the objectives can be confusing. It'd be cool to be able to do more things with background objects and areas like sit and play piano.