Recent reviews by JDR

When I heard about Balatro initially, I looked it up and it didn't look like anything special, but it is. You really have to play this to understand how well made and addictive the game truly is.

While the game starts off a little slow and easy, I really like how it picks up at about the halfway mark. If you do decide to pick this game up and you enjoy your time with it, be sure to play the "Hold My Beer Mode" afterwards. It's harder and a cool remix to the story.

Firstly, I did enjoy my time with this game enough to get all the achievements and that is enough for me to recommend the game. I think the combat is excellent and feels like it's better than it has ever been as well. It's a pretty standard Yakuza game with everything that comes with that as far as side quests, writing, etc...

However, it would be remiss of me to not mention that the main story was (in my opinion) pretty lackluster and lacked the punch that the series is known for. This game is not necessary to fill in the gaps between Like A Dragon and the upcoming Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, so if that's the only reason you'd play it, you're good.

If you just want to play a smooth, light weight Yakuza game, it's certainly that.

Let me start by saying that I'm not a visual novel enjoyer. However, I decided to play this to completion due to the overwhelmingly positive rating I saw for it. The story is interesting and griping, however I will say that this game could've cut some of the fat. It's a little on the verbose side with details that I found to be irrelevant. It's very long, there's very little gameplay, and honestly very little art in general.

So why am I giving this a recommendation? I think the soundtrack is memorable for the most part and the story kept me guessing the entire time. If you basically want to read a book, you could do worse. I thought about the story a lot after finishing the game and if something can sit with me like that, it has to be pretty good.

I think this is what I always wanted Dungeons and Dragons to be and here it is. It's challenging, every play through can be unique, and it's well written and voice acted.

The patch is great and this game runs excellently. One of my favorite features is the fast forward and how it doesn't mess up the sound effects, while not making battles a slog. The best way to experience the game hands down.

I beat this game in 61 minutes and for the first few levels I wondered if it was even a game at all. I think this game's aesthetic is excellent and the music is wonderful, I'm giving it a thumbs up for the experience of playing it, but to me it's more of an interactive movie than a video game.

While the writing for the story is extremely cringe for me, a reformed weaboo, the gameplay is absolutely fantastic. When you complete the game you unlock a rush mode with back to back levels and more importantly, no terrible visual novel elements. The game has a very retro vibe to it that I can't quite place my finger on, but I dig it.

I think it would be remiss to not mention that the soundtrack is an absolute banger as well. All and all, the game is definitely worth experiencing, just try to power through the cringe.

The game is fantastic and the DLC is probably the best DLC I've bought in years, It's a difficult game, so keep that in mind.

I really enjoyed playing this and it's cool that it is easy to find people to play with and cross platform. The pixel art is absolutely top notch and the soundtrack is great too. If you're looking for the old Turtles arcade games with a bigger move set, more stages, and modern, this is what you're looking for.

Some cons: This is a weird complaint, but I actually feel like it's too long. Couple of dull stages for me, though the bosses are all pretty well done. I would have liked more variety in the characters in terms of abilities, but these are just minor things.