Recent reviews by yoel

What the devs have done to this port is much worse than anything Joel ever did.

bad goose
good game

Triangle Strategy is not quite the same as its spiritual progenitors, and it is not without its flaws, but it certainly has a place in the genre. If you are an old school SRPG/TRPG fan, you may have some issues with certain aspects of the game's design & mechanics, and its shortcomings may stick out like a sore thumb, but otherwise it's perfectly fine and certainly above average in terms of quality/polish.

It starts out very slow with a lot of dialogue/cutscenes. It’s all skippable if you only care about the battles, but the story is great IMO. There's a lot of political/ethical drama, with little to no contrivances. The exposition and writing is very well done and digestible IF you are into the themes/subject matter that the game plays around with. The music is good enough to the point where it got stuck in my head and I found myself humming along during battles/cutscenes.

There is tons of replay value as the game is intended to be beaten at least 4 times to experience all branching paths/battles/endings in the story, and to get all the characters (via NG+). The branching paths are based upon a three-way conviction system (Morality, Liberty, and Utility), which is primarily influenced by your dialogue choices. It's an opaque system during the first playthrough, so a guide is recommended if you want to chart your own course, but it becomes much more transparent during NG+.

The biggest letdown is the absence of chapter select, to jump into a specific part of the story, or to a specific battle. Though, there is a catalog with few dozen mock battle scenarios that you can access at any time, which is nice.

The lack of customizable classes/jobs is both a blessing and a curse, as it makes the game much more accessible/digestible, but also limits creativity/flexibility. Luckily, the 30+ characters are diverse enough in their own right to allow for some experimentation with different tactics and playstyles either way.

I see a lot of people complaining about difficulty or lack thereof, but there are difficulty options, so I don't understand this criticism.

Personally, I cannot stand the English voice acting, but you can play with Japanese voice acting instead, so it's fine.

Despite its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed my 80+ hours with this game. Getting all the achievements and nearly 100%-ing the whole thing was very cathartic. Great game for completionists and achievement hunters alike.

It's a brick breaker, but you control 2-4 paddles at once. There is a campaign with 40 levels, NG+, and several other extra modes. Good value for $10 or less.

Unfortunately, achievements currently don't count as it has the "Profile Features Limited" curse. It's a shame because the creators care about the achievements. Buy Lillymo's games ! and play them ! so the curse may be lifted.

It's a shallow experience beyond the main spectacle at the surface level. However, that spectacle is very fascinating and a treat to mess around with as long as you are curious. All the gimmicks pay off, and all the set pieces have their own Non-Euclidean quirks for some variety.

The concept/execution of Hyperbolica is something that is truly new and unique to videogames afaik. It's worth checking out for that reason alone.

There is not a pork chop slop trough chance in hog hell that anyone can survive a game like this. *

Despite the involuntary disgust and disorientation around every corner (and the fact that it's RPG Maker), I just can't stop climbing the damned tower. Mel is one thing (she's great), but there is an ethereal delusional je ne sais quoi hidden much deeper within.

timeless classic

Boring. Pointless. Tedious. Ugly.

I like this game because I like Demon Slayer.
If you like Demon Slayer, you will appreciate this game.

From a presentation perspective, this is undoubtedly CC2’s best work yet. The art/graphics are on point; they represent the anime very well. The cutscene & animation quality are basically on par with the latest movie. Everything resonates as it should. It’s great stuff.

That being said, this game is overpriced at $60-$70 + $25 DLC.
I would only recommend it if it’s on sale.

There’s really only ~15-20 hours of gameplay here at the most, even if you go for all of the achievements and perfect scores in the story/training modes. The core gameplay itself is not engaging enough to keep you playing after that. In other words, the game is lacking in substantive content, and the existing content really doesn’t give you much to sink your teeth into. It’s pretty barebones overall.

• The story mode cuts off at the end of the Mugen Train arc.
  
• Only the characters that have fought up to that point in the story are actually in the game as playable characters (w/o DLC), and there are several "echo" characters that gratuitously pad out the roster.
  
• The $25 DLC adds only 3 new characters (+4 more "echo" characters).
  
• The core mechanics of the game are relatively simplistic and shallow. Low skill floor, low skill ceiling. Not enough depth to take it seriously or play for long periods of time.

Nevertheless, it is enjoyable for what it is & while it lasts.

Lastly, the online functionality isn't very well done.
Do not buy this game for the online functionality.

It's alright... it's serviceable... but it's still disappointing. There are very few redeeming qualities compared to previous Battlefield games. That being said, the devs have continued to support the game since launch. Most of the initial issues that the game had at launch have been resolved over time. Nevertheless, it is a stale box-ticking romp.

Whether or not you enjoy the game will depend on your expectations for Battlefield.

I am also a masochist.