Recente recensies door Hastur

I’m not sure if the devs, or anyone, will read this review. Honestly, it’s more of a thank-you letter than anything.

I don’t think Potionomics is a perfect game. It has its rough spots, both technical and UX-wise. There are some minor bugs, and the lipsyncing animation is messed up.
But what I’m sure of is that there aren’t many games that mean as much to me as this one. The characters, the world-building, the side plots - all of them have resonated with me so much. The character design, animation, writing, music, and, now, voice acting have left an impression on me that I find hard to put into words.
This is the game I fire up when I’m overwhelmed with stress, this is the game that I open and just sit next to Saffron in her clearing to calm myself down. I listen to the ost when I go on walks or when I’m working on my own projects. This is the game that I will never forget for how much it helped me during some of my hardest times in life.

I’m not sure if the devs will read this review. But if you do, I just wanted to say thank you for making this game. For making my life better. For being those rarest of creatures - true artists that bring light and beauty into being.

This game defenestrated all of my other GOTY contenders.

In a word: Beautiful.
The gameplay is superb with my favorite 2D combat of all time. While the game is more linear than what you'd expect from a metroidvania, the sense of mystery and exploration is very much there. The bossfights are a highlight with almost all of them being stand-outs in the whole genre. The progression systems include the usual ability unlocks at critical points in the game, as well as a skill tree, a badge/charm system, and equipment unlocks and upgrades.

The story was incredibly engaging for me, though I should note that there is a lot of dialogue and text in the game, which can be overwhelming for some. On that note, the world-building is amazingly deep, especially considering the completely unique setting that blends Taoism and Cyberpunk aesthetics. Though much of it is lost on me, it does feel like there is a lot of cultural influence that more knowledgeable people would be able to appreciate.

I have been listening to the ost non-stop after finishing the game. While the tracks are phenomenal on their own, there are only a few games that can match the feeling you get when the music kicks in during a bossfight. The great sound design gives me a dose of serotonin every time I parry an attack or detonate a talisman, and even what limited voice acting is in the game conveys the mood and emotions of the characters very efficiently.

The art is gorgeous, though it can be quite unsettling at times - there are gory scenes and some horror imagery, which is just something to look out for if you're not into that kinda stuff. However, they are quite rare, and the game has some very endearing moments with jaw-dropping visuals. Some of the boss arenas, especially those that use the 3D background never fail the presentation aspect of the game and set the mood perfectly.

During my 36 hours of playtime I have encountered absolutely zero bugs, and, as of the current patch, absolutely zero performance drops. The performance was rock solid throughout, with the game running at 170+ fps at 1080p on a 1660Ti and 500+ fps at 1440p on a 4070 on the highest settings with uncapped fps. The game does feature an fps lock and vsync for those who find them useful.

On the accessibility front, it does have a “Story Mode”, which gives you the ability to adjust damage multipliers for yourself and the enemies. I have 100%d the game on “Standard Mode” and never felt the need to make the game easier, though I do have 1000+ hours in FromSoft games with 170 hours in Sekiro, which is the closest equivalent to Nine Sols. The only other accessibility option so far is the camera shake toggle, but with how limited the resources of the team are, I feel like it is understandable why there aren’t more options. Hopefully, this is something that the devs will add in the future.

All in all, Nine Sols is definitely a competitor for the best metroidvania for me, however difficult it is to dethrone Hollow Knight. Speaking of which, the game is much closer to something like Sekiro than it is to Hollow Knight, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
10/10, do yourself a favor and play this game.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a wonderful game about art, friendship, and much more. Best described as a mixture between top-down Zelda-like adventure and a coloring book, Chicory, though it may not be for everyone, is a delight for those who enjoy narrative-driven games with solid, but not over-the-top gameplay and puzzles. Made by the creators behind Wandersong and Celeste, this game touches some very deep topics like depression or impostor syndrome, and does so very tactfully and genuinely. I often found myself sympathising with many of the game's characters and even teared up a bit a couple of times.

With music by Lena Raine and sound design by A Shell in the Pit, you can spend hours just listening to the games many wonderfully crafted environments while coloring them in. Speaking of, while it is encouraged, not much coloring is actually required, and all of it can be done with any type of color-blindness. Still, I've sunk about 27 hours making sure that there isn't a single blank spot in all of Picnic province.

While I won't spoil anything, the game does not shy away from discussing some societal issues, though in a way the never seems on the nose. For the most part however it is filled is kind, light-hearted humor that will surely put a smile on your face.

The game also has a lot of accessibility options - from slight gameplay adjustments to font readability to content warnings that let you skip any of the game's discussions of some deep topics or even just slightly scary scenes. This makes it very kid-friendly, and thanks to a local co-op mode can be played by a parent with their child together.

All in all, an extremely polished package with some meaningful messages and fun gameplay and just enough content - Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a masterpiece in my books and I heartly recommend it to anyone who's even slightly intrigued by the premise.