#impressions
#impressions
by Amr (@siegarettes)
With over a decade since the last mainline Metroid or Castlevania game, it’s hard not to notice that MercurySteam has been given the keys to both parts of the Metroidvania namesake. And when looking at their catalog it’s hard not to ask “Why them?”
They opened their career with a series of derivative action games–with a special 3DS entry that has the pleasure of being one of the worst entries in both the series and genre writ large–then moved onto a ramshackle remake of Metroid II. A game that aspiried to make the story of Samus doing genocide into a sick fucking action game.
It’s as if someone saw the work that a small studio like Climax did on Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, and went “those are the people we gotta get to do our next big game.” To be fair, that gamble did work out for Shattered Memories.
So here we are again, with MercurySteam left to bring to life yet another long awaited title to life–but this time without the baggage and tonal issuses of Samus Returns.
A decent chunk nto Metroid Dread the gamble still hasn’t paid off. But it doesn’t exactly bust either, leaving us at more of a break even point.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
2019 was a good year for rhythm games. Sound Voltex saw its fifth iteration released, Groove Coaster made its way to the Nintendo Switch and lastly, DJMAX made a return to the PC.
I could make a pun about how Neowiz deserves some respect for porting over DJMAX Respect over to the PC, but that would just be lame. The word respect can’t be thrown around in a meaningless fashion. To achieve that title, you need to earn it as they would say.
But enough from taking quotes from a fortune cookie, how does DJMAX Respect V fare?
By Omar (@siegarettes)
These impressions are part of Runner’s High, a series that takes a look at the state of first-person platformers, the simple joys of moving from one place to another, and what we can learn from each of them.
It’s easy to find the genre tropes within Welkin Road: abstract environments, high contrast use of colors and the usual suite of platforming maneuvers. What Welkin Road demonstrates, however, is how of a game’s aesthetic is held within the way it treats your presence within a space. The first-person platformer has always been held together with a volatile alchemy, and for good and for ill Welkin Road demonstrates how much that formula can fluctuate.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
I’ve always been neutral to the Neptunia series. I neither hate it or love it. Prior to this I’ve only dabbled with Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory & Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection and I enjoyed my time with those two titles to an extent. I know what to expect and not to expect out of this franchise. This series is geared towards a niche audience. An audience who loves to devour anime and video game tropes like there’s no tomorrow. Not everyone will appreciate or even understand that. But beneath all that unfamiliarity, there might something special with the Neptunia series that can resonate beyond that niche group of people.