#review
#review
by Amr (@siegarettes)
I was a bit cool on Roof Rage when it first released. Its original cast felt a bit disjointed, pulling primarily from East Asian martial arts with some left field additions, and its variations on the platform fighter’s directional specials made it difficult to get to grips with. Those initial criticisms still stand, but my time since the original review, alongside numerous improvements, have allowed me to appreciate the unique take Roof Rage brings to the platform fighter genre.
Namely, Roof Rage is a platform fighter that channels the spirit of traditional 2D fighters, with big combos, fast movement and a focus on turning a good read into big damage.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Made in the mold of CAVE’s DoDonPachi shooters, Ghost Blade HD takes on its familiar shooter staples, and replaces its anime schoolgirls with cheesecake pinup girls in lingerie. But that’s about as much color you’ll see from Ghost Blade. The problem with imitating the best in the genre is that you’ll be judged on the same standards. By comparison, Ghost Blade can come off as the bar top touchscreen version of a game you already know. Its fine–entertaining and solidly made, but otherwise aggressively average.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Charming and inventive, Sky Racket’s synthesis of cute-em-ups and Arkanoid immediately won me over. There’s still nothing quite like the arc of a tennis racket, or the escalating tension of long rally, and Sky Racket builds on both beautifully. The crack of a racket and shatter of barriers is satisfying enough on its own, but the game builds on these with inventive mechanics and level design that kept me dancing across the screen.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Bathed in blood and neon, Valfaris presents a vision of the heavy metal apocalypse that’s lush and overgrown. Machines are as likely to have arteries as they are circuits, and the industrial environments are infected with prismatic wildlife. The overdrawn, overstimulated flora and fauna can sometimes obscure your path, but your objective is always clear: slaughter everything in your path.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Sporting a clean, turn of the century aesthetic, CROSSNIQ+ would feel right at home on the Dreamcast. Every edge is rounded, and bold lines make its geometric accents and flat colors pop against pristine backgrounds. The soundtrack pulses with synths, breakbeats and vocal samples, with a sense of style that almost made me expect to see the words SAMPLING MASTERS preceding each of the composers’ names.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Fight’n Rage may have drank in a little too much nostalgia, but its heart is in the right place. It begins with a fake CPS2 boot screen, so from the jump you immediately understand what its aiming for. Fair enough, since Fight’n Rage nails it, replicating the tense, high speed style of action seen in titles like Capcom’s Battle Circuit and Alien vs. Predator.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Charming, cute, and deceptively difficult, Whipsey and the Lost Atlas is short and simple platformer that doesn’t quite make the most of its truncated run time. Comprised of five uniquely themed stages, Whipseey stays varied throughout, but never explores the possibilities of its whip mechanics or sliding physics.
