Games Beaten 2025

[PartridgeSenpai]

“Who was this game’s target audience?” The answer, I think, is “no one,” and that’s the only person to whom I would recommend it.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

1. Tomb Raider II Remastered - PC
2. Tomb Raider III Remastered - PC
3. Blade Chimera - Switch
4. Cyber Shadow - Switch
5. Signalis - Switch
6. Ender Magnolia - Switch
7. SimCity 2000 Special Edition - PC
8. Ghost Song - Switch
9. Citizen Sleeper 2 - Switch
10. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider - Switch
11. The Last Faith - Switch
12. Anger Foot - PC
13. Avowed - PC
14. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Classic Mode - Switch
15. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Classic II: Dominque's Curse - Switch
16. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II - PS5
17. Pacific Drive - PC
18. Mekkablood: Quarry Assault - PC
19. Tempest Rising - PC

Tempest Rising is a new RTS with a very heavy Command and Conquer influence. In many ways it's the C&C 4 we should have gotten, instead of the one we actually got. At times it almost veers into plagiarism, but I just see that as it really wearing its heart on its sleeve.

The game is set in the aftermath of an alternate history where the Cuban Missile Crisis went hot. A nuclear exchange ensued, though it didn't go into full MAD. In the aftermath it is discovered a new resource has formed in areas of heavy fallout: the tempest. It is a series of vines that feed on radiation and create pods which can be harvested for huge amounts of energy. The destabilization of the war causes two new powers to emerge: the NATO successor the Global Defense Force and the Warsaw Pact successor the Tempest Dynasty, who fully embrace the possibilities of the tempest beyond the simple resource. If all of this sounds very similar to the GDI vs. Nod conflict of C&C, you're right; while there is no Joe Kucan as a charismatic leader the story borrows heavily from C&C's setting.

The game uses a C&C style sidebar building system, where you start with a Mobile Construction Vehicle that plops down as your Construction Yard that lets you build the rest of your buildings. You need to manage power to keep your buildings functioning and harvest the tempest to build your war machine, even if this requires you to have to send your harvesters far afield. It will all be incredibly familiar if you've played C&C before. One notable change is the tempest resource fields are hostile to vehicles, rather than Tiberium being hostile to infantry. This serves a better balance, as infantry already struggled to be relevant in C&C before "oops, they die in the field" becomes a thing.

When it comes to combat, the game is closest to C&C 3; many units have special abilities, whether it be passive buff radiuses or active abilities to turn the tide of conflicts. It's not at the level of micro that you see in Starcraft 2, but you will want to make sure you make usage of them at key moments. You also have a series of support powers on long cooldowns that can give you another edge, though they are expensive to use. There are no superweapons, which is honestly for the best, as those were game warping in a bad way.

While the game doesn't really bring much new to the RTS table, what it does execute is extremely well put together. It's clear the devs are deep fans of the C&C series and wanted to see a new one (especially after the trainwreck that was C&C 4). The campaign has a varied set of missions, some commando, some base building, some letting you take your time, others under a tight time constraint. I only have a couple of complaints; a few missions have side objectives you need to go out of your way to find (including one that requires you to be slow at achieving a main objective), and the last two Tempest Dynasty missions have a bad difficulty curve. The penultimate mission gives you an extremely limited set of units you can build to attack heavily fortified positions, so it's a massive battle of attrition (but fortunately attacks on you are so light as to be inconsequential). The last mission starts with a nasty command mission with a lot of spots where you can get your force wiped out by not being ultra cautious, but once you finish that part you can avoid triggering the next phase and just build up a major force to clear your way through the objectives, until you discover you have a final "hold the line" objective that can easily lose the mission if you don't prepare ahead of time. But those are minor complaints in the grand scheme of things.

All in all, this is a very strong RTS, all the moreso due to how thin the genre is these days. If you're a fan of RTS's, this is very much worth a play.

[SyedDanishAnwar]

Danish Anwar's Beaten Games List

1. Sekiro (April 2025; PC)

I finally beat Sekiro this month and found it mostly enjoyable. I started playing this game during the first week of December 2024 and defeated all the bosses including Lady Butterfly, Genichiro, Corrupted Monk, Ape, Double Ape, and more without much difficulty.

I had reached the last boss of this game in January of this year, but paused the game for three months as I couldn't beat the last two phases (out of a total of four) of the end baddie.

After three months, I tried to beat this boss and finally able to beat him on May 2020. Yes, this game is too hard.

The last two phases of St. Ishin were just brutal and mental. But in the end the feeling of jubilation after beating this boss made all the efforts and time in learning the optimal strategy worth it.

I have completed with Dragons Homecoming and Purification endings. I consider these two to be good endings and the rest Shura and Immortal Severance to be bad endings.

I had beaten pre-nerf Radhan of Elden Ring DLC in under 10 hours, but I found Saint Ishin of Sekiro even more difficult.

Final Verdict: The game is good, with gorgeous graphics and good story. I can't recommend this game to everyone. This game is for those who like challenge and can spend 100+ hours in a game learning the mechanics of parrying and dodging.

My rating: 8/10 (9/10 if the St. Ishin end boss fight was easier).

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

1. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Cynically, in the modern chapters, this game even admits that it's a commercially pedestrian blockbuster. It depicts history wrongly all the time, so there's little value in that. Purely as a game, it's mostly the same as the previous games, which means gameplay is automatic and shallow, while you hoover up symbols on your map. The only thing going for it would be the ship battles, which while sluggish and imprecise, are still somewhat novel and explosive. In about forty hours of play time, I think I had about an hour of fun being a pirate.
4/10

2. Minecraft
I was extremely pleasantly surprised at how much respect the game had for the player's ingenuity. The tutorial is merely some pages you can find in the options menu. You have minutes to set up a safe haven, preferably with a bed and torches, with little to no instructions. Dying halves your experience points and leaves all your gear scattered about. Although randomly generated, there's always a feeling you might find something unique. The final boss is a treat, being open ended and seemingly insurmountable at first. There's a lot of random stuff that can set you back a couple of hours back, which keeps the challenge honest and respectful. However, it is still a game about crafting, meaning half the time you'll be doing busywork and clicking around in menus.
8/10

3. Street Fighter 6
Link combos now have a three frame buffer, while the super meter(s) allow many alterations to your moves. Competitively, this means you'll spend less time practicing the same combos over and over, and instead practicing reading different situations. With less neutral and much more creativity, this makes Street Fighter more like the other anime fighters. Which while a good thing, makes me wonder why this should be played at all. The answer is the masses: the single player mode is a poor man's Yakuza, but nevertheless will feed the tournament scene with plenty of folks confident enough they'll want to compete.
8/10

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Is this a recruitment ad for the US Army? The production values are very impressive. Obviously, the game propels you forward, set piece to set piece, always giving you blockbuster flare. Occasionally, precision and strategy is required, and everything falls apart. Perhaps the lack of clarity and random nature of the enemies is realistic, but it does not make the challenge engaging. Luckily, it's over within a couple of hours. I hear the multiplayer was popular. Perhaps, but I doubt there's a reason to play this over Counter Strike or Quake.
3/10

5. Felvidek
A brisk 'Japanese' RPG instead located in Hungary, as its name implies. It delights in its historic background, where the church is at odds with cultists, and the monarchy at odds with the peasantry. The combat might just be barely strategic enough to keep the fights interesting, but this leaves more headspace for the eccentric narrative. Both silly and serious themes are explored, with intriguing writing and distinctive artistry. It's no Disco Elysium or Undertale, but if you want more in the same vein, a must play.
7/10

6. Blazing Lazers
Hectic and sharp, this is everything you could hope a 16-bit shmup can be. At times there might be too much going on, while you're bomb attack is too slow, but otherwise the difficulty is mostly fair. Space Megaforce has more interesting weapon choices, and MUSHA has more pizazz, but this one is still almost as good and definitely a step up from earlier Zanac/Aleste games.
7/10

7. Company of Heroes
On paper this sounds like any other RTS, but this one has a bombast to it that makes everything feel urgent, hence its popular appeal. The campaign benefits from high production values, enhancing the historic significance of the battles. There's an extra emphasis on controlling many different parts of the map for resources, and less on building structures, making skirmishes action packed. Still, I'd recommend only trying out single player, as CoH3 and SC2 have better competitive scenes.
8/10

8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The amount of personality is commendable, but that's really all this 'game' has to offer. You can't help but feel like half the time you're just doing mundane tasks. And for what? Happy emotes and the occasional joke? Perhaps being able to show off your creativity with online friends. Fundamentally, this genre is flawed due to being in a medium that limits expression to moving things around and making extremely simple dialogue choices. Still, picked up at the right time in small bursts, there's no denying it's a charming experience. And for what it's worth, there is more to see and do than in the prequels.
6/10

9. Shatterhand
The risk/reward element of short ranged attacks works better in Zelda II and Ninja Gaiden due to them having defensive options. Shatterhand relies a lot on speed and brute strength, which is exciting, but also tense. The upgrades are awkward to yield and keeping them around is even harder. There's a lot of potential here: think Mega Man with fists and body extensions. And while the execution is polished on a surface level, the combat is too frustrating to make it a classic.
5/10

10. CyberPunk 2077
Amazingly ambitious, just seeing the effort put into this is a marvel. Goes beyond the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Witcher III in almost every way, and thankfully, also in terms of gameplay and emergency. Unfortunately, the whole thing buckles under its own weight, as it's clear that the design process was hacked into parts for delegation. So don't expect level design as bold and organic as in Deus Ex, and systems working as well together. But there's still a lot to toy around with, and often enough make a choice with emotional weight.
8/10

11. Wario Land 4
Despite being the third iteration as a costume-based puzzle platformer, design is still rather tame and in stark contrast with the its exuberant personality. Some of the later levels dare the player to think twice, but never are you allowed to attempt things creatively. Still, it's a highly saccharine trip and you can't help but feel glee as Wario plows through ancient ruins with reckless abandon. Great bosses, too!
7/10

12. SUGAR (Jen Simpkins)
This interaction fiction is so short, it borders on being poetry. No matter, every second is gripping, as is every branch in the narrative. We already knew she was a talented writer as editor of Edge. I can only hope Jen's talents make it into other games. And you get to be a sex worker that eats the rich, indeed a very wholesome topic.
7/10

13. Earthbound
The best parts are when it subverts genre conventions, but rarely does it subvert gaming conventions. This tragically leaves the experience emotionally bound to 90's Japanese role playing games. Which in turn might ironically create its charm: it's yet another go at one of these, only this time everything's a bit different, making it both familiar and odd at the same time. The overworld portions are memorable, the combat isn't.
6/10

14. Venba
The cooking is surprisingly involving, as the meals have an existential weight to them. The cut-scenes between them are just barely long enough to get you interested in the next family conundrum. In the end, it's a bittersweet tale you can almost smell at times. And yes, you unlock a cook book at the end to add these recipes to your own memories.
7/10

15. Mario Kart 8
Now with more pizazz!! Luigi's Death Stare(tm) will never get old. And all the Nintendo characters having political alignments is hilarious. Toadette for life. /raisefist
7/10

16. Super Mario 64
Are you into speedrunning? Then this is the golden standard. There's boundless creativity in the movement options and oddball architecture. But as an adventure, this one quickly loses steam, as the horrendous camera does not gel well with the demanding platforming found in later stages. Most of the enjoyment comes from seeing how Nintendo got the most personality out of limited polygons. Often, the compromises create fantastic 90's SGI landscapes, which are a pleasure to trek through.
6/10

17. Resident Evil 2 Remake
There's something cozy about turning an unsafe area (in this case, the police station) into an orderly safe haven. The power fantasy is domestic: it's not that the place is empty, it's just under control. As the narrative delves deeper and astray into lacklustre areas and explanations, this one devolves into run-of-the-mill post-RE4 Resident Evil. The Claire run fares better thanks to the girl's side-missions.
5/10

18. Fantastic Dizzy
Stupid puzzles and annoying platforming are combined into something more than the sum of its parts. Perhaps the anticipation of seeing if your solution actually works is heightened by putting dexterous challenges in your way. And there's adorkable energy abound, as the Darling Brothers yet again shamelessly slap together a jury-rigged budget title according to a proven formula. While it is not recommended to be played, it should nevertheless never be forgotten.
5/10

19. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
A commercially injected by-the-numbers kitchen-sink metroidvania: doing everything as expected, and meticulously programmed. Of course, Ubisoft doesn't understand that it's mystery that ignites a sense of adventure (as done in Super Metroid and Hollow Knight), so its predictability makes everything feel redundant. And yet, you get a bunch of moves to play around with, while the developers went ham with exploiting tightly designed obstacles.
7/10

20. Chess 2: The Sequel
Easily the best Chess variant ever made. Some of these rules should at the very least be instituted in normal play (like winning by crossing the mid-line with your king). David Sirlin yet again amazes by adding five new armies to choose from. No need to memorize opening moves, and mid-game excitement is practically the whole game. Tragically so good, it exposes Chess's fundamental flaws. By turning the classic into a modern strategy game, one starts to realize that Chess was never really that interesting for competition. Its main attraction was that it's a rabbit-hole that has been studied for centuries.
7/10

21. Project Gotham Racing 4
PGR's last hurrah is more of the same, only this time flashier. Going down to 30 fps wasn't worth it though. There's fun to be had, climbing the ladder and fantasizing about the rivalries you make. One of the more demanding racing games, the repetition rewards the player with excellence. The kudo system, bikes, and alternative objectives keep the racing fresh. Unfortunately a bit too gimmicky for a sense of simulation, but too serious for pure fun.
6/10

[Markies]

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2025!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***

1. Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
2. Mario Party 4 (GCN)
***3. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (PS2)***
***4. Pokemon Snap (N64)***
***5. Dead Or Alive (PS1)***
6. Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
7. Pokemon Blue (GBC)
8. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
***9. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)***
***10. Sonic The Hedgehog (GEN)***
***11. The New Tetris (N64)***
12. Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (GBA)
13. Yoshi (NES)
***14. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)***
15. L.A. Noire - The Complete Edition (PS3)
16. Batman: The Video Game (GBC)
17. Splatoon 2 (NSW)



I beat Splatoon 2 for the Nintendo Switch this evening!

Back in 2022, the original Splatoon was big surprise for me when I played it for the WiiU. I had gotten the game rather cheap since the online multiplayer had been taken down and the single player campaign was very small. With that in mind, I still really enjoyed myself. Levels could be like puzzles and the single player campaign was well worth the purchase. After getting everything last year, I was interested in picking up the sequel for the Switch. Well, at my local retro gaming convention, I found it again for a very cheap price because Splatoon 3 is currently out. Deciding to jump out, I wanted to play it because I wasn't in the mood for one of my incredibly long Switch games.

Thankfully, the single player campaign is easily accessible, not that long and mostly an enjoyable time. I was happy that I was able to play through the Campaign without any out of date downloads needed for the game. I have no interest in playing the online aspect, so this was very nice for me. Once again, the single player campaign is not that long as it maybe lasted me like 10 - 12 hours or so. With that in mind, the levels are imaginative and quite a joy to go through. Each level is broken up into little checkpoints and each of those checkpoints feels like its own little puzzle. You take heed of your surroundings, see what you need to do and hopefully advance. With unique boss fights and a fun aesthetic, I once again enjoyed myself through the single player campaign. It was mostly a fun time.

Mostly. The main change in Splatoon 2 is the game added new weapons. Everything from dual wielding pistols to a sniper rifle to a bucket and a paintbrush have been added to the game. Each weapon changes how you play in multiplayer. In single player, some of the new weapons are absolutely awful. Some weapons aren't designed to go after many enemies with guns or traverse through these difficult levels. With some of the levels ramping up near the end, it began to get a little frustrating.

Overall, I still really enjoyed my time with Splatoon 2. I would say that I probably enjoyed the first one more just because of how fun and easy it is. However, the new mechanics and weapons do a bit of a unique feel to the game. It was well worth a purchase and I look forward to getting Splatoon 3 when Splatoon 4 drops on the Switch 2. For anybody else, these games have a fun single player mode that should not be missed.

[Note]

1. Streets of Rage 3 (GEN)*
2. Iridion II (GBA)*
3. Final Fantasy III (SNES)
4. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (PS1)
5. Shockman Zero (SNES)



6. Suikoden (PS1)

Suikoden has been considered a high priority game in my backlog for a bit now, as I'm a fan of most of the early PS1 RPGs I've played, and I enjoyed the art style from the gameplay footage I saw. After playing through a couple of shorter action games, I was ready to hop into another RPG.

Suikoden's plot starts with a bang as you're immediately thrown into the action. I found the plot of the early game specifically intriguing as you figure out the two main political factions in the mix, along with their motives. The game starts off in a dramatic fashion, which got me hooked to the plot quite early.

The combat system moves really quick and in some instances characters will be performing actions simultaneously, which is helpful as your party will have six characters in it for much of the game. There are also two other types of combat that appear. One is a large battle between military forces where you'll need to strategize a bit in a rock, paper, scissors type of system, and use your recruited forces to give you an advantage over your enemy. The other combat system you'll run into is a one-on-one duel which also has a similar system.

In regards to equipment, you actually will only be purchasing armor and accessories throughout the adventure. Your main weapon stays equipped and you have to upgrade it through visiting blacksmiths. The other main piece of equipment certain characters will have is a rune. A character's rune will determine the magic abilities they're able to use. Some characters, such as the main protagonist, will have the same rune equipped throughout most of the game, but others you'll be able to switch, which you might want to depending on the situation and enemies.

A unique and important mechanic in Suikoden is the recruitment of the 108 stars of destiny. The more characters you're able to recruit into your army, the stronger your army will be in the large battle sequences. Some characters can be selected to fight alongside your party, while others will help with tasks in your headquarters. Also, your headquarters will be upgraded as your army grows. I used a guide to help recruit all the characters in the game and prepared a portion of them for use in Suikoden II, as you can transfer your save file.

Another aspect I found interesting in this RPG is that the experience points are plentiful and leveling up is quite easy; however, money is more difficult to come by. In the very beginning of the game I did the sidequest for the Prosperity Rune, which will double your money for each battle, but I was still short on cash in many instances. Suikoden has a few different gambling mini-games, and this is where you'll need to make your money. I spent a good amount of time playing these games at the headquarters to make sure I had enough to upgrade equipment when needed.

In regards to graphics, I really like the art style of Suikoden. The developers decided to go the 2D route as opposed to early 3D, and I believe they made the right choice, as the game's graphics have aged well. My only nitpick is that we got pretty lame cover art for the US version. It's too bad, because the JP release and the US manual has great art. They should have used that same illustration for the cover. The music selection overall is pretty good. I would say the battle music isn't as catchy as some other titles in the genre, but there are a lot of great compositions in the OST. My favorite is probably the background music for a few towns, which is titled as "Peaceful People" in the OST. The song titled "Forgotten Days" that comes on late in the game is also a great piece, and I really enjoy the flutes in the song. The overworld music is very upbeat too.

Overall, Suikoden is a great RPG, and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a fan of the genre or the PS1. It's a bit shorter for an RPG, which is a nice bonus too. I'm looking forward to playing the sequel and perhaps even trying the recently released remasters at some point.

[Note]

1. Streets of Rage 3 (GEN)*
2. Iridion II (GBA)*
3. Final Fantasy III (SNES)
4. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (PS1)
5. Shockman Zero (SNES)
6. Suikoden (PS1)



7. Chiki Chiki Boys (GEN)

Chiki Chiki Boys is originally a Capcom arcade title that was released in the States under the name Mega Twins. I never came across this one in the arcades around the time of release, and only became aware of this game's existence until much later, as I never came across the home console version on the Genesis or the PC-Engine CD either.

Chiki Chiki Boys is an action-platformer that stylistically shares some similarities to the Wonder Boy games, but leans more toward the action-platformer side than action RPG. When the game begins, you can choose which stage you want to take on. After the first few stages that you can choose from, the game throws another set of stages at you that are linear. The game has a total of ten stages, and there are two endings, depending on whether you collect a specific item during the last boss battle. Unfortunately, I missed this item, so I received the lesser ending.

You also have a choice between two different characters, the blue boy, who has a stronger physical attack and weaker magic, and the red boy, who has stronger magic abilities, and a weaker regular attack. For my playthrough, I went with the blue one. As you collect coins, you can use them to upgrade your sword or shield, or buy additional health or continues.

Graphics wise, the game has a very bright and colorful look and the character sprites are pretty large and detailed. This is actually one of my favorite looking games on the console. This is another Capcom game that Sega's team ported over to the Genesis successfully. Soundtrack wise, the game has some impressive catchy and upbeat tunes, with my favorite probably being the music found in Round 2.

I do have a few criticisms here, which is that it's really a shame the game is not two player couch co-op, as it was in the arcades, and in the PC-Engine version. Another criticism is that I do think this game is pretty tough, and it took me quite a fair amount of attempts to finally beat it. Chiki Chiki Boys has the foundation to be an all time great on the Genesis but I think it falls a bit short of its potential with only being one player and the tough difficulty.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Chiki Chiki Boys and I think fans of action-platformers would appreciate it as well. However, when looking at the Genesis library, I think some tweaks to the game could have made it a must have on the system.

[TheSSNintendo]

Kirby & The Forgotten Land

[Markies]

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2025!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***

1. Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
2. Mario Party 4 (GCN)
***3. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (PS2)***
***4. Pokemon Snap (N64)***
***5. Dead Or Alive (PS1)***
6. Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
7. Pokemon Blue (GBC)
8. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
***9. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)***
***10. Sonic The Hedgehog (GEN)***
***11. The New Tetris (N64)***
12. Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (GBA)
13. Yoshi (NES)
***14. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)***
15. L.A. Noire - The Complete Edition (PS3)
16. Batman: The Video Game (GBC)
17. Splatoon 2 (NSW)
18. The Punisher (GEN)



I beat The Punisher on the Sega Genesis this afternoon!

For the longest time, the Punisher was the last big Genesis game that I wanted on my Wishlist. Granted, I still have many more Genesis games on my Wishlist and some that will cost more, but the Punisher was a game from my childhood that I really wanted to purchase again. As a pre-teen, I was pretty big into Marvel Comics with the X-Men being my favorite. So, I was always interested in video games based on any comic book character. I remember renting and playing the Punisher on my Genesis, but I never picked it up myself. My friend picked up a copy and we also played the Arcade version, but I never owned the Genesis version myself. After many years of looking, last year, after the COVID pricing of retro games finally fell down, I finally decided to buy myself a copy for myself. Looking for a Genesis game to play, this was an easy selection.

Punisher is a classic Capcom Beat'em Up that is an amazing Arcade experience. The Genesis version had to be limited, but for the most part, the game still plays quite well. Unlike other brawlers, the game is littered with weapons. Enemies have them constantly and you can even pick up some guns to have a shootout at specific times. Also, your character has a quite an array of moves at his disposable. Besides the normal punch and jump kick, he is able to throw enemies, jump and throw enemies, do a roll dodge and a kind of a thrust kick.

But, for a Brawler, the game is designed terribly. The first few levels are fairly straight forward. However, the game has six levels so they decide to pad the game out during the end and with limited continues, no 1-ups in the entire game and limited health, they just become a chore. You are stuck on just one screen as wave after wave of enemies come after you in a battle of attrition. When you finally get to the final boss, he has one giant health bar and then retreats after you do a certain amount of damage to him only for wave after wave of enemies to come after you. It is such a slog!

Overall, I mostly enjoyed the Punisher. The game is a perfect example of why some people do not like brawlers. They go on forever as you are fighting the same enemies over and over again. It is a slog that slowly eats away at your health. The game already has a little bit of jank with weird controls, so it just compounds the frustration. I am glad that I finally own it, but playing it was kind of a disappointment.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

1. Tomb Raider II Remastered - PC
2. Tomb Raider III Remastered - PC
3. Blade Chimera - Switch
4. Cyber Shadow - Switch
5. Signalis - Switch
6. Ender Magnolia - Switch
7. SimCity 2000 Special Edition - PC
8. Ghost Song - Switch
9. Citizen Sleeper 2 - Switch
10. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider - Switch
11. The Last Faith - Switch
12. Anger Foot - PC
13. Avowed - PC
14. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Classic Mode - Switch
15. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Classic II: Dominque's Curse - Switch
16. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II - PS5
17. Pacific Drive - PC
18. Mekkablood: Quarry Assault - PC
19. Tempest Rising - PC
20. Astalon: Tears of the Earth - Switch

Astalon is an indie metroidvania based around utilizing multiple characters to make your way past obstacles. Each character has strengths and weaknesses and unique mobility abilities, and you will need to swap between them to make your way through the game. It utilizes an 8-bit aesthetic and is reasonably lengthy, though a decent amount is also completely optional (unless you want the best ending).

The premise is that the protagonists' town's water supply has been poisoned from runoff coming from a tower in the desert. They travel to the tower in order to stop the source of the poison and save their village. However, they quickly run into a strong adversary who wipes the party. At this point it turns out one of your characters made a deal with the titan of death, and you get to rewind time and try again, keeping all items and experience from before. There are two consequences of this death and rebirth mechanic. The first is that you always respawn at the very start of the game, though there are just about enough teleportation options that it isn't too punishing. The second is that health is extremely scarce in the dungeon. You have to purchase upgrades to even have enemies have a low chance to drop health; otherwise you are limited to single use health restores that only give you a handful back. It's often correct to death warp after reaching the end of a path rather than trying to retrace your steps, due to how much damage you tend to take.

The three main characters fit the fighter, rogue, mage archetype. The fighter is close range only and can slash through certain barriers. The mage has a ranged attack about the same distance as Samus's starting beam in the first Metroid, and it has the ability to pierce through terrain and activate certain switches. The rogue has a slow firing bow that goes the length of the screen and can do a single wall jump to get to higher locations. You'll need to swap between characters at bonfires when you reach barriers that one of them is required to get past. This can be annoying at times, as you'll likely find one character best suits your playstyle for combat and having to swap off them breaks your flow. About a third of the way through the game you'll gain the ability to swap characters at will, and at this point the game really hits its stride.

After each death you get the chance to shop for upgrades; this includes power boosts for your individual characters as well as some passive boosts for the party. One of these boosts is the ability for the mage to use the shop in the dungeon at specific points; this is a nice to have but not critical, as these shop points are usually not convenient. I found that focusing your upgrades on a single character was the way to go, as you get big damage that way and can power your way through most things.

The game flirts a bit with being a challenge platformer. Definitely none of the split second timing or long periods of no safe ground, but you have to do a lot of weaving between enemies and spikes (though they aren't instant death). There's a ton of switch throwing to open doors as you wind your way through the various paths, so expect a lot of in the moment backtracking as you go down one path to hit a switch to open another path. There are a lot of shortcut switches that make the second traversal through screens easier, so make sure you hit those.

Overall, it's an above average entry into the genre. Dealing with the damage can be frustrating at times, especially when you can feel you're just shy of unlocking an elevator with 4 health left.