Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

After playing through a string of story heavy games, I wanted to take a break from the immense amount of dialogue and play something more purely gameplay focused. While nominating games for the 2020 Steam Awards, reading the most innovative gameplay category made Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD pop into my head (which I ended up nominating for that category). Turns out this was exactly the type of game I was looking for.

While there are some platformer elements, Super Monkey Ball has the unique twist of giving the player control of tilting the stage, as opposed to moving the character on it. The resulting gameplay is unlike any other game and offers a refreshing set of challenges, even to players who have conquered numerous other genres. Being purely skill based, nothing is left to chance, no equipment will make the game easier, and the only leveling up is the skill gained from practicing, failing, and learning. Gameplay is quick to hop into and the perfect amount of time between failing a stage and respawning is enough to think about what can be improved, but not so much that failing becomes an annoyance. There is an assortment of playable characters each offering different stats and the stages themselves are tuned to this, with various intricacies that may make the stage easier or harder depending on the character played.

Real player with 35.9 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cartoony Classic Games.


Kinda posting this review a tad late. I don’t think I’ve made my thoughts clear on this game just yet, but I know some people are taking newfound interest in the Monkey Ball series with the release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania on the horizon, so I want to express my thoughts on this game now.

I’ll just get this out of the way: Banana Blitz is not a fun Monkey Ball game . To many, this game is seen as a pretty good platformer, and I can get by that thought, but the way this game is structured does not fall in line with what makes a Monkey Ball game work, and it’s all because of one fatal flaw in this game’s design: jumping.

Real player with 27.6 hrs in game

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on Steam

Titeuf: Mega Party

Titeuf: Mega Party

Decent game to play with friends. Story a bit annoying when you don’t know what to do, since the game doesn’t tell you much, but the minigames are actually worth it.

Real player with 4.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cartoony Adventure Games.


Got this in a cheap random key bundle. Game is not fun at all lmao its an easy 100% tho. Would not buy even on sale unless it was like a dollar.

Real player with 4.0 hrs in game

Titeuf: Mega Party on Steam

Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy

The PC version of Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy offers all the content and patches found in the other versions of the game. On top of this, you get the ability to play at unlocked framerates, 4k resolution, native support for all major controllers (Xbox One / 360 / Dualshock 4 / Steam Controller) along with a move set for keyboard and mouse.

If you’ve played the PS4 version, the multiplatform release brings a slew of fixes and one piece of additional content. A new level “Future Tense” which incorporates elements from an unfinished level found in the original Crash Bandicoot from 96’ – dubbed the “waterfall level”.

Real player with 66.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cartoony Classic Games.


I have completed the entire trilogy on PS1 several times since the original release in 1996, and I played through the N-Sane Trilogy twice, 100%, since it’s PS4 launch in 2017.

The PS4 version was enjoyable, despite the 30 FPS and weird collision detection on boxes (which surprisingly seems to have been fixed in the PC version, and rope running on the bridge levels is now easier to do consistantly again).

Since the game finally has come to PC, I decided to give it another shot, and I can say, without a doubt, that this is the definitive way to play it!

Real player with 55.8 hrs in game

Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy on Steam

The Curse of Monkey Island

The Curse of Monkey Island

My favorite game of all time, hands down. I play it every year or so since I first played it, probably in 2000 where I bought it at a store that sold used video games that came in CD cases (this was a 2-CD game). There is one significant problem with this game: I’ve been searching for its equal ever since, and I’ve never found it. The gentle mix of humor, of lightheartedness, challenging puzzles, voice acting by Dominic Armato, the beautiful graphics and amazing musical score… Nothing comes close. I don’t think that the folks who created this knew what they were making at the time, it was just another game from LucasArts. Bill Tiller did the graphics, and there is something so soothing about the visuals. I think most importantly is the intelligence of the puzzles, where each item you get will be put to use in some creative form later on in the game in a way that makes you think about what you’re doing and what is possible, but doesn’t go too far in difficulty nor is it too easy, either. The fact that all of this came together in one game is truly remarkable feat.

Real player with 25.1 hrs in game

I never got the chance to play one Monkey Island game until now, and this is actually my first eventhough it’s the third xD. I’m clearly missing a lot of references to the first and second game, there are some characters that I can tell is not the first time “we” met so I’m clueless to most of the funny bits regarding these ones.

The humor is the best part of the game, at least to me. I had lots of fun with the dialogs and incredibly horrible dad jokes. Puzzles are sometimes hard to understand, there may be very very very little objects you thought you clicked on but you didn’t , maybe you thought you could solve the puzzle certain way because it’s the most logical to you but NOT and the solution is one of the silliest you could ever think of. So yeah, puzzles are not exactly unfair but rather… weird? You just gotta get used to the game’s logic, that’s all.

Real player with 11.9 hrs in game

The Curse of Monkey Island on Steam

That Dam Level redux

That Dam Level redux

That Dam Level is an impressive, challenging… I don’t want to say “platformer”, given that there is a minimum of solid ground, but it requires the same precision and timing skills as your Supers Meat Boy and similar games. A clever, non-infringing tribute to a painful challenge from the 80s NES era (a level where you swim through a booby trapped dam in a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles game), your goal is much the same: swim without hitting various absurd obstacles, disarm X bombs per stage in under Y time, and don’t die in the process.

Real player with 0.6 hrs in game

In all the time I wanted this game, I hadn’t seen any reviews here…at least ‘not in my language’, so allow me to chime in even without too much playing time: I’m already enjoying this game enough to recommend it. I thought it looked really cool, and like the visuals, and find no disappointment there. There’s some good challenge to the gameplay, it’s set up to be difficult. Think ‘Super Meat Boy’ type gameplay but more colorful…and even with some hair-pulling moments thus far, there’s really nothing unfair or overly-frustrating, plus you have PLENTY of choice for difficulty. I think the trailer gives a good idea of what to expect from the game. I’m pretty sure I got the gyst of ‘That Dam Level Redux’, and at very least can already recommend it!

Real player with 0.6 hrs in game

That Dam Level redux on Steam

Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs

Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs

After i’ve finished the second of Fenimore adventures, i wanted to take back the very older first one,that i abandoned many time ago in its first release, now in this new remastered version it gains new shining light and value revealing to be a really solid game.

Now that i finally was able to complete it i have to say i am amazed and speechless from how good the puzzles were, i never expected this but this first one is even better than the second, altough i was stuck for few days in some nasty puzzles, after solving them i can say that altough the average level here is set on Hard, nothing is impossible or too much illogic, all has its own sense and works like a charm.

Real player with 28.6 hrs in game

This was one of first adventures I played at the time of release in 1996 and I have good memories of it. There were some serious problems with distribution back then and today the English only copies are very rare collector items and extremely expensive (I saw copies offered for thousands dollars). So it’s good that it is available again for affordable price as a digital copy.

The remastered version was not released in perfect state with some bugs and missing features but developers do care, already improved lots of things and listen to the players suggestions.

Real player with 27.4 hrs in game

Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs on Steam

Day of the Tentacle Remastered

Day of the Tentacle Remastered

A brief overview…

Goal: To stop an evil triangle from taking over the world.

Method: Travel back in time to the day before so that you can stop the triangle from becoming evil in the first place. However, the majority of the story revolves around blowing a large sum of money on a shopping channel product, and finding sources of electricity that you can plug toilets into.

Heroes: The true heroes of this game are a metalhead who has zero book smarts, a trainee doctor who cannot be trusted with her own scalpel, and that nerd from the first game who used to be a coward. This trio receives help along the way from an ex-villain mad scientist, the founding fathers, a hamster and a dead guy.

Real player with 141.5 hrs in game

My previous article on my experiences with working on Day of the Tentacle Remastered cover a lot of my own history with the game, but don’t dive deep into my feelings about the remastered edition itself - after all, the game was more or less finished before I came onboard and I had plenty of time to play through it before I started working on it.

Re-creating low fidelity assets with greater detail removes a degree of ambiguity that different players invariably fill with different impressions. To one person, a few pixels here, might be interpreted as a smooth shape, while to another, the pixel edges define something more jagged - are the ends of Laverne’s fingers square or rounded? Are outlines fixed or varying width?

Real player with 102.7 hrs in game

Day of the Tentacle Remastered on Steam

Spirit of Glace

Spirit of Glace

Spirit of Glace is a story-rich, open world adventure platformer that tells the unforgettable tale of Glace, a small creature who suddenly appears out of nowhere during a strange experiment. Deemed an unwanted byproduct, Glace is cast away to a dying world where the inhabitants beg for help against a mysterious force.

In Spirit of Glace, players guide the little purple blob as he explores an unknown world rendered in gorgeous pixel art. Help Glace discover true purpose by finding his family and guarding their world against a coming withering darkness. Players will find a fresh platforming adventure as they run, jump, fight and ricochet through the environment.

Spirit of Glace is based on the original title, “Glace”, from 2004 and is a complete reboot/reimagination brought to you by the original developer.

Features:

  • An open world to explore at your own pace. Discover landmarks and revisit locations by roaming about on an overworld map (similar to Zelda 2). You’ll navigate grassy meadows, murky swamps, snowy mountains, moonscapes and much more.

  • A strong emphasis on story, quality lore, and attention to detail. Discover a world full of life, legend, and history.

  • Some fresh purple platforming action. Glace might be shy but he’s got moves. Falling off a ledge is just an opportunity to bounce off the floor and rocket back up with finesse. Dash mid-air, fling from ledges, ricochet off walls, and reach pretty much any place you can see (or not see).

  • Attack your foes with weapons that are just plain fun to use, like talking magical beads that shoot out, bounce around, and zip back to you.

  • Rebuild the world and unlock powers by doing so. Tend to a secret garden, help rebuild a village in the swamp, organize a penguin rebellion against the foe.

  • Experience an enchanting soundtrack carefully crafted by the composer of the original 2004 game.

  • Dozens of passive ability-enhancing relics to collect and upgrade.

  • Built for replaying. A rewind mechanic encourages you to take earned powers and game state to the next playthrough where you’ll experience new story elements and higher levels of challenge. Keep your relics, abilities, improved locations, etc.

  • Dynamic encounters within stages and dungeons that reorganize themselves after every playthrough.

Spirit of Glace on Steam

Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy

Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy

A fun and sometimes very challenging game.

Gameplay is focused on collecting everything in every level, with some basic environmental puzzles and simple combat to keep things interesting. The remake seems to stay true to its occasionally outdated old-school roots, which means difficulty swings widely between cool and casual to punishingly difficult. If you’re a completionist then get ready to sweat: there are time-based precision challenges. Most are fair and can be beat with a lot of practice, but a few really made me question my life choices.

Real player with 67.1 hrs in game

I’m giving a positive review because the game does not deserve a bad review at all, but a lot of times the game feels clunky. If they bothered to patch the issues it could probably be in a better state.

The artwork / graphics seems to be the highest regard here. It’s amazing.

Music was there but nothing insanely amazing either. It’s alright.

The gameplay is what I have problems with, I like the basic levels best, exploring, collecting, beating enemies it feels nice but the jumping sometimes annoyed me when u try to make a jump and he slides of the edge instead.

Real player with 45.0 hrs in game

Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy on Steam

XIII

XIII

★☆☆☆☆ Terrible!

Action

The 2020 remake of XIII is a cheap, lazy, broken cash-in on a once fascinating name.

It really makes me feel bad to have to say that because I had high hopes for this. But it’s true! In the same year that 2K gave us an amazing remake for the original Mafia, XIII stands in its own class of awfulness. That anyone could release a game in this state and try to charge 40 Euro for it, let alone goat people into pre-ordering it, is appalling.

At first, I thought the ‘very negative’ review status on Steam was a little overboard. I had followed the discussion boards before release and boy, some people did not like the style change. Having played this for an hour and then gone back to the original, I can say with a certainty that I should have listened to those people more. Not only have the developers ripped all of the charm from the original game, but they have also failed to replace it with anything of substantial worth. I think this is the most apparent in the half-a$$ed attempts to tie some of this remake’s style into the original’s. In the original, was frequent and eventually blended into the background. Here it’s reserved for very few things. It’s noticeable that its inclusion feels inconsistent at best.

Real player with 18.6 hrs in game

Graphics aside, what the remake was INTENDED to be was the original game’s campaign and levels more or less faithfully recreated (with the original cel-shading replaced by more of a Fortnite-like cartoony art-style), but with new, more “modern” Call of Duty-inspired gameplay, including aim-down-sights, a limited inventory, a simplified health/armor system, and partial regenerating health. Rather similar to what happened with F.E.A.R. 2/F,E,A,R, 3, Bioshock Infinite, Aliens Colonial Marines, etc.

Real player with 16.9 hrs in game

XIII on Steam