Neon Abyss
The majority of reviews on here are positive with like a few hours or even less which I’d say is misleading. I was very close to posting this review earlier on but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something by not beating the last 2 bosses, turns out there wasn’t much.
This game becomes a huge grind that’s priced higher than BoI:Rebirth or Enter The Gungeon with significantly less replayability and substance
While learning the ropes the game play is initially enjoyable but ends up being sub par. Seems awesome in the trailer, unfortunately each of those mini game rooms are all gated behind dozens of hours of playtime with the horribly implemented boss coin system, which I’ve only gotten far enough to even unlock two as the progression constantly comes to a halt. I just got on the third page of the six having already beaten the game needing the next character to further the tree anywhere else, he’s shot up to 30 coins to unlock. You get 1 coin per boss so at best you can only get 8 or 9 per run which totals up to 4 runs for just one tier of progress. I haven’t even completed everything on each of the first two pages either, there’s a lot of items cluttering the tree that have almost no use in the game, nobody is spamming grenades to kill enemies as they’re typically a rare resource for accessing rooms or items. Yet there’s a bunch that build off of this alone, which didn’t synergize with my rocket launcher or explosive bullets. There’s no way to speed this up other than to maybe throw runs halfway to farm the first couple of bosses which makes it more of a grind. Upping or lowering the difficulty does not change the amount of coins at all and only arbitrarily changes enemies hp a bit. That’s all, no other incentive to ever up it to hard mode so I wouldn’t even bother with it as long as I did as it just makes runs take longer, and get more repetitive.
– Real player with 81.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Platformer Singleplayer Games.
GOOD, BAD, UGLY
I’m not recommending this game with the caveat that in the future with some work it could be great. I’ll wait for patches before revisiting.
THE GOOD
The game has a high level of polish. The design aspects and vaporwave aesthetics look great. It looks like a finished product. The core mechanics are polished, requiring a good handle on situational awareness along with some enjoyable gunplay.
The soundtrack hits all the right notes. It feels “cool” as you play and really builds on the universe of the game.
– Real player with 63.7 hrs in game
Hive Jump
Greetings all, I’ll preface this review by saying I kickstarted this game and played it both in Early Access and once released - so feel free to note any bias as you wish. This review is being written in regards to the current state of the game as it is today when this review is written; not to what it might be or will be down the road.
The Game
Hive Jump is a simple but fun game, where you and up to three other friends can shoot some bugs! While you can play this game in singleplayer, it is the multiplayer component of Hive Jump where this game shines. The game can be played locally if you have controllers and online support is available. Notably, challenges aren’t available at this time for multiplayer - though the developers have suggested that they may make Endless mode available for multiplayer play.
– Real player with 103.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Platformer Shooter Games.
I bought this and then I played it solo for 14 hours straight, completely screwing up my sleep schedule. If I had one complaint, it would be that I wish there were more cosmetic options; there’s only four skins (five if you’re a kickstarter backer) and I can’t tell the difference between the starting skin and the last one you can unlock. I would love some armor designs that reference great classic sci-fi games, like OldCom or Doom, though I understand they can’t do perfect representations for legal reasons.
– Real player with 19.9 hrs in game
Blade Assault
Blade Assault is a time sink for fans of games like Dead Cells and Hades and other games in the rogue-lite action space. I’ve currently sunk 85+ hours of gameplay and I have a much better grasp of how the systems work.
Pros:
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Multiple characters = varied gameplay styles (2 out of 5 characters at the moment, with varied weapon systems)
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Detailed pixel animation
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“Core” (or elemental damage) system adds a new layer of strategy
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Difficulty curve is gradual in earlier assault levels, with a lot of room for those who enjoy playing on a higher difficulty
– Real player with 99.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Platformer 2D Platformer Games.
I’m out of content and yet I can’t stop playing this game.
Pros
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Combat, combat, combat. The combat of this game is some of the most satisfying, fast-paced, and responsive combat I’ve ever experienced. The way you can maneuver the platform and use verticality to escape the melee enemies while picking off the ranged enemies. Or you could just dash back and forth on one platform and dodge ranged attacks. Or you could backtrack through the entire room turning around every so often to attack the enemies. There are so many play-styles that fit into this system of combat that it just works.
– Real player with 42.7 hrs in game
Patient Zero
Patient Zero is a randomly generated twin-stick shooter Action-adventure game with great emphasis on its roguelike elements. You play as one of the hazmat crew enlisted in a top-secret adventure to find Patient Zero and stop another deadly virus from sweeping the world. This task will take you into the Void a simulation where a randomly generated stage of events are awaiting you. As you delve deeper into the Void you will find treasures that might give you unworldly powers but be careful as not all items are what they seem and knowledge of the Void is vital to survive. These randomly generated dungeons will be filled with all kinds of treasures, monsters, and bosses for you to take on along your way to finding Patient Zero and saving humanity from total annihilation
Key Features
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Procedurally generated dungeons, enemies, bosses, and items, leaving you with tons of replayability as you will never play the same dungeon twice
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100+ items and armor sets to power up your character and also change their appearance and give them unique special powers
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10+ bosses and loads of minibosses to destroy on every run in the void
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3 dungeon types spanning 3 different themes with unique traps to change the gameplay
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Multiple Patient Zero bosses to find and kill to keep the endgame fresh
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Tons of unlockable including multiple characters and Items
Rogue Legacy
I first played Rogue Legacy at a friend’s place, trading off the controller at each death. It wasn’t much, but it got me instantly hooked on how fun it was. So hooked, that I downloaded Steam, bought the game for the full $15, and bought a $30 wired Xbox 360 controller… and I don’t even have any Xboxes. All this for this one game… and it was worth it.
Rogue Legacy plays like Castlevania and Super Ghouls N Ghosts. You move, jump, attack, and use a secondary weapon. The uniqueness comes into play when you die, which you will… a lot. Once you die, you will be brought to a selection of three heirs to play as next. Each one has a random character class, secondary weapon, and set of traits. Classes determine certain stats and abilities. Secondary weapons, or spells as they are called, use up MP. That’s all pretty basic stuff. But the traits are very interesting. Some traits are helpful, like a speed increase. Others are harmful, like giving your attacks no enemy knockback. And some are just… well… neutral things… like making everything black and white. Your heirs have a chance of having two, one, or none of the traits at random. With all the random factors, you have to really get lucky… or pick the lesser of three evils. Is getting your prefered class worth the traits? Are the spells to your liking? It also makes you think about the next area… skills.
– Real player with 318.3 hrs in game
For context I played exclusively with a keyboard: Space to jump, ESDF for movement, W for right dash, R for left dash, J to attack, K for spells and I for class abilities. imo this is the best setup for non-controller players.
Rogue Legacy is Really Hard
My first life, I played as Sir Lee in the year 730 AD, and got through about 2 rooms before dying to a spinning picture frame. But ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and another life for the castle, and another, and another…
Each time I learned a little more about how to deal with enemies:
– Real player with 64.9 hrs in game
Spelunky
At it’s core, Spelunky is a precise 2D platformer, with a very simple yet elegant scoring mechanic. Each level through which you descend is littered with treasure, and your objective is to get to the end of the game, beat the boss, and escape with as much gold as you can carry with you. This would get a bit boring if the levels were the same every time, so instead the layout of the platforms, items, and enemies changes every time you retry, although the four themed areas (plus one special, secret one) always appear in the same order. Interestingly, in this version, there is a daily challenge: a seed is generated and every one who attempts the daily challenge will play the same seed, and the scores are ranked at the end. Best I’ve achieved is twelfth in the world. Mind you, the disparity between my score and that of the person in pole position was enormous.
– Real player with 474.7 hrs in game
Spelunky is an exquisitely designed hybrid roguelike/platformer that is simple to learn, but very difficult to master. Often a single mistake from certain death, you must depend on your own skills and knowledge to progress through the procedurally generated caves, uncovering the treasures and secrets that lie below. Death comes often, especially to newcomers, but every death is a learning experience that improves your chances of survival in subsequent attempts.
Spelunky is a game that is simultaneously merciless and fair. Even with multitude of threats you’ll face, almost every death you experience is preventable and the result of poor judgment or a lack of skill. All of Spelunky’s mechanics and enemies follow a persistent and predictable logic, each element a tiny cog in a massive interlocking machine. Learning about the inner workings of Spelunky’s world is necessary to venture into the deeper reaches of the caves.
– Real player with 448.0 hrs in game
Godstone
Godstone is a 2D roguelike dungeoncrawler, where you take the role of 5 different sorcerers, delving into the Ruins of Virithian to uncover the ancient Godstone. An intrument said to hold immense dark power.
But time is short, as a religious circle known as the Siratic Order hunts the Godstone as well, plotting to use it to end all sorcerers. Time is short, and you must fight your way through the ancient halls to get to the Godstone before the Order, or you and all your kind will be lost.
GAMEPLAY
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Explore Virithian: find secret rooms and hidden doors, leading to anything from spells to items to power-ups. Exploration is greatly rewarded.
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Forge synergies: Synergy is the backbone to power in Godstone. Unleash devastating effects upon your foes through combos with spells, enhanced by items and skills.
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Fight massive bosses: Test yourself in the battle against massive bosses larger than the room itself. With a final boss at each area including multiple minibosses, there is plenty of epic battles awaiting within the wailing ruins.
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Grow stronger each death: Upon death, you start from the beginning. However, whenever you die you gain points to spend in the Bloodtree based on how well you performed. With it, you can forge your own strategies, growing stronger each death.
Orbital Bullet – The 360° Rogue-lite
Before OBs latest update the game may have been small with regular updates to areas, weapons, and perks, but it was also pretty much bug free, promising for an early access game, and worth the small price. Since the For Eternity update I can’t recommend the game anymore. Every perk and ability had their points removed, not refunded, and previous games were erased. This game is not connected to a cloud so recovering those saves is out of the question. Replaying and unlocking everything was not fun a second time since the update brought an overload of bugs. Mobs still getting stuck in terrain preventing you from advancing even though the devs state they fixed it, perks showing they’re unlocked but not taking effect, getting some perks although I haven’t unlocked them, picking up ammo but weapons showing as empty and unable to fire your weapon, among many others, as well as horrible optimization that eats your PC’s memory.
– Real player with 38.1 hrs in game
honestly it’s delightful. I was sceptical of the concept when I downloaded the demo when steam had the big showcase a few months back, Foregone and orbital bullet(even as demos) became my go to games for short burst of entertainment when I only have 20-45 minutes to kill. I’ve logged about 35 hours since purchase and I haven’t ever felt like the gameplay became repetitive or grindy, the versatility of randomized skill tree builds, gun drops, maps, and merchant pickups makes it feel like a new challenge and keeps things interesting. Gun play is unique, the soundtrack is decent and the in-game sounds and various creature/enemies, the development investment is incredibly apparent and appreciated, it doesn’t feel like a clone of this or that, it’s pretty unique, to me at least, albiet that’s said with my semi limited scope of current and recent releases. End of the day Im more than happy with the purchase, obviously at some point the allure and interest is gonna fade, but for a game I could easily see myself dumping 100 hours into in the next year or so, at 11-12$ that’s a steal. it’s just fun the machanics are solid, a few small bugs but nothing game breaking, and in early access I am definitely more than a little excited to see what a polished fully developed iteration of this game will be. good stuff.
– Real player with 37.3 hrs in game
Risk of Rain
it’s mid
– Real player with 649.6 hrs in game
A fun game with great pixel art and fantastic music. Short enough to play any time, with enough random factors to keep it interesting. I found the baseline enemies to be a bit too spongy for my liking, so I play exclusively with the Artifact of Glass enabled. IMHO this game did not translate particularly well into 3D for RoR2, and so I keep finding myself playing this one, the original.
– Real player with 259.1 hrs in game
Spirits Abyss
Anthony Case is essentially a Stephen King of rogue-lites, and probably the most self-aware game developer when it comes to this not so humble genre that dominates the indie scene. This game is clearly inspired by Spelunky but I think we can safely say that it has plenty of features that make it a unique experience. What I love about Caiysware games is that he understands the genre so well, it becomes a liability, I think the developer is too smart (as you can see with 2% of players that found the final boss). Just a warning, this final version of this review is going to be pretty biased and perhaps justifiably so, I very much love this game, in more ways than one, it reminded me of ‘no hand-holding’ classics that are so dear to my heart. I bought it about a year ago on the first day of early access, I knew it was something really special but I still could not grasp the full picture because there is so much hidden content. Even for a genre veteran like me, this game had more than a few surprises.
– Real player with 134.0 hrs in game
Overview
Spirits Abyss is a challenging 2D platformer with online leaderboards, multiple game modes, randomly generated levels, numerous references, plenty of unlockables, and a lot of heart.
The Good
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Plenty of game modes
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Lots of items
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Unlockables including cards, characters, level variants, and game modes
– Real player with 83.1 hrs in game