Recent reviews by Bellsprout

I came into Sephonie with really high expectations after Anodyne 2, and the game managed to meet all of them. The platforming controls are a little unorthodox but surprisingly intuitive once you get used to them, and even as someone who's not typically a huge fan of (and admittedly kind of terrible at) 3D platformers I always found the platforming enjoyable. The platforming and puzzle gameplay modes sound pretty disparate on paper, but they actually compliment each other really well. Fittingly for a game where you explore a remote island ecosystem, this is a game where all of the different elements mix into a thematic whole that's bigger than the sum of their parts. The story is very effective and bittersweet, exactly the same sort of contemplative and moving writing that led me to love Anodyne 2 so much. I guess if I were to compare this game to something well-known, I'd say it's kind of like Psychonauts - it's a clever and constantly inventive experience, even if the gameplay isn't exactly polished to a mirror shine. Sephonie is definite GOTY 2022 material.

(Also, this goes without saying if you're familiar with Analgesic's other games, but the soundtrack is incredible)

pain.

agony even.

anyway yeah play the game.

Monster Sanctuary's world is surprisingly large and filled with a lot of things to do and see. I kept getting surprised by how much more was hidden up to the end of the game. The combat is pretty strategic and I appreciate that the outcomes of most actions are predictable so you don't have to leave stuff up to chance. There are also some pretty great monster designs and there are a lot of potential ways to build each monster which can be overwhelming at first but the game is very forgiving in letting you tinker around and try different builds and team comps. The game has some extremely difficult late/post-game challenges for people who get really invested in team building which is also a plus. There is a late game difficulty spike, but I think a lot of other reviews exaggerate how rough it is (outside of the final encounter with Zosimos, which was pretty infuriating and I had to grind a bit to get past ). If you're a fan of monster tamer games I wager you'd really enjoy this one, I know I did.

Probably the most polished and refined roguelike on the market. Definitely get this game if you have any interest in the genre whatsoever.

This is by far the most fun and addictive roguelike I've ever played. The gameplay is challenging but rewarding, the barrage of pop culture references gives the game a unique charm, and the massive amount of items to unlock and secrets to find makes the game endlessly replayable.

This game does have a bit of an issue with its steep learning curve. The game has multiple systems designed to reward the player for being good and avoiding damage, which can sort of leave newer players out in the cold. It also doesn't help that a fair portion of the initially unlocked weapons and items kind of suck, especially compared to the much more powerful equipment you can unlock after a lot of playtime. The game is definitely hard, but it's never really unfair. It can definitely be hard to get into as a new player, but it doesn't have any explicitly "bad" items to serve as new player traps, which is definitely nice. There are a few joke weapons that are practically unusable, but you have the option to just not use them after picking them up. There are definitely things that will catch a new player off guard, but the player isn't really punished for curiosity the same way they might be in a game like Binding of Isaac, for example. Overall, though, after getting over that initial bump, Gungeon is super fun and addicting. It's definitely worth the $15 price tag.

Hotline Miami 2 is one of my favorite games of all time.

The music is fantastic, the gameplay feels fluid and fun, and it manages to be difficult but a good time nontheless.

If you haven't played this game yet, do it.