Recent reviews by multihuntr

Final Profit is a surprising game. A good kind of surprising. I initially sat down to play it for an hour or two, but got so engrossed in it, I spent around 6 hours playing before I begrudgingly had to go to sleep.

Although it may appear to be a semi-idle game on the surface, really those aspects are only there to help propel you to the next stage of what you are trying to achieve; collect an even larger amount of money. In reality, Final Profit is more of a comedy RPG than an idle game, and most of your time is spent going out and talking to people and doing a wide range of odd jobs. Oh, and, boy howdy does it deliver on the comedy.

In my opinion, a big positive of a game by a solo developer is the personality that comes through in the game; the weird things that they put in, the way that they tell jokes and the way that they can just go for it with whatever - potentially zany - idea they want to put in. And Final Profit is an excellent example of how these can come together to create an enjoyable and memorable experience.

I think my favourite thing about this game is that you really just don't know what's going to happen next. Although there are some examples of straight-up absurdist humour, the vast majority of comedic events are self-consistent within the established world, even though you may not realise it at the time. This combination of unexpectedness and "oh, I see" coming together within the comedy makes the story very satisfying to see unfold, and easily stays interesting throughout the play time.

The weakest part for me, however, is the critique of capitalism. Within the game, you are given several choices as you play to put profits before people, or vice versa. These decisions do have noticeable affects on the characters you interact with, and are thus satisfying to engage with. Ultimately, though, it felt like the problems identified weren't with the organisational structures within capitalism; namely that having power allows you to accrue more power, naturally concentrating power over time, and encouraging a race to the bottom in order to maximise profits. In fact, it leans into this negative aspect by making you complicit in the process. You are a queen with the backing of other powerful aristocrats and you accumulate power and wealth within a capitalist state, trying to topple the Bureau. You start making money by selling coffee and loot bags to children, and continue with many dubious business practices in the name of your goal. You can act the good guy, of course; you can make some things better with the power you get. But the problem is that this suggests that the problem is not the structure, but that the wrong people have the power within the structure. Perhaps, though, it is unfair to expect a comedy RPG to solve the world's political issues. Perhaps it is sufficient to simply point out some emergent problems from our current system, and ways people with power can do better.

Overall, it's a satisfying experience. It's got a broadly enjoyable story with many laugh-out-loud moments, along with a fun gameplay loop and numerous mini-games. I highly recommend Final Profit.

Sekiro is a rich and rewarding experience. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy challenges. Despite the freedom of movement and fluid attack controls, if you are looking for a simple hack and slash, this isn't the game for you. You will fail more often than you succeed. The purpose of this game is to present moderately skilled players with a legitimate challenge that requires growth from you, the player, to progress.

I think that the most impressive part to me is how the game presents it's challenges to the player. You can realistically beat the game with simple, well timed attacks, parries and dodges, but the game offers you so much more to work with. The level and item designs are such that you almost always have a lot of options. When you have died on the same section 5 (or 50) times in a row, it encourages you to explore, and actively engage in problem solving. You can try different routes. You can try to run past enemies. You can stealth-kill your way through a surprisingly large portion of the game. There are very few areas with a single linear path; there are many extra paths if you can be bothered to look for them. And you have items which will assist with all of it, depending on what you are trying to do. You have a lot of agency with how you engage with challenge, and it always feels rewarding when you master the timing on parries for a boss, or you figure out a new strategy such that you don't need to learn their attack patterns. Both are valid ways to play the game, and both will get you through the game. And that is awesome.

The story of Sekiro is fairly accessible; certainly much more so than the Souls games. The main story is never hidden from you; it's always clear what you have to do and why. And yet it retains a lot of the storytelling methods that made the Souls games so enigmatic. There is a lot of world building that happens without exposition: through what you see and interact with in the game. And, of course, item descriptions. It's not as deep a lore as the Souls games, but it isn't limited to just what's on the surface, either. Although it's not why I play the game, I think that the story and characters of Sekiro are intriguing and worthwhile.

Overall, it's a very enjoyable game, with challenging and rewarding gameplay and a pretty good story to boot.

The true entertainment for this game comes from first the challenge of managing to actually beat anything, then listening to the hilarious dialogue.

It's RPG element is kinda cool, but there ARE a very few points in the game where it feels like you're just grinding enemies to get powerful enough. The final bosses are particularly difficult; I got to them around level 30 and had to go get about 5-6 levels before I could even consider beating them.

If you really enjoy Rythmn games, the 'combat' is especially fulfilling if you pull off a successful cast while stopping all damage.
If you don't particularly enjoy Rythmn games, the dialogue may still even be worth the money to buy this game; it is HILARIOUS. They've taken every chance they've got to make a joke, while still maintaining a somewhat serious tone for the main story, which is actually pretty cool unto itself.