Recent reviews by Ainz

When I first went into Code Vein, I had been expecting Dark Souls with an anime skin over it, but I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find it an experience that, while still taking notably from the Souls series, comes into its own as a game. While initially I had a rough time with the fluidity, I soon got into the groove, and the game took off from there. Certainly worth my purchase, and I am hopeful for the DLC and a potential sequel.

Minoria had a lot to live up to, but having played through it, I feel it measures up well with its predecessors.

At first glance, what is most noticeable is that in a stark contrast to the previous games by the developer, Minoria has 3D models. While some may be put off by the swap from 2D sprites, the models in Minoria are, in my opinion, quite good for Bombservice's first foray into 3D. As well, the environments and backgrounds are all beautifully done, and some would work quite nice as Steam backgrounds. The animations, while done in a style unusual for 3D models, are good, giving each character you encounter personality.

The gameplay of Minoria, like its predecessors, is fluid and fast-paced. In addition to the same general combat as Minoria, a parrying mechanic has been added, as well as Incenses, which are effectively swappable abilities that are either passive or have limited uses. While I found the parry mechanic to be a nice touch, I never found myself using it outside of the initial crawl of the game, as dodging proved to be far more reliable. There are various incenses to be found, and I found myself having a use for most of them as the game progressed, though some did end up collecting dust. The types of enemies are varied, and a lot of them hit very hard. However, a lot of them have very simple movesets, making it easier provided you pay attention. While the placement of them is generally fair, there were a few occasions where they appear out of nowhere, which some may find to be frustrating. The bosses are each quite memorable, and I enjoyed each fight thoroughly, although certain bosses had moves which felt poorly telegraphed the first time I fought them. Beating a boss without taking any damage will give you special items, which can lead to the aforementioned poorly telegraphed moves taking a much heavier toll.

The story and general atmosphere of the game is very grim, like RuTM, and a feeling of hopelessness is pervasive. The world and lore is fascinating, with a significantly larger emphasis on building up the setting's history through the use of archives, which give direction information on various things within the Minoria world. The game's music is all around great, and compliments the various environments very well.

The passion that the dev team put into the game is pretty obvious to see, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who liked the Momodora series, as well as to those who have an interest in difficult, but rewarding Metroidvanias.

Great game, the OST is pretty great and not too expensive.

This game has an amazing atmosphere, beautiful environments, and a very nice soundtrack. The gameplay itself is very, very challenging, but incredibly fun and rewarding. Little details really bring the world to life, and the pixel art is gorgeous.

Although there are not many characters and some of them do not get developed very much, you certainly get attached to them during the course of the game. The heroine, despite being silent, has a personality you can ascertain from your journey with her, and even the idle animations give her character.

Depending on how good you are, the main game should take you about 4 hours, but the NG+ will likely provide you with even more enjoyment. Although I found it short, I am ultimately very satisfied with the experience. This is one of the best action platformers I have played in a long, long time, and it will certainly leave a lasting impression on me.

As a prequel, there are more games in this series to play, but I myself am unsure if the other games will be able to fill the void in my heart that has formed after finishing this game. I wholeheartedly recommend this to everybody, although fans of action platformers will likely enjoy it the most.