Recent reviews by Beefbud

It's fun enough as a game you can turn off your mind and watch flashy things happen on the screen and watch yourself progress through, but all the enemy, item, and ball variety in the world doesn't matter if it barely has an effect on the gameplay, which is essentially just moving your character to dodge attacks. Even where you aim feels trivial, as no matter where you shoot, you know your balls are going to bounce and hit enemies. It feels like the only meaningful choices you make in a run are in the items that have some synergies, but again, little to no meaningful effect on gameplay. It doesn't matter if I choose the ball that spreads poison or burns or does lightning damage or whatever, as it has no bearing on how I play the game. Even the "bullet hell" tag is a joke except for the bosses, as the amount of projectiles/enemy attacks that you have to dodge in the regular level is miniscule.

If you don't mind the game being very easy and having little meaningful variety in the gameplay as you progress, then you will still probably like this game. For me, difficulty and run variety are staples of roguelites.

Way too long and repetitive. Sword feels decent to use but the guns are not. Enemies are way too bullet-spongy. Final boss was a total slog.

This is a very cautious recommendation; I've enjoyed it as a Mega Man X-style roguelite, but there are flaws that keep me from a full recommendation. Obviously the game pays homage to Mega Man X, which has you traversing through 8 main levels in different orders each playthrough (though choosing the next level is more limited than in typical Mega Man games). I think one of the biggest disappointments for me is that there weren't more levels/bosses; I was expecting there to be more than 8 levels and bosses in the game, so it feels light on content in that regard. Instead, you fight the same 8 bosses each playthrough, only in different orders. Levels do change each playthrough, but again I haven't seen enough variety for that change to feel meaningfully different. Enemy variety is also lacking.

Another downside for me is the game feels very cheaply made, and the interface/presentation felt like it could use a lot more work. It's pretty bland and uninspired to me. Making it to the end of the game feels very anti-climactic, and the final boss sequence while initially fun is just too drawn out for repeated playthroughs.

This also brings me to the difficulty; I was shocked that I beat the game on my 2nd run, and overall I feel that it's just too easy. Basic enemies in general feel incredibly trivial and go down super fast; your character seems overpowered right from the start. Traps pose much more of a threat than enemies in this game, and for me were the main source of difficulty. I recognize there are modifiers that make the game more difficult and I plan on exploring those as well, but I'm used to my roguelites posing a little more of a challenge.

Despite all of these flaws, I've still had fun, and mainly I think that's because the gameplay is solid and I enjoy the roguelite formula. Getting super powerful and just plowing through levels while doing some precision platforming keeps me coming back, as does continuing to unlock more items.

Yeah, it's harder. It's still very, very beatable. There are still plenty of ways to break the game. I've been playing Rebirth off and on since release and honestly I thought it got to a point where it was too easy. I read a review where a guy was complaining that his win percentage used to be 80% and now it's way lower. People are complaining because they think Rebirth is all about all the ways you can break the game. To me, it's always been about overcoming a difficult challenge. I love it when I'm dealt a less than ideal run and still emerge victorious. I'm a fan of the changes, and of course there's a ton of great new content.

Slightly charming, but not enough variety or depth to make it enjoyable. I've only played a few hours and feel that I've seen all the game has to offer. Enemy encounters are extremely repetitive and trivial (at least in easy and normal settings), and it mostly just feels like you're grinding to prepare your character to face the boss, which can put a huge hurting on you even on the easiest difficulties. The only sense of strategy that I felt was in trying to manage and use your spells efficiently.

Weird and wonderful, and one of the best soundtracks in gaming.

After finishing and being somewhat disappointed with Yooka-Laylee, I thought that the 3D platformer genre was just something I should continue to ignore, but the good things I heard about this game piqued my interest. And compared to the former, this one really knocks it out of the park. The biggest step up is in level design; whereas Yooka-Layee feels full of unused space, A Hat in Time really makes each level feel full and vibrant. There are only 4 actual levels (not counting DLC) but each one is so big and full of content that it didn't feel too short. Time Rifts were neat diversions that felt straight out of a 3D Mario game. Also the individual character of each level is so unique that each episode felt like a pleasant surprise. Subcon Forest was the only level that felt like it dipped in quality, but even that one had some very cool episodes. At the end of the day, I imagine any fan of 3D platformers would enjoy this one.

It's brilliant. Not every minigame is a winner (Perfect Match, some of the team games), but the majority are very fun. Yes, there have been some server issues at launch, but I've generally been able to connect 90% of the time. And while it does seem fairly light on content (25-ish minigames total), it hasn't gotten old for me after 8+ hours. My personal favorite is Hex-A-Gone, which is turns into an intense precision-platformer in the fight for the crown. I am hoping that this game will see updates with new minigames in the future.

It's really good. If you're a fan of other Trials games, there's no reason to skip on this one. People that are mad about loot boxes are barking up the wrong tree, as it's the acorns that are needed to unlock access to different bikes, and as of a more recent update, new track packs. You can still unlock most (maybe all?) of the meaningful content with acorns won in game, though. There's definitely a grind for experienced players to get to the hard content, but I actually enjoyed doing the contracts, though there are definitely too many of them. Ninja tracks put me in a world of hurt and I love them.

This is a very simple metroidvania, and there's very little in the game to make it stand out from others in the genre, but I still found it enjoyable. I've seen some complain that the game is too easy, but I definitely think playing on hard is a decent difficulty. The controls and combat are pretty fluid, and there's decent enemy variety, however most of the enemies' attack patterns are very predictable and easy to dodge after a couple of fights. Unfortunately with the weapons, I've found no reason to use anything other than regular swords, as heavier weapons generally have a minor damage increase but at the cost of much slower attack speed, and weapons like fists and knives just don't have the attack range to be effective.

The procedural world generation seems like it was just tossed in the game without much reason; I only have one save file, but I don't think another playthrough with a new layout would change the game very much. So overall I'd give a "light" recommendation, as I had fun with it, but it was nothing remarkable.