Recent reviews by MrLocus

Do you love precision platformers like Celeste and have 100%'ed that game?

Do you have exactly one friend who also loves precision platformers like Celeste and has also 100%'d that game?

Do you wish there were more brutally difficult precision platformers made for co-op / online co-op with unique interactions for each player?

If you answered yes to all of these questions then this game is for you and your friend, you will not regret playing it.

TLDR: Buy this game on sale, it's not quite worth the asking price but is still a very good JRPG.

Full Review:
Graphics - 9/10 - How you feel about the graphics comes down to how much you like the HD-2D style but overall the game is gorgeous. This is the first HD-2D game I have played and I have no complaints about it visually, the interiors of story set piece locations are especially fantastic. All of the visual improvements are very faithful to the original outside of maybe the sprites clashing with the gorgeous backgrounds but it rarely distracts from the experience too much.

Music - 10/10 - This is personal preference but every track is in an improvement over the original unless you really like the chiptune from the originals. The major boss fight tracks are exceptional and hit hard just as they did in the original.

Gameplay - 7/10 - I think they could have done a bit more in this area to improve the QoL of this very old jrpg. Some type of quick use wheel for spells or items you use a lot from the menu while in the overworld would have gone a long way to cutting down on some tedium. A battle speed faster than ultra fast (no animations just enemies flashing when they take a hit and damage numbers) would have also been nice. While the new boss fights and overall slightly higher difficulty (especially on draconian) are nice additions the removal of the pachisi tracks in favor of more monster arenas feels bad as the tracks did a great job of being an excellent major minigame in the GBC remake. Overall the gameplay is just very dated but still great comfort food for old school jrpg enthusiasts.

Length / Price - 6/10 - The main story is rather short for a full price jrpg and the post game doesn't add much to that. I overgrinded and 100%'d all achievements in my save in about 60 hours. Doing things like a hero only run or some other kind of conduct run would add to replayability but on its own it feels a bit overpriced.

Overall - 8/10 - New players coming into the DQ series or want the best jrpg experience the series has to offer should just play DQXI, that game is better than this in every way. Those who played the original DQ3 will enjoy this game but still be left wanting because of the changes and removals of some of the content from the originals.

If you like metroidvanias and hard games that require perserverence, Hollow Knight is perfect. I've played many metroidvanias over the years but this game is the only the metroidvanias I would consider better than Symphony of the Night or Super Metroid.

Gameplay - 10/10
Intense combat, a strategic healing system, customization options, difficult-but-not-impossible platforming. I've yet to play another metroidvania that delivers better gameplay than this one. If you want to master this game, you will need to do things that few other platformers will ever ask of you.

Story - 8/10
If you 100% the game and still don't feel the plight of your soulless horned bug, I don't know what to say. This game has a powerful story that told through few words. It's only shortcoming here is that it would be very easy to miss the amazing parts of the story by speeding through the game and not 100%'ing it.

Music - 10/10
I judge a game soundtrack by how many songs it has that I will be listening to months to years after I finish it. Hollow Knight has several tracks that fit this category and they are all used to great effect in game when they are needed.

Graphics - 10/10
For an indie title worth less than 60 bucks, this game is confounding. The art is sublime and alone would make one think this is a $60 AAA title. If you don't mind dark and dreary (initially), this game will constantly blow you away with its environs.

Replayability / Difficulty to 100% - 8/10
Hollow Knight asks a lot of you. The hardest acheivement in the game is to 100% the game without dying. For most people, this is going to take several runs of extreme stress along with full mastery of the combat (boss rush would help here). While the game is excellent for a normal playthrough, I wouldn't recommend 100%'ing it unless you consider yourself an extremely skilled gamer.

Do you like action games? Do you like games that are like Link to the Past but with more combat? Do you like any games in the Dark Souls series? Then Hyper Light Drifter is the game for you. If this game has a flaw, it would be that it's takes too little time to 100% the game but other than that it is a solid game and well worth the money if you fall into all of the above categories.