Recent reviews by pulseohyeah

A fantastic rhythm game experience. One of the things I was most worried about when purchasing this game was that it would eventually prove too difficult for me to beat. I consider myself great at most games, though rhythm games that require fast tapping are not my forte. This game is nice enough to give you a difficulty slope that you can climb up slowly; levels start out extremely easy and gradually use more and more difficult patterns, but never reach the point where they are unbeatable.

In terms of content, there are 12 main levels, a bonus level, a selection of Muse Dash levels, and a selection of developer's choice community levels, as well as a separate community level creator/browser where you can create or play custom levels. I'm going to focus on the main levels, since I haven't played any of the special content. Each of the main levels gives you several short tutorials before you end up playing the level itself; these serve to teach you some mechanics that will appear in the level that would otherwise throw you off. You can also practice any level on the fly, though you can only practice from the beginning of the level to slightly past your furthest attempt. Each level also has a speed challenge where you are required to beat the level at a faster pace, though you can slowly bump up the speed to make the transition to the goal speed easier.

I mentioned difficulty before; each level is fair and fun, with levels becoming increasingly difficult as you progress. If you consider yourself good at most games, you shouldn't have much of a challenge beating the main levels, though some speed challenges may prove difficult. The bonus level in particular is the fastest and most difficult level in the main game, though it is only required if you plan on getting all of the achievements. There is a bit of artificial difficulty that stems from the visual effects that some levels have, though they are never overbearing, and you end up getting used to them. The developers seemed to want the game to be more of a fun, engaging experience rather than a hardcore rhythm game for Osu! professionals, which I personally appreciate. I enjoyed every one of the main levels. Except for the Jungle City speed challenge. That ♥♥♥♥ blows.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone looking for a new game to scratch that rhythm itch. If you're looking for casual fun, most of the levels will suit your needs. If you're looking for a brutally difficult challenge, the speed challenges, special levels, and community levels fit that definition. Or if you're like me and you're just looking for an equally fun/challenging rhythm game, you've come to the right place.

Just Shapes & Beats is a great game with a good amount of content for its price. The game prides itself on its accessibility. If you simply want to experience the game, the story mode is a great place to start; it's fun, provides a moderate challenge, and has a decent length (~4 hours). If you're looking for a challenge, you can try to get a perfect rank (S) on individual tracks, which requires never taking damage. If you're looking to play with other people, you can play the challenge mode, which places you and up to three other players against a set of two normal tracks and a boss fight. You can play challenge mode either online with strangers or your friends or offline with local co-op. You can also choose to set a playlist of songs of your choice, which you can play through alone or with your local friends. Keep in mind that some songs are locked behind certain requirements, such as earning a certain number of points or getting a high rank on all boss stages, though these locked songs can still be randomly encountered in the challenge mode. Overall, Just Shapes & Beats is a fun music game with a little bit of something for everyone.

Repentance takes an already amazing game and turns it into something that much more incredible. It's very important to mention that this DLC is incredibly hard. If that's not your style, I recommend that you play on Normal difficulty. It's a much more forgiving experience that still allows you to interact with all of the best parts of the DLC, such as the huge number of items that were added; all of them are unique and fun to use (aside from a couple of exceptions; looking at you, IBS). It seems as though more items were added by the DLC than in actuality because of the various reworks to existing items to improve some flaws and change the game's overall meta. For example, White Pony (Conquest's pony item) has a two-room recharge instead of its prior six, and brings down holy rays along the path you dash instead of randomly around the room, making it a much better item than it previously was.

There are some reworks that should be discussed. When rerolling your items through the D4, D100, or similar methods, health upgrades you roll into will no longer provide filled hearts and will instead be empty unless you previously had that much health. In addition to this, your health will be decreased if you have fewer health items than you did before rerolling. This makes these items more balanced instead of being instant run winners, but overall less fun. These rerolling changes were probably made so that Tainted Eden could be a character. 20/20 now gives you a permanent x0.75 damage multiplier. Tech X now scales its damage with how much it is charged before firing. Brimstone now hits 9 times on a single charge instead of 13. These sorts of nerfs, while understandable due to how powerful the items previously were, are difficult to justify when you compare them to some other changes. Most notably, Mega Mush, an item with a 12-room reusable recharge that gigantifies you for 30 seconds, making you invincible and allowing you to do 1,600 contact damage per second, can show up in treasure rooms. But 20/20 did too much damage, so it had to be nerfed.... (also please don't nerf Mega Mush, it's really fun even if it is OP)

I might be making fun of the game's balancing changes, but while they might be confusing and inconsistent, that's just Isaac in general for you. Sometimes you play and demolish absolutely every enemy for the rest of the run after getting Ipecac in your first treasure room. Sometimes you don't get a damage up until you pick up Bozo from one of the four starting chests in the Chest. It happens. I also mentioned several bad changes but very few good ones, so don't think every change was bad. There are so many good changes in this DLC that I could list off for an hour, but to sum it up, every item is at least decent, and so many items that used to be decent are now way better.

I believe the worst problem with the DLC is that it was rushed. Repentance had been delayed several times already; announcing the release date stopped the developers from pushing it back any further, and as a result there is a significant lack of polish regarding many items and characters in the game. Some examples:

• Quitting and returning to a run as Tainted Jacob when you are the Lost results you staying as the Lost for the remainder of the run.
  
• After exiting a run in the DELETE THIS challenge, returning to the run crashes your game.
  
• Using the Joker card in the Mirrored World crashes your game.
  
• As Tainted Jacob, the Mega Satan fight will not spawn the harbingers until Dark Esau has been killed.
  
• Birthright does absolutely nothing when picked up by many different characters.
  
• Tainted Lazarus is unfinished, and as a result is much more difficult than intended.

These sorts of bugs are everywhere, and are the worst part of the DLC. I'm sure many of them will be fixed in the future, so I will update my review if they are.

If you do purchase this DLC, understand that you are buying a product that is about 90% complete. It lacks polish, and some features are currently unfinished. However, you can definitely see the passion that the developers have for the game in the monstrous creativity that the DLC brings with it: Hundreds of new items/trinkets and existing item changes, dozens of bosses, entire floors of enemies, some absolutely incredible characters, and a banger soundtrack that I listen to on a daily basis. I've been playing Isaac for years, and it's refreshing to play what feels like an entirely new game. If you agree, disagree, or want to mention something, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Repentance if you've played it or seen gameplay of it, and if you're not going to purchase it, I'd like to hear why. I implore you to give it a shot if you're on the fence. The developers put their heart and soul into this game, and it's come a long way from the Flash era.

DARQ is a short puzzle game with a dark, horrific atmosphere. Although the game is very short—I finished the main story, including the free DLC, in about two hours—the overall experience is very enjoyable. The puzzles themselves aren't difficult if you have a decent memory. I wouldn't say the game is worth $20 just because it's so short, but what you get is a lot of fun.

Polarity is a poor puzzle game. Mechanically, gameplay is simple; you pick up cubes and throw them into circles that activate a door, platform, or bounce pad. You occasionally switch "polarity," AKA color, to go through gates or lasers. The puzzles are never difficult; you shouldn't have to spend more than ten minutes on any of them. You can beat the entire single-player campaign, including bonus levels, in less than two hours.

There are three reasons why I'm not recommending this game. The first and most pertinent reason for me is the terrible delay between mouse movement and camera movement. It's so bad that my eyes hurt and I feel nauseous after playing for just fifteen minutes. I don't know whether this was an issue with the game or my setup, but it made me dread playing. The second reason is the price tag. Offering two hours of mediocre gameplay for $12.99 is robbery. If the game was well-polished and fleshed out, the price would be debatable. Unfortunately, Polarity feels like the beta version of a game that was developed in about a month by a single person, which brings us to the third reason: poor gameplay. You don't get much content out of the game, and what you do get is far too easy and just generally unfun. While playing, I couldn't help but continue thinking, "Is it almost over?"

Overall, Polarity is not much fun. It's definitely not worth its current price; I would pay at most $4.99 for it, though $1.99 seems like a good price. There are much better alternatives. Braid, for example, is an incredible game for only two dollars more. If I were you, I'd skip Polarity in favor of a polished experience.

I go into Sonic games with a vastly different mindset than other games. I expect them to have bad stories and decent dialogue but conversely solid controls and fun gameplay. Unfortunately, the best thing Sonic Lost World has going for it is either the soundtrack (which is honestly very mediocre) or the CGI intro cutscene, which looks great. Aside from that, there's not much to like. This game has a lot of problems.

I would say that the worst thing about the game is how Sonic controls, which isn't a good sign. The controls feel terrible for many reasons: a lack of air control, slow spin dash, dedicated run button, and new parkour mechanics, all of which make playing the game awkward. The game's story isn't great, but it never really is in Sonic games. What's truly horrendous is the dialogue. While Mike Pollock (Eggman) is typically able to carry with his amazing voice, and Sonic's voice is usually pretty decent/good, every character in this game besides Eggman is incredibly annoying.

All of the above problems, combined with levels that are often confusing and misleading in design, add up to one truly painful experience. I dragged myself through the five hours of gameplay hoping it would get better, and it rarely did. If you're on the fence, just play Sonic Mania or Sonic Generations. Both of those games are a ton of fun.

EDIT: I played this game with a controller. I don't know how easy keyboard controls are to use, but these sort of games typically almost require using a controller with how bad their keyboard controls are. Don't say I didn't warn you. In addition to the other weapons I describe below, you can also use bows, guns, and cannons as ranged weapons, but the majority of your time will be spent using a melee weapon.

Nioh is a linear, story-driven, souls-like game based in feudal Japan. You play as William, an Irish-born English pirate who sails to Japan in search of his guardian spirit Saoirse, who was stolen from him by an alchemist named Edward Kelley. The game's story revolves around William's search, with him meeting various allies and enemies along the way. The story is decent; though confusing at times, it serves its purpose.

There are a total of 7 different weapon types in Nioh: katanas, dual katanas, spears, axes, kusarigama, odachi, and tonfas. You can also use your fists if you'd like. Each weapon type has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it's worth experimenting in the early game in order to find which weapon types suit your playstyle most. Each weapon has its own skillset with some skills being shared between weapons. You can choose to use your weapon in three different stances: low stance, mid stance, and high stance. Stances emphasize different weapon characteristics, such as speed or damage, and can be freely interchanged. The game also has magic and ninjutsu, though I barely scraped the surface of these categories, so I can't say much about them.

Combat in the game takes some getting used to. When I first played the game, it took me several hours to beat the first area, and I consider myself well-versed in souls-like games. You have to get the hang of the game's unique mechanics, such as Ki pulsing, where you recover a portion of your stamina after an attack with a well-timed button press. Learning these mechanics takes time, and you should be prepared to die many times before you get the hang of combat.

Enemy variety is by far the weakest area of the game. After the first couple of areas, you've seen all of the enemies the game has to offer, with new bosses being your only saving grace. This is my biggest gripe with Nioh; the lack of enemy variety makes combat repetitive. I suggest that you only do some of the side quests to help mitigate this problem. Many of the side quests take place in already completed areas with the same enemies, which can quickly bore you if you're trying to do every quest.

Just about every enemy drops weapons or armor on death, and you're meant to switch to this gear when it is better than yours. If you find gear you particularly like, you can opt to upgrade it at the blacksmith by increasing its level to that of higher level gear or by modifying its attributes. This system is interesting, and allows for many different weapon builds.

One of my favorite parts of my game is the customization options you have for your appearance. You can modify the appearance of any weapon of piece of armor to that of another. Basically, you can make yourself look however you want. This feature is awesome, and I wish more games had it. Often in other games such as Monster Hunter, I'll find myself not using a weapon or set of armor simply because it looks stupid. Thankfully in Nioh I can use whatever I want, choosing my own fashion.

I don't have much to say about the level design; it struck me as neither great nor poor. The soundtrack is pleasant and suits the game well.

Overall, Nioh is a pretty fun game with extremely difficult combat. Be prepared to die many times before you master combat, and don't expect the game to get any easier. Enemy variety is unfortunately a big issue, though if you don't try to complete every quest, you might not notice it as much as I did. If you do end up playing the game, try an odachi out. An odachi is a gigantic katana with heavy slashes, and it makes you feel like a total badass. But if it's not your thing, no hard feelings.

While Pid has very attractive visuals and a great soundtrack, they don't do much to distract from the maddening controls and incredibly slow-paced gameplay. Perhaps if you moved a bit faster, and there wasn't such a heavy limit on your consumables, and certain areas of the game were reworked or even entirely removed, the game would be more fun. Unfortunately, these problems exist, and they are incredibly obtrusive. The game is hard, and not in a good way, where it is only the player's fault when they are killed. In Pid, the player can blame a death on shoddy controls, intrusive consumable limits, confusing platforming, questionable hitboxes, etc. Level design rarely makes sense, and is sometimes entirely thrown out the window in favor of convenience. You will walk towards a bright cave at the end of a dark labyrinth and enter a restaurant kitchen. The final level of the game has enemies so carelessly strewn about the screen that I almost thought I was playing a nine-year-old child's Mario Maker level. I bought the game when it went on sale because its trailer was superb, but the blended mishmash that is its gameplay almost makes me wish I'd spent my dollar on a candy bar instead.

Just... terrible. I don't know how to explain in a short way how it's bad, so here's a list of problems I had:

• Swinging your weapon starts incredibly slowly; even with the lighter swords it still takes almost a second
  
• The screen shakes terribly, and you can't turn it off; sometimes it's unbearable, but you just have to suck it up
  
• Backstabs take incredibly long to finish and also viciously quake the screen
  
• Many enemies can tank your hits without staggering; paired with slow swing speeds this makes fighting just annoying
  
• You get a rechargeable ranged weapon early on that makes bosses and enemies trivial, just shoot and walk backwards
  
• Checkpoints refill SOME of your health potions. Why this was even considered a good design decision, I can't fathom. There is absolutely no reason I can imagine for this to be a thing.
  
• Enemies frequently glitch and appear above you, or appear to teleport
  
• The story is very forgettable; I can't remember what the game was about, just that some dude was evil and abandoned his people
  
• Dodging is incredibly slow if you like wearing armor, and you better time the hell out of your dodges, because you only get i-frames during the small part of your roll where you're actually rolling, and not when you press the button, or on wake-up. This means that you will have to predict when your enemy will attack and dodge early, and if you're off time, oops. However, this places more emphasis on shielding attacks! Unfortunately...
  
• Your shield does not activate immediately upon pressing the button; you have to raise it up first. This means that you must play defensively, holding your shield up often in order to avoid taking damage, which lowers stamina regeneration.
  
• Combat in general seems to force you into playing the defensive, rather than the offensive. If you're a fan of this, then good for you; I am not. You HAVE to wait until the enemy attacks to block and then attack, otherwise you WILL get hit. You HAVE to dodge early, but not too early in order to roll through attacks, otherwise you WILL get hit. Forcing your already slow character into a situation where you must simply wait for an attack to hit you before attacking yourself makes combat painfully annoying.
  
• Most enemies have massive pools of health, making them simply annoying to fight against. I ended up just running past many of the later-game sponges rather than fighting them because there wasn't any point.
  
• None of the bosses were fun to fight. Absolutely none of them. You can run away and shoot them for a free win, or you can try close-range combat (which I tended to favor), which leads to getting hit by attacks that shouldn't have hit you.

This is me writing a review several months after beating the game. I sat down and beat it in a single day, and can't imagine paying anything more than $10 for it. If you're looking for similar games that are actually good, try any of the Dark Souls games, or Ashen, which I haven't personally played but have heard is great. If you think I'm just a cynic and still want to try the game, or you disagree, let me know. It has been a long time since I played the game, so maybe I got some things wrong.

Braid is a fairly short, beautiful puzzle game made by the same person behind the Witness (another solid puzzler). The game's puzzles are based around traversing through time, though I'll leave it at that as part of the fun is discovering the various unique ways in which this feature is implemented. There is a story, though it's up to interpretation, and it's more so just told through a collection of strange quotes or short stories. The world, your character, and enemies all look as if they were painted into existence; it's a very unique art style, and a gorgeous one at that. The choice of music used is very fitting, and the majority of the songs are calm and relaxing, with an added bonus of just being good. Speaking of which, here's one of my favorites!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4tEhqQGTBs

Overall, Braid is a fantastic game, and an experience I don't think any puzzle lover should pass up. It may not be the longest game, but the time you do spend playing is made all the sweeter for it.