Every Games Amazing

Category: Articles

This the normal everyday blog posts about gaming.

Is Returnal Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Is Returnal Amazing?
Watch this video on YouTube.
Returnal is a PlayStation 5 powerhouse showing the true potential of the console with all the bells and whistles you could hope for.
Crashlanding on the unknown and creepy world of Atropos, Selene is forced to find a way off of the planet that just won’t let go.
Starting with a simple mission to find an unknown signal and evolving too so much more.
Returnal Video TimeStamps:
- Returning into Returnal (0:00)
- Exploring Atropos (1:10)
- Let’s Enter the House (22:50)
- Back to Exploring (28:45)
- Is Returnal Amazing? (42:50)
Table of Contents
Let’s return as many times as it takes to discover whether Returnal is amazing or just another roguelike with a cycle that isn’t worth repeating.
The PlayStation 5 Allows Returnal to Breathe
Hold in halfway to aim, fully pull in the trigger to zoom
Returnal is a masterclass in how to show all aspects of a console without being overbearing.
From simple things to feeling the different terrain beneath your feet with the DualSense. Each gun has a different vibration.
In the first biome of the game it’s always raining and foreboding so on top of the ground you also feel the rain hitting Selene, it’s awesome, to say the least.
You feel everything thanks to the DualSense
No two weapons are equal each one feels different to use whether it be the adaptive triggers or even the grips rumble.
Hold the trigger halfway to aim and then fully zoom in, this adds a nice mix for the combat. Allow you to be engaged and feel like you are in the fight.
This evolves into each gun having a secondary attack that you can choose how to add to your fight.
Loading the entire game in under 5 seconds with a cutscene feels next-gen
When you die and a run needs to restart you watch a quick 5-second cutscene of Selene crashing into the planet and boom you’re back in the fight.
This continues to the teleporters throughout the run, just click where you want to go, and boom instantly loaded into that specific area so you can go another way or pick up a missed item.
Game Loop Over and Over Again
Let’s dive into what the true loop of Retuanal is
Back when this video was originally recorded before Patch 2.0 that allows you to save runs if the game had an update or you restarted the console you would just lose that run.
This has been resolved but it was a pain back when the game launched originally, I make note of this in the video (2:18) but it isn’t a problem anymore so I wanted to point it out.
Every run in Returnal you start with the pistol as a default as you make progress you will get permanent unlocks that stay with you forever.
This includes the melee weapon which can be used to gather material and the grapple hook to reach higher places. As well as others you find throughout your journey.
Every run is unique even though you may run into the same looking area as your last run the order will be completely different as so may the enemies.
All the runs feel unique and special, sort of like a mini or long story showcased in that run.
Some runs you may not make it a few rooms before losing but at the very least you’ll come out with something to show for it even if it’s just knowledge of what not to do.
As you explore you’ll find more new resources to help your journey
As you progress through Returnal it will unlock more and more areas for each biome that you’ve never seen before. This makes earlier sections feel fuller and more fun rather than repetitive.
As you progress you’ll find glyphs and ciphers to help decode and translate alien languages, it helps bring the world to life.
There is no ammo thankfully so you are free to test the waters in any fight without the fear of getting stuck it’s a bullet hell shooter.
There’s a Gears of War active reload, tons of bullets flying every which way, quick dodge, a kill count multiplier where you do more damage the better you play, better weapons constantly, upgrades, and even downgrades.
This may sound like a lot of things but they all mesh together well and feel coherent and when you’re in the zone you’ll make snap decisions.
I’m trying to lay everything out about the game but I don’t think the video is long enough
Adrenaline is a big part of the overall gameplay to Returnal the more enemies you take out the higher it goes and only drops if you take damage.
It’s a fun system that keeps you on you’re toes and will allow you to become extremely powerful if you’re run is going well.
Another aspect is the chests throughout the world and biomes that you’ll come in contact with, usually with some downsides.
You’ll come across many chests it’s your call whether to open them
They are a high risk-reward but almost always worth opening as you’ll get a higher grade weapon or a powerful upgrade that will help you in your run.
If you find a Malignant container then it will damage your suit in some way or give you a task to complete to fix it. You may also get lucky and come out clean with your new piece of gear, it’s random.
At 7:40 in the video, the chest I open gives me an upgraded version of the gun I’m currently using, however, I now suffer damage when I collect an item. Was it worth it, probably not; I am not a big fan of the Rotgland Lobber. To fix it I need to collect an Artifact to fix my suit. Risk as well as reward always keeping you on your toes.
Diving a little deeper you have consumables as well as run-standing items, you can only hold a few consumables at a time so it’s a use it or loses it situation.
The last thing to point out is the currency as this is per run and can be used to purchase single-run upgrades. Ether can be used to clean up chests from malignant and the like.
Boss Fights and Something About a House?
The first of many bosses throughout the game
The boss fights in Returnal are always great milestones and put you to the test.
The best part is that you can skip some of them if you’ve beaten them before as you can just find the next biome teleporter instead of the boss’s lair.
Big health bar, tons of bullets, and the first boss sets the tone for further into the game itself, if you aren’t prepared or are having a good run then odds are you’re run is ending here.
The further you get into a run the more ruthless the bosses become and the first one sets the bar.
I still have no idea the full secrets this house has within
Let’s take a detour and go into an old and creepy house that holds most of the secrets that the game has to offer.
I won’t go too deep with everything about the house because it’s probably the best part of the entire game in my opinion.
Going into the first person you walk around a house PT style to explore, pick up random objects, and get some lore that’s just as confusing as everything else in the game.
You learn a bit about Selene’s back story along with some of the coolest setpieces.
Pretty much just stands there breathing, all scary like
There is a constant throughout with the astronaut that follows you around but I won’t say anything because I don’t want to dare spoil the payoff.
After every house visit, you do get a permanent upgrade so it’s always worth doing if you run into the house.
For example in the video at 28:50 I got a Music Box that plays a sound when secrets are nearby which was useful.
Is Returnal Amazing?
Is Returnal Amazing?
Returnal is amazing, not a doubt in my mind especially after Patch 2.0 was released to fix the major glaring flaw with the saved runs.
Taking into account all the other Roguelikes I have played (Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Rogue Legacy, Spelunky, and Don’t Starve to name a few) Returnal is the new gold standard.
Taking all the perks of running off the PlayStation 5 hardware and utilizing them in fun and adaptive ways brings this to the forefront of a great game as well as a fantastic gameplay experience.
The original game to impress me this much was Astros playroom when looking at the PlayStation 5 and DualSense.
Having runs that could last a few minutes to a couple of hours is what makes the entire package so special and always a dice roll.
Is Returnal Amazing?
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January 18, 2022
Is Fuzion Frenzy Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Is Fuzion Frenzy Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Watch this video on YouTube.
Fuzion frenzy came out back in 2001 as Xbox’s competitor to the insanely popular Mario Party.
Back when the original Xbox was the system, I played a lot of Fuzion Frenzy, mainly the Twisted System minigame.
I wear my nostalgia glasses heavily while I replayed a few rounds by jumping back in as my main Zak.
Unravel Video TimeStamps:
Table of Contents
Choose your character, pick up the Duke, login in to Xbox Live and let’s find out if Fuzion Frenzy is amazing all these years later.
It’s a Mini-Game Collection to Be Specific
This is the best a video game menu could get back in 2001
If you’ve ever played a Mario Party or any kind of party game you’ll feel right at home.
Fuzion Frenzy does away with a board or dice rolls and purely focuses on the mini-games.
Rather than collecting items or thinking about the best way to approach a map, you’re tasked with winning the games and collecting crystals for the end-all Fuzion Frenzy.
There are a ton of mini-games, there’s gotta be something in there worth playing!
You pick how many stages you want to play between 2, 4, and 6 then pick your character and you’re in the game.
I always pick Zak as my go-to character, not sure why just always been a Zak fan.
Each stage consists of 3 mini-games than the big final round which is appropriately named Fuzion Frenzy.
Based on how well you play the mini-games you’ll have more orbs to bet
The goal is to have the most orbs at the end of the game and it’s a fun risk-reward system that makes you consider how wisely to bet.
With all that boilerplate out of the way let’s dive into the gameplay of the giant variety of mini-games you’ll get to play.
Mini-Gameplay Collection
Have you played Snake? Have you played multiplayer Snake?
Fuzion Frenzy at its core is all about the gameplay from all the various mini-games packed in.
This is, of course, a two-way street, on one hand, there is a lot of variety, on the other hand, it’s not very fun or original.
Going back to the Mario Party comparison you can look at it and see so much unique, crazy gameplay that keeps you coming back.
With Fuzion Frenzy, sure there’s a lot of mini-games but if they’re copy-pasted then that isn’t very rewarding or fun to sink time into.
Throughout the review, I play several mini-games that are very similar with a few alterations.
There is little difference between them
Take Trailer Blazers for example and then look at Laser Snare, they are pretty much the same mini-game just with one alteration.
The graphics map and everything are identical you’re just circling little icons rather than avoiding the competition’s ever-growing tails.
Then youtube to the big show stopper the final part of the stage, the big grand finale that is always the same just on a slightly different map; Fuzion Frenzy itself.
The Fuzion Frenzy maps are pretty much all the same with a few different obstacles
The idea is to run around the map and collect orbs that match your color.
Take them to the center to cash them in, rinse and repeat until the time runs out.
You can stack orbs to get a bigger payout as well as hit opposing players to take their orbs and get a bigger score, some levels even have traps.
It’s a fun finale but it can get old quickly.
Is Fuzion Frenzy Amazing?
Hunter Armada Fuzion Frenzy Question
Fuzion Frenzy is not amazing, I liked it back when it came out, but it just does not hold up after all this time. Especially when looking at the timeless Mario Party.
With a lot of the mini-games being slight alterations, the city backdrop being boring, and not much replay value when you can just play your favorite mini-games it just doesn’t keep your attention past a few rounds.
I did have fun jumping back into the frenzy, but I’m ready to jump back out and play something that will hold my attention after a quick round or two.
Fuzion Frenzy is not amazing!
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July 20, 2021
Is Peggle 2 Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Is Peggle 2 Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Watch this video on YouTube.
Peggle 2 surprises and dazzles with some truly creative gameplay as well as just being pure fun from start to finish.
From the fast-paced levels to the surprising characters you’ll meet along your journey it’s a nonstop puzzle thrill ride that will leave you wanting more.
It’s straightforward, rewarding, and challenging as can be without taking the wind out of your sails.
Unravel Video TimeStamps:
Table of Contents
Let’s grab some balls, pick out our favorite character (Bjorn the unicorn!), and clear some levels in Peggle 2 to find out if it’s amazing.
Would You Look at All Those Colors
From the second you start up Peggle 2 your in a world of colors
Filled with color, life and so much character Peggle 2 isn’t afraid to constantly keep you engaged and entertained.
All the characters in the game have so much personality and keep it entertaining which I truly enjoy.
I have often played a puzzle game that throws you onto the same screen with minor differences and repeatedly asks you to do the same thing.
The main part is the board, but there’s so much to look at and enjoy around the gameplay
There’s a ton of variety here all served up with a rock-solid gameplay style that just keeps the fun coming.
You’ll start at castles with large hills and go all the way to snowy mountains and even underground caverns.
All with their unique spins on the standard gameplay in way of the character chosen.
Every character has a fun short introduction
Taking Gnorman as an example you can see the origin of the character in a nice brief cutscene that introduces you to the upcoming levels.
It all boils down to some great high-quality fluff around the edges of a masterful puzzle game, something you tend to not see in games of this nature.
It’s a welcome surprise to elevate the entire package, but what about the gameplay?
Fun Is the Name of the Puzzle Game
So you have these puzzles and this cannon that shoots balls
The entire point of Peggle 2 is to shoot a ball at the orange-colored dots, once they’re all cleared you move onto the next level.
You have a cannon and aim to help you out, plus the character’s special powers.
For example, the Unicorn (Bjorn the best character) can show you where the ball is going to bounce after it hits its first dot.
That is one focused unicorn I must say
Hitting blue dots gets you points and clears the board.
Hitting orange dots are needed to clear the level and move forward.
Finally, green dots get you the character’s special power to be used for a few turns, they also stack so you can keep it going.
At the bottom, you have a moving bucket that if a ball lands into you get a free ball, you can also get more balls by racking up points.
Each level also has some extra tasks that you can attempt to complete if you’re looking for that extra challenge.
One extra caveat that I will say is that you never feel like you’re bad at the game, this is where I think that the levels are rigged in some way.
I took several shots that just should not have been possible but wow does it feel good when you nail them.
The entire goal of the game is to make you feel special and it hits a home run every single time.
Although the best part of the entire experience is when you beat a level.
The incredible feeling of finishing a level is the best part of the entire experience
Every single time you beat a level the amount of over-the-top hype is crazy real.
Creating explosions, slowing down the ball, playing intense music, fireworks, character hype and everything else comes together in one fireball of a finale.
Bringing style to the forefront and making you feel like a true gaming master each time you complete the next challenge.
Level to level you’re going to be filled with so much excitement it’s hard to put the game down until there’s nothing new for you to play.
It’s a puzzle game that defies expectations but understands fun and does everything it can to keep you engaged.
Is Peggle 2 Amazing?
The level of hype from finishing a level cannot be matched
Peggle 2 is amazing, there is no doubt in my mind from the second I looked at the starting menu I knew I was in for a ride.
Going above and beyond in terms of immersion on a scale that brings fun center stage and keeps you moving forward at a rapid almost crazy pace.
You won’t have any time to put it down as it keeps you engaged, moving forward, and most importantly having fun.
Peggle 2 is amazing!
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July 6, 2021
Is Unravel Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Is Unravel Amazing? (Review and Impressions)
Watch this video on YouTube.
Unravel is a side scroller with a unique twist starring a wonderful character named Yarny.
Yarny being made of… well, yarn, helps create a nice grounded experience while also making the gameplay engaging and fun.
Traveling to many different locations, getting a sense of the grander world, and solving puzzles is the core idea behind this side scroller.
Unravel Video TimeStamps:
Table of Contents
Grab your favorite colored yarn (green!) and let’s find out if Unravel is amazing!
Want to make your own Yarny like the one in the video? EA has an awesome guide that I would say is worth trying!
The World Brings Streamlined Exploration
The level select is a nice little house where you go through pictures
The world of Unravel is showcased via picture frames that house pictures whose intent is to warp you to all different kinds of locations.
Yarny is on a journey to collect various tiny yarn creations by completing the many levels throughout.
Each level corresponds to the house owner’s life. As you journey you slowly fill out a picture book as Yarny.
It’s chill and says a lot with a little. Yarny has no dialog or voice of any kind, only “talking” with movements.
After every level, you fill out the picture book more and more
In the video, we go through a level titled “Mountain Trek” which is fitting to its name as you go on a trek through some mountainous terrain.
Starting in the tail end of the forest, as each level leads into each other, we slowly go through various mountain trials as one example.
From dangerous wildlife to risky cliffs, this level shows all the different styles of gameplay you can expect throughout your time with Unravel.
Throughout all the levels you’ll collect various memories
Memories are throughout every level. They aren’t hidden collectibles, just nice backdrops to give more life to the levels.
The collectibles in each level are just little puzzles and offscreen trinkets you can find with a bit of extra effort.
Yarny Is a True Explorer
Yarny isn’t held back in any way from traversing the world
Yarny is a force to be reckoned with and isn’t fazed by anything in his path, without a nose or mouth there isn’t much to stop him; other than water.
Water is the big obstacle as you can drown fairly easily, so many of the puzzles revolve around avoiding water.
But you do have ways to traverse despite how hard it may seem at first glance.
Since Yarny is always connected to the starting point you have a limited amount of yarn to work with overall. Use it all up and you’re stuck.
You’re going to have to get creative to solve some of these puzzles
The yarn can be used to create bridges to cross gaps and lift heavy objects. Swing from tree branches, hold onto plastic bags, and even pull down levers.
The amount of creativity on display is impressive and it is always exciting when a simple mechanic is pushed to the limit, always feeling fresh and exciting at every level.
Yarny is a true explorer. The world has a feeling of craftiness at every turn. It feels organic, which is a true joy.
Is Unravel Amazing?
Is Yarny enough to bring this all together?
Unravel is amazing, Yarny is such a fun creation and the level design is incredibly well throughout!
The core gameplay works well with the world created and the yarn limiting mechanic adds a nice weight to all the puzzles, even if there’s one solution.
Yarny is a great character that says a lot with a little, a truly surprising game where you can just take a step back and chill out with some yarn.
Unravel is amazing!
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June 22, 2021
Is The Gardens Between Amazing? (Review)
Is the Gardens Between Amazing? (Review)
Watch this video on YouTube.
The Gardens Between tells a story without any text or dialog, it allows the characters to breathe and bring everything together.
Arina and Frendt are taken from their treehouse and thrown into an unknown world with some puzzles keeping them from returning home.
The way the gameplay is laid out is what makes The Gardens Between stand out.
The Gardens Between Video TimeStamps:
- Time, It’s Confusing (0:00)
- Is The Gardens Between Amazing? (17:50)
Table of Contents
Let’s bunker down in a treehouse and dive into the unknown to see if The Gardens Between is amazing.
The Characters Say a Lot With No Dialog
Two Heros just looking for a way home
Arian and Frendt get transported into another mystical world one day while playing in their treehouse. A simple premise that is conveyed through movement and facial expressions.
There isn’t too much text and no dialog, which I think is a refreshing way to tell a story. One that gets the point across through the graphics and gameplay alone.
You’re in a world and you want to go home, that’s the start and finish of it.
All these questions are answered without a word of dialog
From level to level everything has so much charm as well as character, simply through the design.
There are a lot of questions that anyone would have as soon as you start up the game, but they get answered as you play. Some of the core questions that stood out to me are:
- What happened?
- Why are they in this new world?
- What is going on?
- Why is everything part of this world?
I enjoy a game that takes this approach and has the player guessing as to what the heck is going on.
When the game is paused it shows a nice panoramic view of the level and all the little details that just make it so much fun to look at.
Puzzle Solving Time Control
One thumbstick and a button are all you need to be a puzzle-solving master
As you jump from level to level you’re going to be controlling time to solve every puzzle.
The coolest aspect is that all the character interactions are set ahead of time. It is up to you to change the flow of how they act.
Frendt takes notice of a TV remote and he’ll rewind the tape which plays interestingly into the over dynamic of the puzzle.
From reverting Jenga pieces that have fallen over to taking control of a TV, it’s all front and center. All you need to do is move the thumbstick left and right to forward and rewind time.
The Orb is the most important aspect of every level
From there you can pick up Orbs to create bridges and ultimately solve the level.
The world is filled with everything found in the treehouse and it all loops together to create all the levels.
After you solve all the levels of a set you get a nice cutscene showing the characters sit around and have fun.
It’s a nice reward before going to the next level and doing it all over again.
Is The Gardens Between Amazing?
Time Control is always fun
The Gardens Between is amazing, it’s a truly refreshing take on a puzzle game.
The puzzles are challenging but not overly brutal and each level only lasts a couple of minutes. There’s so much character and visual splendor that you’ll just want to play more and more in that time.
Seeing that each solution brings Arina and Frednt closer and closer to going back home.
It’s a fun time and I highly recommend it, I know I had a ton of fun manipulating time!
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June 8, 2021
Is Concrete Genie Amazing? (Review)
Concrete Genie allows anyone to be an amazing painter and bring their creations to life with a full suite of painting tools.
Throwing Ash into the world of Denska that could use some color from its sad dark state.
You are on a mission to fill the world with your creations and utilize your imagination to the fullest in order to bring the world to life.
Is Concrete Genie Amazing? (Review)
Watch this video on YouTube.
Video Timestamps
Table of Contents
Grab a paintbrush, get that creativity flowing, and let’s find out if Concrete Genie is a masterpiece.
Painting the World of Denska
The freedom in painting whatever you want is easily the highlight of the game
Denska is a city that is devoid of life, color, and well, anything you can think of that would exist in the sunshine.
The city has fallen on some hard times and after Ash visits a lighthouse he creates Luna.
Luna is Ash’s first creation and the original Genie in the world.
From there it’s up to Ash to restore Denska to its original glory after many years of struggling.
It acts as the main overworld to the game with a hint of open-world but it is mainly linear with giant spaces for you to traverse and paint on everything.
You will go through a variety of locations, like the docks and sewers, solving puzzles and creating a wide variety of Genies.
While not the most exciting it is a fun diversion
There are collectibles to find and billboards to cover in paint, but the main draw is the lights and many pages throughout the world.
When you paint around the world you have specific paint templates you can use. As well as finding more pages that open up more fun things to use.
Just What’s in a Paintbrush?
You can bring life to a variety of Genies to help you throughout your adventure
The main point may be to bring Denska back to life but the fun comes from painting on everything.
Ash has a giant paintbrush to paint on walls to get further into the city.
You create electric and wind-style Genies to solve puzzles and help Ash on his adventure.
It can be a bit weird since you can call them to your location and a trigger causes them to act.
The electric Genie can start power boxes, so you need to get them to a power box and after a few seconds just hit it with a jolt.
A Wind Genie will push objects out of your way, which is helpful to make certain jumps.
The Genies are extremely powerful be sure to watch out!
I wish that there was a dedicated button to call and have the Genie do an action, rather than just counting on the event to trigger.
It slows down the gameplay to sit and wait for the Genie to realize it is in position, rather than just pressing a button.
Although the Genies are stuck to the wall, it adds to the puzzle element if they can’t reach your destination.
In this case, you would need to move something or close a door for them to pass to where they’re needed.
The core to progression is tied into lighting all of the lightbulbs in a single area, then moving forward and doing it again.
It’s cool to always have a blank canvas to paint on in the city, so let’s move on to discussing it!
Super Paint is the Ultimate Paint
Super Paint makes Painting even more fun!
One of the core mechanics of the game is utilizing Super Paint to paint on certain services.
As you explore the world you’ll come across these dark sections of walls that can’t be painted on by just using normal means.
You’ll need a special Super Paint to paint on these particular walls.
All Genies have special tasks, it’s up to you if you want to help them out!
To get Super Paint you need to help Genies with random requests that pop up. As you play a Genie could ask you to paint something specific in a given area.
If a Genie asks for some stars, just paint some near it and you’ll make it happy. Then you’ll be rewarded with Super Paint!
It’s nice because what you need to paint always flashes white on the menu, so you don’t need to worry about trying multiple solutions!
Throw in the fact that you can paint anything you want around the requests and your imagination can go wild!
Once you have Super Paint you can paint on the special walls and get those out-of-reach lights, once all the lights are lit comes the fun part.
Building a Masterpiece and Avoiding the Bullies
The Masterpiece sections are the coolest part of the entire game
At the end of every section comes the coolest part of the entire game where you can take everything you’ve learned and put it into one giant skyscraper-sized painting.
The masterpiece is said giant building with a blank section that you can fill in with anything and everything you want.
There is total freedom and you say when you’re happy with it to move forward.
It’s a great section and a fantastic way to finish off the level.
The bullies get some back story but they don’t feel like they have any weight
The last thing worth a mention is the Bully’s, they act like the villains of the game.
You can’t do much more than run away from them so they feel like a last-minute roadblock to pad out the game.
Avoiding them isn’t too fun and they are pretty mean to Ash for what feels like no reason. Just there to be there.
Worth bringing up but more like a story point and some added stealth mechanics at the end of the day.
Is Concrete Genie Amazing?
Painting is an awesome mechanic
Concrete Genie is amazing no two ways about it!
The gameplay is super fun, the ability to be creative shines in the world you help to create, and Ash is a fantastic character to move everything forward.
The Genies are always interesting and add a nice dynamic to the painting gameplay.
Overall, it all works together to make a unique game that sets its own rules so you can have the freedom to be as creative as you want.
Concrete Genie is Amazing!
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May 25, 2021