Fully Charged #2
.png)
Fully Charged is a series in which I go over games I have recently played. Each instalment will be released when I have played 2-4 games, updates, or demos. With less time for this blog now, I won't be doing many, if any, full reviews. This series will instead cover the games I have played critically, in a mini-review format.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Files
https://press.uk.square-enix.com
When I saw this game in the direct, I was intrigued but was willing to wait for reviews to come out near release. However, at the end of the trailer, there was a demo announcement, and I was interested in giving it a try. I am so glad I did. This game is very fun. It's very reminiscent of classic Zelda games with a modern touch to its mechanics. The game has you accompanied by a fairy character who enables you to use certain abilities. You can also control this supporting character separately using the right control stick, which I found quite cool. The game just feels very good to play. The exploration was also something I enjoyed; obviously, it's a demo, so it's only a portion of what to expect in terms of that. The level design in the first dungeon was quite good too, with good use of the players' abilities they had learnt at that point. The enemy designs are another thing I want to say is quite well done; they all look distinct and act quite differently.
Though there were a few things I thought could be improved for the main game. The ability equipping/item wheel is very annoying to keep using. We need more things to be equipable at one time, this is one thing they should not have taken from the inspirations. The story hasn't really fully gripped me yet; it has a good foundation, but I do hope it takes off a bit more as well. Other than those two things, though, I really enjoyed my time with this game. For a demo, I would rate it 8.5. Let's see how that changes with the full game, which I will for sure be getting now.
Rune Factory 4 Special
https://store.playstation.com
I am quite new to these types of games; however, I chose this one as it seemed to have the most action-based gameplay within it. It felt slow at first, but after playing for 10 hours or so, I started to get a lot more into it. There is so much you can do in this game; it does feel overwhelming, but once you figure out how you want to play, it becomes much better. The story was laid out in two main arcs, there is a third but it's very short and doesnt really add anything to the game's narrative, so i won't mention the third. The first arc was better than the second in my opinion, but the second was pretty good too. The first arc had a lot of intriguing mystery to it, though. I didn't expect the story to be anything at all, really, so I was surprised as a whole. The part where the narrative truly shines though is the characters and the interactions between them. There are so many interactions that you can see, which really make the world feel alive. The whole farming aspect tot he game is fun, though it does get a bit too much of a chore with more farmland. There may have been things I could have done to make it better, I'm sure, though. The action combat was really fun for me; it reminded me of the classic Ys games, so I really enjoyed every moment of that. There was a decent challenge to the game, too.
Beating the main story isn't it for this game though, you can work towards other goals like marrying, having a kid and beating all the dungeons, etc. So if you can't get enough of the game, there is still lots to do. The music of this game is super nice and chill too. I love how they have music from previous games in. There is, of course, some more epic music for the key moments and levels in the game. The visuals are fine, though I will say some things look AI up-scaled and weird at times, it's not anything that really bothered me. I enjoyed the animated portraits in the newlywed mode. I'm not sure why they weren't included in the base game. Speaking of said mode, it is a nice addition and extension of the relationship you have with your spouse in-game. There is also even more of that with the "another episode" mode, which is a fully voiced epilogue including you, your partner, and your child. That said, having played 80 hours and completing what I want to of the game, I can say that I really enjoyed this game and will look into maybe playing another entry in the near future. I would award it with a solid 8.5.
Limbo
https://store.playstation.com
I got this game for £0.89. I just want to start off by saying that. So no matter how it went when playing, I feel I would have gotten my money's worth. Anyway, this game is a horror/puzzle indie game, where you play as a boy trying to unite with someone. It has a good atmosphere to it with the visuals and audio. The puzzles are fairly decent but a bit samey after a while. This is because there aren't many mechanics to this game, really, and the ones that are there aren't fully explored. Sometimes it also felt a bit trial-and-error-like like but the checkpoints are so generous that it didn't matter too much. I think the most interesting thing it did was with the little things that force you to run in a direction, which was quite cool.
The spider was also another highlight of the game for me. I feel that after that, the game kinda lost some of the dread that was present. The story is kind of non-existent, I only know what I do about it because of reading the Steam description. Otherwise, the game just left me feeling absolutely nothing story-wise. Overall, I think it's a decent game, there are a few problems I have with it, but it's a short experience that provides some decent puzzle solving and horror. I've heard inside is better than this and expands upon it, so I am eager to see what that's like. I would give inside a 7/10.
So that's it for the second instalment of fully charged. Please stay tuned for more of these in the future. I had some good times with these games and look forward to what is to come in the not-so-distant future. As always, stay connected!
Comments
Post a Comment