<06 Mortol> I've seen concepts similar to this done in old flash games and in newer indie titles. Not quite like this, where your limited lives double as ammunition for the 3.25 skills you use in the game. This is a wonderful title. I find I turn into a perfectionist while playing because I keep resetting the same level trying to get out with as many lives as I can.
<07 Velgress> I fell in love pretty quick with Velgress. The control is fluid and the gameplay forces you to jump in a weird fashion: I'm used to trying to control my jumps precisely in a lot of old platformers but because you're constantly scrolling up, to maintain your mid-air control you actually want to hold the button as long as you dare because it makes you floatier. It is an extremely punishing game that requires the quickest and twitchiest reflexes to master (or a LOT of practice). Dying in Velgress is a right pisser, a real punch to the gut. I've gotten about 50 coins in the starting area and honestly just grabbing coins is fun enough. So what if I can't get further than the second stage?! First level's music is better anyway.
<08 Planet Zoldath> I don't have an itch to get my hands dirty with Zoldath apart from the 2 minutes I spent dying in swamps. It looks like a Zeldaesque adventure but it doesn't quite feel like one. I think Pilot Quest is either the spiritual or actual sequel to this so I suppose I can expect a lot of hunting down materials. I appreciate its inclusion with regard to UFO 50's in-universe software history... for lack of a better term. I don't know what you'd call that sort of thing. Fictional history?
<13 Mooncat> I don't think a game like this could hold its own outside of a collection of short titles. But it is an amazing lil' work of art that consternates and charms in equal measure. Definitely in my top 5 and I'm really glad this saw the light of day. I find everything about this really beautiful from the weirdo characters to the beautiful music and background art. I've only found two secrets: One led me to an egg in the clouds and the other led me backwards to the room that looks like Barbuta's first screen which... must mean something right? The game wouldn't just send me back to that room for no reason right? Mysterious little adventure, this. I'm growing to really like the Barbuta universe. I still wonder what the deal is with the intro sequence. That's not the same fried tempura friend you play the rest of the game as.
<15 Block Koala> I don't have much to say, and only finished the first two stages. I might give this another try down the road but pushing blocks around while not being able to pull them, in a game about manipulating blocks, really irks me for some reason. It pays homage to NES classics like Kickle Cubicle and Clu Clu Land but I never liked the latter game much either.
<16 Camouflage> This is a pretty nifty lil' idea. The levels are nice and bite sized and could probably have passed as an early arcade title. Its a little simplistic for my taste: I only feel up to maybe finishing one stage and trying out another before I get bored and want to go back to something else, but I think of all the games this has a lot of potential for a sequel. Camouflage Deux.
<20 Warptank> I think I'm only about 5 levels in but this is a really good one. I think if you are insterested in game design this is a really good example of both doing much with little, and simultaneously making due with self-imposed limitations. The controls are as simple as it gets but instead of adding more abilities or under-the-hood systems (like defense points or a shield powerup for example) the breadth of the game is actually navigation. The layouts don't look very complex but because of how the warp works the process of getting around is a more involved than at a glance.
<22 Porgy> Look at the cute submarine! Y'know what this reminds me of? Startropics crossed with Jaws. Anybody else ever play Jaws? I've only found fuel tanks and angry starfish so far. Will probably treat this like a Pilot Quest and go on another dive every now and again when I'm up for it. It kind of feels like fishing.
<25 Party House> Card based games like Slay the Spire never interested me because my first question always is "Why would I want the stinking menu options and strategic elements to become a resource?" But Party House got me to see the appeal somewhat. They aren't literal cards of course but since each guest invited is random, and because the goal is to acquire points and cash instead of something more immediate like battling an opponent, its actually really fun to sus out what combinations can maximize that score. You're always running a risk of the cops showing up with bad hands, and the endless mode I'm finding very difficult when there's nothing to manage trouble. Its really addicting, but I can't quite put my finger onto why. Probably because its chill and laid back and because the party-climber is really satisfying when she shows up. Little things like cute sprites and good sfx go a long, long way.
<27 Divers> RPGs are games that, of all genres, thrive on information. Divers goes out of its way to give you almost none whatsoever. The consequence of this is that I don't find it fun to play and can't conceive of making any progress without lots of grinding and going back and forth from the starting area; like Porgy if the enemies were brutally difficult. Yet, I also admire the game for this really bold choice. I read elsewhere that this game above all others in the collection felt like it was developed by aliens. The presentation is very utilitarian and not a little creepy. Tools and items have limited uses, your three elements are Zap, Wet, and Coral, and the enemies don't appear to follow a coherent gameplay sense. What I mean is that in Final Fantasy say, a flying enemy might be vulnerable to wind. Maybe you can damage a zombie by attacking its arms. To get Cagnazzo to not tsunami you, you have to zap him with lightning. There are coral enemies in Divers that will damage you if you attack them with a spear, no matter the element. However attack with a shield(?) and they won't counter you. How do you deal with an anemone? Why is everything so expensive?? I think the game wants to invoke some horror of the deep in you. The bizarre presentation playing a sizable part. I don't enjoy playing this but I am facinated by it.
<29 Vainger> I appreciate metroidvanias but for me to want to invest time in completing one, I really need a strong desire to want to explore the world it offers. Metroid Prime and Castle in the Darkness are examples of that, and this is a great game that crosses Metroid with Metal Storm for a unique spin on things. However that burn to want to see more hasn't made itself manifest.
<31 Pingolf> The reason I really like Campanella is because movement requires quite a bit more finesse than games with gravity and solid ground. Your UFO's hitbox is teeny-tiny and when you get a feel for how fast you fall and how much thrust it takes to stabilize, you feel too cool for school as you whiz all around the levels slashing at circles and looking for coffee. Pingolf shares that same satisfaction because you can dunk the ball in midair and each shot is much more involved than your standard golf game where everything after the swing is dead air.
<32 Mortol II> Feel free to call me a poindexter but I think I like Mortol I better. I'm not trying to argue that this game isn't cool as heck, with an interesting idea and great execution. I am saying that I don't have infinite time like I did as a kid, and this is definitely a 'make-your-own-map' kind of experience. Its a long and involved puzzle that will take many cracks at the bat to unravel. Its a really cool game but I prefer the ordered puzzles of Mortol I. I do think this is probably the best 'sequel' game in the collection. It does everything a good sequel does: More of what you loved, but bigger and better. More abilities, a bigger world, and crazier challenges with the same mechanical strengths as its predecessor. I also have to give it credit that it is the best game at making a long and satisfying experience out of just a few elements.
<33 Fist Hell> I didn't grow up with double dragon and most beat-em-up's I've played were arcade titles. So this is pretty difficult for me, but I really like the presentation and the fact that you're throwing trashcans at a zombie horde. Probably best played with a friend. I don't know if there are special moves you can pull off. Your base moveset feels a little limited.
<34 Overbold> The funny thing about Overbold is that I keep wishing that I could use a Twin Stick setup. It would have been real nice if they gave an option for using two controllers to move and shoot. I've heard this game is real short. Just a few rounds in the arena before the big boss. The game tricks you into thinking that you have health but practically everything one-shots you unless you invest in medikits or more max hp. But to do that well, you have to keep upping the bet and it is real tempting to try your luck even though you know you'll get overwhelmed. I'd love a version that had more stages with some palette swapped foes. That's a sign of a good game, right? I wanted to make a quip about how they should have called this game 'Cowards Never Prosper' but then I realized they called it Overbold. Ohh! I get it now!
<35 Campanella 2> I don't actually know what the goal is here. Dying when outside of your ship is so easy that each try is cut short unexpectedly before I can get anywhere with it. Upgrades and health seem hidden away in the caves, with a little side-scrolling segment to break up the ufo surfing. I actually didn't realize there was fuel in Campanella, I found that out here first. I'm intrigued by what is here.
<43 Elfazar's Hat> When I booted it I had a grin a mile wide as I realized "YESSS ITS POCKY & ROCKY!" I don't think I'm using the powerups quite correctly because they don't feel as helpful as they ought. You can get a minor powerup by matching two symbols, and a major one with three. Yet they don't help too much because one death will lose everything you've gotten and its hard to build an arsenal back up. The sprites are beautiful and I love the art direction here. In fact, lets just praise the art in all of the games.
<44 Pilot Quest> I completed this a couple days ago and I'm a little conflicted. I can't figure out if I enjoyed my time with it; never had this mix of action and idling. Most of the resources you need to upgrade things at the base and help traverse the world need to take in-game time to complete, so you quit the game and go play something else until you have those resources and go out for a few excursions in the wilderness to explore the dungeons and find your ship parts. It isn't a game based on skill and is supposed to be a laid back experience. When I could hoard enough meat to spend sizable time out of the base is probably when I liked it best, but apart from going into the dungeons and activating warps anything you acquire out in the wilderness apart from meat is so negligible in the grand scheme it really doesn't feel satisfying. Leaves me feeling ambivalent.
<46 Combatants> WAAAAAAAY too slow. You move like slugs, and this makes your fellow ants unsatisfying to control and a chore to accomplish any task. No sir, I don't like it.
<47 Quibble Race> I know this is supposed to be a betting simulator, and Bongo pegged it as an information game, I think of this as a party game. It feels like a minigame right out of a Mario Party. There's a little more to it than just picking a bug and praying of course, but I think this sort of experience is best had on the couch with your buddies than against CPUs.
<48 Seaside Drive> REALLY FUN. I was addicted to Downwell when it came out, and Seaside Drive shares that same elegance in simplicity. You have the same three buttons as Space Invaders: Left, Right, and Shoot. Yet charging your shots through drifting and needing to wiggle through shots while also needing to aim adds up to being really really fun. This is great. I love this. You know why this game is amazing? Because when you shoot at the truck debris it slows it's falling momentum from the force of your bullets. That's what video games are all about.
<49 Campanella 3> The controls are pretty intuitive and easy to pick up. What trips me up are the bullets. I don't think you actually see enemy shots fly into your bounding box before splitting off. There's a crosshair that appears, and then the bullets are instantaneously in your danger zone. The enemies proper don't work that way - you see them careening toward you in the distance before they change color once they reach your box and can harm you. Much more natural.
<50 Cyber Owls> I couldn't figure it out - "Wait is this Ninja Turtles? No wait, this is Battletoads. But isn't this also Cheetahmen?" Then I realized that all of those are the same thing, and Cyber Owls realized that before I did. Ending the collection with a game that could pass for a Capcom arcade title in their golden years was the right move. Each of the stages offers a completely different genre scenario and control scheme but from what I can tell its just the one stage for each character before you move on to some final stage I haven't gotten to yet. This is a title that would benefit from being a little longer so you have more stages to cut your teeth on. The rescue missions are tricky and I can't get the hang of them so I think my only option is to get really good at the main stages so I can skip straight to what comes next.
I'm saving Grimstone & Night Manor for a rainy day. I want those to be a surprise once I spend enough time with the other titles.