Recent reviews by noelle

Developer openly encourages toxic community full of homophobia, transphobia, racism, and the like.

Fun and good and cute with music that is good and a story that is good and characters that are good

I am powerful

I am in control of my surroundings

I am mountain

Probably one of the most frustratingly difficult games to master, Spelunky offers a constant challenge and an ever changing set of expectations. While I mostly stick to the randomly generated daily challenges, there's a lot of fun to be had with this game. Maybe this review will add a floor or two to your run, but even after 6+ months I haven't completed the basic run, let alone the hell runs.

Long story short: It's fun, it's hard, it's always changing.

At this point only three of five parts have been released.

Not so much a "game" as an interactive story. There aren't defined "puzzles" and gameplay is limited to interacting with certain things in the environment, but it's still a fascinating experience.

In this game, you play Conway - an aging delivery driver for a failing antique store. When out making a delivery, you stop to ask for directions where an unusual man directs you to "the zero". The world is very well built, with the entire design being beautiful - soundtrack, visuals, writing... everything. Characters are compelling, well developed, and just as odd as their surroundings. Everything is pretty abstract but there are stunning moments of beauty. I've sat at a still screen for minutes at a time just soaking in the atmosphere. It helps that there's somewhat of a "less is more" idea at work - the narrative isn't thrust upon you, but builds from your experiences.

But that works to its advantage. A lot of what you get from the game isn't a result of the choices you make, but the choices you make don't railroad you down a certain path. Different bits of story will open based on your choices, but they're more a reflection of how you intend to play the game than how the developer intended you to play the game.

Definitely pick it up. It's a storytelling experience I'm very happy with thus far.

Skullgirls is a well-rounded, well-balanced 2D fighter with a roster of memorable characters. There's little overlap between characters (save for the "joke" character ♥♥♥♥♥ and Filia), but team mechanics can be manipulated to make any of these freakshows a threat.

With a solid tutorial system and a community that thrives on teaching new players how to be successful, Skullgirls is probably the best entry to the world of fighting games. Many of the techniques used in this game translate to other games, but if you're not versed in the genre it's very easy to pick up and learn the combos needed to be successful. Once you have the muscle memory you'll be nailing your opponents to the wall.

Online play tends to be a bit unforgiving, but lobby play lets you find players of similar caliber and hone your skills.

Definitely recommended to anyone interested in exploring fast-paced fighting games.