It's hard to make a summary of this game that isn't just variations on the terms "Soothing", "Pleasant", "Wholesome" and so on, but such are my prevailing memories of A Short Hike. The Golden Feather system of progression is simple but rewarding, as I was constantly pok...

Metroid Fusion was my first ever foray into the series. This was after having dabbled with the GBA Metroid -inspired Castlevanias, which Fusion in my view blew completely out of the water. Having no preconcieved notions regarding the franchise I had no problems with the supposedly increased storytel...

More than a decade ago a friend went on a trip abroad, and left me his Gamecube in his care. He still hasn’t reclaimed it to this day, and so in the meantime Metroid Prime has become the only gamecube game I’ve ever purchased. Such was its reputation, seemingly rivaling even the mighty Super Metroid...

Despite being a switch owner with a fondness for Kart Racers, I held off on buying Mario Kart 8 for a long time, my problem being that the deluxe version had everything unlocked from the start. I’ve always seen kart racers as wheel-based cousins of platformers: colorful games full of "levels&qu...

I guess I mean that Crash was one of those series that was never top tier in terms of reviews, even at the time. Always a solid 7/10 sort of game, and I don't think it was ever really held up favourably alongside the likes of Mario 64. I played the demo (that came with Tekken 2, IIRC) but never car...

Yeah, only played the first Ape Escape as well but was always curious to try out the sequels. A nice remake of the trilogy would be a good way to convince me to give them a try! The last time I played Crash Bandicoot was in the late 90s when the 3rd game was the newest title out. I remember being w...

Good to know, thanks!

Is the episode covering Chain of Memories too? Or just the iterations of 1?

Out of the quite considerable number of Castlevania games I've played, I'd rank The Adventure at the bottom alongside Simons Quest*. The more classic games in the series have always had stiff movement as well a stiff challenge, but The Adventure is just too sluggish and too unforgiving, and by the t...

Despite knowing very little of it and fearing the deep sea tremendously, I decided to rent Subnautica from my local library in anticipation from this show. Try and challenge myself, throw myself into the deep end as it were. As I began splashing confusedly around the ocean I came across some sea-cow...

Its not every day Cane And Rinse covers one of my all-time favorites! Its hard to sum up your feelings when even the chimes of deflected attacks and opened treasure chests send your nostalgia abuzz, but I'll do my best. Kingdom Hearts is a game that is so much more than its parts. The combat system,...

Coming to this game more than 20 years late, there was no way it could live up to its common reputation of “one of the greatest games ever made, certainly the best SNES game”. So I consider it to Super Metroids credit that I still found it quite good. It still looks and feels good, and plays mostly ...

By the time I played Hollow Knight, I was pretty burnt out on Metroidvanias. To borrow a phrase from I believe Michiel in the Axiom Verge episode, too often I found the moment to moment gameplay uninspiring, too often they became tedious and repetitive. Hollow Knight singlehandedly reinvigorated my ...

When I first played this I had no idea it was Contra, as it was one of a dozen copy-pasted and renamed games on one of the fabled "multi-game" gameboy cartridges of dubiously legality. Even so, it still made an impression with its foreboding atmosphere, responsive gameplay, and unforgiving...

I'm sure it's been considered, but just in case I suggest Carrion

*My first impressions of Ori and the will of the wisps were not great. One of my problems with the original game quickly resurfaced, where I wished it would stick with the effective silent storytelling rather than adding slightly overdone narration, and now also cute but stock NPC dialogue. On the g...

If memory serves, this game has a remake, so I'll have to check that one out. Both remakes - Super Castlevania IV for the SNES, and Chronicles for the PS1 - are well worth playing if you like the Classicvania format. If nothing else they spruce up the visuals and sound quite a bit, albeit in very d...

Being well aware of the reputation of this game, when I finally got around to trying it I wanted to give it the best conditions possible. I would play with a guide from the start to get me through the byzantine exploration and reach the dungeons, which I assumed would be more traditional “Castlevani...

To me the defining appeal of the classic Castlevania games, even in comparison to other linear platformers, is the feeling of progressing on a journey. The wholly unique stages, the map that tracks your progress, even the plodding but committed walking and jumps sell the feeling that every step forw...

The PS3 marked the final step of the evolution into my current gamer form. It marked the peak of how much graphical fidelity I needed from my games, and with the addition of wireless controllers and downloadable games, what functionality I wanted from them. I kept up with some stalwart franchises – ...