[blog] churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar

It's hard not to compare this one with Thymesia which was the last game I've played. Both of them are budget souls-like with a pinch of Bloodborne inspiration. However, Steelrising seems to have a bigger budget (and it's more expensive as well). Despite that, I liked Thymesia best in the end.

First off this game seems heavily unoptimized, I had to play it on low to get a decent performance out of it. Not the end of the world, but a nuisance nonetheless.

Secondly, I think the combat and the enemy design are just passable. I barely had to strategize while navigating into the world, just avoiding having more than two enemies at once while improvising worked fine. That would be more than OK if the combat felt special in some way, but it didn't.

I got lost more than once not in a good way. I'm still not sure if it was me not paying proper attention or some bad-level design, so I can't complain much.

The thing that made me hate the game the most is the story and the quests. The french revolution is very interesting and somewhat fresh, but god the long dialogs are incredibly boring. The game also abuses too much of "make a long journey there to deliver something" and then "backtrack all the way now for this other thing" kinds of quests.

Result: retired

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ interesting setting
+ weapon variety

Cons:
- boring objects
- boring cutscenes
- confusing level design

Screenshots:


The game is still somewhat pretty, despite me having to run it on potato mode.


It's not a revolution if the city is not on fire.


Lore.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater with guns is the lazy description for this, but true nonetheless. Not only sounds awesome but it is awesome.

Seeing the trailer before playing the game made it look really difficult, but the fear went away immediately after start playing it and realized that the player cannot fall to the ground. While shooting enemies, your main concern will be ammo and not balance. Talking about ammo, you get it/reload by doing tricks, which is such a genius mechanic. No floating ammo boxes or currency, shoot, do tricks, shoot, rinse and repeat.

The Sable-like art style is absolutely gorgeous.

After you beat the game you unblock an "out for blood" mode, which is a bit harder than the normal campaign. The difficulty of this second campaign was spot on.

Result: completed

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ beautiful artstyle
+ controls well
+ unique gameplay
+ addicting

Cons:
- few scenarios
- unfair challenges

Screenshots:


Let's go.


Boss.


Last kill.

A little platformer that reminds me a lot of PS1 era games, both in the graphics and level design.

The uniqueness of the game is the 'frog gun', which acts as a grappling hook both for grabbing stuff and projecting yourself. Unfortunately it grows old quickly, the level design has some tricks in its bag but not enough to carry me through the entire game (there is more levels than I expected). The fact that the main character moves so slow didn't help either.

Result: retired

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ charming low poly graphics
+ gun mechanic works well

Cons:
- gets old quickly
- protagonist moves too slow
- repetitive music

Screenshots:


Shoot that frog.


There's the snowy and lava stages cliche, but nothing really special about in terms of gameplay.


Renata and her gun.

The soundtrack of this game is amazing! Check it out:

Anyone else thought Prodigy?

Unfortunately the rest is so-so. The art style is charming, but the gameplay is too simple and gets old quickly.

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ amazing soundtrack
+ good pixel art

Cons:
- gameplay is too simple
- unfair last boss

Screenshots:


I kick your face.


Classical bonus stage.


Twins from Brazil.

I don't have nostalgia for old DOS games (except maybe for Carmem Sandiego), but I think this is trying to tap into that.

The trailer was really misleading, it gave the impression to be way more fast paced than it actually is. Platforming feels a bit too floaty and the weapon range feels too short. The mix of harsh punishment and nothing special about jumping and killing enemies made me retire it.

Result: retired

Rating: 5/10

Screenshots:


Typical solitary tale.


Some places have remarkable design, but most of the scenario is forgettable.


Platforming.

I've played the demo of this game not too long ago and I found it pretty good. Seeing it popping on Game Pass when booting my Xbox made me play it right away.

This is a 'modern' 3D beat 'em up, it feels like "what if Jackie Chan Stuntmaster was made in 2022":



I made the mistake of playing it on "Realistic" difficulty on my very fisrt playthough. For the first two thirds of the game, it was pretty fun and not that hard, but for the latter third things became really though. I almost decided to retire it on the very last boss. Some enemy gimmicks are infuriating on this difficulty as well ('ravers' with unparryable attacks and sprinting zombies that kills in a single touch).

Despite the shortcomings at the end of the game, the hit feedback of punching, kicking and shoting is so amazing that it made me get through it.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ amazing hit feedback
+ short stages
+ great soundtrack
+ character customization
+ controls well

Cons:
- driving sections
- unbalanced at the end
- no respec
- gimmick enemies

Screenshots:


There is sense of humor on most of the dialogs.


I hated the driving sections.


The faithful drone partner.

"allowing Churro fans to be a part of determining what will be the winning churro for National Churro Day"

Hahaha at least this spam message is funny

This is one of the most anticipated games of the year to me since I hold Valkyrie Profile in such a high regard in my memories. The game is not entirely bad but it's hard to not label it as a disappointment..

First, the good, the combat. It's mostly elemental based, which works pretty well. The combination of elemental attacks plus summoning Einherjar to help (your recruited allies) it's complex enough to keep things engaging but not at the point to get overwhelming

However, it gets stale quickly. The enemy variety could be better. Also, jumping with the Valkyrie feels pretty good, but the platforming sections are boring and underused. The game gets repetitive quickly due all that.

But the big disappointment was the subquests. The feels budgety, most of it are either "get the item x for reasons" or "kill those enemies for me please". A textbox with an uninspiring reason and that's it.

The quests for recruiting Einherjar are better for sure, but still doesn't feel as interesting or well thought out as the original Valkyrie Profile (at least from what I remember it).

Nonetheless, seeing Valkyrie bowing down to Odin on a beautifully designed Valhalla was pretty satisfying.

Result: completed (19h)

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ good character design
+ great soundtrack
+ great endings
+ engaging elemental based combat
+ amazing Asgard design

Cons:
- bland level design
- boring side quests
- repetitive
- grindy achievements
- low budget

Screenshots:


Norse mythology.


Valhalla is gorgeous.


The Einherjar crew.

A mix between Guitar Hero and Osu I guess.

At the very beginning, I almost retired the game and asked for a refund, too difficult and barely playable (at least for me). Then I decide to play a bit with the settings, removing the annoying inverted mouse controls and tweaking the sensitivity, and the game finally clicked. It's actually great.

I like the music variety and the sense of humor. It's quite a challenging game despite the tongue-in-cheek vibe. It's addicting too, I almost got all the achievements for each.

One of the best things about it is the presentation. It's clearly inspired by Nintendo games, with big menu colorful menu buttons just like Smash Bros and Wario Ware and the game character looks just like a Mii.

The secret ending is purposely convoluted, while it's funny since it's a 'secret' ending after all, having that many secret steps was unnecessary.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ amazing presentation
+ funny
+ unique
+ extras

Cons:
- bad default controls
- convoluted secret ending

Screenshots:


Playing some Mexican tune.


It's harder than it seems.


The game has a thing for baboons.

A Star Fox homage, surprisingly with SNES' Star-Fox looks instead of 64. This game is awesome.

Plays incredibly smooth, no nostalgia for the horrible SNES frame drops! Good controls, great gameplay variety, and awesome boss designs.

It is still in Early Access, but it's incredibly polished already, no concerns here. There is no all -ange mode (yet?), but considering the price point and that is such a small indie team that is more than forgivable.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ great boss designs
+ level variety
+ good controls

Cons:
- uneven stage rating

Screenshots:


The first stage is of course a bright blue sky in a wide open space, as it should be.


Riding a bike.

A hack and slash that plays well, it's kinda pretty, and there is nothing else interesting about it.

Nothing unique about the gameplay, uninteresting plot, generic protagonist and enemies. Absolutely everything feels bland, despite having zero technical issues while I was playing. That "looks like a fake videogame shown on TV shows" joke applies here.

Once I reached a desert stage in which traversal became a chore, I had no motivation to keep going.

Result: retired

Rating: 5/10

Pros:
+ pretty graphics
+ controls well

Cons:
- generic enemies
- generic characters
- boring level design
- repetitive

Screenshots:


Empty desert plus robot companion. ReCore anyone?


Monster Hunting.


It's not Final Fantasy, despite the sword that is unrealistic big.

I don't have any nostalgia for this game since I didn't play it back them. But I'm a sucker for platformers and for games on sale.

It's... OK. No mind blowing gameplay moment, but that's sure expected of a remake of a PS1 game. Pac-Man and the sound effects on the game are really charming, and the length was just right, I beated the game exactly when started getting boring.

Result: completed (8h 30m)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ easy to pick up and play
+ simple controls
+ nostalgic sound effects
+ fun to search for collectibles

Cons:
- repetitive music
- could have more powerups
- uninspiring level design

Screenshots:


Don't fall little guy.


Cozy island.


Now this is a slot machine that I'm able to win.

It reminds me of PS3/Xbox 360 era games. The cheesy badass attitude, the B-movie plot, the linear invisible wall guarded level design. It sounds bad, but I honestly quite like it, oddly enough it feels fresh in a world filled with indie games with crazy mechanics and all AAA games being open-world.

What actually feels modern is the really slow and boring climb animations (which sucks), straight from the latest God of War games.

It plays almost like a modern beat 'em up, and the combat is awesome. The enemies are kinda boring, but some of the bosses were really fun to fight against.

Despite the fun time I had, asking full price for the game felt like a stretch.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ amazing combat
+ great boss fights
+ ridiculous lore
+ fun

Cons:
- bland music
- disappointing new game plus
- poor optimization on pc
- should cost less

Screenshots:


Control vibes.


Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.


Wallpaper moment.

Definitely one of the highlights of the year. I think I can see the influence of Counter-Strike Surf maps and speedrunning, two things that I typically don't like, but the bite-sized levels, colorful vista, and the weapon variety is a mix from heaven.

Firing the gun is nothing special, but throwing it away (right-click) makes you do a particular move. Throwing the pistol away makes you jump (yellow card), the sniper gives you a dash (blue card), the rocket launcher allows you to zip line (blue-green card), etc. Thankfully the card thing is just a different way to display your weapons on the HUD, there is no card game here.

While there are different ways to take a shortcut on the levels, each level is pretty linear and the game hands you exactly what you need for each enemy/obstacle. It's about executing everything really fast and precisely. The levels usually take less than a minute, so replaying it to get a better time is addicting.

The game doesn't require you to get the best time on each level (I think), but I just couldn't move on to the next stage until I got both the "Ace" time and found the hidden gift on the level (which unlocks interactions with your friends on the hub).

There is surprisingly a lot of dialog in this game between the characters, which I found surprinsigly good. The voice acting is good and the characters are charming.

Result: completed (20h 17m)

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ addictive gameplay
+ level design
+ gun variety
+ bite-sized levels
+ good amount of content
+ great presentation
+ distinct art style

Cons:
- poor music variety
- some rocket launchers stages are not good

Screenshots:


Heaven.


Green and Red.


Not bad for a dead guy huh?

Welcome to another incredibly late top 10 objectively best games of the year by churros, 2022 edition now!

This year was pretty good, not 2021-good but still pretty good. While Starfield and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom got delayed, Elden Ring was there and didn't disappoint. Lots of cool indies as usual and... I like Sonic?!


#10 Trombone Champ
I love the Nintendo presentation on this and how fun and engaging it is. I almost retired this game finding it too hard to control, but after a visit or two to the control settings, it played like heaven, my mouse was an extension of my body.


#9 Sonic Frontiers
I hate Sonic, I love this game, and somehow, I still hate Sonic. There is a lot of bad in this, the plot, the characters, the unbalanced currencies, and the mini-games. But the snappiness (is that a word?) of the platforming and the sense of freedom is so fun and unique for a collectathon.


#8 Bayonetta 3
It's Platinum, it's Bayonetta, it's cool. I can invoke Kaiju-like creatures in the middle of a fight, yay. The plot is about multiple realities B.S., nay.


#7 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
I don't even like newer Star Wars stuff but... ah, that sweet childhood nostalgia.


#6 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
It's not the Mario Odyssey-like impression that the first trailer left on us, but it's fun and to the point. That Nintendo polish really makes a difference.


#5 Neon White
Love everything about this game (except maybe some of the rocket launchers stages). This game is so creative that is hard to put a genre on it. Everything about it gels perfectly (sound, music, graphics, gameplay, plot, level design, etc) and it's pretty generous in its length and content (no roguelite/procedural generation crap).


#4 Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro
A sequel of a game from Neo Geo, zero nostalgia with me. But damn, but just look/hear this. I had to buy it, and it's even better than the trailer. For sure my surprise of the year.


#3 Rollerdrome
The ultimate podcast game. Perform tricks like THPS while getting into bullet-time shootouts like F.E.A.R., in a world that looks like Sable. I couldn't dream of a cooler game.


#2 Elden Ring
F**k Malenia.


#1 Tactics Ogre: Reborn
The quintessential tactics game. I can't believe they actually added voice acting, and it's the master of lazy ports Square Enix we are talking about here. This is, and forever will be, one of the greatest games of all time (sorry Elden Ring).

Welcome to another incredibly late top 10 objectively best games of the year by churros, 2022 edition now!

This year was pretty good, not 2021-good but still pretty good. While Starfield and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom got delayed, Elden Ring was there and didn't disappoint. Lots of cool indies as usual and... I like Sonic?!


#10 Trombone Champ
I love the Nintendo presentation on this and how fun and engaging it is. I almost retired this game finding it too hard to control, but after a visit or two to the control settings, it played like heaven, my mouse was an extension of my body.


#9 Sonic Frontiers
I hate Sonic, I love this game, and somehow, I still hate Sonic. There is a lot of bad in this, the plot, the characters, the unbalanced currencies, and the mini-games. But the snappiness (is that a word?) of the platforming and the sense of freedom is so fun and unique for a collectathon.


#8 Bayonetta 3
It's Platinum, it's Bayonetta, it's cool. I can invoke Kaiju-like creatures in the middle of a fight, yay. The plot is about multiple realities B.S., nay.


#7 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
I don't even like newer Star Wars stuff but... ah, that sweet childhood nostalgia.


#6 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
It's not the Mario Odyssey-like impression that the first trailer left on us, but it's fun and to the point. That Nintendo polish really makes a difference.


#5 Neon White
Love everything about this game (except maybe some of the rocket launchers stages). This game is so creative that is hard to put a genre on it. Everything about it gels perfectly (sound, music, graphics, gameplay, plot, level design, etc) and it's pretty generous in its length and content (no roguelite/procedural generation crap).


#4 Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro
A sequel of a game from Neo Geo, zero nostalgia with me. But damn, but just look/hear this. I had to buy it, and it's even better than the trailer. For sure my surprise of the year.


#3 Rollerdrome
The ultimate podcast game. Perform tricks like THPS while getting into bullet-time shootouts like F.E.A.R., in a world that looks like Sable. I couldn't dream of a cooler game.


#2 Elden Ring
F**k Malenia.


#1 Tactics Ogre: Reborn
The quintessential tactics game. I can't believe they actually added voice acting, and it's the master of lazy ports Square Enix we are talking about here. This is, and forever will be, one of the greatest games of all time (sorry Elden Ring).

I do need to give Tactics Ogre another shot. I remember it being a really solid game.

A short game with four small stages (less than an hour each, less than half an hour if you rush it).

While there is some platforming and light exploring for collectibles (which are not that great, to be honest), the game is about combat.

It is pretty easy to get used to its parry, but the game can be quite challenging when it throws many different enemies (with different types at you). It forces you to use the environment, kicking chairs and throwing buckets at enemies, and to strategize which enemy to beat first/later, that sort of thing.

Other than the stellar combat, I rushed through the game since nothing else caught my attention. It feels like a budget game in terms of content, but it feels polished enough (there is even good voice acting).

The combat of this game is a 10/10, but everything else felt kinda dull (despite being polished enough).

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ amazing combat system
+ polished
+ good controls

Cons:
- too short
- boring world-building
- dull art style

Screenshots:


I'm not in love with this Fortnite look.


En garde!


With that mustache, of course, it's the villain of the story.

Movement and bullet time of Ghostrunner, the shooting of Quake, a mix of both on the aesthetics (but mostly Quake). Amazing weapon variety, it controls well, decent game length.

Oh, the level design. It's not completely bad, I actually liked some of the platforming sessions. But keycards, c'mon. A map or objective indicator would be nice, this is not really a game about exploring.

Despite the level design not being so great (and the incredibly forgetting story), the combat is spot on, which is the most important part.

Unfortunately, this game also lost some points because I caught two game-breaking bugs (requiring me to restart the level) and there was a platforming section that felt broken (I still don't know if it's that bad or if I didn't get it and got over it in a cumbersome alternative way).

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ wall running and jumping
+ weapon variety
+ controls well

Cons:
- bad level design
- no map or guidance
- bugs
- annoying music loop

Screenshots:


Lots of grey and brown.


And red.


Buda statues, dead guards, and a guy in a suit, that's the plot.

Amazing pixel art, amazing controls, good soundtrack, good pacing, great length (short and sweet), and replayable (stage ranks).

Some reviews were complaining about the wall jumping. I don't know what those people are talking about, it felt spot on, even too easy dare I say. Some negative reviews also mentioned how bad the motorcycle section (mode 7 shmup style stage) and the water level are, but I honestly didn't find that bad.

Getting rank S on all the stages was a good enough excuse for replaying the stages a bunch of times, and finally beating the final boss without dying felt incredible.

Moving around and slashing enemies in this game feels like a dream. I wonder which one is best, this or Cyber Shadow (another stellar game), I think I'll replay it soon just to compare.

Result: completed

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ amazing controls
+ great pixel art
+ crt filter
+ good powerups
+ fun to replay
+ wall jumping
+ short

Cons:
- fps drops on some stages
- boring motorcycle sections

Screenshots:


Some backgrounds are gorgeously detailed.


Mode 7.


The story is about a revolution or something like that, but I couldn't care less.

I'm so nostalgic about this game. It was one of my very first indie games, I believe the first indie game I purchased on a console, back in the WiiWare days.

Runner 2 and 3 are fun games and all but I miss the first one simplicity, and it's back in glorious new graphics, new campaigns, and community levels.

There is not much to say other than the game is great and everything I hoped for a such a little remake. The community levels are not that great though, but the campaign had more than enough content to keep me happy for a good while.

Result: completed

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ good amount of content
+ easy controls
+ good difficulty curve
+ checkpoints
+ catchy music
+ unlockable extras

Cons:
- some unfair retro bonus challenges
- community courses are not that good

Screenshots:


Boss fight.


Another boss fight.


Pool Panic!

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a must buy now

Despite the Sands of Time remake being canceled, I'm glad to see Prince of Persia coming back (and the recently announced The Rogue Prince of Persia looks pretty good).

This reminds me of Samus Returns in a way, on how high the budget it is. It's great to see a 2D game having such treatment (fingers crossed for good sales number).

As any typical Metroidvania, you get more powerful (and faster) at the end of the game and backtracking feels awesomely fast. Two or three collectibles felt unfair (couldn’t figure it out without cheating and taking a look online), but overall the game felt fun enough to push towards the platinum trophy.

One nitpick with the game: the early boss fights were really challenging in the best sense of the word and the later ones super easy due the powerups.

I have mixed feelings about the lore. On one hand it's clear they have put a lot of thought into it, on the other, some a wall of text about Persian culture is not that interesting in a fast paced game such as this one (sorry). I didn't play with it, but the Persian voice acting option is appreciated nonetheless.

The art style had that generic League of Legends look that I dislike, but the characters had such distinct personalities and traits that made up for it. OST is a highlight, the use of Persian instruments together with electric guitars (like this) beats all the generic orchestral music that AAA games have been abusing of for soundtracks.

Result: completed

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ polished
+ responsive controls
+ clever platforming
+ good voice acting
+ good ost
+ memorable character designs

Cons:
- some unfair collectibles
- too easy boss fights
- boring lore

I wasn’t much of a Contra guy, but now I think I am!

Short and sweet little game. The stages get crazier and crazier as the game goes (kaiju fight!).

But the star of the show is how balanced it is. Hard enough for you to play carefully, but not as hard to make you repeat a level over and over and get bored.

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ balanced difficulty
+ perfect length
+ memorable boss fights
+ fun stage designs
+ good humor

Cons:
- no extra modes or challenges

Screenshots:


Move over.


I love the boss fights of this game.


Did I mention how I love the boss fights of this game?

Beautiful pixel art, good soundtrack. Couldn’t care less about the story, but I think this one is on me (played mostly on short bursts on a portable machine).

Moving around feels nice, especially swimming as a mermaid underwater. The problem is that backtracking is not that fun. It is fast, but could be faster in the end game.

I love how the game has a single ‘energy bar’, used both for your health and for shooting energy projectiles. You can recover your health, I mean, energy, by either pressing a button at the right time when it gets empty (Gears of War reload style), or by hugging your teddy bear (that takes a really long time in which you are vulnerable).

The last boss difficulty felt a bit cheap because it’s mostly a long fight without checkpoints, but it was a memorable fight nonetheless.

Result: completed (6h)

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ beautiful pixel art
+ great soundtrack
+ fluid movement
+ memorable last boss
+ innovative health mechanic works well

Cons:
- buggy
- backtracking is not that fun

Screenshots:


Blasphemy!


Saint Seiya anyone?


Gorgeous character portraits.

Just read the beginning of your blog and discovered humble bundle and other like a year ago. I went really down the rabbit hole!