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True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
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- Jun 28, 2021
This shit is weird, and not really in a good way. Gives me Bomberman Zero vibes.
Metroidvania General - An overcrowded genre with recycled themes and muddled mechanics.
- Thread starter Sparky Lurker
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- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
Cyberpunk Luna Labyrinth launch trailer:
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2017
Finished Kingdom Shell.
Extremely solid gameplay. No bugs. Pretty and extremely generous on unique pixel animations. Fun puzzles. Fair secrets.
Soma excellent design decisions:
Extremely solid gameplay. No bugs. Pretty and extremely generous on unique pixel animations. Fun puzzles. Fair secrets.
Soma excellent design decisions:
- Falling into most pits causes damage as in Hollow Knight, not instadeath.
- Final fight is two phases but if you die to the second and save afterward, you only have to fight the second.
- Excellent controls on the controller, never had to press X with my index finger.
- All achievements can be easily gotten in one playthrough, only one is missable (but the game tells you exactly what to do to not fuck it up beforehand).
- lose % of money on death, can't retrieve
- there's no autosave, just reload lmao
- you get three flasks but only two refill on death, run to the shop every time you want to refill
- I didn't use flasks at all until halfway into the game
- there's no autosave, just reload lmao
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2018
Ender Magnolia has come out of early access, didn't try the EA version but saw people say a lot of good things about it and Lilies was great so I expect more of the same this time.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2019
100%d it bar one rare drop.
If you farm for the rare drop each enemy has (and you should, though most are useless consumables and rates are low there is the occasional excellent item), you will end up grossly overpowered. The game is incredibly easy bar the final postgame superboss who is, in a bit of gameplay-story integration, only really vulnerable to one weapon, but the extra ending you get from it is lackluster as heck.
The way it ends does not really allow for a sequel with any impact I think; this feels like a one-shot IP.
What's really strange about that trailer is it shows basically all of endgame, including pre-postgame final boss with an edited sprite so you're not spoiled on who it is. Though it is obvious who it will be basically the second you see him.
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LucasSomething
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2016
First time seeing this thread, played blade chimera a few days ago and playing magnolia right now, sharing some thoughts on chimera
And now for some thoughts in Ender Magnolia
GOOD
-This is actually Ender Lilies 1.5 which is good because ender lilies was good. It's polished, it's fun to play, there is a lot to explain and it sounds good, even if i kinda prefer the previous game sad piano.
-I like how the game is more parry focused now, you get equipment that has secondary effects on parry and this leads to more agressive enemies and more bullets thrown at you.
The stuff i didn't like
-This game does fucking nothing original. Is every game in the series going to be "amnesiac girl wakes up, apolcapytic event happened, gather the souls of fallen warriors, purify the land"?
-Every ability is super predictable and doesn't enhance the base combat of mash dodge mash. I was not expecting super experimental stuff but i wanted SOMETHING new.
-This game really sets the fumes as a big deal except they're ignored to focus on the rain/blight from ender lilies being the root of the problem. I saw a lot of peolpe saying you dont need to play lilies but imo you absolutely do or else you simply do not comprehend how big of a deal the rain is.
-I did not like most of the skills and only used the starter 4 for 95% of the game. At least in the original i actually tried out everything cause you had real variety and fun gimmicky stuff instead of only 10 skills divided in balanced, faster and larger.
-I know Lilies was too depressing for it's own good but i liked that. It was kinda edgy and bordered on horror game. Magnolia is not happy land but Lilac and her squad are all chilling and this little girl is teleporting across dangerous places to give you items so i can't take these stakes seriously.
-Some wacky difficulty spikes at center stratum here and there. The witch that summons the healing drone is cancer and i expect her to nerfed via patch eventually. The last 2 zones are also fairly boring with lame annoying enemies.
Despite how longer my negavity looks i still liked the game and recommend it and blade chimera.
+GOOD
-It looks, plays and sounds really good, with 8~ hours. Team ladybug games are just solid and fun to play overall and this one is no different.
-There is some novel ideas with Lux spawning stuff for puzzles and it's used very creatively in boss fights, like spawning cover or spawning a hook to catch the boss. sadly its not used enough.
-Your skill tree has exploration abilities and you can buy warp fast travel from the start, except you can literally teleport from and to nearly anywhere with no loading makes this power very fun to use. You can even use it to cheese exploration and the game expects you to use it this way since some stuff is only obtainable with warp.
-This game really rewards you for backtracking since it's super fast with warp and gives you much stronger gear. You can also fuck off in different paths and when the story tells you to go there you already cleared the stage and simply warp. Warp is just fun in how much it feels like cheating.
BAD
-If you're a veteran MV player this is just too easy. Backtracking to the 10 piece door gives you a 90~ power sword when my previous one had 30~ and another door gives the grenade launcher that is super broken. Guns are just too strong cause infinite, auto aim, fast and strong but explosives are especially op cause it has no range falloff. A monster dropped a grenade very early and it trivialized the next 3 bosses. Attacking restores mana and spells restore HP. You can also warp during hitstun meaning you can literally pause before you die and warp back to save spot.
-The level design is SHIT. I assume it HAS to be since there is a level 1 mode meaning the game has to be winable without double jump and shit but there are waaaay too many straight hallways with 2 enemies waiting to get shot and vertical staircases. These devs are veterans, it shouldn't be this bad.
-The true ending requires 100% sidequests and 90% of them are shitty monster hunt quests that give useless money cause the only thing you can buy is guns and passive boosts that you find better exploring and dropping anyway. I think this is the only reason warp is so free.
- The endings are all fairly limp considering how explosive the combat is.
-It looks, plays and sounds really good, with 8~ hours. Team ladybug games are just solid and fun to play overall and this one is no different.
-There is some novel ideas with Lux spawning stuff for puzzles and it's used very creatively in boss fights, like spawning cover or spawning a hook to catch the boss. sadly its not used enough.
-Your skill tree has exploration abilities and you can buy warp fast travel from the start, except you can literally teleport from and to nearly anywhere with no loading makes this power very fun to use. You can even use it to cheese exploration and the game expects you to use it this way since some stuff is only obtainable with warp.
-This game really rewards you for backtracking since it's super fast with warp and gives you much stronger gear. You can also fuck off in different paths and when the story tells you to go there you already cleared the stage and simply warp. Warp is just fun in how much it feels like cheating.
BAD
-If you're a veteran MV player this is just too easy. Backtracking to the 10 piece door gives you a 90~ power sword when my previous one had 30~ and another door gives the grenade launcher that is super broken. Guns are just too strong cause infinite, auto aim, fast and strong but explosives are especially op cause it has no range falloff. A monster dropped a grenade very early and it trivialized the next 3 bosses. Attacking restores mana and spells restore HP. You can also warp during hitstun meaning you can literally pause before you die and warp back to save spot.
-The level design is SHIT. I assume it HAS to be since there is a level 1 mode meaning the game has to be winable without double jump and shit but there are waaaay too many straight hallways with 2 enemies waiting to get shot and vertical staircases. These devs are veterans, it shouldn't be this bad.
-The true ending requires 100% sidequests and 90% of them are shitty monster hunt quests that give useless money cause the only thing you can buy is guns and passive boosts that you find better exploring and dropping anyway. I think this is the only reason warp is so free.
- The endings are all fairly limp considering how explosive the combat is.
And now for some thoughts in Ender Magnolia
GOOD
-This is actually Ender Lilies 1.5 which is good because ender lilies was good. It's polished, it's fun to play, there is a lot to explain and it sounds good, even if i kinda prefer the previous game sad piano.
-I like how the game is more parry focused now, you get equipment that has secondary effects on parry and this leads to more agressive enemies and more bullets thrown at you.
The stuff i didn't like
-This game does fucking nothing original. Is every game in the series going to be "amnesiac girl wakes up, apolcapytic event happened, gather the souls of fallen warriors, purify the land"?
-Every ability is super predictable and doesn't enhance the base combat of mash dodge mash. I was not expecting super experimental stuff but i wanted SOMETHING new.
-This game really sets the fumes as a big deal except they're ignored to focus on the rain/blight from ender lilies being the root of the problem. I saw a lot of peolpe saying you dont need to play lilies but imo you absolutely do or else you simply do not comprehend how big of a deal the rain is.
-I did not like most of the skills and only used the starter 4 for 95% of the game. At least in the original i actually tried out everything cause you had real variety and fun gimmicky stuff instead of only 10 skills divided in balanced, faster and larger.
-I know Lilies was too depressing for it's own good but i liked that. It was kinda edgy and bordered on horror game. Magnolia is not happy land but Lilac and her squad are all chilling and this little girl is teleporting across dangerous places to give you items so i can't take these stakes seriously.
-Some wacky difficulty spikes at center stratum here and there. The witch that summons the healing drone is cancer and i expect her to nerfed via patch eventually. The last 2 zones are also fairly boring with lame annoying enemies.
Despite how longer my negavity looks i still liked the game and recommend it and blade chimera.
BiggestKai
kiwifarms.net
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- Aug 6, 2023
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- Dec 6, 2017
Somber Echoes launch trailer:
ReSetna launch trailer:
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
Lecarde Chronicles 3 announcement:
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- Dec 6, 2017
Castle Slug launch trailer:
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2019
I thought of an earlier post about the new Ender game where it ends up being a rehash. This made me think about Blade Chimera again, and it kind of exposes a problem with Metroidvania releases in that they seem to just be rehashes on themselves.
I dunno, maybe I am reading into it too much.
Blade Chimera in fact has basically the same final ending as Ladybug's earlier work, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.
Except it does not work, because the true final boss, who is quite literally the player's wife and was with him as his energy sword for most of the game, has the power to turn back time in a true sense. She's just upset that she used it to save the PC, consigning herself to death, and some other version of her who doesn't remember being their wife gets the reward.
Which is actually kind of understandable. She just decides she could just kill the lesser version of herself and take her place. This is presented as categorically insane.
Those who played Deedlit will realize this is the same theming, that you have to move on from loss, etc. It just kind of doesn't work given the story being a post-apocalypse when the power to reverse time could be very useful, they just jam it in anyway. It's like if someone had the power of no-strings-attached resurrection and that's bad because of Japanese sensibilities regarding the natural order.
Except it does not work, because the true final boss, who is quite literally the player's wife and was with him as his energy sword for most of the game, has the power to turn back time in a true sense. She's just upset that she used it to save the PC, consigning herself to death, and some other version of her who doesn't remember being their wife gets the reward.
Which is actually kind of understandable. She just decides she could just kill the lesser version of herself and take her place. This is presented as categorically insane.
Those who played Deedlit will realize this is the same theming, that you have to move on from loss, etc. It just kind of doesn't work given the story being a post-apocalypse when the power to reverse time could be very useful, they just jam it in anyway. It's like if someone had the power of no-strings-attached resurrection and that's bad because of Japanese sensibilities regarding the natural order.
I dunno, maybe I am reading into it too much.
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
Bootleg Predator demo:
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LucasSomething
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2016
I have played guns and fury, it was pretty and okay but also very flawed and frustrating in some ways.
+It really is metal slug metroidvania. Your basic attack is an infinite pistol, your sub weapon is stronger but costs ammo and your throwable varies a lot but has it's own rarer to find ammo.
+The game has a lot of surprisingly well hidden secrets, especially game changing stuff inside walls. The acessory that resists burning is huge and is in a breakable pipe, and a gas mask that is necessary for other secrets is in another one.
+The game is genuinely challenging since enemies hit hard and some bosses actually kept killing me until i had to get gud and learn their whole attack pattern. You can also go long stretches without a save point.
+It looks and sounds really good.
-The game is very tiresome to just go around. If you got no ammo then you'll probably mash pistols +50 times per room and every room is hyperpacked with enemies that shoot arcing grenades, homing rockets, hide behind cover or pilot tanky mechas.
-There are very few teleports and they're in random ass awful places (why there is no warp near any of the shops? why is there only 1 warp near a save point?) leading to a fuckton of time wasted on backtracking and due to the previous point, backtracking feels awful here.
-the map is just blue rectangles that are useless cause the room layout is usually fair complex so you dont grasp where the exists actually are. It doesn't even say the name of the zone you're win so i had no fucking clue where anything was. The most you get is a purple dot map marker but alas...
-The game abilities make completely impossible to know where you're actually supposed to go because there are too many of them and nonsensical.
For example, the powers are
-Slide (ok)
-Double jump (ok)
-wall climb on specific rocky walls (why?)
-wall jump that throws you far so you need 2 walls (why not just have wall climb anwhere?)
-object pogo that launches you foward (very awkwarde to use and hard to grasp)
-FOUR DIFFERENT MECH KEYS you need to find in order to get past specifics rooms
-multiple weapons and bombs that literally only serve to open 1-2 doors, like elec gun, freeze gun, grenade, sniper etc and arent good for combat (grenade is ok)
-A dodgeroll (this is the slide but invincible on a different button which feels redundant, late game and optional ?)
-Dash (a very late power that makes you move faster by holding a button, also optional)
And here is a big problem, since most of these powers are for verticality (double jump, wall jump, pogo, fly mech, freeze etc) it makes very hard to remember where you're supposed to next because it all mumbles "that place i could reach" so when i got lost in late game i had to backtrack the whole map it was the right place for the last power i got.
One other minor thing is that explosions totally pollute the screen and most are actuall harmless while others aren't which feels very frustrating. Sometimes a shot explodes the floor and the explosion doesn't hurt you but certain boss explosions do.
The story is also completely forgetable. Vincent Fury (yes thats his name) goes to an island save a cientist and kill bad guys. They all have generic "You cant beat us we'll take over the world" speeches and acceptable designs that feel references (one boss looks like terminator, another is just liquid snake, one is literally dr octopus).
One thing i love and hate is the generic enemy design. On one hand, i hate how 95% are just "soldier with gun" but i will praise the devs for trying REALLY HARD to make every enemy unique, like for example here we have 4 different enemies with different weapons and designs, and every zone has their own enemies.
But in the end it all blends because you fight all of them the same way, spamming from a far. They all have contact damage too which i respect but don't understand in this game. There is a melee choice but if you're not one shotting or mashing a stationary boss it's just not worth the risk, you're better shooting everyone from offscreen.
So tl;dr: it's a well made game with a frustrating weak map, tiresome to backtrack, fight and explore.
+It really is metal slug metroidvania. Your basic attack is an infinite pistol, your sub weapon is stronger but costs ammo and your throwable varies a lot but has it's own rarer to find ammo.
+The game has a lot of surprisingly well hidden secrets, especially game changing stuff inside walls. The acessory that resists burning is huge and is in a breakable pipe, and a gas mask that is necessary for other secrets is in another one.
+The game is genuinely challenging since enemies hit hard and some bosses actually kept killing me until i had to get gud and learn their whole attack pattern. You can also go long stretches without a save point.
+It looks and sounds really good.
-The game is very tiresome to just go around. If you got no ammo then you'll probably mash pistols +50 times per room and every room is hyperpacked with enemies that shoot arcing grenades, homing rockets, hide behind cover or pilot tanky mechas.
-There are very few teleports and they're in random ass awful places (why there is no warp near any of the shops? why is there only 1 warp near a save point?) leading to a fuckton of time wasted on backtracking and due to the previous point, backtracking feels awful here.
-the map is just blue rectangles that are useless cause the room layout is usually fair complex so you dont grasp where the exists actually are. It doesn't even say the name of the zone you're win so i had no fucking clue where anything was. The most you get is a purple dot map marker but alas...
-The game abilities make completely impossible to know where you're actually supposed to go because there are too many of them and nonsensical.
For example, the powers are
-Slide (ok)
-Double jump (ok)
-wall climb on specific rocky walls (why?)
-wall jump that throws you far so you need 2 walls (why not just have wall climb anwhere?)
-object pogo that launches you foward (very awkwarde to use and hard to grasp)
-FOUR DIFFERENT MECH KEYS you need to find in order to get past specifics rooms
-multiple weapons and bombs that literally only serve to open 1-2 doors, like elec gun, freeze gun, grenade, sniper etc and arent good for combat (grenade is ok)
-A dodgeroll (this is the slide but invincible on a different button which feels redundant, late game and optional ?)
-Dash (a very late power that makes you move faster by holding a button, also optional)
And here is a big problem, since most of these powers are for verticality (double jump, wall jump, pogo, fly mech, freeze etc) it makes very hard to remember where you're supposed to next because it all mumbles "that place i could reach" so when i got lost in late game i had to backtrack the whole map it was the right place for the last power i got.
One other minor thing is that explosions totally pollute the screen and most are actuall harmless while others aren't which feels very frustrating. Sometimes a shot explodes the floor and the explosion doesn't hurt you but certain boss explosions do.
The story is also completely forgetable. Vincent Fury (yes thats his name) goes to an island save a cientist and kill bad guys. They all have generic "You cant beat us we'll take over the world" speeches and acceptable designs that feel references (one boss looks like terminator, another is just liquid snake, one is literally dr octopus).
One thing i love and hate is the generic enemy design. On one hand, i hate how 95% are just "soldier with gun" but i will praise the devs for trying REALLY HARD to make every enemy unique, like for example here we have 4 different enemies with different weapons and designs, and every zone has their own enemies.
But in the end it all blends because you fight all of them the same way, spamming from a far. They all have contact damage too which i respect but don't understand in this game. There is a melee choice but if you're not one shotting or mashing a stationary boss it's just not worth the risk, you're better shooting everyone from offscreen.
So tl;dr: it's a well made game with a frustrating weak map, tiresome to backtrack, fight and explore.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2024
I mean, if nothing else, they aren't actually dead, they're robots who mostly survive the beatings you're giving them. And you get to talk to them later, and they even have interactions with other characters, as opposed to just being last regrets and memory scapes.
That said, did it have to change much more than that? What were you expecting or wanting for them to do when you heard of a sequel?
This one falls into the 'explain' category, as in, try explaining why you felt that way. Did you try using the parry mechanics [the Carapaces]?
The Fumes are what people thought the Blight was coming from, because the whole kingdom is covered by a barrier that stops the rain from falling and Blighting everyone. That didn't stop it from manifesting as the Fumes. It was worse at the Lower Stratum because the Land of Origin is pretty much a new Verboten Domain and it's spreading from there.
Many of the skills from the original weren't really interesting though. It's true you get a second 'primary' way too late, but even the others were pretty fun to use, though the game should've explained how debuffs work better so people might use them more. [Burn deals constant damage over time, freeze paralyzes enemies/slows you down, and shock seems to raise how much damage you do and lower theirs.]
LucasSomething
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2016
I was expecting a fresh game. Every Igarashi castlevania is "hero goes to castle and seals dracula" but it feels fresh.
Magnolia kinda recycles a lot of character beats and the things it does new are worse. Lilac talking and having amnesia adds nothing to the game other than exposition in a worse story.
I didn't care about lilies story but it was edgy (which i like) and depressing and the rain is borderline cosmic horror. I expected more of that. I'd accept a lighter tone if done well, which i don't think is done here. Shit like Levy appearing in the final zone to give me the true end item is funny sure but it destroyed my immersion completely.
How do i explain it beyond saying every ability is back from first game and/or generic? I know Lilies wasn't that original but this was magnolia's chance to be. I want to get at least one power and go "oh THIS changes everything..." and not a hookshot that only works in specific rooms and gives me depression (you couldn't even make it usable in one boss fight like guaca 2?).
In guacamelee 2 they give the chicken form it's own moveset. In Dawn of Sorrow soma can level up souls, craft and has a special attack button. In metroid fusion the whole story delivery changes, the control scheme changes, there is no super missiles and they get fused with ice beam and can be charged...
In magnolia you have uh... equipable bracelets that raise your stats? annoying elemental status effects?
>Did you try using the parry?
Yes, i did try the parry. I did back in lilies when it was hard to use (made easier with patch) and you got smacked across the room. This isn't a new mechanic.
Yes magnolia makes the parry more viable which changes gameplay but also worsens it because it's easy and broken so it beats everything cause there is no unexpected contact damage. It feels like it only exists because "gamers love parries right?". I beat the final boss with the carapace that doesnt parry and counter beast.
I know what the fumes are, the point is that bringing blight back is lazy and overcomplicates the story for no reason (especially if you didnt play lilies). The steam page doesnt even mention blight, only fumes, and so does the early acess, but as soon as you reach center stratum it ignores fumes and it's all blight and rain.
I also find especially coward that the writers legit...
Bring back Lily in this game and have her help purify Lilia. It feels soooo cheap.
Agree to disagree. Lilies had niche stuff like the archer that shoots up, spirits that work different underwater, and secret nuances like the charged hammer bypassing the mine shields (i might be misremembering).
Regardless lilies had other benefits. The ammo also made you a little bit conscious instead of holding the yolvan button from mid range. New powers would come higher leveled and you have 6 slots so i would switch out weaker ones. It also had a feel of "monster collecting" and made me sympathize with the nameless victims of the rain, while i gave no fucsk about the homunculus.
I know it might sound like i hated the game but i dont, i just see it as uncreative and with some notable wasted potential.
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
Browservania Remake launch trailer:
verissimus
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2018
Have you tried the Blasphemous games or even the Record of Lodoss War game?
BiggestKai
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2023
This had a surprisingly kick ass soundtrack(Dominic Newark so it's to be expected) and really well done bosses, but the difficulty varied from just right with it not showering you with checkpoints and having dangerous enemies to this is horseshit; and the game really suffers on the platforming front since there's barely any of it. I expected at the very least an entire secret platforming area centered around stuff like the wall jump or the spiked boots but there was none.
Also there needs to be a vidya standard where if your fire-arm can't be charged then you can just hold down the fire button to have it fire at a lower rate than you would rapid firing it. I'm sick of mashing buttons for the pistols.
Also for fuck's sake please put in some QoL for the minimap in your metroidvania. I'm not asking for an elaborate beautiful background art like in Aeterna Noctis or a room by room completion tracker like in Ender Lilies/Magnolia but at the very least color code each area and give me an endgame item giving me a general idea of what's missing in what area.
- Mountain
- Research Facility
- Cedar Woods 2
- Steel Foundary(Personal favorite)
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
Beyond the Ice Palace 2:
BiggestKai
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2023
Funny, played about 15 minutes of this before I had something else I needed to do.
It's weird to describe but it controls like an odd hybrid of classic castlevania and modern castlevania, the jumps aren't quite 100% commitment but I'd say about 50%, movement is both fast and kind of slow and you have the newer amenities of modern platformers like a straight up dodge button.
Aesthetics and music seem really good, it has the moody organ that really fits the whole revenge plot it has going for it and the animation is nice and fluid, with one exception. If you dodge an enemy attack there's this zoom in+slow motion that I think is meant to look cool but it looks comically bad, they ought to have added an afterimage effect to it because otherwise sprites look pretty bad in slow mo. I had to clip it because I don't know how else to put it in words.
Otherwise I'm pretty interested in playing it some more when I have the time.