Hollow Knight Review (DNF)
This game has great atmosphere and a great soundtrack. The audio of the characters is really charming. I just can't bring myself to keep playing it because it has a lot of padding and is really, really slow. It has a similar issue that I find in the Dark Souls games where you'll wander around for a long time, find a boss, get killed immediately because you don't have any clue what their attack pattern is yet, and then get launched way too far back to the last checkpoint. The core gameplay is really not interesting enough for me to keep engaging with it. I've played tons of metroidvanias and action platformers and this is the only one I've not wanted to continue playing. 7 hours is a pretty honest playtime for me, and there were parts where I did get a little invested, but it's just not enough to keep me playing.
If there were a way for me to unlock all of the abilities and play through the game like that, it might be a bit better. It really seems like a lot of the expanded kit should have been the default moveset and then some extra stuff could be added on top of that. It's hard to blame Team Cherry for this though since this is the first thing they created and it was only by a few people. It's good to start small, but the issue is that the world is so much larger than it has to be for how little options you have for combat and traversal. There is a mismatch there, and it really should have been like half the size or less.
I have no doubt that this is a good game with a lot of appeal, but you really have to understand that this is going to be an extremely slow-burn game with elements of Soulslikes. If you are cool with that, then you'll probably enjoy it. If you're not, you probably won't. For that crowd, I would recommend something more like Axiom Verge or Touhou Luna Nights as far as Steam games go. Metroid Dread/Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are much better picks for the kind of gamer I am and that you may very well be too.
I have no intention on returning to continue playing the game, but it may very well happen down the line. I have heard stories of people putting the game down and then coming back later and really enjoying it after that. Even my roommate, who wanted me to play the game as it is his favorite, did that. So, who knows.
Scarlet Maiden Review (7/10)
This is a Rogue Legacy clone with ero game elements, and minus the whole feature of unique character traits refreshing upon every death.
It originally intrigued me because of the art style and the fact that it is an ero game, but upon looking at the gameplay footage and reading the reviews I got way more intrigued by how close it looked to Rogue Legacy, which is one of my favorite games.
It doesn't do anything special, not even in the erotic department, but the core gameplay was still very fun.
I completely stopped caring about any of the erotic stuff after only playing about an hour. Some things are copy-pasted and others are just a little bland. There are a few interesting animations but they don't last long enough and aren't varied enough to get your rocks off too. They are the equivalent of little emoji animations you'd see on a forum years ago or something. Not bad but they definitely didn't feel like the core of the game to me, despite that being its gimmick. You know what, though? I don't really mind, the game was still really fun and would have been fun with or without the ero stuff.
It's not one I'll ever go back to, since I'd sooner just go back and play Rogue Legacy 2, but it definitely filled that void while offering something just different enough that I didn't feel like I was replaying the old game again. It took me about 16 hours to complete which isn't too shabby considering I think I only paid like $6 for it.
⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️
Do not view this profile if you are sensitive to hentai, loli/shota, or furry content. I am respectful of the fact that not everyone enjoys such things, but you are visiting my personal space.
I am an advocate against all forms of abuse and neglect as someone who has experienced it, but blaming fictional content for the world's evils will do nothing. Fiction can be a wonderful way to escape in the form of artwork, cinema, books, and video games. Please let everyone enjoy it and treat real-world issues with the seriousness they deserve in comparison.