Nick Mangiaracina
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MonsterVine
KeenGamerLatest Reviews
For a developer that focuses on narrative design, structure, and experimentation, Deconstructeam got off to a bit of a rocky start but my favorite thing about Essays on Empathy is that there’s a narrative thread that goes through the product as a whole. Though each game is different, has its...
As requested by the developers, I would play roughly a half-hour of Cozy Grove a day. In my case, I was playing my half-hour before bed and found it to be a very pleasing and somewhat zen-like experience. From gathering someone else’s mail to setting fire to fish to collect...
As a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and doesn’t take very long to finish, I consider Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion to be the perfect palate-cleansing game. Whether you’re in-between long games or are just looking for something that doesn’t require brainpower for payoff, Turnip Boy is the...
Finally, we land on the technical issues Bravely Default 2 has. Primarily, the performance is just not what I’ve come to expect in 2021. This series has primarily been on handheld consoles less powerful than my cell phone and its first foray into the console space has extremely long and...
The only disappointing thing about Olija is that there is so much promise and potential in what has been created already. People often say a short game respects their time but I left Olija wanting more. Perhaps the short and concise story is a contributor to what makes Olija so...
While I don’t encourage newcomers to play Ryza 2, fans of the first game should be rightly excited to play the sequel to the best-selling Atelier game of all-time. With improvements to an already fantastic combat system, new characters that add to an already fun and tightly knit cast, and...
Graphically, this is the best looking Dontnod game I’ve played. The lip sync is a little off at times but overall, it’s a very beautiful game, and I even particularly like the UI. Choosing a minimalist look that barely makes itself known unless you’re specifically looking at something you can...
Another aspect of The Pathless I really enjoyed was the boss fights. The first stage of every boss fight had you perilously traversing that chaos cloud enshrouded plot of land with pockets of fire and the eagle’s child running amok. As the player character gains speed you’ll soon be running...
While this is clearly a bare-bones port, simply making Pikmin 3 work on the Switch, it offers an unbeatable experience for first-time players and anyone who really enjoyed it the first time around. Despite having thoroughly beaten Pikmin 3 on the Wii-U (seriously, I spent way too much time playing...
Treated not just to a strong narrative but one that was assisted by the somewhat silly art and humorous narration, the stunning, low-poly art helped tell the story of I Am Dead. All important characters in I Am Dead are brilliantly voiced, and the dialogue between them is humorous. Sparky...
At last, I absolutely must talk about the music in this fine game. The best thing I can say about the music is that it is incredibly thematic. It does an incredible job of taking elements of nostalgia that would bring you back to retro gaming to compliment the art....
Röki
Throughout the game, I really became attuned to Tove and what she was going through. This isn’t simply a fairytale that’s meant to instill a lesson or behavior but rather a journey of self-discovery and understanding. Tove learns to face her past and be okay with what happened and who...
