I've finished a few games recently with a few more getting close..
Blasphemous
This year is shaping up to have a metroidvania focus for me as I have several other titles on the upcoming backlog that I'm looking forward to but in any case first up was Blasphemous.
I went into this one a little apprehensive and it took me a couple of hours for it to truly hook me but once it did it was a great ride. Some people say it is more of a soulslike than a true metroidvania as it doesn't have any ability gating however that doesn't stop it being a fun time. The different areas are all interesting to explore and work your way through with them all interconnecting in one way or another.
Enemies are varied as are the boss fights which range in difficulty. I found some of the later ones to be a bit tricky but ultimately satisfying when overcome. It has had a number of updates and free DLC since launch which expands the game and also added new bosses and a true ending. For the moment I have only completed the base game endings and have left the true ending for my next playthrough.
Monster Crown
A little monster taming game where you breed your monsters. As I loved Dragon Warrior Monsters on the GBC while growing up this one immediately caught my interest. It has undergone a number of patches for performance along with a some additional content however despite this it still felt a bit clunky at times.
In general terms you have 5 types which each have an advantage/disadvantage over another type in a Pokemon style. Monster come in a base form of one of the five types and then can be bred with other monsters to become any of the five types along with learning different moves and changing stat growth patterns. Each type of monster has a distinct form so there is plenty of variety to be had in customising your team and by the end of the game more options open up to influence the way breeding works.
Despite that I did have some issues with the game; the story was fairly bland and didn't really capture my interest all that much, certain features available in the overworld were never really introduced or explained which made some puzzles not clear at first and despite a focus on breeding I did find that some of my better monsters were simply bosses that were caught along the way.
All in all, it was fairly short and scratched an itch. It has some interesting ideas however there are a number of issues that have to be slogged through.
Pyre
I went back and forth at some point about whether or not to try this game as I loved Bastion but wasn't too keen on Transistor however I have no regrets about Pyre (other than it ended maybe).
Pyre plays out like a visual novel with the occasional sports game (rites). It has a rich cast of characters, both your companions and your opponents, and great music to accompany them.
You help guide a group of exiles through the Downside as you compete in the rites with the aim of granting freedom to return to the Commonwealth to a number of your allies (or your opponents if you lose to them at key moments). By helping to free your companions they can assist with a revolution and ultimately the ending will be tailored to choices you make during the playthrough which allows for replayability.
The rites consist of 3v3 team based ball game where you try to get the ball into the other teams pyre. Each character has their own set of quirks and abilities which makes them different to play around with. Each match lasts maybe 5 minutes or so meaning they do not drag on too much and the game will progress whether you win or loss (sometimes you may even try to lose on purpose for narrative reasons)
All in all I had a good time with Pyre and would definitely recommend it if you enjoy reading with sprinkles of gameplay.
Post edited 1 hour ago by Snizzle012
