budgetgamingna

[budgetgamingna]

Itta – Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Armor Game Studios

Developer: Glass Revolver

-David Perez 4/28/2020

Bullet-hell adventures are a dime a dozen that I typically skip right by, but having seen multiple bosses of Itta over the past months had me hyped for it. Itta did not disappoint. This twin-stick bullet-hell adventure is set in an ominous, atmospheric world where exploration and boss-battler meet. After waking up, surrounded by her dead family and pet cat, Itta is thrust into the dark world of the Garden with a spirit revolver in an attempt to get back to a time before tragedy struck. 

The gameplay loop of Itta is quite simple. As Itta you explore three varied locations finding story books and meeting long-time inhabitants of the Garden that give cryptic insights into the lore of this world. When not exploring the world and finding new weapons, Itta encounters epic boss battles where reflexes are tested as you avoid a variety of bullets and projectiles. As well as simply avoiding bullets, Itta can roll through them, which is absolutely necessary to survive through the boss fights. Itta faces her first couple of boss battles with her trustworthy revolver, but can find up to seven more weapons including bombs and a greatsword for future challenges. Although the variety in these weapons helped change the flow of combat, there was no need to switch weapons in combat and I found the spray and pray minigun to be my weapon of choice.  Unfortunately, I did not get to try the scythe or greatsword in my first playthrough. I am not the type to explore every nook and cranny, so I must have missed them along the way. 

Despite not checking every corner, the exploration of Itta’s new world was as fun as the boss battles. The pixelated art style of the Garden is beautiful. It is a mostly abandoned world that looks grim while maintaining a colorful palette. This environment is further complimented by great character and boss design and made almost perfect by the amazing soundtrack. From the starting menu, to every section of the world there wasn’t a single part of the audio I can complain about. The soundtrack not only added to the atmosphere but helped convey the emotions Itta felt as she progressed through her ordeal. This helped the storytelling as overall there isn’t much dialogue in the game. The music of Itta also helps in getting your heart pumping as the boss battles reach later stages with bullets covering almost the entire screen. The boss battles got quite frenetic with increasing difficulty as the boss came closer to defeat. These second halves of battles were the real highlight as the bosses showed their true power with more variety in their attack patterns distinguishing them from other bosses. About half of the 18 bosses posed a real challenge that took me multiple attempts to beat. Despite this, I would not say that Itta is an overall difficult game. It’s clear that Jacob Williams, the developer, wanted Itta to be accessible even giving the option to turn on damage multipliers, and invincibility. I did not end up using these although I was tempted to when fighting The King. 

The King, despite being one of my favorite bosses, is where I first began to have minor issues. This boss has a teleport move that is currently not telegraphing properly leading to easy deaths. I must have had over 15 attempts at this boss before finally coming out on top. Outside of this bug, I had a few others including: getting stuck in corners after a roll, bombs not tossing on multiple occasions, and frame-rate drops while in handheld mode during the busiest moments of battle. In handheld mode I also had a few camera issues where the boss would just not be in view as they got too far away during some attacks. I mainly used the minigun as mentioned earlier to circumvent this issue of needing to have precise shots as I play handheld more than docked. None of these issues are game-breaking in any way and the developer has already patched The King on Steam and is working on a bigger patch for Nintendo Switch. Outside of technical issues, there are a couple of things that I believe would take Itta from being great to amazing. The combat is fun, but overall repetitive. I was not able to quickly switch weapons during combat as the best time to do so would be during a roll to avoid getting hit. Unfortunately, I could only access the weapon wheel when not rolling which would lead to getting hit easily as it is quite intrusive on the screen and takes time to go away. I think that if Itta was required to switch weapons throughout different stages of each battle to overcome challenges, combat would have been less repetitive as the flow would have to change. Finally, I am okay with the overall story being ambiguous as to how the world came to be, or even what Itta’s fate is. However, I would have liked more findable lore before each boss to get more of their backstory and how they fit into the world. These bosses were so greatly designed visually that more of them should have had a story to match. 

Despite some shortcomings, I am so glad I picked up Itta on release. The MSRP of $15 is the perfect price for this approximately six-hour long game. It is incredible to me that such a great game was created by a single guy for his first release. Itta is a game I will be recommending to all that enjoy this genre and I foresee it becoming an Indie gem. Itta scores an 85/100. 

[budgetgamingna]

Pikuniku – Nintendo Switch

Developer: Sectordub

Publisher: Devolver Digital

David Perez

 Pikuniku is a puzzle-adventure game where you explore a colorful world full of collectibles while thwarting the evil plans of Mr. Sunshine. Piku, the titular character, is a blob-like creature with extendable legs that allow you to jump, roll, and swing through the villages you will encounter. Each village has multiple trophies to find or unlock with mini-games discovered as Piku talks to villagers or finds hidden items. The fun in this game is found in its exploration and quirky humor, bad physics included.

I really enjoyed my time with Pikuniku, or The Blob Game, as my fiancé calls it. The entire time I played it I kept thinking that the game is just one big giant meme that is self-aware. At this point I am still not entirely sure what the hell I played, but it was a ton of fun despite the game’s shortcomings. First, the game is way too short. Even for completionists there is less than four hours of gameplay time in the main story. There are apparently co-op levels that can add to more game time, but I didn’t play these. Although I would highly recommend this game for new gamers, experienced players will find Pikuniku to be extremely easy. There is almost no difficulty in the platforming, puzzles, or boss fights. Even with the wonky physics that come about with playing as a blob with legs, the platforming is just too easy. Despite this major issue, I wouldn’t think many people would get bored with this game. The atmosphere provided by the environments, music, and slapstick comedy is just too charming to pass up. This indie game also runs perfectly in handheld mode and while docked. I didn’t face any audio issues, bugs, or glitches in my playthrough.

Pikuniku is a title that I can highly recommend, but just not at full MSRP of $12.99. Although the experience is worth it and this game is better than many titles at this same price, the run time of this game with limited replayability prevents me from saying go and buy it now. Pikuniku is good, but has not blown me away, so wait for another sale. The good news is that this title does tend to go on sale frequently. Pikuniku scores an 80/100.

[budgetgamingna]

10 Budget Games on Sale Nintendo eShop 4.5.2020

By David Perez

 Cosmonauta – QUByte Interactive

New low 91% off

$0.99 down to $0.09

Sale ends 4/6

Cosmonauta is a fun platformer with some really challenging moments throughout its 64 levels. I have not completed this title yet but am really enjoying my time with it. Nothing new or revolutionary here to the platforming genre, but the controls and level design are solid. At 9 cents it is pretty much a no-brainer to jump on this sale before it ends tomorrow. Based off my experience so far though, even if you miss the sale Cosmonauta is worth the full price.

 Drawful 2 – Jackbox Games

New low 99% off

$9.99 down to $0.09

Sale ends 4/9

Drawful 2 is another great addition to your eBoardgame collection to play with the family while practicing social distancing. This title is a standalone by Jackbox games where players attempt to guess what a funny thing is from drawings done by phone or tablet. In short, this is a better version of Pictionary that allows user generated inputs for even more hilarious moments. Again, at only 9 cents with infinite replayability, Drawful 2 is a steal right now.

 Conduct Together – Northplay

New low 100% off

$19.99 down to $0.01

Sale ends 4/10

One more party game to add to the list! Conduct Together is, for all intents and purposes, currently free. By purchasing this game at 1 cent you get 1 gold coin back which is also valued at 1 cent. Hence the 100% off sale. In Conduct Together you conduct trains delivering passengers along railways while switching tracks, braking, and slowing down time to avoid collisions alone, or with up to 3 friends locally. There are multiple challenges and puzzles to overcome with the difficulty ramping up quickly. I have gotten some enjoyment from this title already alone, but I think it will be much more fun with a group of people. This sale will be long over by then, but I plan on spending more time with Conduct Together once I can have friends over again for some laughs alongside Drawful 2.

 Flipping Death – Zoink Games

Matches previous low 75% off

$19.99 down to $4.99

Sale ends 4/11

Flipping Death mixes elements of point-and-click adventures with puzzle platforming. I got this title from prior recommendations on other channels as an introduction into point-and-click games as I have never been able to enjoy them. So far, the visual style is great, audio is good, and I am enjoying the humorous moments flipping between the worlds of the living and the dead. In Flipping Death, Penny dies suddenly and mysteriously leading her to meet Death himself. She gets stuck with his job while he goes off to vacation and her adventure commences to solve the mystery of her death while helping those not able to just rest in peace. I have seen Flipping Death on sale for this price multiple times already, so if this doesn’t look like a must have now go ahead and wait for the next time it’s on sale.

 Trine: Ultimate Collection – Modus Games

New low 60% off

$49.99 down to $19.99

Sale ends 4/14

Trine: Ultimate Collection is the only title I have not bought on this list. At its new lowest price, the collection has huge value for the price with all 4 Trine titles included. Trine 4 is currently on sale for $15, so this collection is like getting Trine 1-3 for only $5. I didn’t get this one because I already have Trine 1-3 on Steam and I will just wait a bit longer for Trine 4 to drop. Trine is a really fun 2.5D puzzle-platformer where you switch between a warrior, mage, and thief to get across multiple challenges. These games are great played alone, but are even more fun in co-op. If none of the other choices on this list interest you, go ahead and get this collection that will keep you occupied with great games for quite some time.

 Mechstermination Force – Hörberg Productions

New low 50% off

$11.99 down to $5.99

Sale ends 4/16

I haven’t had a chance to try Mechstermination Force yet, but I am most excited about playing this one soon. Hörberg Productions created the excellent Gunman Clive Collection, so I have high expectations for this title. This title rarely goes on sale and with the recent limited physical release already having sold it, this will be the best time to get it. Mechstermination Force is described as an action-packed platforming boss rush. If these battles are anything like the final boss of Gunman Clive 2, I am all in.

 Bastion – Supergiant Games

Matches previous low 80% off

$14.99 down to $2.99

Sale ends 4/19

Bastion is the title that is going to be on everyone’s lists for this eShop sale. There isn’t much more to say about this amazing game that hasn’t been said. Great combat with a ton of replay value, fantastic audio (seriously look up the soundtrack, and possibly the best narration in any game. Bastion is the title that got me interested in Indie games and I am sure it will be the same for you.

 Bury Me, My Love – Pixel Hunt

Matches previous low 80% off

$4.99 down to $0.99

Sale ends 4/19

Bury Me, My Love is a decision text-based game where your choices lead to a multitude of endings. This is a story about the dangers refugees face escaping from war-torn countries and has some really heavy and emotional moments. In my review, I gave Bury Me, My love a 65/100 because choices overall are quite limited, and Switch does not seem to be the best option to play this title on. Lately I have been thinking about this game. A LOT. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic my family had to scramble and find a way to get my sister back stateside from Colombia earlier than her intended travel plans. Multiple flights got canceled as countries began to close their borders and there was a real risk of her being stuck abroad as many others have. Our scenario wasn’t necessarily life or death as presented for Nour in Bury Me, My Love, but like I said this event just made this game that much more relatable to me.

 Lydia – Platonic Partnership

New low 34% off

$4.00 down to $2.66

Sale ends 4/20

Lydia is the second game I reviewed, and I scored it with an 80/100. This is one of those walking-simulators that has a great story and is just a treat to experience although being short. With the current pandemic we are living through there have been multiple reports of domestic abuses cases rising. There is no better time to experience this story that is highly relevant now to the effects heavy trauma like alcoholism have on children. Jump on it while Lydia is at its lowest price ever.

 Invisigun Reloaded – Sombr Studio

New low 95% off

$19.99 down to $0.99

Sale ends 4/22

Invisigun is a stealth battler where everyone is invisible. Attacking and environmental cues are the only way to locate your own character but will also give your position away to opponents. I have not had a chance to get into online play against live opponents, but I am really enjoying the bit I have played in campaign. This seems to be a great game for those who like high skill-level caps as they master game mechanics.

 13 Games Total = $38.79

9 Games without Trine: Collection = $18.80

 Avoid

Agony – Madmind Studio

New low 90% off

$19.99 down to $1.99

Sale ends 4/9

I was really hyped for Agony back in 2018 when it was released on PS4 as I love horror games. Being a big fan of Dante’s Inferno (both the game and epic poem) further raised my excitement as the setting of these agonies would be in Hell also. Well we all know how the game released to little fanfare and average to mediocre reviews. Seeing Agony be on sale for just $2 dollars I thought to myself, “Can’t be that bad.” Well yes, it is that bad. Within 20 minutes I gave up on this game as I had to restart the app from a freeze, had multiple frame-rate drops, audio bugs, screen tearing, and horrible graphics. This one is just a technical mess that I can’t imagine anyone would want to push through.

[budgetgamingna]

Aborigenus is an adventure platformer with light RPG elements developed by Flying Islands Team. In Aborigenus, invaders have enslaved your clan and you are the last hope to save your tribesmen. Truthfully, there is not much more to say about this game as it feels more like a demo than a completed game. Your adventure as the hero of this story is told through simple text screens and the occasional bubble chat to clue you in on what is going on in the world. Story goes as follows: clan is enslaved, hero gets new powers from a shaman, hero fights single boss battle and saves his clan. This all occurs in the span of an hour or less of game play time.

Game play in Aborigenus consists of simple platforming that requires no skill or precision and is just meant to move you from enemy to enemy. In many cases, slightly alternate platforms can be taken to avoid enemies, but there is no reason to do this as there is no challenge to the enemies and no hidden collectibles to find. The light RPG elements could add value to this title if it had more substance. You acquire the ability to use three different spells past the halfway point of the game, which are completely unnecessary to use except for in one instance to proceed in the game. I would much prefer the RPG elements to be removed from the game if it allows for a longer experience and focus on the stealth mechanic that can be used to score critical hits on enemies.

Complaints out of the way, I really enjoyed my 45 minutes completing Aborigenus. The simple retro art style is done well, and the controls worked flawlessly. For audiophiles, this game has some really great tribal beats at each stage that I can tell had a lot of work put into. At the full retail price of $5 I cannot recommend this game as in its current state there is just not enough content to merit a purchase over similarly priced titles like my recently reviewed Goblin’s Sword. What Aborigenus did do well is leaving me wanting more, which is why I feel that this is basically just a demo. Wait for another sale as I got this title at $2 so I don’t think it was a waste of money. Aborigenus scores a 55/100 for me.

[budgetgamingna]

Shadow of the Colossus is an action-adventure game that plays more like a puzzle boss fighter. This story is about Wander and his horse Agro on their journey to save a girl named Mono. In his attempt to revive her, Wander makes a deal with the entity named Dormin to slay all sixteen colossi in the forbidden land. By defeating each Colossi, Wander gets one step closer to completing the ritual which will allow for the resurrection of Mono. With almost no more information than this, Wander is thrust out into the forbidden land on his hunt for the first Colossus armed only with his horse, bow, and sword.

I played Shadow of the Colossus months ago for the first time but wanted to revisit it as for the month of March it is free to download with a PS Plus membership. I never played the original on PS2, so I did not have any nostalgia to influence my playthrough. Before I get into more detail, I want to say that this is an amazing game that you should try out while it is free, but it will not for everyone.

Shadow of the Colossus blew me away with how beautiful the landscape is despite its loneliness. Unlike most action-adventures, there are no towns, dungeons, or really anything to explore. Despite this, I was enthralled just riding Agro around seeing the different environments and the imposing Colossi from a distance. Although I would have liked more story and a more filled world, the reality is that the emptiness of it all adds to the mystery and loneliness of Wander’s seemingly insurmountable task. The colossi he faces range from humanoid to animalistic features from air, land, and sea. One common thing they share is that they are all massive compared to Wander. I view this as more of a puzzle game as the main gameplay loop is to figure out how to climb on to these Colossi made of stone and rock. After climbing to certain locations, Wander can attack critical points that are made of organic matter until eventually landing the final blow on the head of each colossi. Simple enough concept, but each Colossus offers a different challenge of attack patterns, and puzzle of how to climb to their weak points. These fights are magnificent in scale and further show the beauty of the artistic design of the game. Shadow of the Colossus also offers a photo mode which easily allows for some great wallpaper for any images you take of the environments and colossi. To further add to the ambience of the game, the fully orchestrated soundtrack pairs perfectly with the tone of each environment and colossus fight. I have been listening to the soundtrack again while writing this, and highly recommend you go and take a listen even if you don’t play the game.

This title is definitely worthy of its praise as one of the best PlayStation games ever created, but it does have its flaws. The camera angles can get a bit hard to manage during some boss fights and the controls are not the best compared to modern titles. The lack of a filled world adds to the overall mood of the game, but I really disliked having such a minimalistic story. With this remaster it would have been a great addition to add short cutscenes or unlockable lore for each colossi to understand them more. Finally, although I enjoyed the main gameplay loop the reality is this game will not be fun for many people. Once the method of climbing onto a colossus is discovered, the game is really just a climbing simulator while avoiding being shaken off. There is a thrill in discovering the pattern while avoiding attacks from a colossus, but then it just becomes monotonous climbing. Because of this, I highly recommend this title to those that love their games to be an artistic experience like Journey and say to those who aren’t to just give it a try. Not much to lose out on this title can be gotten for free this month. Shadow of the Colossus may not hit my top ten of all time as it will for others, but I give this amazing display of art an 85/100.

[budgetgamingna]

Goblin Sword

Goblin Sword is a retro-inspired 16-bit action platformer with a simple two button scheme. After an evil wizard invades your hometown with monsters, you head out to slay them all while collecting loot in the process. Goblin Sword is worth the price of entry with plenty of content for completionists despite being repetitive and overall easy.

I had a fun time with Goblin Sword, but about halfway through the 80+ levels I began to feel that the levels were just a grind to get to the much more fun boss battles. Each level is quite easy to speed run through, but you won’t want to as there are two chest and three gems to collect in each level which can grant more heart pieces, income, relics, and souvenirs. In-game currency can then be used to buy swords with different stats and special attacks, armor that is purely cosmetic, and relics that grant stat boosts or abilities. Although I understand the purpose of adding these light RPG mechanics to add life to the game, I found them to detract from the fun as the levels were all quite easy without the added buffs. The platforming in this game is also quite light with challenges only coming into play for those actively searching for every collectible. Combat is old-school with any time you get hit or simply touch an enemy causing the loss of a heart point. During the regular levels there can be some difficulty in later stages where the screen begins to get flooded with multiple monsters, but since most of them die from a single hit it never becomes unmanageable. There is also an energy mechanic that allows you to release a special attack unique to each sword type which is completely overpowered. I found that most levels I would have my energy meter constantly refilled allowing me to wipe multiple monsters at the same time with a single attack. With the mostly easy combat in the regular levels I began to only care about getting through them as quickly as possible to get to the more challenging and varied boss battles. Each boss has a unique design and unique attack patterns that made it fun to figure out how to beat them. Maybe because I never spent the time searching out heart pieces and went through all of Goblin Sword with the beginning three heart points; I found some of the boss battles to be really challenging raising my satisfaction when I would finally beat them after multiple attempts.

Audio and visuals in Goblin Sword also face the same issue as the gameplay, repetition. There is only one background song per world that contains 15+ stages which only helps to further the view that the levels are a grind. Visually there is good variety of enemies in the levels, but as I progressed further, I realized most were just reskins of monsters in prior worlds to fit their current world. I can understand a low budget title like this one needing to use the same sprites, but I would have preferred fewer levels with more variety in audio, and visual design with much more challenging combat.

Goblin Sword retails for $5, but I was able to get it on sale for $3. Despite what seems to be a negative review, I think this title is worth the price at full retail or sale. For lovers of retro games and this genre, Goblin Sword has a lot to offer in content and the boss battles alone make it worthwhile for me.

Final Score for me is 70/100.

[budgetgamingna]

Bury Me, My Love is a text-based game about the journey of a Syrian refugee into Europe. Nour attempts to immigrate to France with guidance from her husband Majd to escape the tragedies of the Syrian civil war. This isn’t a single tale though as many paths can be taken leading to 27 different endings depending on how you choose to advise Nour as Majd. The game is played through a simple text messaging interface where you respond to Nour’s progress to France via limited emoji and text options. Gameplay-wise this title does not have much going for it with limited choices and many of the paths converging into the same story beats, but the emotional impact of Nour’s story makes this an easy recommendation. 

When Bury Me, My Love went on sale for $1 the premise quickly interested me as I am first-generation born in the United States. Although I don’t know the full story, I do know that my mother had a tough journey from Colombia to the United States where multiple things could have gone wrong, potentially fatally. As my mother had to immigrate alone, so does Nour in the story of Bury Me, My Love. Majd postpones leaving Syria to care for his parents that would not be able to make the trip leaving Nour to do it alone. This single decision, made before the start of the game, foreshadows many of the difficult decisions that are made by refugees attempting to leave a war-ridden country. Within the first couple of minutes issues begin to arise where you, as Majd, advise Nour to pay more than the agreed price to a shady taxi driver, or change plans completely with her going to a different city. My brain instantly began to think of everything that could go wrong with both options. If Nour spends this much more now will she run out of money before making it to France? Will going to this other city delay her even longer from leaving the region, or put her in a more dangerous place? Reluctantly, I chose to have Nour pay the cab driver more and stick with the plan. Anxiously, I would help Nour make many more decisions as she would not always listen to my advice leading to a horrible first ending. Despite not getting a good ending on my first playthrough, the ending of each run is the true gem of this game. Each ending has a unique audio clip from Nour that is spectacularly voice acted and really punches you with the emotional weight of the anxiety, fear, joy, and second-guessing that occurs throughout that specific journey. I’ll likely never see Nour again. My father may have never seen my mother again. 

I can highly recommend Bury Me, My Love, just not on the Nintendo Switch. Throughout my two playthroughs I kept thinking to myself that it would be so much more impactful if I could have a delay in text responses from Nour to further build the anxiety that would be felt while waiting for her to reply. In many cases an issue would arise and within 30 seconds we were talking about a different topic as the conversation moved along so fast on the Switch.  After looking into this game some more I came to find out that the mobile version of this title provides just this with text messages coming in in real time. Can you imagine having a loved one message you right before she is going to cross a border and then radio silence for three days? I never want to experience this in real life, I do with this game. For me, there were also many performance issues with multiple crashes at the start of the story during both playthroughs. With the text messages coming in so fast, I would receive one towards the end of that day and it would instantly jump to the next day before I could read the message. Yes, you can go back and read the prior messages, but I also had difficulty opening the prior tabs at times. My biggest complaint though about Bury Me, My Love is how little dialogue choices you have. About 70% of the texts you will send Nour are a choice of three emojis. I am sure that my choice of emoji affected the outcome of Nour’s journey, but I have no way of knowing in what way. It seems extremely lazy on the writer’s part and is the equivalent of that friend that responds “K” to everything. If there are to be any future installments I would like there to be more dialogue choices with only the occasional emojis, and I would hope for more audio clips throughout the story, not just the end. 

For $1 I have no regrets buying Bury Me, My Love. Normally it retails for $5 which isn’t a terrible price for how many different playthroughs you can get, but if you are going to buy it at full price just opt for the mobile version. Between my two playthroughs I spent around three hours with this game so definitely worth that $1 cost of entry. When Bury Me My Love goes on sale again do yourself a favor and get this game that is quite relevant to current issues occurring in Europe. My final score for this game on Nintendo Switch is 65/100.

[budgetgamingna]

Balthazar’s Dream

My experience with Balthazar’s Dream has been a nightmare. What seemed to be a cute action platformer about a dog rescuing his best friend quickly became a flea infestation of bad controls, mechanics, and level design.

Individual scores below are based off a top score of 20 for each category.

Gameplay (8) – Balthazar’s Dream claims to be a challenging puzzle platformer. The game is difficult for sure, but not because of difficult puzzles or tough platforming. This title relies heavily on its fear mechanic where if Balthazar is close to an enemy for too long, directional controls will be reversed and at peak fear any jump action is amplified to get across large gaps. I like the idea of this mechanic, but it was poorly implemented as you can’t control when a super jump becomes available with fear buildup being inconsistent. This led to the platforming being challenging only because there is no way to get good timing for jumps, and Balthazar would repeatedly swan dive off ledges. In many cases, I ended up using poor level design where I jumped on walls or other objects in the level as platforms that clearly were not designed to be such. Gameplay was also made more challenging by a plethora of bugs like getting one hit killed by a single flea when it takes three of them at once to kill Balthazar. The most disappointing thing is that this game provides great variety in enemies to avoid and environmental hazards, but almost all of these had at least one bug associated with it. The puzzles are also more of a game of chance as seen in the first level having to score a basket with Balthazar launching a ball at random and hoping it bounces just right to land in the basket. A quick search on twitter shows that this part of the first level is where many give up on the game.

Audio (12) – Outside of some issues with audio clipping caused by the fear mechanic, the soundtrack is the best aspect of Balthazar’s Dream. Each chapter has a different track that suits the levels well. My favorite is in Chapter 6 where a heart-pounding rhythm plays as you race against a descending ceiling. Unfortunately, I will never find out if the final levels get even better musically. There is no voice over in this title with the story being told through balloon chat and animal sounds.

Performance (5) – This game could have easily been called Murphy’s Law as everything that could go wrong in my playthrough did. During my two hours of gameplay I had multiple crashes, framerate drops, audio clipping, and eventually a game-breaking bug. Even after resetting the game multiple times I am stuck in an eternal loop of spawning and dying right away so I will never get past level six. I also recommend never pausing the game. If you need to take a break just put the screen to sleep. For me, pausing would lead to a reset of the game as I could not get out of the pause screen.

Visual (11) – The trailer for Balthazar’s Dream is what first got me excited for this title outside of the sale price point with cutesy pixel graphics. The visual design begins quite poorly in the first level but gets better as the game progresses into deeper and darker dreams. Balthazar’s dreams are nicely varied seeing him go from a home, to a forest, and even into outer space. Enemy and environmental hazard designs are also quite appropriate for what a dog would fear like cats and vacuums.

Budget (6) – Balthazar’s Dream retails for $8, but I was able to get it on a big sale for only $0.80. At full price I can not recommend this game to anyone based off the short run time and high chance of not being able to complete the game anyway. There is no replay value in this game unless if you want to run it through with all the five choosable dogs as there are no secrets or collectibles. Even on sale, I have a hard time recommending this title unless you enjoy the challenge of completing a poorly designed game.

I really wanted to enjoy and be able to recommend Balthazar’s Dream. I gave up on it three times and would return to it the next day because I feel there is something special that can be had here. The game has good bones, but needs a major overhaul patch for bugs and to polish core mechanics before I give it a second chance.

Critical Score: 42 Personal Score: 40 Final Answer: 41

[budgetgamingna]

Lydia - Nintendo Switch Review

Lydia is a story-driven walking simulator where you travel in the shoes of a child through her tragic upbringing. This game focuses on heavy traumas and how a child processes them through their imagination. The story gripped me from the first shot, and I had to complete it in one sitting.

Individual scores below are based off a top score of 20 for each category.

Gameplay (10) – Lydia is much closer to being a visual novel than an interactive story a la Telltale Games. The game is all about moving from Point A to Point B to progress the story with occasional dialogue choices. The reality though, is that you have no real choices to make as the dialogue options lead to different responses from those whom you interact with, but only one option progresses the story in most cases.  I am conflicted about wanting to have had real choices, but it is also sobering to think about how appropriate this game design is for Lydia as a child would also have no control of events in an abusive home.

Audio (18) – The ambient music in Lydia fits perfectly with each scene as you progress through the chapters. The music can be dark, frightening, sublime, and then reassuring depending on how the child feels in each chapter. There is no proper voice acting of the text, instead being replaced by gibberish sounds common in low-budget games. This is fine, but I would have preferred the use of the “spoken” word to have been kept at a minimum and only to help further convey emotions. It can get quite tiresome to hear “pa po pi pap” every few seconds of text to be responded to by a “pi pa po pap.”

Performance (15) – For the most part, Lydia ran smoothly. I occasionally had some long load times in between scenes and chapters. I also experienced some stuttering in the frames in between scenes. No crashes or bugs to report throughout my session.

Visual (20) – “WOW!” Is really all I have to say. The visuals in this game are by far the highlight with many panels being deserving of being posted in an abstract art museum somewhere. Characters have a bit of variety in design from clear features to abstract designs depending on Lydia’s view of her surroundings. It is difficult to speak more on the visuals without spoiling specific examples in the story, so suffice it to say if you enjoy dark, gray-scale abstract art you will enjoy Lydia.  

Budget (17) – The story of Lydia is quite short and how much time you spend on this game really depends on reading speed, and time spent admiring the visuals. Budget-wise this visual novel loses points because I wish it would have lasted more than an hour and the conclusion felt rushed. Since there are no real choices to make, there is zero replay value. Lydia retails for $4 and I got it on sale in the eShop for $3. At the cost of a standard comic it is an obvious choice for me to recommend this game at either price point as I would have picked up this story in that medium also.

I would highly recommend Lydia to anyone interested in story-driven games. The art style and soundtrack hooked me and reminded me why videogames are my preferred method of consuming media. The one hour spent completing this story kept me far more engrossed than most hour long tv shows on Netflix. Although this game won’t be great for those who need a more interactive and involved title, it is a great starting point for someone who just really isn’t a gamer.

Critical Score: 80

Personal Score: 80

Final Answer: 80

[budgetgamingna]

Gunman Clive HD Collection Review - Switch

Gunman Clive HD is a side-scrolling action platformer set in the old West that lives up to classics of the genre which it draws inspiration from. This cowboy does not do much for advancing the genre, but the great art style and terrific boss fights should make this game a staple in anyone’s Switch library.

Individual scores below are based off a top score of 20 for each category.

Gameplay (16) – Like most basic action side-scrollers, Gunman Clive only has two action buttons which are to jump and shoot. There is also no real diversity in weapon choices and the majority of playtime you will be running around with your basic pea shooter. The platforming gets tougher as you progress introducing mechanics that make timing crucial but maintains fairness with no major difficulty spikes in level design. There are also some nice surprises in level design that shies away from just 2D side-scrolling which I won’t spoil any more of. These stages are great for providing relief from the standard 2D platforming and as a means to change the setting into a new time period. Outside of great level design, the true hero of this collection are the boss battles that challenge you to focus on attack patterns while maintain timing. The bosses are well varied with only a few sharing similar basic attacks. I especially like the final boss that reminds me of a boss fight in a much bigger budget game, Shadow of the Colossus.

Audio (16) – The background music in Gunman Clive has some great themes, but overall would get repetitive in sections. I noticed this a lot more in Part 2 of the collection where the more varied level designs don’t always have music playing that suits the stage. The audio effects for enemies and shooting is quite standard for a budget game in this genre.

Performance (16) – There isn’t much to say for performance with Gunman Clive as it isn’t a taxing game on the Switch. The port from 3DS was done well, and I have not experienced any bugs, crashes, or framerate drops. The controls work well with no input delays; any time I die from a failed jump in this game is simply because I am trash at platformers.

Visual (15) – When deciding to get this collection, the hand-drawn art style is what first drew me in. Clive goes from battling bandits in the Old West to a mish-mash of time periods which lends to some great surprising levels in Part 2. Despite the great variety in enemies and level design during such a short run time, as I progressed further, the choice to maintain some enemies throughout all the settings had me puzzled as they simply didn’t fit. Also, although Part 2 is much more diverse in level design, I cannot get over how many of the stages in the latter portion have a dark background which lessens the aesthetics of the hand-drawn style.

Budget (18) – Gunman Clive HD retails for $4 on the Switch eShop. This price is a bargain already, but you can regularly find it on sale for $2-3. I would recommend this collection to any platformer lover at full MSRP, so catching it on sale is a steal. The collection has a short run time with an approximate three hours to complete but has some replay value for anyone into speed running games as each stage keeps track of time to complete. Part 2 also offers other playable characters including a melee one that can really ramp up the difficulty for future playthroughs.

I had a fantastic time with Gunman Clive HD and despite this being a pick-up and go game, I did not want to put it down after a few stages. My nitpickings about Gunman Clive are just that and I found that I enjoyed this game much more than the sum of its parts. This is one of the best 2D action platformers on the Nintendo Switch and deserves a playthrough by any fan of the genre.

 Critical Score: 81

Personal Score: 85

Final Answer: 83

[budgetgamingna]

hahaha too real. 

[budgetgamingna]

Life story of my dogs. 

[budgetgamingna]

Great artwork.

Forgot to post this one from a while ago! /Conrad

[budgetgamingna]

Still need to get around to playing this game.... once I can get through my backlog of games I need to review.

“You bring people together. You’re their bridge to the future… and mine.”