VIDEO GAME: Cave Story+ (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Cave Story+ Year: 2017 Rating: E10+ Time Played: 6+ hours I am always impressed with what individual game developers can create. Many of these games (like Undertale, for example) feel like the freeware and shareware games of my youth in the ‘90s. Cave Story has similar origins and feel with its retro pixel aesthetic (made even more striking in the Cave Story+ version I played on the Nintendo Switch) but has the unfortunate comparison to modern platformers that might have slightly tighter controls. Still, it is impressive that something so thoroughly thought out and containing lots of deep lore could be created by a singular individual. What stands out about Cave Story is how charming it is. The characters are memorable and sometimes goofy (like Balrog) but the tragedy of the overarching plot makes you really care for these creatures. Each area you explore has a purpose and there isn’t a lot of extra side quests to distract from the main goal of the game....
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VIDEO GAME: Donut County (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Donut CountyYear: 2018Rating: ETime Played: ~2 hours Most indie games these days make up for their limitations with stylized visuals and tongue-in-cheek humor. One of the current visual styles favored by developers is the cel-shaded look that gives us games like Untitled Goose Game, What the Golf? and Donut County. While Donut County predates those two other games, it definitely has its moments of humor that likely inspired its predecessors. It might be a bit goofy at times, but Donut County is fun for a few hours of gameplay. There's not much to keep you playing past the end credits, though. The basic gameplay premise of Donut County is similar to Katamari Damacy, wherein you have to make a hole big enough to swallow up larger and larger objects until nothing is left. There's a bit of a puzzle element to some of the levels, where you have to use consumed items to trigger other parts of the level so you can...
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