amphibious_ReViews

I bought Hollow Knight shortly after it was released on Switch because I had heard good things about it, and the screenshots all looked beautiful. I don't think I actually knew it was a Metroidvania at the time, and I never got around to playing it anyway. I'm glad I waited though, because my experience with the Metroid series helped me to appreciate it way more than I would have back in 2018. I've developed a patience for difficult boss fights and backtracking that I didn't have seven years ago, and now I'm excitedly exploring a vast and rewarding array of Metroidvania games. I would consider Hollow Knight the hardest I've played yet, further convincing me that I wouldn't have liked it very much when I bought it, but the payoff for my dedication to mastering its combat and traversal mechanics is enormous. Hollow Knight starts by dropping you on the very edge of its world, controlling a little bug warrior known only as "the knight." Like any good s

For the longest time, I had thought Metroid Prime would be the first Metroid game I would beat. The trilogy mocked my empty wallet from its pedestal in the WiiU eShop until I got distracted by the Switch and left it behind. I would still look back on it with longing every once in a while, but one day I felt compelled to try Zero Mission and 2D Metroid consumed me. Now, having beaten at least one iteration of every game in the mainline saga, Metroid Prime once again entered my sights. Easily the definitive version, Metroid Prime Remastered graced the Switch and showed me what I've been missing after all these years. I was honestly a bit worried after having played Dread so recently because I wasn't sure how well the search action formula would translate to 3D. I had heard that the backtracking had turned a lot of people off, which was never much of an issue for me in the mainline games, but I still felt a bit anxious about it. I quickly learned that those fears were entirely u

It took just two rogue headlines in my newsfeed mentioning a "one-dimensional PAC-MAN " for me to be overwhelmed by curiosity. I could only see simplifying the arcade classic as a way to make it less engaging, and yet multiple people considered it exciting enough to write an entire article about. Upon giving it a try, I realized that the new one-dimensional form factor actually made the game much easier to pick up and play, leading me to pull it up a lot more frequently than I ever did its inspiration, albeit for much shorter play sessions. PAKU PAKU follows the explosive trend, pioneered by the likes of Flappy Bird, of trimming down gameplay to its barest bones for the raw dopamine-generating power of quick restarts and high-score chasing. Just like in PAC-MAN, you'll control a gluttonous monochrome circle as it attempts to eat as many dots as possible while avoiding instant death at the hands of an ever-pursuing ghost. While said ghost moves faster than you, there are a