review

Warframe Review

PS4, Shooter

Developer(s): Digital Extremes, Panic Button Games
Price: Free
Platform(s):PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Reviewed for: PS4
Estimated playtime: Infinite

While I have continued to play stress-relieving games during quarantine, the madness seems to have reached me because I played a shooter. If you have viewed my “About” page, then you know that shooters are my weakness (and I mean that in a bad way). I just suck at them, I can’t aim for nothin’ and they get under my skin. NOT STRESS-RELIEVING! I’m going to be honest, I did not play much of this game…just enough to get a general idea about it. Read how it all went…

Story

With space as your setting, you can expect a lot of lore

If you have ever played an MMO, then you know how intimidating the lore can get. Warframe follows that same formula. When I briefly played Warframe back when it originally launched, I easily surmised that the setting was futuristic sci-fi where good guys (the warrior-race called Tenno) were fighting bad aliens. I never ventured beyond that story premise, mainly because the gameplay was not the best at the time and I stopped playing it. More on gameplay in a bit. Stepping back into it all of these years later, I decided to try and decipher a little more of the story. Well, I got to about the same point honestly. I do now know that the Tenno (who you play as) are in a galactic battle against several different evil alien races/factions: the Grineer, Corpus, Infested, and Sentients. As a Tenno warrior, you are granted a Warframe: essentially a super high-tech suit of armor that grants the Tenno various abilities. You are tasked with bringing an end to all of the suffering caused by the aforementioned aliens. And that’s all you need to know! No, not really. If sci-fi is your thing, there is a robust story in Warframe to dissect, with regular updates that continue to expand its universe.

Gameplay

Brandish a sword or a gun

Going back to what I previously said about not liking the gameplay…well…I like it a bit better now. I still suck at shooters, that hasn’t changed! However, Warframe has a welcoming game mechanic to people like me that places equal emphasis on abilites and swordplay as it does on guns. You can deck your Tenno with lances and swords, and depending on the Warframe that you choose, you can upgrade certain abilities that are fun to activate. At the beginning of your playthrough, you must choose your first Warframe: sparky Volt, crowd controlling Mag, or the all-around build Excalibur. I personally chose Mag for my first Warframe, but soon regretted that decision. Luckily for me though, the other starter Warframes are easily attainable early on in the game and then even more are available later in the game. There are limitless builds because of all of this, and I have barely scratched the surface. All of that customization is cool and all, but how it the performance? Well, loose. I akin the feel of Warframe’s hand-to-hand combat to that of Skyrim’s. It just feels like I am swinging away into the air blindly. The shooting mechanic feels good, though. A standard shooter I will say. I don’t know exactly how deep the possibilities are before you have to start investing real moola into it, but it seems like it’s pretty far.

Graphics

The vast universe

Warframe has its ups and downs with its graphics. Some environments appear polished, but when the frame-rate slows down, things can look a little rough. But hey, it’s an MMO and I can appreciate the work that has gone into it. The overhauled starting mission actually had the roughest looking areas to me, but areas and models later into the game look better. Areas that show off the infinite galaxy look the best in Warframe. Back when it originally launched alongside the PS4, Warframe was pretty, and it still is. The updates have kept it up to snuff.

Soundtrack

Warframe’s soundtrack follows your standard sci-fi soundtrack. Nothing too special here. However, the tracks did keep me involved during missions. It’s not as grand as Destiny’s soundtrack, but I have to give it credit for keeping my attention.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Customization options
Nice graphics (most of the time)

Cons:
Loose hand-to-hand combat
Lackluster soundtrack

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review

Simulator, Switch

Developer: Nintendo
Price: $59
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Reviewed for: Nintendo Switch
Estimated playtime: Infinite

Day six of quarantine due to coronavirus and the stress is getting to me… 0____0. Luckily, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is here to save the day!

Story

All hail Tom Nook

Starting over and escaping to a new town, city, or island sounds really good these days what with the current state of the world. When I was little, the appeal was still strong and I loved to get away to my Animal Crossing village after the school bus dropped me off from elementary (aka hell). Well good news for me because Animal Crossing: New Horizons could not have come at a better time for me and the rest of the world. This installment whisks you away to island life via plane where ol’ Tom Nook has started a new venture: all inclusive island getaway packages. You are one of the new residents looking to help populate the island and you are given the choice to choose its general layout beforehand. Once there, you meet the other residents and get a helping hand on the outdoor’s life from Tom, and little Tommy and Timmy. While Tom still makes sure you understand your mission of owing him bells and growing the island, he is not the greedy raccoon we all peg him for. His character, and many other notable ones like Blathers, is fleshed out SO much more in New Horizons. I was so happy to see many more dialogue options for everyone and chat with them. Needless to say, this installment goes really far to develop the familiar Animal Crossing storyline.

Gameplay

  • Be amazed at my DIY skills
  • My precious

My ONE continuous gripe with Animal Crossing throughout the years has been the lack of activities to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love the simple slice of life genre. I mean, that is the soul of Animal Crossing. I’m talking about the lack of activities to do after you get done with your daily rituals and have collected everything. Well, New Horizons you continue to amaze me! I don’t see an end in sight to the amount of things to do here. This is thanks to the numerous new features like the handy Nook Phone and the new crafting system. I won’t go too into detail, but you now have the challenge of DIY projects if you want, say a new lawn chair or shovel. It’s a system that is really balanced where I don’t feel like anything is too out of reach to create. The Nook Phone is where missions and rewards come into play. The Nook Miles App on the device offers numerous island life challenges and dishes out Nook Miles when they are completed. Nook Miles can be used in place of bells to purchase items or make loan payments. Don’t worry though, bells are still essential. I want to stress that I’m only scratching the surface of New Horizon’s amazing gameplay features, there is so much to do and I can’t wait to get back to it!

Graphics

#natureisbeauty

This game is breaking the limits of the age old saying of less is more. The simple art style of Animal Crossing shines on the Switch to be sure. The lush rustling leaves, the orange sunsets, the shining fruits, and the adorable character models make me want to stare at the screen forever. More than anything though, I now want to squish Timmy’s (or Tommy’s) cute little fluffy tail! I implore you to check out the gallery below of my favorite screenshots from my island so far. This game is an absolute joy to look at.

Soundtrack

Whose Spotify throwback list showed the Animal Crossing playlist as their #1 playlist for 2019? Mine. Does it show up as the #1 playlist on my Spotify throwback list every year. Oh yes. Will it continue to show as my #1 playlist on Spotify for the foreseeable future? Yes, and I will make sure New Horizon’s soundtrack is included. Folks, we got a winner here. Not only does the New Horizon’s soundtrack add new catchy tunes that I could read to all day, it fits right into the overall island feel. I don’t mean that they sound all tropical with coconuts, bananas and maracas. I mean there has been the addition of cute new instruments like soft horn toots. It’s the little things, you know? I am already loving the spring tracks and I look forward to hearing new ones as the seasons change.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Fun reinvention of a familiar story
Addicting gameplay features
Perfectly polished graphics
Spotify playlist-worthy soundtrack

Cons:
Nothing to note here!

Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review

PS4, Role-Playing

Developer: Toys For Bob
Price: ~$29
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Reviewed for: PS4
Estimated playtime: 30+ hours

As of today, the world is in the midst of preventing and combating the coronavirus (COVID-19). This means self-isolation to stop the spread of the virus. People are trying to make the best of the situation, and I wanted to do the same by playing and reviewing a very wholesome and nostalgic game from my childhood.

Story

Saving the world, one dragon, gem, and egg at a time

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy consists of the original three games: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The story between all three of them is kind of hard to separate. They all follow the same (and extremely simple) plot of Spyro on a quest to defeat a baddie. The first game does not develop much in the way of story, but things became a little more interesting once new characters were introduced in the second game. Cutscenes have still been kept really short like they were originally on the Playstation. When I was little, it was enough to satisfy me, but I was left wanting a lot more this time around. I understand that the Spyro Reignited Trilogy is more of a graphical overhaul than a complete game overhaul, but it could use some extra story bits. However, I chose to play and review this trilogy because of its simplicity in this troubling time. I had to remind myself that an innocent and simple story like this is just what I need in a game right now.

Gameplay

Reading the situation

I could run around as Spyro and spit fireballs ALL DAY. His new running animation looks and feels like a puppy scrambling around and is so satisfying to play. As soon as I gained control of Spyro, it was like a blast to my five-year-old past, but not in the best of ways. I had gamer rage as a child because of how loose the controls were. What I mean by that is how easy it was to accidentally fall off ledges, fly into walls, and barely miss a landing due to controls. Either I have not improved as a gamer in 16 years (which is likely), or the developers did not improve the controls in this trilogy that much. I got the most satisfaction from interacting with the environments and the puzzles spread throughout each world/level. All three games are pretty non-linear and tackling levels and bosses at my own pace was freeing.

Graphics

Our little purple dragon never looked better

This trilogy is absolutely gorgeous and definitely benefitted from being developed using Unreal Engine 4. I was not prepared for how lush it would look. The cartoon-like art style translated really well from the original games to this trilogy. Even when I was little, I thought the environments were so cool, but now they are perfected. The updated character animations are where it really shines. One of the dragons that Spyro rescues early in the first game has the cutest fat tummy jiggle physics (watch out boob physics 0_0). It is so fun to see the different enemy animations when you attack them and watch character’s faces during dialogue sequences. All three games run really well, but I did notice some graphic hiccups when entering a new world or when floating up fast on a whirlwind. Nothing major, just me being picky.

Soundtrack

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy’s soundtrack keeps the original game’s soul intact. Every time I entered a new world, I had deja vu from the soundtrack. Each world’s track fits it perfectly. Magical xylophones in the wizard-themed worlds, whistles in the western desert worlds, you get the idea. It all added to that sweet nostalgia.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Charming, if not simple story
Lush graphics
Nostalgia-approved soundtrack

Cons:
Loose controls

Ritual: Sorcerer Angel Review

iPhone, Role-Playing

Developer: David Peroutka
Price: Free intro, $3.99 for whole game
Platforms: iPhone, Android, Steam (PC & Mac), Switch
Reviewed for: iPhone
Estimated playtime: 6 hours

Story

Catch me if you dare plague man

The story of Ritual: Sorcerer Angel follows a resurrected angel named…Angel…on his quest to reach Hell. Angel is an anti-hero who seems to be an enemy to the gods and on a quest to destroy the world, but the ones that stand in your way don’t seem to be very good themselves. The very people that resurrected and then tried to sacrifice you refer to themselves as Cultists and don creepy plague masks. In Ritual: Sorcerer Angel, evil and good are not black and white. While the story runs a little slow and then fast at times, its running theme of trying to figure out if you really are the bad guy in all of this held my attention throughout my playthrough.

Gameplay

Chaotic fun

The gameplay can best be described as addictive chaotic spell-casting pinball. Moving your finger around the left side of the screen changes Angel’s running direction, while pressing buttons on the right side casts your preset spells. Once the level starts, massive amounts of enemies start to fill up the screen and you must avoid, stab, and cast spells to defeat them. It’s all about strategic crowd control. As you progress from level to level, you attain new skills and spells. Customizing them to fit each level’s enemies is really fun and becomes crucial when you get stuck. Learning how to adapt to each level’s environment also becomes a gameplay factor because some have enemy-killing fire traps and others have spikes coming from the ground to avoid. Rather than getting annoyed or overwhelmed when there was an influx of enemies on the screen, I really enjoyed it because that meant more explosions and chances to strategize how I could use the environment with my spells. Another interesting mechanic is that you start at an experience level of 1 at the start of each new level. In order to level-up your experience and defeat the higher-level enemies, you must quickly find and defeat lower-level enemies. If you die, it’s back to experience level 1. However, if you are able to make it back to the spot where you died, you can get your lost experience levels back.

Graphics

Cute, yet dark

The sprites and environments are high-res and run beautifully during gameplay. I was surprised that I never experienced any lag, even when the screen was filled with enemies and I was running around shooting fireballs 360°. While the characters and environments are cute, the overall art direction is dark and muted. I love games with that juxtaposition. The brief cutscenes and character portraits that display during dialogue are just as enjoyable to look at. *mwuah*

Soundtrack

I can best describe the soundtrack as an afterthought. It mainly consisted of low and slow beats, with angelic singing cues here and there. Even when I messed with the game’s settings and turned the music volume up, I never really noticed it. That’s not to say that I couldn’t hear it, it just never really stood out to me or rose high enough over the surplus amount of combat sounds. Not bad, just didn’t stand out.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Interesting story
Smooth and consistent graphics
Addicting and high replayability gameplay

Cons:
Dull soundtrack

Yeah Bunny 2 Review

iPhone, Platformer

Developer: Adrian Zarzycki
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Platforms: iPhone (iOS), Android
Reviewed for: iPhone
Estimated Playthrough: 15-30 minute sessions

Story

Bunny is here to save the day

Even though I have not yet played the first Yeah Bunny, it’s not hard to piece the series’ storyline together. In a very Angry Birds fashion, the babies of a mother chick get kidnapped and you are the bunny tasked with rescuing them. There really is not much more to it and I enjoyed that simplicity. As you play through, the plot thickens a little, but not much. The simple story adds to the cuteness of this game.

Gameplay

Tap…tap…tap

This app is a casual retro platformer with a small twist. Instead of having multiple buttons that perform different actions, this game only requires one finger press to jump. Bunny runs at a standard pace all by himself. You just need to tap (or double tap) in order to avoid enemies and traverse the environment. This mechanic adds a little difficulty to this otherwise very simple game. Because you can only tap to jump, you have to time everything just right so that you don’t fall into spikes or miss the opportunity to hit a wall so that Bunny changes directions. The major problem with this game is the ANNOYING timing and placement of its ads. Every time you die, a video ad pops up. Some of these ads play around 30 seconds before you can skip. While you can use the carrots that you collect throughout levels to skip ads, those carrots go fast. Also, you can pay $2.99 to remove ads completely, but I don’t think this game is really worth that.

Graphics

Too dang cute

What drew me to this game was the cute pixel graphics style and it was the only thing that really held my attention. I am a sucker for bunnies and I am a real sucker for cute games…I mean some of the enemies are even innocent little blueberries. The style direction really reminded me of Yoshi’s Island DS, a favorite of mine as a child. It’s vibrant and fun to look at.

Soundtrack

Speaking of Yoshi’s Island DS, the soundtrack for Yeah Bunny 2 is also similar. I would say its actually similar to most of the retro Mario games. Not long after playing, I was already humming the main tune of the level. However, while Yeah Bunny 2’s soundtrack is catchy, I would not say it stands out. Each tune is pretty standard and just accompanies its level.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Wholesome story
Vibrant pixel graphics
Fun and catchy tunes

Cons:
Annoying ad rate
Lackluster gameplay features

198X Review

Role-Playing, Switch

Developer: Hi-Bit Studios
Price: $10
Platforms: Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Reviewed for: Switch
Estimated playtime: 2-4 hours

Story

The Kid

Set sometime in 198X, you play as The Kid – a cynical but relatable high school boy who is desperate to escape his small town suburbia. We meet him at a time when he is experiencing the struggles of growing up that we all face, but he discovers a way to escape through his town’s basement arcade. The story follows The Kid’s daily life as he seeks more and more relief through the arcade. It’s a narrative that mirrors many of us that sought out games as a means to escape the confusing and often troubled reality of childhood. Even though I wasn’t around during the 80’s arcade era, the game’s dialogue does a great job of portraying all of us misunderstood gamer kids and is a nostalgic introspective experience. It hits hard.

Gameplay

My favorite of the arcade games: Shadowplay

This is where things get really interesting. While you play as The Kid, you don’t really control his character other than through the arcade games he plays. The gameplay breaks down into various minigames that call back to retro arcade classics. There’s the side scrolling fighter “The Beating Heart”, the space shooter “Out of the Void”, the racer “The Runway”, the ninja platformer “Shadowplay”, and the dungeon crawler “Kill Screen”. Each of these minigames has quality game mechanics that ring true to their inspiration. However, I call them “minigames” here for a reason. While they cover a broad selection of genres, they lack any real depth to them. Each only has about two short levels and no real difficulty wall. With the game only being comprised of five minigames with short cutscenes in-between, it only took me about three hours to beat. While I understand that this is only a $10 game, I wanted more from each level.

Graphics

Ahhh those polished pixels

198X brings the retro pixel style of the 80’s into the modern era. The cutscenes between gameplay are incredibly detailed, pulling me into the experience rather than taking me out. It really made me appreciate that art style and realize that I put too much emphasis on the hyper-realistic graphics of today. When gameplay switches to the arcade games, the quality barely seems to drop. Whether you’re looking at exploding spacecraft in “Out of the Void”, or racing down a fluorescent highway in “The Runway”, everything is gorgeous. The difference in art direction for each level is different, but cohesive.

Soundtrack

The chiptune soundtrack of 198X adds yet another layer of the retro gaming feel. During cutscenes where you listen to The Kid’s musings on life, the synthesizer’s beats are low and made me feel like soul-searching too. When you jump into a minigame though, the tone switches to match. Each track fits perfectly with its level. When I was frantically spinning around trying to avoid 20+ galactic fighter jets shooting at me all at once, the upbeat synth music added to the fun insanity. I usually find chiptune music to get annoying after a while, but even when I had to repeat “Shadowplay” a few too many times (apparently I can’t avoid shuriken well), I never got tired of the level’s track.

Overall Freeze Score

Pros:
Relatable and memorable story
Gorgeous pixel graphics
Catchy chiptune soundtrack

Cons:
Shallow depth of gameplay