Simplicity is something Witch & Hero 2 goes for across the board. The story consists of this tag-team conquering duo wanting to defeat the Demon Lord who has forsaken this war-torn land. That sums up this tale from start to finish, and it isn’t really mentioned again throughout. This is an arcade experience, through and through, and thus gameplay takes precedence.

After selecting your stage, you will be presented with an open field, sometimes in various locales, where your two characters are waiting patiently for the fight to begin. As enemies move into the screen from the outer edges, you will begin chopping them down limb from limb. Defeating all the enemies on the screen isn’t necessary, you just have to survive long enough to defeat the eventual boss spawn, so this becomes a bit of a survival-esque waiting game as they slowly waddle into the field of battle.

Cooperative mode is fun, but the strategy is the same, even if it is a bit easier. In the single-player mode, you are forced to control both characters simultaneously with each attached to an analog stick. There is no attack button, or abilities at all, outside of the witch’s magical spells. Thus, you will be literally bumping the knight into enemies to cause an attack, where you take a slice of damage in retaliation for each hit. The only interesting mechanic present here is the fact you get an increase of damage from attacking from behind, usually one-hitting most baddies. This means your knight will survive longer before needing a respawn, so it becomes the preferred method, especially in the later levels where it is crucial to stay standing as long as possible. Because of this, instead of being the witch’s shield, you will be forced to use them as bait in order to get behind packs of enemies to get a’slicin’. Otherwise, the knight character will regularly fall too quickly, forcing the witch to get overwhelmed into a game over.

The witch can similarly attack enemies with a bump, but really only gets useful with magical abilities. Blood is dropped by enemies, which when collected by the witch, allow for their spells to be unleashed. So, the knight becomes, not only the protector and back-stabbing attacker, but is also a little errand boy. This means the knight is given way too much to do, at all times, whereas the only real thing the witch is there for is to be a reason to lose the match while sitting around waiting to unleash these powerful spells. What gets even more unfortunate is the fact that in later stages when the crowds get overwhelming, you will be forced to supply the witch, or constantly lose. However, since you must play behind the walls of enemies in order to be efficient, it is a total pain to get back to the witch.

Upgrades are essential to being able to last longer with each run, making this a roguelite of sorts. As you collect coins from downed monsters, you can purchase upgrades to attack, defense, spells, and more, in order to continue progression. It’s, again, a super simple system, but it means you will be replaying levels a few more times than normal, as you will also be doing some farming from lower levels to get upgrades.

Overall, Witch & Hero 2 doesn’t offer a lot for those looking for more than what you could find in a cabinet in some dusty, decrepit arcade. The only really positive trait is that this title takes its mechanics and goes all out for them, even if those mechanics are at odds with each other at times. Simplicity, matched with a clear direction, makes for something I think the gameplay-is-king crowd will find some solace in, but it’s lacking in most areas.

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Featuring a decently sized campaign mode, Worbital has offerings for the single-player-only crowd, as well as those looking to duke it out with friends. The story in this one, however, is pretty darn ridiculous. You have several alien races who are going at it, with former friends ending up on the outs multiple times. Between the bickering and arguing, things end up degrading into shooting bombs at one another. Also, the dialogue is way too lengthy throughout. I regularly found myself getting bored posting through several screens of writing when I just wanted to get to the action. And as someone who usually is all about the story in games, to be totally turned off by everything that wasn’t the actual meat and potatoes of gameplay was disappointing.

Luckily, you can just jump into the online multiplayer against people through a Nintendo Online subscription. Whether that is random players or people you know, it gets right down to the business I was looking for.

Regardless of which way you play, you will have to learn the different strategies to success. You’ll need to be able to quickly decipher what it seems your enemy planets are doing so you can properly counter; and learning about each weapon and defense type as fast as possible is paramount. You can take different directions with what you would like to do. For instance, you can bulk up on shield generators and just loft a single nuke at your enemies over and over while blocking everything they send your way. You also could go with a full armament of rockets, plasma cannons, and the like in order to rain hell on your foes. This lets you decide on a style of gameplay you enjoy.

In order to build these structures, you have to gather up funds. This can be done in two ways: you can either build money-making buildings on your planet, or destroy random, uninhabited planets and asteroids floating about. Being able to control the economy through either function is key to rebuilding destroyed weapons and maintaining your defenses.

As good as all of that is, it can get old rather quickly. You only have about a dozen or so different types of structures you can build, so monotony will more than likely set in quickly, unless you are seriously entranced by the setting or actions. I found this title perfect for running a few matches and then setting it down for the night for something else, so as to not wear it out too quickly. This style of gameplay matches well with the benefits of the Nintendo Switch, but doesn’t really cater to long-from gameplay.

The only interesting thing outside of simply blowing stuff up is the gravitational pull mechanic. You have to work within the trajectories shown to you so that you can properly aim your armament at the enemy. Random planets will pop up around the sun you are battling around, and each can pull your ships or ammunition astray. Thus, taking your time for the perfect shot becomes the difference between pecking through some more of the outer crust, or striking the core perfectly. Hitting the core repeatedly is your only way to finish off the planet in explosive form.

All in all, Worbital is an enjoyable little title, even if it doesn’t have all the depth in the solar system. My prior history with the Worms series definitely got me moving in a positive direction with this one, but the lack of wackiness and charm when compared with that classic series makes Worbital seem closer to simulation than good fun (even if the campaign mode tries). With that being said, simulation titles are grand, but I usually prefer to have something more interesting than simply trying to pump out rounds as fast as possible from a couple buildings while watching them float endlessly in circles. Great for short play sessions or those looking to specifically burst planets into nothingness.

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This tale of trials and tribulations begins as simply as it could for a bounty hunter: a man with a price on his head. After making your first few captures of lowly ne’er-do-wells, you discover the mountainous pile of moolah (the game’s currency) the Stranger must gather to procure treatment to save his own life. It is a mystery what that surgery consists of specifically, but know that you must kick it into high gear in order to gather enough funds. From here, you continue the grind of moving from area to area, taking down baddies and delivering their head honcho to the local barred establishment. The story is slow for a good portion of the opening hours, but quickly develops into a fight to save several entire races from destruction, which just so happens to be the plot of most Oddworld games. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath doesn’t change the playbook with its style and vision, relying on similar tropes and comedy so that a lot of what you see feels familiar if you’ve played any of the other titles. However, this is the first time Oddworld has taken more of an action-oriented approach versus the puzzle-platforming-dominated gameplay of previous entries. 

Oddworld has taken on several shapes and forms in its history. From the original’s 2D visuals, to Munch’s Oddysee being moved to a 3D landscape, to Stranger’s Wrath which continues that format. What sets Stranger’s Wrath apart from its predecessors is the fact that you can now bounce between first and third-person perspective. This is done to allow for more precision and flexibility when it comes to firing your infamous crossbow versus when trying to maneuver properly. From the third person you are given more of your mobile abilities, so switching back and forth is paramount.  

The crossbow in question, which is this title’s claim to fame, allows for one of the more unique mechanics that I am shocked hasn’t been copied more closely. You are tasked with gathering up your ammunition from the local wildlife. Through the use of your infinite, lightning-bug ammo supplied to you, you have to shock yourself up some critters to throw onto that there bow-string. Utilizing two types of ammo at a time, each attached to the triggers on the controller, you can create some combinations that are both interesting and useful. From tie-’em-up spiders to rocket bats and flesh-eating, fuzzy boys, you have a lot to work with. Just find the creatures walking about the environment and go to town. Regularly maintaining your ammo is crucial to being able to take on groups of enemies in the various locales in more creative ways. Also, since this is your only form of attack outside of a straight-up punch, you will need to keep on top of your ammunition purely for survival’s sake. This way of playing is wholly unique, and something that sets this title apart from most other games in the genre, even if the gathering of creatures can be tedious at times.

When entering each area, your task is to, first and foremost, wrangle up each enemy you face, alive or dead. Catching these foes alive offers more moolah, so trying the no-kill approach is more efficient. This becomes a critical mechanic when deciding the ammo to use in each situation. Sure, you could launch a ton of Fuzzles at the bad guys and quickly make mincemeat out of them, but when money is on the line and it is way more interesting to take your time and find a more creative vision behind your plan of attack, why wouldn’t you give that a shot? On the flip side, the fact you can rather quickly and easily plow through enemies through more damaging means also correlates directly to the overall difficulty and fun factor Stranger’s Wrath offers. Since there is nothing else holding you back from taking the kill-everything approach, players could find themselves at the end of the game before they know it, with little in terms of satisfaction. Playing outside of what is intended means you won’t have as good of a time in Oddworld. 

Unfortunately, this is compounded by the fact that the gameplay loop is somewhat monotonous. The story and characters should keep your playthrough afloat, but going from area to area simply shooting the bad guys, catching them, and taking them back to the jail is a rinse-and-repeat cycle that can be dull at times. I made up for this by giving myself different loadouts with each group in order to try out all the different combinations of weapons, but in 2020, a kickass crossbow won’t be enough to maintain this loop. 

Puzzles are a gameplay mechanic that Oddworld uses regularly. However, if you’re used to gathering up Mudokon in order to open a gate, or utilizing various weight-and-physics mechanics to complete tests, then you will be sad to find out that Stranger’s Wrath is much closer to a straight-forward FPS than its previous entries. Beyond the basic environmental puzzles, you won’t have much in the way of long-form, step-by-step puzzle solving. And even then, the puzzles in Stranger’s Wrath are, to be blunt, unfair at times. For example, in one of the earlier quests you are tasked with taking on a fortified base filled with enemies. They are stationed across the wall and have barricaded themselves in. How do you enter this domicile in order to fetch that bounty? Well, you better have a keen eye or some glasses on, because your only point of entry is to walk all the way around to the far side of the area, look at the back-side of a random pillar, notice the boards holding it together, and decide that that looks like something you could shoot at. 

These hyper-minuscule clues to puzzle solving continue throughout the game at various junctures where, without any sort of previous teaching, you have to recognize something a bit off in the environment and try some things out with it. In Super Mario Bros., for example, you are taught in the first ten seconds that Goombas are bad, blocks can be broken, and ?-blocks can sometimes contain power-ups. I just felt like the puzzles in Stranger’s Wrath try to be too clever or hidden at times, causing a wall to be built in front of the player’s progression. 

Being launched on the Xbox originally means that Stranger’s Wrath looks overly dated and rough around the edges. Now, let me be clear: if you are nostalgic for more old-school graphics and don’t mind the blurriness and lack of detail, then this won’t be an issue. I personally didn’t mind it at all, as I love this series and have for many years and knew what I was coming back to, but I can’t help but notice the age is dripping out of every pore. Even with the updates and HD-upgrade, you will most definitely be able to tell this game was made fifteen years ago, a new coat of paint or not. So for those graphically minded individuals looking for top-notch, power-boosted titles running at ultra settings, Stranger’s Wrath will probably give you the shakes. With that being said, this is all mostly true of the environments and buildings, whereas the creatures and characters hold up surprisingly well. 

All in all, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath won’t be for everyone. If you like dark humor and interesting world-building, then this title should get you excited. Also, the crossbow mechanic is by far one of the most intuitive and ahead-of-its-time design features you can find in gaming, so just taking this as an FPS with a good story means you should find yourself having a great time in the end. However, lacking puzzle mechanics, dated graphics, and a monotonous gameplay grind will keep some from being mystified by this weird world.

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Moving around on floating islands in the sky, the Melbits enter and exit through a tube, but it is up to you to manipulate the world in order to get them to the next stage. Once on the island, the Melbits begin walking forward and don’t stop until they have made it to the conclusion. So, you must move colored blocks in, out, and around in order to make a path, give them a helping hand, or block off baddies. Each set of colors is handled by a different member of your team of players. Adding in more players makes the experience easier to control but harder to coordinate when communicating next to each other in your living room. Nothing here is trying to fool you, as the puzzles involved are simply moving obstacles around to allow your Melbits to continue forward. Successfully completing each level within the time allotment, however, can get hard depending on who you’re playing with and if you get yourself into a logjam bind as the Melbits bounce off each other and walls.

Beyond getting from point A to point B, you also have some items to gather up in order to maximize your final score and completion of each stage. Seeds are scattered about the level and must be walked into by one of your Melbits in order to check that objective box. Also, presents can be found and picked up by your Melbits, which are carried along and through the exit pipe. Although adding on some additional incentives, there isn’t a lot to work with here outside of the basic gameplay loop, which in and of itself is a bit bland unless you’re working with a group that is either really into it or one that makes the experience more fun through shenanigans.

These collectible cuties made me feel things I haven’t felt since amassing too many Beanie Babies in the ‘90s. Each member of this huggable cast can be earned through progression and added into your assemblage to be used in the gameplay sections. There’s no difference between them beyond looks, but still I felt the urge to push through to gain as many of them as possible. Pairing this with a cosmetics system that allows you to make your little Melbits even cuter means this is the most harrowing of experiences for those that can’t help but give in to puppy dog eyes and cute cat videos.

Melbits World offers some couch co-op puzzling that I can easily recommend for families or groups looking for an experience that isn’t that taxing. Losing out on any single player functionality is a huge bummer, as I would have loved to be able to play through this all solo as well, even if it would be a good bit tougher. The adorable characters and colorful environments spew charm, but the slow-paced, uninteresting gameplay can, at times, be too much of a bore for it to be something I could see sinking lots of time into. Lack of depth or reason to come back to old levels hurts as well. But despite all the negatives, there is enough appeal, quality, and addictive mechanics to allow for an equal amount of positivity.

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As the only way to store and transfer your Pokémon from one game to another, this is a long-awaited subscription service that is seemingly coming right around the corner.

Being tied to your mobile device as an app is something series veterans have been excited for. Transferring all your favorite creatures from Pokémon Go, the Pokémon Let’s Go titles, as well as Pokémon Sword and Shield will be the only way to bring your Pokémon forward with you to future titles, even if for the time being you will only be able to transfer Pokémon out of the app to Sword and Shield.

Further pricing details were omitted, as The Pokémon Company stated more information would be coming in future announcements.

For more from the Direct as a whole watch here, with the Pokémon Home information starting at the 17:30 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5afasEAiN0&t=2s

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Spike Chunsoft is back with their spin-off Pokémon series: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.

The original Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, Rescue Team Blue and Red, are being remade for the Nintendo Switch.

Coming March 6th, 2020, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX was announced at today’s Pokemon Direct.

A demo will be available for download from the Nintendo eShop later today!

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In this unique arcade-platformer of sorts, you have to keep from touching the edges and pathway walls while collecting white orbs that allow for your progression. Each map has a varying number of orbs you need to gather, but regardless you will be attempting the same feat — keep that ship alive! As frustrating and rage-inducing as it can be at times, the loop is seamless and addictive allowing for an experience that I felt the need to complete for my own sake. The fact this is an extremely short experience, around 30 minutes to completion, helps keep you from having a bad time if it ends up being a bit too tough. While in opposition to the playtime, you have secret levels, several modes that allow for increasing difficulty or speedrunning attempts, and unlockable ship skins and achievements that make for quite the package at the low, low $0.99 price tag.

Gameplay couldn’t be more simple. Pressing one of the triggers lets you give your rocket some juice and the analog stick allows you to choose the direction of your trajectory. Beyond that, there is a slow-down option through the bumpers that takes the oft-anxiety-ridden experience and makes it a lot more bearable as you can more easily manage your movements. At the end of the day, Pulstario lets you choose between having either a simple, easy experience or one that is tough as nails. Between the mode choice and use of certain abilities, it’s all up to you.

Visuals are something that left me wishing for more. You are moving through a barren void of space, so having very little distinguishing features makes sense in the setting, but beyond the ship, white orbs, and paths carved out of the abyss there is nothing to see here. Having something more interesting as a background or some other things floating around would help break up the monotony, but the simplicity matches the gameplay and objective.

The soundtrack is quite nice, featuring the music of Retfoniq’s Green EP. The indie electronic tunes mixed with rock instrumentals make for some seriously killer background music, as you repeatedly blast into walls and try another attempt. I actually looked into their album after beating the game it was that good. Definitely a major highlight to this little project.

Pulstario was a pleasure, even if it was another frustrating experience for me. There are enough positives between the soundtrack, simplicity, and accessibility options that it was an entirely bearable playthrough that turned into an addicting one very quickly. It reminds me a lot of those mind-numbing mobile titles that have no place taking up as much time from you as they do, but for some reason, you just can’t put it down. Recommended for anyone who is into the arcade genre, as the price point and offerings are too good to pass up unless you just really dislike those pure gameplay experiences.

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A villain known simply as “The Knight” has taken the kings of each of the Eight Worlds and hidden them away. This is causing horrible conditions for the simple folk who call these lands their home. Your band of intrepid heroes must travel through each of these worlds in order to best the baddies and place the leaders back into power. Meeting with each of the charming characters along the way makes for a heartfelt adventure, but the story lacks in staying power, as it devolves quickly back into simply being a button-mashing action title.

The chain of quests consists of being given an objective at the start of each stage as you progress through each world. Anything from killing a certain number of enemies to collecting a bunch of eggs are the types of things you will be tasked with. It doesn’t get much deeper than that, as you’re probably defeating all the enemies in your exploration anyways. The more interesting objectives include you simply running up to items and holding a button to pick it up. That’s that. You can add a bit more depth for yourself if you wish through finding all the chests and presents in the levels. These offer new skins and weapons for you to use, as well as racking up coins for maximum high scores. The fact that not a lot is asked of you is something that I think lends itself more to the couch co-op gameplay, as you and your buddies can just mess around busting up houses and enemies while you slowly make your way through each level. However, if you are a solo player, then this is quite a boring loop.

Between ranged and melee combat, you have some differentiation to the ways that you can play. This takes the monotony a step back, but all in all each differently skinned item you are using to bash away at the various animal humanoids is different only in attack speed and damage. There are some comedic options, like food or toy-like weaponry, but at the end of the day it just feels more like another cosmetic option. You do, however, have to maintain a long-distance and close-combat weapon. Sometimes enemies are placed in areas where you cannot reach them, or you need to give yourself some space from that big, bad, boss enemy. Either way, this barely changes things up.

Bosses are probably the only things that give this title a real break from what you are normally doing from level to level. With massive arenas and terrifying yet cuddly megaliths, you have something to look forward to after plowing through the regular stages. There is definitely a difficulty spike when playing by yourself in these fights, but all in all nothing here is going to give you much of a setback.

The art style is definitely something to take note of, as one of the few saving graces for this experience as a whole. Voxel work is something I find to be very aesthetically pleasing, but always makes me think of Minecraft. Luckily, the top-down perspective and the way in which the environment is torn down in explosive fashion separate it from its mining cohort. Each stage was clearly lovingly crafted, as the detail here is impeccable, and running around in these areas is a delight, regardless of the fact that what you are doing feels so dull.

Riverbond disappointed me. When I first saw a trailer for the game, I got vibes of some extravagant adventure title with quests and a great story. Something that I could sink time into, with all the charm in the world and some comedic relief. However, all this title ended up being was a good-looking hack ‘n’ slash with very little depth to the experience. Although I can safely say fans of the genre will definitely feel a bit better about this title, and may even really enjoy it when you take the other positives along with it, I just feel like there was something that didn’t come together as planned. Recommended for those looking for a way to waste some time with friends, but I think you can find better experiences out there.

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As far as third-party Nintendo Switch docks are concerned, we as a fan base have had some ups and downs with the products that have been made thus far. With a serious issue where some docks would brick Nintendo Switch units, attaching third-party items to our favorite little handheld has, at times, given us immense anxiety. I am pleased to announce that the IOGEAR Dock Pro USB-C 4K Station with Game+ Mode did not hurt my Switch in the slightest in the playtime I had with it, and as purported by the team at IOGEAR, they have finally cracked the code with this dock.

Now that we have that little nugget out of the way, we can move on to the specific offerings this unit has for your convenience.

First of all, this dock is not just for the Nintendo Switch. It can also be used with smartphones and tablets, making it quite the little piece of hardware when it comes to taking mobile platforms to the big screen. I will start by saying that I can see a lot more uses for the dock with platforms outside of the Nintendo Switch, as the handheld nature of the Switch is built into its very design, with the docking nature already implicit to the system itself. So, that takes the Nintendo Switch audience’s uses for this dock down purely to its portable nature, as well as the built-in mouse and keyboard support.  

The glaringly obvious major plus to this unit is its ability to add on mouse and keyboard support to your Switch in a nice, seamless fashion. For those competitive gamers out there, or those who simply like to play PC-style games in their intended fashion, I found this dock to be the easiest way to attach that additional hardware. Marked ports on the unit and its size allow for easy set-up and better placement in comparison to trying to get behind wherever you have placed your traditional dock. Perfect for a desk set-up, where you can place the unit behind your monitor.

After this feature, however, the dock starts to lose some of its functionality for Switch gamers. As nice as it is to have a toned-down dock for those travelers out there, you really have to ask yourself if this is worth the initial asking price. I say that because the unit’s MSRP is $79.99, which is on track with what a first-party dock costs. The portable nature and added features would instantly tell you that maybe you should consider the IOGEAR unit, especially if you’re going for a second dock, but there are a few issues that push it away from its usefulness.

You must use a first-party AC adapter with the IOGEAR unit in order for it to function at all, so you must either unplug one of your first-party docks, or purchase an entirely separate AC adapter for this dock specifically. Meaning, after the initial $80 entry point, you then would have to consider buying a $30 first-party cord. From there, the IOGEAR unit also doesn’t come with an HDMI cable, so that adds on a few more dollars as well, depending on the brand and quality of the HDMI cable you choose. Therefore, if you want a whole unit with all the pieces necessary, you are looking at more like $120-135 to kit this unit. At that price point, you have to ask yourself if the space the IOGEAR unit gives you is really worth it, as we are talking about the difference between carrying a book or a deck of cards in your travel bag, which I think most would have to spare.

Don’t get me wrong, you can 100% unplug your first-party AC adapter and HDMI cable from your docked unit in order to utilize the IOGEAR unit without those additional costs, but when the point is to have a travel dock, it defeats the purpose a bit to have to mess with your original set-up. Especially when after unplugging said cords, you could literally just grab your first-party dock and throw it in your bag instead.

With all of that in mind, I can say this dock works perfectly and as advertised. I think the IOGEAR Dock Pro USB-C 4K Station with Game+ Mode is best utilized for those gamers with the extra money who are really looking to save on a few inches of space in their travel bag, for those who also want to project mobile platforms to their TV, or for the Switch gamers out there looking for a convenient set-up for mouse and keyboard play. Outside of that, the price point and lack of distinguishing features for the traditional Switch gamer take this unit a bit outside the realm of reason.

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You are the creation of some other-worldly being who has sent you on a quest to clear out various dungeons in order to regain a foothold in this dominion. As you seek out the source of evil within this dark temple you discover a witch of sorts has taken refuge there and plans to hold onto her new home. After bringing this news to your creator, you strike out to finish each of the puzzles in every dark area to expel this unwanted host. The story, although unique, is completely overtaken by the setting. There isn’t anything deep or life-changing behind this one, but it offers a twist on the puzzle-platformer genre that will feel fresh.

The locale you will have to endure is something of a mix between the horror films Saw and The Human Centipede. Taking that and mixing it with the obvious 80’s Japanese aesthetic gives you something that is trendy and stylish, all while making you squirm in your seat. Skin-monsters and human gore imagery build a feeling of genuine fear. Even though the monsters don’t seem to mind your presence, occasionally a monster will chase you around. Otherwise, you are simply avoiding traps, lasers, and unnatural pieces of the environment that will end your attempt. Boss monsters that I could only describe as some sort of demon spawn sit at the foot of the dungeons. In these boss fights you have to resume solving puzzles while avoiding an untimely end.

Platforming in this one isn’t really meant to be the main function outside of traversal. Even though there are some puzzles that require speed and finesse, you are mostly just sitting back and trying to figure out how to complete each puzzle. Jumps feel tight and accurate and never caused me any harm — the game causes enough on its own.

Solving puzzles consists mostly of the utilization of a cloning mechanic, in which you drop a laughing skeleton of yourself onto a point here or as a decoy there. You also use sigils and buttons in order to manipulate these characters, as they are stationary otherwise. Areas in each stage will be locked off to you, and with these clones, you must open up the way to the exit. After a few stages, you will be able to progress as the dungeon has been cleared. Once this is done through a few dungeons the story progresses and moves you on to even more dungeons, puzzles, and boss battles. This makes for a slight bit of monotony as puzzles stick to a few variations, but those are pretty well done. The puzzle skill level in this one felt just right, with some challenge and trial and error needed, but not enough where I found myself ever getting so frustrated that I needed to take a break. As a pure puzzler, I can say this one is surprisingly good, if you can get past all the gore.

Utilizing an 8-bit art style allows this game to be less detailed, which is a major plus based on how crooked the mind of the creator must be. Lots of dark colors, with bright reds, greens, or blues dispersed for emphasis. Everything outside of the backdrop and platforms, which are black on black, have an unsettling skin and blood colored tone, especially monsters and bosses.

I don’t think Tamashii is a game I want to revisit ever again. That isn’t because the game is bad, it just made me so uncomfortable that I had to quickly finish it so I could move on. The gore feels a bit like a gimmick to get horror fans to buy this simple puzzle game, but the insanity is there for those seeking it. Outside of the initial campaign of puzzles you also have time trial modes that can enhance the experience to allow for speedy reruns, but that is only for the strong hearted amongst us. You could probably do your best to ignore all the horror-filled, gory scenes in order to just get through the puzzles, but where’s the fun in that? As a platformer, this game is lacking, but as a puzzler, this title offers a really solid experience. You just have to have a strong stomach and mind.

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