June… what to say about it?
I mean you all expect this, right? It's not really a surprise anymore?
I can't believe we're officially in the summer months! Okay well maybe May could be considered as such... but you get that.
It's this sense of relaxation, well except for me! (LOL!)
Yeah, as if you care about it!
That's right! And it's more updatier than ever! (Whatever that means) I don't really have anything to say but... you know what lets get into it.
Oh yeah, if you noticed any typos (there probably is), that's probably because I'm rushing this as fast as possible as well, mainly because I work in a local text editor which can't tell spelled words from actual words! (Oops!)
So... as you probably noticed, this broke off from the trend of being released on the 20th. It was actually released on the 25th??? What the hell?
Well... there's a few reasons, first of all, you have 100% noticed, the site has been updated. Obviously this took a few more days, not only because of an area of ours having a total power outage for a few days, but to also balance actual schoolwork AND external work beyond that.
This doesn't affect one thing (Which I should genuinely finish up soon, I'm like 80% of the way there basically) but I mean... I don't know if it should be public or private lmao
Is that it? Pretty much yeah. Just sucked I had to do so much catchup and delay this... but I hope it was worth it!
This month has been a doozy programming wise, yes, I finally decided to learn CSS and take that to my advantage with HTML!
So let me list what's new...
Okay, so what about the rest of my life?
For the Nexus Plexus… nothing new! I was so focused on the website, I decided that Nexus Plexus should probably take a breather. Oh, except for Flowerie changing their buds for some reason, does that mean it's summer yet?
New "Sketch" posted, click the image to view it in the new One Offs.
For IRL, I've started my college work officially like I've mentioned, as you might have noticed, I will not be as active. Think about this like a sabbatical, this does mean that the next Psychescapes is on hold despite me knowing what I want to do with the rest, I hope I can release it soon though!
JOHNKEY KONG STREAM IS ON TOMORROW AFTER AN ENRAGING DELAY! I genuinely believe this might be the better-hey what is that.
I thought I told them to stop taking pictures of my streams. Anyways... here's the link to it on YouTube embedded for your enjoyment, and the link on Twitch.
So I need to explain, this is both my opinion piece for this month update and probably an update of how I’m going to feel in the future. So every few years or so, there’s a problem with a certain fandom breaching on the internet because of an action or conversation that’s happened, basically causing a final nail within the coffin.
To be honest, there’s a reason why the term fanatical even exists, it’s this unhinged amount of devotion towards a work which arguably… I just can’t understand. I mean, there are some extreme violent examples of such, like the murder of John Lennon at The Dakota, and it’s not like that’s the only example. Throughout history, there’s always been this common association of unhinged actions caused by people under devotion or spite. One of my favorite examples is Evangelion’s endings, they are ALWAYS controversial no matter what series you watch, but the original ending was "so bad", that death threats were sent to Gainax as a whole, actually being used in the End of Evangelion.
I know that's just one example, but everything I'm interested in either feels like it ultimately gets hijacked by people which damage it, basically causing nails in coffins, or worse. So why, why make this now? WELL I saw the reaction from the internet regarding The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, in which someone from Brazil leaked it and... reviews were initially not good.
First things first, you don't harass and send a creator of a work that you like death threats simply because you think the show didn't need as much screentime or simply have faced a burnout within their work, second of all, I think I'm in the minority which is fine with Goose's reaction. Her giving up on the project is completely valid. "But John, she's disrespecting the people which worked hard on it and the fans!" Okay first of all, the people which worked on it have the gratitude and appreciation from Goose. Let's not act illogical here, if they didn't, they probably would've left. Second, I genuinely am going to be the one which says this, I don't give a shit if you're a fan, you should've kept either yourself or others in check.
Now I know that doesn't apply for everyone, but similar to how one or two bad apples are apparent but not the whole basket, something similar should be described here, every fandom basically gets slandered or harassed for liking the things they like.
That's not even mentioning one of the events, it made me realize something deep within fandoms, eventually with enough entitlement from manchildren... they'll think they would be in the clear so they get to talk about hateful ideologies. I've seen people genuinely be the worst on Twitter, I've seen a lot of fucked up shit on that platform, discriminating and hating on others just because they have a difference, (Racism, homophobia, transphobia, hell even chewing itself just because you have a different thought.) people tending to get up in arms and become rather violent towards others just because X and Y, I've even seen people create these cesspools of depravity to basically engage in immorally or illegally.
Maybe it's because I'm a cynic, but I usually expect the worst thing out of everyone off the bat, not only to keep my expectations at a standstill, but to also build from there. Now it's not like I expect the worst out of everyone, my friends are a clear example, you could say I have hope in them, but for everyone else, meh I wouldn't bet on it.
So... how in the world do we figure this problem out? First, calling out is basically snitching, and contrary to our system's beliefs, snitches get nothing in return other than more flack in the end. Exposure docs are fine for what they provide, they bring awareness in a community which needs such information, as long as it's actual discussions being talked about and has a decent sense of formality. Anything beyond that is complaining yet not looking for a way to resolve or spread awareness of such.
Second, you and I can technically control the tides by being less active, Toby Fox does this method after all. Maybe like 1 or 2 shitposts every few months or so, maybe an update or an ARG, but NOTHING else beyond that, I feel like I do the inverse right now because I want a discreet way to communicate and log my stuff. Sure, you can keep in touch if shit gets really bad, but backpiling stuff is bad for the soul, and it won't get you anywhere if you yourself start acting irrational.
Third, if possible, don't just call a member or a community out if they're a POS, basically bar them from the if you have the power and act like the person you want the community to be like. (As long as it's a part of that service's TOS) I remember back in the AB fandom when nobody could literally do anything about certain individuals being allowed in the fandom, people which were actually putting a danger in that community might I add, that's genuinely what ruins fandoms, when free reign to do anything you want exists WITHOUT restraint. I was banned from their Discord for an unmarked reason (probably because I either left it and wanted to see if I could rejoin, or because I mentioned one of their old games, yes, there was a rule which told you not to talk about their old games.) yet I heard people in said Discord which were genuinely gross had power there. Call it spite or whatever, there are probably mods which were nice I bet, but it isn't a good reflection on a community if you have people literally doing heinous things. Sometimes there is stuff you can't control, but you can take steps on how to do such.
Fourth and finally, lower your damn expectations. If you do that, you'll be impressed by the simpliest stuff and feel so much more envigorated. Besides, aren't we all human and make mistakes? Well maybe... except Peter Perfectson, no one can outbeat him. Seriously, people which happen to be popular are still people too.
I do believe since... works basically "end", fandoms will become smaller, not only because the entitlement dies down but also it makes the fans which are more passionate and caring come out from the depths. I feel like when a community is niche, it's way more fun, not only because of the thing I said but it feels like you can connect closer, but it feels magical when you can have an honest conversation about a work you like without people flinging shit for what you think.
So why in the hell would I remark that I was acting toxic if that wasn't my public personality? Well I need you to consider the spaces I was in, I was in communities which were pretty yucky or elitist, which made my perception, even of myself, warped. I felt like everything was personal for some reason, and worst of all, I felt like my very morals were disintegrating right in front of me. I am a very susceptable person. What does that mean? Oh, it just means I'm basically not as active in terms of lurking, but also I can pretty much be influenced by the smallest grains of info, in which I left a bunch of communities which made me feel like shit or I didn't talk too much in! (There actually might be more, since like I said, I don't talk in too many of them.) In fact, when I was asked about it from a couple concerned friends, thankfully I just said that it was because honestly... I'm not a social person, in fact, I'm just not built for social media or anything like that. This is why my stupid secondary contact email is here on the site people! It's VERY important to connect, but not in a way which honestly stunts me as an individual.
I could be here all day, but... there is one thing to conclude this, The Eltingville Club, it’s probably one of my highest recommendations if you ever want to make a piece of media. Obviously it inspired me to make a comic series of my own in the first place… but it’s also a huge understanding for me in terms of fandom and really entitlement as a whole, I’ve seen people act like the four characters in the series, and to be honest that’s a depressing reality. It’s ultimately supposed to be this hilarious saturation of these types of people, but it’s a cruel reminder that we need to go past this harsh mentality, because if we don’t, it gets seen as a form of regression, something which ultimately gets rejected by our peers. It’s also a cooler reminder that people can just act very irrational or very aggressive towards the things that they love, but don't let that get over you, you yourself shouldn't make one thing your personality 24/7, that's like saying if I should make all I talk about Wario, humans don't act that way. We are deep, complex creatures which have more than just a simple topic in our minds, we have literally billions of neurons, and yet you think we should talk about one thing? Get real and be open.
I feel like the main takeaway is first, check out anything which interests you, especially Eltingville if you're interested, it's genuinely awesome. Second, please be rational people when in a fandom PLEASE!
And with that… that concludes two and a half years of... something, condensed into one story. So let's start, if you want the basic jist, no spoilers, please don't click on any of the sections, if you want to see how I feel about episode 9, that's there as well.
Initially starting the series was kind of rough for me. The pilot was really good! I love how it just... places you into this world as it tries introducing the cast of characters. (Sorry, Kaufmo couldn't show up) It has good balance, BUT there is a few nitpicks with it.
I know Gooseworx said that if there was anything she would've changed, it would be the pilot, and to be honest? I can see why, there's an A plot B plot and it kinda... sucks? Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the idea of the Gloink Queen and the abstracted Kaufmo, but at the same time? I'm sorry but it kinda makes the pacing out of wack.
Honestly? The 2nd episode might be the worst in my opinion. This is kinda where the show goes into the format of "Oh! Here's a formal talk about what you feel and then here's some random bullshit happening along side it!" Sure, that aspect appeared in the first episode as well, which a psychological edge of course because nothing got "resolved" given the fact it was a pilot. I guess it's fine for the fact that it's supposed to introduce the adventures, but... it's just kinda slow, this is also when I just didn't like Jax as a character! Didn't care initially but it just kinda felt... off here.
I think the thing that I deeply appreciate about this episode is Gummigoo as a character though, ironically enough, he would have this confrontation of his own existentialism. He basically sees that he’s not real and acknowledges it, I do love how they pull the curtain by literally deleting Gummigoo just because Caine doesn't want to mistake an AI as human... despite being AI himself.
Then… Mystery of Mildenhall Manor happens, I'll be honest and say that I initially gave this one a couple days to decided if I wanted to continue the series. You know that format though? It works here, the discussion with Pomni and Kinger is genuinely the highlight of the episode and it's characters. The B plot with Zooble is genuinely funny, since this was October of 2024, it's ironic that there was the emerging topic of AI-based therapy, you know, that thing which doesn't help at all? I love how Caine basically becomes the client to Zooble wondering when will he be able to make them like his adventures, since that is his purpose after all.
Episode 4 is when the show was changing for me. The episode itself really was just about standard life. I like the shift onto Gangle as a character, mainly because we barely got her as the "shy" type and her aspect feels semi-personal to me. Putting on a mask in public meanwhile the people around me loosen up. The ending is absolutely heartbreaking to me and I know that type of ending was done, but I guess it was the tonal whiplash of 3's ending to 4 which made me hooked. I also like the Gummigoo NPC being reused and not knowing Pomni, that's both kind of heartfelt and strange at the same time.
Meanwhile, Episode 5, named Untitled, is kind of like a what if… it’s basically a collection of adventures which are shorter, but fun. I love how the characters are fleshed out, although we don't know why Kinger wants to see fireflies initially, it kind of hits hard now, the noir scene is just a huge lore dump (a cool idea btw!) and that my view on Jax was softening up given the maid outfit bit, oh yeah and the evil counterparts are funny. It's this appreciation of basically what is an experiment on the end of the show.
Episode 6, They All Get Guns, was a fun concept which really did expand on the characters even more. I mean it's goofy in the way which is fun, it's basically like a GMod gamemode. There's nothing too serious except for the Pomni/Jax dynamic, well that's until the end, this is where Jax turned from my least favorite, to somewhere in the middle. Him just... wanting to be shot instead of showing his true self hit me hard in a way I didn't expect.
The beach episode (as it’s called) is genuinely a fun idea that fans should've taken to heart. At the time, people were discussing theories of Abel, this mannequin NPC which was a part of Caine & Abel, people believed that he was a real human. So in episode 7 they said fuck it and he's actually an AI made by Caine!
The entire episode, it's a red herring, and an important one at that. I mean it basically fucks with the viewer as the messaging teases this in satire nearly all the time, iconic TADC character Orange Talking Fish is... well he basically explains there's no treasure, that it's all gone. I also love the Chinese Room mention, the idea that AI cannot have thought no matter how much info it has about it. It's cheeky, but just a fun teaser. Also, given the fact it's so short, it doesn't make you realize such off the bat.
Episode 8 probably was the most well crafted out of all the episodes in my personal opinion, the opening is a really cool concept of how the circus was made, it's experimental and narratively dire. I love how the cast is basically reflecting on the aspects of Caine's genuinely insensitive adventure.
Eventually honing in on specific narrative elements such as Caine's paranoia and distracting him yet again, I love this aspect. It makes Caine finally antagonistic and felt like this tipping point for the character. I love how they try connecting narrative elements together such as the initial teaser and this episode, I love how we get Kinger's darkness again in order to remember how to stop Caine. I love the silent cliffhanger we end up on as they finally face the consequences of (accidentally) ridding Caine.
With the trailer finally unveiling that listings of the movie were open, I decided to get a ticket so I could watch it early, BUT keep in mind around the time I’m posting this, I made sure that the online version was released.
Well… it’s a slow and soft conlcusion, I genuinely think people were expecting something spectacular, something to close the book on everything. I can understand this disappointment, but arguably, I want you to think of 2 things Goose said, the final episode was going to take influence from the End of Evangelion, and that it’s main message is to find meaning in a stagnant life. I expected such to be true… and to be honest that was my only expectation.
I really enjoyed it, probably has the highest highs visually, its writing was on the weaker side given the fact it doesn't really flesh anything out, but not as bad as like… episode 2. BUT that’s only in terms of it as an episodic experience.
My only flaw is… Caine. I think him suddenly returning removed all meaning from his death. Caine was a manipulative, power-hungry AI asshole which should've seen what came to him, to be honest, what I would've really loved is a sense of afterlife for him, maybe even regreat for his actions realizing it's too late. I genuinely would’ve loved something even more bittersweet like that. SOMA Theory as it's conclusion was a weird choice, but to be honest thats the best way they could've gone for a happy ending.
Not to get weird or anything, but I genuinely do think as a person which has basically been half-baked with St. Louis sauce, this has been the most personal I’ve felt about a work. Jax at one point was my most hated character in the series, he just felt like this guy that was emotional tumblr bait, I guess I started to hook onto him though, and then I realized the reason why I hated Jax, because I have acted like him, I’ve thought like him, hell to be honest, there’s a sense of him in me. To be honest, I don’t think a lot of people will accept this, given the idea that in terms of the finale... but damn.
I genuinely do believe the “criticism” is garbage, I guess this is my unfiltered way of saying this, but all of y’all are miserable. I just said some of my criticisms, but it also has pacing which is slower than a regular climax.
I don’t see this as a disgrace towards the fans or a “Jax commits suicide so that’s in poor taste because they treat it like it’s okay” message, it’s clear that it fucking isn’t. He literally says that he doesn't want to go. Gangle not feeling sad is fine because Jax was a dick to her throughout the entire series.
I’m not wrong when I’m saying this, y’all treated this series like a parasite, despite claiming that you were fans of it. It’s moronic, would you believe me to say that these fucking discussion points came from the most braindead of website? Arguably places which have a huge problem with any sort of literacy as a whole and struggles even grasping the concept of reality in any way? I literally saw my entire theater clap over it, and I’ve never seen that before.
I really dread when the next big thing comes out, because the problem is when we build theories up in our mind, we get led to disappointment. It’s like episode seven taught us this! Call me a moron for enjoying the stuff I do, I don’t care, you guys should be so crammed up in your thoughts just because you believe that this show was going to be bigger than it actually was.
You guys better make me a promise, please don’t act like a whiny bitch because it’s something that I want to make.
You know what, before you say anything else I do want to say one last thing to specifically Gooseworx, and obviously I know this message won’t reach her, but before TADC, I didn’t even know who you were, in fact, I still don’t know who you are, but as a director and lead writer, for this, it genuinely felt like one of the most personal experiences that I’ve felt in my life, but the whole thing about Jax is still one of the deepest things that I’ve ever had to correlate between fiction and… me. We’re all weird people in the world, and that’s completely fine, no matter how we push it away from us, we are… what we are. I’m happy that you made me realize that.
Okay anyways…
Overall, I kind of have a complicated relationship with the show, it was hard for me to get into, it had its flaws, and I didn’t like GLITCH’s Management. I don’t think this is the next piece of “Great American Literature” but I don’t believe that it’s a tragedy in human history.
I just straight up think that the show started off weak, caught my groove, and kind of ended off in the way I expected and enjoyed. I personally would recommend it… now?! Personally I just think the problem with the show was caused under the fact that it was independent and took a very long time. So now that every episode is available, it’s around 4 hours, and to be honest it’s worth its while if its free.
Besides, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch all the way through, just keep in mind that the show does a lot of tonal changes and that it’s a cartoon, not Macbeth.
Generally, one of the more impressive documentaries I’ve seen. This is truly a love letter to NYIT’s Graphics Lab, obviously I’ve been following this adventure for a few months now from Ziggy, which actually I will refer to right now, given the fact that they have a Neocities of their own. In fact, I would actually recommend checking it out after this page, it’s a really good watch and they seem really nice on the internet, something which is more of a rarity nowadays.
So about the documentary itself, it tries to immerse you with two characters which have actually appeared before in NYIT, it’s this accuracy and cleverness that I appreciate. To explain, it’s basically just the history of NYIT’s Graphics Lab, I know that’s a pretty forward explanation, but it goes so much in depth, to the point where they actually got some of the artists which worked in NYIT. I’ve always appreciated early computer animation, but it basically focuses on three eras, their work in the 70s, the works and the 80s, up until their closure in the 90s. Since I don't want to say what the documentary said verbatim, please check it out.
Uh oh! A scary red color! What does that mean?! It generally means that the work has never been completed and has been scrapped since. That's all.
Here's a playlist compiling everything!
I don’t know how to really explain this given the fact that we only have around an hour of B-Roll but I will say that it’s interesting. Basically advertised as a spiritual successor to Yellow Submarine and made in NYIT’s Graphics Lab, the project slowly died out because of a lot of licensing issues and the fact that the studio can hold up in terms of budgeting. But that doesn’t matter, I’m consuming it anyways.
Seeing the excerpts which have been recently uploaded online, I don’t know how the film would’ve worked out. Unlike Yellow Submarine, which felt more like an experience with it detaching from most common standards of character archetypes to be more of a generally symbolic and loose feel… strawberry Fields goes the complete different direction by making it a narrative-focused adventure. This is my first problem with it.
Would I think this would’ve been a good film on its own? Meh. As a Beatles film though, it kinda fails to realize what worked with Yellow Submarine led with. I do like that most of the music still comes from there more experimental era BUT I don’t feel like they use it to their full advantage. They only use either excerpts or fall on remixes of already existing songs. Now I am fine with remixes... but it removes the integrity and atmosphere of the original.
It's not bad but it's kinda... nothing? I will admit some character designs go hard, probably because they were experienced as a product of their time. The CGI kinda looks bad for the standards of the era even. Sure, human designs were wacky, but the 3D in some scenes just looked absolutely ugly or out of place, other examples were okay.
It's an interesting experience to see what could've been, but this 100% would've flopped.
Regular Show, I’d like to think of the show as something which has always interested me. I mean not to gloat here… but I was one of those people which constantly quoted the show every time I could. It was probably one of the most memorable things me, and even though the quality did dip, I still think it is one of those shows that people should add onto their watchlist, meanwhile for I? When I heard that they were reviving the show with separate installments known as The Lost Tapes, immediately my reaction wasn’t excitement, but rather skepticism, why revive a show which has already made a full run on its original network? To be honest, I didn’t really think of it beyond just that, and then when promotional material came out of the show, I was getting more and more worried, the animation itself looked weird, it was tweened and it’s facial expressions were very interesting to look at. (cough cough)
So I was pretty much awaiting this new show just to see if it was as good as the original. To be honest? It's neat.
The pilot was cool, Pops basically being back in order to find lost tapes intrigued me and I'm wondering how that plot will go. (He's literally me!) I’m surprised regular show basically continued after the original and gives a sort of Meta commentary about nostalgia.
About the actual episodes themselves and the order… well it tries mixing a lot of aspects together, which I deeply appreciate. For example, do you remember those half hour specials? Well they technically do that with the first episode which immediately goes from segment a to segment B, but what’s interesting is that segment a can be mixed with any episode in airing... neat!
I wanted to do something fun though, which is Frankensteining episodes together to see where they would take place... so here's a spoilered list!
Skips’ Luau, honestly feels fitting between seasons 2 & 3, expands on his character and feels fitting to make him a single man, also he's an asshole like how he ate those burgers.
Blade Games would be between Silver Dude and Benson’s Car, mainly because it feels like Season 5 but it's also really funny to think that they damage the car two times in a row.
Nap Spot would be between A Bunch of Grown Men and Free Cake, but the implication that they’re new could mean that it’s earlier? I don't know, it feels fitting since Muscle Man is a jerk in this one.
Coffee Shop Wars as a pace breaker would be between Go Viral and Skunked? Not because there’s any plot relevant details but simply because it just feels like a season two episode, also I'd consider such because Mordecai and Rigby immediately abandon the cafe anyways.
Boba or Bobust is good between Access Denied and Muscle Mentor, not because it could easily be put into an early era season, but since they’re getting fond of Pops... which only happens after Season 2, but Benson's still cold on the duo, also the event being ultra serious feels like it'd break up the pace.
Corpse Flower… sure is Corpse Flower. I feel like this is weird because plot wise, I feel like this is very fitting for Season 7, it’s just complicated because obviously Margaret is focused on poetry class for college. I can’t really remember her really being focused on college work pre-season four, besides Eileen in this acts more so like her later seasons counterpart. Maybe between Gymblonski and Gary's Synthesizer?
Both Beginningson and Good Mitch Spiking would probably be best for season 3, I think the funniest aspect about it is the fact that this is a two-parter, but the only reason why the second part exists is because of a throwaway joke that Mordecai and Rigby just didn’t really care about the Hair to the Throne stuff. I think it also just feels fitting since season 3 doesn't really have a reserved special outside of Terror Tales of the Park. I'd like to think of this between Skips Vs. Technology and Butt Dial.
Stilt Walkers definitely feels like a season five episode, Rigby just acts immature, CJ is there for some reason, et cetera. I feel like this is really good between Paint Job and Take the Cake for some reason so I’m just putting all my bets there. Besides, specifically that batch of season five episodes doesn’t really have any Rigby centered ones, and since he still has problems with his dad. It feels like the audience should’ve already been introduced to this character in the Thanksgiving special, but not to his behavior.
Anyways… what do I think about the show on a personal level? I think the writing starts out rough, I feel like these would be more forgettable given the fact that they were lost so I guess it makes sense? Eventually, it does get back into its groove regarding weird absurd events, but to be honest the first two proper episodes didn’t really feel like such for me. The only episode where I was narratively unsatisfied with it was Blade games. The event which happens is probably one of the most sterile in show history, with it having the stars of Blade games, just a pure randomly to destroy the park a little. With how they teased it, I thought it would've been the character from the workplace tape, given the fact that they seem manipulative and take advantage of their workers would literally appear in the world. Eventually, though it finds its footing and becomes narratively pleasing again, despite its weaker plots.
The animation is botched, unfortunately. I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone says. I’m not offended by rigged animation, even if it isn’t personally something that I would do, I do believe that you can animate with rigs and it looks good, a lot of modern shows are doing that anyways. So it really feels like this “watch if you want more of this show” instead of being proper.
If there’s anything you should watch as of today, I would heavily recommend this video essay. It is depressing but in the way it should be. (But if you're really sensitive to doomer stuff, that's completely fine to not watch it!) I and many others have felt this aspect of loneliness in our lives which we can’t quite define, sometimes the world just feels meaningless despite the fact that clearly there’s more than ever. I definitely know that a lot of people won’t really accept this, but I do believe that it is a good insight for U.S. Society (and also internet society) right now.
Like I will say, if you get bummed out or anxious easily, it isn't for you, but it really is a good conversation starter and made me open up to some aspects. I don't have much to say... mainly because it's a video essay which makes its point clear, it's snappy within it's editing, and I absolutely love how they approach it.
I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT!
This is an experience that I cannot process in the proper way. It’s been covered by many people, including James Rolfe, Vinny from Vinesauce, MoistCr1TiKaL, and now me. It’s included in so many bundles that I can’t really point out what the defining point is. Created by Joeveno, this game might be the most interesting thing that I’ve tried so far. To be honest, me understanding this game would take a long time anyways, but I feel like the best way to describe it is a mix of Favela and like… Campinas?
It’s both tradition and absurdity mixed together into one, it’s engine is quick, so you know that it’s going to be an interesting experience. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t know what was going on throughout half of this game, it’s a bunch of PNG’s a nonsensical stage design amped up to its max, it’s this bonafide shitpost.
You’d think that would be a bad thing but it really isn’t. It has consistency and allows you to mow down… whatever. It has music that makes me bob my head up and down is it unlike anything that I’ve listen to a video game, it’s breakcore but it’s a unique type of breakcore. It’s gameplay experiments upon its guns to either be completely normal or batshit insane.
There’s only a couple problems that I have, the first one is pretty excusable given the fact that this game is an indie experience. I would say that the translations are fine, they do what their job does, but it is hard to read. Sometimes when back to back, there’s both English and Brazilian Portuguese on a sign or door and it doesn’t really add too much to the chaotic experience, but some language is in Brazilian only, which makes it confusing.
Another one is just at a game design standpoint, I feel like most of the game is too easy or unfair depending on context, it’s more easy than anything, and maybe the problem is I’m just more experienced in boomer shooters now compared to how I used to play a few years back. Usually how older shooters used to extend their length with these puzzle or platform aspects and even though that element still does kind of exist, it doesn’t exist in a similar way to something like DOOM or Quake. It makes the game have this weird pacing.
Of course, the third problem is another weird aspect, in quake, which is preserved here, there is a power up, which gives you invincibility for 30 seconds. The idea of this is fine, I think in vulnerability is fun but if there’s no indication that you’d lose your armor if you get hurt well-being in vulnerable. Maybe this is just me, they should’ve had better indication as a whole.
Overall, is this a game that you should check out? Well for its price, hell yes, (as long as you're prone to headaches) it’s this weird trip that from A to B feels like a niche quake mod that you would find on a forum only to go “what the fuck” at. The only point where I wouldn’t recommend this is either if you don’t care for weird experiences OR First Person Shooters, it is genuinely so weird it's fun.
Given the fact that I’m a huge Deltarune fan, I’ll be completely honest and tell you that I really like the idea of chapter 3 initially… dare I say it? The boards were the best thing about that chapter as they were a clear gameplay swap, which was needed for me. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the traditional formula of Deltarune, but it was just so used that I can’t really blame them for trying.
Somehow you are the vessel, and for the first time, you the player have a defined boundary between Kris, Kris does not like you at all initially before warming up to you and generally, it’s a played out concept and fan works, I still like it though!
I played a couple hours of it before the May update and feel like I have enough to discuss. First, no controller support kinda sucks, it's also very weird they didn't consider such before release as Deltarune itself has controller support. I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a problem given the fact that most coding engines natively support controller, it's weird given the fact that various fangames of UTDR that I've tried do have native support.
Actually, as speaking about that, a friend of mine was discussing with me about this game, they had no personal interest due to one important aspect, it’s a very inconsistent game, personally I didn’t have a problem with this aspect, but I do understand the frustration, the boards we’re supposed to be accurate to an actual NES game. No, the problem is the game is heavily mixled and to be honest very off due to this factor. Not only is it obvious in the HUD, but it was everywhere which is weird. At that point, why bother limiting yourself with a style that is 8-bit when you clearly have the potential to just make it your own style. I will say a spoiler on why I believe that this didn’t need to happen.
Anyways, for the writing, I do think that it’s not the best it can be. In fact, I’d argue that it is very flawed if we’re trying to follow Deltarune. How I knew this initially was that it is basically an interval between chapters 4 and 5, talking Kris just rubs me the wrong way, even if they probably have talked in the past, besides, you can talk through Kris. The problem is that the first time we see Kris speak, it’s kind of this cocky way, in comparison to Chapter 4’s impcatful, crazy energy where Kris wants to stop you from progressing in order to keep their pact with whomever is on their phone… it just feels forced. In fact, the writing on the vessel is weird. Given the fact that not only does it touch on the nose with stuff that we are not sure about yet, such as Gaster, my jaw dropped when I specifically read this dialogue.
Yes, viewer, you read that right. That is a Deltarune fan game which tries taking itself seriously by the way hard dropping the FUCK word. Don’t get me wrong, since it’s your work, I think you have the right to proclaim anything, not only is it a form of expression, but also can be written well either for comedic or narrative purposes. This is not one of those examples.It’s abrasive and forced in the delivery of such. It’s this awkward dialogue which makes me not feel immersed into the game.
At least the gameplay itself is okay, but everything else just put me out of it.
So this is a very strange approach, this game went on sale so I decided to get it for real cheap, after all, I do know about WayForward’s history, from third-party publishing to indie developers, WayForward is a complicated aspect to truly talk about… when WayForward was introduced to the DSI, they made a “Mighty” series, this was basically games which used the capabilities of the console in order to make these micro games.
Which by the way, I should state, I did actually try the games beforehand. Flip Champs and Milky Way would be phenomenal on PC. Anyways, initially a 3DS game, Mighty Switch Force follows a very similar route.
It is definitely an exciting romp. There’s a good rhyme and reason to it, but this game was more tricky than anything. I feel like there is some problems with it even in the modern age, I think it being a puzzle platform works really well, especially when you’re working under the par time... it just doesn’t have the exact rhyming. Throwing the player off from perfection. Example, the cannon blocks, they're a fine concept on paper, but I feel like the problem is the time to get into one. They're too small when you yourself are going too fast, and there's no snapping with this game, causing the player to basically fail over and over again.
I also guess I have a personal gripe with the character design, I understand that the series as well as most of WayForward’s more independent works generally have these “appealing” designs for their characters mainly because it’s taking inspiration from a multitude of ideas. I feel like the previous games manage this concept of appeal and solid design fairly well, meanwhile it kinda makes most designs here look generic. So even though it's fun, (and to be honest, maybe worth checking out if you're a fan of time-based challenges.) I still believe that the aspects of this game come from an era of clunkiness for an indie works, basically I'm just saying it's rough.
This six episode series is very interesting in terms of adult animated works. It's loosely inspired by the film from 1994, I’m partially impressed. The actual humor of the show is a little garbage. I feel like out of anything from that era, it aged the worst given the fact that it’s basic stoner humor, which means that there could be a minute long joke about referring to the slang for a British cigarette or just... demeaning gay jokes as a whole?
Arguably what made me more interested about the show in terms of its comedy was how differently they approached it to the actual movie. It's funnier with its meta humor than anything else? I actually laughed really hard at episode 2, in which it’s focused on a clip show which references back to the pilot but specifically to this one scene several times.
Its this hilarious, stupidly unexpected experience, and you don’t feel guilt upon Dante because even though he’s a human which often gets mistreated in the series because he hangs out with these jerks in the first place! (Also because it's also the most absurd shit ever.)
Despite the show being a animated sitcom type format, the craziest thing is for a show from 2000, that this probably has one of the most tightly packed narratives that I’ve seen for a show with a production order (no wonder why it's 6 episodes), it’s like they actually remember everything even if you’d expect it to be a one-off. It literally is overly cliché plots which literally deconstruct the idea of a show, especially of the sitcom format.
I can see why the show was canceled after two episodes, it does NOT fit ABC, to be honest if adult swim existed AND could’ve gotten the syndication rights before Comedy Central, I feel like that’s where it would’ve been most fitting. The question is about how fine you are with a work which can be so poorly aged at points. You gotta remember that this was in 2000… it follows the idea of parody and satirization down to a T. I will admit, the finale was probably the funniest thing ever, it feels like they ran out of ideas and just started flinging shit to the wall and the best way properly.
It literally ends with a Duck Amuck parody after claiming that they would be faithful to the film. They clearly knew what they were doing and how to take the medium to its advantage… but didn’t know how to go forward with that idea.
Oh yeah, if you’re wondering why the DVD version is marked as uncensored, it’s not because of the actual show being uncensored, there’s actually nothing different… probably. No, the reason why it’s marked as uncensored is because there’s these intervals where Jay and Silent Bob… hang out, sure they can say whatever they want, but it just doesn’t really guarantee the freedom that you would expect out of such a tagline. It’s also one of the laziest DVDs because it just copies and paste everything except for the episodes, which in my opinion, makes it even funnier. Snooch to the nooch my friends.
Remember when I told you that this probably would’ve been the best for being converted to a video? I was right, this is way funnier and clever than the stream.
I want you to remember that the first half an hour or so of the stream was genuinely just them fucking around trying to find a bit before proceeding very VERY slowly. The entire bit with the underground was very much condensed. Remember that this was a four hour stream. Sure there was a multitude of loading screens but arguably the fan cuts made it go down to two hours, so them cutting it down to this much and keeping important jokes then is awesome.
It shows how fleshed out the characters are immediately, something which didn’t really happen in the first series because of how similar the archetypes are. Near the end, yeah, you could identify each character easily. But that was only near the end when the characters were defined for such. I feel like the character roster here has been the strongest that it’s been and for that it is better. I said that there was too much padding and somehow they removed the padding, 2 hours of Route Kanal into basically what is like what... 45 minutes?
Unlike the original HLVRAI streams which they have missing jokes, given the fact that they didn’t really have a huge presence on the team, this is the first video which actually gets enhanced by the video editing, not only does the entire video experience unique visual gags, there's actually important narrative elements which are getting more psychological in terms of genre, or in a literal sense, strangely endearing.
If you haven’t already, I would recommend to watch the series, especially as we’re arriving with…
Oh... because of production errors ultimately postponing stream I can't make the joke I wanted to anymore? Damn. Hope things get back on track soon.
Wow, another one of these games? I feel like it is more experimental compared to a lot of other SpongeBob games but... does that guarentee it being good?
Do I think it’s worth its original price of $40? Hell no, to be honest I don’t really think $20 is too good either. Maybe this is just how I feel given the fact that goat simulator sold their game for a very low price initially… It feels like an overpriced Goat Simulator, and I’m not blaming the developers here… this is more so of an Outright Games aspect given the fact that they don’t really consider their works as games, but rather another dollar to make off of fans. BUT it feels like the developers are genuine fans given how crammed it is in terms of references and details. It's very much a high-effort which feels amazing at points. That mixed in with it's low storage size, infinite possibilities of messing around, and an understanding of good bugs. (Bugs which don't adhere to breaking the game, but still remain in order for the player to feel impressed) It truly is a fun time.
If this game goes on sale for higher than 75% off, I'd say it's worth it. BUT that comes down if you're a Spongebob fan, there's many other games which give the same fix, such as the aforementioned Goat Simulator or even Gary's Mod.
Everyone knows about Loss, right? The popular meme which constantly got made fun of on the early internet and basically turned into one of the status icons of Ctrl Alt Del? Well, what if I told you that there was an entire animated series… on DVD?
Ultimately when I got a 10 pack of headphones, the first thing I wanted to watch was this. Why? Well, other than the causation of Loss, a lot of people don’t like the show for a multitude of reasons, but as a “casual gamer” upon video games, I’m actually curious if it’s actually as bad as people say.
In terms of DVD releases, it is very low quality, it’s a 4GB disc, which makes sense given how long the first season is AND everything else, but it's so weird that the video is actually worse??? Like what budget did they have that allowed them to compress it like this? DVDs can have 720p or even 1080p resolution, so it's just weird, was it the interlacing? Was it the source file not being able to be retrieved???
I didn’t really think too much about this because it is an online webcomic, but there was more than enough to compare, Homestar runner, a free show which barely had merch AND DVDs had more effort tenfold. They were literally packed to the brim for cheaper effort. They could have put the entire Season one onto one disc by the way, it would've probably been a little cheaper as well. Oh? AND like it looked crisper on DVD, mainly because HR had their source files and was done IN HOUSE.
The actual show… it’s as bad as you think. I genuinely think the audio mixing is exactly like a classic flash animation, except somehow worse because it genuinely feels like we did everything in one take compared to actually making the audio good. The animation is heavily rigged, which you would expect to automatically be a bad thing, but it’s only because of the fact that it’s not fluid and rather feels mechanical still. Maybe it’s just because the entire comic strip is very rigid with its character design and stuff, but it just doesn’t translate well.
I understand what they’re trying to do with Ethan over here, they’re trying to make him more so like a character like the ones that you would see on an animated sitcom for TV, make him deeply flawed and exaggerated like a Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, or Philip J. Fry. It’s supposed to be this relatable element that is an inflection not only of our “basics” but also this aspect that we can laugh at characters for stealing grounds of basic slapstick and ignorance upon a situation.
When Ethan gets written though, it makes me hate him? I don’t understand anyone who sympathizes with this character because he just seems like a narcissistic asshole which has to revolve around him. I know this is a very surface view opinion of the character because that’s what’s supposed to make him funny, but the problem is the actions just feel lackluster or the joke isn’t set up correctly.
The problem about it is that nearly every joke is predictable, you can call it from a mile away. There are things which made me laugh, but most jokes fall flat. For example, the fourth episode made me laugh between all the characters interacting, which is funny because none of the gaming elements were funny, it was actually just the fact that it was an exaggeration of bad cooking.
That’s when you realize what exactly is going on here, it’s the total disconnect from reality, which doesn’t make this show work. The humor sucks, everything which is funny falls, and everything which isn't is. They accidentally made a humorous show, not because it’s good but rather because it’s so bafflingly bad that it turns around to being kind of funny again.
Brain Scatter feels like this mess which I can’t explain as it’s supposed to be multiple jokes in one type deal. It basically fails at all of them. The writing is this sluggish, weird tragedy in terms of webshows, it doesn't dare think outside of the box.
Like the closest thing which is pretty good is A Nerd Hope, it’s this ultra-satirization which should’ve been the energy of the series. It’s just a shame that the only good episode out of the series was not only heavily topical… they could’ve made a proper critique of Jack Thompson, and yet the only way that they satirize him is that he has a billboard and hates gamers. The billboard being the Death Star is an okay idea though, especially for that ending.
The second season on the other hand… wow. Do you want me to explain the entire feel of this season in ONE clip? No? Too bad!
It is completely different, is it even Ctrl + Alt + Del anymore? The quality in writing initially starts off “fine”, mediocre pacing, accidentally funny humor, but you can clearly notice that it’s cheaper, it uses a style unlike the comic with so many animation errors that I can’t really count it. The audio is somehow worse???? They didn't even isolate the vocals causing weird noises in and out???
I mean... Ethan is less of an ass but what's the point when it's genuinely generic sitcom plots. "Oh Ethan gets stuck in the bathroom!", "Oh Ethan Works Out!", "Guess who goes to Vegas?!" (That's right, a dystopian looking group of TF2 players!) There's nothing unique or defining such anymore.
Would I recommend watching this? Hell no. If you literally have anything better and more productive to do, then it would probably be better to do that than watching… this. (Eugh)
Remember that I wouldn’t be too judgmental if this was a first, but the thing is that the first season was made in 2006, in which, there were dozens possibly hundreds of better animations, and then season two was made in 2010, in which the culture was dramatically changing and more risks were made because of said change.
It’s the sterile mess which just doesn’t make any sense. It’s not quite a show which makes fun of the gaming industry but because animation takes a long time, so all the jokes become either outdated or are so basic like those game shirts. In fact, I don’t know how, but it’s like the guy which was forced to make those gaming shirts (you know the ones I mean) happened to create this. Please, for the sake of anything, do not watch this.
A game for $.50?! Wow! I hope it isn’t bad! (he remarked before realizing what this game was)
Trap roller is a game which in my opinion, shouldn’t exist commercially. Even though I like to think that creative input has evolved for anyone to publish video games, maybe we still should have quality control.
I know that the discussion of the game quality both on Steam and Nintendo storefronts has been a massive topic as of recent, with content such as AI generation (which in my opinion, is a sin to the creative mind that birthed it) but recently I’ve been thinking about this every time for games now. Even though this game was really cheap, it felt like a scam still.
Even though its idea was fine enough, the problem about it wasn’t its idea, it was everything else around it. The controls don’t feel tight like you would expect, neither are they cohesive. It mainly prioritizes the arrow keys, space bar, and mouse, which sounds like it would be good, except the animations actually are stunted in a gridlock space, there’s no sense of acceleration or feel.
The stage designs are too simple for the idea, the fact that you can go everywhere is fun, but... most of its elements feel half-baked, for example, the star is a fun idea, but it doesn’t add anuthing to the game and besides, sometimes you get it rewarded to you anyways, even before beating the stage. There's also mechanics which just don't add anything like the hourglass, which flips the amount of time, and spikes which have poor timing. It isn't even aligned to the grid at a point!
As the Steam description says, the game used AI for some assets, which is so enraging, not only because it uses AI, but it feels like they could've made ALL of this without it. Honestly, at this point, I was questioning, if the creator really thought of anything, they make these short quick games and that started making me believe that these were something like cryptominers. Even its music is just the same one track either sped up or slowed down, it genuinely felt insane and for that, I would never recommend getting this game, not only for the integrity of yourself, but rather the integrity of the game market.
Given the fact that I 100%’d of the game, technically in under an hour, it’s awful. Short games can be good, they can be tightly packed experiences for the fun of the player! There are games which are cheaper at it from its base (& even discount) price which offer more content. It is not worth your time or money.
“Oh so why link it?” You’re asking? Well, I want to have some sort of credibility with my work, and to be honest, I probably should’ve checked if there was some sort of warning beforehand.
I understand that in the description, Steam forces the studio to say that AI was involved in certain asset generation or code… I support that 100%s, I just wish that it was more prevalent and marked for stuff like the Steam Deck Discovery Queue.
The only reason why I was tricked was because I genuinely thought given the fact that it looked like clip art. So just as a little warning, even if a game is sold for free, just be sure to check the background information. It could ultimately be a scam, a miner, or even AI Generated slop. Oh yeah, and also I refunded! Remember to use Steam's refund system accordingly! (Like I did!)
It’s fun, it’s weird, it’s Rubato! Initially created as a demo showcase in 2020 for Sonic Amateur Games Expo, this game would basically spiral out into this unknowing chaos which gets really deep.
I have NOT completed the game, but felt like I had enough experience to put it here.
Seriously, the story is basically the solar system is messed up and that you have to re-create the planets again, you, Rubato, which is a frog might I add… have to stop the creation of this world-ending bioweapon… yada yada yada.
It’s this very fun sandbox like game in my opinion. Basically it follows a simple formula of prioritizing physics for puzzle-esque stages, but it tends to genre shift, a lot. You wanna play a game of breakout? What about making Rubato armed? What about a race!
I don’t know how far it is to talk about this as the game will completely change in the span of four days with a new directors cut update. (Nice) I seriously do hope that all things considered… that you eventually check this game out. It is 100% worth it.
So… Advance 2? I’ve played it before on actual hardware and could never 100% the game! I did beat it and to be honest it isn’t too fun. I felt like the main problem about Sonic Advance 2 is actually pretty similar to Sonic 2… like the exact same thing. The structure is solid, and initially the game is fun and pleasing and adds new aspects which define the experience. But eventually, you see the games flaws because of the fact that they had to make such a difficulty curve so quickly. It’s entrance upon the special stages might actually be the worst that I’ve seen in a sonic game, you used to need to collect seven in one stage in order to play.
So what does SP do? Well it’s basically a balance hack. Sure its goals are still high, but arguably it’s not as bad as you would expect. For example, stages have been tweaked to be more fair to the player such as new routes and better enemy placement, and the requirement for special stages are now 5.
...This doesn't mean I still have problems, starting with Sky Canyon, the player will struggle given the fact that it's considered the "later half" making the game start trickling in more bullshit basically. Another thing I actually kind of don't care about is the special stages! They focus on combo-making rings and avoiding badniks, but I often struggled with such because of how the controls felt slippery, and that it's difficulty just somehow spikes up and down for some reason???
Speaking about that, though, Amy, still being an unlock for 100%ing every character story still is a bad choice. I understand that the creator wants to be as faithful to the original game, and I looked some of that over, but the fact you literally unlock everybody else before her was a strange choice, especially when she was accessible off the bat in 1.
I would consider this hack if you want an easier expereince... as it finally made this game bearable for me. Just remember that this is supposed to be an improvement hack by tweaking things around.
What a weird game, from the advertising I thought this was initially going to be something like a doodle jump type deal… technically it is, not in the way you think though.
The game is like any other arcade-esque experience. The goal is to get the highest score you can, that’s it. The mechanics of the game though, that’s kind of weird. I mean, yeah, the titles of pun which takes the game more literally. You know, a play on words… you literally use guns to propel yourself upwards! Picking up guns with various amounts of ammo and backfire. How do you aim? Well either the mouse (or the Steam trackpad) and... blast away.
This game takes a while to skillfully appreciate, but I don’t think it really matters given the fact that it’s a high score game with 2 modes. There's the aforementioned arcade mode, and a roguelite mode which introduces upgrades, causing the game to be harder to lose overall.
Don’t get me wrong, the point of the game is just to get the highest score possible, so it’s not bad, if you’re expecting anything huge from this game, you’ll be disappointed. Given the fact I got this on sale, I am not disappointed by my purchase, it's a simple, fun time-waster after all!
I’ll be honest and say that I kind of had a pinball fix this month. OK… I have both played actual cabinets and digital games based off of the physics, the reason why I chose this over FX is the fact that Spire was not 40 GB and like $300 for everything.
This game follows a very simple subject, actually one that we’ve seen before in and already existing format, Sonic Spinball… BUT while what Spinball had flounders, this game… dare I say… appreciates its medium.
It reminds me of Yoko’s Island Express, which built up a very similar idea in terms of an explorative pinball. I really like this route given the fact that most pinball games are focused on a limited table, there’s nothing wrong with that obviously, but most are formatted the same, and obviously just don’t really benefit the digital space.
So when I actually started playing this game, dare I say it… it’s probably one of the best pinball games you can play out there. Better than like... Mario's Pinball Land or whatever. It is very untraditional though, if you’re looking for a 100% authentic pinball experience, there’s many games which can restore that aspect.
There’s this sense of detachment from traditional which it knows it can’t replicate, so it just says “screw it lets add powers and enemies upon this spire. Besides, there's little punishment if you mess up a flipper, well other than you possibly going back to the next table.
Also, I’ve seen speed runs which trim the game down to 40 minutes, I’ve also seen walk-throughs which go to 3 hours. If there is any recommendation, you should totally get this game, the lead developer, Tom Voros, was an ex-Ubisoft dev which supports anti-AI sentiment and think that helping communities is probably the most important thing. It’s this respect that I have for the developer that honestly makes me appreciate this game even more.
So as a part of Steam’s Bullet Fest… there was a huge sale on Touhou entries, what did that mean for me? Well, I got two games, one of them listed here and the other listed below.
This game is very Binding of Isaac… and I mean that both in a good and bad way. The twin stick room-by-room nature is neat… BUT I was honestly craving more, why do I say that? Well you have DOZENS of characters to choose from, which is awesome!
The thing is though it really isn’t what you expect, Binding of Isaac was originally a linear experience, sure, but the thing which defined the gameplay wasn’t just going through the same course as a different character, it was roguelite, which meant that every time you played it, you would have a different approach every single time.
This barely goes into that random element, you have a very linear set of stages and that's it. There isn't anything new after rather than like... unlocking 2 characters I would’ve had a lot more fun if you had options in the story, which were more significant than “hmm, should I go to the store? Or should I fight again?”
Do I think it’s a fine game for nine bucks? Hell no, if you save up to double that amount, you could get Binding of Isaac instead. I do believe though that for $2.50, that is more of a deal bargaining for the quality of this game, I don’t think it’s bad per se, but I believe there is so much better out there for such a price. Even then, I’m guessing that Support is still semi-active… so I think it would be a nice note to add more baseline content before ultimately making players experience such a work.
Genuinely worth every penny. One of the most “what the fuck” works I’ve played. This Vampire Survivors, Touhou Boss, Yume Nikki-esque game is hard to explain but is very VERY addicting. If I’ll be honest with you, the twin stick shooter genre is getting really popular once again without innovating in a similar way to what defined it beforehand, Vampire Survivors was an idea given the fact that it’s so expansive and follows a simple pattern, but now nearly 4 years later, such a genre has gotten repetitive and even the lead devs don’t know what to really do, instead of experimenting with a card game and now just basically planning a game with a similar format.
Picayune truly experiments with this idea in an important and efficient manner. First of all, when you start the game, it doesn’t put you to the menu so that you have to understand how the game works. It knows you'll fail early on. I mean you can choose between areas to fight certain enemies, you'll be able to choose weapons or upgrades for such, and eventually, you'll unlock more as the story goes forward.
This game is generally a treat to really experience, although I wouldn’t say that it goes down the line that LSD: Dream Emulator does… (a game I still need to try) I still feel like it has resemblant qualities of such, it’s this fever dream which you can’t really get out of your head, and given the good and non-repetitive gameplay balance as well, that 100% counts for something.
I genuinely do not know how to explain this in a proper light without you watching it. This film comes from the comedy/horror/musical aspect. It both feels classical and modern in this strange unpaved way. Its horror elements have “faded” given the fact that even films at the time were generally more graphic, but it’s the tone of this film which heavily benefits it. I mean, it’s definitely more weird than scary. In fact, arguably this film is a little progressive, when I described the film, I explained it as a “toxic polycule” to be honest those words have stood still for me. The antagonist of the film isn’t critique for being eccentric or showing his identity. It’s more so that he’s a manipulative asshole, which only really focuses on his desire in comparison to everyone else. Yet he has the gall to get pissed off when the thing that he desires most “betrays” him, despite the fact he literally did the same thing minutes ago.
Honestly, if you can access it, I would heavily recommend it. For being half a century old now, it still is finely this piece of work, which I deeply appreciate now that I’ve watched it.
Oh yeah, some notes that I took about this is "Tim Curry can get it" and "in 35 years, he voice acts a hot dog on Regular Show, what a career."
Another tag? Seriously?! Well for “DEMO” tags, that’s literally what it means, it’s a demonstration of what we will experience next.
A very fun defining game. I feel like the best way to explain this is if the Legend of Zelda series was a Runbow title and was styled off of very early arcade games.
It’s a very short demo. Technically, you can still play it after it’s over, but there’s only half an hour’s worth of content, even shorter if you’re not stuck on the puzzles… so what is it about?
Basically, your ship crashes onto Crystal Archipelago, an entire planet filled with gemstones, and obviously as you could tell, tropical theming.
To be honest, its combat isn’t too notable, I mean, enemies can only attack once and they’re very simple in pattern and attacks. It's also very hard to lose.
One of the ideas that the game tries experimenting with is prismatic deviation, AKA you get separated into different forms of color. I initially thought the gameplay was kind of tacky, but I grew quickly used to it seeing it's usage in puzzles.
I think the puzzles are very much endearing compared to what I usually see in games like this. I probably will get it when it's on sale, but probably my highest expectation on price for this would be like $15?
AND to finally conclude, I needed to make a spoiler free review of Deltarune Chapter 5 (but there is A LOT of spoilers within summary).
Deltarune Chapter 5 is honestly as fresh as Chapter 4, in fact, it's tied for me. There's a lot of shocking gameplay mechanics, narrative choices which I didn't really think about, and really, a shocking amount of high quality. The best comparison would probably be saying "it's the peak."
If you haven't gotten this game, it is 100% recommended that you do before you miss out on anything. Okay, now for the people which have played it, I do have some spoilers (It also has secret boss and weird route stuff) which is talked about below.
Simply called Festival Day... holy shit. I really REALLY like Asgore's character in this. To bhe honest, in my friend groups, since we thought that Asgore was losing his sanity, he would do it in the festival itself, but more and more I realized "oh, we're going into flower king."
I actually really liked Flowery as an antagonistic villain, we knew that the main antagonist of chapter 5 was going to be the flower man, which made everyone think that Asgore was going to be the antagonistic force given the events which unfold the night before. We didn’t expect it to literally be a flower man which ultimately gets cleaved by the blade. He’s a fun character to mess around with and to be honest, I kinda wish she wasn’t so amped up with Asgore compared to the rest of the characters.
Oh yeah, speaking about the flowers, I really like their sense of writing, most of them try grasping at the idea that they’re trying to be something they aren’t, they just want to live out their dream. I kind of saw a parent child dynamic with all of them weirdly enough. To be honest, they’re trying to think of what’s human exactly, I mean this chapter really goes immediately dark sometimes with these characters since they really aren’t human, but it’s endearing, such as Yellow believing he needs to be punished, how so? He needs to blast himself with a laser of course!
The 2D Platforming sections were probably the most shocking aspect of this chapter for me gameplay wise, surprisingly Deltarune works really well as a platformer, they’re fun addicting segments, which really break the pace up and honestly now that we’re talking about it, if there was stuff like this back in chapter 1, maybe I would’ve appreciated it more. Oh yeah, and the climbing segments were still awesome by the way, in fact, it felt more pleasing given it's visuals and the final segment.
The final area, that being the castle nd it's rooftops were just way too fun, mixing platforming and battles in an efficient manner which defines itself was just... one of a kind. That final boss as well, holy cow, it was difficult for me but also like...
The fact they got Khara to animate fucking shocks me still, it's very funny to think about given the fact that it's literally the studio which has made everything really related to Eva after GAINAX lost it, since it is Anno's studio after all, but it's also funny to say Flowery is my favorite.
Mad Mew Mew was a great addition for chapter 5 as well for the secret boss. That and it’s also a revamped purple soul. It had a lot of personal charmed to it, given the fact that it felt like they mixed 32-bit era stuff (Moreso like PC-FX visually with the visual novel element) with more crazy things such as the music, which uses Miku V3 vocals, that's just awesome. Oh yeah, and the whole sidequest is both extremely easy BUT really defining to me.
About weird route, even though I haven’t played it myself, (only watched, I’m waiting until the game is finished) I think we’ve kind of reached the peak of that route. Not only does this completely deviate from structure, it honestly gave me the worst chills that I’ve ever felt, you’ve manipulated Noelle so badly in chapters 2 and 4 that she will literally drag you into the ocean, and as I’ve discussed with a friend, we believe that it’s her trying to clip out out of bounds and not actually commit suicide. I mean, you gotta think about this for a second, every exit in Deltarune is blocked off except for the lake. The fact that the game freaks out instead of kills, you makes me think that Gaster was intervening your attempt to clip out of bounds. Toby what’s 100% right though, it is a very gross scene as you just basically gaslight into believing that Kris and her have changed to point where you are in a constant line of abuse with a phrase “proceed.” I think it's also interesting that you can make it a "dream" but doesn't entirely abandon the route.
That's all I really have to say, probably equal to Chapter 4, which makes me consider it as one of my favorite games... ever?! (See you in 2027 Deltarune Chapter 6!)
I am LITERALLY doing this last minute so spare me, it sure was interesting. I would say this month's word would be "enjoyable" because either something was so bad that it was good, or it was so good, it remained good. I apologize for not really adding too much, but... yeah.
Gooigigamer (Bluesky and Newgrounds) is one of the most impressive guys that I know of. Not only has he been in every space that I’ve been in, he’s basically an entertainer. To be honest, I can’t really describe his “flavor” in terms of work. I feel like the best way to describe his art style is... eccentric?
It’s a really hard/unique style which really gives a lot of creative expression while also just being highly detailed. Here's some of his public work...
I have contacted Goog to show some of the stuff he's sketched around, (I specified that it was gonna be used for the site) and it's genuinely incredible. It uses intricate pen lines as if they were pencil, thin and loose is something I barely see from modern artists, even in sketching. This sense of expression is one I really haven't seen before, given the fact that honestly, a lot of people just struggle with such.
Even though Goog does stress (even tire) me out sometimes in terms of his energy, I think he's an extremely talented and often humorous guy. He's taught and told me so much which I have opened to, he's completely changed my experience about OBS too! (Both in good and bad ways LOL)
yeeo (Carrd (For the social media of your choosing!)/Strawpage) is also an artist which I consider as extremely talented for their work. Her work is VERY clean visually. Sometimes they do thick lines, sometimes no lines. It all gives a beautiful picture within the work.
It has a great sense of design and expression with these broad colorful choices. If I'll be honest, it deeply reminds me of pop art and a nostalgia which hazes within my mind. It's charming and specifically stylized in a way which make's yeeo's work stand out.
Plus... they have some tracks (specifically covers I'm selecting) which I genuinely jam out to constantly, it's this genuine passion that I see in Yeeo's work which makes it feel one of a kind. Genuinely, I listen to their Hammer of Justice more than the official version, and their Masked Man cover? Incredible.
Even though we haven't talked much, I do appreciate their sense of style and work. She's fun to talk to and we share a decent amount of interests! I genuinely just hope they're doing good, because they're a kind, honest person with a great work effort.
She is currently working on this project called SUNBEAM which features some of the characters (and a setting) I've put on here, I will be completely honest and say that I am pretty hopeful of it, yeeo's very talented and the idea of playing their work would genuinely be so cool.
Now I know that this only spotlights two of my friends in my community, instead of the "guest" outside of the community, but remember... I've been offline for a hot minute! Besides, you should seriously check these two out, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also I genuinely think these guys are underrated at their craft when it's clear they're uniquely talented.
So... that's June? Pretty much! There isn't too much to remark since June's are now somehow brutal, I really hope you guys enjoy what I'm offering, who knows, maybe someday I'll add even more to the site! Sorry that it's been pretty slow! (Albeit, I think the page is the same length as last time.)
Any words of advice? Oh I guess keep yourself cool by either water or using the shade to your advantage, and please be safe, it's tornado season after all. Thank you for joining me on this update, and I hope I'll have more time in July!
Your pal, John.
