Recent reviews by VinylMorpheus

I’m not a big turnbased RPG player. I always feel like I want to be but once I actually play them I’m always put off by the way they tell stories (or more accurate to say, lore dump) and the turnbased combat loses me so quickly. Chrono Trigger has been the only JRPG that I’ve loved. The only one that’s ever lived up to what I imagined the genre to be. Well now Bug Fables joins that velvet rope club.

Another game I feel the need to compare Bug Fables to is Hollow Knight. The Bug themed Fantasy setting is obvious but the actual comparison I intend is that it’s obviously an indie game attempting to capture a similar tone as a famous game or genre. Hollow Knight (Metroid, Castlevania) and Bug Fables (Mario RPG, Paper Mario, TTYD). Both of these indie titles have evolved past that homage into their own identity and in my humble opinion, surpass their inspirations. Also there’s the value. Like Hollow Knight, Bug Fables is absolutely packed to the gills with content, extra boss fights, challenge modes, collectibles, side quests, mini games. Secrets upon secrets for an absurdly low price. Value for money Bug Fables is an objectively good product.

That’s all to say nothing about the simple but charming story. The fantastic characters and music. The turnbased combat is incredibly simple but deep as an ocean. At first I was disappointed there are only 3 party members but that allows you to actually care about your tight knit group of explorers. This is the problem I’ve always had with this genre. The reason no jrpg can recreate (much as they’ve tried) Chrono Trigger’s campfire scene is because that team bond is so hard to earn. Bug Fables comes very very close.

The thing this game does so well imo is that it mixes the sense of adventure of a fantasy jrpg with a deep combat system but wraps it all in this cozy and charming N64 style world. It’s colorful and bright but there are dark and sinister corners of this world. There are light and funny moments of charm and adventure but not without darkness and danger and sincerely hard boss fights. As someone who played Chrono Trigger at 30 years old. Don’t be put off by the look of this game. This is the game I’ve been searching for ever since Chrono Trigger. Give it a try. It may be what you’re looking for too.

Touch Grass.
Hell. Cut it.
Water plants. Hit cars with hammer.
Sleep in the shed.
For you a scary game. For me? Tuesday.
Give me some Creed and a couple Blue Moons (bottles only) and this is the American Dream.

Awesome game so far. Very fun to sail the warm seas while it’s a 6 degree Arctic wasteland outside my house.
Apparently there’s a lot of repeat content from infinite wealth but….i didn’t buy that game so….i don’t care.
Cool to play a new big (ish) studio game that actually has gameplay and is fun.

The drama’s good, the voice acting is good, mini games are fun and the gameplay is awesome. It’s just a really good time. Probably the most fun I’ve had with a non indie game since the Resident Evil 4 Remake. Definitely something worth the price and hold me over until Doom the Dark Ages comes out.

All my homies hate Spiders
All my homies hate Trolls
All my homies hate Sourwood Witches
All my homies hate THAT THING IN THE LAKE

All joking aside this is one of the best games i've played in a spell. In the true sense this is an adventure. It's somewhere between the wonder and exploration of an ancient world akin to (your first playthrough of) Skyrim mixed with the quirk (and offbeat eerie nature) of Jim Henson's Labyrinth or Dark Crystal. This game almost looks like it would be a walking simulator but it has fps combat, light puzzle solving, some platforming too and above all else it has a true sense of identity. If I could wipe my brain and replay a game for the first time again Northern Journey would be somewhere in the top 5 contenders. I truly can't recommend this one enough. The visuals are great, the music is haunting, the journey is engrossing and I will never forget Nokkpond for as long as I live. Do yourself a favor. Drop the criminally low $12 and take the plunge. Pun intended.

Insanely fun game with so much content. I really don’t understand how this is only early access. I can’t wait to play more of this. There are barely any reviews for this year but every review is upwards of 40 hours playtime. Honestly that’s way more of a recommendation that tons of 30 minute playtime reviews. New to Heroes of Hammerwatch 2 this is definitely the most engaging game I’ve played so far this year. Need to play more but I just wanted to do my part to help boost the positivity for this great game. Buy this. Stupidly good with so much content for like $6

TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT!!!

Blue, yellow, pink! Whatever, man. Just keep bringing me that!

So you’ve heard of Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania right? Yeah? We’ll get ready for Dead Cells: Return to Monke. Because that’s what this is and it slaps. Hard.

Even after the Second Act Update this still needs a good bit of work. The early access was a bit more barebones than I'd expected but now theres a lot more content to sink your teeth into. Platforming feels incredible but combat is still a little rocky. I understand this isn't Dead Cells though. The bones of an amazing game are here and it's getting closer to being that amazing game. Keep it up!

April 2025 Update:
This is finally in a place where I can truly recommend it. It’s still rough around the edges and more content would do the game wonders but I’m really enjoying the new visual presentation, the platforming is smoother than ever, the combat is starting to feel more deliberate and less floaty and all the little roguelike items are starting to synergize into something that feels like I’m actually making a build every run.

Haven't played a ton of this yet but so far it's pretty interesting. The only other game that I've played in this vein is Songs of Conquest. Which i personally didn't love. This game is visually more of my style and I do enjoy the card system. Also in case anyone else is wondering it runs totally fine on the Steam Deck although it's much more natural feeling on desktop.

Haven't played a ton but there might be something here. Gonna give it a positive for now. The visual presentation is a big stand out and it plays a lot like Hades with the upgrades and room choices. I feel like the attacks don't really have a good flow...the kick, melee swing, gun, special....idk. They don't feel like symbiotic moves to string together. Especially because of how spongy the enemies are...Idk... maybe it gets better with upgrades or maybe I'm just not playing right.

Also I have no idea why they decided to make this a Callisto Protocol tie in lol it's not the worst thing in the world but why tie this original idea with a somewhat tainted brand name....especially if you're not even going to capitalize on the connection? What about the title "Redacted" would tell you this takes place in the Callisto Protocol EU hahaha idk it's just a strange choice on a couple different levels.

Still all gripes aside i think there might be something to dig into here.