Recent reviews by Alphy

Balatro is such an addicting game that I'm surprised this concept hasn't been done before (to my knowledge)

The game seems deceptively simple at first. You start off each run with your typical deck of 52 playing cards, and are tasked with beating a blind by playing your best poker hands. You have a limited number of discards and hands that can be played each round to achieve the score (in chips) set by the blind.

Once a blind is defeated, you're taken to the shop, where you can spend money you've earned after beating it. This is where the real game begins. That simple premise is now thrown out the window as you are greeted with an assortment of jokers, tarot cards, and more to purchase, each with their own unique way of changing the way your run will play out.

The jokers are the main highlight of the game, and are what you will generally use to amplify your score and create crazy synergies. Maybe you purchase a joker that gains more and more chips each time you play a straight, and will add those chips to your score after each hand. Later down the line you might then find a joker that allows you to cheat your way into creating 4 card straights instead of using 5. All of a sudden you find yourself trying to build a deck that centers around playing straights. This is only one small example out of a massive collection of over 100 jokers that change the way you play significantly.

As you visit the shop more and more, you'll find many ways to make playing your most powerful hands even stronger more frequent. You'll purchase some tarot cards that let you remove pointless cards from your deck, letting you guarantee more powerful hands; then you'll purchase some planet cards that increase the score of specific hands.

As you build your deck more and more, the game will up the ante with higher scores to beat, and difficult bosses that have their own cruel conditions, such as making you draw all face cards face down, or debuffing a particular suit, nullifying their score and any effects generated by them. Balatro's bosses are often designed in a way that prevents you from fully committing to a single deck archetype, which keeps runs varied and interesting. If your deck is fully structured around playing flush clubs, and the boss wants to debuff all club cards, you're in for a tough time.

There are a few rough parts to the game balance, which may be addressed in the future according to the dev. Just some small things like early game shops giving lackluster options that often results in you having no means to generate enough chips to beat tougher blinds if your luck is poor. But overall the game is masterfully designed, and keeps me coming back daily during my lunch breaks for a quick 20-30 min run.

Even if you know next to nothing about poker (like myself) this game is still a solid purchase, as it is extremely simple to pick up and learn. Just buy it, you wont regret it.

DOOM Eternal is a very ambitious game which iterated on DOOM 2016's formula in almost every way. To some, this may feel like Eternal strayed away from what made 2016 so good, but for myself, it was a fresh new take DOOM that i thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

There are so many things i can compliment this game on, from soundtrack (obviously) to the gun-play and level design. DOOM Eternal is an absolute adrenaline rush, more so than its predecessor. Its faster, bolder, snappier, and a lot tougher. It'll keep you on your toes throughout the entire level, and wont hesitate to punish you for slipping up for even a second.
Every weapon plays its part, and most of the upgrades actually feel useful this time around. Along with the way the game pushes you to use every weapon in your arsenal, Eternal ends up feeling like an intense blend of strategy and thrilling combat.

The level design and environments are gorgeous, and a lot more varied than 2016. It can feel a lot less grounded and consistent, but it really does a lot when the visual design is more than a grey and red colour palette. The combat arenas are large and give you plenty of room to traverse them how you want, from portals, to jump pads, and even bars that you can swing from to get more air time.

The enemy design is varied, and will force you to use every item at your disposal to defeat them. I really appreciate the new weak point system that allows you to hinder a demon's ability by shooting off things like a cannon from a Mancubus. Pair that with some amazing flesh destruction, and the combat feels even more visceral than before.

Of course, with a lot of innovation, comes a lot of things that dont quite hit the mark for everyone. The story is a bit so-so, and the new additions to platforming and map traversal are very questionable. Slime that slows you to a crawl, walls that you have to climb, and swimming sections all add nothing to a game like DOOM, and really feel out of place to me.

These are all very minor things that barely get in the way of the overall game. If you want a more challenging DOOM game, eternal is right up your alley, it sets out to do be an intense and blood pumping experience, and pretty much innovates in every way possible to be a new, yet familiar experience for fans of the series.

Deep Rock Galactic is genuinely one of the best Co-op shooters that you can buy, and it just keeps improving with each and every update.
The gameplay loop is fairly simple, but extremely addictive and enjoyable. You and up to 3 other space dwarfs will undertake various missions that have you stripping a planet of its precious minerals whilst murdering the innocent local fauna. Each mission lasts about 20-40 minutes, and can have you performing various tasks which can range from mining minerals deep below the surface, to constructing elaborate pipelines to harvest a valuable liquid. Each mission is completely unique to the others, and they are all surprisingly fun to play.

Deep Rock is also an example procedural generation done right. The amount of variation to each cave layout really does give this game a feeling of being endlessly re-playable. Each mission type makes use of the unique cave generation so well, and with loads of different randomised modifiers and events, its part of why i always keep coming back to this game after over a hundred hours.

The classes you can play as would be the other reason i cant stop coming back to Deep Rock. Each of the 4 classes are incredibly unique and play completely differently from each other, with unique weapons, grenades and utility/traversal tools, each class has a way of tackling missions, as well as complementing other classes.
Each class is equipped with powerful tools that make traversing the rough and unpredictable terrain fun and unique. The Driller can create tunnels through any terrain to literally skip any platforming and navigation whatsoever, the Gunner can create ziplines for the whole team to ride, Engi can create platforms anywhere they desire just by shooting a gun, and the Scout can fly about with his own grappling hook. And dont even get me started with the possibilities of how they all work together. So lets just say its nothing short of amazing and really solidifies the game's co-op nature.

I also have to commend the dev team for being the least scummy team that I have ever seen in recent years, especially given that they had every opportunity to make a quick buck. Deep Rock sports a hefty battle pass each season that is completely free, and all loot that you miss out on each season simply gets added into the game's loot pool so that you can gather it from random mission events in the future. There is absolutely 0 content DLC, and every new mission and weapon that gets added to the game is completely free to acquire. The only DLC is purely cosmetic, and its all well worth buying t support such a generous team that deserve way more than what they charge for this game.

TLDR: Fun game, good dev team, haha dwarf go Rock and stone.

Pac-Man World Re-pac is definitely a remake worth picking up if you're a fan of the original PS1 title or just a fan of platformers or pac-man. This is more than just a HD re-skin of a PS1 game. It takes everything from the original game and improves upon it significantly. Controls are tighter, physics are improved, and several game mechanics and boss fights have been completely overhauled to bring this game up to modern standards.

There are definitely some glaring issues but overall they didnt affect my enjoyment of the game significantly at all.
The soundtrack feels like it was mostly taken straight from the original game, which is extremely noticeable with some tracks that just sound washed and fuzzy. Definitely a weird choice since some music has been upscaled or completely remade for this game.

EDIT: As of November 2022, the issues with the soundtrack have surprisingly been addressed, and now what used to be compressed and muddy sounding music is now extremely crisp and feels very much like it has been re-recorded for the sake of this remake. Bandai definitely deserve credit for fixing this, even if it released in that state.

The game also feels a lot easier. I was able to accumulate over 100 lives fairly quickly, and most of the updated mechanics mean that a lot of platforming becomes very trivial, and i really only started dying due to being impatient. Dont get me wrong though, i would much rather this over the frustrating physics and bosses of the original game. (which have also been nerfed significantly but still provide a fun time)

Overall this is simply just a really good remake, that improves upon Pac-Man World in so many ways.

This game is pain, yet I can never stop coming back. Lobotomy corporation is a tough as nails management game, but has an extremely satisfying feeling of progression. You start off with relatively harmless abnormalities to contain, but over time you'll find yourself dealing with objects with terrifying god like powers.

You'll find yourself failing again and again as you learn the ins and outs of each abnormality in your facility. Abnormalities that may have seemed impossible to deal with first will eventually just become a simple part of your daily managerial routine, as they go from overrunning your entire facility, to eventually just becoming a minor bother. Nothing really beats that feeling of overcoming the creature that wiped your strongest units 10 times over.

Do be warned though, Lobotomy Corp will still continue to throw everything at you as you develop your facility even further. You will fail, a lot, often by things you couldn't even foresee. If trial and error isn't your cup of tea you may want to give this game a pass.

However, if you love the idea of uncovering the powers and backstories of incredibly fascinating abnormalities, I do suggest picking this game up and going in completely blind. This game definitely benefits from having you not know a single thing about what you have to contain.

If you loved Outer Wilds, buy this DLC now.
If you've never played Outer Wilds before, then buy this and the base game now, you wont regret it.

Echoes of the Eye is a solid DLC with so many hours of content within it. The puzzle solving and mysteries all still feel very much in the same style as the base game, with a few new mechanics to keep everything new and fresh.
This really does feel like just more Outer Wilds and that's a perfect thing for me.

If you loved Mini Metro, then there's a good chance that you will love this game too. I personally find Mini Motorways to be a much more enjoyable game, but I wont spend time here comparing the two.

Mini Motorways is a game that starts of calm and simple, and then evolves into an intense nightmare of traffic jams and late arrivals at work. The main goal of the game is to build a road network that connects commuters to building's that match their colour. As the game progresses, more and more buildings will pop up and will slowly develop into a bustling city. As the traffic considerably gets more dense, you will need to stay on top by designing roads that allow for seamless traffic flow, or else you will be stuck with traffic congestion throughout your main roads. If too many commuters cant make it to their destination on time, you'll lose.

This gameplay loop is short and sweet, and is easy to pick up and play for a short while each day. The completely randomised runs along with daily and weekly challenges will keep you coming back for more. This game is easily worth the asking price. Pick this one up if you're looking for a quick injection of strategy and planning with a gorgeous aesthetic.

TLDR: The Surge 2 is an entertaining sci-fi addition to the souls-like genre of video games. A fun, yet challenging game with unique combat with great controls that is unfortunately also plagued with a mediocre story and confusing level design.

I've never been too big on the souls-like genre of games much really. I could never get into Dark Souls, and the only other similar title i had played and enjoyed was Jedi Fallen Order. So coming from a guy like me who hasn't dived too deep into this genre, I found The Surge 2 to be surprisingly enjoyable.

Combat in this game feels really satisfying, and there are numerous weapons to equip that all have different fighting styles, elemental effects and finisher animations. Finishers are one of the unique parts to the game that i feel separates this title from other games. While in combat, you have the ability to target certain areas of an enemy to weaken it and then slice it off in a stylish and gruesome fashion. Not only does this speed up kills and look cool, it also grants you with armour or weapons that are attached to those areas of a character. Every enemy will be armoured differently with some weak points that are un-armoured, this provides a decent level of strategy to the player. Do you choose to defeat people faster by targeting their weak points, or do you target that bulky chest plate that may take some more hits to break through, but will grant you with stronger protection to equip on yourself down the line. This definitely keeps the somewhat repetitive combat interesting throughout the game.

The controls feel tight and responsive, and more often than not, i felt that many of my deaths were a result of me being too aggressive or not knowing attack patterns well enough. Rarely did i find myself blaming glitches or clunky controls. Dodging feels fast and satisfying, and even when you equip yourself with heavier gear, the game still feels playable and your character never feels too over-encumbered by armour. It isnt perfect though, the camera loves to hide itself into walls a lot of the time, and selecting limbs to target can also be a little clunky. The parry mechanic also feels a little inconsistent to me at times, as the timing seems hard to pin down when some enemies have you parry a lot earlier than others do.

The bosses are relatively interesting too, but I've definitely seen more inspired designs before. They are however very fitting for the game's theme and still provide super enjoyable fights that dont feel too cheap or unfair.

Apart from that, the game definitely sits somewhere in a mediocre place. The music is fitting, but ultimately forgettable, the visuals look good but some places are just painful on the eyes, and the story is.. there. The game can also be made incredibly easy if you grind out enemies to gain more and more scrap to level yourself and your gear up. by the second half of the game, i found myself breezing through many encounters by pumping my butt full of heals and only found myself dying to larger mobs and bosses on a few occasions.

The map and level design is also one of the game's weaker points, and that's a real shame in my opinion. I absolutely love exploring through the labyrinthine city, finding all the secrets hidden about, as well as uncovering shortcuts as you progress. Even on new game plus i had stumbled upon routes that i had never seen in my first playthough. This level design is unfortunately let down overall by just having really poor tools to help you navigate it. The game provides you with an overworld map in loading screens and at certain save points, but its so basic and lacking of any detail. There is no map that you can view on demand and that can be a huge frustration when you just want to backtrack (which you will be doing a lot if you take up side-quests) Its just a shame that such a detailed map ends up being a frustration and a headache to navigate because of this.

For what its worth though, The Surge 2 is still an enjoyable experience if you're looking to try out a souls like game but wanted a more sci-fi aesthetic instead. There's at least 15+ hours of gameplay to be had, as well as a new game+ mode that introduces even harder enemies throughout the game. Maybe wait on a sale for this one though, the full price might be a slight turn off with the game's main flaws.

Hitman 2 is insanely replayable and perfectly captures the essence of older Hitman games, yet does almost everything so much better. I literally spent over an hour just replaying the tutorial level, and i dont think any other game has made me do that. I have never experienced freedom of choice in any other game quite like this. Levels are densely packed with NPCs, items, and objects to interact with. There are numerous story missions to follow in every level, each one leading you to a unique and fun way to eliminate your target. The game can be as accessible or as difficult as you want it to be thanks to all of the gameplay settings that you can turn on or off at your disposal, such as the minimap, HUD indicators, mission story guides, and more.

No play-through ever feels the same, and you can honestly tailor the outcome of any level however you feel. Wanna go in guns blazing? Sure. Wanna dress up as a flamingo and kick someone down a hole? Go for it. Maybe you wanna slap someone with a fish too and then drown them in an aquarium. Yeah why not, go ahead. The list goes on and on.

I've already played over 60 hours of this game and still feel like i have barely scratched the surface of it. It really does feel that diverse with a crazy amount of completable challenges and missions in each level. IO Interactive have really knocked this one out of the park, and the fact that you can play all the levels from Hitman 2016 in this too makes it even more worthwhile. (Or you could buy Hitman 3 and get all previous levels in that too. Dont let me tell you what to do, im just here to say the game is great and you should buy any of the new Hitman games.)

TLDR: Katamari Damacy is just one of those games that you can boot up and have a ridiculous time without having to invest loads of time to get good at it. With charming visuals, adorable sound design and a silly yet addictive gameplay loop to go with it, Katamari Damacy Reroll is the perfect game to just have a fun time with.

Originally released for the PS2 in 2004, Katamari Damacy Reroll is a full HD remake, and an amazing port as well.
Rolling up things around the world has never felt so satisfying. The game starts you off rolling up household items such as mugs, batteries, and little rodents, but as the game progresses, you'll find yourself in larger locations rolling up much larger objects, such as such as cars and pedestrians in a town.

The controls can take a bit to get used to, but i never really found it too difficult, and think it's very fitting for a game like this. (A controller is definitely recommended.

The visuals and music/sound design is where this game really shines. Cutscenes are cute with adorable voice acting and the overall game aesthetic is simple, yet colourful and charming. The locations throughout the game are loaded with fun objects and details that really makes no area feel empty.
The soundtrack mainly contains upbeat and catchy Jpop and Jazz styled music, which will no doubt leave you humming for days.

There are plenty of side challenges and secrets for completionists too such as hidden presents which unlock new costumes and score challenges with specific objectives.

If you love cute things, or just mindless fun, I would recommend picking this up.