Type:Rider

So, due to a strain on my finances I've been largely playing free or cheap games, and of course the best way to get free games are ps plus/ games with gold and I'm the sort of canny customer who makes sure to grab every game that comes to these services, no matter how good, bad, impressive or forgettable they look, and this is a game I literally forgot I had and frankly, didn't know existed (yes, I've basically been doing my 12 weeks, 12 games from before but without writing about it). While searching through the owned games list I found this 'gem' that came to PS plus in May 2017. So, while waiting for days gone to arrive (more on that at another time) I was sold on this game due to the combo of 2d platformer and a short length. I will play almost any 2D platformer, this included, but despite all the cynicism, this game ended up being rather enjoyable.

This is a game about the history of fonts, yes, that's right. A very nerdy base for a game, but comes together as quite fun. Classic platforms are replaced by letters that you must leap between while gathering collectible letters of the alphabet. Then there are additional asterisks to collect that are slightly more difficult and give you some history about the font (might be interesting, might not, never read them) to find & there are hidden Ampersands to gather as well.

The levels take the forms of different fonts, travelling through the history of writing, starting with cave paintings and moving up to comic sans (the best of all fonts). you play as 2 balls that you can rotate to traverse the levels and help solve the puzzles that appear as the last part of every 'world' for a nice change of pace. The levels are all short, gameplay is decent and the game is just a couple of hours long, so if you like 2D platformers and have a spare couple of hours, and maybe even want to learn something, this game could well be for you. I guess you could say it's font to play (hahaha...).

You may also enjoy (yes, it's back): Thomas was alone.

So, I'm playing days gone now and will come up with some thoughts soon, but will also be going back through some of these other games I've been playing recently and hey, hopefully I'll be able to get my 'joke' insertion back on point and make these posts a more thrilling read.

Game of the year 2018

1 year later... Well almost, straight from my game of the year of 2017 to that if 2018 and hey... the end of the even year curse. So, there's no hints at what's to come so it's an exciting mystery for you and me as I still haven't made my mind up while typing this. This year I've jumped to PS4 being the console I prefer to play my games on, a hard jump with the 120,000 Xbox achievement points I have but it's time to focus on trophies, for me a better system anyway. Also, got a PlayStation pro and a 4K TV, but no Xbox one X (way too expensive).

Okay shout outs. Red Dead Redemption 2. I just wanted to mention it as I enjoyed it (great story, game play not so much), just not as much as these following games, I'm not, not including it to be 'cool'. I want a mention of Shadow of the Tomb raider and Forza Horizon 4. Both of the two previous entries in these series have made my game of the year lists (without ever winning mind you) and although these games are both very good, they seem like they never really improved on the previous games and, like Red Dead they re not as good as the games on this list (same goes for Far cry 5 apart from the previous nominations bit).  Another shout out goes to State of Decay 2, a survival game set in a zombie Apocalypse, though hardly a giant step forward from the original, but hey an Xbox exclusive. Also Orush, an interesting driving game that wasn't about racing but more spins on what are traditionally first person shooter game modes. Yoku's Island express is another, a fun mix of 2D platformer and pinball only just topped by Sonic Spinball in that genre... (Joke, that game sucks whether it includes Sonic the Hedgehog or not), that reminds me of Sonic Mania plus, DLC for Sonic mania that added a fun new mode and a couple of new characters to the base game  One thing that it wont be is Just Cause 4 as I haven't got to playing it yet, so, sorry (probably unlikely to win anyway). And so, the nominees are...

Spiderman

  Does whatever a spider can. If a spider can make the best superhero videogame since 2011. They've certainly borrowed a lot from that other game as well, with the fighting borrowed/ lifted from the Arkham games, though to be fair it's hardly the first game to do so (cough, shadow of Mordor, cough). Add on to that the fun traversal that open world spiderman games have had since the PS2 (though without balloons now), a fun story that knows when to be serious and when to be lighthearted and a great set up to a sequel. Plus a bunch of fun extras to find and do.


Guacamelee! 2

   Let's face it, there was always going to be at least one 2D platformer on this list. Half man, half chicken and half luchador, Juan is a character of many skills. This is a classic metroidvania set in the 'mexiverse', a land of mexican stereotypes, but better than it sounds. The platforming here is great at times, some great brawling and a fun story. There are bosses as well, and although I'm not keen on them there is just enough to give the game things to aim towards and a different type of challenge.


Minit

   This looks like a game straight from the 80's, a very simple top down game with a gimmick, you only have one minute to live, then you die and go back to your last save point. In this minute you have to explore, push on with the story, find secrets and rush to new save points. Practise makes perfect. The game reminds me much of the game I gushed over a couple of years ago 'Westerado' with a similar style of game, but with the added timed gimmick that really makes this game special. I can't think of a better implemented gimmick in a game ever (though there's probably tonnes).


God of War

   I had never played a God of War before, they always seemed like they weren't really my cup of tea, but there was something different about this one (or so I heard, hard to tell with the not playing them before). Kratos' gloomy demeanour makes for a great protagonist, up there with Arthur Morgan for the best of the year. Add to this the slow, deliberate story, the atmosphere and the beautiful scenery and this makes the journey between action scenes a joy, but then you get to the action... I can't remember a game that makes fighting seem to real (ignoring the fact that I don't have Godly might), you can almost feel every axe hit you dish out. And the fighting is so varied, even with only 2 weapons in the whole game (fists are not weapons). In fact, when you're using the different weapons it almost feels like 2 different games. I can't think of better melee combat in any third person action game ever.

Celeste

   And the other 2D platformer is here, and what a beauty. a 16 bit throwback with beautiful graphics (if you like 16 bits (I do)) and the music to match. This is a really tough game but with quick enough respwans and frequent enough checkpoints to not be a frustration. There is plenty to see and do on the mountain (you're climbing a mountain you see), with extra challenges to find, and tapes to find that let you play the game through a whole new way. On top of this there is a game within a game that allows you to play an 8 bit take on the game. The story is there and kind of sweet based around overcoming mental illness, albeit a bit preachy at times. It's the game play and style here that makes it shine. I guess you could say this is the hardest mountain since Gregor Clegane


   I like retro games can you tell? And yet the winner has to be God of war. The story, the setting, the visuals and of course most importantly the gameplay, it has it all. Fantastic.

In case you're even slightly interested that means...

2013: The last of us
2014: South Park the stick of truth
2015: Rocket League.
2016: Doom
2017: A hat in Time
2018: God of War.

   What an eclectic mix.

Game of the year 2017

2017 was a fantastic year in gaming. Up there with some of my favourites like 2015, 2013 and 2007. Now, I've been a gamer since the master system and although I can't be 100% accurate with this guess, I'm going to go with 1991. Many people of a similar age to me look back with rose tinted spectacles at games when they were children, but I'll happily admit more recent times have had better games, even if I have become more cynical and even though I know games in general are getting better over time my nature makes me more down beaten than ever with life in general and even though gaming is my favourite hobby, I enjoy a good box set and a Villa - Bristol city more than I do a good game in general these days, but games are ingrained in me. However, there are still some games that I still can't put down, and here they come.
   So, what can join my previous winners, The last of Us, South Park the stick of Truth, Rocket League and Doom? I still stand by all of these choices even though it misses out some of my favourite games of all time like GTA V, the Tomb Raider reboots and particularly the Witcher 3. Despite that after re-playing the last of us Recently I'm not convinced now that it is as great as I thought it was in 2013, then again, see above for cynical. The odd years of late have been particularly kind. I'll save what I'm looking forward to this year for a future post, but it seems to me like we could get an even year that I truly enjoy for the first time since I began blogging. Now here's a related picture to break up the monotony of all this text.

   Now, I'm going to list 4 games here as that's been the way it's been for 3 of the 4 years so far, but I would like to give some shout outs to games I have truly enjoyed this year although they don't quite make the list. (if you want to know more in general scroll back a few posts as they're largely talked about). Resident Evil 7 is my favourite survival horror of all time (although it's not really my favourite genre), South park the fractured but whole is my traditional RPG of the year, even though it didn't live up to the stick of truth it was still very good. Mario + Rabbids was my switch game of the year and the best strategy game since 2012's Xcom reboot IMO (that's right,  Mario Odyssey and Zelda breath of the wild are two of the most over-hyped games of all time (although i did enjoy the latter (seriously, why do people think any game made by Nintendo deserves an extra boost in their view of it, which makes me think less of them as a result (might actually trade in my Switch already))). Life is strange before the storm delivered way beyond expectations and lives up to the main game, though I didn't believe for a second that would happen with the change of developer, voice cast and the lack of the main character and abilities of said character. Of course Crash Bandicoot N'sane trilogy was a great nostalgia trip and I have to give a massive shout out to 'there's no time to explain' which I played for the first time this hear even though it originally came out in 2011, but if you're a big 2D platformer fan I have to recommend this game, it's a great example of the genre though there's a better one about to be listed properly, and if you've read my blog before, you should know what it is...

Sonic Mania

   You're damn right this game is in here, in my opinion the best Sonic the hedgehog game ever made (maybe, might change my mind on that over time), even with my nostalgia for the Mega drive games. This is a love letter to Sonic fans, made by Sonic fans, the best 2D platformer series ever made in my eyes (that's right, fuck Mario). It had absolutely everything a Sonic mega fan such as myself could ever want, great references to classic games (good god the end of chemical plant zone in this game was incredible) and the classic gameplay that I love with the best parts of all the classic games rolled in to one fantastic package. It's not perfect though with a poor choice of special stages and an over the top difficult unlockable system which would lead to a lot of time put in (all I want is to unlock bean mode). That being said I can't imagine a single sequel i could want to exist more in the world, please make it happen Sega. But will it be enough? PS, this has my favourite soundtrack of any game ever.

A Hat in Time

   Oh yeah, that's right, the subject of my last post. certainly my favourite 3D platformer since 2007's Mario galaxy, and maybe of all time (it's a head scratcher) despite what I just said about Mario. It's a great homage to Mario 64 which takes its ideas and modernises it which leads to a more up to date, and indeed better game (yeah, I said it). The worlds and fantastically varied as are the missions/ quests and brings a really interesting game with perfect gameplay (for a 3D platformer) with a wide variety of ideas to implement this. However, I've always preferred 2D platformers and the graphics are very substandard which although not overly important I would expect much better in 2017. Negatives aside, this is an ingenious game that breaks down walls in 3D platforming,

Pyre

   A truly ingenious mix of RPG and sports game that I didn't even know could exist, or indeed that I wanted, but it turns out I did very much. The story of redemption, though taking a while to get going, is truly gripping and the attachment I felt to certain members of the squad based on a mix of character and on field importance is something I've never felt as you choose who to 'rescue' to the real world, but lose from your teams roster forever, there was some truly tough decisions to be made. (I love you Jodoriel) The sport itself was fantastic with some practice put in to picking your best team as more members of the party/ squad are added frequently, and then taken away at your own hand. Negatives again though, even though the story is great there could have been a quarter of the dialogue removed (probably more) as it was just filler and frankly the ending, itself only taking place in text was not the epic that the rest of the story made you hope it would be. However, for a third time after Bastion and Transistor, Super Giant (the developers of this game) go on to prove they are one of the best developers in the industry that only release great, great games and long may it continue, always innovating, always class.

Horizon Zero Dawn

   The only 'triple A' game to make this list (although as already mentioned before not the only good one of the year)' and thoroughly deserved. Before I go on, even though it looked great going in I had to worry based on the developer (Guerrilla) who were known for making the 'big' playstation exclusive FPS series Killzone, which was good, don't get me wrong, but will never be held in the pantheon on great FPS' along with the likes of Half life, Halo and indeed (sigh) Call of duty. But, going from a developer of solid if unspectacular games in that genre (to be fair Killzone Shadow fall, the ps4 launch game was very good) they took a massive right turn to create a huge open world action RPG that not only had potentially the best graphics in any console only game ever made but a fantastic story and fun yet challenging gameplay. Where this came from, from this studio I have no idea but they knocked the new challenge out of the park like a step up from a developer I've never seen.
   It must be mentioned though, great story, gameplay, graphics and all their is a massive amount of borrowing from other games in this genre. No game in particular but it is visibly obvious that they have made this jump by hand picking some of the best ideas from games in this genre and putting them together in to one glorious whole (Dave Lister: you already are one glorious hole). Fanatic as this game is I have to believe its inevitable sequel could build on this first entry and make one of the greatest games of all time, and I can't wait, though not as much as I can't wait for Sonic Mania 2.

   I'm writing this right now and I still don't know what my winner is but like in Highlander there can  be only one due to the rules imposed on myself, by myself.
   Okay, I made a tea and had a think, and I choose A HAT IN TIME. The gorram best 3D platformer ever made, fuck Mario Galaxy and what I said about 2D vs 3D platformers (I never said Sonic Mania  was the best 2D platformer of all time), I can't remember the last game I 100% completed before this. Will I regret this choice in time like I do The Last of us? maybe, but right now it's what I've picked, a great year and a great game.

A hat in time is better than Mario Odyssey

   Let me prefix this by saying that I did enjoy Mario Odyssey, but the hype train pulled up to the station and I bought a ticket, I guess that's what you get for believing other peoples opinions (even though that's what this is).

   So, I've said several (million) times that I'm was/ am a Sega kid so I have a negative bias against Mario, Probably unjustly, but that's what got beaten in to my brain as a kid (unaided by the fact that all games media has a massive bias towards Nintendo for reasons I don't understand). There was a while though, during the DS/ Wii era where I thought I might change my mind, and that's where I'll begin. New super Marios bros. DS was was the first Mario game I played to the entirety and it was fantastic, and even though that is a 2d platformer whereas 'A hat in time' is 3d, there is a reason for bringing this up, the reason being New super Mario Bros led me to playing the DS port of Mario 64 (that and the general good word). Now, even though this was several years old when I got to it, I have to admit it is a fantastic game, and clearly a game that 'a hat in time' takes a great deal of inspiration from. That game pushed me on to buying Mario Galaxy and that is a true all time great, a much more linear game than mario 64 but the game play was totally spot on and a real fresh take on 3D platforming. I missed its Super Mario galaxy bro (number 2) as I had traded in my Wii by its time of release, what with all the shovel wear released on Wii and the end of my university 'adventure' (y'know, constant drinking) meant that the group playing of Wii sports/ play dropped off and it became fairly pointless (also I was skint re. the whole university thing). Skipping past the underrated New super Mario bros Wii U (which was a small improvement on the DS game several years late) I picked up the once again underrated Mario 3D world (for some unbelievable reason people said the Wii U was crap, but there was that plastic tablet...), which was a very good 3d platformer, but more traditional than galaxy, and as thus somewhat of a let down for me personally, after Galaxy was so damn good. Ironically I then finally picked up Mario galaxy 2 with the Wii U's backwards compatibility (looking at you playstation and your lack of it (how am I finally supposed to play 'a crack in time' now I know how good ratchet and clank is you jerks? (I could dust off the ps3, but that seems like a very small amount of effort that I can't be bothered to put in, it's already in a box!) you jerks)). So, Mario galaxy 2, again I was let down, it had been many years since I had played Galaxy 1, and at the time it really resonated with me, but having played 3D world. the gameplay and graphics in galaxy 2 seemed a little out of date, and the game felt exactly the same as the first. And then there was Mario odyssey...

   I was waiting with baited breath for this game, as I was a hat in time since I heard of it, but which would be better I asked myself. Having read the title you know my opinion already. Odyssey is an interesting game, several small worlds each filled with tiny little bits of gameplay to get moons to move on to the next stage. now these little chunks are largely very good, but this isn't really what I'm looking for, I like larger travelling levels with more of a challenge whereas just to play through the main game of Mario Odyssey was way too easy, granted there is a supposed fantastic post game, in which i dabbled, but after the mushroom kingdom flashback to 64 I found largely unrewarding and just more of the same over again. I have likely mentioned before at my general dislike of playing games over again or to death unless I find them truly special (see Sonic mania, Horizon and indeed, a hat in time). Again, I'm being negative, but I am generally a negative outlook kind of person, I did like Mario Odyssey, but it didn't live up to the hype for me, at all. were it not a Mario game and instead some new IP and less hype, I might have enjoyed it more, but high expectations are a dangerous thing. This segways in to a hat in time nicely.

   A hat in time had me interested, it looked good, and I heard good things as it was released on PC a month or so before consoles, and word of mouth was good, but after Zelda and Mario I began to learn my lesson (kinda, but it was largely due to a new IP with a relatively inexperienced studio (I think, my 2 minute investigation was inconclusive) that this could be different).
   This game is a spiritual successor to Mario 64, a hand full of worlds with a handful of quests in each, but unlike Odyssey these are real challenges. Large platforming sections are abound, there are interesting puzzles and a large variation on the missions that are part of the game. From straight up platforming to stealth, to murder mystery investigation to races and large scale puzzles and long boss battles, there is something for everyone, and mostly all in depth. Best of all are the secret colourless areas you can find which are the ultimate challenge of your skill.
   To appear unbiased I will give some negative elements. Mostly it's the graphics, this game looks like it would be more at home on a 360/ PS3 than modern day consoles which is a shame. Secondly I was somewhat worried about the hat changing concept of the game, thinking there would be millions of pauses to change hat, and even though this doesn't happen as much as I worriedly expected it can still get annoying at times.
    Those minor gripes aside this is quite probably my favourite 3D platformer of all time, better than Mario 64 as it has clearly taken inspiration from it and modernised it, better that Mario Odyssey, netter than this years nostalgia fest that was the Crash N'Sane trilogy and yes, even better than the 3D sections in Sonic Generations. (BTW, I'm not counting Ratchet and Clank as a 3D platformer, my blog, my rules). Play this game.

   Clearly no need for a 'you may also like' part as I just listed them all in that last paragraph. Game of the year up nest and spoilers, A Hat in time is nominated.

Bubsy: The Woolies strike back

   Let me spin you a yarn. Coming off the back of quickly finishing South Park: the fractured but whole and Mario Odyssey I finally went in and traded my old ps4 in that I had been holding in to since buying a pro several months ago what with my laziness. Anyway, I took that in (and a few games) to Game (the shop chain), and instead of walking out with a bunch of cash to spend on my upcoming weekend away (as planned) I walked out with Wolfenstein, Assassins Creed, Evil within and Shadow of war. Which to choose first was the question, I know Sonic Forces is out on the 7th November and what with it being me every other game goes on pause for a new Sonic game. I needed to pick something fairly short then, so obviously I chose to pay £25 to purchase Bubsy: The woolies strike back.
   So, who is Bubsy? Bubsy was a 2D mascot platformer from the 16 bit era appearing on Snes, Jaguar (which had it's own exclusive Bubsy game, nice) and most importantly Mega Drive. I played a lot of Bubsy 1 and some of 2, and they were okay, but as a kid when I only had a handful of games so for many years I would play games over and over again, and Bubsy 1 was one of these games. As a mascot he's not exactly Sonic (or Mario I Guess), hell, he's not even earthworm Jim, more of a Gex or James pond kinda guy, so it's easy to see why few people would have heard of him. Obviously, with my lifelong love of Megadrive, and the whole bizarre nature of a game being released in a long since forgotten series 21 years after it's last instalment, (which was Bubsy 3D, which itself is known to be one of the worst video games of all time (never played it but looks pretty awful)) I was always going to buy this, no question. But then I saw the price, was shocked, then bought it anyway (what am I like?).

   So, the actual game. Good god it looks bad, 2.5D, urgh, I get that real pixel work is expensive but at this price maybe they should've made an effort because it instantly made me think of Mighty number 9, not a comparison anyway wants. As for how it plays, well, Bubsy was never a great game, and unfortunately there is no difference here, don't get me wrong, it's not the worst game ever made but it's average at best. Trying to be positive now they've introduced an interesting idea on a platformer that I have never come across before where they give you a set amount of lives at the start of each level (9, cause he's a cat (Did i mention that yet? That was where the yarn joke at the start came from)) rather than carrying lives level to level. This is an interesting idea but not implemented well, because there's too many lives. Some of the levels towards the end of the game are quite difficult (what with their insta-death sections (that being a part of a level that will kill you that the only way you would know it's coming is by dying to it already (or dumb luck) that appears in varying amounts in platforms depending on how well designed they are)) but due to being given a large quantity of lives you can brute force your way through these levels fairly easily.
   They also have an interesting idea on bosses where the damage dealt to the boss carries over even after you've died (until you've lost all 9 lives anyway) which is great for me because it makes them easier and as I say nearly every time, I hate bosses. For a player who isn't so easily frustated as me this would no doubt make it way too easy to defeat them. that said, I still struggled a lot of the second boss (yet got through the last one on the first time of asking). A final issue, this game took me approximately 3 hours to complete, maybe less, and half hour of that was being stuck on the second boss, sure there are collectables but I have no interest in getting them (maybe if it had a platinum trophy (still probably not)) and this game was £25! twenty five pounds!
   In many ways it's somewhat unfair to judge a game on its price, but right now on PSN for £25 or less you could get the likes of Resident Evil 7, Fallout 4, Dying Light and my personal 2016 game of the year Doom, which is £9.49! Bubsy is a below average 2D platformer that could only appeal to the likes of me who has an undeserved attachment to the game from 20+ years ago, because it's certainly not going to get good reviews (if it even gets any beyond some guy with 500 youtube subscribers) or word of mouth. If it was less than a tenner then maybe I could forgive it as a half hearted attempt to bring a long forgotten franchise back, mainly for the lolz, but for £25, no.
 
I guess if you like this game you could also play mighty number 9, but just play Sonic Mania (£16) instead.

Pyre

   I have talked before about how much I enjoyed Bastion and Transistor (I think). Pyre is the third game by 'Super Giant' (the developer of these games) and this is the best one yet. They've only gone and invented their own sport and mixed it with a fantasy RPG. This is not a mix I thought I'd ever see, or would work (if you made this on Game Dev Tycoon it would be crap) but it does, oh it does.

  Firstly, this game isn't Rocket League, which is the first thing I'd be thinking about a video game invented sport (or maybe Mutant league football), it's not a speed fest (although that can come in handy from time to time), it takes thought to play the game, especially s you're only in control of one player at a time. Essentially it boils down to 2 teams of 3 players trying to get a ball in to a Pyre (geddit, like the name of the game). All characters have different abilities and you can choose any mix. I don't want to go in to the rules of the game now, there's a lot to take in, although it's slowly spooned in over time so you never get overwhelmed, and ultimately the sport is fairly easy to understand, but describing all the nuances will take a lot of time, and dull text (though you could argue this is all dull text).
   The actual story in here is based on your character and a group of rogues (not affiliated to the X men) being sent to purgatory for various crimes and having to win games of this sport to return them to the surface world. Over time you meet more characters to add to your party while also losing some characters as you send them off to the world above, just make sure you don't send your star player off at the start because you'll be without them the rest of the game (Jodoriel was my star player (I didn't send her off early though, I'm not an idiot)). The story is deeper than this but that will enter spoiler territory, suffice to say there are multiple endings depending on how many of your squad you rescue and your decision at the end.
   As usual, there's no such thing as a perfect game, and some elements of this story can drag. A lot of the plot is repeated over and over, really drilled in to your head like you're at an internment camp for repetitive storytelling. Some characters really aren't that interesting and the majority of the rival teams don't come across as menacingly as the game seems to want them to.

   Lets talk music though, and just like Sonic Mania before (although Pyre came out a few weeks before that did, but this is the order I'm writing them in) the music is fantastic. Different enemy teams have different songs when you meet them. fitting to their characters as well as other area music like the shop or inside the wagon (what a great time it's been for video game music as of late between these two, Crash and Arms). Music talk moves fairly smoothly on to artistic talk (I recon) and this game looks fantastic. The design of the characters in the still cut scenes is fantastic and the look of the sport is very good as well, with an array of different looking fields in which the games take place, from fiery pits and muddy swamps to gothic sports stadiums and beyond, it looks flippin' great.
   This game truly is special and can stand alongside, and arguably above Transistor and Bastion, this developer keeps getting better and better, I can't wait to see what they do next, but for now, the stars have aligned to create a fantastic game.

Sonic Mania

   It's been a while since a post here, but if one game was ever going to bring me back, this is it, plus I want to catch up again and I've got another idea for a different blog, a more structured and interesting one that's not jut some rambling nonsense like this. Rambling nonsense is the way this is going though and is the way it shall remain, for better or worse, in particular for this post there will be assumed in depth Sonic knowledge that no one I know has except for myself (but other people will have), so best of luck.

   After looking forward to this game it is finally here and it didn't surprise me that I completed it in one sitting (there was a 30 minute dinner break in there), an ode to a 16 bit Sonic where the speedster made his name, before flikies (unbelievably not a real word) island began a downward spiral ultimately resulting in making out with a human woman and turning it to a (sigh) werehog (plus shadow had a game where he had a gun and there was a kinect racing game but they're spin offs (what next, Blaze P.I,? (that's right, multiple brackets are back))) . I've spoke before of how I like Sonic generations, and even though there's been a slump since it seems at least 2/3 of the upcoming Sonic Forces will be along the same vain, so hopes are up on that. I'm not here to talk about Sonic forces though, or the Sonic list I promised and never deliveredupon (kinda seemed like no one but me would care and hence a waste of my time (though argument could be made that all my blog posts are)), I'm here to talk about Sonic Mania, and how great it is.
   Sonic Mania sees the return of some classic zones (with a few surprising choices) that are remixed in to something semi knew, but not in a bad way at all, parts touch the nostalgia bone in my body (though I need several for this insane year (can't wait for them Woolies to strike back), and it was already tickled by Crash) while also offering new challenges, and tunes. Speaking of music, this is one of the best sounding games I've ever heard, probably last challenged by Saints row 4 (btw, what is volition doing with Agents of Mayhem instead of Saints Row 5, seriously?) and that had actual songs in it, this is created music specifically for this game. That great music passes on even better to the new levels which have all new music, yet sound in the same style as any of the classics, and most of these new levels are great too, Studiopilis and the second act of Mirage Saloon are particular stand outs (the latter of which which may be the best sonic act, ever). Bosses are good too (and you know my views on them), not too hard but still a challenge, apart from Oil Oceans', which annoyed me.
   Many new ideas are in there too, as well as old ones, it could be seen as they threw every gimmick from every one of the Megadrive games, and some new ones at a wall and waited to see what stuck, and very nearly all of them did, praise must be given to the developers who were made up of Sonic fans and fan game creators, not even touched by Sonic team, which is for the best in this day and age.

   This is not a totally perfect game though, no game is, the penultimate level reminds me of  Metroplos zone from Sonic 2, my second least favourite Sonic level from the originals (labyrinth being the worst, obviously). I found this one to be full of traps that are unavoidable where you don't know what's coming, although to be fair this always comes up towards the end of every 2D platformer every made, not that it makes this right. I also wasn't keen on the final zone, not for the difficulty but for the length, I ended up being timed out on both acts, which seems to be Casino night and Carnival night zones both mixed in to one, yet somehow longer than both combined (if you ignore the fact that as a child I couldn't figure out how to do that that up and down spinning platform bit on Carnival night zone as I thought you had to jump on it rather than just hold up and down (jeez, the amount of time outs I got from that). That zone in particular being where the gimmicks just cross the line of going too far.
   I don't want to linger on the negatives though, so let's get in to the reference fest that is Sonic Mania, made by fans, for fans. The games is full of references to the main 2D sonic games, beyond just the levels, with the best of all coming from the Sonic CD level Starlight speedway, that's right, time travelling returns, and even the odd choice of sounds from that game turn up. (speaking of Sonic CD, what a shame that until The Sonic gems collection (back on PS2) this game was restricted to the Mega CD (and roms you thief's (definitely not how I first played it...)) so was criminally underplayed, bu at least it wasn't stuck on the 32X like Knuckles chatoix, a game I still haven't played and isn't even referenced in Mania (I think, the chaotix team certainly don't appear (see Sonic the comic/ Sonic heroes as to how I know who they are (I've lost the amount of brackets I've opened now so this should cover it)))). There is also an appearance of famed 'Sonic the fighters' characters Bean, Bark and Fang (though to be fair the latter did appear in the game gear only Sonic chaos sequel, Sonic triple trouble (yes, I've played (and completed) it, pretty decent tbh)). There's also a reference to the reference to Sonic from Deus Ex. The best one of all though I don't want to mention, as it was one of my favourite video game surprises of all time (and no, it's not a Sonic Spinball reference, fortunately).

   So there you have it, for any Sonic fan back from the 16 bit era, this game is for you, and any fan of 2D platformers should get a kick out of this. Can't really do a 'you may also like' thing in here, 'cause the answers are obvious (also Freedom planet, the best Sonic fan game, of which one of the creators worked on Sonic Mania (I think, I'm sure I heard that somewhere a while ago)).

   I want to start writing more blog posts now, I need to catch up on what I've missed and Pyre definitely deserves it's own post (though no one will read it, indies don't get much traffic). I also want to start my new idea for another blog soon, but I'm not setting a date for that.