Ys X: Proud Nordics (Multi) Review

It's been quite a while since I've had the pleasure to review an Ys game, so much so that I forgot how lengthy modern Ys games can be! Thus, this review has been a long time coming, but that's also not to say that I didn't get a case of quality and quantity with Ys X: Proud Nordics, our next review for this month on SuperPhillip Central. Let's take to the waters and "sea" how this updated and upgraded adventure shaped up!

 Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away. Come Sail Away with Ys.

Ys X: Proud Nordics is an expanded version of the original Ys X: Nordics. In a way, it's somewhat of a do-over, and in another way, it sort of has feelings of "this should have been DLC". Either way and as always, this entry of Ys stars none other than young, red-haired adventurer Adol Christin, joined by his good friend Dogi. The pair along with a doctor named Dr. Flair, find themselves in a precarious situation quite quickly as passengers aboard a boat bound for Celceta.

A group of fierce pirate warriors known as the Balta Sea Force, attack the ship, kill the captain, and not before a duel between the pirate princess and Adol. Eventually, the boat is forced to dock at a local port town called Carnac, where Adol's group is essentially stranded. This town eventually sees itself under attack by vicious monsters known as the Griegr. Unable to be killed by normal hands, only those that wield the power of Mana are able to fell and vanquish these brute beasts.

Adol's only just met Karja, and she's already got an axe to grind with him--quite literally!

Fortunately, Adol stumbles upon a magical seashell on the beach possessing the voice of a woman. This mysterious voice provides Adol with the Mana required to take down the Griegr, but not before also handcuffing Adol and the previously mentioned pirate princess, named Karja, together. With two Mana wielders linked together with no ability to remove the magical cuffs or move too far away from one another, Adol and Karja must set aside any differences to tackle the Griegr threat that plagues the Obelia Gulf.   

Tutorials and tips like the one seen here are always available within the in-game Journal menu.

Two is usually better than one, and that is especially true with the powerhouse team that is Adol and Karja. The two can move a little away from each other in battle, fighting different monsters and enemies separately, or they can team up in something called Duo Mode. This grants them the ability to attack a target together, even using special Duo-exclusive skills to make shorter work of enemies or to better whittle down the health of stronger foes. 

Adol and Karja team up to deliver one HELL of a Duo attack!

Adol and Karja each have their own set of skills that they learn during the duration of Ys X, and these can be leveled up in power through continued use. You can also spend a special currency to level them up without needing to use them, as well. This currency comes in the form of pink crystals, generally found in treasure chests and through defeating difficult enemies. 

Of course, no good offense is worthwhile without a good defense, and fortunately, Proud Nordics provides enough maneuvers and abilities for Adol and Karja to utilize to either avoid, evade, defend against, or counter attacks. By holding the right shoulder button, Adol and Karja can summon a Mana-infused barrier around them. If it's summoned right before an opponent hits with their attack, Adol or Karja can counter with an attack of their own, a devastating counterattack. 

In Duo Mode, the pair needs to be watchful of enemies and the color of the auras they can glow. A red glow from a foe means it's time to stop attacking and hold up their Mana barrier in order to withstand the otherwise damaging blow. This fills up a special meter called the Revenge Gauge, which multiplies the damage the next Duo-based skill Adol and Karja use on their attacker. While this multiplier starts low, through finding Hellfire Tomes throughout the game, the gauge can raise up to 5X. There's also a bit of strategy here, too. For tanks of enemies, it might be best to let the Revenge Gauge rise up high, so the next skill used will take off a lot more HP, but for smaller foes, using a skill right away might be the best course of action.

Just passing through, so make way or meet your maker!

Then, there are baddies that glow blue, meaning that these attacks can't be blocked through barrier usage. Instead, a well timed dodge to their attack will open them up to a counter from Adol or Karja. Finally, a white glow means the upcoming enemy attack can neither be evaded nor blocked for a counter. Instead, the best maneuver here is to just get the heck out of the way.

As Adol and Karja level up (they share experience so they both level up at the same time) through enemies slain, bosses beaten, and even items that reward XP through using them, they learn new skills as well as the ability to use a skill tree, comprised of various series of slots for both characters that open up every ten levels gained. Using Mana Seeds discovered throughout their journey, players can fit them into these slots to power up Adol and Karja considerably. It's a nice way to add a personal touch to each character, offering a way for players to shape Adol and Karja to their liking (a la builds) to best fit their own particular play style. 

Throughout Ys X: Proud Nordics, an important aspect that players are hammered over the head with is that of the concept of Adol and Karja becoming and eventually being Shield Brother and Shield Sister. This is performed through the pair during the course of the game taking on a specific, grueling challenge that proves their worth to the Normans and for that matter the leader of the Normans and Karja's father, Grimson Balta. 

I bring that up not just for story-related reasons, as it's a major focus of the game, but also because this Shield Brother/Shield Sister pairing grants the two the ability to work together more cohesively and use a series of learned Mana Abilities that work in and out of battle. From a magic grapple that can chain around specific hooks and tree limbs for Adol and Karja to swing off from to make it across otherwise impossible chasms or to reach higher heights, to summoning a makeshift Mana hoverboard to jet around areas and grind on specially marked blue rails, the abilities that Adol slowly gets introduced to, thus allowing Karja to use them, too, offer a lot of value in opening up exploration and platforming opportunities throughout the adventure.

Totally radical, bodacious, excellent, etc., Adol.

Exploration is always a fun aspect of the Ys series, and now it's expanded to the sea, too. Ys X introduces Adol and Karja to their own boat that can be customized, outfitted with various gear and weaponry, and used to sail across the Obelia Gulf. Though, there are several issues with this new mode of transportation. For one, the initial speed of their boat, the Sandras, is one of a glacial pace. Even using the Mana Boost ability that gives a temporary burst of speed to your boat isn't much of an improvement, and while you can upgrade the speed of the ship (among other things) through discovering new crew members, it's still much too slow by even the end of the game. Fortunately, when a new point of interest on the ocean is discovered, this island or area can serve as a fast travel point, making for less of a headache when sailing the high seas.

Generally, the flow of Ys X introduces players to a new area of ocean to explore, but something usually stops the Sandras from being able to advance further--whether that's not having the right equipment, a story reason, or because a Mana ability hasn't been learned yet, such as using the Mana Barrier around the Sandras to safely cross over dangerous ocean debris, for example. Many sections of the ocean are blocked off in general--the Obelia Gulf sure is labyrinthine-like, offering so many reasons to sail around rocky expanses and shallow patches of water.

That said, the seafaring life in Ys X: Proud Nordics' Obelia Gulf isn't all smooth sailing and exploration. Sea battles against Griegr ships also comes into play. These, like land battles, happen in real time. The Sandras' task is to simply sink all of the enemy ships through using weaponry like cannons and special firepower--all with different cooldowns and some limited in ammo--before they sink you. These naval battles are rather enjoyable, and have multiple purposes for seeking them out. Sure, many pertain to the story, but many also unlock wind currents, a new Proud Nordics-exclusive addition, that make sailing faster along certain lines, as well as battles where you can board the enemy's ship and take out three waves of baddies for a special treasure. 

Three different possible perspectives present unique ways and views to sink some ships.

There are also optional missions to reclaim islands under Griegr control, and these are one half ship battles and one half land battles. The former has you destroying pillars that protect the shielded island and threats alike as the Sandras. Once all the waves (both figurative and literal) have settled, it's time to storm the fortress as Adol and Karja through a linear dungeon, fighting foes, solving simple puzzles, and/or performing some platforming to make it to the goal. This all the while being scored on enemies defeated, time taken, damage received, and the like in order to get rewards based on the grade you get for all the above aspects of these reclaiming missions.

Beyond little enhancements here and there that do make the Ys X experience better, the most notable addition to Ys X: Proud Nordics is that of a brand-new island, Oland Island, an especially large and expansive one, that delves into how the Normans were originally cast away from their homeland. It opens up around the halfway point of the game, Chapter Five, and while a new piece of the island and subsequent story unlocks with each new chapter, I would have found it more enjoyable to wait till near the end of the game to experience it. That way I could play through the whole new content all at once instead of being interrupted in a piecemeal fashion. Instead, I opted to play each section as it opened up, which made for a much more bloated experience.

Oland Island is home to some impressive sights and even more impressive treasure.

Either way, Oland Island features numerous lengthy locales, story elements, a Coliseum, Mana Board races, and also a super-hard boss at the end of the island's 10-hour journey. I found it mostly enjoyable (the new Mana Hold ability introduced here is clunky and cumbersome at best), and while I probably won't return to tackle the rest of the Coliseum's combatants or do the EX Mana Races for their respective rewards and prizes, I very much discovered value here.

While I had my fill of adventuring with Adol after my 45 hours with the game for now, 
the coliseum on Oland Island still calls to me... eventually.

At the end of the day and at the end of Adol and Karja's adventure, I discovered plenty across every island, 100%-ing each one, finding every treasure, clearing all quests (I still dislike that some can be missed or that they can expire due to story reasons), and thoroughly being taken for a wild and wonderful ride with Ys X: Proud Nordics' story. In total, my adventures with Adol and Karja took me just under 45 hours with all the aforementioned tasks done.

Now, apart from the sluggish and glacial pace of seafaring, some infuriating boss battles (the Magna Diga remains an obnoxious fight even in its revised form), and missables, one sore spot of Ys X: Proud Nordics is the visuals. The original Ys X's roots are tied to the Nintendo Switch, which is quite the ancient hardware nowadays, and it shows with Proud Nordics. Not saying Ys X's updated version is an ugly game, but it certainly is no looker, either. The textures and visuals are bland, the environmental variety is weak, and the draw distance leaves a lot to be desired, as well. My brother entering the room while I was playing and mentioning if I got out our old PlayStation 3 to play something did not inspire confidence towards Ys X: Proud Nordics' graphical prowess--that much is for certain. That said, the Switch 2 version offering 60 FPS and 120 FPS performance modes does make for a more impressive offer.

As the ol' sea cliche goes, X marks the ouch.

Speaking of offers, is what Falcom and NIS America are offering with an updated Ys X worth the asking price? If you've never played the original Ys X, then there's no question you should check this entry out with Proud Nordics. It's darn good and some of the modern Ys series's highest highs. Don't bother with the original Ys X nowadays since that is basically equivalent to playing Persona 5 instead of Persona 5 Royale. 

For those that have already played Ys X and are interested in the new content, particularly that of Oland Island, then that's a tougher proposition to want to jump on and set sail for. I could see some arguments calling this a bit of a slap in the face to offer a new updated version of a game that released less than two years ago, doesn't offer an upgrade path for most platforms, and does not carry over save data from the original game for a high price. 

At any rate, new players to Ys X should definitely check out Proud Nordics while previous players of the tenth installment should wait for a discount (or a deep discount, at that) before that dive back into Obelia Gulf's waters. The Proud Nordics package as a whole is a fantastic one, and while the game doesn't hit the same highs for me as my favorite games in the series: Oath in Felghana and Lacrimosa of Dana, it certainly offers a majestic adventure full of heart and fun.

[SPC Says: B] 

A code was provided by NIS America for the purpose of this review.

Bombun (PC) Review

Continuing the weekend theme I alluded to yesterday, we have a game starring a bunny (fitting for the Easter holiday) and one that utilizes the same style of weaponry as Bomberman--that, of course, being bombs! This is an indie romp in the form of Bombun, and SuperPhillip Central has its eyes on a verdict! Here's the review.

Is this bombing bunny's game a blast or a dud?

Sometimes fun games come from the unlikeliest of sources. Take Bombun. When I saw the previous games that the publisher, Critical Bliss, put out, they were decidedly of a "Not Safe for Work" category. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but also not my bread and butter either. Bombun relates to that type of content if only because of the developer is an artist of the NSFW type as well. Needless to say, there's nothing NSFW about Bombun, but there is plenty enjoyable about it all the same!

Rather than delve into some hackneyed narrative, you're immediately thrust into the tutorial stage with nothing in the way of story or context as to why you're off to bomb and blast away as our pyromaniac protagonist. If you're looking for either, you're not going to get it with Bombun, at least within the game. Anything related to our hero's motivation or resolve is all done outside of the game. Interesting enough choice, but okay! Fair enough.

Bombun looks over her floating fortress habitat. Turns out it's under attack, so off she goes to save it.

Either way, story is hardly a factor--that's established immediately. What we're all here for with Bombun is the explosive action, and the game delivers that splendidly. It plays similar in some regards to Bomberman Hero, at least using that game as launching pad for inspiration.

Speaking of using things as launchpads, Bombun's main gameplay mechanic consists of platforming using bombs. When Bombun has a bomb in tow, she can use it as a springboard of sorts to gain additional height, throwing the bomb downward while being propelled higher into the air. She can only do this once per jump, however. Bombun, of course, can also throw bombs at enemies, and also pump them up to bigger size by holding the bomb button.

With bomb in tow, Bombun is ready to rock and roll.

There are six worlds in Bombun and these consist of four stages apiece. Each stage is a bite-sized affair, offering plenty of tricks, traps, obstacles, enemies, and pitfalls to overcome. I'm talking about things like moving platforms, rotating burners, lava geysers, slippery floors, bounce pads, fans, switches activated by explosions that turn certain gadgets on, and so forth. This is all the while not allowing Bombun to blow herself up in the process. Though this will not obliterate Bombun immediately, instead it will just take one heart of health away, which the game is good about presenting plenty of health pickups sprinkled throughout stages.

Bombun introduces new bomb types in the form of temporary, timed power-ups. These comes in the form of wind, ice, and bounce bombs. Wind bombs produce an updraft of wind that grants the ability to ride it upwards to reach higher up platforms. This is true with ice bombs, too, in the sense that they create large ice blocks that are primarily used as a means for traversal, either across beds of spikes, or to access higher areas. Finally, the bounce bombs create a gelatin-like sphere that can be--of course--bounced on to once again reach new areas. 

The ice power-up grants the ability to create these giant ice cube blocks.

There's little exploration to be found in Bombun. Really, the goal here of the game is to get from point A to point B, and usually the faster the better. More on that shortly. The only real discoverable exploration in Bombun is finding hidden cameo bunnies from other games/media that usually take lots of ingenuity to reach. They're placed in high-up areas, so clever bomb use is paramount to find them. 

When you get into a rhythm and in the zone, this is where Bombun truly shines. Sure, you can simply run through the game, completing each level, and beat the final boss, but the real enjoyment comes from acquiring each stage's time badge. This is performed through rushing through stages a la speed run to beat a given stage's target time. At first blush--or first blast, I guess--these times seem quite impossible to meet much less beat. However, it's all about using bomb jumps to your best ability in combination with Bombun's ability to dive. This combo is key to skipping sizable chunks of stages, making incredible leaps across chasms to shave off precious seconds of time.

Really, the time badges are the meat of this game, as you'll quickly run out of things to do in Bombun otherwise. If you're just playing through the game casually, it will take you a couple hours at most to finish. However, with going after the time badges, along with other optional objectives, such as finding a hidden bunny in each world and purchasing every cosmetic bunny in the in-game shop (bought with currency found in stages), you'll greatly increase the longevity of Bombun several-fold.

That said, these time badges are quite tight and difficult to achieve. Fortunately, the developer opted to allow for unlockable cheats. These comes in the form of post-credit permanent power-ups instead of timed ones. There's also a Dynabun character that can use explosions to propel herself to higher places without taking damage from them. She's faster, dives further, and allows for an easier time with both the game and especially the time badges. Thus, some might consider beating the time badges with these cheats something that would put an asterisk next to your efforts. I think that's fair to do, but I also believe it's fair to use the cheats, as the times are still tricky even with them used!

Fire? Cooler heads will prevail.

For a game that's basically all about speed-running in the grand scheme of things, tight controls are a must. Bombun excels in feeling good to play. The camera can cause some issues with depth perception, but fortunately, a little colorful shadow appears under Bombun, no matter how high in the air she is, so players can best determine if she's above safe ground or not. Incredibly helpful to have, indeed.

Bombun has a cel-shaded art style to it, and sort of has a lo-fi look like something out of an HD PS1 game. The music is suitably catchy, and sound effects pack a small punch--inoffensive, at the very least. The frame-rate is smooth and can be dialed way up to whatever your machine can handle. Overall, Bombun is pleasant in its presentation.

Short but relatively sweet, Bombun is a brief blast of a 3D action-platformer. If you're looking for an extensive romp or the idea of replaying levels for speed-running purposes does not appeal to you, you'll quickly discover that Bombun has an unremarkable and short fuse, then. For everyone else, the platforming is so tight, the stage design executed well enough to make speed-running a blast, and the game overall enjoyable all in all to make for a game that is far from a dud. 

[SPC Says: B-]

Piece by Piece (PC) Review

No, no, not THAT Piece by Piece. The OTHER Piece by Piece. Funnily enough, TWO games with the same title released about two weeks ago on Steam, and the developers of each took notice and opted to make a Steam bundle with both games on sale in said bundle. They couldn't be further apart in what they are, what they offer gameplay-wise, or what they set out to do, but the names are similar indeed in a fun way. I'm opting to currently cover the jigsaw puzzle-related Piece by Piece with this, the SuperPhillip Central review.

A puzzle-platformer concept you might just love to pieces.

Puzzle games run the gamut of means and methods to bust a given player's brain. Piece by Piece is one game that will do just that, getting some platforming into the mix, all the while offering routinely fresh ideas, levels that will possibly positively stump even the most spatially aware mind out there, and an overall gameplay mechanic that works remarkably well throughout.

Piece by Piece takes a relatively simple but conceptually clever idea and runs with it quite quickly through its relatively short runtime. The game tasks you, the player, with organizing levels in the shapes of jigsaw puzzle pieces on the fly as you maneuver a character from the start of the level to the goal. This is performed by picking up and connecting pieces that can be properly assembled to make a connected bridge for the character to move through, also manually done by the player. It's a puzzle-platformer at its most essential essence.

That's no Jiggy on the other side of that wall, so call off Banjo and Kazooie, all!

Along the way to the goal, each level houses a golden puzzle piece, and while some of these are optional to collect, you'll really want to go out of your way to aim for obtaining most of them. That's because these are gatekeepers for later collections of levels, and only upon having the required amount can you unlock and open the books containing these levels.

At the start of Piece by Piece, you're simply arranging puzzle pieces around, connecting, disconnecting, and shuffling the pieces around as needed, while moving your player character through the levels. Most early levels don't take but a handful, if that, of puzzle piece manipulation and movement to properly solve. 

However, Piece by Piece in its brisk runtime picks up the pace with relative speed. With 100 puzzles total, the game does a fantastic job of not lingering on one concept or mechanic too long, while also not overwhelming the player with too many new gameplay ideas in an overly fast fashion. You generally get a series of three books of levels per level selection page. The first two books each introduce a new gameplay mechanic, having you learn it, get accustomed to it enough through experimentation, and before you know it, that book is complete. The third book is where your mastery is pretty much required, as it combines both previous books' mechanics into each level. 

Get ready for a flippin' good time in these levels and Piece by Piece in general.

What mechanics and concepts does Piece by Piece introduce, you ask? Without spoiling too terribly much so prospective players can discover the majority for themselves, the game starts with simple puzzle piece shuffling and jostling around to connect, disconnect, and reconnect as required. Not before too long, you're able to rotate certain pieces, flip them over, and that's not even mentioning in-level mechanics, such as blocks your character can drill through, portals that teleport your character from one section of level to another, and gravity-based affairs as well. 

Each set of levels gives you a specific themed character to play as, too.

Each set of levels also features its own visual style alongside those previously mentioned mechanics. One of my favorites is set in the pages of a '90s era high school notebook, complete with sketches like those mysterious-in-origin "S' designs that my generation doodled in their books upon boredom. The art style in this particular book is so striking and appealing to me, and that's just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Each book also houses its own music, but no matter which book you enter to solve its oftentimes complex and sometimes convoluted puzzles (said with the utmost of positivity there), you're going to hear some incredibly chill tunes that do little to annoy or distract the player.

No time for doodling, I'm afraid, as there are levels to solve!

I played Piece by Piece with my preferred controller of choice, but I overall found the controller experience a bit clunky and clumsy. Selecting puzzle pieces is done by holding a trigger on the controller and using the analog stick. It's unfortunately the same stick used for character movement, so I'd often be stumbling and fumbling with moving my character when I wanted to move a puzzle piece or conversely moving a puzzle piece when I wanted to move my character. Frustrating to say the least. So, while the controller setup isn't ideal, it works overall. Though, players may find the keyboard and mouse controls easier to work with in tandem than that of a standard controller. 

As stated, Piece by Piece isn't a long game. It took me just under six hours to complete all of its puzzles with all of its achievements knocked out. I appreciated the game for its cheeky approach to achievements. Sure, there are ones for fully completing a given book of levels--standard fare and expected for an achievement checklist--but you also get achievements of the cheekier variety. Being in the same level for ten minutes is less of an achievement (but still a literal achievement to complete) and more of an expectation for how complex and complicated later levels can get. In fact, the last set of levels took me basically a third of my total playtime of the game to beat! And good luck getting the no-death run achievement, even though--well, your character literally can't die in Piece by Piece whatsoever--but maybe YOU can be the player that fails doing it! Take THAT, ironic achievement!

Kidding aside, Piece by Piece doesn't waste the player's time with filler or linger too long on a given gameplay idea. It's a clear, concise, and clever puzzle-platformer with a fabulous concept to it that is iterated on near-perfectly throughout its six hour length. Once you clear the game, you might not have too much of a reason to return to it, but what an experience it was during those six hours for me while the game lasted! And sometimes you don't need a reason to return to a game, either. It can simply be one and done and be appreciated for that. I definitely do appreciate Piece by Piece for being mostly all-killer and no filler. Additionally, I recommend you don't just aim to take a piece (by piece) of the game, but just go ahead and enjoy the whole thing instead!

[SPC Says: B-] 

Demon Tides (PC) Review

From last week's review of the Zelda-like Under the Island, we're returning to an indie island theme with my review of Demon Tides. Instead of just one island, though, it's an entire archipelago! Let's dive in and explore!

Demon-strably fun platforming ahead

3D platforming fans are eating well in 2026. We've had Big Hops already earlier this year, and just recently we've also seen Mr. Sleepy Head release this month, too. That's not to mention games like Dracamar and Bubsy 4D coming down the platforming pipeline, as well. To say that 2026 is the year of the indie 3D platformer would not be speaking out of turn, methinks! Now, the much anticipated sequel to Demon Turf is here and ready to set sail on the open seas with Demon Tides. With a new, fully 3D look, a much more ambitious take on the genre, and plenty of spunk and charm thrown in for good measure, will Demon Tides be enough to "tide" 3D platforming players like myself over until the next game in the genre from indies arrives?

After becoming the Demon Queen in the previous game, Demon Turf, Beebz receives a letter from her absent father, the king of a massive chain of islands known as Ragnar's Rock. She opts to take her merry--and decidedly quite eccentric--crew of friends to her father's kingdom, where she quickly discovers his "mad king" rule. The denizens are suffering, the islands are in disarray, and Ragnar rules with an iron fist. Beebz decides to join the resistance, offering her expertise in trouble-making and butt-kicking to help put a stop to her father's tyranny, find out why he sent that letter, and discover why he's been absent for so long in Beebz's life.  

The gang (...crew?) is all here!

If I had to describe Demon Tides, it'd be a combination of Super Mario 3D World's Bowser's Fury half and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Our heroine Beebz traverses the wide open seas--well, mostly wide open, as they're divided up into three separate sections--in search of various islands with plenty of platforming to be found. Successful platforming finds Beebz earning new cosmetics, new talismans, and of the utmost importance for her adventure to meet Ragnar, Golden Gears. 45 of these are spread out across Demon Tides' world, and these are essentially the Power Stars of Super Mario 64 in Demon Tides' terms. As Beebz's Golden Gear collection grows, a new third of the overall map opens up for exploration. Of course, before being able to travel to the next section of Ragnar's Rock, one of King Ragnar's three right-hand villains overseeing the havoc caused in that particular region must be routed.  

Feet, don't fail me now!

Earning Golden Gears is accomplished by completing tasks across the dozens upon dozens of island locales in the game, all involving platforming of some sort--as one would expect. These tasks or challenges range from racing through rings and going from point A to point B, doing plenty of jumping, running, climbing, wall-running, wall-jumping, rail-grinding--you name it, to approach the treasure chest where the Golden Gear or other goodie (talisman, cosmetic, or otherwise) lay in wait. Other times a chest will be completely locked, but the nice thing about seeing such a locked treasure chest is that upon examining it, the camera will focus on the character whose problem you must solve in order to have them part with their treasure chest's contents. 

Feel that ocean breeze while grinding on those rails. You'll feel like a new demon!

Beebz has plenty of prowess to perform the platforming required for most of these challenges. Being a demon queen, she has the ability to effortlessly and virtually seamlessly transform into various forms while running and jumping around. A double jump will automatically see her transform into a bat, able to then enter into her spin form to gain some extra distance from said double jump, or perform a cannonball maneuver to get some quick speed and elevation before plopping downward towards the ground. Meanwhile, the snake form grants super speed, though a bit unwieldy to control at first, especially when precision is the aim of the game. I had to learn that movement was dependent on the direction where the camera was facing and make corrections as needed to go where I wanted to without as much frustration. Regardless, this snake form is the best means to jet around the waves, get to destinations in a hurry, and better succeed in the previously mentioned races.

Of course, Beebz could be perfectly fine with just this set of transformations and base abilities, but to better help players, the inclusion of talismans is available in Demon Tides. Talismans are essentially game and moveset modifiers to assist in making the experience easier or more difficult depending on the player's wants and wishes. Some affect Beebz's health, giving her an extra heart (pill capsule) to work with or one less to make the game harder. Some grant boosts to Beebz's wonderfully wide repertoire of moves, from giving Beebz's bat form a triple jump as opposed to just the double jump, to allowing for more time in Beebz's spin form to... well... spin! 

Protip: Red and black goo is bad for Beebz's health.

These talismans are unlocked through normal play, hidden in treasure chests from completing platforming challenges much like the Golden Gears (though talismans aren't progress gates like the Gears are), but they're also available to purchase on the traveling hub ship of Beebz and the gang's. This is done through the collection of floating purple eyes cleverly called Eyetems, the currency and secondary collectible of Demon Tides. The ship also houses a shop for cosmetics, from different hairstyles, to full clothing sets, to color variants for Beebz, as well.

As a collect-a-thon-style 3D platformer, Demon Tides is great for attempting to 100% the entire game through literally 100%-ing each locale in the game. That's collecting all Eyetems at each locale, completing each task, and opening up every treasure chest. Not every locale houses Golden Gears, Eyetems, and such, but each is worthwhile enough to scope out. I often found myself saying, "one more island", "one more discovery" in my head before quitting each gaming session I had with Demon Tides, and of course, that led to three more islands I'd play before actually being done with said session. There is an addicting quality to discovering new islands and locales, as that's a whole new series of potential Eyetems, Golden Gears, talismans, and cosmetics to find.

Levels offer lots of verticality and unlockable shortcuts so you don't have to repeat climbs!

That said, I pretty routinely found myself as well quickly seeing a lot of asset and locale-style reuse. A fair amount of the discoveries are crow's nests, which aren't too terribly exciting--and they're not meant to be--but moreover, the similar discoveries of dilapidated, sinking cities with the same building types to meander over, through, and under got somewhat old relatively fast. Fortunately, the other discoveries of islands were more exciting to find. Though, that isn't to say that the platforming in the sunken city locales weren't enjoyable. It was less that and more that the environmental variety was lacking.

Otherwise, the variety in environments in general is rather pleasing. For one, I had to remember this was an indie effort, and a 3D platformer with a vast world to explore, at that. Expecting each location to be brand-new and wholly original was not realistic. And the locations overall are different enough either in design gameplay or appearance-wise. 

Last game offered the "turf", so it only makes sense that Demon Tides brings the "surf" part.

There is a Mediterranean-style area in the first section of islands where Beebz has to navigate across windy, narrow paths, scurry across walls, slip and slide down a chute of water, and scale up a tower of platforms to reach a broken windmill. Another locale is unassuming at first, but upon venturing underground, there is a vast network of moving mine carts riding over hazardous lava that Beebz has to jump back and forth on to advance. One last highlight to mention--but there are plenty more--is a science base in the arctic area of the game, which features extreme frigid temps. Only through Beebz staying near lit lanterns can she stay warm, otherwise outside of these sparse sections of heat, she'll slowly lose health from the major cold. This is all the while she needing to find and collect five pieces of a broken Golden Gear spread around and across the open area campus.

An island completely frozen in time thankfully makes these mortars safe to jump on and off of.

Less thrilling, but totally optional unless you're aiming for 100%, are the Mr. Mint trial levels. The "loved by me, hated by Beebz" character is hidden away on many islands, and opening up a teleporter for 100 Eyetems sends Beebz to a Super Mario Sunshine-esque challenge stage. These are ones that require total concentration, revolving around different platforming gimmicks seen throughout Beebz's adventure, generally the gimmick of a given Mr. Mint level is similar to the one upon the island where you find his teleporter. At any rate, while these stages could be fun challenges, they're mostly overlong in length, and you get no checkpoints whatsoever. Nothing like making it three-fourths of the way through an otherwise easy four minute stage only to continually mess up in the final fourth, having to redo everything easy leading up to that one, difficult part. 

It doesn't help that oftentimes I found myself fighting the controls and especially the dang camera. Depth perception is a strong issue I had with Demon Tides, particularly a lack of proper awareness to where Beebz was in relation to tiny, narrow platforms. Outside of these challenge stages, I didn't mind so much. You can usually place a really nifty manual checkpoint at pretty much any moment there is a non-moving surface or platform. Perish? You'll wind up back at that checkpoint automatically. Miss a jump, fall, but don't want to redo all of your previous platforming handiwork? Then, you can manually send Beebz back to that checkpoint, too, with a hold of a specific direction on the D-Pad. There are just some occasions a checkpoint is simply not possible to use--Mr. Mint levels being one of those occasions. This makes sense, but because they're so lengthy in duration, that makes for an annoying issue.

Another slightly annoying issue is that of combat. It's just not very good in feel nor in practice. Beebz uses a homing attack sort of similarly to Sonic the Hedgehog's in Sonic Adventure and beyond, but this has about as much consistency as Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). That is to say, it doesn't have much at all. Trying to hit moving targets in the form of fast foes is an effort in minor futility and major frustration. The boss battles fare better, whether they're the main baddies that take up one of the three sections of Demon Tides' world, or the optional Gearserker mini-bosses. Though, the latter suffers from a lack of variety in the encounters. Honestly, I'd have preferred combat be limited to bosses and have little peon enemies not be a thing at all. It doesn't work well in Demon Tides, whose focus is better served on the platforming action.

There are plenty of Gearserkers to battle, but if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen most of what they have to offer.

And when the platforming action works, it works like an absolute dream. There is so much freedom to be found in chaining Beebz's large arsenal of moves, transformations, and jumps together to flow so well and wonderfully. When things like combat, the camera, or sometimes even the controls get in the way, Demon Tides is less of a dream and more of a nightmare.  

Mostly, however, Demon Tides' nightmare moments are fewer and further in between than the dreamlike portions, fortunately. The game all-around took me approximately 18 hours to 100% complete. I am relatively competent at platformers of this style, so that's important to note with regard to completion time. Even with my aggravations, I found the game overall a winner.

Beebz is the captain, now.

That extends to the presentation as well, for the most part. There are some early areas, especially the boss-controlled areas, that are incredibly, ungodly garish in purple and pink colors. It's a sight to make sore eyes, as it's just egregiously bad and a bewildering artistic design decision. Thankfully, an upcoming patch (and it might even be out already before this review's published) plans to mitigate the obtrusive colors on display in these sections. Otherwise, most everything else graphically is rather lovely. Some geometry and graphical glitches are present, though. I noticed on the island with the giant lighthouse that I could go under it in Beebz's snake form because said lighthouse's foundation wasn't entirely grounded. I also saw trees that didn't stick firmly into the ground, only partway, which looked quite off. 

On the sound side, Beebz and the cast sport charming dialogue and partial voice work. I say "partial' because only the really important to accentuate lines of dialogue are spoken out loud. Everything else is silent. Musically, the compositions and tracks are serviceable. They work for Demon Tides in the sense that they fit the areas they play in, but they're also missing that special something and not really anything I'd run to listen to outside of playing the game.

Running off my Steam Deck, Demon Tides mostly held up well, with some frame-rate spikes and dips in later areas.

Demon Tides is a superb and ambitious 3D indie platformer that casts a wide net of adventure. The ability to customize your playing experience through the helpful talisman system is a pleasure to have. It truly assists in making the game more enjoyable and less frustrating when control and camera quibbles try to ruin the fun. While these problems do rock the boat a little bit, making for a non-ideal experience, all in all, Demon Tides offers more of a smooth ride rather than one in abundantly choppy waters. There's more fun than frustration to be found in Demon Tides. And like many of the locales in the game, there are clever level and gameplay concepts and a robust repertoire of moves that are mostly well executed to discover throughout Demon Tides, making it one I recommend 3D platformer fans to play.

[SPC Says: B] 

FUR Squadron Phoenix (PC, NSW) Review

FUR Squadron Phoenix launches today on Steam/PC with a Nintendo Switch release happening next Wednesday, February 25th. This review covers the former. Get to ready to take flight with the SuperPhillip Central review.

Let the FUR fly.

There's no doubt a Star Fox-shaped hole in gaming that Nintendo doesn't currently seem interested in filling. That's alright, as like F-Zero before, indies are more than willing to step up to the proverbial plate. While not completely creating rote same-as experiences to mimic Nintendo's titles, we've seen a fair number of indie developers try their collective hands at making their own efforts to fill the gaps in fans' hearts.

Enter FUR Squadron Phoenix. This is clearly inspired by Star Fox, from the cast of furry bipedal characters that make up said squadron to various nudge-nudge, hint-hint references to Nintendo's flight-based shooter. That notwithstanding, FUR Squadron Phoenix also does enough to distinguish itself from its source inspiration.

Starting off, you're flung immediately into the action with the first mission. The simple controls get taught with a simple fire button, holding said button to charge a homing shot that can zone in on foes and defeat groups of adjacent baddies, a barrel roll (though not specifically called that), and a special weapon. 

The latter weapons aren't limited to Star Fox's tried and true smart bombs. Instead, you can--and in later levels against bosses are pretty much required to--use the D-Pad to switch between one of four weapons. There's bombs, rockets, an armor-piercing laser beam, and a nuke, which takes all weapon energy to utilize. 

At least it's not "too Raph" instead!

Flying back to the first level before I get too ahead of myself, it features your playable character, a bird named Robin, who enters into a mission where things go awry rather quickly. Her two squadmates end up eliminated in battle, and she of course blames herself. Fast forward ahead to months later, and Robin is a new recruit with the FUR Squadron, under helm by a conveniently enough furry creature named Blaze. To get back her confidence, Robin undergoes training in a VR simulation, crafted by the axolotl named Axel, taking a Slippy Toad role in this game.

It can be difficult to read dialogue and contend with the antics on screen.
Voiced dialogue (and not the Animalese used here) would have worked wonders.

FUR Squadron Phoenix features eight total levels, which might not seem like a lot, but there is some replay value to be found here. No doubt players will struggle even with the first VR level, perhaps even crashing and burning in an attempt to play it. Fortunately, roguelite elements appear in the game, offering purchasable upgrades with in-game points earned from casual play. The higher your score on an attempt, whether a successful one or not, the more points you earn. These points can be spent to increase Robin's shield capacity, attack power, "barrel roll" speed, and also upgrading her special attack prowess.  

You can get up to a 150% multiplier on downed enemies, as long as you don't take damage yourself.

The roguelite influences seep into the levels themselves in FUR Squadron Phoenix. Runs through levels generally feature randomized elements to them. That could be as simple as different enemy configurations or even alternate side missions. That said, the randomization is awfully limited in scope. You'll constantly see and eventually grow accustomed to the same, exact enemy fighter formations, only appearing at different times and intervals in levels. The set pieces offer more interesting design, delivering some pulse-pounding segments and sections, like one where instead of taking the fight above sea in one level, another instead goes deep underwater, having you thread your ship through submerged ruins.

That holographic dragon is big, but trust me when I say this level's boss is even bigger!

On the subject of those previously mentioned side missions, these come in the form of miniature tasks to perform mid-level. For Axel the Axolotl, those Slippy Toad influences come back hard, as you need to defeat a bogey on her tail. For Blaze, it's defeating a specific group of enemies in a section of level. Lastly, for the Falco-inspired member of the squadron, Kiro, you need to follow him through three green, glowing rings. 

An example of some ace flying required to get in Kiro's favor.

Completing these impromptu side missions gives a twofold reward. For one, Robin's relationship with that squadmate grows, resulting in new dialogue scenes in between levels, as well as stronger Overdrives. Overdrives slow down time when used, allowing Robin to take out groups of enemies and especially blast bosses with greater ease. They're best saved for trying times, as they eventually can restore Robin's ship's health and weapon energy immediately.

Ideally, I'm sure the developers wanted players to be forced to return to levels multiple times, as they perhaps bashed their heads against them, making more and more progress with each run. Unfortunately, at least in my case, this simply wasn't how the game happened. Generally--and this is said without meaning to brag--I was able to clear each level in my first run, even reaching the high score target to unlock a ship skin for each given level. There were only one or two levels that saw me needing to return to them to either attempt to survive them or to try to obtain a high score that narrowly escaped me the first time. 

Scripted sequences like these really raise the adrenaline level.

By the end of my three hours with the game, I had pretty much maxed out everything there was to do in FUR Squadron Phoenix. I rolled credits, I had all ship upgrades, I unlocked all ship skins (even the one for finding and firing at a treasure chest containing a Phoenix Badge in each level), I had Robin in great esteem with all squadmates, and obtained most of the achievements to be found in the game, too. That isn't to say there's no reason to return to this game or that everyone will blast through it as fast as I did. That's also just the nature of an on-rails game like FUR Squadron Phoenix is, too.

FUR Squadron Phoenix runs well on Steam Deck, which is where I played the game. Not a lick of slowdown or frame-rate issues seemed to present themselves, and everything played smoothly overall. While the game lacks a full-blown Nintendo Switch 2 release, those who play FUR Squadron Phoenix on the hardware through the Switch 1 release does have performance options available, allowing users to increase the frame-rate, if desired, for an even smoother flying experience. 

With eight missions, three that take place in the real-world where experience is not gained, and five in VR where experience is gained, FUR Squadron Phoenix won't last ace pilots too terribly long. The pool of available upgrades is rather limited as well, which makes for a short-lived experience all-around even when attempting to max everything out. That all notwithstanding, I definitely enjoyed my time in the cockpit with FUR Squadron, and would recommend FUR Squadron Phoenix to potential players, given they realize their time in the skies, in space, and even under the sea, won't last too terribly long.

[SPC Says: B-] 

A review copy was provided by Raptor Claw.

Big Hops (Multi) Review

Let's put our snowboards away from last week, and prepare to get our tongues a good workout instead. Actually, let's leave the tongue-work for the hero of our next game review: Big Hops! For anyone who is familiar with this blog and its writer, you know I love a good 3D platformer. Heck, I sometimes even love a bad 3D platformer. I'll take what I can get nowadays!

Fortunately, Big Hops is the former, and this review, based on the vanilla PlayStation 5 version, is ready to be read! Let's hop to it!

 One giant leap for an indie developer, one big hop for frogkind.

The platformer, especially one in the 3D realm, is so difficult to nail. It doesn't matter if your game has incredible level design or the cutest platforming mascot around--if your game does not FEEL good to play, offer tight and responsive controls, then all of the clever design was for not. I've seen many games suffer this fate, and it's always a sad thing to think of "what might have been". Fortunately, Big Hops does not fall victim to this fate. Instead, it offers surprising fluid and fast platforming action, good feeling movement, and plenty of appreciate within its 8-12 hour runtime. While this frog certainly doesn't croak, does Big Hops offer enough of a "ribbiting" experience to stand as an indie darling and fondly thought of classic?

Big Hops begins with precocious young frog Hop hanging out with his little sister around their forest home. Hop yearns for adventure and getting out to see the world. He eventually stumbles upon a mysterious voice who turns out to be an ultimately annoying character named Diss, who grants Hop his request for adventure--whether our frog-tagonist likes it or not! In order to get home, Hop must venture through three unique biomes to find airship parts in each, all the while doing Diss' dirty work of acquiring otherworldly elements known as Dark Drips. 

Every story starts somewhere, and in Big Hops, it's here at Hop's home, the forest.

As the story progresses, the purpose as to why Diss wants these Dark Drips collected is revealed as the main overarching plot, while each of the three biomes delves into separate quests for Hop to collect each airship part. Really, some aspects of the story don't mesh well at all, and the inability to skip cutscenes completely when desired (instead, you have to mash a button to skip different dialogue individually) makes for its own headaches. That said, the dialogue itself, whether as part of the main plot or uttered by NPCs sprinkled about the game, is quite humorous at times, so it's worth listening to, all the same.

Big Hops isn't your standard 3D platformer. There's no direct combat to speak of, first of all, other than the two boss battles that appear through the duration of the game. Hop's only real enemy is the environment-- having Hop take damage from falling into pits, drowning, or getting hurt from fires, electricity, or thorns. 

What Hop lacks in true enemies, he makes up for in mobility and maneuverability. This frog does have big hops in him, as well as a nifty kit of other platforming skills. From being able to climb walls (as long as his stamina gauge has energy in it), run along them, jump and dive on the ground to gain momentum, and most notably, use his tongue to engage with the environment in myriad ways, Hop has a small repertoire, but chaining these together results in some speedy and super impressive platforming feats.

If you ask, "what that tongue do?", the answer would be, "Quite a lot!"

Hop's tongue, specifically, has a multitude of uses. It grants him the ability to interact with switches, buttons, and levers, asking of the player to pull away from them to flip them on or off. Like any tongue, it's also good for taste--eating food to replenish his health or stamina. Additionally, Hop's tongue is worthwhile for being able to grab onto floating red balls in the air, performing aerial acrobatics through swinging from them to cross chasms or reach new heights.

Ew! Hop, do you realize where that floating red ball might have been? How unsanitary!

Perhaps the most interesting mechanic within Big Hops in theory is that of various veggies. Throughout the game, Hop comes across plants with growing veggies that upon being grabbed and thrown has unique results. The first introduction to this is in the tutorial forest level, offering mushrooms that can be used as springs to bounce Hop up to higher places. There are acorns that grow beanstalks that are climbable, cactus fruit that let loose tightropes used to cross chasms and many otherwise insurmountable gaps, and also bubble fruit that burst open to reveal bubbles that Hop can pull himself towards with his tongue, enveloping himself in it to reach new areas.

There are various veggie types found in Big Hops, and some have more utility than others. For instance, the red peppers are hardly good for anything than burning up tumbleweed blocks. While others, like the mobility and platforming-focused veggies, offer much more in the way of capability, especially to those who experiment. This opens up the potential for solving platforming puzzles and challenges in different ways. With this mechanic, in combination with Hop's previously mentioned platforming abilities, it brings some emergent gameplay to Big Hops. 

The flow of Big Hops has you completing objectives across myriad environments and locales, furthering the story along. However, just following along with the story and completing the required tasks will make a given player miss a heck of a lot of the content within the game. It's very much worth scouring the game's multiple maps for special wares in the form of Dark Drips, the main collectible within the game, of which there are 100 total. These come in Super Mario 64 Power Star-styled goodies earned from completing platforming challenges in and out of the game's Super Mario Sunshine-like obstacle courses called Challenge Rooms, and assisting characters with their personal problems and dilemmas. You also earn Dark Drips from collecting enough smaller Drips scattered around the worlds that add up to form one big Dark Drip apiece. 

Whether in standard (seen here) or small sizes, Dark Drips are a good idea to nab in Big Hops!

Upon earning enough smaller Drips that a big piece is made, Hop can then find Diss in one of his many locations around the game in order to craft a new Trinket. These are equip-able patches that can be attached to Hop's backpack to grant various effects, from using up less stamina when climbing, allowing him more backpack space, granting Hop shop discounts or ways to earn more coins in general, to pinpointing the general direction of collectibles and points of interest to Hop's compass.

There is a fair amount of things to collect within Big Hops--the aforementioned Dark Drips, of course--but also things like bugs, mixtapes, flower petals, and outfits for Hop to become his inner frog fashionista. Unfortunately, one aspect that I don't exactly love about the game is that there is no broad or general collectible menu to see what worlds and areas in the game you have collected things in. Yes, there are collectible Trinkets that inform you of how many Dark Drips have been collected out of a certain amount, but you have to be physically within the area to see this info. With worlds containing up to a dozen different areas, you have to painstakingly visit each area across three worlds to determine which contains the last Dark Drip, missing mixtape, overlooked Challenge Room, etc. has not yet been found. Completionists will discover quickly how much of a genuine pain in the butt 100% completion in Big Hops truly is. 

Nice and steady, Hop, within this particular tightrope-heavy Challenge Room.

The unfortunate part here is that it was deliberately designed by the developer this way as to not create an overwhelming checklist for players, but I'd argue that the audience who plays a 3D platformer is one who aims for general completion or at least maximizing their enjoyment of collection. Thus, ironically, not including an in-game checklist is the thing that makes this game overwhelming in trying to blindly stumble upon missing collectibles!

My issues with Big Hops don't end there, unfortunately. While this has since been patched, my first playthrough on the PlayStation 5 version of the game started out well enough with stellar performance. However, as I went deeper into the game (let's say, after the first biome was completed), I encountered ungodly amounts of stuttering and hitching graphically, essentially resulting in noticeable and disruptive hitches every five seconds or less. Thankfully, this has been ironed out, but still happens, though at a drastically reduced rate--maybe once every minute or so, if even rarer. 

To continue with the technical issues, clipping and falling through floors and environments happened more often than I'd like. Weird little presentation quirks, like Hop literally passing through the airship entrance and walking from out the other side as the screen transitioned to the loading screen, or hitches between areas being loaded, reminded me that this was a small dev and a budgeted effort. 

Also, I found the tongue mechanic to be a bit clunky in execution to use. When two items or things of interest that can be latched or grabbed by Hop's tongue are in close proximity to each other, this can oftentimes result in the wrong thing being grabbed. While this is usually not a costly issue health-wise, it absolutely antagonizes when Hop is over a chasm, and instead of him latching onto a floating red ball to save himself, he inexplicably grabs onto something else (perhaps like something flying by in the air). Thus, the pit becomes Hop's new home. 

Hop says, "I'm the captain, now. ...So... How do I get down from here?"

Despite these niggling gripes and issues I found with the game, Big Hops delighted more often than its issues detracted from the experience. It delivers some clever puzzles, both platforming-based and environmental, some superb design in general, as well as both linear/focused levels and wide open areas of exploration to be found. Its vivid, vibrant art style and colorful cast (both visually and personality-wise) absolutely gave me plenty to look at and--in the case of the dialogue--laugh at, too. 

Big Hops is one visually stunning game, where the draw distance is phenomenal!

When it comes down to it, Big Hops nails the most important aspect of a 3D platformer--its movement is fast, fluid, fun, and feels right. Everything else is gravy, really, and while some of it fares better than other parts, overall, Hop's first adventure shows a stellar amount of understanding of what makes a modern 3D platformer enjoyable: with its remarkably tight controls, genuinely delightful level design, and mostly impressive presentation. If you're seeking out a new 3D platformer and don't know whether to try this one, my advice is to "hop" to it and simply do it.

[SPC Says: B-]