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What game are you wasting time on?

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055

Pandemonium on PS1 (1996)

The rich levels and varied gameplay gimmicks are solid value already, but the visuals are even more impressive: the camera often pans back during high jumps and floating segments to reveal absolutely gorgeous backgrounds with a striking feeling of verticality and gigantism.

As a general rule I'm pretty numb to retardo / cartoon games so this was part of an attempt to force myself through Mario and other retro platformers. I went in with no expectations (only vaguely dabbing into it on PC decades ago) and was completely blindsided by how good it is.


Isn't Pandemonium a 2.5D game? As in, the graphics are 3D but the gameplay is 2D.

If you want I can recommend you a variety of great platformers.
 

AArmanFV

Arbiter
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
Messages
631
Location
Arauco
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
Playing Megaman 11 on switch in short sessions (since is a short game), the level design in general is very gimmicky like I would expect from a modern platformer, but it's okay and doesn't abuse with it, the level of Bounceman was the most boring one so far. The bosses are easy like always (since the mega buster) once the pattern is learned. Until now I think is a decent revival of the blue bomber I guess, knowing it was made in the house if I'm not wrong.

Also, is good to see that the double gear mechanic is almost optional, it would have been in my opinion a poor design choice to make parts of the levels with mandatory use of it just to justify it.
 

Citizen

Guest
Risk of Rain 2 is extremely addictive, I've been playing it with a bro non-stop for the last few days. It's very fast paced and makes you always race against the clock because the world slowly grows in difficulty in time, so you are always running and trying to optimize your farm to keep up in power with the enemies. The amount of content to open is ludicrous, I've been playing for a week and still haven't opened two characters and half of the items and alternate character skills

Multiplayer adds yet another layer of hilariousness by making you plan your builds on the fly and constantly argue and brainstorm who should get which items
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
If you want I can recommend you a variety of great platformers.
I would be an idiot to say no to that.

I'm only including what I consider must-plays to get you started. Criteria for platformer is that platforming has to be a primary gameplay element (determined by the frequency in which it is engaged in).

2D Platformers:

Super Mario Bros 3 (this is the best mario game bar none. Forget the rest. It's so damn solid)
Earthworm Jim
Jazz Jackrabbit
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Sonic 2 (it's not mindblowing, but a solid classic of the genre nonetheless and we need at least one sega exclusive here)

Metroidvania:

Hollow Knight
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Order of Eclessia
Blasphemous
Salt & Sanctuary

Local CO-OP Platformers (Girlfriend Games):

Spelunky
Lara Croft: Temple of Osiris
Lara Croft: Guardian of Light
Kirby Superstar

3D Platformers:

None are must-plays. Serious. In my experience they all have their major drawbacks. Tomb Raider has mediocre combat. Spyro The Dragon is a little easy. Crash Bandicoot is a little too linear and has some shitty minigames. But nonetheless, these are my favourite 3D platformers and I think they are well worth playing if you can overcome their shortcomings:

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider 2
Spyro the Dragon
Crash Bandicoot: The wrath of Cortex (Possibly the best one in the series).
Dying Light (I lied. this is the one must-play. Platforming is the highlight here even if there's lots of combat, and it's fucking great).
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

There are still many 3D platformers I've yet to play, moreso than 2D, so don't consider me any kind of authority on them. I have played quite a few though and rather a lot are kinda shit. I think Mario 64 has to be one of the most overrated games of all time. The camera isn't so good. Mario controls like shit. The level design is not up to par. The art style makes my eyes bleed and the noises Mario makes is just too much. I'm also not quite sure what people see in Psychonauts.

Good platformers with potential drawbacks or just isn't amazing:

Examples would be Super Meat Boy (it's solid but nothing special), Mirror's Edge (Good but not great). Should you get into platformers ask again and I'll take the time to write up the rest of what I recommend.
 
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Citizen

Guest
3D Platformers:

None are must-plays. Serious.

Rayman 2 and 3 are MASTAPIECES, BABY. Atmospheric worlds, nice controls, fun characters, charming visuals

Mario 64/Sunshine/Galaxy are cool too, love their precise snappy controls and light-hearted setting

Turok is a fucking genius 300iq game with an outstanding level design, a bastard child of a fast paced oldskool FPS and a 3d platformer that switches the classic run-n-gun formula for a mind blowing jump-n-gun, requiring you to make precise headshot no-scopes as you jump from platform to platform

Also honourable mentions for Alice: Madness Returns and De Blob
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
I never did play Rayman series. Maybe it's time I rectify that. Mario 64 is shit, sorry. Turok (and Turok 2) is indeed high IQ connoisseur game, but its platforming is not quite as frequent as its combat. Some levels have tons of platforming, some levels only have some. I was trying to stay away from recommending hybrids as much as I could and focus on clear-cut platformers, otherwise the list would be endless. Would have to include stealth games like Thief/Tenchu/Sekiro, Shooters like Duke Nukem 3D/Half-Life/Turok, Hack and Slash like Ninja Gaiden and DMC, and so on and on.
 
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agentorange

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 14, 2012
Messages
5,256
Location
rpghq (cant read codex pms cuz of fag 2fa)
Codex 2012
Not sure what your criteria is for judging a platformer, but as far as pure platforming depth nothing comes close to Mario 64. Once you master the mechanics the amount of possibilities for movement and different ways to navigate every level is tremendous.
 

d1r

Single handedly funding SMTVI
Patron
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
4,327
Location
Germany
Not sure what your criteria is for judging a platformer, but as far as pure platforming depth nothing comes close to Mario 64. Once you master the mechanics the amount of possibilities for movement and different ways to navigate every level is tremendous.

Those half-button A presses, eh?
 

Azalin

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
7,565
If you want I can recommend you a variety of great platformers.
I would be an idiot to say no to that.

I'm only including what I consider must-plays to get you started. Criteria for platformer is that platforming has to be a primary gameplay element (determined by the frequency in which it is engaged in).

2D Platformers:

Super Mario Bros 3 (this is the best mario game bar none. Forget the rest. It's so damn solid)
Earthworm Jim
Jazz Jackrabbit
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Sonic 2 (it's not mindblowing, but a solid classic of the genre nonetheless and we need at least one sega exclusive here)

No Super Mario World which might be the best off time?:decline:

Also you might want to try some of the Megaman games from the classic era like X 1-2-3

Oh and if you want to try 8-16 bit era Metroidvania don't forget the games that started the genre,the Metroid series
 

Rahdulan

Omnibus
Patron
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
5,320
Finished Skyhill a few days back.

As you set out on a 100 floor descent in order to escape from the hotel as that entire place is now infested with mutants of unknown origin, you quickly discover Skyhill is quite lacking in the variety department. No matter how many weapons dependent on upgradable stats you find, or how much food you gobble and cook to stay satiated, each floor is exactly the same with two rooms and stairway there for you to scavenge through. Taking turns with the uglies in combat is on the simple side as well. There's nothing really WRONG with the game so I can't fault it, but keep in mind there's little here after those initial few runs and you have a better grip on how to build your character. This is one of those titles where you are expected to die and learn from experience. There's just very little reason to replay Skyhill and even multiple endings do little to alleviate that fact. Some crowdfunding plans like multiple playable characters were also scrapped along the way and you can tell mobile-oriented design drove game development. Makes me wonder if the sequel, which seems to branch out beyond "point and click on rooms", but still sticks to the same premise is an improvement or not.

 

samuraigaiden

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
1,954
Location
Harare
RPG Wokedex
My two cents on 2D platformers:

Donkey Kong '94 is the missing link between 2D and 3D Mario and is one of the best games of all time most people haven't played.

Mega Man 2 is the best action platformer on the NES. I'm shocked nobody recommended it yet.

Super Metroid is where all the Metroidvania nonsense begins, but Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is what made it popular.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the best Classicvania. Bloodlines and Super Castlevania IV are the easiest ones.

Hagane. Not even sure what to say about it. Amazing, tough as nails, a must play.
 

whydoibother

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
17,464
Location
bulgaristan
Codex Year of the Donut
All the noise around Last of Us 2 got me to replay Spec Ops: The Line. Its still a slightly above average, and pretty well paced. Got it done in 3 lazy evenings. Its on sale right now on Steam too.

5CC02405722947C9E11DCC5413DE90E6D27EF60A
 

octavius

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
19,696
Location
Bjørgvin
Great WTF?!? moment in Gothic when I returned to the Old Camp and found the gates barred and an angry mob outside.

But the Free Mine is decline so far, with Gorn turning hostile (and the game turning him invincible is lame) and Wolf never getting enough of those Minecrawler plates. Can't he just bloody tell me how many he needs?
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
No Super Mario World which might be the best off time?:decline:

Fake news. The decline is real. They removed a lot of good features from SMB3 in SMW, for example the inventory system and the complexity of the overworld. The graphics are cutesy and suck. The level design is weaker. And worst of all Mario controls like he has ice skates. SMB3 is the one true great mario game.
 

Azalin

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
7,565
No Super Mario World which might be the best off time?:decline:

Fake news. The decline is real. They removed a lot of good features from SMB3 in SMW, for example the inventory system and the complexity of the overworld. The graphics are cutesy and suck. The level design is weaker. And worst of all Mario controls like he has ice skates. SMB3 is the one true great mario game.

Graphics are good,overland map wasn't that complicated in 3,level design was as good and the levels were longer while 3's were short and multiple exits gave replayability.Not to mention ghost manors,the bosses had better variety,Yoshi was added and the fact that replaybaility was added made the inventory not that useful in SMW.Oh and as far as I remember 3 didn't offer any save options and you had to complete it in one sitting while world had saves of course
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
True regarding saving, I'll give you that
:negative:

But All Stars version fixed it.
 

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