#vajelis videogame vault

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The void stranger review is taking longer than expected on account of this game being absolute bonkers

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Game: Celeste

Genre: 2D platformer

Developers: Maddy Makes Games

Release year: 2018

My score: 9/10

Pros: Fun/rewarding gameplay, stunning visuals, banger soundtrack

Cons: Might be difficult for new players to get into, Sharp difficulty curve (especially for completionists)

Full Review:

You can't say a lot about this game that hasn't already been sayed before. One can't help but praise the charming 2D pixel art sprites and set pieces the game has to offer, bringing the vibrant and diverse world of celeste to life. A great example of that is the dark temple level with it's stunning dream like (or nightmare like at some points) visuals when in the mirror world and it's somber and eerie feeling when traversing the real temple. The game can be kinda hard to get into and you will die a lot in order to finish it. Personally I had about 230 deaths on average across all main levels and my death average skyrockets when accounting for B-sides and C-sides. If completing games 100% is your cup of tea you're about to have a really rough time as the difficulty curve for the extra levels as well as the golden strawberries (where you have to beat every level from the start without dying, including extra levels) is SHARP. Sisyphean effort to 100% the game aside I must admit getting the winged one at the first level was really fun. As for the soundtrack, Lena Rayne once again absolutely cooked! The ost, aside from perfectly fitting the many set pieces of this game, really makes you feel connected with the Madelyne (the protagonist) and reflect on how she is feeling as she hikes up the celeste mountain. My personal favourite track is: Madelyne and Theo (what can I say I'm a sucker for reprisals) which uses the motif of the main theme fused with a soft guitar used to represent Theo.

Tldr: Completion aside, this game is an absolute modern classic and it's not hard to see the reason why. From the stunning visuals to the amazing soundtrack, and of course most importantly the addictive and very rewarding gameplay this is a must buy game!

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What does this even mean

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Game: Ratchet and Clank 3

Genre: Platformer, Third person Shooter

Developers: Insomniac Games

Release year: 2004

My score: 8/10

Pros: Fun and rewarding gameplay and progression mechanics, level / weapon/ gadget variety, 100% completion just the right amount of hard to be worth it.

Cons: Dated humour, some weapons and gadgets are pretty much useless/only useful once, multiplayer is kinda boring, bad vehicle sections.

Full Review:

Ratchet and clank 3 is for a lot of people the peak of the ratchet and clank franchise and thats for good reason.

Gameplay/Visuals: This game pushed the playstation 2 to its limit with impressive scenery and set pieces and a variety of cool graphical tricks. From the swamps of Florana to the fluorescent hot pink musical mess of a planet that is Obani Draco to the trippy 3d cluster of planets of Obani Gemini this game doesn't leave you bored easily. The same can be said with the game's arena planet, a staple of the franchise, that not only offers the classic challenge levels but also incredibly fun gauntlet type levels. The same can't be said for most planets in the galaxy rangers story line that simply boil down to you attacking enemies or turrets on foot or in clunky vehicles until you win and go somewhere more interesting. The clank levels are overall alright and never overstay their welcome while the quark holographic game levels are quite fun though a bit hard. The weapons in the game are vary varied offering something for every playstyle. Some of my personal favourite include the plasma whip, the rift inducer and the bouncer(aka the win the game easily weapon). However despite the game having a grand total of 19 unique weapons, each one having it's own evolved variant, there is a serious balancing issue between them leading to most players never using a lot of them (eg the holoshield glove or the shock blaster).

Replaybility/Completion: In terms of replaybility and completion this game has a lot to offer from a second harder playthrough where you can get an even more evolved (and cooler) version of your weapons, to collecting every hidden titanium bolt which unlocks extra skins or skill points which unlock cheat codes. There's also hidden trophies that if collected can give players access to the insomniac museum a very interesting extra planet with cut content, dev commentary and behind the scenes look at the making of the game.

Plot/Themes: The plot is standard Ratchet and Clank comedic critism of capitalism and the culture surrounding it (albeit expectadly on a surface level). Our lombax protagonist and his robot friend is once again thrusted in an adventure to save the galaxy, this time from Doctor Nefarious (seriously) who's trying to turn every species into a robot.

The MUSIC: The ost is a real high point of this game (and every game in the franchise) with a variety of musical ensembles to fit each setpiece, various techno-y or breakbeat tracks with different musical themes and instrument, even a Britney Spears parody sung by a robot called Courtney Gears (again seriously).

Tldr: Incredibly fun and highly replayable game with a variety of interesting content both gameplay and visually wise. Mostly fun if not a bit tedious, eg the ranger levels, side content. Forgettable plot and very dated sense of humour. Banger soundtrack. Boring multiplayer mode. Personally highly recommended if you're looking for some platformer shooter fun without wanting to get too immersed in the story.

Ps: I love this game this review is very biased

Pss: The plasma whip is the most fun weapon by far

Psss: I'm going to go 100% this game again cya!

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Surprise childhood game I love review is up will probably do more of these while im trying to 100% void stranger for a new game review.

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Im also playing Hi-Fi Rush so expect a review of that game as well some time in the future.

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In other news, im replaying Fallout 4 and I've been loving how companions interact with the environment and other characters. Really adds personality to them

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Next game review is for Void Stranger, can't currently figure out how to start it though :')

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So deep in void stranger lore im solving a pictogram in ms paint

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Filler post. My favourite 25 games