Recent reviews by Neomixer

I'll get the obvious comparison out of the way: I've tried playing Hotline Miami before and, while I can see the appeal, I was a little disappointed. This game, on the other hand, delivered what I was expecting from start to finish: flashy action, handcrafted encounters and a rewarding learning curve.

The controls are fluid and precise, just don't panic while teleporting multiple times.
The map design is mostly solid and the mechanics are both recurrent and built on top of the past ones, though the game could've done a better job teaching you how to use them effectively.
The enemy variety was honestly surprising, considering the size of the game, and the moment to moment action is both fun and satisfying, even when you keep dying while trying to improve.

In conclusion, this game is a solid recommendation, a little too short, but it is packed full of content. While you can extend your mileage a lot by beating it without deaths and speedrunning, this is not something I can comment on. My time to beat the game was 7h17m and I am glad I played it.

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This is the remaster of a Flash-based puzzle platformer with boss battles and lackluster controls. This is not a bad game, but you can find better nowadays.

With multiple mechanics constantly phasing in and out, you will find many ways to catapult yourself or change the environment around you, though only one or two are available in each level, with a few notable exceptions. Mastering the controls is part of the challenge and, while satisfactory, can lead to frustration.

The map design greatly benefits from each stage's unique mechanic, turning them into more than a simple gimmick. A few of the maps are annoyingly hard, requiring either extreme precision or luck, to the point of being unfunny, but that's usually not the case. It unfortunately lack some modern conveniences, like saving the game inside a stage, forcing you to plan around those limitations.

Boss battles are surprisingly good, but far from a cakewalk. Each boss has a unique and well defined pattern, exploiting it is key for your success. Mastery of the stage's mechanics are also tested, but you can cheese your way into victory once you understand the boss's inner workings.

The game's writing is its selling point, with a well-crafted timeline that makes sense in hindsight and a quirky sense of humor. It didn't make me burst into laughter, but it was never annoying and it knew when to take itself seriously, despite its randomness.

A normal playthrough takes only 2 to 4 hours, not counting the collectibles and achievements. The game's longevity is greatly expanded by those, with most of the collectibles placed almost out of reach or requiring out-of-the-box thinking. You get almost no achievements by beating the game, but by completing humorous tasks, like beating a stage while dancing and using a specific hat. You have to go out of your way to get them, but it is a great complement to the game's writing.

It is a product of its time while holding surprisingly well. Asking price is a little too high, but I recommend it if you can get it for cheap.

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Other reviews already explained the mechanics, just keep in mind any and all elements besides match-3 have almost no depth or substance.

This could've been good, but the badly implemented city building, reliant on waiting for resources, and HUGE unintended difficulty spikes, even when playing on Easy, caused by bad map or boss design, make this a no-go for me.

When it works, it is good casual fun, but there are too many instances when it doesn't.

Conclusion: Could be good, but it isn't. Playtime is 7h55m, and I am way further 90% of the players.

Extra: Two note-worthy examples of difficulty spikes:

A map with tight corners and unusable center, making you have only two 1x3 options to match in order to attack the top monsters, with same situation at the bottom, forcing you to stock and spam consumables AND count on luck.

A boss that is only reachable by the tight center attacks, where gems are inside reasonably tight corridors, has big health pool AND summons barrier in front of him that extends far to the side, besides the usual monster summoning, forcing you to spam spells, consumables AND count on luck.

Only 7,5% of the players have beaten this boss as of now, I am not one of those.

This is a first-person puzzle game with great themes and mediocre puzzles. A good game, but with some cheap puzzles that detract from the experience.

Controls are unique and engaging, with you having to drag your mouse to operate platforms and switch, but are not as tight as they could be, both in execution time and precision.
You will probably want to rebind the "Return" option once it appears, rebinding it to "Q" made my experience way better.

Puzzles are not consistently good, but they are serviceable. While most of the challenges are fair and build on top of previously established mechanics, many are based on gimmicks or badly present a new mechanic, being hard to solve without extensive trial and error. Optional puzzles are purely based on gimmicks, but they present themselves as such, requiring out-of-the-box thinking and providing great satisfaction, instead of feeling cheap.

The atmosphere is amazing during the key moments and the story segments are great, with a good twist and characters that naturally fit the game's themes. There are two endings you can choose from at the end, but, while fitting the game's narrative, they don't develop it further, making the end feel abrupt if you aren't paying attention.

Graphics are good, but with almost no variation. While almost all puzzle rooms look the same, the few segments where you traverse the ship has plenty of interesting set pieces. Some back story is provided by audio logs, but you can guess most of it from the dialogue.

My playtime was 7h 41m after I unlocked all secrets. Buy it on sale and you will have a great time.

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An adventure puzzle game with a great story and underdeveloped mechanics and puzzles. While far from perfect, it is very charming and definitely worth its sale price.

Movement is slow and being stealthy is not necessary to beat the game but, while trying to discover schedules and overhear conversations before acting is the most engaging way to play, nothing stops you from saving guests without seeing them outside of cutscenes.

Puzzles are very linear and reasonably simple, working similarly to those in a point-and-click game, with item combinations and a specific place to use them. You are expected to understand each murder and act accordingly, but it is not hard to accidentally solve the puzzle while assessing your possibilities. I was under the impression that doing a perfect run in one day was how to beat the game, however, it is only needed to save each guest once to unlock the next part of the mansion.

Characters are charismatic and interesting if you take your time to spy on them, read the brochure and get a grasp on their personalities, making it possible to beat the game without getting acquainted with any of them. Since many puzzles are only available in certain time frames, you will have a lot of time to gather information and clues. After gathering enough info, you can safely skip time and continue your adventure through the mansion.

Its story is where it shines, with an amazing concept and a clever twist on it. The mansion's story is its guests', making all but the final reveal organically tied to exploration. While it could be better delivered through gameplay, it still has a great presentation if you take your time to explore all the mansion has to offer. I was personally dissatisfied with the final reveal, but it well-written and consistent with the preceding story.

The art, sound design and music greatly help with the atmosphere and tone of the game, a lot of love was put into it, the mansion itself is mesmerizing. Most collectables are cleverly placed and getting them spices up the experience between puzzles, even if getting all of them is difficult, since the game doesn't tell which ones you've already picked, just how many, making it hard to consult guides for the collectables you will almost surely miss. I'd advise you to note which cards you have already picked up.

It took me 8h38m to beat the game, hear almost all of the conversations and get all collectables. Those looking for an adventure will find one but puzzle lovers will be disappointed with the simple and frequently frustrating puzzles.

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A pretty good game, has lots of flaws, mainly because it was designed originally to be a kinetic novel or similar...

The routing system is a little messed up, with lots of repetitions between completely different routes, making you engage in fast clicking mode, even though there is new content written between the already seen descriptions and dialogues..

The True Ending is somewhat unfinished, and the character "presented" there needed more development during the narrative, it leaves you wanting more, and it feels like there is a hook hidden in there...Probably there is not...

With "all" the cons aside, it is a pretty solid novel, and can take a tear or two from your male best friend, and not just cheap tears...REAL TEARS,BABY!

It is not a must-read, but HEY! THIS IS GOOD AND FREE, GO PLAY IT IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! I really mean it ;P

A good galgame, but you should expect AWFUL translations and a lot of scenes that can't help but feel like a drag.
The game seems like 50+ hours of content, be prepared...