Metroidvania Mega-Review pt. 3: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, Gato Roboto, A.R.N.F., and Blasphemous
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- The third in a running series of bulk Metroidvania reviews (all played on Steam this time). The word of the day is "genre," so scream real loud every time you hear it!
Support: / nerrel
Discord: / discord
0:00 Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth
4:01 Gato Roboto
6:25 A Robot Named Fight
13:18 Blasphemous - เกม
![[Full Episode] MasterChef Junior Thailand มาสเตอร์เชฟ จูเนียร์ ประเทศไทย Season 3 Episode 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qs5zdBqLn_8/mqdefault.jpg)
"My blood isn't clean" came out of left field and killed me
well yeah, he sold his kidneys.
@@gregorymirabella1423 More than just his though. That's a distinction.
AIDS moment
8:42 _"All of of the most unlikeable enemy tropes are here, and ONLY the most unlikeable ones"_ 😂 I love your salt Nerrel, it sustains me🧂
What BAR??
Does it have floating sine wave enemies?
Gosh I wish I didn't buy this... Nerrel has voiced every issue I have with this game, and it's all true.
@@ap1evideogame44 can you refund it?
@@gregorymirabella1423 I got it like last year or something :/
"Gato Roboto combines the appeal of Metroidvania with the power of cats"
You have my attention.
Gato Roboto getting the attention it deserves let’s GOOOOOOOOOO
YASSS MY GOOD CAT BOI DESERVES THIS
It was a very fun game. Well crafted.
it definitely caught my attention, at least.
it is 3 bucks on switch I will get it
Thank you for giving Blasphemous some more attention! The game's art direction and lore was so strong, that as soon as covid is over, I will visit Sevilla and other regions of southern Spain, on which the game's lore is based on and I wish the very best to the developers for their future projects.
How was it? Assuming you went.
I was shocked when I found out it was the same dev as the Last Door franchise, I remember playing that on flash ages ago
Its my second fav after HK
Video isn't complete without nerrel shitting on hollow knight at least once xd
@@Mister_Domm its a bit smug, but while i love hk its fans do INSIST its a masterpiece every chance they get. done it plenty myself. I dont doubt theres plenty loud types fuelling these cheeky little snipes. Even if i found his complaints a bit silly, i can see the funny side.
he just doesnt like the game, it's not for everyone
@@cornprices1718 That doesn't justify lying about the game as he does.
He has used Hollow Knight as a positive example a few times, one is in this video.
Narrel doesn't seem to hate Hollow Knight as much as he's vindictive towards the people who harassed him over his opinions.
@@NyJoanzy His opinion is shit so he deserved it.
I would love to hear Nerrel's opinion on Shin Megami Tensei Synchronicity Prologue, the metroidvania SMT game that's also made by Ladybug Studios
I hope he does, I legit love the mix of metroidvania with the elemental affinity from megami tensei. It makes combat so engaging.
Either of you guys know a good way to play it? My favourite two games are SMT: Devil Survivor + Ori and the Blind Forest. So an SMT Metroidvania (no matter how short) would be fantastic.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 It's a completely free pc game. It was released as a cute tie in to Strange Journey Redux japanese release so it was available for a short period of time on it's website. Since then it has been removed but many mirrors exists online so googling and clicking the first few pages shpuld be enough. The game is only in japanese but its completely beatable without needing to understand anything, plus a rough english patch does exist if you really want it in english.
@@warningdontread5478 I will Google around for some. I remember reading an article about how it was taken down but I wasn't sure if there was a common place people had re-uploaded it to.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 If you're still on the look, the link to the translation can be found on the SMT wiki, down at the bottom: megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Synchronicity_Prologue
Playing Blasphemous recently, I never encountered most of the bugs shown in the video. They seemed to have patched most of them out, and the player's ghost always spawns in easy to reach, consistent locations. The only thing that remains sort of broken is the challenge dungeons being needlessly difficult, though that seems less like a bug and more just the game having inherently brutal, sadistic level design in those areas.
Seeing this video I'm kinda glad I didn't do that shit, seems awful
Played it in anticipation of Blasphemous 2 and I'd say about half the bugs are there. Of course I thought of this video and tried to replicate them on purpose, but some just happened naturally, such as the invisible three gnarled tongue wall. It never really bothered me all that much, it was absolutely still a banger of a revisit.
@@gdx1037 I'm playing 2 right now and it's kind of amazing how much it improves on the original game. Multiple weapon types with their own upgrade paths, and also the weapons double as tools and movement options so the Metroidvania exploration stuff is a lot better than in 1.
I encountered most of the ones shown, plus a couple crashes and more
That cat is one talented gamer.
I guess a part 4 is coming cause' there's no Banjo Tooie here.
That barely counts.
@@dalgusmaximus4557 Banjo-Tooie is a game with many connected but different areas, with powerups that restrict access to areas and collectibles in the game. It even has fast-travel like Hollow Knight. Sounds pretty Metroid-vania to me.
@@TRQDude That's like saying Street Fighter is a a platformer because it's a 2d side scroller where you jump and throw fireballs (like Mario!). Yes you might be meeting some or even most of the requirements, but claiming that this makes them the same shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the purpose of the genre.
Metroidvanias aren't purely defined by their mechanics, they're also defined by their feel and purpose. A large part of the point of metroidvanias is their emphasis on exploration and discovery (hence why they're also sometimes called "exploration platformers"), and often the feeling of isolation that comes from delving into foreboding areas without knowing what might be waiting for you there. This is why metroidvanias tend to lean towards horror and other themes on the darker end of the spectrum; because they compliment the gameplay so well. Banjo isn't really about exploration any more than Street Fighter is about platforming, which precludes it from truly being a metroidvania.
@@ValkyrieTiara nice win
If anyone is interested, a youtuber named Hat Wearing Gamer has a video on it, and yes it is a Metroid-Vania.
Oh Nerrel you rapscallion, I've missed you
I was really impressed by that cat clearing the Blasphemous challenge room at the end!
Somebody else already mentioned it, but Ladybug did a free short SMT Metroidvania game called SMT Synchronicity Prologue a few years back, and it has the same kind of pixel art, plus the floating and elemental swapping in Deedlit feels like the floating and elemental swapping in SMT Synchro.
even the UI looks similar
For that floor that you have to jump at 50 times in Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, in the background, there's a QR code that tells you about it but it's very hard to notice it, I get that it's supposed to be a joke, but it drove me mad when it was necessary for 100% completion
Receiving crucial exploration tips from a QR code within a game that you'd probably have to scan with your phone is the most hilarious bit of shitty game design I've ever heard
@@Antigen__ ikr, it's so bad that it's good. It underflows back into being amazing. Like Bee Movie idk
@@Antigen__ It sounds like something Nintendo would do.
Like you need a copy of the Mario AR card to proceed in some game on there. Maybe you need an external phone app that barely works for voice chat. Or you have to buy an under-produced plastic figure in order to unlock content for a game...
Fuck, I didn't even see the cat at the end until after that challenge room had been completed.
I rewatched the end to look at the cat's confused as hell face.
Damn, you encountered a ton of bugs in Blasphemous that I mever saw. I didn't 100% it but I beat it and yeah, I specifically remember thinking "wow, on top of everything else this small studio got right they managed to ship a game with zero bugs in it."
Now I feel like I got really lucky! 🤷♂️
played it around a month after this video was posted, didn't encounter any bug at all, even when I played it again when wounds of eventide released. maybe those are console bugs? I don't know on what platform Nerrel played tho, so I can't tell...
@@hekirb3382 I played through on ng+ on both switch and ps4. It's definitely not a console problem. I think I encountered maybe 1 or 2 non game breaking bugs. (One that I can remember missing a wall grab and still sticking the landing) And have never had a problem with the game besides. For some reasons reviewers get really unlucky for some games. Although, it looks like the button prompts are xbox buttons and I haven't played the Xbox version yet. My guess is either xbox, or pc with an xbox controller
I played it earlier this year on PS4 and also had no issues, but as far as I know this game heavily benefited from post-launch patches (apparently also the controls were much rougher in the launch version).
Most TH-camrs do. Maybe the recording software interfering somehow. Plenty of games I see minutes long glitch videos for but never experience any personally.
I think Nerrel got incredibly unlucky. I beat it recently and no bugs at all. Sure, I did do jumps I probably shouldn’t have, but I was intentionally trying to break the game like that. Didn’t do it for any advantage, just for fun
Portrait of Ruin actually has an incredible soundtrack, same with Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Eclessia, all three are super underrated and I highly recommend you check them out!
I'd say PoR has the best soundtrack of all Castlevania games. SotN has a few very good tracks but PoR has a lot more tracks which are consistently good
Finally, some chads that appreciate PoR's great soundtrack.
I agree, all 3 of the DSVania games have fantastic music. In order, I'd put PoR > OoE > DoS in terms of how good the tracks are per game. But that just comes down to personal preference. I wouldn't argue with you if you thought DoS had a better soundtrack than any of the other two and vice versa. Those scores are just that good.
Seriously, check 'em out.
@Flavius Aetius Dawn of Sorrow is something to be appreciated; knowing a certain mechanic opens the game wide open without ever getting stuck.
Good to see Gato Roboto getting some attention - really enjoyed it as a game that was the exact right length and loved the monochromatic art style.
Dang, can't believe it's been more than a year since the last metroidvania mega review... time is a crazy thing.
01:29 The Pillar is a QR CODE that hints the 50 jumps.
That's pretty cool
That's pretty neat. Seems like a more subtle version of the QR codes in Fez.
That's the sort of dirty trick that would be found in Noita though.
That is fucking amazing but also utterly ridiculous in that you'd never notice it.
is that a required item?
"The best boy nice guys who desewve a widdle tweat, *MWA"* oh my god nerrel hahahaha
That cat game looks like the Blaster Master sequel I've been waiting for since... well actually we literally got a Blaster Master sequel a couple years ago lol
And we got a sequel to that sequel!
Yeah Nerrel didn't really mention it, strangely.
@@fugaziman And a sequel to that one
All you really need to know about Lodoss War on a conceptual level is that the creator made it based off their D&D campaign
Interesting. I've never seen Lodoss War, but I have seen another anime based on a light novel & tabletop game that that same creator also made: _Record of Grancrest War._ It was alright.
EDIT: I have now seen Lodoss War. It was really good. Deedlit was easily the best character, so I'm glad the game is about her.
7:49 Wait, did Nerrel just say something good about Hollow Knight?
That's how you know the game is REALLY shit.
Does he hate Hollow Knight?
Pretty sure in his original review he said that the movement and combat in Hollow Knight felt great. He just didn’t like other aspects.
Shrek es mí pastor he doesn’t. He had a lot of criticisms but he still gave it a good score. But because he dared to criticize it in any way and didn’t give it a 10/10 like everybody wanted all hell broke loose so now he purposely dumps on it to make people mad.
@@rileyd2025 I mean he can has his own opinion but when his problems with the game just go back to “It’s not super Metroid” that’s when people have a problem
I love Will Nerrel talking about videogames.
Same
I watch his video even when the game doesn't interest me, although I am very curious to hear his comments on games that I actually like and see the flaws he finds
What👏is👏Nerrel's👏cat's👏name?
Good boy
Antifa.
Antediluvian
As a quality of life improvement, please always have a picture in picture of your cat on the screen in future videos.
Big Metroidvania fan. Thanks for showcasing so many underrated ones XD
It's fine that he isn't in love with Hollow Knight guys, leave him alone.
Peace was never an option.
Him not liking hollow Knight is fine. His reasons for not liking hollow Knight are what bother me and he still seems salty that he just didn't get it. He says that the "trinkets" are useless even though they give you a shit ton of money which is really important in that game and glossed over all the different upgrades you find just by exploring in the world. His criticisms of hollow Knight just seem kinda petty and it's the only thing I don't really agree with him on.
@@averyhepburn8092 Agreed you can not like Hollow Knight. But complaining that everything looks the same is just wrong.
There's no way you can look at Crystal Peak, the Abyss and the Hive and say they looks the same. It's both very disrespectful to the artist and disingenuous. I think the only way you could conceivably make the argument is if you never left Forgotten Crossroads and assumed that the hub was the entire world.
I expect better from Nerrel.
Gotta agree with everyone here. I don't mind that Nerrel didn't like the game. What bothers me is that he misrepresented it, got called out for it, and just won't let it go. He's bringing it up in the videos, so he's just as guilty as the people giving him shit for it in the comments.
@@SlytherpuffHouse This argument was and will always be shitty. Sure on its own hollow knight has decent variety but compared to other metroidvanias or games in general, hollow knight's variety is pretty shitty, especially when taking the length of the game into consideration
Thank you for covering Gato Robo. Found it on a random stream last year on Yacht Club Game's channel and thought it was a really unique hidden gem.
New Nerrel vid, finally an excuse to drop everything I'm doing for 20 minutes.
new nerrel videos are like a mini holiday for me
0:14
this part aged wonderfully
I absolutely loooooove this series. Only something Nerrel could make. Amazing.
Also *Deed Seals*
Blasphemous is one of my favorite games but but honestly I’m glad you were hard on the technical problems. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend like something is flawless just cause you like it.
The developers learned from their mistakes too. Blasphemous 2 sounds like it's better in every way.
YAY FOR BLASPHEMOUS
One of the best games I ever played. The art style and overall design is enough to make it top tier.
Btw Nerrel, you can unlock something in the game to make the Prie-Dieu work as teleports, instead of using the mirrors ;)
It still looks like it needs some bug fixes and further polish.
I’m definitely interested, but maybe after some more updates.
@@battlinjoe2592 I played on both PC and Switch and very rarely got issues with it, far less than this review makes it seem. You can still wait but I'm not sure it will make any difference in that regard. Maybe it depends on the platform too.. not sure..
@@thisisfyne Well, it’s just the case by case basis makes me nervous. I always try to do some research before I make a purchase.
@@battlinjoe2592 Sounds good, mate!
@@battlinjoe2592 I've beaten Blasphemous 2 times 100% on PC and have only experience very few bugs each time.
Nerrel be like "A robot named fight was the worst experience I had playing a metroidvania" and give that garbage a 6/10
Nerrel: **Talks about how the game is definitely a 3 or lower**
also Nerrel: "but seriously it's a 5"
He always sounds harsher when critiquing a game. Almost making you think that he hates it, when he probably doesn't. Though if that's how he sounded with A Robot Named Fight, I wonder what he'd sound like with a game that he'd give a 1 or 2/10; that's giving me shivers just thinking about it.
New Freeman's Mind and a Nerrel video with Blasphemous in the thumbnail, in the same day? Why yt, you spoil me.
I was thinking mainly the same thing.
I do agree that many of the of Indie Metroidvanias sometimes do a little too much omage to the pioneers. It doesn’t have to be someone with a gun on an alien planet, or someone with a sword exploring a castle.
I want a toy story metroidvania
We need one with gun guy on a castle, and other with a sword guy in an alien planet.
@@manzanito3652better, WHY NOT BOTH!!
@@YEY0806A guy with a sword gun on an alien planet in a castle. And he's a vampire and a space bounty hunter.
@@MrSupersonic2012 "sword gun" gives me trick weapon vibes form Bloodborne which would be great in a metroidvania
I love these reviews, that's really got me interested in Blasphemous especially
I'd love to hear your thoughts on La-Mulana 1 & 2. Thanks for keeping this series going! :)
1:29 that pillar behind you is a QR code containing a hint.
That's really weird but cool.
@@johntheslider5802 I've never played the game, I just love QR codes 😅
I just now got around to playing Blasphemous. I didn't find it nearly as crude as some made it sound. It has a sense of humor while taking itself rather seriously. Amazing visually and I loved the boss fights.
Finally, someone else who likes Blasphemous far more than Hollow Knight!
Eyyy
hell yeah!! :)
*So you have chosen death.*
Yay! Always delighted to see a new Nerrel upload! Hopefully your pet GPU doubles as a dialysis machine.
Oh shit, Gato Roboto, actually being talked about? We love to see it.
Shovel night not quite sure if it's a Metroidvania but when your money fell or say if your died over a ledge it'd fly to a degree and you'd have to fish it with the whelp fish hook which is . . A unique way of doing things and feel that'd be a fun mechanic to use in more games
Shovel Knight is the furthest thing from a Metroidvania dog its just a platformer ffs
It also only took some of your money upon death instead of all of it.
I tried saving for later this Nerrel video, the best for last, but I just couldn't wait.
man i love your videos so much i actually went "aw, it's done?" at the end lol
Deedlit and Blasphemous actually look like my cup of tea. I love Castlevania type stuff, and a "gorey surrealist Catholic Nightmare" sounds really interesting. On top of that, it seems like it fixes some of the issues I had with Hollow Knight (but sadly not the ghost mechanic).
Thanks for another great Metroidvania Video Nerrel, love your content!
I really like a Robot named Fight. Bought it for a dollar and had a lot of fun with it. I don't have that much experience with other games like these so maybe I am easy to be amazed. But still, I think it is totally worth a try.
I also had fun with it. I understand the problems, and it's not like I think that it's an amazing game or anything, but for a couple bucks it was pretty fun. Then again, I did enjoy the original NES Metroid when I played through that series for the first time recently. Eh, it is what it is.
It's a shame this hasn't gotten more views. Because this is exactly the kind of content I want to see from this channel.
Damn dude, everytime above and beyond content. thanks friend.
So that part in Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth where you said you need to jump over and over again repeatedly to open a passage, the game actually has a smart 4th wall break with that. You see the pilar behind where you need to jump is actually a QR Code! Reading that will bring you to a page with text, which if I recall is a little riddle, which basically tells you to jump up and down over and over for a little bit
I didn’t experience *any* of that in Blasphemous. That’s so, so, so very strange.
For the record, I played on Steam.
Same here
That's what I was thinking... also played on Steam, fairly recently. The only things I noticed were more, minor lack of polish, not gamebreaking bugs. 🤔
@@BrawlerGamma Same here very confused.
The devs have been very active in patching the game so that probably might be why.
Great video, Nerrel! Ended up buying two copies of Gato Roboto thanks to your review.
Blasphemous is a fantastic game and I was waiting to see it in this series, love your channel Nerrel.
Hope you will find out about La-Mulana some day.
Great video, love this series so much.
Ever considered doing a video breaking down the "-vania" aspect of the Metroidvania genre?
I've played a fair few Metroid games but nary a Castlevania title. I'd be interested in learning.
"Iga"Vanias have light RPG elements (leveling up, loot, trading) and have much more linear action focused level design. There are many divergent paths with optional upgrades but its almost always obvious and doesnt nearly require the level of problem solving in Super Metroid style games. There are also many more arbitrary locks than utility based exploration.
New episode! My day just got better
Very interesting as always.
Always stupid excited when you upload guy, thanks
“A cooler full of kidneys- most of them, mine”
Just when you think it's over, IT'S NEVER OVER - and I'm here for it~
"That combination of words I just said probably means something if you're deep into anime"🤣
Holy fuck, and right as I was starting my 3rd (possibly 4th) marathon of all your videos. I literally just finished the first two earlier today. Good shit my guy.
Big Hollow Knight fan here, and I see some of Nerrel points, especially after Blasphemous.
As a hole, HK doesn't come close to the emotional reaction that Blasphemous gives you in its artstyle and levels, and compare to the cultural references and how they interweave with the lore, yeah, Hollow Knight lore, while good, is not a strong asset.
Also, people need to chill up with the "perfect masterpiece", let's just focus on the games reviewed in the video.
Damn I wasn't expecting Lodoss stuff in the year of our Lord 2021
Me neither.
I'm not too proud to admit I got a little too excited by this.
@@rainbowkrampus Me too actually, anything Lodoss makes me excited in the pants
I did a little double take when I saw the title. I was aware the game existed before I saw this video but I somehow didn't make the connection between this and the anime until now.
Speaking of Lodoss War, I've seen _Record of Grancrest War_ and I've been meaning to try Lodoss War, but I cannot find it.
EDIT: I have now found and seen Lodoss War. It was really good.
Love your sense of humor man. Good videos
Nerrel, I always know your videos will be great and awesome. You are cool.
When Part 4 comes out, Nerrel should talk about Carrion.
Came for the excellent commentary, stayed for the fluffy kitty content mwa.
Blasphemous devs pay a lot of attention to feedback. For instance: The teleporter issue was balanced with an upgrade that turns all the checkpoints into teleporters, however, the upgrade is expensive enough so you dont unlock it right away. They did a similar thing with the ghosts that you leave behind when you die.
Thank you so much for another one of these I missed it
Blasphemous is basically if you played as Slave Knight Gael instead of fighting him.
Why?
@@MAYOFORCE *C O N E*
No
Wow the character has one similarity to a another character that means he's basically the same character , thank you funny man
@@ariaaster4122 this comment is extra stupid cause there isn't any similarity at all, visual or otherwise
4:01 In honor of the quarantine and the many cats adopted then (including mine)... best cat based indie games when?
Let's see, there's this one, and... Kittens game? The idle one?
your videos are a blessing, thank you
Aw man, Gato Roboto looks freaking awesome! Reminds me of Metroid 2 for the Gameboy which I absolutely loved when it first came out! But once again, hearing you say that it's too short is a MAJOR bummer for me! I want a full game experience not a bite sized chunk. There's nothing I hate more than being sucked into a game only to have it end before it felt like it even began.
Tingle butt ☑️ Excellent Editing ☑️ Great Reviews☑️
Yup, it’s Nerrel time.
I found your channel because of your hollow knight criticism and wanted to hate you, but you have a lot of good points and I'm coming around to seeing the valid criticisms you have of Hollow Knight. Games still a 10/10 to me though, it's just no longer immune to criticism in my mind
Lol you are better then most. Most HK fans I've seen in his comments have an aneurysm whenever he criticizes or makes fun of the game.
@@dalgusmaximus4557 the wait for Silksong really got us feral.
But with anything that gets a big fanbase, there are a higher percentage of crazies unfortunately
Just wanna say your videos are always top notch keep it up!
Btw in your ongoing quest to play all metroidvanias I'd like to suggest momodora or minoria if they aren't on your radar :)
Keep up the good work on this series of reviews. I am looking forward to the new episodes and fixing your HK review
Would love to see you talk about Castle in the Darkness on this series; I think it's a very underrated metroidvania.
nerrel should play
Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue, just to see another team ladybug game
I enjoyed this video. Thank you for making it.
I've _literally_ been rewatching your metroidvania videos multiple times over the past few days.
Tiiiiiming
Super late to the party but wanted to give my opinion on Blasphemous. I bought and played it off your recommendation. While I loved the art style and alot of the metroid aspects. I absolutely hated, HATED alot of the basic enemies and bosses. I swear so many developers think that we want the most difficult annoying enemies possible because we like dark souls and as such they put in enemies that take way too many hits, hit way too fast, take alot of your life when they bump into you, have parries that do not seem consistent of properly telegraphed. Take Metroid dread for example, a different game but the enemies were really never annoying in that game. Just a little difficult every once in a while. Once again, not hard enemies, but annoying enemies. Same issue with bosses. Some of the bosses were actually fantastic. One that stands out was the skeleton boy being held up by the arms. A easy fight but still very enjoyable and properly telegraphed. Same with the guy with the flaming sword torwards the end. The same can not be said for the smaller bosses that were your size that would smack you after giving you 1 frame to parry or even outright parrying you back and taking 90% of your hp and dont get me started on the electric attack spam by some. Or the bullet hell boss, why is there a bullet hell boss in Blasphemous. My other largest complaint was that in my perspective the game did NOT tell me how to upgrade rosary beads, Health flasks, really alot of the game mechanics. I may have missed details but Ive never had to use a wiki to find basic mechanics in a game like this before. That likely added to the difficulty because I had one flask for the first half the game. I dont know I could be totally off with my opinion here but I was definitely left wanting here. It felt like the developers just wanted to make a dark souls 2d game and said "hey people like dark souls because its difficult" so they attempted to do that and just that. End of rant.
The way this man responds to criticism of his own videos is so good
Is that sarcasm?
@@sloplord6004 No It isnt
@@nwcr_ ok
It’s interesting you avoided blasphemous for the same reasons I did. And I never expected to hear someone share the same sentiment. Still haven’t bought it but came damn close last time it was on sale.
Banger vid nerrel, always enjoy these a lot. should give momodora reverie under the moonlight a shot if ur looking for more metroidvanias
You know, I've never agreed with anyone on the Internet as much as you. So it blows me away how opposite our experiences with A Robot Named Fight were. Of all the complaints you listed, I only shared in one of them, and that was the UI occasionally obscuring a power-up hidden in the corner of the screen.
I don't find the enemies to be that annoying, because I'm thorough enough that I've usually got interesting weaponry that can handle them, and over your various runs you just become more efficient at dealing with them.
The tutorial guy tells you early on about the gods' numbers, and getting a lucky overbuffed run is just part of the fun of a roguelite. I've had the same happen to me in The Binding of Isaac and can tell you factually that with a telekinetic tear orb with magnesis that can even hold many bosses in place, you become /very/ OP. In both titles, the builds were gleeful oases from the usual tough, intense runs, and I've spent many a conversation with friends happily sharing tales of how we'd broken various roguelites, these included.
I'd also like to note that what you get from each god depends on how much of the various types of scrap you give (not just giving them their number of the basic scrap, but hitting multiples thereof as well), and the same combination may not always grant the same reward. There are something like nine different gods, and each one has a different specialty. It sounds like you just got really lucky with the specific combinations of gods and rewards a couple times. Simply finding one of them is not a win button. It's a dice roll, and often times you'd be better off taking that scrap to a shop to buy a clear and definite reward.
The way you put it made it sound like there are tutorial guys everywhere debuffing you, but in all my experience there's just the one, in the very first room of any run where nothing else has yet happened. At that point, if you want the challenge, take it. And if you don't, restart. You lose literally nothing except like twenty seconds of your time.
I'll be honest, I don't entirely understand your issue with not being able to run the same halls over and over to memorize the game. There IS backtracking, if that's what you want. Plenty of it. In any given run, you can bet you'll be remembering doors and obstacles you'll need to come back to later to pass with new equipment. Or do you mean that you want to play the same game repeatedly? That's alright and all - just personal taste - but if that's the case then why would you buy a roguelite? I'd rather have new layouts every game and react to them in the moment than just remember what I did last time and do it again. If you wouldn't, that's fine, but that doesn't make the game bad. I think you may be too hung up on wanting it to just be Metroid full stop instead of seeing the game for what it is.
You kind of scoffed at the idea of unlocking new items as you go, but again, that's a cue taken from The Binding of Isaac. This game takes inspiration from Super Metroid for the metroidvania elements, but BoI is absolutely the inspiration for the roguelite ones. In both games, you unlock new items, new areas, new bosses, and the true endgame by accomplishing various feats. These can range from beating all of the bosses in an area to unlock a completely different replacement area filled with new enemies, obstacles, and bosses, to doing something impressive like stacking far too many tiny orb bots around you thus unlocking a new useful item inspired by that feat. There's a whole menu showing you the various goals which will unlock things, and it gives you incentives to do interesting things or play in a new way, thus keeping runs fresh.
Even the risk of getting debuffed is present in Isaac, as you never know what an item you've never seen before is going to do, and pill effects are randomized each run. When you take one you may gain stats, lose stats, teleport, or even piss yourself. And there's no number gimmick to help you game the system in that one, you just gotta swallow some things blindly and hope that doesn't go poorly for you. My point is that you would have a much tougher go of trying to review a much better known roguelite like that harshly for such mechanics the way you've done with ARNF. I think the reason not many people will push back in this case is that hardly anyone in these comments has likely even heard of the game before, much less played it. But it's par for the course to get fucked over a few times in a roguelite because you don't understand a mechanic yet or the dice weren't in your favor. I'm not saying it's the best thing, but I am saying that it's not as bad a thing for fans of the genre as it is here for you.
This also isn't a game I would do multiple runs in a row on, just as I wouldn't sit and play through all the 2D Metroids in one sitting. By the sounds of it, I fear that there's a chance you may have run yourself ragged trying to repeatedly storm through a game from a genre you dislike in long sittings so that you could quickly get to the review, and if so that's a recipe for a bad time.
I'll be honest, I don't think this is a great review of the game. I certainly trust it is your honest review of your time spent with it, but I think perhaps reviewing a roguelite when you don't enjoy roguelites was a bad decision. To be fair though, the balance is maybe not as clear from the outside. I once showed this game to two visiting friends, one who specifically loves metroidvanias, and one who specifically loves roguelites. The one who loves metroidvanias played for like ten minutes then quit, while the one who loves roguelites wound up sitting in front of the computer for the rest of the visit, unable to tear himself away. I wound up giving him a copy for Christmas and he played it so intensely that - and this is entirely true - he developed carpal tunnel from it. So that's a whoopsy on me.
In short, I still think you're great and you can come to my birthday party, but I was definitely starting to approach that "blindly follow whatever he says" type of fandom and I guess you had to bonk me out of it as hard as you could. Which is probably for the best, but I'm still left disappointed. I give this review a rating of three Tingle butts and one Beedle's secret third testicle out of ten.
He did make it clear he was judging the games based on how good of a metroidvania style game they were so I feel you are overlooking that perspective a bit. It's also very close minded of you to basically say he shouldn't play rogue-likes just because he didn't like ARNF after seeing nerrel compare it to and praised dead cells. It's good to take some reviews with a grain of salt, especially the contentious ones, but it kinda seems like you are judging what kind of critic he is based on how much of his opinions match yours.
@@dalgusmaximus4557 If he was only judging A Robot Named Fight based on how good of a metroidvania it was, he wouldn't have brought up Dead Cells at all, as Dead Cells is simply not a metroidvania. It's also a complete misrepresentation of my words to say that I "basically say he shouldn't play rogue-likes just because he didn't like ARNF" when my actual point was that it seems like a bad idea to review a game in a genre you don't like, if many of your issues tend to come down to it being a part of that genre.
And to note, I say it's a genre he doesn't like not because he didn't like ARNF, but because he said it's a genre he doesn't like - with the one notable exception of Dead Cells. I don't really enjoy RTS, but I do enjoy Brutal Legend. I wouldn't review, say, Starcraft II poorly just because it doesn't have the aspects of Brutal Legend that I do like. I'd just avoid reviewing it altogether, as the whole thing would likely come down to, "This genre generally isn't for me." To go too much beyond that would result in quite a bit of fumbling for ways to paint the game poorly for not being built around my specific interests, and that's how you wind up with something like the Ocarina of Time Sequelitis.
Dead Cells isn't a very similar game to A Robot Named Fight, even on the roguelite side of things. That's why I offer The Binding of Isaac as a point of comparison in my own response - it's the clear inspiration for the roguelite aspects of A Robot Named Fight. I've also found - through my anecdotal evidence of my friends, but also through my own observations during my time with the game - that ARNF is probably more likely to appeal to fans of roguelites than fans of Super Metroid (the clear inspiration for the metroidvania aspects of the game). As I've already said, that's not going to be obvious from the outside, so I can understand why he might have expected it to just be "Super Metroid with random elements and perma-death". But even then, he seemed to be upset at the very presence of random elements such as changing layouts instead of one set game every playthrough. And at that point, I have to question what he even thought he was buying, and if it's good form to review it when you're possibly more annoyed that it didn't meet those misguided expectations of what the game would be.
His criticisms of the metroidvania side of things are at least occasionally valid, but even then it's rarely 100%. As an example, the large numbers of smaller enemies that can spawn from eggs or just on the ground in certain rooms, seem like an issue until you realize that most of the time you can just let most of the eggs lay, and smaller enemies can often be avoided altogether. You don't have to kill every enemy in every room, and you'll usually gain weaponry that's more useful for dealing with them as you go. If you do sit and take the time to grind out every single foe, you'll only really gain more scrap. More scrap means more purchases, as well as more blessings from the robot gods which will make the game much easier... which he felt took the fun out of it. His big problems were that enemies are a chore, and then they become too easy. But if you don't sit and slowly burn through every last enemy you encounter, you'll solve both of those issues in one fell swoop. Less time wading through, less overpowered later on. It's like Mega Man 9. You CAN sit and grind out screws to make the game easier if you want, but you can also just be satisfied with what you happen to pick up along the way, which will leave you in a pretty good position to take on the final challenges and still feel accomplished when you succeed.
This isn't judging "what kind of critic he is" based on our conflicting opinions. I KNOW that Nerrel is a great critic, and I've known that since long before I noticed that our criticisms line up so well that I'd be able to pilot him if he was an EVA. He's proven time and again that he really considers things carefully and frames them in an entertaining way, and that's why I find this review disappointing when it seems to come down to him tearing harshly into something for merely falling outside of his comfort zone. He doesn't sound his usual jovial or disappointed or "going to get some flak for this but here goes" self, he sounds outright angry at this game for daring to be played by him. It's an unfortunate review that doesn't feel up to his standard in a lot of ways. The fact that I disagree does make it a little tougher to swallow, but I'd take issue with this review even if I'd never played the game before. Same as I generally agree with his stance that motion controls have gotten a bad rap and could be done much better, but feel that his final point hinging on this being a perfect world where companies always make the best possible decision for everyone and put in the most work and cut no corners is a little disingenuous. As I said, I was starting to trust in him TOO much, and that in itself is a bad thing. This review if nothing else served to shake me out of that, because even Nerrel isn't fully above criticism. And I think he'd be the first to admit that, because that's the kind of wise old sturdy tree with spiders in its belly he is.
I'm not reading all that good for you or sorry that it happened to you or whatever
@@AmedeusMkII I believe he brought up Dead Cells to reinforce his point that roguelikes and metroidvanias are better off when they aren’t mixed.
Wait, deelit is out?! And it's good?! Thanks for letting me know, I loved Luna night and is super hyped for this.
"a cooler full of kidneys, most of them mine" is one of the best lines i've ever heard. immediately shocking, and leaves more questions the longer you think about it
i was watching the previous videos recently, a godsend
I enjoyed my time with A Robot Named Fight, but I understand your negativity. A lot of the game is just standing around shooting at enemies placed just out of your horizontal shooting line. Challenges from room to room can vary wildly based on your equipment and health/energy levels. The occasional robot god you encounter will help you if you give them a certain number of drops because they each have a numeric affinity. Of course, you won't know that unless you figure that out from the occasional hints the game gives you.
On top of that, ARNF is bad at explaining how certain pieces of equipment work. At some point I got annoyed enough to look up the wiki to learn all of this. That was also the time I realized the robot you talk to at the start of each game can give you buffs and debuffs based entirely on what he says, not to mention his lines may take you to the Forbidden Place.
The game is definitely frustrating, and I would be lying if I didn't mention the numerous failed runs just to get to the first ending.
Might I recommend the metroidvania, Phoenetopia Awakening? It’s an interesting Zelda twist on the good ol metroidvania formula!
I really thought this series was dead... I'm so happy is back!!!!!! =)
thx for the great vid nerrel
UrickSaladBar and Nerrel uploading in the same day!? AMAZING
I knew the cat was playing the whole time lol
Just beaten Blasphemous 4 times in a row. The free Stir of Dawn DLC and the "Penitences" (extra double-edged sword abilities) make you reconsider your strategies. Good fun, and a lot of the bugs have been fixed now with updates. I highly recommend it
Great video as always. Next Metroidvania I recommend is Dandara. It’s a Brazilian game based on a real revolutionary leader and the gameplay is completely different from most platforms. You can’t walk or run but you can jump around on certain platforms. I highly recommend it.