I don't have much to say about the last 3 games I finished, so I'll review them all in a single post
Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a Nightdive remaster of the classic Apoogee shooter. I never played it before so it was a completely fresh experience for me. I absolutely enjoyed it but while I liked it it's hard to not see it as a half step between Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, which makes sense considering the game's history. The problem is the original game came out in 1995, so Doom was already out by more than a year, and while the ROTT additions to the Wolf engine elevate the title compared to it's "predecessor", the blocky map design, the excessive amount of humanoid hitscanner enemies and the eventual frequent texture reuse unfortunately make this game pale in comparison to other FPSs of the period
But again, this did not lower my enjoyment of the title. The additional gimmicks and the GADS make every level feel like an actual "dungeon" with traps, hidden doors, secrets and items to find, the exploration is just as important as the shooting. And boy the game oozes "fun" at every corner. You can tell people loved making and designing it. It truly feels like a product made by Developers of Incredible Power
It's hard to review free games. After all it's like there is no money to waste so I'll just write a few lines. Gun Godz is a free "Wolf 3D" inspired game by Vlambeer of Nuclear Throne fame. 12 levels (+ 4 secret ones) across 4 short episodes. The stages are short and intentionally more focused on "challenges". The player is expected to finish the stages below a certain "PAR time" while killing all enemies and grabbing all items in a level, completing one of these 3 challenges awards a golden triangle which basically represent some sort of "completition percentage" (all 3 triangles require clearing all 3 challenges at the same time). So stages are intentionally more linear and without major secrets (outside of the secret level unlocks hidden behind fake walls)
While the game is simple it has a distinct art style and a unique sounding soundtrack. A nonsense game, with a nonsense story, and a nonsense soundtrack, where you shoot at nonsense enemies. What more do you need?
There is a common, and annoying, misconception I often see online. "Japanese people don't like FPS games because it makes them sick/they're disorienting/gives them headaches" and the usual anti asian bullshit you could read everywhere not even 10 years ago. Well, of course a simple look at the japanese doom modding scene would be enough to prove these things wrong (or you know, look at how big Apex is there), but instead let's focus on this little and short wolf 3D inspired shooter by JP developer Crush-vadin: カルトに厳しいギャル-CULT VS GAL-. Graphically it's both uninpressive (one, 1, una single texture used in all walls of a level with a completely flat floor too) and well made (the actual character sprites are well designed, albeit low on the resolution side). Soundtrack and sound effects are nice, level design is simple but the rooms fit the enemy encounters well. 16 levels + 2 secret stages (which include references to other JP indies developers/youtubers the developer is friends with) divided by 4 episodes (all titled with the familiar E*M* naming scheme). The main gameplay gimmick is a short range sword attack which instakills/decapitates the generic cultists enemies and cases the gal protagonist to flip the bird at the other enemies while having super armor during the "flipping" animation which seems to favor an aggressive playstyle while you shoot and sprint everywhere
Honestly, the title screen is enough to tell you everything about this game. What more can you add? The game is short and simple, but it's also cheap (and often on sale), has its own unique style, and for some reason has an actual story (nothing special but it's still a real story) told during the levels. It's weird, but it's exactly the type of "japanese weird" that makes it unique
Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a Nightdive remaster of the classic Apoogee shooter. I never played it before so it was a completely fresh experience for me. I absolutely enjoyed it but while I liked it it's hard to not see it as a half step between Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, which makes sense considering the game's history. The problem is the original game came out in 1995, so Doom was already out by more than a year, and while the ROTT additions to the Wolf engine elevate the title compared to it's "predecessor", the blocky map design, the excessive amount of humanoid hitscanner enemies and the eventual frequent texture reuse unfortunately make this game pale in comparison to other FPSs of the period
But again, this did not lower my enjoyment of the title. The additional gimmicks and the GADS make every level feel like an actual "dungeon" with traps, hidden doors, secrets and items to find, the exploration is just as important as the shooting. And boy the game oozes "fun" at every corner. You can tell people loved making and designing it. It truly feels like a product made by Developers of Incredible Power
It's hard to review free games. After all it's like there is no money to waste so I'll just write a few lines. Gun Godz is a free "Wolf 3D" inspired game by Vlambeer of Nuclear Throne fame. 12 levels (+ 4 secret ones) across 4 short episodes. The stages are short and intentionally more focused on "challenges". The player is expected to finish the stages below a certain "PAR time" while killing all enemies and grabbing all items in a level, completing one of these 3 challenges awards a golden triangle which basically represent some sort of "completition percentage" (all 3 triangles require clearing all 3 challenges at the same time). So stages are intentionally more linear and without major secrets (outside of the secret level unlocks hidden behind fake walls)
While the game is simple it has a distinct art style and a unique sounding soundtrack. A nonsense game, with a nonsense story, and a nonsense soundtrack, where you shoot at nonsense enemies. What more do you need?
There is a common, and annoying, misconception I often see online. "Japanese people don't like FPS games because it makes them sick/they're disorienting/gives them headaches" and the usual anti asian bullshit you could read everywhere not even 10 years ago. Well, of course a simple look at the japanese doom modding scene would be enough to prove these things wrong (or you know, look at how big Apex is there), but instead let's focus on this little and short wolf 3D inspired shooter by JP developer Crush-vadin: カルトに厳しいギャル-CULT VS GAL-. Graphically it's both uninpressive (one, 1, una single texture used in all walls of a level with a completely flat floor too) and well made (the actual character sprites are well designed, albeit low on the resolution side). Soundtrack and sound effects are nice, level design is simple but the rooms fit the enemy encounters well. 16 levels + 2 secret stages (which include references to other JP indies developers/youtubers the developer is friends with) divided by 4 episodes (all titled with the familiar E*M* naming scheme). The main gameplay gimmick is a short range sword attack which instakills/decapitates the generic cultists enemies and cases the gal protagonist to flip the bird at the other enemies while having super armor during the "flipping" animation which seems to favor an aggressive playstyle while you shoot and sprint everywhere
Honestly, the title screen is enough to tell you everything about this game. What more can you add? The game is short and simple, but it's also cheap (and often on sale), has its own unique style, and for some reason has an actual story (nothing special but it's still a real story) told during the levels. It's weird, but it's exactly the type of "japanese weird" that makes it unique
Gawr Gura: Quest for Bread 
★★★☆☆ 
3h36m
Denshattack! 
Internet Survivor Survivors 
Kotamon 
Beast of Reincarnation