Quick Review: Panzer Paladin

Ooh, a throwback platformer with modern concepts! And it’s made in Quebec?? I got stars in my eyes here!

A creation of Tribute Games Inc. released on July 21st, 2020, Panzer Paladin is a throwback to the super-tough retro platformers of yore. In this futuristic world, we control Flame, a rescue android who pilots her friendly Paladin mech Grit. Things get strange when monsters from multiple mythologies descend onto Earth from an alien ship, carrying Spirit Weapons built from their Forge, forcing this duo into the battle of their synthetized lives.

Can't come close? Toss your weapon!

Flame pilots Grit most of the time, but she can jump out of or back into the mech whenever necessary, when you press E. You use the arrows to move, Z to jump, X to attack; you can also attack upwards (which grants a jump boost in midair) or downwards. When you press S, Grit backsteps, a move that also grants invincibility while it's being done. Grit also carries a shield that can deflect enemy attacks, when it stands or crouches.

Every level has a section where Grit is too large to pass, forcing Flame to go. She’s not defenseless; she carries a laser whip, a (weak) weapon that also lets her grab and swing on hooks. On her way, Flame can refill her mech’s HP by draining containers of orange liquid, always found in her segments, using the whip. Lastly, teleporters are used to bring Grit's body to her so she can climb back in.

Why yes, it IS an existing self-imposed challenge to beat
the game using only Flame, why do you ask?

And a dragon, too? Hell yeah, I'll slay this thing.

When an enemy is destroyed, it may drop a weapon that Grit can use. Weapons have a durability level, so they’ll break after a certain amount of hits on enemies. You’ll need new weapons regularly. All weapons also have a spell on them – you don’t get to use that spell (which can be an attack or defense boost, an HP heal, or stuff like gaining wings temporarily) unless you break the weapon yourself by holding down D. You can also lose a weapon by tossing it at an opponent for extra damage with A. You can only have four weapons on hand at a time, but you can access your inventory with Esc and change your loadout at any moment; after which, you can cycle between the four weapons with Q and W.

"Spirit Burden" is the total amount of Spirits in the weapons
you collected. At "Normal", you have empty screens at the
halfway point of each level; at "High", you fight a
mini-boss, always the same.

This game takes inspiration from many classics. I sense a Mega Man homage in there; past the tutorial stage (set in Canada), we can play the next 10 stages in any order. However, once they’re all beaten, we unlock the enemy base, a sequence of six stages in a specific order, very “Wily’s Fortress”-esque. Every boss beaten drops a special weapon with extra durability and a good spell. Bosses represent the location where they’re fought; Greece has Medusa, Russia has Baba Yaga, Egypt has Anubis, and so on.

Considering this is Greece, I wouldn't be surprised if that
floating blade was referencing the Sword of Damocles.

If there's a literal virus among these aliens, I'm ready.

The Story Mode is available in Classic and Remixed flavors, with the latter unlocked after beating the game once. The main menu includes a Speedrunning option, a Challenge section, and there’s a Tournament mode to compare your prowess to other players’. The best addition is the Blacksmith, where you can design your own weapons, drawing them with pixels and selecting their stats afterwards. Even better – the weapons created by other players may pop up as rewards after a mini-boss. I fought using a cow-shaped sword, another one had a Mario sprite on a stick. Yes, really.

Look on the left. I wasn't kidding when I said "a Mario
sprite on a stick". It's right there.

See, I did tell you that some weapons, when broken,
gave Grit wings!

Oh, I loved this one. The music is great, and the pixel art is gorgeous. That includes the sprite work during gameplay, but also the ultra-detailed backgrounds, cutscenes and portraits. The characters and scenes have that “80’s anime” vibe to them, very on-point. The game is tough, but overall fair; it’s hard while learning the ropes, but it gets easier once you’ve got all the mechanics down. As an example, once you learn that you can heal by breaking weapons, you keep a few in inventory just in case. And then, once you have the mechanics down, the Inverted Tower comes in with its six stages of intense platforming. It’s got the difficulty alright.

Trust me, 50 units really isn't much. But it does help.

A lot of people who say that the platforming in this game is cheap haven’t played a game that such a critique applies to. It’s tough, but not “the game is actively trying to piss the player off” tough. I’ve seen those, I’ve tried some, and Panzer Paladin is nowhere near that level. However, this game with so many interesting mechanics underutilizes one: The Laboratory, where you can increase Grit’s max HP by destroying many Spirit weapons. This stops at five upgrades; it would have been even better if this feature had allowed the player to sacrifice more weapons for additional upgrades, maybe to Grit’s base attack or speed (as the mech is rather slow), or maybe some very slight upgrades to Flame at a very high cost?

Very small issues aside, I fell in love with this one, I think it’s safely going to find its way among my Favorites at the end of the year. You should try it out if you like retro throwbacks! Panzer Paladin is available on Steam for 19.99$ USD.

Quick Review: Mirror's Edge

Run Faith Run!

Brace for landing.

Developed by DICE, published by Electronic Arts (should I be worried?) and released to Steam on January 13th, 2009, Mirror’s Edge is a first-person action/parkour game set on the rooftops of a cyberpunk dystopia. The brightest one I’ve ever seen! Faith belongs to a group of people known as the Runners, who spread information and fight the powers in place. Faith is tossed into a dangerous situation when her sister Kate, a “Blue” (read: A cop, Runners don’t usually like those), is framed for the murder of mayoral hopeful Robert Pope. Hoping to prove her sister’s innocence, Faith runs off with a paper found on the scene, not counting that this also paints her as a suspect. And the Blues have no intention of keeping her alive for questioning...

Late into the game, you start getting chased by unstoppable
parkour experts just like you.

This game feels like a culmination of several gaming experiences I’ve had in the past year. Gameplay is very parkour-heavy, featuring an agile, quick and resourceful protagonist, who can out-speed most threats before her. Controls reflect this, giving her a very wide array of moves that make the experience feel awesome. Jumping, drop-rolling, coiling up, crouching, sliding, climbing, wall-running/jumping, ziplining, and so much more. Any décor elements you can use to progress (jumping pads, planks, doors, pipes, gutters, etc.) turn red when you come close. It’s up to you to figure out your way around.

Yeah, better run in the opposite direction.

Better not get hit for a few seconds... easier said than done.

As for the Blues... You can beat up an enemy, steal their firearm, and do some shooter action if you want – but you’ll have to ditch the gun to resume parkouring. And enemies come in groups, so running is the better solution. Combat is avoidable, but you may have to defend yourself and kill. You don’t have a life bar; instead, colors drain out of the screen the weaker Faith gets. She heals by spending some time without getting hurt.

Now I'm armed! ...But I can't jump for crap.

Oh, and we ride a train at some point. That sequence ends
just close to a Final Destination death, I swear.

What sets this one apart from other parkour-heavy games? The first-person view. Seeing every movement, jump, cool action as if you were there, a sensation that no other game in this sub-genre has given me. (That, and vertigo.) It also means that when you lose, you feel it. The sound design will remind you of your mistake. Every time I caused Faith to fall from a rooftop... I’ll hear those crunches in my nightmares. Coupled to the amazing look of the city, the story and how it’s presented, the game feels very cinematic in execution. (Cutscenes between chapters switch to a 2D animation style.)

The idea is great and lends itself to a unique experience. The freedom of movement is excellent and the parkour is satisfying, the music is great, and the city is gorgeous. Okay, you mostly see rooftops, but every now and then we get variety, so that's cool. I'll say that I greatly enjoyed my experience, even going back to finish the game before posting this article.

Although, the first-person view has its flaws; among others, it often makes it difficult to judge jumps properly. How many times I died because I was just short of the other ledge... Another flaw is that the game is very trial-and-error; try until you succeed. At least it’s lenient with many checkpoints. The game is somewhat short, beatable in three hours, but it'll take much longer due to repeated attempts at finishing each mission (it took me seven), since it's so tough. This also makes the game, at the same time, very linear; you can’t really “explore” the rooftops, there’s usually a clear path from point A to point B and you don’t have much else in the way of options. The only noteworthy forks in the road are the side-quest of finding three suitcases hidden in every “level”. Parkour is so much stronger than the shooting segments, yet there's more of the latter near the end.

But yeah, all in all, I'd say it's worth your money. Mirror's Edge is available on Steam for 19.99$ USD. A (debated) sequel, Catalyst, was also released in 2016.

Quick Review: Little Kitty, Big City

*incomprehensible man-squee, something about cats I think?*

I swear, that intro is legit terrifying.

A creation of Double Dagger Studios released on May 9th, 2024, today’s game is one I had been eagerly waiting for. I had to play it as soon as it came out and add it to this year’s Quick Reviews rotation, I just had to. You play as a kitten who was lazing just outside the window of the high apartment it lives in, who falls down from its perch and makes a (thankfully) safe landing all the way down. From here on, your goal is obvious: Get back home!

...Easier said than done. Kitties don’t fly.

I wasn't flying, I was... uh... falling with style!

And there’s also that kitties get distracted with everything, are super-curious, and don’t have a sense of direction. However, this cat makes friends: First, a crow it latched on to during its fall, which is why it didn’t hurt itself too badly. The crow offers to help, but for that kitty should collect 25 Shinies and bring them back.

Ready for a loooong jump!

...Okay, lemme get the Charm, give me a couple hundred hours, I’ll be back with a couple Shinies and- Oh, not those? Phew! I wouldn’t have the patience. No, we’re talking about junk that can be found all over the place. The crow only asks for 25, and you can gather hundreds. When you fulfill the bird’s mission, your reward is a fish, which replenishes the kitten’s stomach and its climbing ability! From here on, the quest is to find three more fish dinners around town, granting enough energy to climb our way home.

The Ascension begins... but we're not ready yet.

"Ah, so that's how they film those movies mommy loves
to watch with the big lizard!"

...Again, easier said than done, because kitties have the attention span of a goldfish with ADHD. Other animals you can meet around town include a tanuki working on a teleportation system by sewer holes and a duck dad looking for his four ducklings. Main quest? What’s that? I have to retrieve the ducklings, find a chameleon eight times, catch many birds, rest in six perfect spots, rescue the neighbor dog’s three lost baseballs, pretend I’m Godzilla, recycle 100 cans, steal a phone and bring it to a flying scarab and-

What was I doing again?

Gotcha!

"Oh I just can't wait to be King!"

Oh right, I was collecting poses and hats. Side-quests lead to your kitten earning new poses. It meows when you press F, but if you hold down the key, a menu will appear with multiple poses. These are fun when you also use the camera (with C, obtainable after a quest) to take pictures of kitty! Oh, and that’s before you factor in the collectible hats to put on its adorbs noggin! There’s 42 of those, and while some can be found in hidden corners of town, others must be purchased from the crow, at vending machines, using Shinies.

Okay, time to go home now! ...No wait, I still have to-

Where do I store all those hats? Better not know.

You get the idea! I love this one. It’s charming and adorable and, well, everything you could expect from this idea. Kitty is energetic, characters are memorable, there’s a lot of fun details to look for. Even though the open world isn’t huge, there are many areas to check out and, as I pointed out, loads of activities and quests to tackle (though some are repetitive, like the “100 cans” mentioned earlier). Not to mention the secrets on rooftops once the Z axis becomes available to explore by climbing.

Kitty recycles, like a good kit-izen.

It's not lacking in stuff to do if you’re won over by the cuteness (and why wouldn’t you be? *more incomprehensible squeeing*), but if your only goal is to get back home, it won’t take all that long. It can be beaten in 2-3 hours, if you’re quick. Then more if you seek to get every achievement, on top of kitty’s to-do list. There’s a bit of jank here and there, though nothing I encountered was too disruptive.

Oh, I want to show so much more... Anyway, this game felt
like it could be "baby's first Open World", it has the
hallmarks with a tone and difficulty that's great for children.

Worth it. That’s all. Get it whenever you can.

Little Kitty, Big City is available on Steam for 19.99$ USD.

Quick Review: Last Word

Ooh, another RPG Maker game playing with expectations!

Looks like it's missing a room. Or twelve.

Made by Twelve Tiles, published by KOMODO and released on Steam on May 8th, 2015, Last Word combines a visual novel and an RPG. This story takes place long ago in the fictional country of St. Lauden. You play Mrs. Whitty Gawship, a photographer invited alongside several aristocrats to a manor owned by linguistics professor Chet Chatters. The man plans to unveil his newest invention, a one-way transmitter, and test it in the guests' presence. There are stories going around involving every person at the party, and it becomes your task to untangle these dynamics and figure out the greater picture, even if it means dueling every guest in heated debates. Needless to say, Chatters has an agenda of his own...

There's a reason that talk about most topics
is labeled "gossip" in the chat menu.

Whitty collects “topics of conversation” by talking to the guests, learning more about this world and the backstories. And it’s high society, so everyone’s life is messy, they’re just good at hiding it. The topics you discover “level up” as you find new twists, with each having thoughts about the development. The game plays with the arrows and Z, X and C; C is the action button, X is the Cancel button and game menu button. Z lets you open the “topics” menu and change Whitty’s subject of conversation. The same menu keeps track of progress at the latest level of a conversation, showing what you've discussed, with whom, at that level.

Talking is a free option. Discourse, however...

The sprites are colored silhouettes and everything happens in one place, giving the game a Clue-like feel. Discussing with guests on specific topics and interacting with décor elements can lead to “special events”. These grant Whitty extra “stored EXP”, the game’s currency, which can be spent at the house servant for new skills to use in “battle”, or on the cat first seen in the study for new topics and perks. The skills require “Bows” obtained by advancing the story and discovering secrets, though you can also buy some from the cat.

That cat’s really got everything.

Sometimes, it's best to save Tact. Other times...

Combat, AKA "Discourse", is a whole other ballgame. The conversation is displayed as a bar at the bottom of the screen, with a gauge at the center; if you push it all the way to the right, you win, but if the opponent pushes it all the way to the left, you lose. There are three types of arguments (Disruptive, Submissive and Aggressive), which come in three flavors (Subtle, Normal, Overt). A Disruptive argument gives Power, which is spent with a Submissive argument on the next turn to obtain Tact. Then, Tact is spent when delivering Aggressive statements, which push the meter a lot further towards the opponent’s end of the scale.

I'm beyond return? That's bad. And it's tough
to make a Colonel go uncivilized, too. OK,
let's do rock-paper-scissors, circle beats star...

Discourse is further influenced through a rock-paper-scissors element. Both characters have a Composure bar with six nodes. When a character uses an argument that wins the rock-paper-scissors game on what the opponent last said, the opponent loses a Composure point, which means they’re getting heated up. Aggressive statements made against someone who’s lost a lot of composure push the gauge even further towards their end.

At the end of a “Discourse”, you earn both EXP and Stored EXP. Levels determine the starting point of the Discourse; it’s closer to your end if your level is lower than the opponent's, and vice versa.

It’s a complicated system to figure out on your own. There are some early tutorials, but the system would have benefited from being explained in even greater depth. The Skills you can purchase with Stored EXP further alter the mechanics. Most characters have skills of their own, too...

The Seymore Discourses function more like
puzzles within the game's combat system than
"battles" proper, and some are TOUGH!

Of course an elderly judge would have a lot of
experience Discoursing. Boasting (yes, that's his
name) won't accept a Discourse with you
until you're around Level 25. Quite a ways in!

I’ll always applaud RPG Maker games that do something new with the software; this one ups the ante by being something I’ve never seen before, period. The visual novel aspect is great on its own, its only weakness being that all characters have only one pose and expression. An engaging story, lots of worldbuilding, clever twists, and enough information to let you solve the mystery by yourself. Discourse is one of the most unique "combat" ideas I’ve ever seen, with surprising depth and complexity. The game also includes a few side-quests to look for, such as challenge battles involving the shy Master Seymore, who got to the manor at the same time as Whitty.

Although, it’s not perfect; come Chapter 5, level and money grinding becomes necessary, and though it encourages looking for more secrets, it stops everything in its tracks. Although I learned to appreciate them, both systems aren’t intuitive; it takes a moment to figure out how to switch between topics of gossip, and Discourse still feels difficult to grasp even once you think you understand it all. It takes a lot of getting used to, but it's worth it in the end.

Yeah, you should give this unambiguously unique experience a try!

Last Word is available on Steam for 9.99$ USD.

Quick Review: KilaFlow (Demo)

Kila: Cyberspace explorer. Antivirus. Sometimes, gymnast.

I don’t usually review demos on Steam, because there would be way too much to cover (and my backlog’s already massive enough as is!), but this once, I’m going to make an exception. Why? Today’s game had a successful Kickstarter campaign that I donated to, and I know its creator, so this is my way of giving it a little bit more visibility.

KilaFlow is a creation of Mason “Chaoko” Hardison. When I backed the Kickstarter, the game’s release window was estimated to be at the end of 2024, but it has been pushed forward to early 2025, as the stretch goal reached includes the addition of two extra worlds. Greater beta testing for backers is also being rolled out.

Gotta pose for the picture every time you hit an enemy
you've already debugged. "Cheese!"

What is KilaFlow about? It’s Kila, a cat-shaped, CRT-screen-headed antivirus program. The software jumps through levels filled with orange-colored enemies, indicating that they’ve been corrupted by a virus. When bounced on or touched by Kila when it spins or runs very fast, those enemies turn blue, indicating that they’ve been "cured". And you’re playing an antivirus, so it should be your focus, right? Kila is aided by TippClip, a personal assistant who’s a few branches off in Clippy’s family tree; it will provide helpful advice, but it will react if you annoy it.

High-flying! Wheeeee!

KilaFlow features extra platforming mechanics that you’ll need to master early on if you want to do the job properly. (The page recommends you play with a controller, but all I have is the keyboard, so:) Kila moves with WASD and jumps with Space. Press the Left-click button to bounce, sending Kila downwards so it can jump back up, or press the Right-click to spin, which can be done both on the ground and in midair.

-Vaporwave intensifies-

On the ground, spinning causes Kila to shift “gears”; it starts at 0, “Bit”, and goes up to 1, “Byte”, then to 2, “Kilo”, the fastest. 0 is slow but good for precise platforming, 1 is the right balance, 2 is very fast but difficult to control. However, keeping Kila’s higher speeds is tricky, as it will go down a gear if it stops moving or slows down.

This entire set of abilities also comes with a few bonus skills. Spinning lets Kila stay in midair longer. You can Bounce while holding down the Spin button to jump even higher from a bounce. Even better, with Flowbouncing, you can Spin right after bouncing off something to reach even greater heights.

Starting in World 1, the game even toys with perspective!

Provirus? ...Well, if the antivirus gig doesn't work out,
Kilo's still got a future in personal training.

The Tutorial, World 0, teaches you the basics and tricks, and ends on a boss battle. The Demo also includes World 1, a bonus level, and a boss battle. The main goal is to get to the end, but there are many additional challenges. If you cure every enemy in the level, you get an Antivirus award; if you reach the end without getting hurt once, you get the Efficient award; if you reach the end really fast, the key you get at the end of the level will be silver or gold-colored instead! Or you can do the opposite and reach the end without curing even a single enemy, which grants the Provirus award, which also comes with its own silver and gold times, so that’s even more stuff to hunt for.

Oh, and did I mention the alternate costumes? So many alternate looks for Kila, you wouldn’t believe.

If Kila is the Sonic, that's the Shadow.

It knows how to be cute. Kila, I mean. But the robo-dog too.

Completionists will have their work cut out for them. With all the options it offers, I bet speedrunners will have a field day with this one. You can tell there’s a fair bit of inspiration from platforming classics, be it Sonic or Crash Bandicoot. The original plan was for eight worlds, but the stretch goal for two more was reached. Levels are mostly short and quick, but the game gets challenging fast even if you’re not looking for every award. Kila has 4 HP, but I haven't seen any healing items and I don't think there's much in the way of mercy invincibility, so the test of skill is real, especially if you're hunting those Efficient awards. It’s not an easy game to learn, and it’s even more difficult to master.

Keep an eye on this one. I do look forward to the final product. And in the meantime, I can say I’ve done my part to spread the word!

Quick Review: Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora

When your previous job doesn’t work out, career redirection is a-okay.

We're here to investigate! P.S. Your guard
on ground floor is a jerk.

Made by Glass Bottom Games and released on February 20th, 2015 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora is a sequel to their previous game, Jones on Fire, reviewed here last year. We have a complete shift in genre, the total opposite of the endless runner the previous entry was. We follow Emma Jones again, and after the Firestorm that she rescued so many cats from, society has retrieved a semblance of normalcy. Even if it meant rebuilding over the charred remains of the previous world. Since firefighting isn’t so necessary now, Jones became a private investigator, helped by the fedora-wearing cat Francine (Franky).

We have here an odd combo of genres. At first, we could think this game is a platformer, due to how Jones plays; but it's more of a Metroidvania. We also have an aspect of an adventure game, as we interrogate suspects, pick up clues, and present those clues to relevant people. Our first investigation involves the robbery of a will at the Ossified Egg. Tied to this is the discovery of a dead body at the Slice of Pi eatery. Then there’s the mystery of Franky’s past, which she’s not interested in sharing.

Nifty platforming, but there's a lot of places where Franky
struggles to follow Jones around.

Jones wields her weapon of choice, the “Wobbly MK 2/3”, which adapts to weird ammo. None of her bullets can kill, but all come with special effects. The starter ones can just destroy stuff like boxes. Then, as we progress, we find: Bubbles that reveal hidden things; bullets that turn this gun into a grapple hook; fire bullets that destroy some items and light up areas; knockback rounds, which can push heavy items or send Jones upwards; and gumdrops that explode when lit up (don’t ask).

This thing comes in bullet form now? I'm struggling to
"grapple" with the concept.

This dungeon, even lower than the underground, is packed
with nuclear toxic vines that trap you in place.
That's good, I was feeling too safe from radiation lately.

We visit three “dungeons” with platforming puzzles to solve and discover these weapons, allowing Jones and Franky to explore more areas. The dungeons can be tricky to explore; several rooms force you to use your tools to the maximum. Our goal is still to figure out the means, motive and opportunity of each crime, which allows us to ask our Chief for search warrants to get into places we can’t enter otherwise (or can, if we figure out an alternate path), or arrest warrants once we’ve figured out the culprits.

It's also a good idea to read the clues you've found, as
they update as you find information.

Featuring box-shaped people and both cats and rodents that talk a lot (and love to snark), the tone of the game is somewhere between classic noir and referential, parodic self-awareness. Lots of comedic moments. Either way, expect unexpected twists. I’ll fully admit that I wasn’t feeling much at first, but the plot eventually won me over. There’s a decent amount of challenge here, and in true Metroidvania fashion, we need to revisit past areas to find more secrets and get the best ending; but also, the multiple endings all have achievements attached to them, encouraging one to replay the game to get the others.

The camera angles I discuss in the next paragraph. Goes from
a 2D moving one axis, to 2D moving another axis. The idea,
while fine, leads to risks of getting stuck as the camera
won't work anymore if you activate some specific stuff
while in that view.

That big-ass castle in the Dump? I tried everything. You
can't go in it. Come on, you put something that large in a
significant area of the game, and there's no way to enter?
We also never find the perfect gift for our girlfriend working
at Slice of Pi, nor can we ever discover the Chief's
true name. Pieces are missing!!

I don’t have a lot of critiques to make, really; due to its odd 2D side-scrolling system applied to a 3D layout, venturing the world is confusing at first, in part as it achieves such a thing by playing with camera angles. It takes some getting used to. Once or twice, I activated something mid-camera swap, got stuck, and had to close the game from Steam and resume from a save point (which are bathrooms). Not the only glitch, but others were just minor stuff. You can manually reload the gun on a screen that opens when you press R, which also allows you to switch between ammo – but in that case, you also need to reload the gun yourself, which gets tedious at the end when you swap regularly between the various types of ammo to solve puzzles. You can also hold down R to reload instantly, but there’s still no quick way to swap between ammo types. There’s a bit of leniency in difficulty as there are ways to get advice as to where to go next, when stuck. To top it off, there are plot threads still unsolvable due to hopes of these elements being added later, which hasn’t been done.

Overall, a decent idea and combo of genres, I had a good time, but it’s very much unpolished and could have spent a bit more time being tested and improved. Still, it’s fine, so if you’re looking for something unusual, it might be up your alley.

Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora is available on Steam for 14.99$ USD.