52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

[bikingjahuty]

Well that's a 52 Games Challenge first for me; I forgot to include a game I beat and write a mini-review on it. Well here it is lol.


31. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)

Not having an NES growing up, I was forced to play Nintendo's first console at friends' and relatives' houses as a kid, however two of my favorite games to play that seemingly every person I knew with an NES had was TMNT2 and TMNT3. For whatever reason, I remember playing TMNT3 way more than the second game, so it certainly had more of a sentimental feeling about it than the much more loved second game.


As a pretty old beat em up, TMNT3 is a pretty good time overall despite suffering from an issue that most other beat em ups have, especially from around that time period. The game is incredibly monotonous with its two button control scheme and essentially killing the same enemy types with slight variations over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. The bosses are definitely a step up over the second game in my opinion, and given when the game came out this almost feels like an NES port of Turtles in Time in some ways. Still, saying TMNT 3 and Turtles in Time are comparable outside of licensing is doing Turtles in Time a huge disservice. The music is pretty catchy in this game, and I thought the levels and cutscenes were also pretty cool. Still, the game just cannot escape the tedium of its genre no matter how much I enjoy beat em ups, and just feels like it drags on forever. There are also some incredibly annoying sections, bosses, and enemies at certain parts that also had me rolling my eyes more than once. Overall though, this game is still fun to play once in a while, if nothing else than to remind me how much I loved the Turtles back in the day and made me wish I had an NES growing up. (6/20/24) [30/50]

[kashell]

49. Robotron 2084

While driving home from the in-laws, we stopped at a rest area just outside Atlanta. Across the street was a Pizza Hut that had an arcade cab of Robotron 2084. I had to play it. I haven't played it in years. So, while the hubs ordered and tended to our pup, I was playing the robo-hell outta this one. I worked up a sweat moving those joysticks, so I counted it as my workout for the day. It was a good way to end a rather blah July 4th weekend.

[bikingjahuty]

49. Robotron 2084

While driving home from the in-laws, we stopped at a rest area just outside Atlanta. Across the street was a Pizza Hut that had an arcade cab of Robotron 2084. I had to play it. I haven't played it in years. So, while the hubs ordered and tended to our pup, I was playing the robo-hell outta this one. I worked up a sweat moving those joysticks, so I counted it as my workout for the day. It was a good way to end a rather blah July 4th weekend.

Some of the few remaining Pizza Hut sit down restaurants that still remain are typically time capsules. I went to one about 5 years ago that looked the same as it probably did in 1985. Unfortunately the one I went to didn't have any arcades, but it still had the little area where they likely once did. It was mostly a bunch of capsule toy and sticker machines in that spot. Still, it was a really cool experience knowing they never tried to modernize their restaurants; you can essentially pretend its the 80s or 90s if you visit one :p

[telekill]

13. Tomb Raider Underworld (PS2)



Ok... I ended up picking up the PS2 version of the game as I no longer have my PS3 and this game isn't available on modern or even last gen systems. I remember playing and enjoying the PS3 game a heck of a lot more than this "replay" of the PS2 version. Did some searching and apparently the PS2 version has severely cut content, not just in textures but also animations and portions of levels. It was also released 5 months after the other versions so that the developer could demake the game well enough to make it playable. Sadly... it's just passable.

Lara was often not responding to commands which I felt was odd as I had just replayed the PS2 game, Legend, without any problems. I wasn't upset about the lack of graphical quality because I was playing it on the PS2. I'm not expecting HD textures or anything. That said, the game felt hollow in comparison to what I recall the PS3 game feeling and definitely hollow in comparison to Legend. Most the puzzles had the lock and then the puzzle or key item a stone's throw away giving little to no challenge to the puzzles. Corridors in nearly every level were overly long and there was often a push to have her ride her motorcycle in order to pass areas.

Another oddity was the transitions from one section in a level to another. It was so bad that it was jarring at times. You would get to watch a cutscene and Lara would end up nowhere near where the cutscene left her off at, even if she was supposed to be in the same room. In the PS3 game, one of the first levels has you dive off your boat and swim about 250 feet down to where you're supposed to explore. In the PS2 version, you auto-start at the bottom and are not able to surface.

The hardest part of the game was judging where Lara would land when you made a jump and often, there was no way to know as the game would attempt to auto correct at times, making her blink from one space to the next. I took it as a feature instead of a bug.

The one thing that remained mostly consistent to the PS3 version was the story, which was the reason I replayed it after Legend to begin with. Glad I got this for cheap because had I bought this in early 2009 when it released for $50, I'd have been pretty mad. Putting the PS2 specific version of this game only a hair's breadth above the PS2's TR Angel of Darkness, which I consider the worst in the series due to controls, gameplay mechanics, level design and the horrible amount of glitches.

Glad it's over.

[realpoketendonl]

20. Sonic Colours [Wii]

Widely considered one of the best 3D Sonic games from what I've heard. I've had this game for years, played like an hour of it years ago, but finally did a full playthrough now. Of the original Wii version, not the disastrous re-release.

I enjoyed my time with it! Admittedly though, I only genuinely got into it towards the back half of the game (not counting some bad levels in that half). It just took me a good while before the game clicked with me I guess. I feel like some of its timing is off  and odd compared to other games in general, and I had to adjust. On top of that, I ironically started enjoying it more once I stopped trying to rush through levels and took my time more instead.

I don't know what it is. I really like the Sonic characters and their vibes, but for some reason I just always have a tough time clicking with the Sonic games. Old or new. This game too. There's a lot that's great about it. The music is fantastic (Reach For The Stars, Aquarium Park Act 1 and Planet Wisp Act 1 slay hard). The visuals can be stunning at times. I feel like they're being held back by, ironically, the muted colour scheme, because with brighter colours this could be one of the most visually impressive games on the system. I tend to really enjoy the Sonic characters (though I gotta admit I didn't like the overly childish humour and dialogue in this game). And I think the setting of an interstellar amusement park is brilliant. But for some reason the gameplay just doesn't click with me. I don't know. If you like Sonic and enjoyed games like Generations I'd say it's worth checking out. Just because I don't click with a game doesn't mean its bad. But while I'm glad to have finished it, I don't see myself picking it back up anytime soon.

[kashell]

50. Mega Man 5

I needed a quick break from my current RPG. And what better way to do so than with my home-boy, Mega Man? I think this is the Mega Man I've played the least number of times. It's either this, 4, or 7. Either way, it was fun to revisit this (and abusive the hell out of save states) because the controls are still tight, the music still hits, and it was fun seeing the new look of the charged Mega Buster. I kind of want to play one of my favorites such as 3 or 8, but SMTV:V continues to pull me in.

[dhaabi]

28. Beautiful Katamari || Xbox 360 || 07.10.24



Having owned Beautiful Katamari for a decade now and even having the capability to play it for a few years at this point, it was never a game I had played despite being a fan of the series. But, after recently acquiring an Xbox One X for free, I decided that was going to change as this circumstance seemed like the best time for me to try out the system.

In truth, there has been little evolution within the series in its twenty years, meaning every entry adopts the same basic action-puzzle gameplay model. Despite this, the Katamari franchise has grown in popularity to the point where most would recognize it on some level even without having played an entry, although some may still be unfamiliar with what sort of qualities the series has. For the unaware, each game has players roll a the titular katamari, a round ball of varying size, with the goal of rolling up just about anything and everything the player can imagine to enlarge it. Built with layers upon layers of scattered junk that's littered about a bustling world that's soon wreaked havoc upon, the katamari can consume every item that's modeled in the game. Over time, players will advance from one size increment to the next which grants the ability to explore other locations. At first, players begin small and with complementing small goals, slowly increasing in size to enable them to move from one room to the next. But, not long after, goals to complete become so grand in scale and are, quite literally, out-of-this-world.

Generally, stage goals directly relate to the katamari's size, but this isn't always the only objective to clear. In addition to size, players are also regularly tasked to roll up specific kinds of items such as plants or playthings. This sort of additional challenge is not new to the series, but I remember it being introduced considerably later in other entries, whereas it's introduced in Beautiful Katamari in the second stage. While playing, I thought about this decision from a new player's perspective, and it seemed as if the focus this early on should still be on growing acquainted with the controls while simply collecting any items in a player's path to reach the size requirement. Nevertheless, the stages which do task players to collect certain item types feel, at times, obscured, as the scoring system isn't explained at all while, at the same time, not even a basic counter to tally relevant item total is present.

Once the game's progressed some to the point which players are tasked to reach around 5m in diameter, the rush of excitement in trying to absorb anything in sight which looks like a target—and often succeeding without fail—is almost constant. If able to complete a stage with a perfect score, players are rewarded with the ability to play again without a time limit. While that chaotic elation is still present to a degree, I find myself instead much more relaxed, as all the time is now available to carefully and methodically trod across environments while hoping to collect new items and reach new heights.

Across the game's campaign, players may find themselves failing, which I did once. And, even when completing the stage's requirement, the game is not afraid to convey how unimpressive scores may be and even ridicule them. Despite how dismissive the game's tone often is, this is by no means a critique, as it's upsetting in a humorous way which succeeds in making players feel compelled to do better. Throughout subsequent stage attempts, I noticed that players do not always spawn in the same starting location. While I can't say for certain previous games employed this detail, I found it to be effective, as players are forced to discover the optimal path to capitalize on their limited time. Conversely, something else worth mentioning is that the katamari players have last built will always replace the previous one, even when its score is lower. Furthermore, there is no means to view past scores, despite there to be what seems an option to do so. Also, I will briefly mention that this entry is the first to introduce DLC. Ultimately, this inclusion is displeasing, as even stages themselves are behind a paywall.

Alongside the actual stages, players will also navigate a hub world of sorts which I have divided opinions about. Foremost, traveling across it to accomplish any action is slow, and selecting a different player-character is a cumbersome process as they freely move about. Several times, the game doesn't always show or announce where a new stage appears, or if it appears at all. Should players want to play an assortment of stages consecutively, there is no convenient means to do so. Some sort of level select menu would mitigate this issue, but it's obvious that this mechanic would trivialize the casual sense of exploration that's ultimately present. However, one aspect which irritates me is that there is no menu or accessible means to view a summary of stage scores and key item collectibles which are still missing. Instead, players are forced to travel from one stage to the next to receive such information. Despite these issues, the interactivity the hub world offers is fun and definitely maintains the game's charm.

Overall, Beautiful Katamari introduces little that's new or changed, but I think that's generally fine. Unlike other entries, Beautiful Katamari offers a much straightforward gameplay progression, meaning unique stages which other games are known to have are almost entirely lacking. There are arguments for how this may be good or bad, but I think a repercussion to consider because of it is that the game's personality diminishes some. While my time playing was exclusive to the game's single-player mode, my understanding is that its multiplayer modes, both local and online, are quite successful, with the latter supporting four players and a variety of mini-games. In the end, I was always going to love my time playing a new Katamari game should the core mechanics still exist.

[kashell]

51. Kirby Star Stacker

I can't believe that I took so long to play anything related to Kirby this year. Once again, I needed something quick. I didn't want to replay one of Kirby's recent adventures. I didn't want to play the original Dream Land, either. So, I figured a few levels of a puzzle game would do nicely. Star Stacker is one of those hidden gems of a puzzle game that follows the age old trend of easy to learn yet hard to master. I played it on my GBA SP so seeing a black and white game was a bit jarring at first. It was fun for what it was, but I'm going to try to get a more proper Kirby game in the books this year.

[realpoketendonl]

21. Project Rub

A launch title for the DS, also known as Feel the Magic: XY/XX in the US, which I refuse to call it because that sounds even sleazier than "Project Rub" does. I've always been curious about what the heck this game is. In case you don't know it, here's the box art:



And while that cover art is attention-grabbing enough, what stood out to me even more was that this was published by Sega and even developed by Sonic Team, of all people. So yeah, I had to try it.

I went in with zero knowledge about this game, apart from the box art you see here. I was expecting some sleazy game where you use the touch screen to massage women or something. Imagine my surprise when I found a minigame collection that's actually rather charming. You play as a guy who has a crush on a woman and wants to impress her. He does so by joining an eccentric street performance group, who do wacky over-the-top-stuff in wacky ways. You, of course, partake in the activities via minigames.

The minigames are actually pretty good! There's a good amount of them, and each one feels unique. Combined with the wacky tone, it actually reminded me a lot of WarioWare, if the microgames were a little longer and expanded on a tiny bit. You play the majority of them with the touch screen, and a couple with the microphone (this is a DS launch title after all).

The touch screen games worked flawlessly. The games are quick and snappy, and while none are very deep, some can get pretty engaging. The microphone ones became a bit of an issue though, because today I was playing on a train, which meant I obviously couldn't be loud and the microphone got confused from the constant noise the train was making. I ended up cheating it a bit by using the microphone in my headphone wires (which yes, does work on the DS), and blowing softly into that, which did work, but still tired me out a bit because my lungs can't deal with extended air blowing like that super well. The touch screen games were usually great fun though, which makes up for a lot.

The minigames are backed up by the plot, which are told through little comics with goofy sound effects. The game has quite a fun style, with faceless characters surrounded by bright colours getting into ridiculous situations, and working their way out of them in weird ways. I love how the men of the street performance group shout "Rub it!" to kick off every minigame, accompanied by the chorus in the soundtrack going "dahdahdahdahdahdahdahdah". Apparently one of the creators of this game previously worked on Space Channel 5, and its influence really shows.

This game is a silly, goofy, fun time! It's like a WarioWare with a more adult target audience. If anything I don't understand why they went with this title and this box art. I mean, I do, of course, but I honestly find it pretty misleading, and I think the game may get unfairly overlooked because of it. There is only one minigame which I'd say somewhat matches the box art, and even then it's fairly tame. The rest of it is just goofy slapstick, or on occasion even a little bit wholesome. Either that or I'm just completely oblivious to 2005 sexual innuendos, who knows.

I highly recommend you give this one a shot! One tip though: play on a non-XL DS model. These minigames were designed with the original DS's screen size in mind, and some minigames require you to swip across the whole screen very quickly. When I switched from my New 3DS XL to my old DSi, some minigames got significantly easier.

[kashell]

52. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

It feels correct that I hit the 52nd game with such an epic RPG. I finally made it to the end after nearly 90 hours on the Canon of Vengeance route. Other than some navigation issues in the Taito and Shinjuku areas, this game was miles ahead of the original - which was a great game in its own right. The new content makes it feel like two-games-in-one. No matter which path is taken, there are tons of new demons, great QoL improvements, different language options, and probably more things I'm not thinking of. I'm really excited to get a review going for this game. Between this and Unicorn Overlord, I'm going to have a hard time picking a favorite new release of the year.

[telly]

Game 13 - Tunic (Switch) - 21 Hours

Heavy spoilers ahead! Truly, if you have any interest in playing this game, I would take a look at a spoiler-free review first.

Difficulty in video games can come across in a couple different flavors. One is through the gameplay, and the other comes from puzzles, problem solving, or just figuring out where to go. On the surface, Tunic looks relatively superficial, but in fact this game is very hardcore both in terms of combat and puzzle difficulty. My review of this game is going to primarily focused on the difficulty level and how it related to my experience playing.

But first, I want to talk about of my less complicated thoughts. The game is absolutely gorgeous, and I loved the use of isometric 3D environments and the way they are used to hide passageways and secrets, adding a unique puzzle-solving layer. There are in fact very few physical barriers to your progression, it's only based on your knowledge that you've accumulated through experimentation or reading the manual. Dovetailing with this is the use of a detailed manual which you collect pages for over the course of the game. Although written almost entirely in another language, this manual provides you with (for the most part) all the controls, maps, story, lore and worldbuilding you will ever need. This is the main selling point of Tunic, and I absolutely loved it. It gives the game a palpable air of mystery, and creates the perfect environment for organic puzzle solving that rides the line perfectly between giving you all the necessary information you need to play without telling you directly. It ties in beautifully with a complex story that feels very much inspired by the likes of Dark Souls. The music is masterful and perfectly encapsulates the soul of exploring a ruined world where mysteries abound at every turn. It's just a very well-designed game that's polished to a mirror sheen. The only gameplay issues I had was a bit of slowdown when things got busy with enemies.

I had two different experiences trying to obtain both endings in the game. Ending A I found to be an absolute joy to play. I had a read a lot of people were having trouble with the game's difficulty but I rarely had any problems with the combat and didn't need to look up any of the puzzle solutions online to achieve the first ending. The only segment that was really challenging was the boss rush at the bottom of the Cathedral.

Ending B was where my experience playing took on a slightly different tune. At first, it felt like the first ending. Figuring out that each page of the manual holds larger secrets under the surface was an absolutely joy to uncover and I felt like a complete genius. The final Golden Path puzzle I solved mostly on my own which was one of the best feelings I've ever had playing a  game. However, this is where the manual starts withholding some of the information from the player, and some of the details I did need to look up. I despise not knowing what to do in a game, and this feeling definitely crept in during the final few hours I was playing. Particularly that cross-dashes in the Golden Path mean you hit that directional button on the d-pad twice, and the flowers/candles/tiles trick for getting some of the fairies. I do not believe this information is presented in the game and I reviewed the entire translated manual and all the dialogue from the ghost foxes.

If you're interested in playing Tunic, I would encourage you to think about your personal tolerance level for difficulty. This game may be an experience that you find very engaging and rewarding, and at the same time it drive you absolutely crazy and I wouldn't fault you if you felt that way. Few games that I've played have really set me back and think about my experiences and tastes as a gamer quite like Tunic has. At least it's been a very long time. I think overall this game is phenomenal, and might be my favorite game that I've played this year, despite my qualms with how the game's end stage content is presented. An absolute gem of an experience.

[kashell]

53. Slave Zero X

All that stuff I said about the game being awesome in the playthrough topic? Forget I wrote that. After my last post about the game, the gameplay took such a massive plummet it made my head spin. This was the WORST game I've played this year. Review below. If I recommended the game to you, then ignore said recommendation. Save your money and time and sanity.

http://kashelltriumph.com/slave-zero-x/

[kamikazekeeg]

Marvel Rivals - (PC 2024) - PLAYING[/b] - Put a couple hours into the new playtest and gotta say, it's pretty solid.  I haven't really played one of these hero shooter games like this since Overwatch, back when there was 2 tanks, which shows how long ago that was lol Marvel Rivals is just straight up the same exact sorta game, but I think it does a lot of fun stuff to set itself apart. 

The art style is gorgeous, stylized without going too far, great designs, a nice clean polish to everything, a lot of the UI is just flexing it's quality.  Gameplay is all that you expect, though it doesn't seem as strict about the class setup as I think Overwatch is now, like you can have 2 tank types if you can make it work.  A neat feature that I'm curious if it'll be a restrictive idea later on as people figure out everything, but Team Abilities is a cool gimmick where if you pick a character, someone can pick a certain character that compliments that one, and doing that gives the pairing (Or in the case of Peni, Venom, Spider-Man, a triple), and get a special ability.  It's a neat idea to try and get characters to pair up abit.

Character wise there's a cool spread, I like that while they have a lot of what you'd expect, there's others they chose clearly for kind of a different playstyle, like instead of getting Wolverine out in the first go, there's Magik for her melee action.  I think I've figured out almost a full spread of characters I like for most positions, I can't say I like flying characters a ton, they are so slow, but currently it's Punisher for his damage dealing, great on defense modes, can switch to close or long range, functionally the Soldier 76 of the group.  Magik is my melee, she's straightforward with her gimmick being a short range teleport that allows her to do different strikes, it felt good getting in with her compared to like Spider-Man or Black Panther.  My healer is Luna Snow, she's an original character for the game I think, but she reminds me of Zenyatta, long range attacks, almost a similar fire rate, but she has to direct fire heal, thoughc an off-side heal with a guard ability to.

Haven't worked out a tank yet, only played Hulk which I was abit mixed on, but I'll have to spend time on that.

Overall, maybe just because it's a new game, but I feel like the game is trying to be less sweaty than Overwatch, which is a positive.  Game is nice.  As long as it doesn't turn out to be egregious like Overwatch is with its microtransaction stuff, it could be a good time.

((EDIT)) Not counting this one as even though I put like 15 hours into it, it's not released, so not gonna count it.

[dhaabi]

29. Star Sled || Playdate || 07.18.24



Wanting to space out my time using the Playdate, I hadn't used it in about six months which felt like a sizable break. So, as travel plans approached, I knew I'd be holding onto the handheld for a few days in my pocket. With a small backlog of games available to me, Star Sled was next on my play list.

Like many of the system's games before it which I've beaten, Star Sled is an action game greatly capitalizing on the crank. In short, the player is tasked with controlling a spacecraft—the titular Star Sled—with the goal of collecting flashing glints known as Sparks, the galaxy's primary source of energy. In order to accomplish such goal, the player must fully encircle each as a "laser lariat" follows our path, one which proves as the only means to capture these resources. On its own, the Star Sled moves forward across the vast space at a constant rate, while the player controls its directional movements, so the game's controls are straightforward. However, such objective is easier said than done, as a variety of objectives stand in the player's path.

As players work toward this goal, players will encounter all sorts of environmental obstructions such as lasers, patrolling sentries, and targeting drones which all must be avoided. Regarding sentries, they are initially non-hostile, but there are means to trigger them which will promptly result in failure due to their swift speed. Meanwhile, drones are focused on attacking the Star Sled meaning they are a constant threat, but their speed is only just unmatched to the player's, so all sorts of maneuvering is required to survive. While these obstacles may sound somewhat easy to overcome, there is a strict time limit for each stage, so acting and reacting speedily, alongside performing tight loops, is necessary.

With that said, Star Sled adopts an arcade-like level design that prioritizes agile play that yields higher scores. Throughout each stage, a finite time meter depletes, so some sort of urgency is ever-present. As the game progresses, each mission introduces a new mechanic such as boost and warp which must be utilized to clear stage goals. So, while the core objective remains constant, the means to achieve it are slightly different for each section. Because of these regular changes, gameplay never dwindled causing boredom.

Throughout the game, players will navigate the open space but also through gigantic space systems characterized by their compacted corridors. Even here, Sparks must be reclaimed which often proves difficult to do, given the limited space available to operate the Star Sled. In these areas, acceleration boosts thrust the player to even faster speeds, but the game translates which direction to move toward with arrows lighting the way. To a degree, these sections offered more of a challenge than the expansive space fields, as numerous obstacles combine together which must be overcome. Still, repeated failures present an appropriate amount of tensity which will motivate players to succeed.

After completing the game's stages which comprise the main campaign, additional Mystery stages can also be unlocked by revisiting certain sectors to discover secrets. But, even after looking for answers online to know which sectors to visit, I've not been able to find what I'm needing to discover aside from the first which is nearly unavoidable. Nevertheless, even without these few added stages to play, the game's length felt appropriate.

In the end, Star Sled is yet another arcade-like action game which I find well-suited for the system. While I find it less enticing to pick up and play than some of the system's other included games, I can certainly imagine other players doing so to best their scores. Unfortunately, perhaps the game's biggest weakness is the lack of a leaderboard system, but that isn't a feature that personally interests me.

[dhaabi]

30. Inventory Hero || Playdate || 07.18.24



Becoming acquainted again with the Playdate, I was eager to begin the next game. At this point, I'll mention how I've at least tried every included game as they originally became available to me but haven't all been completed for various reasons. So, the game I stuck with next was Inventory Hero.

While rummaging through the player's inventory may sound tedious, Inventory Hero surprisingly makes it a challenge that's fun. While the game is a RPG of sorts, the actual battle system runs automatically, thus leaving players to screen supplies with the rapid influx of item drops. At the screen's bottom half, the player's limited inventory slots and current equipment menus are shown, which there are six of each. As battles ensue, items will constantly be collected and assigned to the first free inventory slot. So, moving the cursor back-and-forth on a moment's whim to complete an action is necessary, as plenty of items are junk or simply not needed in the upcoming or immediate moment. Over time once battle speed escalates, decision-making becomes much easier and spontaneous, and it's nearly impossible to avoid some sort of mistake at least once throughout a playthrough. In short, this sort of RNG makes each new session entertaining, as the player has all sorts of items types with their own varying stats being used and eventually replaced across a short duration.

Of course, being in constant battle means equipment durability and effectiveness will dwindle. So, players must carefully consider when to use or relinquish items. Should a seventh item be collected in the six-item inventory, an item at random is discarded. Naturally, as the player-character levels up, the items available become much stronger, although weaker items still remain as possible drops. At some point, an additional system relating to equipment types is also introduced without explanation, which grants stat boosts when replacing a piece of equipment with a certain type with the same one. Although, in truth, this mechanic is something I don't fully understand, as I was always much too focused on the more basic actions needed.

Additionally, the battle system evolves by introducing new mechanics, such as having to acquire certain items to defeat a specific foe or even acquire items which must be combined with another. There are even items such as mushrooms with varying effects which quickly transform other inventory items into mushrooms as well. So, in a moment's breath, the player must decide whether to use or drop an item. All the while, the limited inventory remains and never grows larger, so there is plenty to juggle around. Once a certain point of the game is reached, I found myself dropping items far more often than using them, alongside consuming health whether I needed to or not. Also, since equipment degrades over time and sometimes at alarming rates, holding onto a certain piece of equipment without equipping becomes something to consider, but new item drops prevent this sort of hoarding near impossible.

Ultimately, Inventory Hero is all about considerations and possibilities at its beginning, although that focus eventually is lost as only spontaneity remains. At a certain point, battle speed simply moves too fast for the player to register what's happening with each action taking place, and eventually it's too late as the game over screen appears. If it's not clear yet, players should not feel attachment to the items they acquire, as they're meant to be used. By all accounts, their presence is fleeting and usefulness is momentary. More impressive equipment certainly has more durability, thus allowing more time to collect replacement gear, but mistakes will inevitably happen throughout the turbulence. During those moments, the player will panic while waiting for anything marginally better to appear, as late-game battles wipe out the player-character in one attack should stats reach low enough.

Every twenty levels, a major boss battle takes place with the enemy needing to be defeated in an unconventional way. However, there are only three encounters, and once level 60 is past,then the games continues on loop indefinitely until game over. Unfortunately, the game doesn't efficiently communicate that the game has been completed after this encounter. While a screen showing the section's area name does reappear, I initially understood this to mean that it was continuing as a more expanded stage with another boss milestone to appear at level 80 or even 100. Before looking online for an answer, I assumed that the final boss required reaching level 100, but I was wrong. For reference, my best playthrough so far had my reaching level 89. Nevertheless, even after getting to the post-game content (so to speak), I've enjoyed starting new playthroughs since they're quick. I haven't timed my time playing, but I believe a successful run takes approximately 25–30 minutes.

Since I begin each Playdate game blind, I never really know what to expect from them. Fortunately, I was exceptionally pleased with Inventory Hero, as its breakneck, arcade-like system comes across as much more novel than other games with that sort of play progression.