Strider Review (MystWalker)
Review after at least 30 minutes:
Strider (6 hours at time of writing.)
Did I enjoy it? - Oh heck, yeh.
Will I come back to it? - Mos' Definitely. I'd like to finish this one at least once.
Was it worth my time? - Yeah, I have really enjoyed my time with it so far.
Would I recommend it? - Yes! If you enjoy action focused metroidvanias at all, this is well worth your time.
First Impressions:
I was immediately charmed by this games and found it difficult to stop during my first session. I'm hoping it can keep me hooked until the end. This feels like a game I'm going to want to come back to enjoy all the way through again!
It's harder for me to articulate what is working for me in a game, so don't be put off by the short Pros section. I think this is a sign that I'm too sucked in playing the game to think about why I'm having fun.
Pros:
Great combat
Compelling pace and progression
Exploring the map is rewarding with power-ups and extras in plentiful supply
Just F---ing fun!
Cons:
The player character's movement can feel a bit sticky and awkward at times, especially when maneuvering tight quarters. I can get stuck to walls and ceilings easily which can get in the way when fighting. Sometimes certain moves require a bit more precision than I like, such as detaching when climbing.
Attack direction is effected by the surface that you're standing on and can make hitting certain targets difficult and frustrating, but this a rare occurrence.
The controls feel a bit awkward in situations where I'm charging and want to attack with one of my 'Options'. It's frustrating wanting to save a charge while at the same time attacking with an option, but I acknowledge it's a nit-pick.
Unskippable cut-scenes are a more obnoxious problem, especially when difficult bosses have opening speeches. It doesn't seem like much but 5 to 15 seconds really starts to wear on me after the first time. Any action game that's going to have cut-scenes ought have an option to skip them (at least after the first time!). I'd like to see more games with an auto-skip option in the menus, extra brownie points for that!
Enemies tend toward feeling tanky with too much health. That's a tricky balance, but I think it's a valid concern considering longer health bars require more mashing of the attack button which can really start to hurt after a long session. The most difficult boss I've fought so far became a frustrating not just because of the (quite enjoyable) challenge, but also because my hands were starting to hurt due to the repetitive movements. Multiplied by the number of deaths, this became a pretty unpleasant experience.
I think an accessibility option for auto rapid-fire, or a separate control for charged attacks, could be helpful solutions in other games.
I'm trying to review more games by using this format. If you have kind feedback, please leave a comment.