Bloodroots Review (Doctor Whomst'd)
When you're playing a hotlike (that's what I'm calling these, shut up) , precision and responsiveness are everything. Hotline Miami is an eyeblink from death, but movement and aiming are just as instant. Katana Zero has a certain halting rhythm, but your timing and the enemies are easily matched up, and the next action you need to take is always possible. Neon White is so smooth and responsive that it almost feels like you're gliding through fights.
And then there's Bloodroots. Everything from which weapon you're picking up (which is important, as they have vastly different movesets), to the enemy you're targeting (which is a bigger issue as a lot of weapons seem to work on Batman rules instead of actual hitboxes) to jump timing during the platforming challenges this game has for some reason. Plus, while the graphics are stylish and charming, they make the edges and locations of objects and enemies very ambiguous, in addition to the top-down 3D perspective making aiming more uncertain than fully 2d or fully 3d games in this genre.
It's pretty and the story is cool, but for a genre this unforgiving, I can't forgive the flaws in the combat.