PencilManners/DoodleDud

If you're craving a retro 2D adventure while you wait for Mina the Hollower's amazingness, might we recommend Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo? @pockettrap.bsky.social

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It's a rite of passage as a gamedev to implement true randomness into a game mechanic, realise how bad it feels, and then add guardrails and biases.

Even the monsters in Returnal have a check that says "if you randomly chose this attack 3 times in a row, pick a different one next".

My wallet is not a fan of me jumping from Silksong (£17) and Hades 2 (£25) to a whopping £70 for Silent Hill F.

Definitely not buying another game at this price anytime soon.

All in all, this is probably the modern day equivalent of Symphony of the Night.

It's got a suave and charming protagonist, the map is way too big, and it's probably going to leave a massive cultural landmark just like it's predecessor.

Having her input made each conversation much more engaging. It's great to see her stand out and even push back against the other characters.

The pilgrim's path throughout act 1 was really well executed and got me invested in several key members of the cast.

As for the story it was so much more easier to get on board with thanks to Hornet and the setting of Pharloom.

I don't know why but I had this really big concern that Hornet would devolve into a silent protagonist and I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Also wanted to say I really like the courier missions, they're a great way to test map knowledge, but I wish the rashers quest was toned down just a smidge.

If I could've taken 1 or 2 more hits on that trip I wouldn't have had to resort to exterminating everything on the path before pick up.

Then again I'm not sure how valid it is to complain about resorting to a guide for these games.

I love Super Metroid even though I went into that game already away of the big power bomb secret through osmosis.

If the map wasn't this massive, or if the NPC's fed you some clues to unexplored locations, maybe I would've been willing to retrace my steps and check spots I had already written off.

I couldn't finish Act 2 without looking it up online because at several points I thought I exhausted all of my options, and when I got the answer I would've often think I never would've spotted that, nor have the patience to keep looking.

It really doesn't help that many of these gates are obnoxiously hidden to the point that players wouldn't clock them in the first place.

(ROT13) Gur Chgersvrq Qhpgf, gur Jvfc Guvpxrg naq gur fgnghr va gur Uhagref Znepu all stick out to me as spots I never would've revisited without a guide.

However with such a massive map, the stretch of time between discovering a progress gate and getting the required upgrade can easily be 10+ hours.

Even if you're diligent and mark these down on the in-game map, you'll stumble across a bunch of secrets before you can make a start.

When it comes to exploration Im a bit more muddled.

Just like HK this map is fucking MASSIVE, with several biomes and discoveries to make. And since this game does a much better job encouraging build experimentation, the tools/charms crests spread through out the map is much more rewarding to find.

My only big gripe overall with the combat is the occasional visibility issues.

Some enemies have really obnoxious particle effects obscuring the screen, and some bosses throw so much shit at you that it's a headache for this old man to parse and keep track of everything.

When it comes to bosses, this game absolutely delivers in quantity and quality.

It's hard to think of one I actually hate, even the absurd runback boss was only a few notches above my tolerance.

The universal parry in these games very rarely works in my favour because enemies will often bulldoze me with contact damage anyway.

I will say that these games have lots of moments where contact damage feels slanted against you. Getting tagged thanks to a combination of enemy movement, knockback (or lack there off) and your own attacks throwing you too far.

I've seen some suggest that contact damage universally should be 1 pip but I don't think that's ideal.

That would encourage players to intentionally take contact damage if they feel a 2 pip attack is unavoidable, and enemy movement is just as important to their kit as their attacks.

This is dispelled later on in HK as you eventually get hit for 2 pips and you discover how incremental the nail upgrades feel. So it's really not an issue.

It only bugs me on an aesthetic level because the pip system in OG HK gave the impression damage will remain simple and normalised, and attacks will instead convey threat through how hard the enemies' are to avoid, and how easy the players' are to land.

The enemy/boss design in this game is really high quality, lots of great and inventive fights that accentuate spacing and punish bad habits from the player.

2-pip Damage has become a bit of a meme at this point, but I've never felt particularly squishy even in the hardest fights.

It's really disappointing to discover a hidden nook or cranny in the map only to be rewarded with a useless resource that you can't carry any more of.

The shard system is still pretty naff. It's there to let players dig themselves a hole if they lean on tools too hard, but otherwise you never have to worry about running out.

You might start investing in builds that burn through shards later on but by then you have several avenues to hoard shards.

The crests are all really useful with some great move sets and do a much better job getting players to experiment with charms.

The tools are fine though I only use them to expedite enemies and fights that I've already conquered with only the nail.

Okay finally getting back to this.

Hornet is such a big step up from the last player character. She's got a great kit with a satisfying dash/sprint, and my issues with the dive definitely subsided by the end once I had enough experience and other mechanics to mitigate the risk.

Metroidvania Month 30 A game jam from 2025-11-16 to 2025-12-30 hosted by Falcon Nova. Game devs! Hollow Knight, Ender Lilies, Ori or Axiom Verge might sound familiar to you. Metroidvanias are very popular among game develo...

i'm sponsoring the next Metroidvania Month jam! Pseudoregalia got its start there, so I wanna give back a little! 3500 USD across the top 5, with a 500 bonus for the best 3d game.

It starts November 15th and runs for a month. I hope to see some wonderful games!!

itch.io/jam/metroidv...

DISASTER ARMS surprised me by taking alien soldier's basic format & applying it to shmup-like encounters: bullet patterns get insanely dense and even scale in interesting ways on the highest difficulty. genuinely captures that manic treasure spirit while being squarely its own thing. i recommend it!

DISASTER ARMS IS OUT
30 BOSSES
2 ARMS
1 SOLDIER
0 TURNING BACK