Chase Walters

Ever since I seen the trailer for this game, I was super intrigued. There aren't a lot of 3D platformers out there, and super challenging ones at that, so the idea of a game that mixes 3D platforming and Zelda-styled combat was super interesting. And I must say, this game delivered. The world feels is expansive and connected while not feeling too big since, well, you're in a castle. The lore is super interesting, and the way it's told throughout the story is on point. I enjoy how the Void areas have a bigger emphasis on platforming and the actual world has an emphasis on exploration and combat. The game rewards you for staying off of the main story and just traveling about, and it's super appreciated. The Spirits are awesome. Even if it can make Void segments much easier, being able to go halfway across a big room without touching the ground is so awesome. I also enjoy how they are optional, giving the opinion of No Spirit runs as an extra challenge. I like the challenge in general. It's not deadly hard, but it's challenging enough to where you are on your toes. Every death in combat feels like your own fault. I also love how most of the Void areas add something to them that makes them stand out. Hat Kid Smug Emote. Perfection. I LOVE how it's easy to get currency in this game. Whenever I need the ore for something, I usually get the amount I need in 10 minutes or less. The music is SO AWESOME. I've had a hard time hold off listening to it outside of the game until I completed the game, the music ranges from calm to epic to absolute BOPS. The only negatives I'd give are framerate (to be fair I'm playing on Switch so it's not really the game's fault) and the bugs, but even then I never came across anything game breaking in my playthrough. Plus the first boss fight was kinda underwhelming, though the bosses picked up steam significantly after that. There is a truck ton of heart and soul put into this game, and it shows. Blue Fire will be up there right beside Celeste and Bug Fables as one of my favorite Indie games.

(This is a review on the Bowser's Fury segment of this Bundle. Super Mario 3D World is great, but I want to review this new segment) I just wanna say that Bowser's Fury is such a cool game. The amount of cat stuff is just right, it doesn't feel oversaturated at all. Plessie is implemented perfectly, as he always spawns exactly where you want him to. Everything is just so relaxing and makes you feel happy, from the calm music to the half dozen cats ready to snuggle with you. And the best part is that the tone can take a full 180 at any given moment. The second Fury Bowser shows up, it goes from relaxing and cute to insane and exciting. Now the cats are enemies, there are spikes and fire falling from the sky, and possibly the most terrifying and menacing iterations of Bowser is trying to kill you. And once you get the Giga Bell and start dueling, it gets wicked. And the best part is that this already amazing adventure is bundled with 3D World, one of the best games on Wii U. This is a Switch port that is worth $60!

So basically, after the stellar movie that is the Croods, which told a fun story about family and adventure in a creative world, we get a sequel which tbh, wasn't really needed. The Croods was fine as its own thing. Honestly, I was kinda skeptical from the moment the trailer dropped, I felt like it was nothing but gags about cavemen doing modern day stuff (it was in the first movie, but not as insane and not as much of an emphasis). Turns out I didn't miss much. I don't want to spoil anything, but nothing really significant story wise happens until halfway into the movie. The first half you can literally sum up as "cavemen meet big brain people, epic shenanigans happens." And the humor got annoying real quick. It wasn't like Shrek or Kung Fu Panda where jokes are expressed in a calm way which makes for comedy. The entire movie felt like nonstop jokes and less story. It's not good when all you got going for your movie is haha funnys. When everything is a joke, the audience expects them, which in response loses the chance of humor. That's why Shrek and Kung Fu Panda does comedy right. It puts storytelling first, so you get caught off guard when jokes come in, which causes it to be funny. When everything is a joke, nothing is. However, I will give the movie this. The first 3-4 minutes was really, really good. It built upon a major part of Guy's backstory from the first movie (which I will not spoil because you should watch the first movie). It really gave me the feels, and it paved the way for a great movie on the level of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. However, Croods 2 did not take that route, and instead trailed along the route of mindless comedy that gets stale after 5 minutes. This is why I think people are too hard on Croods 1. That movie is just amazing, telling the story of a family with so many strict guidelines because they are the only survivors, meeting another caveman who persuades them to always run to a better future, a better tomorrow. Yes, this movie was a comedy, but a more turned down comedy, because they knew storytelling always came first. Croods 2 seems like it spits in the face of that idea.

This game has infinite meme material because you can cast the miis as literally anyone. You can connect to the internet and get Miis from other users, but it automatically sets Mii faces for the NPCs, so there are endless cast combinations. For example, the Lovey Dovey Couple could be Peter Griffin and Hatsune Miku, and the Darkest Lord could be Sans or Fortnite Jonsey or Donald Trump. The game is also really fun too, highly recommend.