Recent reviews by Crit Magnet Kirby

Shadow Generations is, without question, one of the best 3D sonic series games ever created. It's the best iteration of the boost gameplay with some of the strongest characterisation and creative level design in the whole series. Despite the fact that the stages are retreads of places from the past, each and every single one feels new or unique in some way, with most actually feeling better here than they were in their original appearances. My only gripe with the game is simply how short it is, I would have loved at least another two or three stages, but what we got was definitely a lot of fun to play through.

The Sonic Generations remaster isn't quite so black and white. Of course, Sonic Generations is a well beloved fan favourite, and deservedly so, it's arguably the best that 3D sonic has to offer in terms of gameplay. But as remasters go, I can't say it's all that impressive. The dialogue rewrites don't fit particularly well, especially as the rewritten parts aren't reanimated, and there's no significant graphical upgrades compared to the original, so it feels less like a remaster and more like a regular port with bizarrely picked rewrites. If you've never played Sonic Generations it's still absolutely worth playing simply for how good the original game is, but if you're a long time fan of the game, don't expect any improvements

I CANNOT fix her and I DO NOT want to

Anyone who says "you need a degree in physics to understand this game" is lying, I'm doing a batchelor's in physics and I don't understand a damn thing

I stabbed a giant baby in a sewer while someone rapped buddhist sutras in Esperanto in the background and that somehow didn't even scratch the surface of this game's insanity.

With all jokes aside, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantastic spin on the JRPG genre that's both comfortably familiar in many ways while being fresh and exciting in others. If I were to make a direct comparison, it feels like a combination of the character writing of Persona, the combat of Shin Megami Tensei and the worldbuilding of Xenoblade chronicles, all wrapped in a unique package with a story I can safely say is unlike anything else I've ever played.

All in all, it's a 9/10 game that appears ambitious from the start and only continues to ramp up from there

While I certainly don't think Flip Side is bad, it pales in comparison to both of it's predecessors both in terms of comedy and social commentary. It tries to lean far too much into just being shocking and depressing, and honestly it falls quite flat.
It also feels like it's severely lacking in choice. There are only six choices in the entire game, and one is entirely pointless. Both OG CO09 and Re-Up felt much more full and player controlled. This just felt like passively watching Jecka's life go to ♥♥♥♥ in a few different ways.
The last thing it does wrong in my opinion is it's treatment of Nicole as a character. She was always sociopathic and cruel, but she was at least entertaining and had some sort of limit to her cruelty. In Flip Side, she feels almost entirely irredeemable and one note.

The game isn't bad. It just could have been much better.

Upon hearing "a group of 4channers made a game about disabled girls," you'd be forgiven for assuming it to be an insensitive mess of crude jokes and discrimination. Let me tell you why that pre-judgement could not be further from the truth.

Katawa Shoujo is a game that gives you a realistic, grounded insight into what life is like with disability. It never talks down to you or treats the characters like fragile children, but it also doesn't shy away from exploring how truly difficult life is as a disabled person. Hisao and the girls don't feel like disabilities with a few character traits thrown at them, they feel like real characters that happen to be disabled.

Speaking of the girls, the stand out feature of Katawa Shoujo is it's cast of romanceable characters. There are five main girls, each with a route and several possible endings, that you can choose between in the game. Each of the girls has some form of physical disability, and each story incorporates this aspect in a way that feels both natural and appropriate. For example, Emi is a sprinter with no lower legs, so a big portion of her route is about running and how her disability effects her, but it never reduces her to "the girl with no lower legs."

Each route has a story that ranges from heart-warming to heart-wrenching, each and every one of the girls grappling with some internal struggle that you try to see through with them. While the game is a dating sim, the romantic element often plays second fiddle to the personal drama and character development aspects, as Hisao learns alongside the girls how to live with his own disability and how they manage with theirs. Every single route has something new and important to say, and I'd be remiss not to advise you try every single one of them.

The art is also gorgeous, especially considering the small team that worked on the game. Many of the sprites are nothing special, and the backgrounds are often generic, but the character designs are phenomenal, and every CG or short animation is an absolute work of art. The amount of love poured into this game is staggering. Four-leaf knew they wouldn't make a penny off the game, and yet they put every ounce of effort possible into making it one of the most beautiful visual novels you'll ever play.

TLDR: Katawa Shoujo is a fantastic visual novel with stunning art, incredibly likeable characters, and a subject matter it handles with more grace and understanding than you could possibly ask for it. It's a testament to the ability of 4channers to come together and do something incredible when they have a common goal. For any visual novel fans out there, I cannot recommend it enough.

I love Lilly Satou.

"I could fix her"
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cowards. I could make her worse.

The protagonist is a complete sociopath and is still somehow the most reasonable and well adjusted person in the whole game

After years in development, the most anticipated Portal 2 mod of all time is finally out, and it doesn't disappoint. With a completely new and original story, test chambers that are challenging but not frustrating and even new mechanics never used in the original portal games, Portal Revolution sits itself alongside Mel and Reloaded in the hall of greats

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game, I hate it and I hate myself