ZCW Reviews

  Heart Pounding Harmonies-A Thumper Review Thumper was a game that left me pleasantly surprised from a game design standpoint. The simple, visceral, and moody atmosphere of this fast paced rhythm game perpetually kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly wanting more.  Structural Perfection Thumper’s main campaign has around 9 worlds, funnily enough called levels, each with around 20-30 individual levels each. I bring this fairly standard structure for video game campaigns up because of how fluid Thumper handles level to level transitions. A hard level will leave you exhausted, but, just when you think there will be a break, Thumper loads you straight into another level without any loading interruptions or hub world interaction. Each world comes to a satisfying conclusion with bosses that look like creatures descended from heavy metal albums, with every finale to a world feeling unique. As you slide, tap, drift, and fly to any set beat within Thumper, you’ll be entranced by its...

  To Make A Sequel-An Analysis of Hotline Miami 1 and 2 This week we are gonna do things a little differently. In replacement of the typical weekly review I wanted to take some time and really analyze what I believe to be an interesting case study on what can make or break a sequel in the indie sphere. Where it Began To me Hotline Miami was an incredible peak for the indie community and a game so influential it catapulted Devolver Digital into the spotlight it has today not only as a developer, but a highly touted publisher as well. Other than simply sales, HM1 is a fantastic triumph of game design and has outstanding mechanics. So where was it so strong mechanically? I believe it boils down to the one shot one kill mechanics (you kill all enemies in 1 hit yet you also die in 1 hit as well) as well as a strong sense of player freedom on how to tackle its levels. Effectively, there are two main ways of traversing every stage in HM1-to either sneak around and kill each enemy before t...

  A Sweet Little Time-A Donut Country Review Donut country was a game I had first played on the Switch a while back and was left utterly delighted with but it had left my mind after a few months. When I saw it land on the PC Xbox gamepass recently I had no reason to boot up this short yet sweet little Indie gem yet again for a review. A Delightful Little Time While I don’t want to go into much detail of the story and all its little quirks, just know that the game sees you as a racoon controlling a far off hole in the ground that gets larger the more things you drop into it. The story is simply adorable, with loads of funny little quips of dialog that I wouldn’t want to ruin by going through here. It should be noted that the bulk of the enjoyment you are getting here will be through Donut Country’s gameplay, but the cute little tale is a nice side bonus.  Ben Esposito’s work here with Donut Country represents a Katamari Damacy esque level of game design and satisfaction. I real...

  Confidence in Simplicity-A Downwell Review With every generation of new hardware and consoles the push in the gaming sphere has always been the same: better graphics, bigger scope, and just MORE. Downwell, to me, exists as a prime example as to why simple can be infinitely more enjoyable than complex. However, Downwell is a bit more sneaky in its execution, offering a lot of little details that add so much depth to a novel concept.  Ojiro Fumoto’s vision for Downwell seems to be that of a game jam game. For those who are unaware, a “game jam” is a competition in which upstart developers are tasked with making a fleshed out concept and prototype for a game in a short timeframe, typically 48 to 72 hours. The goal of these competitions is to get people creating as quickly as possible, and to not overthink so much that you don’t even start a project. Fun fact, the acclaimed indie shooter Superhot was the result of a game jam, eventually evolving into a full experience worthy of ...