ZCW Reviews

  Slick, Free Flowing, and Melodic-A Lumines Remastered Review As no stranger to these musical, block-based puzzle games (hell, I reviewed and loved Mixolumia back in may of this year ) so I came in to Lumines Remastered with thoughts of the previous giants I had played in the past. So how exactly does Lumines stack up to those giants, mainly the generationally great Tetris Effect, in creating a fun and replayable experience in addition to its music? A Great Formula With Even Greater Songs As my entry point into the series, I was shocked to see just how much Tetris Effect used Lumines' sound design within its own remaster. In Lumines, every move you make with stacking a block syncs up with the music track in the background, providing little melodies in itself when you make a move or clear a square. This, combined with the insanely large track list that also changes the visuals of the blocks with each song, and you have a trance like experience with Lumines. Lumines also has a few p...

  Emulation Gets Official-A Review of Retroarch's Steam release  For a medium boggled down by overstepping companies trying to block preservation, Retroarch's release unto steam is a massive event for the emulation community. So what exactly does this release have to offer for those already familiar with the emulation scene? Exciting, Yet Lacking The first thing many will notice who are familiar with the standalone version of Retroarch is the core system. You see, Retroarch is a massive, multi-system emulator that allows for emulation of almost any retro game, but it needs cores to function as those individual systems when you boot up a game (A SNES game will need a corresponding SNES core, etc.). The standalone, non-steam, version comes packaged with all these cores, and allows you to use an online component to download any additional cores you may want for systems that aren't covered. This component also allows you to improve your cores by updating them when some of the c...

  A Look Into Indie History-A VVVVVV Review Following a recent update fixing some bugs and framerate settings, the first update for VVVVVV in 7 years, I decided now was a better time than ever to go back one of the first indie games I have ever played: VVVVVV.  Gravity Flipping Platforming VVVVVV laid the groundwork for building upon simple mechanics, one of my all time favorite ways to design and construct a game. For the entirety of the game, you'll merely move and flip gravity with the level design dictating complexity.  Some of my favorite moments here were when VVVVVV broke the conventions of a platformer to create these crazy gimmicks (keep in mind that due to age a lot of these have been reused but VVVVVV was the catalyst). Ideas like making the screen wrap around to make puzzles and bouncy floors that flip gravity when you land on them are all over this title, improving the experience by making you switch up your thinking.  You're tasked with rescuing all the...

  How Hot Lava Captures Childlike Imagination-A Hot Lava Review Originally, I booted up Hot Lava with the explicit reason of reviewing it. However, deeply entranced by the vision of Don't Starve creators Klei Entertainment, I eventually realized that Hot Lava was far more special than its first impression.  Classic Bhop Meets Modern Mechanics Hot Lava is deeply reminiscent of old school Bhop and surf courses from games like GS:GO and CS 1.6. That being said, its the additions and polish that make HL stand out from their inspirations. All the staples are here, yet, by fine tuning the jumping momentum as well as smoothing over more difficult techniques like surfing, it is far more approachable for the target audience.  Despite some of these touch ups, there is more than enough challenge here for those familiar with these classic mechanics, which caught me off guard. Continually I found myself replaying levels for optimal routes, cutting corners faster and smoother each time...