ZCW Reviews

Cherishing That Second Playthrough-A Cuphead Review Following the recent update Studio MDHR gave us at The Game Awards on the new DLC for Cuphead, I decided to go back and beat the game again in preparation. I wanted to take a second look and provide a perspective of this already determined classic and better explain as to why it is so heralded.  Levels of Unprecedented Detail As many other reviews have remarked, Cuphead's visual style is breathtaking and has set itself apart from every other game of the past decade. It's hand drawn and meticulous animation is a reflection of a true commitment to an art style no matter how difficult; it is beyond comprehension to me how much time some of these bosses must have taken to draw. Also, the dedication to even emulating the audio and soundtrack to that era adds yet another layer to this package.  But, moreover from their visual and auditory flare, there is much to say about the game design I view throughout Cuphead. In fact, during t...

  Washing The Time Away-A PowerWash Simulator Early Access Review As much as I hate to admit it, these little simulator games have become somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine over the pandemic and the more online atmosphere we have been put through. To put it simply: doing these tasks in real life requires a lot more effort and makes it more of a chore than a game, but in a digital space they are like the junk food of videogames. So after I put around 24 hours into House Flipper I see myself put another 20 into this, and why exactly is that the case?  Clean in All Aspects PowerWash simulator is excruciatingly simple; within it you accept jobs where you clean up various dirty locations and objects for cash that you then use to buy better power washers and nozzles in order to clean more efficiently on the next job (the jobs of which get progressively more grandiose and complex). In a similar fashion to all these simulator games, the sensation of finishing a huge job is what kee...

  An Intergalactic Indie Gem-A Habroxia 2 Review Habroxia 2 has been a game on my Steam wishlist for quite some time, but I couldn't really pin a finger on why I hadn't purchased it yet. Following a substantial update around June of this year , I had no choice but to pull the trigger and give Lillymo Games' Habroxia 2 a shot. So how exactly does it stand up to the field of 2D space shooters out there? Side-Scrolling with Finesse What immediately surprised me was the Star Fox esque elements this game used in its approach to gameplay. Across the adventure you'll have many levels with alternate exits and bosses, all branching out to their own separate paths. This is something I haven't really seen done in a 2D shooter, and I had fun playing through levels I had previously beaten with a sharp eye looking for an alternate exit (keep in mind it's nothing too cryptic so finding the extra content isn't some monolithic task).  The game will also change perspective qu...

  Missing the Mark-An Exo One Review Previously I really enjoyed these sort of open ended and abstract experiences, specifically Giant Squid's Abzû and its great sense of aquatic atmosphere. Having not played many of the other examples of the genre, namely Flower and Journey, I decided to check out the newly released Exo One from Exbleative to make a return back into these types of games.  Misreading the Room Ultimately, Exo One falls short of capturing the essence of what made these games engaging enough to enjoy. Looking to Abzû, there was an emphasis of smooth and coherent movement-you could kick your flippers through the water rhythmically to gain speed or grab onto animals and use their unique features to ride through the water. Exo One has a similar sense of momentum, as you turn into a ball to roll down slopes then transfer out into a disc to fly forward at maximum speed.  And this deeply satisfying, however, this is all Exo One ever does for the en...

  Deja Vu...-An Inertial Drift Review The arcade racing genre of games has become one of my interest ever since I went back and gave ridge racer type 4 a shot a year or so ago. Ever since, I've intermittently played new offerings that have cropped up (mainly because the ridge racer series is completely in the water at this point) regardless of popularity. When Inertial Drift came up in my steam recommendations a few days ago, I knew I had to give it a shot and look into its offerings (not to mention the title being an homage to Initial D, an anime I particularly enjoy).  Arcade Drifting with a Different Approach In most of these games, controls are fairly simple. You have a gas button with a corresponding brake button, sometimes even a separate handbrake button, and you use the left stick to steer in the event you are using a traditional controller.  For Inertial Drift, however, you still have access to those brake and gas buttons, but you instead use both sticks to fully...

  Shockingly Deep-An ElecHead Review In another example of games I initially found out about early in development and forgot about till their release, ElecHead launched just a month ago! From what I can remember back from what I saw on twitter, the game had a very neat main mechanic that I was interested in seeing delved into into. So just how does solo developer Nama Takahashi (alongside the help of composer Tsuyomi) handle this interesting mechanic? Losing your head...playfully! In ElecHead you traverse various platforming puzzles as every platform you step on lights up as long as you have your battery pack head on tight. In addition to this, you can also throw your head in three directions to light up a far away platform and remain without a charge yourself (you can only be in this form for 10 seconds). Its extremely simple, and yet there are so many nifty uses of the mechanic that it felt like Takahashi found every single way possible to deepen it.  Just take a look at the...

  Rolling All Over Again-A Katamari Damacy Reroll Review The Katamari Series is one I'm quick to reference when I enjoy the relaxing, trance-like aspects of certain titles. Surprisingly, outside of a small indie title in Donut Country which wasn't necessarily similar, I have yet to see the formula of Katamari looked at outside of the original series, so let's take a look at what made these games so special.  Simply Outstanding In Katamari Damacy you just...roll stuff up. This is the unbreakable foundation that these games build upon. As something I've harped on a million times, I have always preferred when game designers use the environment to create complex situations instead of adding more mechanics. As such, Katamari is entirely revolved around (1) its unique control scheme and (2) its diverse environments. For example, while the main mechanics don't shift, your objectives do-look at the levels revolving around specific star signs, where you are tasked to collect...