Stardust Demon Reviews

👍

Good game so far, haven't finished yet. I'm currently stuck going through all the past worlds trying to find 4 specific key items to continue the game. Saying this it also means that the game is not doing the best job at leading me to where they are and finding secrets and getting items is going to be something that will probably make me feel overwhelmed. To this I warn you of the following: If you don't like games that don't tell you where to go exactly... This game will be dropped after a while since you won't know where to go. But if you like games that do that, then you are good to enjoy the game... Just know that the map is IMMENSE and the game expects to make use of your time trying to find items and secrets around. I'd love it to be streamlined into leading me to the end, but alas, this is what this game chose to be. I am happy I expected more than a Cave Story clone and I am guessing I've got that at least. I might update this review once I beat this game (if I do) Nonetheless... This game is stressing me and I don't want my friends to go through it like I am atm.

I LOVE this game. But it's a mixed bag. My main issue is with the final section. The lack of checkpoints before instant death spikes forced me to replay sections repeatedly, which did not add any challenge, only wasted time. And one section in particular I thought was unreasonably difficult for a mandatory section required to complete the game. It almost made me quite, but I persisted and I'm glad I did. The bosses are a highlight, and I really loved the puzzles. And I also really loved the characters, they were very well written and charming for the most part, but the convoluted backstory I felt was unnecessary and detracted from the overall narrative. It would have been so much cooler if we didn't know the backstory of these weird world ending gods, especially when that backstory is so dull. But, despite my issues, I highly recommend this game. It is a hidden gem, even if it is a bit of a diamond in the rough at times.

This game is a masterpiece. It is very well thought out, and is a love-letter to Trapper-Keepers. It is styled like an 8-bit platformer game, with large 16-bit era levels; Added to this are mid-1990s style CD-game cutscenes and "redbook" music. I cannot stress enough how much this game grew on me over time. There is a lot of content in this game. large levels, tough-as-nails puzzles, an enormous soundtrack. Really impressive stuff. It reminds me a little of cave-story, and a bit of animal well, in terms of platforming technique. The game has an average difficulty, and never seems totally unfair. At the time of writing this, I have not completed the main quest. I want to specify that I've spent 13 hours so far, and a lot of that time was spent going after the completely optional powerups. The main quest is fairly straightforward, but there are a lot of optional puzzles. Some of the optional difficult puzzles require some high-precision platforming skill, and some mechanics are not explained and could be considered obtuse. My only complaints so far are that some mechanics could use a visual aid or something to aim, otherwise there is a lot of trial and error for jumps that can kill you or reset your progress. Also needing ammo for the puzzle elements really seems unnecessary and leads to backtracking to farm random ammo drops. Some puzzles have a nearby ammo for health trade spot... but not all of them do. Overall, please play this game. I really mean it when I say this has been well-crafted and executed.