Blast Brigade vs. the Evil Legion of Dr. Cread

I enjoyed this game overall. It looks good and the developers know what makes a metoridvania tick. This checks all the boxes: new abilities, expansive world, hidden areas, backtracking, and platforming and bosses. I was impressed with the voice acting, although the story got really corny and predictable, so I skipped most of the dialogue. The presentation was top notch and it's very much worth the money. I did have a big gripe. about a quarter in the game, before you really get some of the more powerful abilities, the game is extremely frustrating. The level design really tests your patience with cheap hits, tricky platforming, and obnoxious level design that has you dying in parts and forced to traverse areas multiple times until you get it right. There were quite a few times where I wanted to rage quit. But the game kept compelling me to come back to it. It certainly wasn't the story. I think it was the challenge and the desire to master the levels that can seem so hard but are actually doable. It's like that rewarding sense you get from a Dark Souls game where you die and die only to keep getting better and finally prevailing. With that said, I absolutely recommend this game…

Had to edit my review because after finishing the game it has some highlights and some hard lowlights. Honestly if they would have had some difficulty slider or way to adjust difficulty. It’s like a few bosses are just tuned very badly and make it to where it could be a very hard stop for a lot of people. It is very pretty and the gameplay is very fun, but it’s just overtuned in quite a few places. Pick it up if it’s on sale and you have some money to burn, but don’t pick it up if you aren’t mentally prepared to possibly stop playing mid game.

Great game except for backtracking / or lack of fast travel.

Really great Metroidvania. Feels like a hidden gem.

Banger!

What can you say but entertaining old school gaming? Likable protagonists and nice mechanics. This game captures every element of what make a game enjoyable. The only caveat is the backtracking, but that is often a staple in games of this short.