Cricket: Jae's Really Peculiar Game

Doing homework, not worrying about the responsibility of adults, and eating junk food. Playing this game brings back of memories of being a kid. I played the demo during Next Fest so I had an idea of what the game offers and it pique my interest with the hand drawn art. There is turn based combat with squirrels, plants, humans and other things. After winning certain amount of fights, you get experience, can learn new attacks, and increases friendship level. As you unlock new friends, they will be added to the bench and you can switch them in if you want. [h1] Pros: [/h1] - The story is emotional and will hit home [spoiler] for anyone that has lost a parent. [/spoiler] - There are hidden heal items and tokens to find in the game, which rewards exploration. - Boss fights are forgiving. If you die, you can respawn without losing money or items. - Combo attacks was a bright spot because you can try different attacks based on your active party members. - OST fits the theme of kids taking on the world and facing challenges of growing up. Each area and custscene has its own unique music. [h2]Cons: [/h2] - The timing based attacks are not my favorite part. If you miss, you deal less…

I enjoyed this one. First off, note that the JRPG elements are mostly set dressing and cool animations, the combat is very simple. There's status effects and combo moves and gear but what 99% of combats boil down to is using your best move and/or something that inflicts Skip Turn which is a busted status. The game is 100% linear with practically no side content to speak of. It would be more accurate to call this a VN-lite or experiential story. But it is a very well-written and charming one. If you purely want JRPG combat and exploration, skip this one, but if you enjoy character-driven story with a little gamified flavor, this is a great pickup. This game is entirely carried by its writing (and to a lesser extent its art and music, both of which are incredible). The game captures the vibe of a ragtag group of kids traveling around their locale on an idealistic fantasy adventure (compare to Earthbound or Omori). At the start, the world is quite grounded in reality minus the quirky JRPG wildlife, but it quickly goes off the rails and it becomes clear that the setting weaves classic fantasy with a pastiche Eagleland. The plot is driven by a slowly growing group of friends all journ…

I was enjoying the gameplay and level design, but then out of the blue, one character innocently asks another about something he saw abut her race in a movie (because it seems like nonsense), and a third character goes all Karen on him for stereotypes. And the next major event is the introduction of a character who announces "I'm a they".

The game and story are very grounded. I won’t spoil anything, but most players will relate to the issues this game explores. It’s honest, emotional, and manages to mix that with humour in a way that feels genuine. It reminded me straight away of the South Park games – both in tone and basic mechanics. Gameplay is fun. Hiding spots reward you with better gear, but do get repetitive. Combat works, though it could be more dynamic. I ran into a few issues: Two random crashes, usually after the game stops responding to my gamepad inputs. UI and settings feel unpolished: On launch, you’re asked to press any button, then shown three save slots where you can load or continue. The Options menu is extremely limited – no fullscreen windowed or borderless modes, and no proper exit option (you have to Alt+F4 the game). The resolution setting doesn’t actually change anything. I tried selecting different resolutions, but the game stayed the same. Textures are blurry on QHD, especially in fullscreen. Clearly designed with 1080p in mind, which makes it feel a bit off on higher-res displays. Even though you can play with keyboard and mouse, I found the gamepad surprisingly more intuitive — …

This is a wonderful game. I'm so glad it got gifted to me. I have a long ways to go, but as an avid fan of Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) and Mother 3, this game is an absolute must play. Bravo to Studio Kumiho - this game deserves far more notice than it gets.

I hitch-hiked to the moon. I fought squirrels, loan sharks, cosplayers and sports drink mascots with a garden rake, a traffic cone and extreme acrobatics. I overcame road blockades, racial discrimination and student debt. I met a duck. This game is a relatively simple but delightful JRPG in the style of Earthbound or Omori, featuring turn-based combat with some bells and whistles. It's surreal and whimsical, and sports some top tier writing that most indie games can only dream of. The characters are charismatic, distinctive and funny, with great lines of dialogue all the way through, both when it comes to jokes and important lessons about friendship, growing up and overcoming adversity and past traumas - you will literally laugh and cry. I only have minor gripes - zero when it comes to dialogue, but at times I wish there had been more to do, mechanically speaking, in the various areas you explore, other than chatting, fighting and finding items in danish butter cookie tins (like in all JRPGs, I finished the game with a lot of unused items). Combat was fun but it felt harder in the early game and relatively easy towards the end, especially after I figured out a couple winning…