Fearmonium

Whether you look at the trailer or the screenshots, it's obvious that Fearmonium has Cuphead written all over it. The quality is nowhere near as high, but Fearmonium went a different way anyway : it's a Metroidvania and not a platformer. And as a Metroidvania, I think it does enough things right to keep you hooked ! Because it's definitely not the graphics that will. The main character, npcs and enemies all look like they're coming straight out of a drawing session in Paint with a 12-year-old. And not a 12-year-old who has a future as an artist either ! Those characters come with only a handful of different animations, which also causes a few wonky hitboxes... It doesn't look good. The general world design however, was decent : dark and varied, it almost made up for it. Exploring it and defeating bosses rewards you with items and abilities, that you can use offensively, or to clear obstacles and access more of the map. They're selected through radial menus that are terribly clumsy to navigate... No worries though ! Most of those abilities are useless, and you'll likely stick to the same one or two offensive items throughout your whole playthrough. And even if you don't mind so…

Fearmonium is a bit rough around the edges, but worth picking up for a weekend play through. I was able to complete the game with 100% achievements in a single play in about 14 hours. The story is pretty dark, but gets more inspirational as you go. I liked the old-cartoon style art and appreciated the pinup girl look to a lot of the characters. Gameplay is fairly standard for a metroidvania - nothing really groundbreaking in the puzzle or general game formula. The controls are a bit clunky, but feel a lot better once you have picked up the dash and jump abilities. Where this game does very well is the music. Each area has its own track and many moments in the game I just stopped for a minute to listen to the bass thump. This was especially true in a few of the boss battles - that music really got me into it! Give it a try - it is a relatively inexpensive game and goes on sale pretty often. I found it well worth the price.

Fun game, level/map design was well made in my opinion, one thing that helped was you can fast travel. Art was similar to some other games, but I really like the style. Colors and characters were vibrant and fit the scene/environment that you were in. For some reason in stressful situations, the controls would get janky, Especially when trying to switch between your specials. Challenging but fun at the same time, bosses aren't to complicated. Soundtrack was good, also the theme of the game can be pretty dark.

This seems like a 'unique' kind of game, for lack of better words. You're playing as a growing clown psychosis, infecting the mind of a child. There's some really interesting trivia on memory and fears, it's kinda inspiring. The game doesn't have a complicated gameplay and, while more could have been done, it's relatively pleasant for a metroidvania based on collectables and return to previously explored areas. The music is purposedly unnerving and circus-like, with darker moments that remind you it's supposedly 'a horror themed game' (technically... I guess). Still, it's rather enjoyable so far. Perhaps the basic attack rate should have been increased cuz the animation eats up too many frames when you'd like to get that second shot right away, especially on the cart areas. All in all, if you're a horror fanatic, you'll appreciate it.

Completed 100% PROS + cool cartoon art + cool music + hot character design CONS - not enough check points, with zero compensation, no map update after dying - no balloons after boss fights - controls feel a bit clunky, not so smooth - too much talking than showing characters - somewhat unintuitive obstacle remover - why no faster movement upgrade -- no map markers Score : 73%, B-tier Metroidvania

This game is just a huge time waster with dull combat and infuriating enemy design. When you die, your map progress is also lost and you have to speak to every NPC again. I have no idea what makes this game "psychedelic". This whole you-are-in-sombody's-mind angle is just fluff. This game brings absolutely nothing new or orginal to the classic metroidvania formula; it's just a weak contender of the genre.