Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Nov 10, 2020

  [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32482033/]Crim's Humble Opinion Curator[/url] [h1]Retro Halloween Goodness[/h1] This game sits comfortably between nes era games and snes era games and does an excellent job paying homage to them. You'll catch references to Battletoads, tmnt, and many other platformers of those retro days without having all the "nintendo hard" mechanics forcefully attached. The game has seven stages and they are actually fairly large stages. You can choose from three different characters with diverse special weapons and each character has their own color palette. This comes in handy as well for local co-op. The game has a cool Halloween aesthetic set in a world where dracula has decided that he's not re-opening the portal that's normally opened up for one night each Halloween. Wanting to go home you take control of one of the three characters. There's a variety of bosses and enemies you will encounter and you'll have an arsenal of a few different creative weapons to take them out. As mentioned above some of the nintendo hard mechanics aren't here which is nice. Enemies don't respawn if you leave that section of the screen and bosses have a moveset you can learn. The game can be a challenge if you would like it to though with higher difficulties and no die achievements. The music like the game itself sits somewhere a bit more modern than nes but still feels at home. [h1]The Minor Gripes[/h1] I can't really say there is any issues I have with this one. For the price and gameplay it's well worth it. The dev looks like they have given a lot of attention to it in the discussion forums and have responded well to concerns and issues. [code] [h1](っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ pros ♥[/h1] +Casual or Hard play style +Diverse stages, weapons, characters, and enemies +Attentive Devs +Fun music and theme [h1](っ>▬<)っ x cons x[/h1] -Nothing major to note [/code] This is a fun little game that I'll be back to for other achievements and playthroughs especially for Halloween season. From what I can tell this is a great improvement on their previous game Biolab Wars. It took me around two hours to clear for my first playthrough. 𝕀𝕗 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔼𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕋𝕣𝕪 https://store.steampowered.com/app/425650/Halloween_Forever/
• gamedeal user

  Oct 27, 2020

  The game plays a lot like Contra with a few extra features, although you can also backtrack during the stages; if you played the Biolab Wars from the same devs, it's the same formula but with some improvements. Each of the 3 playable characters is slightly different when it comes to base stats, additionally to having a unique special attack and modified platforming (at least for one character). On a side note, you can also change the color palette of the characters and play coop, and if you don't like the default controls you can change them in the settings. Unfortunately, I encountered a few random softlocks, but they should be fixed at the time of this review. You can complete the game in around 2 hours, it's an arcade game so it's perfectly fine and honestly, it feels very wholesome with all of the riding stages in between. I really appreciate the subtle battletoads references, you'll know what I am talking about if you played the first one. Savage Halloween has aesthetic that is very much inspired by NES, I think the coloring is perfect, even though it's probably a bit too advance to be on the system. Every stage seems to remind me of different classics, not just Contra, the experience in general feels like 100% fan service. Each character also gets a unique ride during the racing stages which they didn't have to do, adding more personality to the game in general. The difficulty is very fair, maybe even on the casual side, but I will say that it's better to have telegraphed bosses than to have BS difficulty for which NES is known for. While the soundtrack would not be considered retro, I still really enjoyed it and the music complemented the pace of the game. Also, I want to give the devs credit for having some creative sub-weapons, such as shooting ghosts and frogs? [h1] Pros: [/h1] + reminiscent of multiple NES classics, enjoyable aesthetic + 3 playable characters, with some gameplay differences + coop / key mapping / can enter unlocked stages + enjoyable soundtrack + achievements [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] Difficulty [/u] - I find that base weapon has a huge DPS against bosses, I killed some of them around 20 seconds, seems overpowered (maybe lower the damage by 25%). On a side note, I don't mind that game is very casual, but at the same time 99% of the enemies come from the front so you never have to worry about your back. If you had more spawns behind the player like they have in Contra, I think it would give the game more challenge and replay value (if not in the main game, maybe it could be another difficulty mode). When I was playing LuLu the river boss was very awkward to jump over, not sure if it's just me or if her jump needs to be a bit higher. I would lower the health of the TNT, it got kinda confusing because I wasn't sure if it was taking damage. [b] Overall Thoughts: 8/10 [/b] If you are nostalgic for NES games in general, I think you will find many subtle references beyond just the Contra movement. Great soundtrack, nostalgic aesthetic, simple gameplay - maybe not for everyone, but I will play games like this all day. Also, thank you for the fair price, $4-5 for a few hours of pure nostalgia is great value in my opinion. The only negative thing I can say is that game was a bit too easy on normal, needs more spawn points behind the player. [code]Review By: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
• gamedeal user

  Oct 28, 2020

  Charming, nostalgic, and fun. If you like retro platformers, this is a must-play. Worth every penny.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 7, 2023

  I have played a ton of platformer shooter games: Megaman, Gunvolt, Cuphead, Huntdown, Blaster Master, Metal Slug, 20XX, etc... and I have been really enjoying Savage Halloween despite there being such stiff competition in the genre. I highly recommend it. Positives: + simple yet challenging (although it might be a bit too easy once you memorize the levels, but I'm not there myself yet) + gives the player options with multiple types of ammunition with different spray patterns and 3 slightly different characters (although all the characters function the same) + skippable cutscenes/dialogue; doesn't wast your time + cool, unique "halloween" theme for games in this genre + scoring system with leaderboards + you can start a run at any level you previously made it to so won't have to replay/practice all the levels to reach the end your first time (but you would still want to start at the beginning when attempting a score run) + a restart option from the pause menu so you can quickly restart your run without having to go back to the main menu and choose a difficulty, character, or starting level + 2 player local coop + the game is a steal at it's standard price (which as of this review is $4.99) Negatives: - there needs to be an insentive not to spam fire because currently you just want to hold fire 24/7 (perhaps every shot you miss you lose points?) - every time you pick up ammo you automatically equip that ammo, which means you will be hitting the swap ammo buttons a lot (which by default are the shoulder buttons) - although I like the overall art style, there are some enemies and objects that can be hard to tell if they are scenary or a game entity (I especially wish the spikes that come out of the ground actually came out of a specific tile so you could more easily tell when there are retracted spikes or not) I already mentioned I recommend Savage Halloween, but I'm going to go a step further and say that I would recommend this game over any of the games I mentioned at the start of this review. Savage Halloween isn't emulated like the Megaman X Collections. Savage Halloween doesn't require grinding like Megaman Zero or Gunvolt. Savage Halloween is more simple and easier to jump into than Cuphead (with Cuphead's tedious/slow world map and having to unlock various equipment). And I have just been flat out enjoying Savage halloween more than Blaster Master or Huntdown or Mighty Gunvolt.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 28, 2020

  Now this is how I like my platformers!
• gamedeal user

  Nov 2, 2022

  This is a fun Contra-like platformer, but you can pick from 3 characters, double-jump, & stand locked in one spot while shooting in all directions. I wasn't able to beat it in my playthrough below (limited continues), so it's challenging too. https://youtu.be/TFjj4NWK0Kw
• gamedeal user

  Nov 28, 2020

  Picture This .. MILKBAR (Corner Store) Fish&Chips - 1980's ! After Ordering : Banana & Caramel Milkshake & Chips with Chicken salt i reach into my pocket for the change i plan to use on my local arcade .. This game is a great retro (L-R) platformer (shooter) with a Halloween theme .. "I Can't Wait To Get Into This Story" .. this game reminds me of "Ghosts&Goblins" & "Wonderboy" & "Mario" .. time get my pc ( ARCADE STICK ) out & flashback to a time when the .. Neon Was Neon & i was Young !!
• gamedeal user

  Aug 1, 2023

  3 stages in and I'm happy with the game. - Cool pixel art and 8-bit music. - Fun action platformer. While Mega Man wants you to be quick, Castlevania wants you to cry, and Ninja Gaiden wants you, your family, and your neighbor's dog dead, Savage Halloween wants you to be a bit methodical. Using different ammo types to deal with enemy placements and bosses is the key here. It kinda reminds me of Magical Kids Doropie on Famicom. - The game has limited continues but autosaves at the beginning of each stage. - Xbox controller works fine.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 13, 2022

  A lot of potential, but ultimately falls flat. The controls could really use a bit of fine tuning, and some of the stages are just not fun. The autoscroller sections are all overly long, and every time I would come to one, I just wanted to stop playing. The enemy and boss designs are all pretty cool, but after my first playthrough, I definitely can't recommend it.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 31, 2022

  This is one of those times I wish Steam had a “Eh, It’s Okay” option. The Halloween theme is dimes, but the actual gameplay is just a bit too vanilla ice cream for me. The enemies are whatever…..the double jump feels “off” and the switching between your different guns/ammo is annoying, it would be better if it were like Contra where you could run over different power ups to change your guns/ammo. I might finish it to be a sport, but it’s just kind of okay.