If you can accept its scope, accept that it falls short of its intentions almost as often as it realizes them, there is something in Monark to enjoy. Palette swaps, repetitive environments, and a sense that it wants to be so much more expansive and diverse than it is. There’s a good foundation here, but it just feels like the budget is crunching at all times. At other times, it drops the ball painfully, doing disservice to the serious topics it’s trying to tackle. It seeks to tackle real-world social issues using a supernatural backdrop, and at times it comes off surprisingly smartly-written. That would explain almost all of its problems, but also why it’s not entirely without merit. Monark tries to be modern Persona, but it comes across like it was made on a classic Persona budget. Is it an all-timer? Probably not, but considering Platinum just waltzed into this club for the first time, it has done an exemplary job. But stick with it, learn its idiosyncrasies, and you’ll find a unique, satisfying entry into the crowded shoot-em-up genre. Sol Cresta is a game that you need to chew on for a bit before it shows its true value. Finally, the last sequence of the game suffers from some serious choppiness that can make it really hard to keep your eyes on what they need to be on. Occasionally there is a weird hitch before a boss makes its way in. Sometimes background obstacles aren’t as clear as you would like, making it hard to see things before it’s too late. Other than that, the other flies in the ointment are related to the visuals. Some of the systems feel a little overly complicated and extraneous, but I certainly appreciate that there is some depth to be mined here. I recommend starting with the easiest while you get your bearings, but you won’t knock off all of the achievements unless you ramp up. You can choose between three difficulty settings from the outset, with more unlockable as you go. You’ll also want to try to check off achievements, as they unlock more gameplay features like a sound test, online leaderboards, and more. There are no continues, but once you reach a new stage you can start from there next time. With those extra points comes rewards from the meter, giving you access to a variety of tools that will help you survive. What you need to do in Sol Cresta is make the best use of your formations to earn as many points and power-ups as possible, using special formations at the right time to get through tricky situations and also juice your score. This includes some command-based special moves that you can use to fire off shots in helpful patterns. As you reach certain thresholds, you’ll get certain rewards. Still more: as you rack up points, a meter on the right side of the screen fills up. You’ll have to charge up a meter to use them, so you’ll have to decide when is the best time to pop them. The latter allow you to rearrange your ships to create special formations for a limited period of time. There are other power-ups to collect, including shields that you can stockpile to take extra hits and special formations. Constantly changing formation based on the current situation is where a lot of the game’s strategy is found.īut wait, there’s more. Having certain parts in front will allow you to break special blocks, earn extra points by going through rings, and deal more damage to certain enemies and obstacles. The order of the ships will determine your shot, and you can rearrange them as you like by changing formation. Once you have all of them, the real game begins. If you take a hit, you’ll lose a piece again. You’ll start off with one piece, but you’ll soon have the others by grabbing power-ups. You have a ship that can have up to three parts, each one with its own type of shot. So here’s the scoop: seven levels, each based around a different planet en route to the Sun itself. This is a game that you need to unravel at its own pace, but if you do the rewards are worth it. This is also a game made by fans of the genre, and that too is rather evident at times. This is Platinum’s first swing at a traditional shoot-em-up, and in a lot of ways that is very evident. I was trying to play it like any other vertical shoot-em-up, and it turns out that isn’t a good way to appreciate what it has to offer. I didn’t think very much of Sol Cresta the first little while I spent with it. We’ve also got some fresh sales for you to look at, along with the expiring discounts. One of them I initially liked a lot and then cooled on, and the other I was cool on at first and ended up really liking. Sol Cresta and Monark are the games in question. There are a few new releases to look at today, and on top of the usual summaries I have reviews of two of them. Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 22nd, 2022.
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