What I've Been Playing Vol. 46

 OutRun (NSW)

 I've been in a retro mood lately and I've been enjoying the original OutRun, released way back in 1986 for the arcades. It has you driving a Ferrari-like sports car with your girlfriend and cruise through five stages as fast as possible. You're on a timer so you'll need to reach the next stage before time expires while avoiding traffic and obstacles, though that's easier said than done. The game has branching paths as you choose between left or right exits, which lead you to new scenery like vineyards, valleys, and cities. You can't drift or select various sports cars like you would OutRun 2 (easily my favorite arcade and racing game of all-time!), so the gameplay's on the more basic side. The presentation holds up well with the colorful sprites complimenting the energetic soundtrack. Tracks like Magical Sound Shower and Splash Wave being standouts. OutRun was a great time if you're looking for an arcade racer and it's over in like 20 minutes, which is great for playing in short bursts.


Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (NSW)

 One of Capcom's premier franchises is obviously Street Fighter, which took the fighting genre by storm with in the 90's with Street Fighter II. Now decades later and multiple entries in, Capcom released a special collection celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary. Packing 12 games ranging from the first Street Fighter game, the multiple iteration of Street Fighter II, the Street Fighter Alpha trilogy, and Street Fighter III.

 The games play nicely as one would expect though the first Street Fighter aged terribly with its stiff controls and uninspired look. Street Fighter II and its iterations were fun to play and the visuals have held up well nearly 30 years later. I had the most fun with the Street Fighter Alpha trilogy as they felt both newcomer-friendly while still being geared to veterans. I haven't caught up to Street Fighter III, but it looks like fun. That being said, The games are hard with the AI easily blocking and anticipating your inputs. 

 The collection features some neat bonuses like graphical filters to use like a CRT, save-states for each game, an online mode, and museum showcasing art-work and soundtracks. All in all, it's a nice and convenient package for those looking to get into the older games in the series (though be wary of the insanely hard AI) and for fans looking to relive the classics.

Minoria (PS4)

 Minoria is a 2D-platformer with metroidvania and souls elements from Bombservice, creators of Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. You play as a nun Semilla who must hunt down a gang of witches in the lush-yet-deadly forest of "Minoria". As you play through the game, you start to realise that the organization you're working for isn't all that great and the witches might be the innocent ones, but I won't spoil the rest of the story, which was surprisingly good. 

 

 It doesn't really stand-out compared to the many other games in the genre as the gameplay has you fully exploring the map for secrets, fighting enemies, collecting loot, and levelling up. There's also boss fights that challenging and plenty of nice-looking levels to explore. That said, the visuals do help give the game a unique look being a mix of 3D character models and 2D backgrounds, which were really well-made for an indie. The latter got gorgeous as you reach the end of the adventure.

 

 It took me around 7 hours to beat (plat included) and it has a bunch of post-game content like a secret boss, NG+, and second ending. All in all, I love metroidvanias and Minoria was a really good one. It plays just as you'd expect and it looks and sounds good. Definitely give it a try if you're a fan of the genre.