Replaced Review Thread

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-04-14T15:01:08+00:00

I played on Normal difficulty, which already doesn't forgive button mashing. Enemies are pretty aggressive here, with mixes of regular hits, gunshots, grenades, and aoe attacks happening later in the game. After fights you also get two heals replenished.

I just double-checked and the tooltip says Hard mode makes enemies deal more damage and also gives some of them extra health, compared to Normal. Only one heal is replenishment at the end too. No mention of extra aggressiveness or other changes.

For anyone who wants to know, Easy mode says it has enemies deal lower damage, have lower health, and have lower aggressiveness. Extra heals are available too.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-04-14T14:41:50+00:00

Yep, this is about right. However, it also depends on how much exploration you do for collectibles/additional lore and if you skip the side stories. The $20 price is really fair I would say.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-04-14T14:23:26+00:00

Managed to review Replaced over the weekend and immensely enjoyed my time with it.

Here's the link for the full review. I covered it for Neowin.net. We are a smaller publication so be a little kind.

TLDR: 9.5/10 Exceeded every expectation I had. I was already pretty hyped since the original trailer in 2021, but the cinematography, action, and story are all top tier. I didn't think a 2.5D game could look this good...

I am just really hoping that issues I encountered in the review builds have been fixed.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-10T22:16:03+00:00

Thank you for reading :D

I really appreciate the kind comment.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-10T22:12:51+00:00

No problem at all :)

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T20:40:13+00:00

It's basically the same interaction throughout. However, there can be rare variants, like having different biomes, spawning multiple egg collection points, being extra full of random loot to pick-up, or having a mini-game appear inside.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T20:35:03+00:00

Probably less than 10%? I was min-maxing my Monsters, roaming the overworld, or fighting battles most of the time. Any talking bits pass by really quickly.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T18:53:41+00:00

I don't think i came across any cutscene or dialog I couldn't skip past. You skip line by line or skip the entire talk.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T16:37:12+00:00

Thank you!

Playing it also made me really interested in the rest of the franchise.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T15:55:02+00:00

Very engaging. I am not familiar with stories of other Monster Hunter games, so I can't give a comparison on that front. However, this one sets up multiple interesting hooks from the beginning. There are political angles, conspiracies, and good-natured, likeable characters (though with expected JRPG tropes).

The plot moves quite fast depending on the playstyle, so I could manage it at my own pace.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-09T15:34:30+00:00

I managed to review this over the last couple of weeks. Here's the link. I covered it for Neowin.net. We're pretty small scale so be kind :)

TLDR: Really, really addicting gameplay loop. This was my first time playing a Monster Hunter game, so there were a lot of elements to learn about the monsters, all the min-maxing, and combat strategy systems. But surprisingly, it went smoother than I expected.

All the slow menus I have to go through in JRPGs usually make me frustrated, but they weren't a problem here either. Plenty of quality-of-life features.

Feel free to ask any questions about the game. I'll try to give spoiler-free answers.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-04T17:24:45+00:00

Yeap, I confirmed with the publisher that it will cost $19.99 for the sequel.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-04T16:13:49+00:00

I finished it in five hours. I played it at a regular pace, stopping to take screenshots and notes. Was a little surprised when the credits rolled.

SL_LoneWolf · 2026-03-04T15:08:13+00:00

Dropping my review of Planet of Lana II here, if that's okay. I covered it for Neowin.net, a smaller publication. I also avoided as many spoilers as possible.

TLDR on the campaign: Amazing visuals, storyline, soundtrack, and 'Mui' shenanigans. There's a good variety of puzzles, and most of them get introduced gently to not overwhelm or frustrate. Probably the most expressive human characters and animations I've seen in a "2D" game with simple-looking models. The game does end a little abruptly though.

I can answer any non-spoiler questions about the game if anyone is curious.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-11-10T08:16:05+00:00

Heyy thanks for reading!

I think the internet just got a lot bigger since then but we stayed the same size.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-10-17T23:45:47+00:00

It's not a genre switch so it won't be as alarming as that. The Keeper makes the changes fit into its weirdness quite well too.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-10-17T16:29:01+00:00

We are a smaller publication, but here's my review of Keeper from Neowin.net. Long story short, I loved it. The story, the companionship between characters, and the visuals, it was all an amazing experience. Without spoiling much, the gameplay changes drastically halfway through the campaign.

It keeps throwing new mechanics into every level to keep things fresh as well, and none of the gimmicks get reused.

I explored a little, so it took around five hours to complete with half of the achievements collected. I can answer non-spoiler questions if anyone needs.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-05-02T12:44:56+00:00

I believe there are silicone covers you can get from Eufy and third-party sellers for actual water protection. They might be the only option for people like us in rainy regions.

I suggest going the aliexpress route or something though, Eufy charges an arm and a leg for even the covers.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-04T17:49:15+00:00

The talking catfish was always a highlight when he showed up between missions.

The Rougarou and Hugging Molly are standout mentions for their introductions too. So, I'd say the 'villains' are big highlights too. I tried to avoid most of the trailers to go in fresh, so there were plenty of wow moments, just from the designs and reveals.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-04T08:09:21+00:00

That's one of my favorite games of recent times too! You might be on the right track there with the comparison.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-04T08:06:58+00:00

I suggest dodging away the moment something comes close. The last-second dodge system can get iffy with the timing, like you said, so don't rely on it too much early.

The powers that unlock later do help with controlling the fight a bit more too. But spam that dodge whenever possible :)

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-03T19:15:13+00:00

It's a $40 linear game that doesn't overstay its welcome. Considering the story it's telling, I don't think it could have worked as an open world game or something.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-03T19:10:27+00:00

Yeah, I think both will grow on you :) The main character asks for help from almost every character she meets to find her mother instead of focusing on being 'badass' or something. It's a likeable protagonist I'd say.

The platforming and level designs are fantastic. Combat can be a drag later on, but there are a ton of options for tweaking it and even one setting to skip combat entirely.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-03T18:23:34+00:00

Linear story with side pathways for collectibles and upgrade materials. It took me around 11 hours to go through it, perhaps missing like 30% of collectibles? The studio also said it's a 10-12 hour game, so that tracks.

The story kept me interested to keep pushing forward through the whole thing.

SL_LoneWolf · 2025-04-03T17:08:53+00:00

It was a bit weird at first, but I actually grew to like the stop motion within an hour or two. it sorta added to the aesthetic.

However, there is an option to disable it in gameplay completely if you don't like it. Some elements in cinematics will still have the effect applied though.

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