I suck so god damn bad at this fucking game but somehow it's the clunkiest most unplayable dogshit ever one second and the next I'm Michelangelo painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or I'm Anthony Bourdain in a small Vietnamese village eating the best food I'll ever come across in my whole life.
Each Stage in this game is like you finding out that there is yet another course at your favorite restaurant but to eat it you must go through the worst pain of your life while being told you were a disappointment by your wife.
In short, play God Hand.

Just Shapes & Beats é a prova de que simplicidade, quando bem executada, pode resultar em algo extraordinário. O jogo tem uma proposta direta, fácil de entender e extremamente bem polida: sobreviver ao caos no ritmo da música. E ele faz isso com uma identidade visual linda, minimalista e cheia de personalidade.

A estética é um dos seus maiores charmes. As formas simples, as cores vibrantes e a arte “bonitinha” criam um contraste perfeito com o caos absoluto que acontece na tela. As trilhas sonoras são maravilhosas e funcionam não só como fundo, mas como o coração do jogo — cada fase parece uma dança entre música e perigo.

A lore é boba, simples e até meio absurda, mas funciona. Conforme a campanha avança, você acaba se envolvendo com aquele mundo estranho e carismático, percebendo que não precisa ser algo complexo para ser divertido e memorável.

No solo, JSAB é um excelente jogo de ritmo, desafiador e satisfatório. Mas é no multiplayer que ele realmente brilha: tudo fica mais caótico, engraçado e intenso quando jogado com amigos. Entre gritos, risadas e tentativas desesperadas de sobreviver juntos, o jogo se transforma em um party game maravilhoso, perfeito para jogar “na resenha”.

Just Shapes & Beats é simples, bonito, caótico e extremamente divertido. Um jogo que funciona sozinho, funciona melhor ainda em grupo e que, depois de muitas horas, continua sendo fácil de amar.

as i've been going through life i've started to resent the notion of stories being purely allegoric. i feel like it more often than not creates a particularly weird close-mindedness to fiction and is probably where people start feeling that the art they like and engage with reflect their own beliefs. stories are what they are, whether or not they mean something, whether or not their subtext hints at anything and regardless if the author has come out to say anything at all, they're processed and understood through your personal journey. it's not baffling that weird fascists get drawn to One Piece, like it or not, you take out of it what you want. rather than point on this weird idea that this is an inconsistency (i.e. "media literacy" as if that means anything and is gonna convince anyone), i think it's pretty obvious the root of the problem lies elsewhere. the same way it lies with people thinking Metal Gear Solid is not political. every view is justifiable in art. i'm not saying to give these people any sort of respite or whatever, do laugh and point at them, contradict them on their poorly thought out arguments, they deserve it for their bullshit views on life, but also i think thinking in a way where fiction only has one answer probably ruins your own relationship with art. i feel like understanding that is essential lest you start comparing the fascism in your country to fucking Star Wars come on.

that said, i cannot begin to image or think or even care (positively, in a loving manner!) about what was the original intent this story was written as. my views are shifting every day, reading other people and even if these people are the actual authors, i'll wrap my head around everything and take what i can out of it. that's just how it is to me and that's how art enriches my life.

anyway. i think i've experienced like several new forms of envy reading this that i either thought not possible or already behind me. Feb makes me highly envious in like, every way, from the beautiful art to the descriptive text. even to how more visceral and monstrous she is in comparison. i'm wishing to be everything that she is even the worst parts. i genuinely think i have no reason at all to feel like this except perhaps feeling a bit dysphoric about my height so this has probably awakened a bit of much needed self reflection i had been hiding for a while now. i don't know it's just weird. a bizarre sense of longing.

i unfortunately perhaps relate to feeling powerless even when you keep being awful all the time. my mental health moments aren't that monstruous nor they cause nearly as much damage, but they absolutely feel like they do. i almost get angry reading Rhi's thoughts. they feel directed and malicious. she has absolutely every reason in the world to be like that but also when does that start mattering to me as a reader. i loved her tho. Feb too.

the sound design is grating obviously on purpose but perhaps -too- on purpose for little old me as i had to take more than one break to be able to handle the snapping and filing sounds. i feel like whoever designed these feel the same sensorial pains as i do or either just knows the worst way to make sounds possible. it worked.

cannot overstate how much i love the art the backgrounds and illustrations, sets the mood in a way that reminded me of Fata Morgana and i have no idea if that was the inspiration here and i'm not particularly very fond of comparisons but regardless i hope this is taken as high praise because i live for that.

it's all so delightfully visceral, i'm pretty happy with it. it's prob not gonna resonate with everyone but isn't that really the best thing in the world? just makes me love art more and more

Abstract shapes. Flat colors. Muted sounds. Jeppe Carlsen is here to show you how it's done.

It's instant magnetism, an impeccable twin-stick minimalist blend. You'll understand how it works within seconds, see evolution on the formula shortly thereafter. It's impossible to overstate how effortlessly it pulls you in, how perfectly paced its challenges are. It knows exactly what it is, doesn't overstay, and then quietly, after the credits? New challenges, if you want them.

This is a criminally overlooked jewel, a perfect little encapsulation of arcade action and replayability. To do so much with so little, to keep it engaging and to make it feel fair and well-comunicated? Well, it's no surprise then that Carlsen did 140 before. And after? Cocoon. A unique, underappreciated voice in game design.