WaveLand

WaveLand is not a bad game, but it has a niche that it tries too hard to fill. As the name implies, it is inspired by Super Smash Bros Melee, and, in taking inspiration, the formula was copied and added to rather than improved. All of the things that make moving in Melee feel clunky are here, but so are all the things that make it great as well as some new ideas. This also means that playing with a GameCube controller (adapter needed), or some other controller, is almost necessary. This is in stark contrast to other Melee-inspired games such as Rivals of Aether in which movement feels flawless and easy to execute while also being flashy, smooth, rewarding, and playable on keyboard. Another part of the niche that I feel this game is trying too hard to fill is speedrunning. Every level that is required for making progress in the game comes with a built in speedrunning timer. If you do worse than a "C" (which usually means somewhere around over a minute), then you cannot make progress even if you complete the level; you must restart it. Additionally, many of the levels feature branching paths that ultimately cause you to lose time if you don't memorize the level. Another reason that you are forced to memorize levels are unreactable obstacles/platforming challenges that you have to know are coming, or you'll run into them and die. These two problems exist in most levels, and as a result, completing one level usually means a decent amount of time taken to create and memorize a passable speedrun route. By the end of the game, you'll be a novice speedrunner at the very least. As I said, this game is not bad, but it is only for a small niche. If you love Melee movement, love speedruns with potentially sick movement, and/or love speedrunning platformers, then you might like this game.