Visual Out

Visual Out is one of the purest Metroidvanias I have ever played.
Right from the get-go, MadameBerry provides the player with just enough of a story to intrigue them, but not so much that deciphering the plot is a chore all on its own. The rest of the story is laid out as needed through short data-logs and the occassional monologue.
After the opening cutscene, the player is quickly (but not abruptly) thrown into the world and given the freedom to figure out the intuitive mechanics of the game for themselves. The flow and pacing of the game is consistent throughout, and is structured according to the player's own choices regarding exploration. Remarkably, the world itself is at once both maze-like and open in design. Some rooms feel claustrophobic, others are massive, expansive, and awe-inspiring. One particular room with a giant fan (though taxing on the crappy processor of my 6-year old laptop) really demonstrated the technical, graphical, and atmospheric quality of the game.
Regarding graphics, Visual Out is a game heavy on the effects. While I am normally opposed to this in games, in Visual Out I actually found the effects to be ingeniously well done. Unlike in most games, where the special effects add little more than an unnecessary amount of bloom and particles, the effects in Visual Out actually make the game better. And the effects look good. Really good. Numerous games through the years have used the "ye olde CRT monitor" aesthetic, but rarely (in my opinion) to terribly good effect. In Visual Out, the aesthetic is handled brilliantly. Not once in the game did I ever feel like the effects got in the way or obscured my ability to play the game. Not even once. In fact, they made the boss fights a joy, because the whole world seemed to react to my every move and attack.
Yet, for how much the effects improve the experience of playing Visual Out, the great thing is, the game still doesn't look too bad without them. It's still entirely playable, and wholely enjoyable. So if you have a crappy old HP laptop like me, fret not! All are welcome! Bring your old CRT if you want and make your own effects! ;)
Beyond the effects and the story, the greatness of Visual Out lies in its total focus on player exploration--which, might I add, is rarely ever hampered. A fair amount of the world is open to the player right from the get-go, and within the first couple hours of gameplay, most players will have already unlocked enough abilities to explore much of the rest. Taking an approach to exploration that has the player explore the periphery of the world before finishing things off in the map's center (a la Hero Core), Visual Out keeps the end-game constantly within the sights of the player, and (a la Super Metroid) leaves the doorway to the game's proverbial Tourian a fairly easy one to remember--a good thing, when the player spends so much time traversing from one half of the map over to the other. This necessarily means that the player passes the gateway several times over the course of a typical playthrough, leaving no room for confusion when the time finally comes to go beat up Mother Br-I mean, the bad guy.
The ribbon that ties this quintessential Metroidvania package together is the excellent atmospheric music. It is simple, but pleasing to the ears, and conveys just the right amount of loneliness, mystery, and subtextual fear to make the player really feel like they're walking through an empty, abandoned, infected computer. Think the Underwater Maridia theme from Super Metroid--it sounds and feels exactly like that, and I love it.
All in all, Visual Out is a remarkably good game, and a nigh flawless Metroidvania. I had an absolute blast playing it, and can see myself delving back into its circuits many, many more times.
Thanks for the excellent game, Berry. :)

Having just finished this game (95% item completion, but c'mon gimme a break) I can say that I certainly would recommend it to the right sort of person.
To tell if you will enjoy Visual Out, you need only complete these simple questions:
1. Do you enjoy Metroidvanias?
2. ?
Now, I do enjoy Metroidvanias despite being horrible at them. I found myself stumped a few times throughout my playthrough, but I'll chalk this up to me being dumb rather than bad game design. I feel that a more seasoned veteran of Metroidvanias will have an easier time with this than myself. For the less seasoned, I'd consider this to be a 'guide game'.
In terms of the visuals and music, simply fantastic. The art is beautiful and the animations are smooth. The soundtrack is very atmospheric and fits the derelict tone very well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Visual Out. Beautiful visuals and music along with fun and challenging gameplay make for a highly enjoyable experience.
Recommended!

This review was made possible by Yolo Army Reviews.
I received a reviewing copy of this game for free. However, my review is honest.
Skip to the bottom for my Final Thoughts
Visual Out is a great atmospheric Metroidvania centered around a program in a dying computer.
Graphics
Visual Out is, quite honestly, one of the best looking indie games I've seen so far in 2018. The graphics are mostly minimalistic, however there is a nostalgic (for some, I'm wayyyy after that era) CRT-monitor feeling that is very nicely done. The level design is very similar to that of Risk of Rain, and that's not a bad thing at all. The game focuses heavily on the visual effects so if you're epilectic then I'd recommend you stay away or play in moderation, but for everyone else I find the visual effects to be very nicely done and didn't cause me any headaches whatsoever.
Audio & Soundtrack
The music in Visual Out really helps tie in the atmosphere of the game. The main menu music alone is incredibly well done and sets the tone for the dark theme ahead of you when you run the game for the first time. The music at the beginning of the game is very dark and makes the game feel a lot like a horror (which it isn't) and really reinforces the overall atmosphere of the game. Like the graphics, the music is really reminiscent of older retro games and fits in really nicely with the rest of the game. If you want to give the soundtrack a listen ahead of time, you can find samples of the entire album on Amazon.
Gameplay
The gameplay is, for me at least, the weakest part of Visual Out but not by much. When I first started playing the game (the first hour/hour and a half), I found myself getting lost quite often with no real direction or guidance of where I was supposed to go. I eventually found my way via trial and error but for the first little bit I found myself getting a little bit frustrated, whether that be by my own incompetance or the game is up to you. One could argue that the game is an exploration game and they'd be right, however right from the get go (the beginning cutscene) you are given no direction whatsover; no quest, no goals, nothin', which I think the developers could touch up on a little bit. I really like the character progression which is entirely ability based. The player is given complete control of how they want to build their character which allows for tons of replayability and options for you to choose from.
Storyline
The story for Visual Out is one of the stronger parts of the game. Without spoiling the story, you play as a program stuck inside a dying computer. You spend the entirety of the game exploring (like I mentioned earlier) and discovering more and more about the world you reside in. Visual Out's story is something I'd recommend you purchase the game for alone, so if you're itching for a good story that unveils itself to you at just the right pace then I'd highly recommend Visual Out.
Final Thoughts
Overall Visual Out is probably one of the better indie games I've played thus far in 2018. The graphics, audio and storyline are all really well done, and the gameplay, although a little bit weak here and there, is still pretty good and is didn't ruin or hinder my experience at all. If you enjoy Metroidvanias, games with good stories or some nostalgic CRT-monitor style graphics then you should check out Visual Out.
Rating:
Graphics: 9.0/10
Audio: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 7.0/10
Storyline: 9.5/10
Overall: 8.4/10
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I absolutely love the way the game defamiliarizes or innovates on the standard Metroidvania powerups (ultimately emphasizing puzzle solving over action platforming). The aesthetic is also pretty neat. But the backtracking was just too tedious and the map too confusing for me to want to wander through the same areas over and over.
Still recommend trying it if the concept and aesthetic appeal to you though. Just temper your expectations. The game is more "interesting" than "great."

This game is rad so far. It's like a Metroidvania where the environment is unfamiliar and alienating, so you're having to experiment a lot with the way different objects interact with one another. It reminds me of the feeling I had when I first played Super Metroid, where everything felt unknown and mysterious, and anything could happen. I don't get that feeling much anymore with most games so I love feeling it again.
Also has a killer visual style and soundtrack.

A very unique metroidvania type of game.
You'll spend a lot of time backtracking but the strange art style and wonderful music will make it somewhere between bearable and enjoyable.
If you're looking to try something weird and techy then you'll love this, but the lacking and pretentious story that we have no real stake in won't hold it up narratively for you.

Considering I watch NakaTeleeli, I really should've played this sooner. My review is based on a 100% run and as such goes into specific gameplay details. I won't spoil the story, however.
Starting with abilities, Jammer was my favorite by far, although there was a graphical issue where it would sometimes have black lines along the left and bottom of the sprite.
Current felt slow for my tastes. Repositioning objects could be faster as well as moving along power lines with the upgrade. Attaching it to dangling exposed cables to refill energy was a pretty cool touch though.
Even after beating the game I have literally no idea what the 2nd Dash upgrade added.
I think I should be able to deactivate Shield after taking damage, just without returning energy.
Turret was a pain on low destructible blocks, both from waiting for the cursor and from how little it stayed at low angles.
Moving onto the map, I found myself getting lost pretty early in the game. Once I turned on map-assist I realized it was partly because there were inconsistencies a la Metroid 2. Some left-right doors are shown one tile up/down from where they actually are, and it left some rooms not fitting in a way the map would suggest. Also, I think each zone should have their rooms be a matching color on the map, just to better separate them.
Now for various minor things. I think options should be accessible while playing, simply because my framerate tanked thanks to a certain entity comprised of vector lines. I quit without saving and lowered my settings just to get by it in a timely fashion. Secondly, I wish there was a death animation. The first time it happened and I was sent back to a save point, I didn't even realize I lost progress. Thirdly, the block-eater/placer enemy could be a bit faster with removing blocks in its range. Sometimes I'd just sit there and wait for it to eat that one single block barring my path.
The only major pain point for me was the lead up to the end. Half of my playthrough was spent trying to solve the room with six cycling sets of glyphs. I found nine hint rooms and saw only three answers. I spent so much time thinking I needed three more clues to solve it and looked everywhere for three more hint rooms, then checked an online map to make sure I wasn't missing anything at all. I mean, who wouldn't think they needed six clues to solve a six symbol code? If you're reading this and as stuck as I was, here's the frustrating truth: it's actually a three symbol code. If you have yours, go back and mess with the puzzle.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who likes Metroidvanias for exploration and puzzle-solving over combat. I'm not much for doing speedruns, but there are tools in place that would benefit those who do. I enjoyed this game and think just a few improvements would make it even better.