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Buckshot Roulette is easily one of the year's most pleasant surprises, even if everything about its presentation is the opposite of "pleasant," ironically. It's a unique gem that puts a further twist on an already twisted bit of gambling, with gameplay that requires a sharp memory, a strategic mind and the occasional prayer towards Lady Luck. Throw in a warped industrial style that gives everything an eerie look and feel, and you have a delightfully deranged game more than worth taking a gamble on.
Nearly seven years later, and Gigantic: Rampage Edition is still just as fun to play as it was back in the genre's heyday. New additions like Rush mode are fun and make for a quicker blast, though hopefully we can find a way to deliver more major content later on. But as is, there's still a crop of fun heroes on display, all of whom are still a joy to try out, and it's just a joy to see a unique bit of action like this again, especially with Overwatch still having soured its reputation. In fact, if this takes off, maybe we can see about reviving Battleborn in a similar way next, if only because it would make for one hilarious scenario...
It would have been nice if Planet Crafter had gotten the AAA budget and polish, but the game as it exists nails all the important parts in ways that can make multi-hour gaming sessions fly on by in minutes. It's a dead cold rocky ball without a hint of life when you get there, but each new crafted item is another step closer to the terraformed paradise it can become.
Broken Roads is a cult classic in the making. It hearkens to the best parts of games like Fallout 2, and many other CRPGs of the '90s, and it fits right in alongside classic Fallout and the Wasteland games. It’s flawed in some areas, with bugs in spots, but it offers tremendous role-playing and storytelling that make it more than worth your time to spend upwards of thirty or more hours in post-apocalyptic Australia.
While many will feel it's one or two chapters short of a truly fleshed-out and fully-realized vision, Children of the Sun's short but lavish flair for the hyper-violent is one of both visual and audible delight throughout. With what might be one of the most interesting and quick-to-convince takes on shooter mechanics in many a year, developer Rene Rother's knack for the look and feel of such an onslaught allows both art-style and gameplay alike to boldly glisten. As divisive the in-game graphics and general presentation might wind up being. But it's in no small part thanks to composer Aidan Baker's treatment of sound on top that only emboldens Rother's vision more so as one of both depth and replayability. An easy-to-understand pitch that comes with just as easy a recommendation, Children of the Sun is a blistering but brilliant take on shooting as a puzzle to be solved.
Minishoot Adventures is an excellent twin-stick quest in a wonderfully-illustrated 2D world that's equal parts shooting and poking about to see what might be hiding under a bush or between the rocks. The story isn't particularly deep, but it gets the job done, and at the end you'll have an energetic little village filled with a number of different friendly ships that have each helped the adventure along in their own way. Fighting through the enemies also feels like an achievement, especially seeing as the number and variety of encounters means that few fights end up similar to each other. Zipping and dodging through enemy firepower while sending back a fan of bullets, deciding when to use the overdrive and when to hold back, and getting ready to figure out the pattern of the next barrage never gets old, and interspersing the encounters with a secret or two is the best way to cool down between one burst of intensity and the next. Minishoot Adventures is a fantastic little game that deserves all the love it can get, and a great fusion of two genres that don't get to play together anywhere near often enough.
Clocking in at around three to four hours to roll credits, Pepper Grinder while not the lengthiest of platforming titles thanks to its prime drilling mechanic, makes said run-time a thoroughly satisfying one. A core premise that's aided on top by a thoughtful approach to level design, not to mention a knack for continually chopping and changing the formula with one interesting new element or introduction of a neat gimmick after another. Developer Ahr Ech's ability to conjure so much from out so little a detail as how a character moves should not go unnoticed. Serviceable, bordering on unnecessary, its secondary content might feel, Pepper Grinder's ability to be just as satisfying to control, as much to work out and eventually beat, grants this particular drill-powered adventure a well-deserved identity all its own.
Open Roads is a touching love letter to grief, the breaking of generational cycles and the complexities of family relationships. Dever and Russell’s performances are at once invigorating and heart-wrenching, demonstrating a genuine passion for acting throughout the game. The interactive environment feels lived-in and authentic to the early 2000s, adding another layer of immersion to the player's experience. While the voice acting is impressive, the characters’ appearance and facial movements become repetitive around the thirty-minute mark, diminishing some of the emotional beats in the story. Overall, Open Roads is a must-play poignant experience for fans of visual novels.
Felix The Cat is a commendable effort to bridge the gap between the simplicity and complexity of video gaming's past and present. While it shines for speedrunners and retro gaming fans, its steep difficulty curve and some design choices may alienate casual players, although the rewind feature might be able to alleviate some of this. Nevertheless, for those willing to embrace its challenges, Felix The Cat offers a rewarding journey back in time, with enough modern twists to keep it engaging in today's gaming landscape.
Anyone who is a fan of South Park needs to play SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!, especially if they really enjoyed Stick of Truth. The cooperative gameplay with the action/adventure combat element actually makes this more approachable to play with others compared to Stick of Truth, which was a turn-based RPG. If you are not a fan of South Park, some of the gameplay limitations may inhibit the experience as it seems the development team didn't want to over-complicate the gameplay while also focusing on the story being told. With post-game options and the ability to play with others, this adds replayability, but currently it's hard to tell if the longevity will be there unless there are plans for narrative DLC down the road. The horde mode option helps to add to this. The art and combat design here does work, but the main issue comes with the audio complaints with mixing and repetitive lines. The world of South Park is the driving force of SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!.
Millennia is an interesting, if flawed, take on the civilization-like experience that could be so much more with polish and time taken to it. It’s worth experiencing if you like these types of games, but it’s not going to revolutionize the genre, or dethrone Civilization anytime soon. With some polish and the right updates, it can get better, but for now it's a good, but flawed experience.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is majestic, marvelous and magnificent. It’s an experience that’s like no other that will have you immersed for every second of play. Unfortunately, there are certain elements that hold it back from greatness. For starters, retreading already-explored areas for side quests and materials is a pain. Getting from point A to point B is a hassle that requires a great deal of time or coin because of the lack of a competent traversal system. On top of that, this could have immensely benefited from cooperative play. It already has multiplayer functions, so it’s disappointing we only got asynchronous gameplay, especially considering a pawn’s AI can be lacking outside of combat and their mouths do not stop moving. With that said, combat is highly engaging, the structure of the open world encourages exploration like nothing else and lack of hand holding is the best choice Capcom could have made. Dragon’s Dogma 2 has all the right to be the Elden Ring of 2024, but unfortunately, it’s held back by technical limitations and bizarre design choices. Despite this, there’s still so much brilliance to be found.
San Diego Studio focused on a few primary additions for MLB The Show 24. Adding two Storylines and the way this was produced and the pacing of the gameplay opens the door for the future. These docu-series without taxing gameplay that provide rewards will keep players occupied early, on top of learning about baseball history that includes one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Other changes to Road to the Show and Franchise are noticeable at the surface level, but the experience of both remains unchanged. The same goes into the other modes that are here. The game still feels dated, but the addition of more animations and the emotion that's felt from individual player's faces animations help with upping the experience of each game played.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is a fascinating exploration of a unique voice in video game history. It's an exhaustive, albeit sometimes overwhelming, homage to Minter's prolific early career. For those willing to dive into this psychedelic rabbit hole, the collection offers a rare opportunity to witness the evolution of a video game auteur in real-time. The narrative's abrupt conclusion and the repetitive nature of early games, however, may leave some players yearning for a more comprehensive portrayal of Minter's extensive catalog. In the end, Llamasoft is more than a game; it's a vibrant, chaotic museum dedicated to the wild, weird world of Jeff Minter, offering both a historical document and a testament to the enduring power of individual creativity in the ever-evolving landscape of video games.
Outcast - A New Beginning is an excellent sequel with a lot of great gameplay elements that go a long way to make up for its need for further polish. Bugs are common, from an outpost with the robots stuck in the floor to breakable helidium crystals floating several feet above the ground they should be poking out of, and the conversation trees are in desperate need of re-ordering. Despite this, though, it's almost impossible to resist seeing what the next villager is up to and their relation to the rest of the world, following the dialogue and fishing out quests as an excuse to see and do more. The world is also beautifully designed, with each village having its own architecture and style while the world map is covered in points of interest and different biomes, providing gorgeous views from just about any spot in the landscape. Combat is also great fun, especially when stumbling on a particularly effective gun combination or figuring out how the latest upgrade fits into the flow of the next hostile encounter. It took over twenty-four years for Cutter Slade to return to Adelpha, but the wait has paid off with an epic adventure on an alien world.
Contra: Operation Galuga is a refreshing return to Contra's roots. The story might be lacking, but the high-octane run and gun action that made the classic games great is back. Contra: Operation Galuga relies heavily on nostalgia to appeal to Contra fans by incorporating several classic level designs and boss fights. It can get away with this by adding enough variety to the gameplay and some fights where the end result feels like a proper re-imagining and not simply a hodgepodge of random past Contra highlights. It does have its shortcomings with dated-looking graphics and an inconsequential story, but when it comes to delivering the classic run and gun Contra action, Operation Galuga is the title fans have been waiting for.
Bore Blasters may have one rough edge in terms of its time limit, but the rest of the game is a solid blaster through a large series of fully-destructible levels backed by a pounding soundtrack. Each biome has its own hazards, like growing blocks that can regenerate right in your path, or lava blocks shooting fireballs, and all the firepower in the world isn't going to be a substitute for paying attention to the level hazards. Even a failed Bore Blasters run is a lot of fun packed with satisfyingly-explosive moments, but there would be a lot more them if there was time to amble to the end rather than sprint.
Stolen Realm is a game that teeters on the brink of greatness, offering a compelling blend of tactical depth, rapid-paced combat and rich customization. Its engaging co-op gameplay, innovative combat system and the sheer variety of skills and loot make for a potentially-captivating experience. Yet its full potential is hindered by significant balancing issues that disrupt the gameplay balance, oscillating between overly tedious and unduly challenging encounters. For the intrepid adventurer willing to look beyond these flaws, Stolen Realm offers a world brimming with magic, strategy and the promise of epic tales. For the game to truly capture the hearts of its players and secure its place in the annals of gaming history, however, it must address these critical balancing issues. Until then, Stolen Realm remains a gem in need of polishing, a testament to the challenges and triumphs of game development.
SUMMERHOUSE by Friedemann is a visually striking game that offers a serene building experience, perfect for players seeking a creative outlet without stringent gameplay mechanics. While it shines in its ambiance and artistic design, the game could benefit from more refined controls, clearer objectives and enhanced accessibility features. It's a game that won't necessarily consume hours of your time in one sitting, but will be a delightful escape for those who appreciate its laid-back, creative charm.
While Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley captivates with its enchanting art, heartfelt music and unique characters, it sometimes needs to deliver a more consistently-engaging gameplay experience. For enthusiasts of the Moomin universe, the game offers a delightful dive into a world filled with nostalgia and charm. Yet its appeal might extend less broadly due to the technical issues, alongside a gameplay loop that some may find monotonous, which detracts from its potential. The dedication to accessibility and the depth of emotional narrative are commendable, showcasing the developers' commitment to creating an inclusive and engaging experience. For the game to truly resonate with a broader audience, however, addressing the technical issues and refining the gameplay mechanics would be essential steps forward. Ultimately, Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley stands as a testament to the power of storytelling and art in video games, even as it navigates the complexities of delivering a seamless interactive experience.