TheGamer's Reviews
With the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, we’ve reached a landmark point. Every Ace Attorney game is now A) available to play in English and B) playable on modern hardware. This is an exciting time to be a fan of silly yet complex, dramatic but comedic visual novels filled with anachronisms, legal ridiculousness, and cravats. That we reach this point thanks to Miles Edgeworth and the two fantastic games that bear his name is only fitting, as he’s always been a fan favourite. This duology makes a wonderful case for the life, longevity, and continuation of the series, and it’s not to be missed.
It’s also the most welcoming a WoW expansion has ever been before. This is the start of a new story - one steeped in the long history of WoW to be sure, but one that makes a huge effort to catch new players up. Its brisk story supports new players too by asking for a small investment upfront and giving them ample opportunity to constantly re-invest. If you’re just starting out or returning without the safety net of your old clan, it’s easier than ever to be a solo player and not feel left behind. There’s so much consideration towards renewing WoW, rather than becoming further entrenched in the wants and whims of the most hardcore players. I imagine these weren’t easy choices to make, but I can see the long game that begins here in The War Within, and I’m more excited than ever for the journey ahead.
Age of Mythology: Retold is a far better update to the classic than Extended Edition ever was, and this is self-evident through even a few hours with it. The effort put into making this the best Age of Mythology that has ever been oozes throughout, and it’s a resounding success. This remake easily becomes the platonic ideal for Age of Mythology and makes it the true successor to the original.
While much of Visions of Mana’s bloated side content misses the mark, its gripping storyline, likable cast, ample mechanical tweaking, and engaging combat combine to forge a very good game, if not quite a great one.I wasn’t at all confident that we would ever get another big swing at the series, so for all my caveats, I’m damn glad this game exists.
A lacklustre story, a bizarre lack of polish for a production of this scale, and a main character that isn’t the step forward she should have been all hold the game back from excellence.
It doesn’t have a tidal wave of fans supporting it, and it isn’t free to try out or available with any subscription service, so it has a lot of work to do in order to make the effort of playing it worthwhile. Whether that be through trial periods, new modes not before seen in the genre, or even a boost from Secret Level when it airs months from now, but as a middle-of-the-road hero shooter, it can’t rely on any one of these things alone. Concord is good, but it’s not in a good place, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to not only keep it afloat, but to get the motor running.
It’s beautiful, frantic, challenging, and a delight to play.
Even though I reached the credits after just a few hours, that didn’t stop me from diving back in to uncover as many secrets as possible. This is the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game that has captured me like the original trilogy did, but it’s also the first to stand on its own two legs beyond the allure of what’s happening outside of the screen. Into the Pit is exactly what the series should be, and I hope future FNAF games are taking notes.
The Iron Rig is a great addition to Dredge, but going any further would be scraping the rotting guts from the bottom of the barrel. The second piece of DLC already reminds me of the Lazarus taxon that Ironhaven Corp’s scientist explained to me early on; it raises a seemingly extinct game from the dead and gives it life once more. I loved my time with the DLC and binged The Iron Rig over the course of a day in a way that I rarely do with games any more, but the game itself offers a warning to developer Black Salt Games: drilling too greedily and too deep can have devastating consequences.
Leximan is one of the most unique games I’ve played in a long time. It’s a love letter to old-school gaming and retro fans are sure to appreciate the genre medley. While a few points felt a bit clunky or unclear, the humour and unique gameplay shines through and though it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I’m glad I played it.
Cat Quest 3 lured me in on name alone but won me over with its great gameplay loop. A better tale might have worked wonders for it, but start to finish, it’s still a good time.
There are a number of elements present in Cygni: All Guns Blazing that underwhelm. From its unremarkable enemy designs to its banal story, it simply doesn’t feel like it has a strong identity. However, for all its shortcomings, it does deliver seven action-packed stages of controller-gripping, shmup goodness. The ship customization stuff is neat, the energy allocation mechanic is novel, and it features some highly enjoyable boss battles. When all is said and done, I doubt Cygni will make much of an impact with the general gaming populace, but I suspect that bullet hell fans will find something to love here.
I love the world of SteamWorld. Heist 2 is as flavorful as ever, with great characters, funny writing, and a great soundtrack by Steam Powered Giraffe. The overworld exploration is charming too, with its own pirate ship progression system and simple naval combat. I really want to like SteamWorld Heist 2, but I can’t get past the more tedious aspects of the grind, or the long, punishing missions in the late game. It’s an improvement over the original to be sure, but I’ll have to wait patiently for SteamWorld Heist 3 to see if this series can finally reach its full potential.
Despite its flaws, I’ve never played a game quite like Closer the Distance. It somehow successfully manages to turn the difficult process of managing a community’s grief into a playable game, prompting you to ask yourself difficult questions without being hamfisted with its themes. It tells a deeply moving and compelling story about what it means to take care of others, love those we’ve lost, and honour their memories in ways that respect them while making sure we keep in mind the people left behind. And it does all that while maintaining gameplay that never feels tiresome, balancing the repercussions of your actions in a realistic way, and making you really care about its characters. I’ll be thinking about this game for years to come.
Even with its short length and simple gameplay, Thank Goodness still stands as one of my favourite indie games in recent memory. Thank Goodness You're Here's consistently giggle-inducing jokes and wonderful visual humour are great, but its surprisingly authentic and heartfelt interpretation of England is what made me reyt chuffed wi’it.
Despite my frustrations with math and science, the game is carefully designed to encourage experimentation and exploration. A wealth of resources and notes in the encyclopedia help guide you to finding the cure for your illness all while working alongside the most adorable mushrooms you’ve ever seen.
Earth Defense Force 6 is everything I expected it to be, which is both a blessing and a curse. Sandlot has no intention of shaking up its B-movie arcade shoot ‘em-up formula, and I’m not complaining, but when there is obvious room for ambitious expansion that wouldn’t harm the moment-to-moment joy of mowing down giant insects and evil aliens, I struggle to figure out why the developer is so stuck in its ways. I’ll always love this series, but maybe it’s time for a change?
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is both a pleasing and frustrating puzzling journey that leaves you thinking both about the steps you make in-game and the ones that you might or might not make in your real life. This could have just been a small game about a cool and strong mechanic, but it ended up being
Despite all this, The Operator’s concept is fresh and compelling, and generally well-executed. Even with my misgivings about the small flaws that made themselves apparent during my gameplay, I thoroughly enjoyed the minute-to-minute experience of playing, and the cliffhanger worked on me – I do want to know what happens next, and how the gameplay will change given the ending’s repercussions. If you’re able to ignore these things, and you love detective games, The Operator packs a lot of fun into a bite-sized package.