XboxEra's Reviews
Frostpunk 2 is an excellent city-builder and simulation experience. The sound, art and graphic design are beautiful. It’s also an intense experience. This intensity can sometimes feel overwhelming, and a touch of humor might have provided a welcome contrast to the relentless bleakness. The risk of too much-simulated suffering is that the most challenging decisions can leave you feeling emotionally detached, as the end often justifies the means. This dynamic makes Frostpunk 2 a unique experience where you can never truly be the ‘good guy,’ only ‘less bad.’ It’s better to play this in short bursts, as it will keep you from becoming emotionally numb to all the suffering in Frostpunk 2.
Last Time I Saw You turned out to be an enjoyable narrative adventure. I love the attention to detail, not just in its artwork but the stories of its cast members. A perfect little play for everyone. ∎
DRAGON BALL Sparking! ZERO is a great 3D arena fighter. It’s got a sizeable roster, huge maps, and a fun combat system that I quite a bit of mileage out of over the weekend. A clumsy user interface and only one splitscreen map does suck the life out of the party a bit, but there’s still a great game here for Dragon Ball fans and arena fighter enthusiasts. ∎
Metaphor’s world design is almost dreamlike, down to the very storybook of irony that Will carries around with him all the time. The cast bonds together incredibly well and I love how everyone has a part to play in this fantasy land of pixies, a race for the throne, dog and box-headed races, and the like. The artwork is gorgeous, the music is splendid. Mixed in is a simple yet fun combat system, complete with unique overworld encounters in the dungeons and out about in towns. I’ve no metaphors for this—Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantastic RPG for all. ∎
Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred has a great start, mediocre middle, and frustrating ending. The Spiritborn class is a fantastic addition, along with the new Mercenary system. At $40 if you’re in it for the story you may come out as frustrated as I am, but if gameplay is all you care about then there’s a lot to love.
Starfield’s first expansion is an excellent dive into one of the game’s key pieces of lore. There are answers to be had and mysteries to be born anew. It is all wrapped up in one of the best looks I’ve seen in a video game to date. For any fan of the base game, this is a solid 10+ hour adventure you do not want to miss.
At the end of the day, I had a fun time with Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports. Sure it is a bit janky, its progression for unlocking new content is odd, and the lack of online multiplayer is a bit of a stinger. Yet, its simple arcade recreations of popular sports brings me back the simple days of mascot sports games of old, and it brought me a good couple hours of Looney Tunes-themed fun with my partner as well.
Shadows of Doubt should be great. A lack of variety leads to repetition so quickly that I can’t recommend this 1.0 and console release. If the devs continue supporting the game with new content, especially something more directed like the tutorial mission, then it could potentially become an indie classic. For now, though the game is a mere shadow of its potential.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is an excellent remaster of one of the Wii's best games. It fixes its shortcomings, adds to it with quality-of-life changes, and most importantly makes it available to all on modern platforms. Rebrushed does a good job being both a 3D platformer and a narrative driven-adventure title, sprinkled in with a lot of love for old Disney animation---a fun, unique adventure game for all.
There’s a lot to like about Ara: History Untold, even with the rough edges that appear every so often. Barring some performance issues, I’d say anyone even a little curious about the genre should give the game a shot and try it for themselves (especially if you have Xbox Game Pass).
The Karate Kid as an IP in video games has an interesting history. The very first video game was all the way back in 1987 on the NES and for a very very long time that’s all we got. But the popularity of Cobra Kai on Netflix reignited popularity for the brand which clearly inspired developers to revisit the IP in the gaming space and we saw a Cobra Kai based video game in 2020 as well as a sequel in 2022. What do all three have in common? They’re all some manner of beat ’em up and now in 2024, another developer is taking on the challenge of making a Karate Kid scrolling beat ’em up with The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. How does it fare? Well, that’s an interesting discussion
Keylocker is a fun, beautiful turn-based RPG that does a great job of meshing not only a fun combat system but a sleuth of other minigames to keep its journey fresh. If you like rhythm games and an extensive timing-based combat system, look no further than this one. ∎
If you are a fan of Dead Rising there’s a good chance you will really like this remaster. If you’ve never played the game before and want a fun zombie slaughter simulation, this game still holds up well, but you’ll have to look past some of the game's flaws and remind yourself that it is still bound by 360-era design.
The Plucky Squire is a game clearly made with a serious amount of love for the wonderful medium of glorious interactivity that is video games. And for it being the first title from development team All Possible Futures, it’s a staggering achievement in art, design and ideas. It’s just a shame the gameplay didn’t get as much attention as the nostalgia it so skilfully indulges.
Enotria: The Last Song is a beautiful, weird tale that almost nailed the gameplay and customization side of a Soulslike. It is by no means a bad game, it’s just not one I can easily recommend for all but the most ardent players of the genre.
Caravan SandWitch is a beautiful adventure that covers stories of struggles and grief, paired with pleasant French vocals and a vibrant art style. And even though I found its main progression to be tedious, I did enjoy exploring the world of Cigalo and learning about its lovely peoples. If you seek a nomad’s adventure, van included, look no further than this little journey right here.
For fans of Jackbox games, myself included, this is a rock solid addition for game nights with friends and family (maybe not your parents though). The addition of genuinely adult subject matter is a lot of fun, even though at times, it literally devolves into drawing multiple cartoon dicks or boobs.
Towerborne is slick, chaotic, gorgeous and above all – fun. I have high hopes that with an eager community and the team at Stoic at the helm, listening and reacting, and above all working with that community, Towerborne can grow – from a unique and interesting game into something genre-defining, and proving perhaps, that new live-service games can succeed, even now.
Episode Aigis is a great addition to Persona 3 Reload, if only for the additional story content and new battle challenges. But this episode sheds too much from the base game, leaving a tedious adventure in the wake for those looking for The Answer. ∎
Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 is an amazing, epic ride through a glorious hellscape. Visceral combat is matched by stunning graphics to create a title that never relents in being as over the top as possible. It is one of my favorite titles of the year so far, and one I cannot wait to dive back into as post-launch content starts to stream in.