Symphonia is a sleeper hit that I can only hope will soon take the platforming genre by storm. The platforming mechanics here are refined, satisfying, and a joy to master. Which is only accented by the incredible art direction that serves as eye candy as you go. This symphonic-inspired world is a treat for the eyes and ears, with level design that walks the tightrope between challenging and satisfying with aplomb. And while the narrative present here hits a bum note, I can wholeheartedly recommend Symphonia to any platforming fanatic.
It's hilarious rhythm game action that doesn't take itself to seriously, but if you peel back the quirks and the ridiculousness, there is a competent rhythm game humming under the hood.
Metro Awakening is a VR outing that does the Metro series proud. With a story and setting that adds further depth to Dmitry Glukhovsky's magnum opus, incredible visual and sound design, and a wealth of mechanics that represent the Metro staples, this title is a tense, gripping and action-packed blast for VR fanatics.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a compelling new entry in the series, taking the franchise in a new direction with more RPG-lite ideals. This decision will alienate Die Hard fans but will undoubtedly win favor with new fans willing to embrace the series.
Neva is a game that builds on the platforming prowess of its predecessor GRIS, offering powerful pastel visuals, incredible use of color and flora, and sublime set-pieces to tell a powerful story where your bond is everything. The game offers a newfound dynamism, trading in the label of a puzzle platformer for a more traditional adventure platforming approach. Sadly, the game fails to hit the narrative heights of its predecessor, and also fails to truly get the most out of each mechanic presented. But despite this, Neva is a captivating, visually jaw-dropping indie that is simply too good to ignore.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a masterfully crafted JRPG that seamlessly takes all that was excellent about the Persona series and weaves a fantasy tale like no other. It's a tale with layers and levels that is wonderfully paced, offering a wealth of familiar mechanics and systems.
The Plucky Squire is both a familiar and predictable, and gorgeously ambitious and creative title. At its best, it's a dimension-hopping romp with excellent meta-writing, standout set-pieces and mini-games, and undeniably creative puzzle mechanics.
The Last Song is a Souls-like experience that takes a lot of big swings, and while there are a few hiccups along the way, many of these risks pay off.
Deathbound is a game that has a lot of great ideas that seem amazing on paper, but few of them actually end up hitting the mark. The clear high points of this game pretty much all relate to the setting, the story, and the characters presented, but even this is marred by the goofy vocal performances and the frequency of the swearing in a bid to seem edgy and cool. But in the end, the game is dragged down by a wonky multi-character combat system, a messy health system, an all-round unresponsiveness, which is a death warrant in a Souls-like such as this, and the fact that the game's performance is enough to make you throw in the towel before you even have a good reason to write the game off. It feels like a game that would have benefited from pivoting to an all-out hack-and-slash format because, despite labeling itself as one, Deathbound simply doesn't have the polish or the attention to detail needed to truly call itself a Souls game.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a resounding triumph that showcases how comedy and gaming can thrive in perfect harmony. This ability to be at the heart of this interactive comedic experience enhances the belly laughs, the surreal silliness is a joy to behold, and the level design, ever-changing environment and exquisite animation all play their part as well. It's a title that captures the essence of small-town British life and then pushes the stereotypes to the nth degree to offer over-the-top characters and gags that will live long in the memory. It is an admittedly short experience, but it's one that serves as a blueprint for anyone who wants to create a game where humor is the USP.
SCHiM is a game that initially shows a lot of promise with a truly unique concept that is realized through expert-level design and makes the world around you feel believable and dynamic. It's a blast to hop around and enjoy the lazy afternoon tunes as you experience a quaint, if rather unremarkable, silent narrative. In the end, however, the game fails to squeeze all the juice out of this fantastic concept, offering far too much filler content to pad the experience and not enough unique puzzles, engaging platforming challenges, and environmental gimmicks to justify the number of levels present. The optional challenges and collectibles will appeal to some who are able to make their own fun, but overall, SCHiM feels like a wonderful proof of concept that fails to achieve its true potential.
There are so many games in the zeitgeist that focus on offering the most realistic or the most refined and polished experience on the market, but often this can be to the detriment of fun. Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip knows this all too well, focusing solely on bringing the fun factor. It's a love letter to successful mascot platformers of old while offering some much-needed fan service to the kid-friendly GTA-clone sub-genre that gave us The Simpsons Hit and Run and Lego City Undercover. It's not a game that's going to change your life, but it's a wonderful, action-packed romp that just might make a lazy afternoon a little more memorable.
Nine Sols is a Metroidvania that does what many have failed to do within the genre and actually creates an experience that feels like an authentic, grueling, atmospheric and unique 2D Souls game. Artistically, it's hard to find any fault with it as the blend of Tao Tradition and Cyberpunk dystopia is captivating. The narrative is gritty, mature and uncompromising, which leads to an engaging story from start to end, and the gameplay is a refined showcase of combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The difficulty settings may be a little askew, and some may feel that the central themes are too graphic and unsettling at times. But all in all, Nine Sols, in a stacked year, as far as Metroidvanias are concerned, does more than enough to force itself into the conversation, as it could be a contender for indie game of the year.
Starstruck Vagabond is an audacious attempt to provide a space-based life sim that doesn't go to the same well as many developers have done in the post-Stardew-Valley landscape. In this bid to stand out from the rest, however, this game feels like a smorgasbord of simple, repetitive and generally uninteresting mindless chores. The game has a solid foundation with understandable, intuitive mechanics and the promise of an addictive gameplay loop. And while it delivers in one way to offer a 'switch-your-brain-off' sort of feel, the game feels as vacuous as the setting. The humorous writing does help to motivate you to begrudgingly push for the finish line, but in the end, it's all just busy work, and not the fun kind.