There's a lot to talk about with Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered. The wild world, the funny writing, the varied and tense gameplay, the rockin' soundtrack, the silly characters, the serious moments, or the awesome sense of progression, just to name a few enjoyable things. It only took me about 8 hours to finish the game and most of that was in one sitting. I have only played Shadows of the Damned once at PAX East 2024 earlier this year and it was such a great demo, the full game delivered all of that and more. Add in the New Game Plus feature that lets you keep your late game upgrades or the optional gyro aiming, and you have an incredibly arcade-y experience that keeps you laughing and blasting for hours. The game launches on October 31st and I can't recommend it enough. This is a punk rock gem that everyone can love.
I Am Your Beast is a silly game and it has some jank. There's not a lot to play unless you're the speedrunning type but what's here is fun. The delay and patch were sorely needed and I'm glad to recommend at the very least wishlisting the game on Steam. There's some jank, the game isn't a looker, and it's not very long on its own, but it's worth checking out if you want something quick and silly. From the sick kills that start with a headshot, letting you catch a gun midair. Other times hitting a beehive or explosive barrel and taking out multiple dudes is fun too.
While the new epilogue is certainly better balanced than the original, it still has a lot of the same pitfalls. The cutbacks break through just enough to bring the DLC experience down. Persona 3 Reload's Episode Aigis DLC is good but not great. They say "it's about the journey" and that certainly rings true whether you're in 2008 or 2024.
Squirrel With A Gun has been a lot of fun. I detail the technical issues and the somewhat cheap looking visuals but the core game is solid and I think it's worth your time. If you want a solid, small scale collectathon that will give you giggles, Squirrel With A Gun might be for you. This isn't my game of the year, but I think it says something that this dorky concept made for a pretty fun experience. It's not violent since there's no blood, it's not just that one joke, it's trying to be a simple and fun game with some genuinely good game design choices. This was a good game with some rough edges and I think it's worth your time. Or maybe you just read the deez nuts joke in the headline and expected that to set the tone for the review.
Visions of Mana is a rollercoaster of emotions. The team under Square Enix has made a beautiful game with a solid mechanical foundation. But the balance of the game has been somewhat out of whack. What's here is not bad, just unpolished and a bit lacking. Visions of Mana is worth your time if the issues mentioned with combat and story won't be an issue for you. Maybe try it on a harder setting. At the very least, I recommend trying the free demo on every platform as that will give you a feel for how the game controls and feels. Visions of Mana is solid but doesn't quite reach the heights it aimed for.
I think it's fair to say that Spy X Anya is for a very specific crowd of people. If you like Animal Crossing and you love the Forger household along with some of their compatriots, this is probably the game for you. You might play a pretty decent chunk of it like I did, and get your money's worth. But honestly I can only recommend picking this up on sale. What's here is perfectly functional yet barebones and I don't think that's enough to rate it highly. With over 32-story missions, 49 side missions, and 51 challenge missions, you have a lot of game to enjoy if this sounds appealing to you. Or maybe giving Yor a ponytail for the entire game gives you gender euphoria and that makes Spy X Anya the perfect game.