I quite enjoyed I Hate This Place and found the gameplay loop to be solid. While the story elements waver in their quality, the world built here is engaging and rich with detail. While Elena may not want to return to the ranch any time soon, I could easily see a sequel that really digs into some more of this wonderfully crafted world.
Philna Fantasy has a lot going for it. The progression systems are great, and really allow you to customize your character and tailor them to what you want from them. The game has plenty of environments to venture through, bosses to defeat, and a solid combat system to devour. However, part of what makes a good RPG is its story, its cast of characters, and an engaging reason for your hero to take on this journey, and sadly, Philna Fantasy suffers the most in these crucial categories.
Despite some poor choices and an unreliable mechanic, not to mention the annoyance that are the tremors, I still had a great time with Memories from Orbit, basking in its gorgeous visuals and memorable characters, and consider it as one of the better Metroidvania titles in years. That said, its issues are wildly apparent, and while they could be patched in the future, the title at launch is what it is, a fantastic game held back by some severe accessibility roadblocks.
I am Future is exactly what it says on the tin, it is a cozy apocalypse survival game, and is a nice alternative to what we usually see. It isn't always engaging, but the bright visuals, comfy music, and charm do a lot of heavy lifting here, making this one rooftop party worth attending.
So'lek's journey is a deeply personal one, one that feels incredibly well told with a great respect for the source material. It certainly helps to have seen the last two films, but it certainly doesn't lessen the experience in significant ways if you've yet to watch them. From the Ashes provides a very similar feel to the base game, with unfortunately little to really have it truly stand alone. So'lek's journey is wonderful, but it colors inside the lines of the original just a bit too much.
Trails Beyond the Horizon is a solid sequel to a saga that showed great potential in its first outing. The stakes are wildly impressive and goes places I simply didn’t see the series reaching. While the non-critical elements of the story do drag on, with several pointless and boring side quests, the core narrative told across three different paths, each with several of the series’ best characters, results in a climactic finale that shows why this series is one of the best JRPG’s out there.
While the Terrifier series has a massive cult following, I don't see the game having the same treatment. It is surprisingly shallow and feels as if no testing was done to have some balance to its difficulty. While playing with friends does soften some of the issues, there are just better games in the genre that provide far more variety than what they give you here. Terrifier: The ARTcade Game may have had great intentions to provide a fun game for its audience, but it simply falls flat and feels like a quick-to-market licensed game that doesn't do the film franchise any favors.
While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, on the Nintendo Switch, is a jaw-dropping visual feast that runs incredibly well on the hardware, even in portable play, the foundation the game is built on is anything but a Metroid game. In many ways, this feels like a mediocre Halo game starring our beloved bounty hunter, Samus Aran. What suffers the most is the very linear nature of the game, the vast open desert that feels wasted, and the lack of anything that really cements itself as the originator of a beloved genre. Extremely disappointed.
While I had my expectations in check, given the scope of what Legends ZA would offer, I was ultimately let down in a big way here. The Switch 2 version certainly provides some solid performance with the sharpest visuals the series has seen, but apart from an interesting battle system, everything else ZA tries to do is met with absolute failure. From boring side quests to a narrative loop that lasts far too long, and one of the most underwhelming finales across the franchise, ZA is simply boring and feels like filler until the next main entry.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is a visually good-looking game, and there is a lot here that feels at home with the license. It's just a shame Legacy of Shadow is as barebones as we see with most VR titles. There is always some interesting hook that has a game built around it, but Legacy of Shadow lacks a hook to lay the foundation. The subtle nicking of items is fun, but a game built around this beloved license simply deserved more.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has a lot going for it despite its pretty shallow portal mechanic. There is a huge roster of characters, a nice variety of tracks, to a robust customization system that can work in your favor. It isn't revolutionary by any means, but it certainly is a great alternative to the likes of Mario Kart, or even Nickelodeon’s own kart racer.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an easy recommendation to fans of the genre and the characters themselves. While additional characters being added via DLC is in a “wait and see” approach, according to Tribute, I can just imagine what could be added to a game that uses its roster in fun ways. Cosmic Invasion is incredibly fun, but it is an experience that is over far too soon.
While this remaster could have rebuilt some environments to feel less dated, there is still a charming approach to preserving the 3DS visuals, even if it usually conflicts with what I prefer for a remaster of an older game. Still, Monster Hunter Stories is a vivid and colorful world to explore, and the addition of voice acting really provides the game with an added boost of personality, even if that damn Navirou won't shut up.
Total Chaos is a very inconsistent experience that I like far more than I don't, one encounter aside. The atmosphere is incredibly well done with some interesting enemy designs and a fairly engaging combat system that reminded me of Condemned: Criminal Origins. With a robust crafting system and rewards for exploration, there was always a reason for discovering secrets and going off the beaten path. While some may be put off by its weak AI and method of storytelling, Total Chaos is certainly worth a look, given its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass.
If you take Strike Force Heroes as an arcade experience, with minimal depth to its systems, there is a solid shooter here that feels like the perfect marriage of something like Contra meets Smash Bros. With a robust multiplayer suite, a fun campaign, and some decent customization to your soldier, Strike Force Heroes is fun, while it lasts.
Age of Imprisonment is a vastly enjoyable Zelda adventure that, like Age of Calamity before it, gave me a better story than Link’s last two outings. The world of The Legend of Zelda is massive, across numerous timelines and games. While the gameplay is certainly a different taste than the main series games, I simply find these to offer more of what I want; great combat, fun characters, and compelling story. Age of Imprisonment has new stewards in AAA Game Studio, and so far, they've succeeded in providing a wildly addictive game with only a few blemishes across the whole package.
While it was somewhat commonplace back then to overlook so many of the original’s issues, it is downright impossible now with the wealth of titles releasing every day. Sacred 2 deserved a much better effort, and this is frankly one of the most disappointing remasters in recent history.
Titans of the Tide's best qualities are its focus on playing to its story and the switch mechanics performed by the dynamic duo. The original voices are back, and while a few lines are repeated far too often, the narrative really places the pair in scenarios that bring out the best in the voice cast. Titans of Tide certainly feels like it is borrowing from The Cosmic Shake at almost every step, but it does refine some of those rough edges into one of the best SpongeBob games out there.
Neon Inferno, despite its throwaway title, is a throwback to some of the best games of all time. It simply feels great to control, and while two-player can get a bit hectic, given the size of the sprites, it still is a fantastic hour and change to experience, even if the rating economy can hold back some of the additional weaponry you can bring into combat. Regardless, when it comes to the Shoot’em Up genre, Neon Inferno is a solid addition and was simply a blast to play.
Chickenhare and the Treasure of Spiking Beard may entertain younger gamers who are obsessed with the films, but I truly wonder how big of an audience that is. The Switch has hundreds of platformers, and dozens of those that are widely acclaimed, so choosing this over any of those would likely be a rare occurrence. The game sadly doesn't stand out or offer anything competent in its bland design. While the movies likely have some sort of personality, this brief four hour journey sadly does not.