If you can’t get enough of the 3D platformer/collect-a-thon subset of games, Hop ‘n’ Marty is undoubtedly going to be more of what you love. It’s a great time, albeit done quicker than you might hope. For a studio as small and young as Evilkookey Games, though, it’s quite an achievement.
I loved my time swinging around the Grombi Isles in Completely Stretchy, even if the whole affair only lasted about two hours. There’s certainly some fun to be had in completing the game, but don’t expect it to be an exceedingly-long journey. In fact, you might just beat the whole thing in one sitting. Super Rare Originals still has my full attention, but it might be worth waiting for a sale at the current price point of $18.99 USD/$27.95 AU.
Hitting the slopes in Slopecrashers is a rollicking good time. Past the funny characters, simple premise, and accessible controls is a title that has a solid depth to it. A most welcome challenge to racing fans that want to get all the gold medals and bonuses in the campaign, even if there’s a lot of repetition to it.
Entropy Survivors has worked its way to my top 5 bullet heavens ever, alongside greats like Soulstone Survivors and Halls of Torment. It’s one of the best things I’ve played all year and one I will continue to play into the new year, thanks to its polish, addictive nature, and laundry list of challenges I desperately want to tick off. My search for a diamond in the rough was successful here, and I couldn’t recommend this title more for any fans of bullet heavens, Survivors-likes, and/or roguelites.
didn’t expect Life is Strange: Double Exposure to be a home run; following up a split-decision story was bound to upset the fanbase someway or another. I don’t know how, but Deck Nine Games managed to adopt the groundwork DONTNOD laid out and emulated the first game’s presentation, characterization, and storytelling to a T in a true case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Starfield: Shattered Space is an overpriced, disappointing expansion that adds little to the game aside from some neat weapons. There’s too much talking, not enough shooting, and an underwhelming amount of content for its asking price of $29.99 USD. It’s a serious drop in quality from what Bethesda was able to do more than a decade ago.
I went into Metaphor: ReFantazio not knowing what to expect, but one thing I didn’t expect was to be so intrigued that I’d let it be all I’d play for weeks on end. For a game to have a gripping story, combat that’s easy to learn and hard to master, characters I care about, and no performance issues truly covers all my bases and makes this a great entry point to anyone so inclined from its trailers.
Despite its drawbacks, I will say I still had hours of fun in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. There’s something to be said about learning how a game functions and overcoming its faults, but if the flaws are insurmountable, it’s a detriment to the entire experience. Fans of the original should do their research before shelling out $50 USD for the remaster.
I’ll keep riding this wave of nostalgia if the end result is a great game, and Akimbot is just that. Developed over three years in spare time, Evil Raptor knew their target audience and have a solid title to offer here. With just some nitpicks here and there, no glaring issues are present in Akimbot. It’s the total package, with a decent game length and has enough going on to keep players hooked.
It pains me to not easily recommend Star Wars Outlaws, as it’s got so much Star Wars DNA and a competent formula for the most part. If the stealth felt more like being sneaky and less like moving like a snake to avoid sightlines, and the combat rewarded skill in your ability to overcome enemies instead of just spawning more and more, this would be a home run. What’s really here is unpolished, tiresome fighting that makes up most of your gameplay amidst the rest of the pieces of the pie that are strong.
Of the three collections in the Integrum Masterpiece, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix has all the essentials and the ones that the majority of fans grew up with. With an MSRP of $49.99 US for hundreds of hours of gameplay, it’s a no-brainer for anyone seeking the nostalgia, as these ports are of magnificent quality and polish – a rarity in the modern PC gaming landscape.
As with most Devolver Digital titles, gameplay is the name of the game, and Children of the Sun is at its best when you’ve just figured out how to whittle away a staggering amount of enemies with what looks like relative ease. The process of getting there can be frustrating when you’ve brainstormed and tinkered around tons of strategies, but the end result of puzzle success generates dopamine like no other game can.
From top to bottom, Horizon: Forbidden West’s PC port is a great thing for PC gaming. Not only does it show that a feature-complete, well-polished AAA port on PC should become the norm and not a diamond in the rough, it’s a grand time to have with its enhancements on the platform. It’s must-play territory for anyone who enjoyed Horizon: Zero Dawn or wants to sink their teeth into a large adventure in the shoes of a protagonist that gets things done.
While Penny’s Big Breakaway maintains everything that wowed players in Sonic Mania’s presentation, Evening Star’s transition into 3D isn’t without some stumbles and trips. A few fixes, like being able to bind the dash button away from the swing button, or some more keen playtesting to iron out certain sections that feel like work to get through, and this game could reach greatness.
As Ubisoft’s CEO struggles to convince consumers that a full-priced live service game is worth buying in the vein of Skull and Bones, I can’t help but feel like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a case in point as to why $60 and $70 USD new games are as hard a sell as ever. With significant performance hampers, missions that put your arsenal on hold, and no autosaves that risk you losing tons of progress in a second, this game doesn’t feel ready for the public even after years of delays.
The Last of Us Part II has always been a polarizing game. I was part of the public that let my curiosity get the better of me and saw the disparaging leaks before the game released. Despite this, I soldiered on and enjoyed the game’s attention-to-detail, combat, and atmosphere in spite of its shortcomings elsewhere. I also subscribe to the fact that this series having more remasters than original entries is ludicrous – but I’m complacent in the fact that the addition of No Return makes this particular remaster so worth it.
I’ve been a colossal Spider-Man fan for 20+ years now, and I can confidently say that from all of the games I’ve played, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 evoked all of the warm, fuzzy feelings that Spider Man 2 gave me almost 2 decades ago. The web-swinging is supreme, the fights are an absolute joy, the presentation is superb, and it all culminates in a video game that I sunk an entire three days into and never wanted to take a break from.
It is far from a seamless transition from any other previous Bethesda game into Starfield, and that’s perfectly fine, because with all that Starfield has to offer, it’s worth it to learn how the game works; I was scared this game wouldn’t click for me, but four hours in and I was hooked like nothing else I’ve played to this point this year.
When you reach the checkout screen for a game like Atlas Fallen, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. You know that this isn’t the hyper-polished, AAA experience, but instead, a game you can sink a ton of time into and flex your gaming skills with. To answer the question I posed in the introduction, Atlas Fallen may not be a $50 game, but it’s one that’s going to be worth your purchase when it inevitably, swiftly hits a sale soon. You’ll not regret your time exploring, delving, and completing everything you want to in this great action RPG.
Dave the Diver is an easy first-ballot game-of-the-year contender for 2023. It’s that rare game that checks every box, does something fresh, and is a shoe-in to recommend to just about anyone. There’s no pain points, nothing that sticks out like a sore thumb; on the contrary, it’s hard to say what Dave the Diver does best because it does everything so well. I will be delving the depths of Dave the Diver for dozens of hours to come.