Niko Lähteenmäki's Reviews
From the co-creator of Rick & Morty comes an imperfect but fun FPS that has waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many jokes that doesn't quite make you laugh. At its best however, there is some fun to be had, including solid gunplay, actually funny jokes and colorful landscapes.
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Probably the wackiest Suda51 game ever. Fans will love it, others... Well, you just have to try it. As an action-adventure game, it is solid for the most part!
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I can’t say how much fans of the original work may be irritated by the changes made to gameplay or graphics, but from a personal perspective, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined completely won my heart. The diorama-style presentation, charming visual design, successful changes to pacing, masterful music, and of course the safe yet great gameplay made this "bloke" long for simpler times. At every turn, the game radiates a warm, cinnamon-roll-scented coziness – as if I was returning to my own lovely home after a long journey.
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Despite its difficulty, Sektori is pretty much a perfect arcade-style twin-stick shooter and has fully earned its score. Even after hours of gameplay, I still don’t feel particularly skilled, but that is by no means the game’s fault – quite the opposite. I’m aware that I’m only at the beginning of my journey and nowhere near satisfied yet, and I intend to continue my “studies” with the game so that I can climb as high as possible on the global rankings. Sektori is a modern work of art that justifies every one of its gameplay design choices with style and craftsmanship. Instead of mocking the player, it rewards improvement fairly as skill grows.
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Almost as charming and whimsical as the first Tombi!, but that's not enough when controls are this frustrating. The 3D graphics haven't aged that well either, and the soundtrack is a bit of a let down compared to the first game. If your nostalgia is strong with this one, you might get some enjoyment from Tombi! 2, since it is rather faithful to the original release.
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Tombi! Special Edition makes up for its shortcomings with its distinctive charm and cheerful vibe so effectively that the occasional ’90s jank hardly bothered me at all. Yes, at times you really have to rack your brains about where to go next and some of the tasks are downright esoteric, but the overall experience is still quite refreshing. As a platformer, Tombi! is fun and childlike in a good way.
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Despite its short length, Terminator 2D: NO FATE is an excellent retro shooter that emulates the '90s gameplay so faithfully that it doesn’t really introduce any particularly fresh ideas of its own. However, as a cultural piece of art, Bitmap Bureau’s latest work is such a spot-on achievement that its minor shortcomings hardly detract from the experience at all.
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What kind of experience is the new Just Dance from the perspective of a dance newbie? Well, first of all, everything is cheerful, lively, and colorful – which isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, but you get used to it. On the other hand, everything runs smoothly (at least on Switch 2), and the experience has been pleasant enough that I definitely plan to keep sweating it out on the "home dance floor". What bothers me more however, is the lack of imagination, especially regarding the game modes. It all feels a bit too safe for my taste, even though there’s so much potential to do more.
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Syberia - Remastered is successful re-release (especially visually) that remains faithful to the original, though it could perhaps have been refined a bit more towards a modern gameplay experience. However, in my book, the points of criticism are so minor that they don’t spoil the experience at all. On the contrary: even in its remastered form, Syberia remains one of the finest works of its genre from the 2000s. Hopefully the sequel will receive an equally polished treatment in the future, as the first game famously ends on quite a cliffhanger.
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Ninja Gaiden 4 restores faith in the long-running series after a rather mediocre third entry. The nineteen-chapter adventure is just the right length for this kind of action, especially if you’re eager to hunt down every collectible and fight your way through every (devilish) Purgatory stage.
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Even with a few rough edges here and there, Yooka-Replaylee totally earns its spot as a re-release. Playtonic has clearly been listening to fan feedback, and it really shows. Thanks to the solid foundation of the original, the game now feels properly on par with the big names – a genuinely fun (if pretty chill regarding the difficulty) ‘90s-style platformer full of dad jokes, babbling characters, and googly eyes on just about everything. I caught myself grinning more than once, even though that Banjo-style character mumbling might not be for everyone. Don’t worry though – you can turn it off in the settings! And if Yooka-Laylee ever gets a proper sequel, I’d love to see Playtonic go for something even closer to Banjo-Kazooie – more worlds, a tighter structure, and that classic collect-a-thon magic turned up to eleven.
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One of the most positive surprises of the year is here: Digimon Story Time Stranger manages to impress even those who are unfamiliar with Digimon, despite some minor hiccups. It’s a solid turn-based role-playing adventure that even Pokémon fans shouldn’t pass.
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It feels a bit tiring to give the same summary every year, but it’s true: despite its shortcomings, EA Sports FC 26 is once again the best football game on the market. That said, there still isn’t much real competition. Aside from Konami’s wonky eFootball (formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer), there are only a few smaller titles, such as the 5-on-5 game Rematch and the excellent, emotional, story-driven football tale Despelote. However, in terms of style, these play in a completely different league compared to EA Sports FC.
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Swery and Suda together! What could possibly go wrong? Well, unfortunately, quite a lot of things. It’s just a true shame that personality, good music and horror movie references alone doesn’t make for a good gameplay experience. Maybe masochists and roguelite veterans will get more out of this, but for me it fell disappointingly flat. Here’s hoping that Suda’s next epic will deliver on its promises better next year.
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Earthion is an amazing shoot 'em up, that by no means revolutionizes the world, and those who are already lukewarm toward the genre may not find a new favorite here either. But it’s impossible not to appreciate how everything that Ancient and Bitwave have done radiates love and passion for the genre as well as for the Sega’s old hardware. Since the final product is simply a thoroughly well-designed and polished game with awesome soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, why not reward it with five stars?
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Pac-Man World 2 Re-PAC is – for better or worse – very carefree and straightforward platforming fun, which suits especially for nostalgics and younger audiences, thanks to its colorful appearance and retro vibes.
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Lost Soul Aside is a particularly frustrating case. Yang Bing and his team have managed to create flashy and quite fun action game full of mostly well-designed boss fights, nice graphics and great music. But nearly everything else around it is so hollow and tedious that it was hard to muster the energy to see it through to the end. And I apologize for nitpicking about the price, but when a game drains roughly 70 euros from your wallet, certain aspects really should be in a much better state.
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What can you do: SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance is an absolutely brilliant action blast, oozing with style. Gamers in their thirties and forties will certainly notice various Sega references, but on the other hand Lizardcube has found such a timeless style for the game that even complete newcomers are bound to enjoy it.
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In short, System Shock 2 is better than ever in its remastered form. It managed to win me over, even though certain aspects have inevitably aged over the past quarter of a century and the graphics scream the late '90s. Despite its minor flaws, it has aged more gracefully than many of its contemporaries and absolutely still deserves its place on the imaginary Walk of Fame of video games. On top of that, it’s easier to recommend to newcomers than its remade predecessor.
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It pains me to say this, but Shadow Labyrinth feels somewhat like a relic in terms of structure, level design, and combat – one that seemingly never witnessed the birth of games like the Ori series or Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. In principle, it offers the foundations for a solid Metroidvania and is by no means a bad game. In practice, however, many of its competitors do things significantly better, especially when it comes to art style and combat. Unfortunately, not even the occasional nods to other Bandai Namco retro titles or the random Pac-Man mazes can quite make up for this.
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