Little King’s Story is not the worst port to have ever existed. However, the myriad problems that exist in the game mean the overall experience playing it on PC is badly tarnished. Essentially, it’s just really, really annoying. At the moment it is a bit of a broken mess and, until these issues are addressed anyone wishing to experience this title would do better to revisit the Wii original than waste time or money here.
In all honesty, this is a game to avoid.
Rather than investing in an immersive, intuitive, enjoyable gameplay experience, they have, unfortunately, created a generic and rather boring click fest of a game.
The overall lack of polish, the game's repetitive nature and the completely dysfunctional way in which information is presented to the player is a real let down. As a result, I don't think Warriors All-Stars is a game that is going to win over many new fans. The combat is accessible but everything else is a bit of a chore.
The problem I have with Holiday Star as a visual novel is the fact that the storytelling is, unfortunately, pretty weak. I did not feel remotely immersed in the stories and there was nothing to truly ingratiate me as a player – and I use that term literally in the sense of a person sitting down to play a game – in terms of my ability to interact with, influence, or even care about the narrative and its outcome. This, combined with Holiday Star's inability to even attempt to welcome new players into this zany universe, is a pretty major shortcoming. If you enjoyed the original game, this sequel will probably hold a certain amount of interest. For everyone else, I'm not sure it's worth the time.
Unfortunately, the best way to describe Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX+ is as follows: a console port that feels like it isn’t supposed to be played on console. As a result, it feels like a cheap experience – a rehash of highlights without any thought as to how the package fits together as a whole. Perhaps most egregiously, the medium through which this console version is played appears to be an afterthought at best.
Totally Reliable Delivery Service is a game that might provide passing entertainment to a group of friends for an hour or two; and the more challenging deliveries do generate some hilarious moments whilst making one ever more determined to try and complete them. But the novelty soon wears off, and there’s not really anything here that is likely to convince many to stay.
Exit the Gungeon is ultimately neither a good bullet hell game, nor a particularly fun experience. All in all, it’s a pretty bite size offering that lacks the variety one would expect from a full PC title.
All in all, Strikers Edge is a moderately fun game with limited long-term appeal. It's sincere enough but, ultimately, rather forgettable.
Despite its early promise, The Descendant’s rushed, extremely short ending felt clumsily executed. While it contained a few surprises, the delivery of Episode 5’s conclusion felt arbitrary, contrived and slightly out-of-sync with the narrative that’s been told over the course of the season. Perhaps most disappointingly, the player has very little agency in Episode 5 – a real let down, given the game’s initial promise that the choices made by the player would be impactful as the story progressed.
I remain interested in how Gaming AB plan to conclude this story, and what the final episode holds in store for each of these characters. However, if the story-telling and dialogue is not an improvement on Episode 4, players may be in for a derivative ending that undermines the interesting ideas set up by earlier chapters.
For those wanting to try to fill a Portal-shaped hole in their gaming lives, Magnetic: Cage Closed might be a passable quick fix, but that's it. Ultimately the game doesn't do enough to establish its own identity and as a result, it feels like a rushed, cheap knock-off.
Caladrius Blaze has good core mechanics which offers some classic shmup gameplay. The shame breaks are a disappointing distraction at best and the game's campaign is a little short. However, in terms of action this is a pretty solid shmup and should please most fans of the genre.
Let’s be realistic. For an annual sports franchise, it’s not necessarily practical to expect huge evolution year on year. It’s also fair to say that at a minimum, players should expect EA to deliver incremental quality of life improvements and make an effort to hone their overall experience of the game for the better. Whilst there is only so far the needle can be pushed year on year, the launch of a new Madden on next-gen systems presented EA with an opportunity to really raise the bar. That’s why it’s particularly disappointing that Madden 22 only offers stagnant content and, sadly, creative disinterest.
Ultimately, AI: The Somnium Files is a game that has moments of brilliance that are obscured by a disjointed narrative and investigative process. Aside from the Somnium sequences – which are, admittedly, very cool – the game failed to motivate me to truly engage with its overarching story. I just didn’t find it appealing.
It's worth a look because of its unique style, which really is a cut above the rest, and it is clear that White Rabbit have had a good crack at producing a game that tries to be creative with an established formula. However, be prepared for a journey that's a bit of a slog in more ways than one.
However, it's also likely to leave those older players thinking some things are better left alone as happy memories. It's the same reason that new players are unlikely to be enamoured. It's difficult to play a game like this in isolation. Sooner or later, the mind wanders back to the present – the truth is, the genre has come on in leaps and bounds since Age of Empires came on the scene all those years ago and this is one remaster that feels like it doesn't really belong.
Ultimately, Tesla vs. Lovecraft isn't particularly innovative but is, nonetheless, extremely enjoyable and easy to pick up and play. Milestone challenges and higher difficulty levels will encourage players to come back for more. However, a woefully underdeveloped story contributes to an overall lack of personality depth, which leaves this game feeling less memorable than its solid gameplay perhaps deserves.
There is an enjoyable game in here, but it currently lives down the road. For now, however, Starpoint Gemini Warlords is a product that doesn't do any one thing well enough to justify its price point and the accompanying time investment it requires of players.
While the puzzles suffered a little here, the plot continues to thicken. As a story, I remain interested in where The Descendent is going.