Castle on the Coast is a lovingly crafted 3D platformer packed with humour and excellent level design. I was thoroughly entertained during the three hours or so it took to complete the game. However, the fiddly gameplay, performance (on the Switch) and the stunt car level are fairly significant drawbacks, meaning that, overall, the game is only recommended for fans of the genre.
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Hollow Knight is a very thoughtfully designed game with a cohesive world and fast, well-designed combat. The platforming sequences and exploration of the game world are likewise a lot of fun. Occasional dragging due to what I consider unnecessary travel paths, and the somewhat excessive number of hits required against bosses, slightly cloud my overall impression, yet I was very well entertained for a total of 30 hours.
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Overall, Heart Chain Kitty is an ambitious and creative game that does have some quirks, particularly those that can make getting into the game quite unpleasant. Those who aren't put off by this will find some well-crafted level designs in the latter half of the game and certainly have several hours of fun with it. Nevertheless, Heart Chain Kitty is clearly a game only for genre enthusiasts, because despite its commendable independence, it cannot by any means measure up to the giants of the genre.
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Balan Wonderworld is primarily an interesting choice as a creative curiosity for genre fans, but unfortunately fails to package the many good ideas it contains into a polished whole, leaving players less inclined towards the genre out of luck.
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Overall, God of War is a decent action adventure that shifts focus more heavily toward character development, thereby sacrificing some of the series' intensity. Admirably, the world design is significantly more convincing overall, and the spectacular final bosses manage to convey their impact without glorifying violence as much. In my opinion, God of War is the weakest installment in the series I know, though it's distinct enough that I can readily understand if other players see it differently.
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Overall, Astro's Playroom is a rather short but consistently entertaining platformer with creative level design, many fun gimmicks with the DualSense controller, and a sympathetic presentation. In my opinion, Sony could have placed the game on the shelves as a budget title without any changes and still created a must-buy for the console launch.
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Glyph is a very interesting and creative 3D platformer with good level design. However, the game is also frustrating to an unusual degree and demands a precision that can hardly be mastered with absolute certainty. As a result, Glyph feels at times as if a fair amount of luck is involved. Yet once you have truly internalized the mechanics, Glyph rewards the player with some truly fast-paced and intense gameplay moments.
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Overall, Final Fantasy VII is a solid RPG that, however, represents a noticeable step backward in gameplay, while its presentation—though technically progressive—doesn't particularly benefit the actual player experience.
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Double Pug Switch is an intense and well-designed auto-runner with exciting level design and interesting bosses. The simple game concept is thoroughly exploited, so the player gets their money's worth across the 40 short but punchy levels.
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Hotshot Racing is a consistently entertaining racing game with good track design and easy-to-grasp controls. Gameplay-wise and visually inspired by classics from the 90s, the game particularly appeals to fans of early arcade racers. Given that this subgenre has been virtually dormant for years, it's especially easy to recommend Hotshot Racing to anyone who can appreciate arcade racers. Fun is guaranteed here.
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A Hat in Time is an entertaining 3D Jump & Run with good level design, but partly weak mission design. A special praise deserves the idea of the dive jump, which can be interrupted in mid-air and ensures a great gameplay feeling in more demanding jumping scenes. On the other hand, the game suffers from a very unpleasant camera guidance and especially on the Switch from a doubtful optimization for the console.
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Battletoads is probably the best Rare game in more than ten years, and Dlala Studios has done a very good job together with Rare at reviving the Battletoads. Anyone who can appreciate arcade games and especially brawlers should take a look at the game.
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