Kemono Heroes combines the game design of classic European platformers with a delightful tribute to imaginative and original Japanese mythology. If you’re a fan of both, it’s hard to find a reason not to play this game. Thanks to its low difficulty level, it’s perfect for playing with kids, but you’ll enjoy it just as much as a solo player.
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Rogue Flight serves as proof that Runner was no fluke and that the developers at Truant Pixel are simply masters of minimalist arcade gameplay and graphics. What may seem like an unassuming little game at first glance is actually an almost addictive and thrilling shooter that will delight your sense of aesthetics and satisfy your craving for explosive action.
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Iron Meat is an excellent example of adrenaline-fueled run-and-gun action. It combines everything that made this genre popular in the ’80s and ’90s while also taking advantage of modern hardware capabilities and introducing its own—primarily visual—ideas. It’s a thrilling ride from start to finish; the only criticism is that it ends too soon.
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If you were expecting a wild action-packed experience from Rusty Rabbit, you’ve come to the wrong place. The developers at Nitroplus have crafted a solid, straightforward Metroidvania with lighthearted gameplay, blended with elements of a visual novel. Its charm, however, doesn’t lie in how it plays. What makes it captivating is, above all, its atmosphere and the fictional world it presents. That’s precisely what sets it apart from the competition, which may well have more complex and polished gameplay mechanics.
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The House of the Dead: Remake is just as delightfully trashy, brutal, and entertaining as the original, whose structure, style, and atmosphere it skillfully emulates. However, aside from new graphics and Horde Mode, it doesn’t expand on the original experience in any way. That said, considering that the original The House of the Dead was never ported to more modern devices and its ancient PC version is technically very stripped-down and poorly executed, we can be glad that, thanks to this remake, today’s players can also experience this arcade classic.
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Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a charming and surprisingly well-crafted platformer that will delight seasoned players just as much as beginners, including children. It isn’t brimming with originality and relies exclusively on elements we’ve seen before, but it does so with effortless ease and flair. While Kao the Kangaroo, for example, comes across as a likable but still clearly low-budget and less polished imitation of famous AAA titles, Nikoderiko matches them in quality. I’m jotting down the name of the studio, VEA Games, in my notebook, as we can reasonably expect great things from them.
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Moons of Darsalon is essentially a kind of postmodern mosaic that, on the one hand, is clearly inspired by several famous models, yet is actually original. Self-aware humor, well-designed levels, and a smooth difficulty curve outweigh minor issues with the controls and the behavior of the pixelated characters, whom you’re apparently rescuing against their will. Thanks to its many aesthetic references, the game will appeal most to gamers with a nostalgic streak.
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Path of Fury - Episode I: Tetsuo's Tower is undoubtedly an interesting and well-made game, but it must be said right away that it’s not for everyone. The ideal player should actually meet several specific criteria at once. They should enjoy physically intense virtual reality games, appreciate the aesthetics of 1980s Hong Kong action movies, and be able to appreciate simple arcade-style gameplay. If you meet these criteria, you’ll not only work up a sweat but also have a great time.
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Rendering Ranger: R2 [Rewind] is essentially a must-buy for all fans of the run-and-gun genre, retro gaming, and gaming history. For a low price, you’ll get an official, well-crafted version of one of the most remarkable and rarest games in its genre. And you won’t need rose-colored glasses of nostalgia to be impressed.
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows does the series proud and, in fact, ranks among its more successful and appealing installments. If you’ve been looking forward to it for its fun and accessible gameplay, beautiful graphics, and charming Japanese setting, you won’t be disappointed. Naoe and Yasuke are, after all, heroes who are easy to root for. At the same time, in keeping with the spirit of the entire series, they remain outsiders somewhere in the mysterious background of the grand narrative. Thus, fears that the creators might, for example, attempt to inappropriately exaggerate Yasuke’s historical role have not materialized. Of course, if you can’t get past the fact that the word “samurai” is mentioned a few times in connection with him, or that a Black warrior is one of the driving forces behind a story that is quite openly fictional, then this simply isn’t the game for you. Nor is it for those who didn’t like the previous installments. Simply put, don’t expect Assassin’s Creed Shadows to be the video game equivalent of an Akira Kurosawa film. It’s much more like a predictable—albeit entertaining—action flick by Kinji Fukasaku.
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Skydance’s Behemoth is far too linear and formulaic for me to recommend it without reservations. Despite all its flaws, however, it is currently one of the most visually appealing and best-produced virtual reality titles. The reviewed PS VR2 version, meanwhile, is free of the technical issues that drew criticism in the PC version. It would be a shame to miss out on this visually stunning action-adventure game.
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MACROSS Shooting Insight is, ultimately, a rather average shoot ’em up, whose appeal stems mainly from the Macross franchise license, which brings with it familiar characters and music. It manages to entertain and, fortunately, is accessible to all fans regardless of their gaming skills. However, it suffers from the classic problem of video games that combine many different approaches to a single genre. It doesn’t truly excel at anything it attempts.
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X-Out is one of the most interesting and well-made Euro-shoot ’em ups from the 16-bit era, and its remake makes it accessible to today’s players while preserving all of its strengths—and, in fact, most of its flaws as well. I could imagine a different approach to modernizing the graphics, but despite all the criticisms, I wish other notable Amiga shoot ’em ups would also get similar remakes. Games like Apidya or Banshee, for example.
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Thanks to Alien: Rogue Incursion, we now have another virtual reality game that can attract a wider audience to the popular franchise and its high production values. The gameplay delivers a powerful experience, though it could have been even more intense if the game had better integrated its horror and action elements. The sense of fear is undermined by predictability, and the enjoyment of the action is limited by a lack of variety. Nevertheless, the pros clearly outweigh the cons.
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The one-episode early access version shows *Gravelord* to be a visually appealing, entertaining, and well-designed shooter with polished levels. Don’t be put off by the presence of tarot cards—they don’t detract from the classic “boomer shooter” gameplay at all. I enjoyed the game even though its somewhat clichéd humor didn’t really appeal to me.
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EXOcars is now available in its full version, but it still feels like a promising early-access title. The physics, controls, and graphics all work well and are of good quality. However, the game lacks substantial content that could keep players entertained for longer than, say, two to four hours. On Quest and Pico, EXOcars may stand out more due to the lack of serious competition in the genre; however, on PC, it will be difficult for it to make a name for itself among the many other racing titles that can be played in VR, either through native support or via mods.
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Tokyo Xtreme Racer is already worth recommending in Early Access to anyone who enjoyed the previous installments. Players venturing onto Tokyo’s highways for the first time will enjoy it just as much, provided they can appreciate the old-school simplicity of the gameplay mechanics, the atmosphere of nighttime racing, and, of course, the artistry of Japanese car designers. Until the full version is released, let’s hope the developers manage to better balance the difficulty of the AI opponents and tweak the tuning system. Then Tokyo Xtreme Racer will become one of the most addictive racing games of recent years.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an excellent sequel to an already extraordinary game. Not only is it bigger and more spectacular, as one would expect from any sequel, but above all, it fixes most of what was broken in the first game and adds what was missing from it. Blacksmith Jindra can now actually forge his own metal tools, he can be accompanied by a dog that isn’t tied to specific locations, the crime and punishment system is significantly more sophisticated, and the quests are more complex. The menu has also been improved. However, combat—enlivened by the addition of crossbows and handguns—has largely retained the clunkiness of the first game. One could complain about the character animations or the certain chaos prevailing in the open world, but these would be petty criticisms. There aren’t many other games that have so successfully combined a masterfully told story with the freedom to approach problem-solving in one’s own way.
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Pirates VR: Jolly Roger is one of those games that’s not easy to evaluate, because it really depends on the criteria you use to judge it. I had fun playing it and don’t regret the time I spent on it, but I have a feeling that players expecting a vast and complex adventure will inevitably be disappointed. Pirates VR is unlikely to be remembered as a landmark title for PCVR. It’s simply a rather charming little adventure game that just happens to be played in virtual reality.
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Rally Arcade Classics is an excellent game that should delight anyone who enjoyed Sega Rally Championship and similar racing arcade games from the first half of the ’90s. If you can accept that it takes a long time to unlock the powerful cars and don’t mind that the available fleet of cars can’t be customized in any way, then you should definitely give it a try. I think it’s also exactly the kind of game that has the potential to appeal to absolutely everyone, regardless of their genre preferences. Well, except maybe for the mythical (?) type of people who supposedly hate internal combustion engines.
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