College Football 26 is better than last year, but it's a sophomore season that's more focused on steady improvement rather than breakout success.
It told me a story made up of stories, restored my belief in the idea that the things we do, even when we are directionless and alone and afraid and all seems lost, can have profound impacts on other people.
Mecha Break's 15 flavors of mech all feel great to pilot, and its strategic, twitchy gameplay has the juice to last for the long haul if it plays it smart.
Maybe it will improve as time goes on as Flow Studio adds to it; I hope it does. I wanted to like Len's Island. It just wasted several hours of my limited time on this Earth. And that’s one sin I cannot forgive.
Sloclap is onto something here, and I even found myself sneaking a couple matches when I got stuck writing this review. That’s a hell of an accomplishment. Now all I need to do is find a regular team. Anybody looking to kick a ball around?
It gives just as much back as you put in, and I appreciate that in a platformer like this. It probably won’t change your life, but it might just get you through a couple of sleepless nights. Sometimes, all you need is a little help from a friendly Sandman to make it to dawn.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has some grand ideas, and it nails a lot of what it tries, but uneven difficulty, a few poor design choices, and a Holy Grail’s worth of bugs prevent it from finding greatness.
It’s a rare Metroidvania that feels different, that knows what it wants to be and manages to pull it off without feeling overly indebted to the games that inspired it. I enjoyed it, but most importantly, I felt like I was playing something with its own identity. Like the Sandfox themself, it could not be here without what came before it. But like the Sandfox, it charts its own path forward.
Zoe may be the chosen one destined to save the world, but the game around her never really feels like it's convinced of it — or itself. And if you can’t persuade yourself of the story you’re telling, it’s damn hard to convince anyone else.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a story I needed in a world that feels like it’s falling apart. Things are not always what they seem, and there's always hope, no matter the odds. A better world is possible; you just need people willing to fight for it. When one falls, we continue.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a game I’ve been waiting for for a long, long time. And now that it’s here, I wonder if it was worth it. Everyone has a price, especially for the things they hope never to sell. What’s yours?
While not drastically different, there are enough new little features added to every inch of this iteration that make it well worth climbing back into the ring.
I think it’s a good game if you’re playing alone. I have high hopes for the co-op once it’s fixed. It’s charming and cute and playing with the spell system is a good time, and it has the ebb and flow of combat that makes Souls-likes fun. If you’re looking for a kinder, gentler Souls-like, Slime Heroes is the game for you.
You know how everyone in the John Wick films is an assassin but nobody else seems to know about it, and how implausible that seems because the assassins are literally doing assassin things in plain view of everybody else, like shooting at each other on the subway? It’s like that, only with pirates.
Getting to the best part is a grind, but if you put in some hours Synduality Echo of Ada eventually reveals itself to be a high-tension, mech-based extraction shooter.
Fewer enemies with more health may mean Ninja Gaiden 2 Black isn't quite the definitive version, but it's a definite and gorgeous improvement over its Sigma 2 release, and still an excellent action game all around.
At every point, Dynasty Warriors: Origins tells me how important I am, how crucial my role is, how the battles would have been lost without me. It is hollow, all of it.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind nails the look and feel of both Power Rangers and the classic arcade games it’s drawing inspiration from.
It nails the run-and-gun feel of Metal Slug, and somehow transforms that into a tactics game, and that’s a hell of an accomplishment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an itch, and the only salve is another run.
All told, The Fear Business is a pretty solid homage to the horror games of yesteryear. It’s not particularly original, but the PS1 aesthetic, sharp design of Solomon Manor, and compelling puzzles work well enough to make up for its annoyances. It’s not a long game (your first playthrough will probably take between 3 and 5 hours), but there are several difficulties to complete and secrets to find, and it seems ripe for speedrunning. I just wish it controlled better and dealing with Goat Face wasn’t so bloody annoying. But if you’re looking for a horror game to spend an evening with, you could do a lot worse. Just… you know, try to be smarter than Sarah the next time you’re investigating mysterious disappearances, yeah? If a dude had offered me a ride to a cult-infested mansion, I would have just gone home.