Krista Noren's Reviews
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 delivers exactly what it sought to. Smashing through hordes of enemies in masterfully crafted levels. Each and every detail feels intentional and thought out. Saber Interactive make perfect use of their Swarm Engine to deliver incredibly fun and satisfying encounters, many of which feel chaotic and yet manageable with the tools you’re given. It’s hard not to feel immersed in your role as a Space Marine when you’re slaughtering hordes of enemies, smashing small enemies into their allies, tearing limbs off bigger enemies and gutting them with it. Using well-timed grenades to eviscerate entire hordes. Truly every piece of the moment to moment gameplay is a joy to experience. And of course, Saber Interactive deserve praise for having virtually all cosmetic unlocks in the game be done so IN the game. A practice that is becoming increasingly uncommon.
The Land Beneath us is a fantastic roguelite with a wonderfully unique combat system. I found myself addicted and did nothing but play this game for days. The base difficulty is just enough to provide a challenge, without ending up feeling frustratingly luck-based. You also accrue currency for meta (permanent) upgrades at a steady pace, which aligns well with the gradual increase in difficulty. An aspect many roguelites greatly fail at. Overall this is a very thoughtfully designed game with an interesting gameplay premise. Fans of roguelites should not pass this one up.
Lies of P is one of the best games i’ve played this year. With an interesting and compelling story, a beautifully crafted world full of life, and an outstanding soundtrack to prop it all up. This is not a desolate world mostly devoid of life. You will find people, learn small things about them, notice things about others. See how the conflict has caused so many survivors to lose their minds, or what they’ve done to retain what sanity they have left. And of course, come to understand what caused the puppet uprising, and the true nature of the puppets themselves. All of the worldbuilding in Lies of P is excellent. Each boss fight feels epic, every weapon acquired was exciting, and any chance to extract a piece of the story from this world left me wanting more. For anyone who wants a true Soulslike experience, or you just want a fantastic and well crafted videogame, Lies of P is exactly what you’re looking for.
PlatinumGames' influence on Final Fantasy's action combat is a massive step in the right direction. That, combined with a thrilling war epic narrative and interesting characters makes for one fantastic game.
Last Epoch is a very high quality product, that is clearly the reward of many years of hard work and dedication. Despite not being at the finish line yet, this title in early access far exceeds many in its genre on multiple fronts. It’s a wonderful and full package, and it’s exciting to realize there’s more yet to come. Development is clearly active, releasing a major patch between writing this review and publishing it. I have no qualms recommending it to fans of action RPGs, you will find much to enjoy in this title. There’s no doubt in my mind i’ll keep coming back to try new classes, and new builds. And i’ll definitely get the damn squirrel helmet! So if you’re a fan of this style of game, it’s time kick some dinosaurs in the teeth whilst you journey to the ends of time itself.
An overwhelmingly positive experience. Combat is satisfying from start to finish, with a large variety of content for the player to dive into. A fun and unique take on the typical Three Kingdoms setting, with plenty of familiarities drawn from KOEI's other games. While it has its flaws, they're mostly minor and really does nothing to diminish the overall experience. Team Ninja clearly learned from their mistakes, so anyone hesitant because of Nioh has nothing to worry about here. It's time to grab a weapon and fight for the future of the Three Kingdoms.
Most people ought to skip Gotham Knights, and save themselves the trouble of playing a clunky, repetitive game with elements that they've seen countless times before. However, anyone that truly loves the sidekicks of the Batman franchise will be utterly overjoyed and willing to look past the lack of polish and enjoy a janky game that has a lot of intricate details and care put into it.
With the decompilations and Sonic 3: AIR a lot of effort to get working, Sonic Origins is the most accessible way to play these classic games. However, even if you bought the Android ports and owned the ancient version of Sonic 3 on Steam, it'd still be cheaper than buying this collection. I want to love it, because it should be perfect, but winds up being far from it.
It's easy to sound trite by saying that Pokemon Legends Arceus is a breath of fresh air that the Pokemon series desperately needed, yet it's also entirely true. For the first time in ages, I'm excited by, and fully invested in a Pokemon game.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition, at the end of the day, is three well-regarded games bundled together, with some modernizations to help keep them relevant, nearly 20 years after their original release. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I’m new to GTA that prevents me from finding many issues with this collection, as I’m absolutely taken with the fun gameplay and more than content with both the graphics and performance. But that also goes to show how this collection helps introduce these games to the current generation, allowing new fans to understand the hype behind three classic industry-defining titles.
A serviceable remaster that reminds us of how good Sonic games can be when they're done right.
There is a ton to see and do in Bravely Default II, and it definitely lives up to the original games in all aspects. Things really open up in the final chapter and that's when the variety really shines brightest. Without a doubt, fans of jRPGs will find plenty to enjoy. Performance issues will pop up now and again, in both handheld and docked, however they're not glaringly prohibitive due to the turn-based nature of the game. More a minor annoyance on the eyes. Still the pros far outweigh the cons to create a genuinely fun overall experience suitable for a great range of people.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury gets its time to (cat) shine, now that it's finally on the Nintendo Switch.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is a departure from what one might expect from the series, but it proves that those changes make for an overall fantastic "next-gen" game.
This is exactly what a new Crash game should feel like--as though it was created in the 90's, but with enough modern touches to keep it from feeling outdated. Crash 4's levels and mechanics are incredibly fun, and the whole game feels at home with the other 3 entries that came before it.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake is a beautiful modernization of one of gaming's most beloved RPGs of all time. It preserves what made people fall in love with the game in the first place, while flawlessly bringing other aspects into the modern age.
A solid game on all accounts, Granblue Fantasy Versus is a great fighting game to play with your friends, whether you're lacking in skill, or happen to be a total pro.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions never really captures the best of either of its inspirations, always feeling like a crossover that mixes the elements of both Persona and Fire Emblem, but never blends them fully. However, that doesn't take away that this is a fun and fulfilling JRPG, even if it's not what we expected, and most definitely deserved a second lease on life on the Nintendo Switch.
At the end of the day, Pokemon Sword and Shield are genuinely fun. That fun might be a little short-lived, but it's still got all the trappings that you can expect from a Pokemon game. There's a few new bells and whistles, a few steps taken forward, and a couple of steps taken back, just as there is with every new generation of the franchise.
Code Vein is a brilliant evolution of the soulslike style. With fun combat, a well done AI partner system and a wealth of build options. Each area permeates that distinct desolate feeling, while still managing to remain unique. Even the story manages to keep being interesting enough to continually draw the player forward to discover more, with an elegant system to experience memories of past events to flesh out the story. Anyone who enjoys both anime style games, and soulslike games has plenty to enjoy in Code Vein.