Edmond Tran's Reviews
Where Wii Sports began to lose its grip on you the moment no-one was available to share the joy with, the online and enthusiast-focussed nature of Nintendo Switch Sports is a very good incentive to keep coming back. Even after earning all of the cosmetic offerings on offer for the week, Nintendo Switch Sports continues to be an enticing outlet any time I feel like experiencing the highs of close, edge-of-your-seat competition against another human being.
Despite being an undeniably beautiful piece of work, its identity as a weapon combat game lacks edge. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end – some of the late-game setpieces are certainly a sight to behold – but I left Trek to Yomi in a hungry search for something else that would give me the inherent satisfaction that comes from feeling the impact and hearing the sound of crossing blades.
Chinatown Detective Agency does some interesting and noteworthy things with its take on the point-and-click adventure game, between its reliance on external tools and your own deductive research ability, some solid story and character work, and a strong commitment to encapsulating a country and culture that is unique to video games by default.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition represents two examples of game preservation with varying results. The sharper, more accessible, but poorer-performing Chrono Cross is both a blessing and a curse. But the debut of an official English translation of Radical Dreamers is a moment to celebrate as a Chrono and video game history fan.
Ghostwire: Tokyo’s open world city is beautiful, and its world-building, environment and creature designs are also excellent. But even with a sensible runtime and a brisk plot, the game spends too much time engaging you in repeating, unchanging, and unexciting activities. It’s the terrible and taxing curse of open world monotony, plaguing a piece of work that otherwise has so many unique and original ideas.
A detailed driving simulation with impressive fidelity and presence in an approachable package, Gran Turismo 7 is confident, handsome, and endearing.
Elden Ring is an exceptional, accomplished work that realises a fantasy world of solemnity, beauty, and menacing uncertainty you can’t help but lose yourself in.
The King of Fighters XV continues the fast-paced and exciting nature of the series, but the art direction still leaves a lot to be desired.
A demanding combat system makes Sifu incredibly satisfying to play, but the game’s haphazard homage to Asian culture is filled with flaws.
Once you leave the world of Extraction, it’s very hard to muster up the enthusiasm to go back in. Sure, there’s an endless cycle of parasitic aliens invading, but I know that no matter how much time I put in, the reward for doing a good job is just going to be more work to do.
SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash is satisfying in its straightforwardness, and manages to really bring out the action in collectable card games. It’s a game that absolutely warrants being back in the conversation in 2022, and seeing a stack of familiar faces again is a lovely bonus.
Even after dozens of hours, the dance of movement and gunplay still feels wonderful to perform. It’s not a revolutionary redo of Halo’s principles, but rather, a refreshing revival that’s come at the perfect time.
Unpacking is a remarkable piece of work that elegantly evokes the ebbs and flows of life.
Unnerving, compelling, and unpredictable, it’s excellent every step of the way.
Far Cry is clearly not ready for the meaningful identity shift it’s inching towards. I hope it gets there soon. It’s long overdue.
Deathloop succeeds at conveying that the most powerful and thrilling weapons to use are your own creative wits.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart wields PlayStation 5 technology adeptly and push its genre mastery to the limits, but no further.
It’s a great compilation to play and replay to remind you of the series’ merits, but once you get some distance from it, Village’s design and narrative feel like mere footnotes.
Mortal Kombat 11 hits where it counts, with smart refinements to a deep and exciting fighting system, entertaining story mode, and rewarding persistent content.
Exciting and stressful in the way all good twitch-action games are, Disc Room makes you cherish every second you manage to survive in its sawblade-filled stages.