A low price tag doesn't excuse the low amount of effort put into Ascent of Kings. Everything works on a technical level, but it's just so unimaginative that it can't justify a second play-through, let alone a first. It's a meandering mess of ideas taken from far better platformers, blended together in an hour-long hurricane that destroys any and all quality in its path. There's simply no appeal to the MS Paint drawn world that's been created; it's a boring and thoughtless mini-disaster that should just be ignored and forgotten.
After years of delays and broken promises, Mighty No. 9 still manages to disappoint despite having the lowest of expectations. It controls, looks, and sounds worse than any Mega Man. Everything about Mighty Blunder 9 screams "amateur," with homage turning into borderline plagiarism most, if not all, of the time. Inafune and Comcept would have been better off canceling the project and refunding the Kickstarter; it would have saved them all the embarrassment of being attached to one of this decade's worst titles.
Is Battle Worlds: Kronos wholly original? No. Is it fun despite that? With a real person, yes. It's far too generic for its own good, but it does manage to take the turn-based strategy formula and advance it just enough it for a modern audience.
Deathsmiles isn't bad by any means, but it also isn't good, either. The aesthetic itself has plenty of charm and sets itself up to be a memorable experience, but the core gameplay just isn't complex enough to warrant long play sessions. It's a fun experience in very small bursts and the bosses are certainly engaging, but the bullet-hell doesn't manage to expand or change the genre in a meaningful way. It's a cookie cutter shoot 'em up that leaves a lot to be desired and doesn't offer anything in return.
While not a bad game, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is one of the biggest disappointments in the series in years. It manages to have more map variety than the previous instalment, but it's pitifully lacking in every other regard. Even with better map design, it's so poorly balanced that the hardest difficulty feels less like a challenge of skill and more like an endurance match of how long certain units can go without being used before frustration kicks in. With an even worse story being fronted by one of the worst casts in the series, Birthright offers very little in terms of series progression, instead opting for an incredibly safe experience that, while not bad, doesn't push the series forward either. With context needed from Conquest, Revelation, and DLC content to fully flesh out and understand the story, Birthright, and by extension Fates, sets a bad precedent for not just the rest of the series, but for video games themselves.
There's a lot to enjoy in Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours. Fast paced gameplay, interesting reflex based mechanics, a catchy soundtrack, and plenty of modes to run through, but it never feels much more than a sit down and play game. For its base price, Dariusburst should be stirring up hours upon hours of gameplay, not inspiring quick burst sessions. On top of that, it's very easy to burn out on the experience. It's technically great and playing through the more difficult levels are a treat, but once they're done, they're done. It's certainly good fun, but wait until a sale or a price drop.
Despite being incredibly hard and, at times, even frustrating, it's also incredibly fun.
Dinocide shows an incredible amount of promise at the beginning, but it simply does nothing with the ideas it presents. It meanders around aimlessly, never accomplishing a thing, and seems to exist solely to torment those who want an accurate NES platforming experience. This prehistoric nightmare just can't deliver on that.
Despite a beginning that focuses a bit too much on archetypes, so that it can deconstruct them later and far too much fluff, CLANNAD pulls its act together rather quickly to present a beautifully written story about family and optimism within change. This visual novel is a big investment, but its status as a potentially life changing one makes it more than a worthwhile read.
It's very short. Even getting all the main endings can be done in under 20 hours, but aside from that, Undertale is a tour de force to be reckoned with. It's filled with heart, humour, and raw emotion, while never forgetting that it's a game. Its gameplay is just as strong as its stellar writing. Undertale is a crowning achievement in RPGs and games in general.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash should, quite frankly, not exist. It is an embarrassment with next to no content, absolutely no strategy involved, and feels like a blatant cash grab more than anything. Nintendo has gotten far too safe with the Mario IP if the developers felt that they could release a skeleton like this for $50. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is nothing more than a platform for selling amiibo and should not be purchased by any means.
There's a lot of charm in Lovely Planet, so much that it almost feels wrong to not recommend it fully. The initial presentation sets a fantastic mood and atmosphere, and there's a childlike wonder to the whole experience, but it sadly goes away as stages get increasingly longer and more frustrating. It's sad, really. Lovely Planet has such a strong identity, meshing actual platforming with FPS-style gameplay, but it all clashes so poorly by the end that it can't help but feel like a huge missed opportunity for something really great.
Back to Bed is worth a buy. It's a creative game with a lot of passion put into it, and its puzzles are fast paced and challenging enough for just about anyone. It's very short, though… to the point where a more frugal character might find it frustrating. Buy it on sale, but most definitely buy it.
It's honestly pretty sad how disappointing Rakoo & Friends is, because it's an absolutely stunning looking game. The animated cut-scenes are a real treat, and everything looks so fluid on both the GamePad and television. It just isn't fun, though. Playing through the same levels over and over again to the same grating music can only stay tolerable for so long.