Drew Hurley's Reviews
The Longest Five Minutes is an interesting take on a nostalgia trip, but by splitting the game into the individual memories it does a huge disservice to its RPG nature. If only these memories had been fleshed out, giving the main characters a little depth, some side quests, some hidden quests… anything to make it feel like the games it is monkeying, instead of being such simple little, objective-based stages. There are moments that shine, but they are marred by the numerous issues and make this Nintendo Switch release somewhat of a disappointment.
A game out of time; it's wonderful for fans of the series to actually get their hands on this title that almost ended up on the trash pile with the death of THQ, but Darksiders III is so riddled with issues that they just can't be ignored. It feels like a game that was developed many years ago and then put on a shelf, finally now to be released. It feels worse than both previous entries and, worse, it feels more dated than the originals. It's so sad to see this franchise that held so much promise fall so far, and worse it seems unlikely to recover, either. The game hints at a fourth iteration, again retreading the same time period, this time in the shoes of the fourth Horseman, Strife, but if it's of the same level of quality as this compared to previous titles, it may be better if it never arrives.
Once the basics are understood, they're repeated ad nauseum, and while the story has some interesting elements, the monotony of the gameplay is indefensible. Few will be able to power through enough to see the many endings hidden here.
There have been some truly remarkable horror stories to come out of South Korea. Train to Busan, for example, is one of the best zombie movies ever made, along with Seoul Station, plus White Day is an amazing horror experience, as PSVR players will soon find out. The Coma: Recut doesn't live up to any of these titles. The gameplay is too easy and lacks the scares a horror game requires. The story has promise but it ultimately fails to deliver; if the wealth of supplementary information from the notes had been worked into the story itself, instead of just being text, this could have been much better.
While there are some great moments, overall, this episode feels rather mediocre. Just as the previous episode succeeded thanks to the introduction of the new member, Nebula, the introduction of Mantis here is definitely the highpoint, but outside of this, the story fails to captivate its audience once again. Even the "big finale," which gives two options to destroy the Forge or empower it, fails to give enough of a stinger or cliffhanger to leave the audience excited for the next episode… Two to go and it seems that means the histories of Groot and Drax may be on display. These flashbacks into memory are one of the few saving graces, so they should be good at least.
While very niche, Alchemic Dungeons offers quite the fun and intrinsically addictive little experience. Sadly, though, it's also a fundamentally flawed title thanks to the regular poor design decisions that litter the entire experience. A little extra effort put into this port with more unlockables, some way to carry things over to subsequent play-throughs and ideally more difficulty options would have made this really stand out.
Players going in to enjoy Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash for the fan service will find plenty awaiting them. However, the game itself is not worth the investment for that fan service alone. The core gameplay is fun for a quick blast, and the splash moments are just what fans will want, but the battles are far too easy and get horrendously repetitive very quickly. Peach Beach Splash would have been better served from some extra gameplay modes, or maps, or more weapon styles, or anything to give it a little more life. It's also a terribly greedy game. The amount of time investment required to actually level up the cards and characters collected is far too high - although, of course, there's always the option to buy the cards for real money...
Telltale's The Walking Dead still keeps to the same high standards of storytelling that it always has, with fantastic characters and truly compelling tales. That being said, the frustrating technical issues end up having a major impact on the final product.
LEGO Worlds feels like a tech demo for what could be in TT's future. There's a lot of promise here, but it lacks direction and purpose. It ends up feeling like TT's signature LEGO elements meets No Man's Sky meets Minecraft. That means it contains all the problems these other titles suffer from.
There are few players out there that will fully appreciate this title, a crossover of two rather niche properties, with little to elevate it over the numerous other instalments in the series. The repetitive nature of the quests and the huge amounts of exposition are very off-putting. Hardcore Hyperdimension fans will already be picking this up, and long-time SEGA fans will find plenty of references to keep them entertained, but the core game leaves a lot to be desired.
Mount & Blade: Warband is a very niche title that requires a great deal of time invested to actually get to the enjoyable parts. It's also filled with flaws that are hard to overlook, the graphics look horrendously dated, the combat controls are clunky, and there's so much repetition here that it will put off the majority of players. A certain subset of players will adore what Mount & Blade: Warband offers, but those that do will likely enjoy this more on PC.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death starts quite positively and is very enjoyable up until around the third or fourth tower. At this point, the combat starts to feel like a chore and there isn't anything new added to keep the adventure interesting. Even post-game is disappointing for this type of title, and it all just ends up feeling quite unsatisfying. That being said, with this type of niche title, the loyal fans will certainly enjoy it. MeiQ is one worth picking up for dungeon crawling RPGs enthusiasts out there that have exhausted all other options, but not really for many other gamers.
Compared to the previous fantastic Thieve's Guild, Dark Brotherhood feels like a misstep. There is an absolute ton of other new features alongside this DLC, but they're part of the new ESO 2.0 patch and can't be considered a part of the Dark Brotherhood DLC. That in mind, the DLC itself feels quite lacking. The zone is fantastic and the tone fitting, but the assassinations get repetitive, and the story is far too short.
Although initially quite enjoyable and filled with aspects that fans of the series will enjoy, the repetitive nature of the game is an absolute killer. The fan service is enough to get players interested, but not enough to keep them satisfied. For those in the audience that just happen to be fans of both Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter, this may be enjoyable in the short term, but, ultimately, Final Fantasy Explorers feels like somewhat of a failed experiment.
While it's great to see Bandai Namco continue to support Otaku fans in the West, Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a lost cause for anyone who isn't a die-hard SAO fan. With a weak story, recycled areas, and a short length on the whole, even long-term fans won't find much here to keep them entertained. There is one title left to come in the series, Hollow Realisation, returning to the fan favourite setting of Aincrad next year. Hopefully, it can learn from the many mistakes of its predecessors.
An experimental experience that feels like it tries too hard with its surrealism and strangeness, to the point it actually negatively affects what it was trying to do. There are some wonderful experiences in both the 2D and 3D worlds, and there's something of a coherent story lurking in the forced quirkiness, but the pacing, combined with the nonsensical aspects hold this back from being something a little more.
There are some routes and plotlines in Olympia Soiree that stand amongst the best Idea Factory! has put out, but the price for entry is just too high. There's some beautiful art showcased here, and some memorable moments, and each person in the audience will find a bachelor that fits them… but it's hard going. The deluge of exposition, and dragging slow start makes it a slog to get to these points. This combined with the overly edgy "bad endings" tarnishes the experience as a whole.
Piofiore is a solid and enjoyable romance story, but one that falls a little short from some of the better Otomate productions out there. One thing that does set it apart though are its bleak story paths. There's torture, murder, rape. Things get awfully dark, much more so than the majority of these types of titles, and for those who enjoy such experiences, it certainly delivers. Stay with Cubed3, as it will soon be looking at more Otomate games coming to Switch.
The start of Windbound feels very promising - the world looks beautiful, the sailing wonderful, and the development of the crafting system well done. However, after the first few hours, things start to fall apart. The repetitive nature and lack of growth of the core mechanics really hold it back from what it could have been. There's still an enjoyable experience here, but it is obvious it could be so much more, and ultimately feels a little unfinished. This is only the second game to come from indie developer 5 Lives Studios, and it's exciting to see what the team comes up with next.
It takes two hours or so to complete this, and it's a fun little experience, filled with some smart puzzles interspersed with the odd stinker