Beautiful setpieces and a great atmosphere don't make up for the same old gameplay. While it doesn't need to reinvent the wheel, Layers of Fear should at least aim to do the same old thing as well as it can. It would seem that "as well as it can" is very much a "means justify the ends" approach, and the ends are stale mechanics done just well enough that they work.
SpeedRunners is the very definition of couch co-op excitement. Getting together 3 other friends and racing around a track, with physics and controls this tight, is thoroughly enjoyable. While the art may be a miss, and some further explanation of the game would definitely help, this is a game that is definitely meant to be explored with other players. Get a group together, and get ready to take off, because SpeedRunners is doing anything but slowing down.
Difficulty is hard to review, and most of Kalimba's issues stem from poor balancing. Running into devious sections only to find the follow-ups to be almost rudimentary is jarring. Fortunately, the core mechanic is very enjoyable. While Kalimba could have spent more time under the microscope, the interesting mechanic and beautiful visuals should be enough to convince even the most dismissive PC gamer that there's much more to explore here, and, for that, Kalimba should be applauded.
Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations' biggest problem is that everything just feels bland. Quests are bland, the act of investigation is bland, and the combat is either fast and fun or slow and arduous. For fans of the series, this should surely delight and be a nice way to kill some time. For the rest of you, this might not quite scratch the itch you have for if you've longed for a good point and click brawler. At the very least, the developers should get respect for trying out two very different genres together, even if they failed to make them a good match.
Retro aesthetics are starting to aim for the 90s, and Shutter brings that beautiful, low-res polygonal structure to the forefront. The problem is that it doesn't feel like a full experience. With annoying and clunky controls, a handful of subpar jump scares, and little to actually do, this is more of a trailer for missed opportunities than a fully realized game. The concept of taking photos of creepy areas could have been more, but Shutter seems content just letting the whole thing be.
Ookibloks really is a tremendously fun experience. It never feels too hard or too simple. While it is possible to fail, it requires running into enemies, and for a lot of the experience, it's harder to do that than to avoid them. Ookibloks holds up enough to be worth exploring, even if it begins to show cracks later on.
Ninja Senki DX is an arcade game, and with that comes some baggage. For it's incredible controls, it has balancing issues that seem easily rectified. Cheap kills can be made up for by an incredible world, and there seems to be some of it here. For the rather low-key graphics, it still manages to work. It would be foolish to miss out on Ninja Senki DX's retro charm, but if you have a hefty backlog, it's not something you need to rush into. So, in summary, it should definitely be experienced by fans of the genre, but it can wait.
Indie games have come a long way, but it's still obvious they are viewed as the lesser option when it comes to gaming for a lot of gamers. It would be a mistake to overlook Stikbold! because it's an indie game. It has its share of hiccups and can falter from time to time, but gamers don't play games for the amazing loading screens. They play them for the game, and once the game is loaded, it is a charming, easy-to-control experience that ensures hours of enjoyability, with or without a partner. Don't overlook this tiny gem because it has these faults; instead, push past them to a solid game that is genuine and truly fun.
One Upon Light doesn't quite nail down the stealth-meets-puzzle concept it's aiming for, but it comes incredibly close.
A good recommendation when starting Justice Chronicles is keeping your expectations to a cautious high, at most. While the systems at work here are fantastic, the dressing for them is very hit-and-miss; the pixel art is very nice, but the story is bogged down by off-putting cut-scenes and weak dialogue, and, finally, the menus are easy to navigate, even if the local area map is distressingly unattractive. Most will definitely feel a sense of pride upon completing every battle, but they'll have to fight through the odd story and art choices to get to the next one.
This is tough to nail down. The random generation of enemies on screen is frequently too unpredictable to provide a consistently enjoyable experience. The controls are spot on, and the artwork is beautiful. The game does manage to retain value, but the value of the additional modes is something that could vary from person to person. It's a solid shooter that works well in the player's hands, and erratically on screen. It shouldn't be overlooked, but for those seeking a deep, challenging experience, Steredenn isn't the cure for that itch.
Plague Inc: Evolved is a fast paced RTS that puts players in a morbid position, and allows them to become one of the scariest enemies that mankind knows of. It stumbles to execute its HUD in a way that allows the seamlessly moving between menus, and occasionally, defeat can sneak up in mere seconds. While it can be very unfair, it also gives the ability to micromanage well enough in order to still stand a fighting chance. This shouldn't be overlooked by RTS fans, or even fans of "idle" games. It holds together well enough, even if a few kinks hold it back from greatness.
There's no reason to really explore outside of the main game, aside from Challenge mode. While the controls could use some fine tuning, this is a wildly creative title. Too often, being very creative means the end result is a mess, yet it can be said without doubt that this isn't a problem Cubixx HD ever suffers from. While casual puzzlers will definitely get turned off by the difficulty, those who like a good challenge will find a fun and deep idea here that is well worth exploring.
Level 22: Gary's Misadventures is a lot of different extremes, if the good to bad spectrum is a tangible thing. With a controller, all of the movement issues are completed resolved. The art work is absolutely stunning, even for a retro-styled title, and the music is impressive, yet wears thin after a while. As it stands, Level 22 is almost a casual game trying to be more. While the stealth components are inventive, there's just not enough to save the whole experience from being too cumbersome to be enjoyable through the whole of the experience.
Mushroom 11 manages to be fun, despite its few shortcomings. While there are parts that may prevent a second playthrough due to a frustrating amount of trial-and-error, it still manages to be enjoyable most of the time it's on. At the end of the day, its interesting concept and relatively good execution carry it beyond its shortcomings, and make it one of the best puzzle-platformers to come out of the indie scene.
Tennis in the Face isn't an original idea, but that's not always a bad thing. It slowly becomes a matter of repeating the same basic tasks over and over, and largely similar room layouts, leading to a depressingly low amount of replayability. However, it's hardly going to stand out as a bad game, sometimes working very well, but often feeling like it's just short of working. It chooses to take a proven concept and make it work differently, and it ends up being both fun and frustrating pretty much simultaneously.
For everything that Poncho is, it still remains stagnant. The interesting idea of an apocalyptic scenario not filled with zombies is met with great artwork. However, it soon gets humbled, and the gameplay that follows is somewhat painful to play. Understanding the mechanic of swapping between layers is simple enough, but understanding how the world works around it is arduous, and at the end of it all, leaves a bad taste in the gamer's mouth.
For all its crooked edges, Albert & Otto is still worth venturing into, if not for the great atmosphere alone. It is a rewarding romp, as many difficult platformers are, but the lacklustre puzzles and cumbersome shooting, both of which are definitely a priority in this game, drag it away from greatness, and leave it grasping for any semblance of stability. Hopefully, further down the line, Albert & Otto will come into its own, but this is a rocky beginning for the episodic puzzle-platformer.
Pulse, if nothing else, doesn't feel finished. It feels like an alpha build that got pushed out so early it may have upset Early Access customers. While it obviously has potential (it's walked away with awards, after all), it feels largely incomplete, and like it should have been pushed through play-testing a bit further. If it gets some more depth, or, at least, if the depth it has gets fixed up and becomes more cohesive, it may live up to a lot of the hype it's generated. Until then, it's a game that exemplifies that just because an idea is good, it doesn't mean the product will be.
It's hard to go through the bargain bin of any hole in the wall game store without seeing a plethora of sports games priced at a solid £1.99. PES 2016 sets itself apart from these throwaway titles. Although it doesn't innovate, it does everything very well. Where many games want to just make the yearly mark, PES 2016 seems to have demanded, of itself, a level of quality that many yearly instalments could really learn a lesson from. Hopefully they will, because if this indicates anything, yearly instalments can look and feel beautiful.