Creative and colourful are two words that perfectly sums up both the spirit and gameplay of de Blob. It is refreshing to enter a more open 3D platformer in which there are several ways to proceed through, rather than going on a preset route, or fail doing so. The challenges are neatly balanced with the rewards, and the way it is possible to instantly retry something without any requirements to do so means that even the more difficult challenges feels fair and rewarding rather than punishing. If looking for a game that plays with you rather than against you, this is a warm recommendation.
It is easy to lose a lot of time in Portal Knights. The gameplay is really addictive and feels free, rewarding, and varied. It is, however, poorly balanced later on. It truly feels like the game at times artificially extends its own playtime, something that should not be required in an open world sandbox title, even if it has strong ARPG influences. The overall experience is so great, though, that it is easy to forgive it for that.
While it is annoying that the Endless Dungeon farming option is unlocked extremely late in the game, that is a minor annoyance in an otherwise good edutainment title. The wordplay is wonderful, and the light RPG elements do just enough to keep the player hooked. It is a great arcade experience, as well as a learning experience. This makes Spellspire easy to recommend to both veteran wordsmiths, or just people who look to sharpen their pens and tongues.
There is nothing ground-breaking about Crossout, and it has some flaws here and there. Despite all this, it is a solid experience that really captures exactly what the people who are going to be interested in a game like this are looking out for. It puts importance on everything in the game, and it is difficult to pick away specific aspects that aren't interesting when playing it. While it is the biggest strength of the game, it is also its biggest flaw. It is like a meal; you have to eat the veggies before getting the dessert, whether you like it or not.
God Wars: Future Past is a very traditional TRPG, and as such, it is built upon a solid foundation, and fans of the genre are going to like it. It does, however, do very little to stand out. It could also be helped a bit by balancing the jobs more. Some jobs just feel extremely underwhelming compared to others. The story and the gameplay in general are going to deliver what fans expect and desire, though: nothing less, and sadly, nothing more.
Ironcast is a daring title with a concept many would be terrified to touch. The reward is huge, though, as this might be one of the strongest match puzzle games on the market at this point, with depth unlocked thanks to the choice of theme. Every piece of Ironcast works together in a wonderful resonance between style and gameplay, and creates a unique and entertaining experience that fans of the genre will not forget in the near future.
League of Evil does somewhat scratch that itch for challenging 2D platforming, but it does the bare minimum to do so. The gameplay is as minimalistic as it gets to the point that it hurts more than helps, and the graphics makes it too obvious that this is originally an iOS game with some years on its neck. While it has a neat level editor, it does not solve the too basic gameplay, and there are far better options out there for people pining for a challenging 2D platformer.
Samurai Riot is a wonderful arcade game, but a mediocre to, sometimes, bad beat 'em up. The arcade experience is very strong, especially in co-op, as the studio has nailed what people want in an such a title down to the letter, with unlockable alternative styles for characters, and multiple routes for higher replay value and routing for points to figure out where it is easier to rack up a neat high score. However, the core gameplay feels too simplistic, and the background could do a much better job at making it easier to see what is breakable or not, and thus make finding health and one-ups less tedious.
Splasher is a creative, fun, and competent 2D platformer. It takes a gimmick and runs with it as far as it possibly can in the best way possible. It keeps the player interested and the difficulty curve fair by slowly feeding new tools to change the environment and gameplay, ensuring the game stays fresh towards the end. It is, however, on the short end, and a special world with extremely challenging stages at the end of the game would not have hurt it at all. That said, when the only complaint is that the player is left wishing for more, even after a filling meal, it is a great testament to how good and solid Splasher truly is.
It is difficult to not get pulled in by the insane humour and fun, solid, gameplay delivered with Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder. It is both a perfect solo player game to play through once or maybe twice, and a great multiplayer game to pick up with friends on social gatherings. The simple, yet fun nature of it is like a good joke everyone gets and rolls along with, even if they have heard it before.
Story and the characters are right there, and there are some adorable yuri moments that will make fans blush, but that is all the quality that there's to be found in Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle, as the gameplay is sluggish and too simple for a modern 3D fighter. It is easy to take such gameplay for granted, but Burst Battle shows the danger of doing that. It could have done decent as a shorter visual novel, but sadly the action part cannot be saved by a couple of adorable moments and pretty art.
Just Dance 2018 does not offer much new, but it truly does not have to at this point. The things it does offer adds to the already great experience in unexpected ways. The mojo gashapon adds yet another addictive component to the mixture of feel-good-hormones the game has offered for ages in a way that is obviously clever once explained. What players are here for, though, is the fun and addictive dance gameplay, which is as strong as ever with the ever growing Unlimited library. This makes Just Dance 2018 well worth a go for fans and newcomers alike.
Pinball FX3: Universal Classics Pinball is a very solid pinball pack offering three tables that offer varied experiences. At least one table will catch the flavour of almost any pinball player with the wide appeal of the package. The faithfulness to the movies mixed with the usual Zen Studios quality makes this an easy purchase for pinball fans and Universal movie fans alike.
JYDGE does the Robocop concept really well, and has some really strong twin-shooter gameplay with its wonderfully diverse upgrades that opens up a lot of different playstyles.
While X-Morph: Defense is a great title that tower defense fans and shoot 'em up fans alike will enjoy, some issues experienced while playing the game with the loading times might be a huge turnoff after a couple of hours. While a great game, a fix to this is in sincere need. The gameplay is great and shows the best sides of both genres, as it mixes together in a wonderful way that helps them enhance each other, while at the same time offering a more pure experience for the respective genres.
Farming Simulator Nintendo Switch Edition is reliable, but it needs some upgrades. It is the old tool that never really got a good upgrade that hits the same levels of quality. Fans of the franchise are going to love the meditative state ploughing the fields, and having the feeling of productivity. It has a certain magic to it in its realism that makes it a wonderful simulator, and those looking to try out the modern farmer life, or just look at the machines and drool, are not going to be left disappointed.
Trulon: The Shadow Engine shows some interesting aspects in the combat that would have been much more fun to leave the experience with rather than the broken mess it currently is thanks to the error.
It is difficult to pull off, but Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth has managed to both make a solid SRPG and visual novel in the same game. The world is interesting, and the characters are enjoyable to play as and to see the world with, even though sometimes it is too reliant on common tropes. The combat system also has depth to it with a lot of systems in place to reward those who think several turns in advance. The problem is that both aspects of the game are somewhat bloated. For fans of both genres this will not be obvious or even an issue at all, but for those who only likes the former or the latter, this might quickly make either feel like it's overstaying its welcome, in a good 80+ hours long game.
Unpolished, glitchy, and short, are some of the adjectives that describe Ben 10. It is an obvious and transparent, holiday season cash-grab, that just wants to make a quick penny out of a popular IP. Sure, there are good license games out there, but this isn't one of them. It is recommended to find something else to put under the Christmas tree, unless the receiver really is into the license, and happen to own a Nintendo Switch without anything else to play on it…
It is really depressing to play a game like Hyakki Castle. It has some things that could have made it a good game in a vastly underrepresented genre. It got the atmosphere just right, which is one of the most difficult things to nail perfectly. However, it is dragged down by many things that while independently does not ruin a game, it destroys the game when combined. Bad mouse and keyboard controls would not ruin a game, but the painful process of making gamepads work with the game does as it is almost mandatory to use a gamepad to enjoy the game at all, and do not even get started on the hunger system that makes exploring, which is one of the core pillars of enjoyment in the genre heavily, punishable. In the end, while it is easy to want to like Hyakki Castle and see how it could have been a great game, it is too hard to not see that it isn't a good game.