Jokes aside, Tharsis is an incredibly meaningful game that has picked a woefully inadequate format to express an innately intelligent idea. If this was a narrative game, in the vein of Telltale Games' work or Life is Strange, then we really would have had something special on our hands. As it is, we have a board game that goes out of its way to be unfair so it can make players make decisions that should have great emotional impact, but in practice become a quite pragmatic stepping stone towards victory.
Mario RPGs continue to defy my expectations of them. These characters and universe that you would never expect to work once you apply a proper narrative to them do far better than many titles that aren't inhibited by a heritage in platformers. Satirical and self-referential, backed with some boundlessly creative combat systems and the endlessly bright Mario aesthetic, Paper Jam might not be a huge step forward from its predecessor on the Nintendo 3DS, but it is every bit as much fun.
Despite the laundry list of things that are just not right about Corgi Warlock, it remains an enjoyable game. What's more, for a first attempt it's not that bad at all. The game has all the hallmarks of a fun indie effort: an insane cast of characters, good enough challenge, and a cartoony production. It's just in the execution and slightly confused gameplay is where it falters and unfortunately, casts a big shadow over what little positive points the game has to offer.
I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, but I think this one takes a giant leap forward. While the core mechanics remain functionally the same, that (even more) exotic setting and (lesser known) time period, brilliant environment design and brief, but effective, narrative all combine to make something that offers just that little bit more.
Sitting down with mates, beers, and chips, there are few more enjoyable ways to pass a weekend than playing through Fat Princess Adventures. It's a deliberately limited game, but it works well within its self-imposed restrictions to keep the focus on the party atmosphere from start through to finish, and while it won't be remembered as a classic game by any stretch of the imagination, this is a good one to have sitting on the PlayStation 4 hard drive for when friends are over.
Hard West is a great example of a turn-based tactical strategy game that blends both the Old West and the supernatural together seamlessly. Though it's fairly derivative of games that we've already played, the intriguing way that the narrative plays itself out makes it worth a look, even for veterans.
I think it is safe to say that Snoopy has avoided the movie-tie-in curse. What we have here is a game that is solid in its design ideas and has implemented them effectively. Yes there are some slowdown issues, but considering who the game is marketed towards, I don't think they'll be taking too much notice of that. It's an enjoyable game, filled to the brim with fun and imagination.
I enjoyed my time with Xenoblade Chronicles X a great deal. I found the combat highly engaging and every new ridge I would climb up provided me with such breathtakingly beautiful vistas that I would sit there simply slow panning around to take it all in. But at the same time, undercooked narrative has hurt the really long-term value of the game, and it was just a little too in love with the more arbitrary and irritating quirks of MMO design for its own good.
There honestly is not a lot to say about Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends. It is a Smash Bros. clone through and through, so it does offer those without a Wii U the opportunity to play this type of game on a newer console. It isn't anywhere near as good as the Smash Bros. games, but represents the world of Kung Fu Panda rather well. It really does seem that for every good part of the game, there is a negative aspect that stops it from being truly great. It is a passable Smash Bros. clone, but to be honest, if you're that much of a fan of the Smash Bros. formula, surely you already have a Wii U.
Being left with a real desire for a much bigger game is certainly preferable than struggling to care about it at all, but Image & Form has been teasing us with the potential for SteamWorld for some time now, and while I hope this is a big success for the team, because I want to see SteamWorld continue to grow, I really need for the next game in the series to be truly ambitious.
So, while Yo-Kai Watch is pitched firmly at children, I found it to be utterly delightful, absorbing, and lengthy. I'm about 60 hours in, at the end of the main quest, but still have enough side quests to keep me going for a while. I can't see it resonating quite so powerfully in the west, and certainly Pokemon's extreme depth and competitive scene isn't going to be threatened by the gameplay on offer here. At the same time, there is a much stronger emphasis on the human characters, narrative, and setting in this adventure, and on that side of things, I haven't seen a game better suited for children (but one the adults can still enjoy) for quite some time.
The good news is that after the bomb that was Mario Tennis on the 3DS, Camelot turned things around and nailed the 3DS' Mario Golf. I do hope that there's history repeating there because a really, really good Mario Golf game would be either the perfect way for the Wii U to go out, or the perfect title to launch with the Nintendo NX next year.
All of that being said, I do have to point out that for people with young families, this is a good Christmas purchase. It's simple enough for people of all ages to enjoy, and, as I've already mentioned a couple of times through the review, it's utterly adorable.
I'd like to say that Beyond: Two Souls is for everyone. I honestly believe that anyone can enjoy it, but that there are many out there that would not approach it the right way simply because their expectations of a video game are not what this offers. I did not know a thing of Cage's work prior to reviewing Beyond: Two Souls, but the excellent storytelling, the spot-on acting and the technical prowess that explodes out of the PlayStation 4 has made me a huge fan instantly.
I do believe that Rodea could have been a good little game. The ambition it has going for it is certainly appreciable, but ambition not put to good use is ambition wasted. Unfortunately, despite being one of the few high profile third party Wii U games, Rodea is a dud.
Devil Survivor 2 is not even close to Atlus' finest moment, but it is a very fine game nonetheless. It does a good job of offering a narrative with thematic depth, and mixes in well with some deep character development and monster fusing mechanics. If it wasn't for the generally uninspired effort to pull the game into shape from a visual perspective, it would be in the running to be one of the better examples of the genre on a console loaded with them.
But it is still fun to try and beat friends and family on the leaderboards. Long live pinball.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night gets almost everything right. There’s a narrative that not only follows on from one of the finest stories ever written (and I'm not just talking in terms of video games) but succeeds in actually enhancing it.
Again I want to emphasise; Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a terrible Etrian Odyssey game, missing the point entirely in what an Etrian Odyssey game is meant to offer. But as a roguelike, it is such a clean, traditional example of the genre that I found it very difficult to put down.
Ar nosurge has instantly become one of my favourite games of all, up there with the likes of Nier and Persona 4. Even when it's not at its best, it's still better than almost anything else. Emotional and poetic, deep and intelligent, it's the kind of game that will fly under most people's radars, but it's also one of those games that will hold a place of pride in the libraries of those that are lucky to discover it. This is a game you will hear me celebrating for many years to come.