Ultimately, Mighty No. 9 is just not worth the price. It has a satisfying set of mechanics, but that is all it has going for it. The visuals are atrocious, the music unmemorable, the story painful, and the level design mediocre.
All in all, A Beggar’s Ride is a short, simple, and ultimately quite enjoyable puzzle platformer. If you’ve got six bucks to spare, then the charming visuals, impressively developed mixture of atmosphere and story, and solid puzzles will make the game worth a purchase.
I want more games like this from Nintendo. The visuals, music, story, and characters are all relatively bare-bones, but the gameplay is so fun and creative, I just don’t care. This is an experience that shows what amazing stuff Nintendo can do when they really try something new and crazy with unique hardware.
Bravely Second: End Layer is everything I want out of a JRPG.
All in all, Replay: VHS Is Not Dead is a brilliant game. It may not have particularly compelling visuals, music, or stories, but the gameplay is just superb. If you’ve got puzzle-platformer on the brain, Replay: VHS Is Not Dead is for you.
Alphadia is a game that is faithful in its homage to JRPGs of yore, yet cannot quite match them in its execution. Environments are all the same, the story inches along, the characters are barely characters, and the combat lacks the depth it should have. And yet I still had a lot of fun playing Alphadia. It’s… simple. It’s pure. Its problems do not keep it from being obscenely charming. Alphadia is not a great game; but it is a good one. For those that desire the experience of a classic JRPG, and do not mind that this one does nothing new and has loads of problems: Alphadia may actually give you a better time than it has any right to.
Mutant Mudds Super Challenge is, for better or worse, more of the same – just a bit harder. If you enjoyed the original Mutant Mudds and don’t mind heavy difficulty right out of the gate (and some frustrating boss battles), Super Challenge is for you. If you didn’t enjoy Mutant Mudds, this won’t change your mind. And if you haven’t played the original, you definitely want to start there instead – seriously, this game is hard. In the end, Super Challenge is a brilliant title that, despite its lack of new additions and frustrating bosses, continues the series’ reputation as a shining example of pitch-perfect platforming mechanics and design. If you feel like dying and loving every minute of it, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge is for you.
But again: many people will enjoy this type of gameplay, and if the simple joy of running around as a LEGO Avenger sounds appealing to you (and you can't play the console version for whatever reason), pick up the 3DS version of Lego Marvel's Avengers. Just don't expect it to blow you away.
All in all, Outside the Realm is not great. At just fifty cents at launch, it may be worth a playthrough if you want something mindless to play for thirty minutes. Yet it lacks any depth and challenge; it's reasonably good by Wii U budget title standards, but unfortunately it never steps into its own potential to become truly worthwhile.
All in all, Level 22 is a very worthwhile purchase if you are in the market for a top down stealth game. It is loaded with charm and has some well designed gameplay. It's not perfect – what game is? – but many will find a lot to enjoy from Level 22. You might be one of them. Just don't stay up too late playing, or your boss could get mad.
Those looking for a deep story or compelling adventure gameplay may not find it, but there's a lot to love in this first episode. It's just not for everyone.
All in all, it is hard to recommend The Perplexing Orb. Certainly it is not incompetent — the physics work, and the core is fine — but nothing is done to make it stand out. The level design is totally unremarkable, the length is short, and the visuals and music, while mostly not unpleasant, are just unimpressive. Even so, those that like rolling a ball through an obstacle course will find something to enjoy here.
[I]t creates an incredible, breathtaking, awe-inspiring world that is an absolute joy to run around in, to fight in, to collect in, to look around in, to be in. It may not have done so flawlessly, but Xenoblade Chronicles X gave me one of the finest worlds gaming has to offer, and it populated that world with incredible things to do. You have the option to be a part of that world as well. And while you should not expect perfection or anything near it, I can say with absolute certainty that you should play Xenoblade Chronicles X.
All in all, Toto Temple Deluxe is a game you buy if you have friends to play it with. Solo, it can be no more than a brief distraction, but with friends it becomes an exciting brawl-fest. Solid modes and an impressive number of stages makes sure this multiplayer title is one to check out.
Human Resource Machine is great. The gameplay is superb, finding the perfect middle ground between complex riddles/simple solutions wrapped in an stellar set of gameplay systems. The visuals are expectedly gorgeous, clever, and unique. The music is stellar, and the story, world, and characters are engaging. There's even some well done humor thrown in. The puzzles may get too complex at times, but Human Resource Machine is a game anyone with an interest in challenging puzzlers should play.
Whispering Willows is by no means a masterpiece, but it is a beautiful world and an engaging atmosphere that unfortunately is wrapped in undeveloped gameplay and a not very compelling story. Still; it's an experience with a lot to offer for those with a love of eerie and beautiful games.
So should you buy The Swindle? Absolutely; the game is, quite simply, fun. It has real stakes, and that makes every jump, every break in, every move all the more intense. With great gameplay, great visuals, and great music, it's hard not to suggest The Swindle; just keep in mind that it has got some issues, and it is not for the faint of heart.
Super Mario Maker truly offers you more or less everything you need to create the level of your dreams.
I always find it fascinating when developers take an incredibly simple concept and blow it up to fill an entire game. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but no matter what, it is interesting to see the ways in which they try and expound upon a concept to keep it fresh, or use visual or audio tricks to make it more compelling. Badland: Game Of The Year Edition is one of those games, and fortunately, it works: and it works very, very well.
Xeodrifter is a great little game. It's too short and too lacking in boss variety to be an everlasting indie classic, but while playing, it really is stellar.