Levi van Tine's Reviews
After last episode's streamer spectacle, I was hoping 'Minecraft: Story Mode' could shake off the cobwebs and head for the finish line with grace and aplomb. Instead, we have a tiny little episode with almost zero interactivity and a predictable plot. It's better than 'A Portal to Mystery', but that's a rather dubious honor.
I can see why some people like 'Hyper Light Drifter'. Its combination of nostalgia, pretty pixels, and cruel gameplay are an intoxicating drug to some. I'm not one of those people, unfortunately. As I played I felt like the annoying moviegoing companion, always asking for an explanation of events onscreen from fellow viewers also watching for the first time, equally mystified.
'Little King's Story' on PC is a shoddy port of a game that has not aged particularly well. The mouse and keyboard controls are a real pain, and the game is simple enough that they didn't have to be. The gameplay never excited me while I played, and even the trivial things like saving and navigating menus just exasperated me. Returning fans ought to appreciate having a PC version, (especially with so many Wiis seemingly now retired). For everybody else, I really don't have anything good to say about it, and that's surprising given how well it was received in 2009.
'Kelvin and the Infamous Machine' is a fitting tribute to the golden days of point-and-click gaming. What it lacks in length it makes up for in heart and dad jokes galore. If you yearn for a good adventure and have a few hours to spare, it won't disappoint.
In 'Realm of Shadows' we see the usual monolithic monument of Telltaleness, wrapped up in a cape and cowl. We also see the shadow of something different, something new. It's not ready yet, not fully formed, and could die by the end of the series or even by the second episode, but it could also bring their craft to a new level. Either way, I don't see a need to wash my hands of it just yet.
It's a bit thin on content for a full episode, but some of the set design and kills in 'Hitman's 'Summer Bonus Episode' are some of the best yet in the serial. It's not the kind of golden goose episode that people should be falling all over themselves to play, but it is a solid few hours of fun in previously visited locales. August and Thailand with it are fast approaching, and we have high hopes.
'Human Fall Flat' is a brilliant, remarkably funny twist on classic platforming and puzzle solving. Its problems are minor: the controls and audio are a bit rough around the edges, and a few of the puzzles are too simple for their own good. Whatever it lacks is easily replaced by simple elegance in both level design and personality.
Despite stumbles in its gameplay, I am a sucker for sappy stories, and that is what 'Song of the Deep' should be played for. There are many other games that provide engrossing, replayable platforming and puzzles, but with less warmth or none at all. I enjoyed my time with Merryn and her submarine but we sure did bicker a lot.
Vile Monarch’s Grzegorz and Kacper have done some awesome stuff in their career - 'This War of Mine' is a personal favorite. With 'Crush Your Enemies' I don’t know what happened. They tried to subvert the genre of mobile gaming and satirize the clickfest, and yet they just created what they were trying to parody.
'The Force Awakens' is one of the better 'Lego Star Wars' in recent memory. TT is paying attention to players and throwing in more variety. Even if we've seen all of this variety before, it's very welcome in the 'Lego' world. If you haven't been a huge fan of the series to date, this might not change your mind, but the returning fans will find a lot of 'Star Wars' to do.
'The Technomancer' is not without its merits, but can’t quite find a place for itself in the RPG/action field. It is clear what Spiders was trying to do and I don’t fault them for it - their creation has the potential to be something special. In this current form that’s all it is though, just potential.
'Prison Architect' has grown from a wonky but promising idea into an awesome strategy experience. Except for some persistent pathfinding bugs, the AI and building elements are spot on, and I highly recommend this game even to people who may not normally enjoy the tycoon genre.
I have not played '7 Days to Die' on Steam and I am struggling to understand why people would choose this over some of the really excellent survival games out there. Maybe on PC it’s really great. On the Xbox One it is not.
'The Underground' is worth trying out if you’ve committed to a pass, but certainly not worth buying on its own.
Try as I might, even with my fervent obsession/love of the survival genre, 'Goliath' isn't doing anything for me. I very much want it to, because the idea of making big primitive mechs while doing typical crafty stuff actually sounds pretty good on paper. 'Goliath' comes up short on almost all fronts, unfortunately.
Deep Silver was happy to jump on the definitive edition bandwagon, but there are games far more deserving for this treatment. Real strides have been made in the video department. Otherwise, there’s not much else from the 'Dead Island: Definitive Collection' to recommend here - two ho-hum games that are aging quickly despite their youth, and a new retro title that adds very little to the equation.
The first 'Mirror's Edge' was a surprising risk with interesting gameplay that developed a niche audience, and its follow-up tries, mostly successfully, to recapture that same effect. There are stumbles with its open world, combat, and narrative, but Faith's freerunning world persists. Chasing after every red zipline, railing, and air duct is still fun eight years on.
'Duskers' is an excellent game for scratching that obsessive roguelike itch. It’s minimalist and tough as nails with a peculiar interface, but as it turns out, successfully crushing all infestations on a ship with a novella of keystrokes provides a special kind of satisfaction.
'Story Mode' has been Telltale’s most consistently unpredictable series in recent memory in terms of its quality. The stronger episodes, full of great jokes, interesting locales, and the occasional heartwarming moment, have been undermined by duds like 'Assembly Required' and now this streamer tribute. It’s best to wash our hands of it and hope for greater adventures the next time the New Order of the Stone meets.
'Burning Blood' is pure fan service through and through, and there's nothing wrong with that. People who don't watch/read the source material are going to remain thoroughly confused, but there's still some enjoyment to be had in its wacky fighting and over-the-top style. If you're not a manga fan and are looking for a fighter with tight mechanics, accurate hitboxes and a deep bench of combos, best keep looking.