Gabs Tanner's Reviews
Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures is a 2D platformer with a retro game style. The title tries really hard to capture the difficulty of old NES games, as well as the character of the Angry Video Game Nerd. While the graphics, music, and controls are all fantastic, it falls a little short in the level design, story, and humour.
Temple of Yog presents itself as an interesting roguelike title, promising a progression of characters, while enhancing a civilisation through the gameplay. A number of features are worth looking at, but the game in general could have done with more time in development. If the problems are fixed, and more variety added, it has the potential to be a great addition to the Wii U library.
Between Me and The Night will draw in players with its atmosphere and puzzles, but may lose them with the confusing story. It has great variety between reality and a game-world, but a lack of depth limits player engagement and satisfaction.
Adventures of Pip is a charming platformer, with an amusing story and world born from the game's central mechanic. The platforming and puzzles increase in difficulty with each level, while adding new challenges to keep the gameplay fresh. Some aspects of the platforming require a lot of precision, but this encourages players to improve their skills.
Return to PopoloCrois is a charming RPG with a cute world, and characters, that players will find themselves getting attached to. While the basic combat is enjoyable, it can become repetitive if the random encounter rate is set too high. That being said, it is possible to break from the main quest at any point to go farming, befriend the local ladies, or complete side quests, that all work towards keeping the game fresh.
Project X Zone 2's overall plot is pretty basic, but the focus is clearly meant to be on the numerous gaming characters, and their humorous banter with each other. The mixture of RPG combined with strategy and fighting in the combat gives the game a unique feel, even if the formula does get a bit repetitive at times.
While the controls in Dub Dash are simple, beating stages is a challenge. Lovers of rhythm games may appreciate the variety and pacing of the stages, while those new to the genre will struggle to see later levels. When the music and gameplay match up, the game can be incredibly satisfying, but frustration kicks in from trying to complete levels with one life, in conjunction with some moments of unfair design.
Hero and Daughter+ utilises an interesting core mechanic that makes for a refreshing RPG. Much of the combat and art style is straight from RPG Maker, which may put off a lot of players. However, the dialogue is full of humour, and there are plenty of optional side missions to keep things interesting, making the overall gameplay an engaging experience.
Deathsmiles manages to hit the perfect difficulty level so that both newcomers and old hats at the genre will find the challenge level they desire. The bullet patterns, crazy bosses, and badass protagonists all combine to create a fun experience, even if a run of the campaign can be completed in half an hour.
Despite some basic puzzles, and uninspiring characters, episode one of The Descendant is abundant in atmosphere. The title provides players with an engaging story that will leave them curious to know what happens next.
Leap of Fate is a rogue-lite title that brings together a lot of separate elements to create a very fun experience.
NO THING is a surreal constant runner experience with simplistic gameplay mechanics that make it accessible to everyone. It’s still a title for eclectic tastes though, due to its abstract narration, weird visuals and difficult challenge level.
Cornerstone: The Song Of Tyrim covers all the basics of a fun title, but lacks the polish and finesse required to create a truly memorable experience.
I Want To Be Human does little to match the great titles under its genre. There is an existing charm to the concept and art style, but fiddly controls and non-existent upgrades leave much to be desired.
Beauty and challenge are supposed to be Hyposphere’s strong points, but the heavy reliance on these areas end up being its downfall. The abstract art style lacks personality, while the difficulty level mainly comes from awkward controls and unfair level design.
RefRain -prism memories- may lack a few details, but it more than makes up for them with the variation between playable characters and a satisfying attack system.
Overfall successfully mixes some unlikely genres to create a fulfilling experience, both through its brilliantly written dialogue and stimulating tactical combat.
Excubitor has a sound concept, with the shooter and tower defence genres working really well together. So it’s a shame then that a lot of the details equate to heavy, inaccurate controls and a cruel difficulty level, limiting the amount of enjoyment that can be had.
The Incredible Baron delivers a fun, light-hearted humour that shines through its simplistic tug-of-war strategy foundation. There’s just the right level of challenge for a casual playthrough, while offering enough depth in the different difficulties and species research mechanics to keep you coming back for more.
Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus lives up to expectations of the franchise through its fun gameplay and lewd humour. A little too much focus has gone into the characters, leaving levels to play out rather similarly, but at least it's consistently fun to kick some ninja lady booty.