Lexuzze Tablante's Reviews
I haven’t had enough fun in coop games until I’ve played Aliens: Fireteam Elite. Sure, it isn’t spectacular, some may even call it “boring”, but the time I have spent playing the game as a fan of the franchise and as someone who loves shooters definitely made the game enjoyable despite the complaints I had.
There’s just a lot of technical restraints that drag The Ascent down, and I do praise Neon Giant’s hard work they’ve put into the game, but it’s difficult for me to recommend a title that’s so unpolished when you want to play the game on couch co-op. However, if you’re up for instant, fluid twin-stick shooting gunplay with easy-to-grasp mechanics and a massive arsenal of weapons, and a game that accurately evokes the cyberpunk theme then The Ascent is undoubtedly a game that may be worth your time regardless of the technical issues it has.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is another exciting PS5 exclusive that showcases the console’s spectacular power. Backed with impressive voice actors, an entertaining narrative, and marvelous weapons and combat, Rift Apart is still a system seller despite the underwhelming Rivet gameplay.
I am not a fan of roguelite and any roguelike games, but after spending time on the planet Atropos with Selene, I began to love Returnal and its peculiar mix of gameplay elements. I may not like its narrative, but Housmarque did a wonderful job of creating such a beautiful game that gives you tons of challenges and replayability. There’s one thing to remember: git-gud.
Oddworld: Soulstorm may not exceed your expectations, but it’s a nice reimagining of Abe’s Exodus. There’s a couple of hindrances like the throwing and stealth mechanics, but that doesn’t overshadow Oddworld: Soulstorm good feats like challenging levels, its nice visuals on PS5, and its amusing sets of characters.
Video games like It Takes Two are difficult to craft. The studio needs to build upon considering how to make the two players feel important without leaving out the other and keeping them engaged. Fortunately, the variety of gameplay mechanics it adds to every chapter keeps everyone entertained, plus the humor and the comical Dr. Hakim makes the entire playthrough fun. The development might have been challenging for Hazelight but they managed to pull through and make a co-op game that’s equally stunningly, wisely executed with an emotionally driven story, and enjoyable.
Destruction AllStars can be memorable but it’s not one of those exclusive launch games that would make an impact. I’m afraid that with the content Destruction AllStars has to offer, it will not be enough for players to stay and play for a long time, the game needs more horsepower to convince PS5 owners to buy it after it’s out of PlayStation Plus. We might see another live-service game going downhill in just a few months especially with the price-tag of $69.99. Until this becomes free-to-play, I don’t see the game living beyond a year with a decent amount of players behind the steering wheel.
Little Nightmares II is a sequel that everyone can love especially those die-hard fans of the franchise. You’re still greeted with unexpected threats lurking in every dark corner, the uneasy feeling you get when you walk through corridors and windows, and the unexpected twist at the end. I had a great time in my 5-6 hours of playthrough and I can say, it’s worth binging through all the chapters in one sitting. But that ending, wow.
Astro’s Playroom successfully showcases the capabilities of the PlayStation 5, giving us the true next-gen experience we’ve been waiting for since the PlayStation 3. It’s not about having the “powerful” hardware that can run games at native 8K, but it’s the number of games that can give us meaningful, interesting worlds and gameplay. The PlayStation 5 has that and with Astro’s Playroom, you already have an idea what Sony has to offer in the next couple of years.
Watch Dogs Legion tries so hard to innovate the franchise, but in doing so, it feels like a product that was either rushed or there was no love for it. Ubisoft Toronto did their best to give us a whole new Watch Dogs experience, but when the second installment of the franchise is the benchmark, it’s hard for me not to nitpick on these issues I find in the game. I love the franchise, but this isn’t the kind of innovation I’ve expected Watch Dogs to have.
Star Wars: Squadrons provides a well-grounded, in-depth gameplay that hardcore fans and flight-simulator veterans will definitely appreciate. It may not have the strongest story in a Star Wars game, but it does wonders in space combat and gameplay, this is where Star Wars: Squadrons gets it right.
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey will give the survival experience to you lightly. It punishes you for being careless, but even more when you go back to the beginning and re-do the same thing all over and over again. Initially, you’ll feel rewarded for learning the game, but it disappointingly ends up in repetition and you’ll eventually just close the game and call it quits for mankind’s evolution.
Forget about compelling storytelling, forget about being serious, Destroy All Humans is about having fun, being entertained, and giving you a nice laugh of it being satire and cheesy. This remake adds a layer of beauty and improvements, it’s another faithful recreation of an old game that invites newcomers to play what we consider to be a classic gem.
Valorant made a rather old game formula fun that even myself can't deny how delightful the sessions were. It manages to keep what makes the game fun and that's its core gameplay mechanics. So even if you're not a CS:GO veteran, worry not, because the skill-based matchmaking does its job right in placing you with players with the same level of performance and balances the teams.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated still kept what was adored about its whimsical atmosphere that the 2003 original offered while giving fans and new players something fresh.
I enjoyed Predator: Hunting Grounds, no doubt, but the glaring issues it has as an overall package is difficult to ignore. This would have been a great game if it had a single-player campaign. Do you know what would have been an awesome 4v1? Ridley Scott’s Alien.
Jedi: Fallen Order wasn’t dull or lackluster, there were big surprises that pushed me back from my seat, tons of memorable moments, the combat was definitely fulfilling, and it stayed loyal to its source material. While it’s not a technical marvel, I’ve never had this level of fun in any video game this year and I’m certainly glad that Respawn Entertainment delivered one of the greatest Star Wars games in history.
Planet Zoo doesn’t shy away from being a deep theme-park sim as it manages so well to be friendly to newcomers in this kind of game. What I love the most about Planet Zoo is its in-depth gameplay mechanics. I immediately fell in love with the game after the first level of Career Mode. I’ve spent a lot of hours here than on Jurassic World: Evolution and I’m continuing to spend more time cranking up my zoo’s rating and trade animals with another player. Frontier Developments, you guys definitely need an award for this.
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a trip down the memory lane. It’s the greatest Star Wars game of all time next to Star Wars Battlefront II (the 2005 version, not 2017). With an amazing story, memorable combat experiences, and the fantastic lightsaber action, Jedi Outcast’s flaws become insignificant next to the power of the Force.
While the glitches and bugs aren’t game-breaking and don’t really affect the entire experience, the only gripe I have with the game is how repetitive the objectives are in its campaign mode. In the end, World War Z is still a great spiritual successor of Left 4 Dead and it packs a lot of fun when you play it with your friends.