After capturing our attention with a strong concept and an intriguing open world, Homefront: The Revolution struggles with the basics: weapons feel unsatisfying to use, side quests are repetitive, characters are under-developed, and the online multiplayer represents a step back for the series. Sadly, for all of its ambition, there's just not much here worth fighting for.
Although it may be undeniably pretty, Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom suffers from a number of glaring flaws that prevent it from being a worthwhile experience. A clunky combat system, misdirected humour, and stale repetitive gameplay are just a few things that will likely diminish any amount of enjoyment that you may be able to draw from this sadly mediocre effort.
Bullet hell games are meant to be challenging because when you beat that boss you’ve been struggling with it can feel highly rewarding. Witch Thief doesn’t feel like that though because the amount of frustration that you go through just really isn’t worth it in the end. The story is underwhelming, the dialogue confusingly unfunny and the characters are generic and unlikeable. It feels fun to play at times, weaving between the waves of attacks is the highlight of the experience but you never feel like you give anything back. Instead, you just have to survive long enough for the health bars to disappear out of boredom rather than you being good. There is too much emphasis on luck and what makes this game unique is also its biggest letdown which makes it an unworthy addition in the bullet hell shmup genre.
There are some clever and innovatively retro-feeling features in Back in 1995 that I must give a lot of credit to Throw the Warped Code Out for. The game has a heart-warming incentive behind it that makes it very likeable but unfortunately, it just doesn’t stand out as a game in its own right. I think the story is eventually the strongest part of this game but it just doesn’t feel fun to play, neither is it scary, so I can’t really recommend it. Developers are releasing remakes now (the recent Resident Evil 2 Remake was fantastic) and removing the tank controls and static cameras for more modern mechanics, which shows that maybe some of these were limitations of the hardware rather than reasons that made the classics great. Personally, I think Back In 1995 didn’t need to replicate everything, it would have been good to see it improve on them.
In all honesty, my favourite parts of Little Witch Academia VR: Broom Racing were the ones without gameplay. I enjoyed being with the 3D character models, discussing parts from the show and the story within the game. It felt like I was actually in the show, offering a unique up-close experience which was nice and immersive after recently enjoying the show. The broom racing is fun, but it was a little too simple and repetitive – you’re probably best playing it in short bursts rather than sinking many hours into it in one go. If you’re a massive fan of the show, definitely check the game out as it’s fun feeling like you’re within this magical world. If you’re not, it’s a decent time killer if you have a VR headset, it’s just not amazing.
Radio Squid is a game with conflicting ideas that makes it partially enjoyable but equally just as frustrating. The bomb power is useful and a feature that feels fair and challenging whereas the ability to hurt yourself just feels the opposite. The claustrophobic arenas make the trek to reach the note to start your attack all the more pointlessly dangerous, meaning you will likely take cheap hits before you even start attacking yourself. Then, the wall wraps mean you have way too many things to keep track of, including your own projectiles. It all adds up to an experience that feels unfair and a bit bland.