On the surface, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine seems like it has a recipe for an incredible game. It stretches the lengths of what story-driven, Twine-like games can accomplish in scope—thematically, narratively, and in terms of the dozens of writers from different cultures and backgrounds behind them. And yet, the game's onerous pace and the way it relegates the stories you collect to flash cards ends up doing a disservice to the game's strengths.
Not even striking art direction and sincere storytelling can save the unfortunate nature of Sea of Solitude. Marred by dull action and, at worst, frustrating sequences, Sea of Solitude ends up feeling like twice the length of its runtime. Those monsters and that world sure are gorgeous though.
Aside from its cute art direction, there's not much joy to be found in Game Freak's Little Town Hero. Its battle system has a glimmer of potential, but finds itself muddled in system after system, making what should be its standout boss battles a tedious affair. Even for a budget price, this is a town you probably won't want to visit for more than a day.
In paring down the campy charm of the series before it, Disaster Report 4's more serious tone often crumbles like the very buildings you find yourself running away from.
There is a shell of a good game in Predator: Hunting Grounds, but severe balancing issues, poor console performance, and general clunkiness hold it back from standing shoulder to shoulder with other solid 4v1 multiplayer games—even the one its developer has made before. While its Predator callbacks are solid, for fans looking for another good Predator game, there's not one to be found here. At least not yet.
The game’s graceless combat was once tolerable. But as the game progressed, that fact faded into a distant memory. It became a common occurrence to find myself frantically flinging arrows at the speedier robots sprinting my way, while praying that the slower, stronger ones didn’t reach me in time for more tedious hack-and-slashing
The characters, both new and old, feel much more distinctive than the usual "big, medium, small" classes that seem to follow other Mario sports games and even Mario Kart.
There are moments of greatness in this campaign, but I'd still only recommend it to the biggest Splatoon fans—the ones who play it on a nightly basis like me, itching for an Octoling to join Inkopolis in Turf War and Ranked battles. Otherwise, more casual fans might find Octo Expansion to be a touch too grueling to love.
Life Is Strange 2's debut episode, despite its faults and its slow-moving pace, starts the series off compellingly, setting off on a road trip adventure that I'm sure will bear more hardship for the two brothers than unlikely friendships.
Episode 2 may not be an attention-arresting adventure like the first episode was, but it takes risks in slowing down its pace and throwing more plot intrigue into the mix.
It's the weakest episode yet, even with its cliffhanger ending. The choices you make throughout Episode 3 don't feel as if they carry as much weight, even on a pure brotherly level.
The new Wolfensteins have always encouraged multiple playstyles, but Youngblood is the first time they've actually felt viable.
Episode 4 in particular is the second best episode in the series so far, resting next to its excellent introductory episode.