As I've attempted to pound home several times at this point, none of these enhancements should really be classified as true game-changers. If you made the plunge last year and you're looking for NHL 20's one marquee feature that makes this a must-buy, there really isn't an overarching reason to upgrade. Pure and simple. That said, this year's outing has plenty of incremental improvements that deliver a superior experience to what you would've played twelve months ago. Allow your level of fandom to dictate if this purchase is right for you. Ultimately, regardless of where you land, you won't be disappointed.
If you’ve been looking for a reason to take the plunge and upgrade, consider this your penalty kick in the pants.
So, for those keeping track at home, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is an extremely authentic port of the PC experience that stays very close to the source material. It certainly doesn't hurt matters much when you consider how legitimately stellar the writing is. If it weren't for the unfriendly control scheme and obscene loading times, this could very well have been an early contender for best PS4 RPG of 2020. Regardless, it can still easily stand on its own as an extremely solid title that's very much worth your attention.
When you take a step back and look at the game as a whole, MLB The Show 20 is exactly the experience I was expecting. There was very little that wowed, and even less that evolved more than incrementally this season. And while this is still easily the best baseball title ever released, it did very little to raise the bar over its prior installment. If you are hard up for action on the diamond, rest assured that this will help to temporarily satiate your desires. However, if you have last season's installment, you may not need to make the upgrade this trip around the calendar.
Though it's a small package, Unto the End manages to deliver both an amazing visual experience and surprisingly deep combat systems. You won't want to miss the sort of adventure that will keep you coming back for more punishment, death after death.
Melding the city-building and exploration genre together shouldn't work this well. Airborne Kingdom does a fantastic job of continuously throwing new challenges at the player, while simultaneously devouring countless hours in the process. For a mere $24.99, this is a title that will absolutely give you plenty of bang for your buck.
While it's easy to call a game, "too hard," Godstrike goes above and beyond to savage you. Unless you're willing to put in the time and pain, this will not be an enjoyable experience. However, if you can ride the crest of the difficulty curve, this bullet hell bonanza will keep you coming back for even more brutality.
While Star Wars Pinball VR has all of the fan service necessary to please any diehard fan, it runs up against a handful of minor technical and polish issues that prevent it from living up to its full potential. That said, it still outclasses every other pinball experience on the platform, so feel free to indulge your inner Jedi.
I was genuinely shocked to see how comprehensive the simulation experience was in Farm Manager 2021. The level of thought and detail that's went into all of the interweaving mechanics, is readily apparently and genuinely impressive. Anyone looking for a new sim to sink their teeth into should look no further.
This delightful sprint is both beautiful to watch and engrossing to play. Aerial_Knight's Never Yield is a fantastic hour and a half long sprint, that features an outstanding score and plenty of narrative surprises interwoven throughout. Now, if only we had a flow-chart to follow the actual storyline...
If you have the patience, Roguebook is an interesting adventure, worth exploring. Players will be treated to a multifaceted strategy title, that keeps you guessing constantly. Why not have them deal you a hand?
Despite its rather brief runtime, Mini Motorways shows what made the game so successful on mobile platforms. Featuring a gameplay loop that's hard to resist, the only thing holding it back is a lack of true variety. Luckily, when the gratification loop is this intoxicating and the price is so minimal, the limited replay value can be easily forgiven.
Making fantastic use of the VR medium, I Expect You To Die 2 picks up where the original left off, in the most literal sense possible. Sure, it may not be treading any new ground and is somewhat on the brief side, but even when viewing it as an expansion to the original, it still offers a stellar experience for all comers. Rest assured, that mission isn't firing any blanks.
If you couldn’t tell, Brut@l is a game that warrants exploring. The dynamically generated world and character leveling systems help to emphasize its infinite replayability. After a few plunges into this violent abyss the repetitive grind will set in a bit, but the solid combat helps to take the sting out of infrequent bouts of déjà vu. Plus, the inclusion of couch coop and a fully featured level designer only further cements its value. Have no fear, adventurer. This is a quest that is well worth embarking upon.
Clocking in at the cost of a full modern game, Dead Rising Triple Pack is still a fantastic value. Yes, each of the games have their own unique quirks, but that “je ne sais quoi,” is what helped endear the series to millions of fans, worldwide. The sheer volume of quality content being provided makes it an extremely generous offering, especially for those that don’t have these titles already in their collection. Finally, Capcom was able to put their brain-dead re-release strategy to good use!
Within Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky you will be treated to a game featuring a unique storytelling angle, amazing art design, a roster of a dozen compelling and unique characters and a beefy campaign. It legitimately feels like a successor to the Valkyrie Profile series, from the people that made the series what it is today. Despite its repetitive nature, this is still an adventure that is worthy of exploring, as long as you have plenty of free time on your hands.
While I’m not interested in drawing a value assessment of the overall package, rest assured that Super Stardust addicts like myself will not be disappointed with this purchase. Just know that if you weren’t a fan of previous installments, this will not be changing your opinion. Beware: your mileage may vary.
I am fully willing to admit that I approached Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star with lower expectations than I probably should have. With limited knowledge of the franchise, it was hard to predict what the game had in store. This is why it was such a pleasant surprise when it turned out to be an extremely competent brawler, with a shockingly expansive, albeit slightly disjointed, core campaign. Despite its narrative shortcomings, the moment-to-moment combat is fast paced, visually arresting and extremely entertaining. If you are looking for a fun mindless jaunt to kick off the New Year, look no further.
As a simulation, Birthdays the Beginning is a fairly unique approach to the open-world sandbox simulator. It does a fantastic job of demonstrating how important it's to maintain balance within an ecosystem, in order for life to thrive. It also helps to drive home how even the smallest of organisms can make a gigantic impact on the world around them. The main issue is that the campaign is so focused on introducing new mechanics that it seems to lose sight of this unspoken thesis. In turn, this leads the player on a mission to track down answers that should instead be provided to them at a glance. Due to this, it's hard to shake the feeling of being thrown into the deep end of an algae coated swamp, without a life raft.
If you are looking for a personality soaked nostalgia piece, that is as charming as it is challenging, then 8Days should fit the bill quite nicely. Though far from perfect, its charm helps cut through the frustrating quirks and lackluster checkpoint system. For some reason, even war crimes are more fun in 8-bit. So channel your inner Rambo, and stock up on ammo. You’ve got lots of cursing to do.