Jonathan White's Reviews
Despite my initial hesitations, I actually have been having quite a bit of fun with TFH, but there’s still a lot left to do to get this game to where it feels more complete.
In the end, the thing I love the most about Thymesia is that it doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. It doesn’t ask you to spend more time than you should have to in order to fully complete it, while being just long enough to not only leave you wanting more but carefully not overstaying its welcome. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but this is a terrific first attempt from a new developer, and I’m going to be watching OverBorder Studio to see what they’ve got coming down the pipeline next.
Overall, while it feels a little steep at $40, there’s a terrific collection of games included in this pack. The only way this would be any better would be if these games could somehow all interface together so you could launch any of them from within the same game. I’m hopeful that this trend of keeping older games alive keeps going and Capcom finally gives me Cadillacs and Dinosaurs in the next iteration.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a love letter to both of the previous arcade titles, but also brings the Turtles into a more mechanically relevant beat-em-up, ensuring that all new generations of Turtles fans can have a great time with this newest entry from Dotemu.
Dolmen isn’t a terrible game, but it definitely wasn’t ready to be released yet. Perhaps it can be improved by future patches, but as it stands, there’s no way this game is worth $20 in its current state, let alone $40. Pick up Dolmen if it shows up free on PS+ or Xbox Game Pass, but otherwise, go play Hellpoint or The Surge games if you want a futuristic Souls clone.
At the end of the day, I’d argue that Gran Turismo 7 is the most accessible entry in the series so far. There are a considerable amounts of driving assist that help newcomers get acclimated with how driving works in Gran Turismo, but it’s never going to be Ridge Racer so unless you’re passionate about cars, this series still might be a little too deep for the average racing game fan.
A successor to Horizon Forbidden West would need a refined story with a little less depth for unimportant secondary characters, less weapons with better focus so they’re used more, and improved mount controls (and hopefully flying access from the start). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll love her next episode as much as I’ve loved the previous two.
If you’re a fan of classic Castlevania, you’re gonna like Infernax – and it’s so refreshing to play something that isn’t a soulslike or a roguelike and instead offers a true return to the days of old.
All and all, it’s about what I’d expect from a game built in Unity. Blackwind feels like it was originally designed to be a mobile game and changed at the last minute when they realized there were too many commands for a touch screen. It’s not a great game, but it was kind of fun to play once I figured out how to work around the kinks. Adding some camera controls could easily bump this score up a solid point, but time will tell on any post-release support that Blackwind receives.
All and all, Chorus isn’t typically my kind of game but it was a pretty fun little romp. The biggest problem I had with it was how repetitive it was – most of the side missions are pretty much the same kind of thing and the biggest boss battles are repeated with a few slight twists to make them a bit harder. Chorus is the perfect game to jump into and dink around for an hour or two before you zone out and move on to something with a little more substance.
If you liked Windjammers, you’ll probably like Windjammers 2 even more – but there’s not really enough here to rope in new fans. Windjammers 2 is very much a more of the same type of sequel, but that’s alright by me.
At it’s core, Klang 2 is a pretty cool idea with the heavy visual inspiration from Tron and the alternating basic blue, pink, and orange color schemes that helped games like Audica and Just Beats and Shapes stand out so well. Unfortunately, I don’t think the Nintendo Switch is the best way to experience this game. Combos are often dropped due to a lack of response from pressing the analog stick in the right direction while also trying to time your shots. Most of the time it’s fine, but no matter how many times I replay a stage, I couldn’t seem to score better than a 92%. A score I’d venture to guess I could have easily crushed had I been playing this on a touch screen only interface like VOEZ.
New World might be the first ever MMORPG in my two decades of playing these titles that made me hit a wall and go “Yeah – this isn’t fun, I’m out.” That’s saying something, considering I’ve reviewed both TERA and Bless Unleashed.
Whatever Far Cry 6 is supposed to be feels like they made a cake and forgot the butter, flour, eggs, or to actually bake it. The more I played, the less I wanted to, and that’s not a good sign for a FarCry fan.
I’m still adamant that the best usage of Hot Wheels was the DLC pack in Forza Horizon 3, but that success only came because it was built into an already excellent racing game. This is a passable at-best racer, but it damn sure ain’t anywhere near Forza.
Diablo II: Resurrected seemingly accomplishes what it set out to do. It’s a terrific way to introduce one of the best video games ever made to a whole new generation of audiences. The music, the locations, the builds, the memories, they all came flooding back as I put more and more time into this game. It reminded me a lot of when times were simpler in life. Diablo II: Resurrected may not quite be exactly like the original, but it’s so damn close you’ll hardly notice the difference. It’s like a getting warm hug from an old friend you haven’t seen in a long long time.
Overall, I’d say that Arkane Studios may have possibly dropped the best game in the middle of this quality game drought we’re currently in (but I haven’t played Tales of Arise yet.) Deathloop isn’t nearly as original as it is refreshing and inventive. In fact, you could argue that Deathloop borrows the very best elements of everything that it rips off pays homage to and manages to stitch it together with a quality that’s not quite designer level, but considerably more convincing than a Wal-Mart brand knockoff.
The Ascent is a very impressive indie game made by a small studio of fewer than 30 people. Neon Giant has created a fantastic isometric shooter that’s just as much fun as the games it painstakingly writes a love letter to. I highly recommend you check out The Ascent as it’s been one of my favorite games so far in 2021.
Guilty Gear -Strive- is actually an incredible game, the fighting is fast, flashy, and extremely responsive.
Kudos to the team at Cold Symmetry. I hope more people pick up this game so that we can get a sequel somewhere down the road.