Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit's course creation and in-game tracks are a blast held back by some key limitations.
Tell Me Why is a good story in a charming world but the choices and plot fail to enthrall.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's difficulty, memorable track design, and addictive power-slide mechanic make it a kart racer worth playing but it's not without its frustrations.
Life Is Strange 2 Episode 3 has a thrilling conclusion but its core conflict and new characters never fully make a connection.
Unfortunately, 28 years after the first game’s release means doing more of the same won’t necessarily get the same results.
FutureGrind's story and sounds may not be the most grippin,g but the breadth of what's offered in terms of bikes, courses, and challenges make up for its other shortcomings. In the end, the quick thinking and creativity it requires make it a ride you won't want to miss.
While Nickelodeon Kart Racers' provides plenty of content and has smart references that integrate well with some very solid racing, the poor visuals and botched battle mode leave plenty to be desired. If you accept the game for what it is there's definitely some fun to be had but its shortcomings are jarring enough to require some substantial blinders.
As an NBA Playgrounds apologist and lover of arcade sports sims, this game can only be characterized as a disappointment, and a frustrating one at that. NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has all the ingredients for an excellent game, but its best flavors are overpowered by the saltiness of its microtransactions and repetitive season. It's a shame, because the gameplay itself is absolutely excellent; it's the surrounding constructs, progression system, and a lackluster season that leaves this game tripping over its own laces.
As someone that loves boxing as a workout, this is an interesting title to have in my collection, but if you're looking to feel like Adonis Creed, you'll be a bit disappointed. This VR game lands some good punches, but it is far from achieving a knockout.
Transference's subtlety is meant to create additional depth, but keeping the player at arm's length only works if you eventually let them in. Unfortunately, Transference never fully shows its narrative hand and that's the game's biggest detriment. Gameplay-wise, the game is easy but satisfying to navigate. The surrealist, horror aspects of the shifting environments create a steady stream of tension and intrigue. While its brevity might be a turn off to players who enjoy a heartier game experience, Ubisoft Montreal and SpectreVision succeeded in combining games and movies into one entertaining and eerie walking sim.
In its final third, Candleman pulled me into the story, gameplay, and setting all at once. It was finally a full fledged, dynamic, puzzle-platformer rather than a simplistic maze. While the story's end left some questions on the table, I thought the overall message was an important and beautiful one: sometimes what you think is your light/salvation is actually your darkness/demise. And sometimes, the light we seek has always been inside us. At first, playing Candleman will be an unsatisfying, slow-paced act of just going through the motions, but if you stick around, you'll discover some magic by the end.
Overall, the progression is solid, but there are a few moments where I felt it was sort of unfair (i.e having to backtrack with no health in sight) due to the procedural generation. You'll want to pick this game up, because while it does have its flaws, there's something incredibly satisfying about sneaking up behind enemies and zapping the stem cells out of their skulls. It's a feeling I encourage all of you to seek out.
Overall, I would have to say not really. The puzzles themselves are this game's saving grace. I didn't have a bad time playing it, but I can't recommend it in good faith. If you're a huge puzzle fan, like me, there's something here for you. But in all honesty, there are plenty of puzzle games out there that wouldn't come with this big of an asterisk. Go play those. All of that said, a player's reaction to the narrative and hub world is going to be the big deciding factor for whether or not you think this game is good. The narrative and gameplay combined together detract from the experience of one another, resulting in something decent at best and eye-roll inducing at worst. The Spectrum Retreat really went for it, but a swing and a miss is still a miss.
After a while Runbow definitely becomes more of the same, but, to its credit, what it offers is inherently fun. The constantly changing colors are intimidating at first but I was shocked at how quickly it became intuitive. There are a lot of good platformers out there, but what makes this unique is the fact that levels aren't difficult in their design, specifically. Instead, the challenge comes from your own ability to quickly think about the shifting environment and plan your next move. Runbow is about negotiating when to take your time and when to race into a rhythm. Sometimes it's about being careful, but more often than not, Runbow is the platforming equivalent of double dutch—it takes skill but once you get in a groove you can pull off some spectacular things. And, much like double dutch, it's a bit more fun when more people jump in. Whether you're a casual gamer or a platforming veteran, you'll find Runbow easy to pick up but hard to put down.
I walk away from One Night Stand the game the way one–sometimes–leaves a one night stand in real life. Part of me wants more, but I have no idea what that would even be. And, in the end, I’m just content with having had the experience.
Even for the low price of $40, I can't recommend ReCore. This game feels like a first draft. A lot of the gameplay mechanics are there, but the world and story fails to satisfy. You're best off waiting for the price to become insanely low, picking it up, and hoping for an IP saving sequel.
BoxBoy! would have a lot of replay value if I thought it was worth playing in the first place.