Evan Norris's Reviews
An expert remake, imbued with lavish production design, superior voice-acting, flashy fighting, and hours of side content and virtual tourism.
Arguably the finest 2D action-adventure of 2018, a year that has seen an influx of well-crafted Metroidvanias.
Eschewing the Byzantine systems of many modern anime fighters, Blade Strangers invites fans weaned on early 90s arcade fighters back into the fold.
It has an artistic simplicity and mechanical purity reminiscent of Bill Rizer, Simon Belmont, and the Blue Bomber.
It's one thing for a game to embrace the mechanics of many different genres; it's another entirely to nail them all.
Fans of dungeon-crawling rogue-likes will most definitely gravitate to this tough top-down trip through the Dungeon of Doom, but others may wish to explore elsewhere.
Combining the mechanics of rogue-like titles, Metroidvanias, and Dark Souls might sound too messy or overly complicated, but Motion Twin has done it with style.
While Ultra Space Battle Brawl has some intriguing characters, accessible controls, and a decent story mode, it simply wears out its welcome far too soon, thanks to shallow mechanics and gameplay that often feels too erratic and random.
While there are some difficulty spikes in worlds six through ten (including a brain-melting end-of-game boss) and some undistinguished production values throughout, they don't undermine the fun, frantic platforming on display.
Code of Princess EX is an attractive investment for action-RPG fans who don't mind some monotonous fighting or lackluster character models.
On balance Iro Hero earns its wings.
The Persistence, ultimately, is a fine example of both a rinse-and-repeat rogue-like and a first-person horror game.
With so many brilliant action-RPGs on the market, it's difficult to prioritize Shining Resonance Refrain, which is only decent by comparison.
What the game lacks in breadth and depth of puzzles it somewhat makes up for in variety.
There are a handful of high points, thanks chiefly to the emergent gameplay provided by Geomod 2.0, but not enough to change what is, in the end, an acceptable but unremarkable sandbox shooter.
There's something undeniably charming about Pode. Its adorable characters, meaningful story, lovely art, relaxing music, and satisfactory puzzling gameplay make it worth a look, especially for co-op enthusiasts.
The wait for Ritual just got a heck of a lot easier.
If there's a lesson to be learned from A Legend Reborn, it's this: don't build a game off a meme.
Go to hell and back to save your son in this gorgeous, flawed story-driven survival game.
Strange Journey Redux is a masterclass in first-person dungeon crawling.