Josh Brown
Accidentally trivialising a boss by inflicting Charm and having it put itself into a perpetual cycle of Sleep.
Toukiden 2 ends up offering something that's lacking in all departments.There's too much fluff between the good stuff, but it still offers a somewhat exhilarating experience in short bursts. If you're looking for a combat-heavy co-op experience on PC, it's not a bad choice at all - but if you're coming from similar games, you'll likely be left feeling generally underwhelmed.
...although the complete Final Fantasy VII storyline is a fascinating, emotional globetrotting adventure, this first 40-hour romp is anything but.
As it stands, Shadowlands feels a little lost in translation. Blizzard spent the better part of the last year saying how it wanted its juggernaut MMO to feel more like an RPG again — where choices matter and rewards and plentiful. Yet, oddly enough, Shadowlands feels more bereft of that than ever before, becoming something of a jumbled experience that sits awkwardly between being an open-world “sandbox” MMO and a more linear “theme park” one.
The reason to question Bravely Default 2‘s existence boils down to its inability to think for itself. The Brave and Default combat system strikes a near-perfect balance between two rival battle mechanics that have struggled to coexist over the decades, but that’s about the extent of the game’s individuality.
An intriguing story of exploring new frontiers and an easy gateway into retro sci-fi literature, The Invincible is a powerful, engrossing cosmic drama that's held back by a lack of variety and innovation, rough edges around its core mechanics, and a supporting cast that can't quite match the energy of its stars.
While the opening hours do nothing to rid your mouth of a slowly growing taste of disappointment, Nights of Azure eventually manages to claw you back once some of its more interesting combat mechanics begin to shine through. It's relatively short length aids the process, but also comes under fire when you consider the bare-bones storytelling. It's a difficult sell, but one I hope GUST can rehabilitate with the upcoming sequel.
Playing through A Hat in Time was an experience that made me question the idea of a specific term - ‘Inspired'. It's clearly built as a homage to titles like Super Mario and Luigi's Mansion yet struggles to stand out on its own because of it. It certainly made me smile from time to time, but most of that time was also spent thinking how a finer experience could be achieved by simply playing the games that inspired it. An issue presented by a certain other homage earlier this year.
Though certainly one of the stronger hunting games to come from a rival, Wild Hearts might only truly shine with a sequel that will live or die by how players respond to its convoluted, but impressive, main gimmick.
Blue Reflection feels like a Gust game. That is, it looks and sounds beautiful at times, but ultimately falls flat elsewhere. While certainly easy on the eyes, it cuts every corner it can in what feels like a purposeful attempt to emit mediocrity. There's some good in here, but the rest feels hastily put together.
Unless Blizzard has some real story shake-ups and a phenomenally tuned raid on the horizon, I'm honestly expecting the sharpest player decrease to set in within the next few months. The expansion itself has some interesting ideas, but sticking to a World Quest grindfest is quickly becoming the norm, and the Island Expeditions aren't exactly exciting.