Francis DiPersio's Reviews
I mean it when I say I wanted nothing more than to like Outbreak: The New Nightmare. As a massive fan of the games that inspired it, it seemed to me like Dead Drop Studios was poised to deliver something special. Unfortunately, the scariest thing about this game is just how unfinished it feels. From its rampant bugs and performance problems to its uninteresting main story, the game is so bad it borders on parody, making it all but impossible to recommend to even the most scare-starved survival horror fans. If you’re dying for something new to get your heart racing, you’re much better off picking up the recently released The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters or Infliction: Extended Cut.
Connection Haunted is the rare example of a game that’s painfully shallow while being too cryptic for its good. It’s a weird amalgamation of two disparate genres that neither captivates nor confounds. In the end, the game just left me frustrated over the time I’d wasted fumbling in the dark, expecting a narrative payoff that would never come.
In spite of its problems, there’s a good game buried beneath Ary and the Secret of Seasons‘ many technical bumps and bruises. Wielding the weather to solve its many clever brain-teasers can be as exhilarating as a thunderstorm in July. But these flashes of excitement are almost always bookended by moments of frustration thanks to the game’s shoddy optimization.
Though rough around the edges and lacking in content, Griefhelm can be great fun in moderation. Whether you’re hacking your friends’ heads off with a claymore in multiplayer or sending enemy swordsmen into the stratosphere with a gigantic war hammer, the game certainly has its moments. However, courageous knights and PC-bound sellswords looking for an epic adventure will likely find themselves wanting a bit more than what this game has to offer.
Overall, I have to say that I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with New Super Lucky’s Tale. It’s a charming little platformer with superb stage designs and a whole lot of heart. It’s perfect for younger players or those just looking for a relaxing romp in a fantastical world. Sure, I wish it was a bit longer and packed more of a challenge. But at the end of the day, I found it easy to overlook these issues, considering just how much fun I was having.
Post Void is, without question, the strangest game I’ve played in ages. It violently blends the neon-soaked surrealism and bloody mayhem of Hotline Miami, the roguelike elements of Binding of Isaac, and the rigid gunplay of a mid-1990s FPS to create an experience that’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before.
If you have a Dark Souls-shaped hole in your heart, I promise Mortal Shell will climb inside and fill that void quite nicely.
Online woes aside, Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection is an excellent addition to any fighting game fan’s library. Each of the games featured in the compilation is worth experiencing. And many of them are just as enjoyable to play now as they were in the series’ heyday. With seven great games and a treasure trove of bonus content, what’s not to love? If you’re a fan of SNK or retro fighters in general, don’t hesitate to take a stab at Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection.
While some of the game’s mechanics, such as your limited defensive options, come across as a little half-baked, the oppressive atmosphere and genuine chills Infliction: Extended Cut delivers make it a standout survival horror title on a system that’s somewhat starved of them. Though many players will probably burn through the game’s five-hour story in just a few sittings, the New Game Plus Mode also does a good job of adding replay value with its revamped puzzles and more challenging gameplay.
Though it’s a fleeting experience, Saint Kotar: The Yellow Mask gives us faith that Red Martyr Entertainment is on a righteous path.
I know it sounds like I’ve been hard on What Happened, but that’s because I feel like it had so much potential. With its outstanding artistic direction, creepy atmosphere, and unique premise, I had high hopes for the game. And while it occasionally managed to pull me into its world of drug-fueled hysteria and desperation, its repetitive gameplay and painful writing had me eager to reach the finale. My playthrough of the game took me just over five hours, but I feel like the story could have reached its conclusion in half that time without taking anything away from the game’s experience.
If you’ve yet to experience Crypto’s origins story, there’s no better time than the present to embark on this anal-probing, body-snatching quest for revenge.
Make no mistake; Sisters Royale isn’t a bad shooter. The TBS system is a really cool feature that adds a welcome layer of risk versus reward to the frantic action. However, those hoping for a spiritual successor to the excellent Castle Shikigami series will likely be disappointed thanks to the game’s gimmicky stage designs, lackluster enemies, and a story that’s borderline painful to suffer through for all but the most shameless weebs out there.
If you’re a fan of classic arcade shoot-’em-ups, Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade is easily worth the price of admission. However, it’s worth noting that Darius and its two revisions are all but unplayable in handheld mode for those of us with mere mortal eyes, which means those with a Switch Lite likely won’t be able to enjoy a substantial chunk of this compilation.
With its flawless emulation and wealth of content, Darius Cozmic Collection Console is a robust offering and an excellent introduction to Taito’s long-running shoot ’em up series. However, I’m not sure it does quite enough to justify the $60 asking price when you consider you’re more or less getting nine slightly different variations of four decades-old games. Still, if money is no object and you feel the need to blast intergalactic fish to bits, this collection will surely scratch that itch.
If you’re a die-hard retro gamer or a fan of Eurostyle shooters and can look past its often messy platforming and dated design choices, Ultracore is a game that’s sure to fill that Turrican-shaped void in your heart.
As a longtime fan of the Thunder Force series, I couldn’t be happier to see SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC soar onto the Switch. With a satisfying blend of challenging gameplay, great visuals, and an incredible soundtrack courtesy of composer Toshiharu Yamanishi, it’s an exceptional shooter that no fan of the series should miss.
Despite its uneven online play and frustrating load times, Samurai Shodown is still a game that fans of the fighter genre won’t want to miss – so long as they have a few friends play against locally. With a colorful (though somewhat limited) cast of characters, a wealth of game modes, and some smart evolutions of its tried and true formula, it’s still one of the best games in the series to date. Here’s hoping the game’s PC community grows, and SNK can iron out the few kinks that hold Samurai Shodown back from being the brawler to beat.
Persona 4 Golden on PC could probably benefit from some added optimization. The occasional blurry visuals and dips in performance are surprising missteps that slightly blemish what is otherwise an outstanding game. But it’s easy to overlook its minor quirks when considering just how engrossing of an experience the game offers. If you’re an RPG fan who somehow managed to miss out on the original release, then adding this to your Steam library should be a no-brainer. And if you already played and enjoyed Persona 4 but have yet to see everything Persona 4 Golden has to offer because you didn’t own Vita or a PlayStation TV, then there’s never been a better time to tune into the Midnight Channel.
While the game is undoubtedly starting to show its age, Rebellion has done an excellent job of bringing this cult classic to the Switch while sacrificing surprisingly little in the process. With a lengthy campaign, addicting horde mode, and some of the best cooperative gameplay you can find on the Switch, it’s a gleefully gory shooter that no fans of the genre should pass up.