Hoa doesn’t want to be a challenging, head-scratching puzzle adventure, and that’s okay. What it provides a gorgeously designed experience with a brilliantly executed soundtrack. The gameplay never hinders the player’s progression through this beautiful world made even more immersive due to its beautiful sound design. It’s easy to lose yourself in moments of gameplay as everything comes together for a wholesome experience.
Tormented Souls knows what it wants to be during each moment of gameplay, and that’s shown in its puzzles and deadly enemies. The developers prove they are fans of the genre as the game feels like it was created to even test their skills. The lack of direction works for what they are going for, but some elements just feel like they unnecessarily pad on the game’s runtime. Still, this game is gorgeous with genuine moments of survival horror. Caroline has what it takes to become a recognizable face in this beloved genre.
Madden NFL 22 is meant to deliver a simulated and engaging experience to fans of football. Its animations are great, and you’ll likely only gravitate to one mode that you prefer over the others, but it all acts as a way for fans to connect, and sometimes a rare glitch won’t impact that. There’s a lot of demand for some growth of the series, and this game has a long way to go, it seems, but seeing my dad pick up a gaming controller for the first time in years and can’t be overlooked.
Yuoni doesn’t break new grounds in the first-person horror genre, but it offers an interesting premise of folklore that will definitely have you engaged for its short runtime. Its sound design is at the forefront of its jump scares, which is the crux of the most heart-racing moments. Still, repetitive level design, confusing direction, and limited exploration elements dampen the overall experience.
Greak: Memories of Azure has a gorgeous presentation and world to discover, but the added features, although unique, require a specific type of adventure fan to enjoy. Things just become overly confusing, and my muscle memory never seemed to adapt to the constant demand for accessing the menu and switching between characters. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great game, but some elements are largely unnecessary.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris is an awesome expansion featuring gorgeous environments to explore and dozens of ways to progress through the campaign. There’s around 15 hours of content to dive into, packed with choice-driven events and distracting treasures. The added infiltration missions make the expansion feel like a true Assassin’s Creed title, but that also includes the limited enemy AI and random glitches fans of the series are used to by now.
Jupiter Hell doesn’t need the word Doom in the title to make an impact, but it’s commendable how well it presents DRL through modern design. At its heart, it’s a turn-based dungeon-crawler RPG, but that doesn’t calm my nerves when I’m blasting through a hallway of enemies from around the corner with more approaching from behind. This game’s launch version is serviceable, but the lack of enemy variety will leave your first hours of gameplay feeling repetitive in some areas. Still, it’s clear that there’s more on the way for this standout roguelike experience, and I’m all here for it.
Blaster Master Zero 3 is the perfect way to cap off this series for long-time fans. It’s highly encouraged that you play the previous titles, given that the challenge here is significantly higher than the previous entries. This game will test your 2D action skills to the fullest with unique upgrades for both Jason and G-Sophia SV through difficult platforming sections, dungeons, and bosses. However, as a reward, you’re treated to an amazing finale of an over-the-top narrative about a man named Jason who followed a frog named Fred into a portal.
Unbound: Worlds Apart has the appearance of a familiar indie platformer. However, there’s an exceptionally charming and memorable narrative here that guides the adventure through its many challenging areas. As beautiful as this game is, a high amount of skill is needed to progress, so thankfully, there are enough checkpoints to push yourself until you get it right.
Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a brilliant RPG adventure that relies heavily on its cast. Every moment of gameplay is emotionally charged with added choices that weigh on the player’s experience and alter the conclusion. The puzzle-esque battle system is addictive but introduces repetitive scenarios and random difficulty spikes depending on your actions. However, this beautiful story deserves to be experienced by all.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed needs to played without any distractions from other games because the second you put it down, you may never care to return to it. Its lack of quality-of-life features solidifies it as a relic of the past, but its writing and characters make it out to be something that fits right in with your group of otaku friends. It’s not an easy game to get through, but its charm is enough to want a true sequel.
Cris Tales is a fantasy adventure akin to a fairy tale in both narrative and setting. It’s an amazing experience accompanied by memorable characters, an addictive battle system, and wonderful discoveries. Every moment of the gameplay pushes the RPG to new heights, which is only hindered by lengthy load times and lack of direction for some missions. However, if you’re looking for a callback to retro RPGs, this is one game you absolutely need to play.
Sniper Elite VR is an immersive FPS VR experience that combines arcade mission types with a simulation level of interactivity. Each mission objective varies, and while the sniper class steals the show, there’s a large variety of weapon types that each feels comfortable and fun to use. Item interaction and limited enemy AI can cause frustration, but after playing, I don’t think I can play this series any other way.
Scarlet Nexus could have easily become a new IP used to test a few systems as the studio focuses on larger projects. However, there’s an awesome battle system here that evolves throughout the entire campaign. Each fight has a brilliant rhythm to it as you take advantage of enemy weaknesses and use the environments to your advantage. The team introduces a large cast of characters but still manages to provide insight into their goals to make it worth seeing through to the end. Sadly, not everything works, but you might forget about floaty controls and convoluted narrative as you ride atop a bus into the battlefield.
Legend of Mana is all about the memories you make from the moment you start playing to the credits. Every new area created is a new adventure waiting, and every character met provides a unique perspective on storytelling. Its non-linearity allows it to stand out in the series, but it comes at the expense of a few confusing quest lines. The remastered backgrounds, improved loading and attack animations, and additional options make it such a charming RPG to play over and over.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart ushers in a new generation of adventure games headed by this charming heroic duo. Sadly, Rivet is a strong setpiece in the narrative but doesn’t differentiate enough in combat. Still, this doesn’t affect the sheer amount of fun you’ll be having during every moment of gameplay. There is so much packed in this adventure complemented by competent level design, amazing weapons, and strong platforming. This is Ratchet & Clank for the new generation, and I hope it’s not too long before we see them again.
Edge of Eternity is a beautiful game that is held back by the ambition of the developers. There are just too many moving parts here, and nothing seems to be fully executed. It’s by no means a waste of time, though, and provides hours of fantasy adventures in a new world, but it lacks focus and implementation due to the numerous features and broken narrative.
Void Terrarium++ is a fun dungeon crawler RPG that doesn’t need to be exclusive to PS5, but it is. Fans of last-gen versions shouldn’t feel required to upgrade because this is the same adventure with a few added diseases to cure and emotes to obtain. Still, it’s a low-tension and overly charming title and one that I feel is worth it for new players. The game loop is addictive, and the reward of making Toriko safe and happy is enough to push on to the next dungeon floor.
Sunblaze will push your platforming skills to the limit. Still, as the challenge rises, so does the knowledge that everything in this game can be overcome with a few well-timed jumps and dashes. The charming design is contrasted by the bloody obstacles that await each level, creating a fun challenge that won’t leave you with too many broken controllers.
Astalon: Tears of the Earth is an unexpected masterpiece of retro designs blended so delicately with modern roguelite elements. Death doesn’t punish the player as much as it sets them up with improved ways to approach situations. There’s a sense of discovery in every area, but this does limit direction causing some confusion when trying to figure out where to go. Further, bosses can be underwhelming compared to normal enemies, which creates an awkward balance of challenge. Regardless, this is the must-play game of the summer.