Nick Herber's Reviews
The Culdcept games have been around for about twenty years now, and they bring a unique mix of board game and collectible card game together in a lightweight but enjoyable RPG experience. The last time I played a game in the series was Culdcept Saga for the Xbox 360, and while I actually enjoyed the experience quite a bit, the game was pretty rough in a lot of areas. I am happy to say that Culdcept Revolt has smoothed most of those out and the end result is actually a lot of fun.
Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 3: Jailhouse Block is the latest and so far greatest episode in the second season of this Telltale Games series. It is interesting to see how Season Two is paralleling the first for me - if not in story line, at least in how it progresses and improves with every new chapter.
Blue Reflection is a new IP from a familiar developer in the JRPG community, Gust. Best known for their popular Atelier titles, I went into Blue Reflection without knowing much about the game. After having spent a significant amount of time with it, I am happy to say it is a fantastic experience and one that I hope garners future titles in a series.
FORM is a really interesting title, because at a glance, it looks like the sort of game that has frequently frustrated me when it comes to virtual reality. It is short, it is a relatively on-rails and it relies heavily on puzzles and little else to advance the narrative. And yet, there is something undeniably fascinating about how FORM comes together, making it one of the more memorable VR titles I have played to date.
Ancient Frontier is a great example of what a small but dedicated studio can do. It might not have AAA bells and whistles, but the core game is a fantastic blend of deep strategy yet approachable interface that is very easy to sink hours into.
I have been a fan of the Dangranonpa games since experiencing the very first episode on my PlayStation Vita. The first game was better than the two subsequent ones in my opinion, but all of them were enjoyable in a dark and twisted kind of way. I expected more of the same with Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - a quality adventure game that never quite reaches the heights of the original. So imagine my surprise when this game exceeded my already high expectations and manages to be every bit as memorable as the first game in the series was for me.
I have long been a fan of the brawling action genre, and Samurai Riot does a nice job of channeling some of the old school nostalgia with some pleasant enough art. However, this throwback to the buddy beat-'em-up genre really never does anything to distinguish itself from other games in the genre, making it a relatively fun if pretty average title in the end.
Path of Exile has been out on PC for a little while now, but I have only just taken the time to play it since its release on the Xbox One. With it being a free game, I had previously found myself wondering: Just how good can this be? The answer surprised me: Very, very good.
Undertale is a fantastic RPG experience. I honestly had no idea what to expect going into it, as I missed playing this the first time around when it came out on PC. It was one of those games I always planned on picking up eventually, just to see if it could live up to the ridiculous hype it had received. So imagine my surprise when it succeeded in meeting, and maybe even exceeding my expectations.
Archangel is a slick, entertaining action game that is relatively easy to pick up and play. The premise is fun and familiar, making it approachable if not perhaps particularly original. Still, it presents some of the sharper visuals in VR to date, and is a welcome port of the popular PlayStation VR game.
We're close. To what exactly? To this series reaching the same heights with me that Tales from the Borderlands did. Hands-down that was my favorite Telltale Games title so far, but you know what? Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 3: More Than A Feeling shows that the devs really have a handle on mixing some science fiction and humor together.
DrinkBox Studios is one of my favorite smaller development teams. They have a knack for merging cool gameplay mechanics with bright, colorful visuals that I happily spend hours with at a time. Severed is no different - in fact it may be their best overall effort yet. While it is true that this title has seen some prior releases, it plays better on the Switch than any of its prior platforms.
The original Nidhogg was a huge surprise to me when it released. It turned out to be a game that I never even knew I wanted and I wound up sinking a ton of time into it. For better or for worse, after the success of the original title, Nidhogg 2 carries with it some expectations. The good news is, fans of the original will no doubt like what they find here, even if the sequel doesn't quite feel as fresh as the first game did.
Rez has more than earned its classic game status and the updated Rez Infinite manages to be a fantastic experience whether you played the original game or not. There are so many elements that just blend together and create a fantastic, fluid experience that is only enhanced through the use of Virtual Reality.
While Lone Echo is not the first game to take science fiction trappings and add a sense of weightless movement to the proceedings, it is easily the best example to date so far. The story is fantastic, the controls and visuals are completely immersive and is truly one of those games that could only be effectively conveyed with virtual reality.
Dungeon Chess brings together a couple of my favorite things - Dungeons & Dragons and chess. So right there out of the gates, Experiment 7 had my attention. Still, a good premise does not always equate to good execution. Thankfully Dungeon Chess manages to deliver a simple yet very solid experience on the Oculus.
When a game tries to blend several different influences into its DNA, you run the risk of that game suffering from an identity crisis. To be honest, I thought that might be a concern for Gigantic, a new free-to-play multiplayer game on both PC and Xbox One. I am happy to say that while there are some issues, Gigantic actually does a really nice job of carving out its own niche in a genre that has been heavily diluted of late.
While I have long been a fan of the Telltale video games, Minecraft: Story Mode was probably my least favorite of their full season offerings to date. It got off to a slow start with a property that seemed somewhat ill-fitting to a narrative-heavy game. However, to its credit, I thought Story Mode got stronger near the end, finding some solid footing during the final chapter. I was hoping that momentum would carry over to Season Two, but Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 1: Hero in Residence reminds me a lot of the first episode in the initial season's installment.
There are so many Final Fantasy titles with their own followings that it is impossible to say which ones are the best and the worst, but Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age allows us to revisit one of the more popular titles in the series that has aged pretty well since its initial PlayStation 2 release.
Death Squared tries to do a lot of different things, and for the most part it succeeds. It wants to be a single player game, but it wants to be a party game as well. Death Squared tries to be approachable to newcomers, but it wants to have puzzles that will bend even the most puzzle-solving mind. In trying to be all of these things, Death Squared does just enough to stand out from the puzzle crowd and merit notice, even if it is not the most original title.