Nick Herber's Reviews
Infernax is a bloody good time. The developers did a great job of harnessing just about everything that made classic platforming adventures like Castlevania great, while sprinkling in some new features along the way. The formula was not quite perfect for me, but it was pretty close and those looking for a challenging new game in the genre owe it to themselves to give Infernax a look.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a fantastic throwback brawler with a solid presentation, fun combat and handful of modern additions that provide at least a little more depth than your typical 90’s arcade cabinet. I do wish there was a little more meat on these bones, but the Heroes in a Half Shell are worth going on this nostalgic trip with.
Madden NFL 23 continues to make improvements, and for those thinking it is just a roster update? Give it a go first and you’ll see that it’s a lot more. This is especially true of Franchise Mode, which is where I tend to spend the majority of my time. There’s still some rough edges here and there and room for improvement with some of the languishing modes, but by and large Madden NFL 23 is a great tribute to the series’ namesake and an entertaining game of football.
SOMA first released on PC a couple of years ago, but now it is making its way onto consoles and fans of suspenseful, narrative-driven games should make sure to play this title if they missed it the first time around. I was fortunate enough to play SOMA the first time around a couple of years ago, but never actually reviewed it for this site. I found that the game was creepy, interesting, and it had emotional impact that delivered a memorable experience. Thankfully these intangible types of traits age really well whether a game is two years or twenty years old, and SOMA on the Xbox One is a fantastic overall experience.
I am no stranger to episodic games that rely heavily on story and setting to pull a person in. Life is Strange has a lot of similarities to titles from Telltale Games or the King's Quest chapters, but it does enough interesting things of its own to stand out as a unique and generally enjoyable experience.
SUPERHOT VR is a creative game that makes you think about that next move - and then allows you to carry it out in fantastic fashion due to its movement / time-freeze mechanic. Adding the Oculus to mix is just a perfect fit, with great controls and crisp visuals that throw you right into the action.
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.
Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows allayed any concerns I had about how a character usually shown in video games as an action-packed superhero would be handled in a more story-driven format. I am happy to report that it was handled quite well overall, due in large part to a solid presentation (the visuals fit the comic book source material far better than they do The Walking Dead) and excellent voice acting (led by veterans Troy Baker and Laura Bailey), some new gameplay mechanics and a story that I am invested in.
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.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction is an excellent addition to the long-running 2D fighting franchise. The complex combat systems are back, rewarding players willing to put the time into mastering the game's mechanics. If this is indeed the final chapter in the series, it is going out on an incredibly high note.
Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock delivers a fantastic strategy game that provides hours of tactical combat and edge-of-your-seat encounters. That it is also a great representation of the Battlestar Galactica property is just an added, but very welcome, bonus.
http://www.chalgyr.com/2017/10/marvels-guardians-of-galaxy-episode-4.html
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is full of surprises. Some people may bemoan the cutesy art style and complain how its not real enough to be a horror experience. However, Yomawari: Midnight Shadows certainly knows how to convey a sense of dread - an impressive feat for a title that really adheres more to a show than tell approach.
As far as sequels go, Demon Gaze II hits the mark as it manages to improve on almost every aspect of the original game. The Dungeon Crawler genre is not the easiest type of game to get into, but Demon Gaze II deserves some credit for not only being a well-polished title for veterans of the genre, but also being pretty approachable for newcomers as well.
On the one hand, one could argue that Moss is a success in simply leaving me wanting for more. There is some truth to that, as this is one of the most engrossing stories I have played in VR or any other platform. The presentation is top-notch, the storytelling has charm in spades and the puzzles make excellent use of the VR technology. A little more maturation in the combat and gameplay coupled with a longer tale would have made Moss an absolute treasure, but what we have here is still one of the most endearing experiences in virtual reality to date.
With dozens of titles to choose from, many of which rank among the best in video game history, the Sega Genesis Classics delivers a lot of bang for your buck. This collection rightly hangs its hat on bucket loads of nostalgia, but some nice new features make this more than just the repackaging of older games I have seen in other compilations over the years. I could nitpick about a handful of titles that should have been here and some that might as well have been left off, but this is a collection of games that is definitely worth playing.
Wreckfest is just a good deal of fun. At the end of the year here at Chalgyr's Game Room, we have a variety of awards and one we have had in the past is our favorite Guilty Pleasure. Right now, Wreckfest is easily leading the way for that one in my book.
Zen Studios knocked it out of the park with the Arabian Nights and Cirqus Voltaire tables, both of which were ones I enjoyed in my younger years and still find challenging and entertaining today. Being able to play classic tables like this in digital form is an absolute joy and they fit beautifully withing the Pinball FX3 framework. I am sure there are players who will enjoy the slightly cramped, high speed offering that No Good Gofers provides, but for me at least it was the least entertaining of the tables in the pack.
Langrisser I & II is not going to be for everyone, in part due to it being a niche genre that is a polishing up of an already old, challenging game. If you are looking at getting a friend into the SRPG genre, there are less frustrating options to be had with more modern quality of life features. All of that being said, there is something very comfortable and enjoyable for me personally in playing this classic tactics game, and I was quite satisfied revisiting it.
Faeria offers excellent value to people who enjoy collectible card games but dislike the feeling that the devs have their hands in your pocket almost from the beginning. It will be interesting to see how the community fleshes out, but I found the combination of tactics and deck management to be a rewarding experience.