Nick Herber's Reviews
For those willing to stick those lumps out, build the muscle memory to hit those perfect lines on specific tracks? There’s a lot to like here. The environments are gorgeous, the sense of speed is fun and there are those aforementioned unlockables that combine with the lengthy career mode to create a very nice sense of progression. However, the uneven difficulty and some areas where the rough edges show through might be just enough to turn many players off before they ever reach those racing heights mentioned above.
Deck of Ashes: Complete Edition is a mixed experience for me right now. The core experience was engaging and one that I enjoyed – when things worked the way I expected them to. Unfortunately, I ran into enough technical hurdles that I stopped my second playthrough and have only picked it up once since then (three days ago to see if the issue with not being able to refresh middle rows of cards was still happening – it is). It’s a shame, as things currently stand – but thankfully with a few tweaks to polish up some of the rough edges and make the most of the core experience.
Edge of Eternity is a great throwback to classic JRPGs overall. The presentation is fantastic, the world is expansive and there’s plenty to do with your time. That being said, the overall story and supporting characters while solid, were lacking for me. There’s plenty of systems layered in, and while combat is probably the most important system and also arguably Edge of Eternity’s best system, they don’t always seamlessly support one another. It is worth calling out that a reasonably small studio managed to make a large, high quality and very enjoyable game in Edge of Eternity and JRPG fans should come away pleased overall.
Vaporum: Lockdown creates a nice sense of isolation and is a fun experience, despite some frustrating puzzles along the way. The presentation is solid and the progression elements are rewarding, even if the combat itself can be slightly repetitive after a time. Vaporum: Lockdown made a great initial impression on me, though by the time I got into the title’s later content, I was less enamored with it overall.
Song in the Smoke is an excellent survival game that creates a genuine sense of dread as you manage your resources and explore often unforgiving environments. The setting is interesting, and while the visual textures can suffer a bit at times and the actual combat was a bit off for me, the sense of discovery while exploring new places was an immersive thrill.
Mayhem Brawler is a solid beat-‘em-up game that manages to do something few games in the genre do: make the narrative interesting. This is handled through a bevy of excellent comic book style panels and the ability to choose your own path to different endings. I do wish the combat was just a bit smoother, since that is what the core gameplay is all about, but the oodles of variety and fun supernatural theme make Mayhem Brawler fun despite its flaws.
Fort Triumph is a solid strategy game that should appeal to fans of the XCOM series. I can’t think of anything else quite like it with a fantasy setting, making it a rather unique game. The overall package is generally fairly enjoyable, even if the wrapping (sound effects, narration, uneven humor) has some rough edges to it. Fans of the genre should find enough here to enjoy though.
Song of Horror deals with elements of terror and adventure-like puzzle solving pretty effectively. The pacing is a bit uneven, but the overall story is an interesting one and the game works well as a whole despite a handful of rough spots. Fans of the slow burn horror genre should enjoy their trip through the manor, but those hoping for a more action-oriented experience like Resident Evil may come away somewhat disappointed.
Spacebase Startopia is a fairly standard strategy/simulation game at its core, with the balancing of resources, happiness and a bit of light RTS combat mixed in. Some technical concerns around the camera, balky control scheme and less-than-stellar AI diminish the overall experience, however. There is plenty of micromanaging fun to be had here for fans of the genre, but Spacebase Startopia is not among the best in the genre either.
Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a relaxing, atmospheric adventure title that benefits from a gorgeous visual style and musical score. In terms of content and gameplay, it doesn’t offer up a lot of depth, but what is here provides a worthwhile distraction for those looking for a slightly slower paced adventure game.
Onee Chanbara Origin is going to appeal to fans of the series or those just looking for a bit of mindless hack-and-slash action where they can kind of leave their brains at the door. That being said? The game is fun, the overall package is a nice merging of the first two games in the series and the product values have seen a worthy improvement. Onee Chanbara Origins is a fun way to kill a lot of undead and about a dozen hours.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds deserves credit for being the most fun a WWE game has been in a couple of years, but for better and for worse, it is clearly a budget title that cuts corners on depth as it attempts to provide a more arcade-like experience. It generally works, as Battlegrounds is fun in bursts of quick play – especially with friends, but for those with a career mode / progression itch, there’s a good chance that this title will leave you wanting for more. If you have expectations set appropriately, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is entertaining, though it may not have a lot of staying power beyond the first few weeks you get it.
RPG Maker MV is not the latest and greatest in this series, and it is sometimes an awkward fit due to using a controller over a mouse. Additionally, there is a lack of flexibility in the system due to the nature of console versus computer, but all of these things were expected on my part. RPG Maker MV delivers an experience unlike anything else on the PlayStation 4 that JRPG enthusiasts such as myself should find hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of fun with.
Admittedly, Kandagawa Jet Girls is not the most difficult racing game out there, but it does have a surprising amount of depth to the actual gameplay mechanics. There is plenty of fanservice in its anime-styled cast, and while the story itself was not riveting by any means, I had a good deal of fun with the game itself.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is one of those titles I never would have considered for a remake, despite having some pretty decent nostalgia for the game's initial release. By and large it does a good job of polishing up a decent game, even if it does not really reinvent the wheel.
In small doses, Maneater is pretty mindless fun. Exploring is entertaining, there’s enough shiny objects scattered about to keep things interesting and the progression options are nice to see as well. However, the progression path could provide a bit more meaning if the combat and movement were somewhat more refined. Considering the bulk of the time is spent moving and fighting, that is a somewhat severe drawback from what would otherwise had the potential to be a pretty fantastic guilty pleasure.
Wartile’s a good game, with an interesting if somewhat flawed gameplay system that is supported nicely by a fantastic presentation. The progression system is good enough to sustain interest until the end of the campaign, but the sights and sounds are gorgeous and unique.
In all, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a really solid strategy game. The pacing will not be for everyone, but the character progression and slower, more thoughtful approach to gameplay works well with this darkly themed fantasy title. It does not really bring anything new to the table, but what the game does, it does pretty well.
Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle provides a pretty good selection of games, many of which are welcome blasts from my past. Plenty of options to tweak the experience were welcome, though perhaps the presentation and generations of consoles represented would have provided a more robust overall package. Fans of old-school brawlers and rough-and-tumble sports should come away entertained.
The premise is ridiculous but cute, and the action is certainly well-done with a nice fast and fluid feeling that Sonic the Hedgehog would approve of. It makes for a quick, entertaining diversion, though I do not know that it really has the depth in the single player to keep me coming back for more once I worked through the stages - but Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a blast with some friends if you enjoy some multiplayer shenanigans. It might be a bit more difficult to justify this release if it were a full sixty dollars, so ringing in at only two thirds of that price certainly helps. I do wonder if there were not better choices in the series to choose from that would not require a complete reworking of the controls, such as Monkey Ball Deluxe which had a lot more content available. Still, what we have here is definitely fun, even if it is in shorter bursts.