Pierre-Yves Lanthier's Reviews
Capcom’s Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion is a prime example of what an expansion should be.
There’s no denying that Marvelous can make a game, but to make a mech simulator of this calibre... That I didn't expect.
Whether going about your adventure solo, with friends or with two random strangers, Remnant: From the Ashes is a fairly well built experience. Taking the well known formula of a Soulborne and turning it into a third person shooter works as it provides a different experience from the norm. Assume (or just hope) that the bugs go away, but otherwise, this one is genuinely enjoyable.
So while it may not sound like much, arenas and missions, it’s easy for hours to go by while chatting with your android, selling old gear, sorting through your current gear and figuring out the best possible loadout that is currently available. Damascus GEAR: Operation Osaka is a great sequel to the first and even if there’s a clock counting down to game over if you don’t have the money or win the tournament, there’s always another chance on the next playthrough with everything that you’ve learned from the first!
WRC 8, FIA World Rally Championship is a fantastic racing simulator for players of all skill levels. Brand new to the style? Go for it. Coming back for more? Just load up the pro side of things and do what you do best. With plenty of options for everyone, I’m just sad that I’ve waited this long to do some offroad racing.
Between the new gear formula and the stage compositions, Winds of Magic adds a whole new level to FatShark’s Vermintide 2 which really raises the challenge bar and the lifespan of the title. Would I want to see more in the original vein of the game with another storyline? Yes. Am I happy with the Winds of Change and would I like to see more in this vein as well? That is also a yes and I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Ion Fury is fantastic. Fast paced old-schooled smooth as silk gameplay, it’s both amazing to play today while perfectly reminding me of gaming on a PC that required me to boot Windows 3.1 through DOS. If there’s one shooter that you should play this year, it’s this one!
Having seen the end of its development, Stingbot Games’ The Forbidden Arts is a platformer worth looking into. With plenty of refinement from the start of its Early Access to the final releases on both the PC and the consoles, this 2D meets 3D adventure of a Pyromancer coming into his power is a lot of fun.
The inclusion of this new content is a great addition if you want to start off from scratch and use it to your benefit. While the new class may be a bit harder to incorporate into your battle plans halfway through your exploration or crusade on the planet below, the battles on your own ship are timed perfectly as you should definitely have the gear and your Tech Priests loaded with enough firepower to show to those that defected that it was a bad idea to piss you off.
So on a whole, while I can’t speak for fans of the anime as I have yet to watch it, Kill la Kill: The Game IF I thought was a fair amount of fun and worth it if you’ve been looking for a change of pace from the other recent releases like Dead or Alive and Soulcalibur 6. Otherwise, if you’re looking for more than just an Arcade Fighter? The story mode is fairly short and while survival is fun, the bulk of your time will mostly be facing off against other players online.
Tiny Metal: Full Rumble checks off a lot of elements that I’ve been wanting in a turned based strategy. With the variety of troops and scenarios available, it’s something that is easy to get into but it’s hard to master as there’s no cushion for the punishment you’ll receive if you are not careful. Great to play on both a TV and on the go, lovers of the style have plenty to enjoy with this one!
Attack on Titan 2 - Final Battle is worth it. It adds in a whole new story and multiple fairly beefy modes to keep someone occupied for quite some time. Will there be an Attack on Titan 3 to cover the final season next year or will this title get an upgrade? We’ll just have to wait to find that one out but in the meantime, happy Titan hunting!
Overall War Tech Fighters brings about an amazing Mech experience to the table. With plenty of customization, missions, training and more, it won’t take long before even the greenest rookie becomes an ace as they head out into yet another mission.
Overall, while Super Neptunia RPG won’t be winning the top spot for the series, it’s still a decent entry. Being developed by another studio can always come with some curveballs but the ideas that Artisan Studios have put forward made for a fun enough time that I do hope to see more of down the line.
Judgement is definitely on my game of the year list. The dialog, the gameplay and the visual representation are simply stellar. While it hasn’t been that long with something this heavy in narrative with plenty of gameplay, Judgement just feels like the whole package from the get go and holds on to what makes it so great even hours down the line.
So overall, mashing up the likes of .Hack or Sword Art Online's being trapped in a digital world, MeiQ's character design and finally a penchant for the macabre, and you have one of the better titles this partnership have ever put out which in the past couple years is a fair amount of praise. Whether fans of RPGs or JRPGs, Death End re;Quest is worth grabbing either on the PC or on the PS4 where it was already available.
Overall, whether playing on a keyboard or with a controller from the couch, Vambrace: Cold Soul is an adventure worth having. While not being an RPG in the traditional leveling up sense, there's plenty here to enjoy and the experience itself while being dark and snowy is still a very pretty one to look at with its choice of color palette.
Overall, Touhou: Gensokyo Defenders may not be the best Action Tower Defense out there, but it’s a good one. With many different characters and loads of stages, it’s provides a fun time and the craziness that Touhou is renowned for.
Even with the shift in direction that A Plague Tale: Innocence takes almost two third down the line, it’s still a fantastic experience. Asobo Studio have done a marvelous job with the characters, the dialog, and the mesh of the three gameplay styles that they have knit together as they seamlessly go together and never feel out of place.
Overall, while there are some performance issues and the graphical quality for the style isn’t as high as it could have been, Fade to Silence is on my list for top games of 2019. Maybe it won’t win any awards, but it’s blend of styles into a survival setting were simply fantastic and it’s an experience that will keep me coming back to it for a while to come.