Pierre-Yves Lanthier's Reviews
Between a well built Turn Based Tactical System and a great exploration base that allows for quicker or longer play session, Bulwark Studios have created a solid experience with Mechanicus. Upping the ante somewhat is that I think Bulwark Studios may have also designed a Warhammer title to make even Robert happy!
I would honestly saw that if you are a fan of Diablo, Torchlight, Grim Dawn, Path of Exile, Victor Vran, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, or any other number of Hack & Slash titles that have spawned from Blizzard's horror inspired Dungeon Crawler, Book of Demons is a must. Great gameplay, graphics, audio and plenty of jokes and tributes to go around, this Hack & Slash is worth it. With it also being the beginning, I'm looking forward to seeing what Thing Trunk come up with next.
Overall Guacamelee! 2 is a fantastic sequel to the first. Just by playing through you can see the love that DrinkBox Games have mixed into this wonderful bowl of avocado filled amazingness as you search for the keys to unlock the guac recipe that has no rival. With the amazing artstyle back once again, the epic music tracks, flying through the air as a luchadorian chicken and simply kicking the crap out of things as you search both high and low for where to go? This is one bowl that you'll want to dip your controllers into!
I definitely enjoyed my time with TSIOQUE. It was a neat little adventure who’s pacing felt just right. Fans of Point & Click adventures should check this one out.
LEGO DC Super Villains is another example of how TT Games haven’t just sat back on its LEGO titles to simply release “just another game” with a reskin. It doesn't always work, but the developer has tried to do something new while also keeping elements of previous titles that worked. Add in the iconic slapstick humour and you're in for a reliably good time.
Like those before it, The Jack Box Party Pack 5 is a great addition to any party whether it’s with your immature friends or your once bland family get togethers. No go get to playing!
Phantom Halls was a lot of fun. I really appreciated the B-Horror esque feeling that it gave off which when combined with the graphics and the gameplay elements just worked. Having played in Early Access and now in Full Release, the gameplay was just as solid but the small additions and refinements just made an already good title that much better and this will be one worth coming back to especially for Halloween!
All in all the series has been great so far. With plenty of choices leading you to events in which you’re not quite certain how they could have been avoided, you sometimes realize that in order to do something it would have needed to be done way in advance and by the time it came calling, it was already too late. Adding in the new gameplay mechanics and revelations was honestly the cherry on top of an epic frosting which just makes me hope that the final episode will be able to at least keep pace, much less surpass, what the fourth has done.
Overall The Bard’s Tale IV is a great title. Well drawn environments, dialog and an awesome accompaniment of bardic music make it worth playing for long stints at a time. Adding in elements such as a customizable leveling up system in order to style your characters just right, and the rest of the adventure is simply waiting for you to explore it the way you want to.
Overall though, Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption was a pleasure and a breath of fresh air for the style. While I absolutely love the Souls Series, Bloodborne and The Surge, not having to deal with the environments and instead having all of the effort put into epic boss fights made for a lot of fun and frustration that comes with having to learn and adapt that quickly to rapidly changing situations.
Overall, at least on the Switch, I could not get into Wasteland 2. Clunky controls combined with performance issues kept holding me back from even getting pasts the oddness that ranged combat could often have. I hope to revisit this soon upon a PC, but in the meantime, I'm feeling disappointed because it has been a title that I've been looking forward to for a long while and after reading Nick and especially Robert's reviews, I had expected to be blown away.
I've always been a huge fan of .Hack because it let me play an MMO in my solo single player style, offline, and, on my own time. CrossCode I feel has taken this a good notch higher and between the dialog, the dungeons, the exploration, the customizations, the puzzles and the visuals? It knocks it all out of the park for a hell of an experience that shows that the developers truly used their seven years to create something incredible.
There are some neat little features to the newest Mega Man. However, while it's the kind of game that series fans should enjoy, there just isn't enough to bring it to a new audience.
Shadows of Bögenhafen was a good excuse to load Vermintide 2 back up for a while as there have been other updates and additions since the last time that I had played after having covered it upon release. Other than the new scenery, there are also new cosmetics for those that want to change how they look and some new challenges available in which getting the rewards for are always fun. My only hope is that the next entry does something new like the older sets did with Vermintide as while I did enjoy the new stages and while they are good additions, it’s nothing new like what I know FatShark can pull off.
Whether into the first chapter and learning what is going on or into the last chapter where emotions have run both high for you and the cast of characters, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is fantastic. The way that the series has been designed continues to shine both for how it presents its story and for how it showcases its gameplay. The hybrid system continues to evolve without compromising what made it so great in the first place making hour thirty just as good as hour one, if not even better because of how far you’ve had to come with the amazing experience before you.
When it comes down to it all though? Shenmue I & II are fantastic and must plays. The character designs, the efforts into the locations, the various gameplay systems from the QTEs which are actually good to the Free-Fighting system that is among the best that I’ve ever tried. All of it, comes together so well that it’s sad to think that it was a commercial flop and that it took this long for the series to come out to KickStarter in order to once again see the light of day. I’m quite looking forward to the third once it finally arrives. Check out PY's Part 1: http://www.chalgyr.com/2018/09/Review-PS4-Shenmue-1-2-Part1.html
The Banner Saga, The Banner Saga 2 and The Banner Saga 3 make for one very fulfilling experience. From the very start to the very end, the quality of the writing, the animations, the visuals, the music and choices you make mesh to create an experience that others would be hard pressed to match. Would I do it all over again? Not tomorrow but yes. There are still loads of choices that I would like to know the outcomes to and I would like to see the adventure through Alette’s eyes.
Overall, God Wars: The Complete Legend is a great re-release of God Wars: Future Past. With all previously available content present and more added in upon this release, there’s more than enough to love while either at home or on the go and it has really found an amazing home on the Nintendo Switch.
Deiland is worth it. If you like relaxing experiences, do it. If you like moving around a farm and growing crops without worry for much else, this has you covered. If you like things closer to Rune Factory or Popolocrois, this may not quite be for you but I would suggest taking a look anyways as while the combat and the RPG may not be on the same levels, it’s fun. So with anywhere between ten to twenty hours of relaxation? This little planet is more than worth your time!
Salt and Sanctuary for the Switch is a great port. Everything is smooth and it works just as I had expected it to be. There are no slowdowns, the graphics look just as good, the audio is just as chilling as ever, and the adventure is still an awesome one to be had. If you haven't already had the chance to dive into this comber, and woeful tale, you should. It's worth it.