NBA 2K23 screams to be a LifeisXbox recommended game if you look at graphics, sound, and even gameplay but there are two negatives that drastically lower the enjoyment of players. The online performance and the constant pushing of buying virtual currency with real money give the game a very sour aftertaste.
You won’t be killing anyone in Serial Cleaners, only cleaning up crime scenes and making evidence disappear. Crazy how big the difference is between the first and this, visually it is a completely different game with nice-looking graphics. A nice story, fun characters and stealth-gameplay make this game a great purchase.
Massive respect for Blackmill Games & M2H, who went from Verdun and Tannenberg to this excellent authentic shooter. Having this slow-paced and realistic experience on Xbox is a welcome change from all the rush-and-win shooters.
Thymesia is a LifeisXbox recommended game because OverBorder Studios understands how to make a great Souls-like experience. Thymesia is an indie game with a low budget that can proudly stand together with other recent games in the genre.
Omega Force… what happened here?! You come from the excellent Samurai Warriors 5 and Pirate Warriors 4 and manage to completely ruin the once great Dynasty Warriors franchise. This is an unpolished, lazy and unworthy release. Dynasty Warriors 9 in 2018 was a reason for fans to get upset and now Empires is a new disappointing blow for the loyal fanbase.
This game is full of weird parts and one of them explains exactly how I feel about The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna. Near the end, you suddenly have a cutscene about a toilet. It explains that a toilet can be a metaphor for life and that the smart thing to do would probably be to stay there for a short time. Now as with many things in this game I had no clue why this part was in it but I understood the toilet reference. As with my two hours of boring myself with this game I only wanted to flush it down the toilet and never think about it again. This is the kind of game where I am forced to finish it for review reasons. Two hours of walking, more walking, walking, some more walking. Two hours felt like an eternity, when the credits finally started to roll, I got even more depressed as there was still a short encore section. Yes, dear readers. I sacrificed my precious time for playing and writing this so you can stay far away from it.
Seeing the evolution from the OlliOlli franchise is a sight to behold. Developer Roll7 is crazy talented and understands what makes this genre fun and exciting. The new art style lifts the entire OlliOlli gameplay and the change in difficulty mechanics makes it playable for everyone.
WipeOut fans can look forward to something they will love! Gravity Chase is a more than decent experience with a nice selection of tracks and visuals.
It may grow on you, Mushroom Wars 2. Especially if you like intense online battles! I would really suggest trying this game out even if you don’t have mush room left on your storage.
There has to be a first for everything and this was my first gaming disappointment of 2022. When the only positive thing you can say about a game is about the sound I’m afraid we’re dealing with a bugger then.
I wish I could be more positive but Planet Quiz fails pretty hard to be any kind of fun.
Changing the typical slow-paced play from Monopoly into a fast-paced action brawler works surprisingly well.
Horatio Goes Snowboarding (-and Street Crossing) is a fine arcade-inspired experience for short bursts of play. It falls a bit short to become a real memorable game but that doesn’t mean you won’t have any fun from it.
If someone asks me the question, what is your game of the year for 2021? My answer would be The Gunk.
The entire game feels like Halo’s most popular franchise level ‘Halo’, the freedom, creativity in combat and impressive art direction makes Halo Infinite not only the best Halo game to date but also the best shooter ever created.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is overwhelmingly good. Eidos Montreal managed to create an authentic and incredible Marvel game that everyone will love. An epic original story, beautiful visuals, fantastic dialogue and an even better soundtrack. I used it in the introduction, but I’m using Star-Lords quote again: ”You Said It Yourself, B****. We’re The Guardians Of The Galaxy” A must-play adventure. I take a deep bow for the developers as this is truly something special.
Wind Peaks is a decent first game from Actoon Studio and a nice addition in the hidden object genre. The charming visuals impress in the beginning but become a bit repetitive, luckily the story holds up and remains fun to follow.
Hot Wheels Unleashed feels like a missed opportunity to make Mattel’s brand relevant in the gaming scene. Players will have fun playing it but other similar games are vastly superior, so this might only be something for Hot Wheels collectors. Visually the game is fantastic and the track editor works wonders for replay value but the chance is high that the racing gameplay loses your interest.
Gleylancer is a fun hardcore Shmup with challenging gameplay and I really appreciate all the tweaks that Ratalaika made to make ik more accessible for all gamers.
This year the winner for best football game is easily won by EA’s Fifa 22. HyperMotion is a true positive difference that makes the game so much more fluid and realistic.