Dalton Cooper's Reviews
RetroMania Wrestling is a game designed with a very specific type of professional wrestling fan in mind, and those individuals may be able to enjoy it for what it is. It has a nice selection of arenas and a small but decent roster. The biggest problems with RetroMania Wrestling are its lack of content and high price point, but maybe future updates will make it a more fully-featured game that matches its asking price.
Hazelight Studios' It Takes Two is one of the best co-op gaming experiences there is and an absolute joy to play from start to finish.
The next-gen upgrade for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time makes an already fantastic and content-rich platforming game even better.
Flow Weaver is a virtual reality escape room experience with a dull story that doesn't understand what makes escape rooms fun.
These issues will be ironed out and Valheim's content roadmap ensures that plenty of new content will be added to the game as well throughout 2021. In its current state, it's an incredibly engrossing experience and perhaps the first survival game of its kind to match Minecraft in pure fun factor. And if it's already this impressive in early access, one can only imagine how good it will be when it has its full release.
Bowser's Fury is great while it lasts, but it is admittedly short, and so Super Mario 3D World's high price tag on Switch may be hard to swallow for those that have already played through the game on Wii U. Double-dipping makes more sense for someone who is wanting to take advantage of Super Mario 3D World's online co-op functionality, but other returning players may want to wait for a sale. However, anyone that hasn't played Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U should go out and buy Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on Switch immediately, as it is a fantastic Super Mario 3D platforming experience with enough content to keep fans busy for weeks.
Little Nightmares 2 makes some major quality of life and gameplay improvements while still delivering plenty of scares to keep players on edge.
Out of the gate, Destruction AllStars is shallow and struggles to give players a compelling reason to stick with it for the long-term. But like other live service games, it's possible that Destruction AllStars will improve as the developers address fan feedback and add more meaningful content to the game. The foundation is there for Destruction AllStars to eventually be great, with reliable performance, beautiful graphics, and fun core gameplay, but there's a long way to go if it ever wants to reach that point.
Ryte: The Eye of Atlantis is a dull virtual reality puzzle game that completely fails to capitalize on its interesting premise.
The Medium is a gorgeous next-gen horror game with a haunting game world anchored by old-school survival-horror style puzzles and exploration.
Wrestling Empire is a throwback to the glory days of professional wrestling video games on the Nintendo 64, but isn't quite as memorable.
Golden Force's few redeeming qualities are completely overshadowed by its horrendous frame rate and long list of technical problems.
The Pathless is clearly one of the better early PlayStation 5 games, though it has some issues with repetitive content and padding.
The Demon's Souls remake on PlayStation 5 is almost the exact same experience, gameplay-wise, as the 2009 PlayStation 3 original. And considering how great the original Demon's Souls was, the Demon's Souls remake on PS5 is an easy recommendation. Imagine one of the best and most influential games ever made, but with significantly improved graphics, and that sums up the Demon's Souls remake perfectly. It's the PlayStation 5's first must-have exclusive game, and it should leave fans very excited to see what developer Bluepoint Games decides to work on next.
Godfall's hack-and-slash combat is fun enough, but the dull story and pointless loot keep it from reaching its full potential.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be a great game with time, but its launch is disappointing thanks to technical issues and a lack of content.
The lack of online co-op in the new Battletoads is definitely the game's biggest flaw, so if fans can overlook that, they will find what is otherwise a great beat 'em up throwback with hilarious scenes, fun combat, and plenty of variety. And with it being on Xbox Game Pass, subscribers have no reason not to check it out. Overall, this Battletoads comeback is a major success and is sure to leave a smile on players' faces, and so hopefully fans don't have to wait 26 years for the next entry in the series.
In Death: Unchained is a fun, blisteringly difficult VR roguelike, but the superior version of the game may be on other platforms.
Carrion delivers on its unique 'reverse-horror game' concept, letting players wreak havoc as a massive, disgusting blob of tentacles and teeth.
Rocket Arena combines Overwatch, Quake, and Super Smash Bros. with rocket launchers to create a truly unique multiplayer experience.