Justin Oneil's Reviews
The Ascent is a highly enjoyable sci-fi twin-stick shooter with outstanding visual and audio presentation. It is let down at times by some boring downtime while moving through areas and some inconsistent AI but the overall gameplay is a blast whether you’re playing solo or with friends. Fans of twin-stick shooters and cyberpunk worlds will want to have this on their to-play list for sure.
Z-Warp is very much just another shoot ‘em up but one that is very affordable and that offers a decent challenge. The most unique thing about it is how the bombs work as it adds a bit of strategy to the standard SHMUP gameplay. If you are looking for a cheap new retro shoot ‘em up to spend a little bit of time with then Z-Warp will be for you.
Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? Is a fun murder mystery FMV game that is sure to please fans of this genre.
The trip through Royal Frontier is full of randomness and challenge and if the gameplay grabs you then you can spend a good amount of time here. For me, it didn’t do enough to keep me wanting to play it for more than a few hours but for someone else you could spend dozens. If you fancy a low priced turn-based roguelike adventure then give it a shot.
Gunborg: Dark Matter is a short and sweet action platformer that is sure to test you. The 80’s synthwave soundtrack mixed with the neon colors makes the presentation very attractive while the gameplay is super smooth and fun to control. It won’t last you but a few hours but if you don’t mind that then you’ll have a lot of fun in that short time.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax may be eight years old but it’s still one of the most polished, stylish, and approachable fighting games around. The game has a huge roster of fighters that you can build up with the RPG mechanics and the visual novel story mode is pretty enjoyable if not a little too text heavy. There isn’t a ton here to make it a must-play recommendation to prior players but if you’ve yet to experience it and you’re a Persona fan then I can’t recommend it enough.
Pretty Girls Breakers! is a fine brick-breaker game that is affordable enough and just different enough to warrant checking out if you enjoy them. It doesn’t have a lot of stages to last you very long but I liked that you actually had to do more to hit the ball and were rewarded for doing it well. If you’re looking to spend a few dollars for a slightly different Arkanoid clone then give it a shot.
Splash Cars is a fun casual arcade game that you can enjoy solo or with some friends locally. Driving around and splashing color all over the place is quite addictive even if you have to grind a bit and run into some difficulty bumps along the way. With a good amount of levels, various cars to unlock, and paint jobs to customize them with you can get a good amount of playtime out of this one for a handful of dollars.
Quest for Infamy is a solid throwback to the classic point-and-click adventure days but one that isn’t a must-play by any means. It has some good art, funny writing at times, and some good puzzles but the combat is pretty bland and the voice acting is some of the worst I’ve heard in recent memory. If you really have an itch that needs to be scratched by this style of game give it a look but otherwise you aren’t missing much.
Explosive Candy World is a simple, colorful physics-based platformer that offers good value for the money. It keeps the gameplay fresh by adding new things as you get further and the gameplay is both simple to play but challenging to master. Sure, it seems like something you’d play on your phone but console owners can also have quite a bit of fun launching their little man around with candy.
There really isn’t much about Ball laB that stands out from other precision platformers but what it does it does well. For a few dollars you are getting a minimalist, challenging platformer that anyone can play and you even get some very easy trophies along the way.
Roguebook will be right up your alley if you are a fan of Slay the Spire or deck building games in general. It’s got a beautiful fantasy world that is fun to navigate using the ink mechanic and the different playable characters and card variety makes the battles very strategic. Sure, some runs seemed doomed to failure from the start but I always wanted to jump back onto the page to give it another go.
Submerged: Hidden Depths mostly treads the same water as the first game but does so while improving on certain things. The gameplay is simple and combat free so that anyone can set sail in this world and enjoy it and it is just long enough to not end up feeling boring. The world is gorgeous to behold and the music is equally as enjoyable. If you find laid back exploration games like this boring than this won’t be for you but for everyone else this is a voyage worth setting sail on.
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is the perfect way to celebrate 25 years of the franchise as it’s one of the best entries yet. The game has another interesting story as we get to join Sophie and a bunch of charming characters on an emotional journey. Furthermore, exploring and gathering materials is made more interesting by the new weather system, new layers to the battle system open up some fun possibilities and the crafting system is one of the most addictive yet. It was a surprise to go from Atelier Ryza 2 back to Atelier Sophie but it’s one that I’m very thankful the team sprung on us.
Horizon Forbidden West takes mostly everything that the first game did so well and improves on it to make it one of the early must-have titles for the PlayStation 5. The story is once again full of unexpected and emotional moments and the characters throughout are memorable. The gameplay has seen many improvements to make exploring this gorgeous world and fighting the dozens of different machines fun and exciting. Add those things with the top-notch visuals, soundtrack and performances and you have what is sure to be a Game of the Year contender come the end of 2022.
Venus: Improbable Dream won’t do anything to bring you into its story if you aren’t a fan of visual novels but if you are there is a pretty decent one here for you. It takes a bit to get going and the lack of choices is disappointing but the subject matter it touches on and how it handles it are rarely seen in the video game space. If you’ve struggled with social anxiety then this game will hit right at home and pull on your heartstrings.
El Gancho is a fun pixel-art action platformer but one that isn’t a must play. The randomly generated levels and fast paced gameplay can make it addictive to want to give it one more run but there are also so many other options out there to get this experience from. It’s very affordable however so if you’re looking for something on the cheap to get a lot of play out of then this is worth a try.
Mastho is Together is a great precision platformer but one that doesn’t have much personality or things that stand out about it. The gameplay is responsive and everything that it sets out to do it does well, it just doesn’t do anything that I haven’t seen or played before. If you are just looking to spend a few dollars for a couple hours of laid back precision platforming fun then it’s worth a shot.
Moto Roader MC is another nice blast from the past from Ratalaika Games. This top-down racer should please those who were fans of it thirty years ago and for those who didn’t it’s worth a look too. It won’t last you long and I think you’re better off getting it if you have local friends to play with but for a few dollars you can certainly do a lot worse.
Breakout: Recharged is a fun spin on the classic formula but one that isn’t as memorable as some other games in recent years. It plays good and it’s nice that you can play pretty much all the modes with a friend locally. Fans of Arkanoid and Breakout games will enjoy it so long as they aren’t looking for something that changes up the formula drastically.