Justin Oneil's Reviews
Kaze and the Wild Masks is a must-play game for any 2D platformer fan and especially those who loved Donkey Kong Country. The controls are smooth and responsive and the difficulty gradually builds and never felt unfair. Every level looks great and sounds great and it made replaying them to hunt down any gems I missed much more enjoyable. I can’t speak highly of it enough and when we get to the end of 2021 it deserves to be in the discussion for best platformer of the year.
Samurai Shodown’s jump onto the Xbox Series doesn’t bring much new to the battle outside of a faster frame rate. The jump to 120 frames per second is noticeable though and something I hope to see more fighting games on console offer in the future. Samurai Shodown is still going strong a couple years after its original release with more content still on the way for the gorgeous Japanese fighter. If you’ve yet to jump in and have a compatible display for the faster frames now is the best time to pick up your blade.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse is a solid point-and-click adventure game full of adult humor. Fans of the source material or things like South Park will likely enjoy it the most as this style of humor isn’t for everyone. When the other parts of this story come out I do hope they make it a bit more challenging and come up with more content that doesn’t feel so much like fetch quests as those two things are what bothered me the most about this first iteration. Outside of that I enjoyed my time with Coop and look forward to what comes next.
Monster Energy Supercross 4 continues Milestones work at crafting finely tuned bike racing games but the jump to the PlayStation 5 isn’t as big visually as I would’ve liked. The better load times and adaptive trigger support were greatly appreciated and the biggest things that separates this from the PlayStation 4 version. The game is still pretty unforgiving for newbies so prepare to fail a lot if this ends up being your first time with this franchise. Fans of the franchise will find quite a lot to enjoy with some refinements to the physics, new skill tree system and career events, along with the track editor and Compound.
Sir Lovelot doesn’t do much of anything new for a platformer but it’s an enjoyable time for the few hours that it will last you. The levels are just challenging enough to not be boring and completing the optional objectives is something you can do to get a bit more out of it. Sir Lovelot’s quest for love would be a bit more enjoyable though if the team took out the water parts and deviated from the formula just a bit more.
With all that said, Monster Truck Championship on PlayStation 5 looks, performs, and loads faster and better than ever. It’s still got a solid career mode and a lot of ways to customize your trucks but there are downsides here. There is no free upgrade so prior owners likely won’t be compelled by the minor upgrades to pay full price for this again and the lack of DualSense support is also disappointing. If you’ve yet to play it though there aren’t a lot of better options on the market when it comes to Monster Truck racing.
There is some fun to be had with the cast of girls here but just don’t expect to come away from it feeling like you experienced something that you haven’t seen before.
If you enjoyed Moving Out then I would say that the Movers in Paradise DLC is a no-brainer. It provides more of what you loved with 20+ new levels with new mechanics all while set in a tropical paradise. It will likely lead to some more heated play sessions with friends and family but that’s part of the fun.
Psychotic’s Colossus Down is a dark, humorous beat ‘em up with great visuals but it may not appeal to everyone. I personally found the dark humor to be enjoyable but if that’s not your thing then I totally understand that. The actual beat ‘em up gameplay isn’t as impactful of say some other recent entries in the genre like Streets of Rage 4 but there is still fun to be had here either playing solo or with a friend locally.
Persona 5 Strikers shakes up the formula a bit but still manages to feel like a full-on sequel to one of this past generations best JRPGS. While it is missing some of the more in-depth social elements that fans of the series love, it still manages to make itself unmissable thanks to another captivating story starring the Phantom Thieves. The characters still get to shine, the combat system smartly borrows some Musou elements while still feeling like Persona, and it’s all just as visually stylish and pleasing to the ears as you would expect. If you call yourself a fan of Persona 5 then you’d be doing yourself a disservice by missing out on Persona 5 Strikers.
The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match lives up to its heritage and still stands as one of the best entries if not the best entry in the franchise. While there isn’t a ton here for modes or extras, what you do get is a brilliant 2D fighting game with a huge roster of characters and a deep combat system.
Overall, while Habroxia 2 doesn’t do a whole lot to stand out from other shoot ‘em ups it is a solid new choice in the genre. The levels switching between horizontal and vertical help keep you on your toes and a variety of upgrades for your ship will have you testing different loadouts out across the main game, New Game+, and the other modes on offer. If you’re looking for an enjoyable and affordable new shmup for your catalog then Habroxia 2 is a great choice.
Turrican Flashback combines four of Factor 5’s classic Turrican titles together but is missing the features that players have come to expect from retro collections like this. The addition of rewind and save states are welcomed but the package is really let down by a lack of other compelling features and a lack of more games. I would stir on the side of caution for this collection at full price unless you’re just a massive fan of Turrican who is itching to suit back up again immediately.
Control: Ultimate Edition on the new generation of consoles is truly the best way to experience Remedy’s most recent title. The game looks and performs great whether you’re playing it with Ray-Tracing or at a smoother 60 frames-per-second. The massively reduced load times get you into this world faster than ever while things like the PlayStation 5’s 3D Audio, DualSense features, and activities help get you through and feel more immersed in said world. When you combine all of that with a lengthy base game and two great expansions you’ll see why Control was on so many Game of the Year lists in 2019.
MXGP 2020 is improved over the last entry but its first outing on the next generation consoles isn’t as impressive as I would’ve hoped. It looks better, loads faster, and plays smoother than ever before but I think it’s still outclassed in most of those areas as well as in things like its Career mode by some last generation racing games. Dirt bike fans will enjoy the realistic handling model and the DualSense features help to make it a bit more immersive while playing. If you skipped MXGP 19 or are just that hardcore of a fan then this isn’t a bad pick up but it might be worth waiting for MXGP 2021 to see what the franchise can do on the next generation with a bit more time to fine tune it.
Space Invaders Forever offers some good arcade score chasing fun but might not be for every fan out there. For $30 you are getting a really good Space Invaders Extreme game, a fun mobile port, and a multiplayer Space Invaders that you may not have the friends available to play with. I do like that the team elected to go with some lesser known titles in the franchise with this collection but I’m just not sure everyone will enjoy all three games included.
Helheim Hassle is a great time from start to finish despite some issues with the controls and certain gameplay sections. The writing, characters, world, art style, and voice acting are all at a really high level for an independent game and many of the game’s puzzles are enjoyable to figure out and solve. It’s really just the timed sections and the control layout that makes this trip to Helheim a little bit less enjoyable. If you haven’t joined Bjorn and Pesto on their journey yet though I highly recommend doing it in the future as the rest of the game outside of those two things is really good.
Root Double: Before Crime * After Days Xtend Edition is a visual novel that tells a captivating sci-fi story with lots of mystery and intrigue. Despite some pacing issues and uninteresting sections, I still found myself playing all of the routes through to see what was going on and how the story would end. I like the idea of the SSS system but I think more can be done to make it stand apart more from the typical visual novel choice system.
Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a short adventure game that does a great job of telling an emotional tale without words thanks to some great visual and audio design. The game doesn’t offer much to those who already played it though so unless you really want to play with a couple new skins and better visuals and performance you may want to pass on it. Those who have yet to play it and are looking for a more tranquil experience will likely enjoy exploring these beautiful vistas as a fox for the few hours that it lasts.
Chronos: Before the Ashes is a fine action RPG game that provided me around a dozen hours of fun. I thought the aging when you die mechanic was an interesting concept that worked well but also could have you feeling like you missed out on certain upgrades if you didn’t die enough. It also has a few issues with the camera and while it borrows a lot of things from the ‘souls’ games it never felt anywhere near as challenging as them. Anyone who enjoys solid combat, good dungeon and puzzle design, and who may want more lore from the Remnant universe will likely enjoy their time in the Labyrinth.