Justin Oneil's Reviews
If you played a Doodle God game before and wanted to ability to play it on your big screen then you may enjoy this but I don’t feel like it suits this type of game. This is also available on the Switch and with It looking like a mobile game still and the gameplay being suited to quick play sessions it might be best to purchase it there for the best experience. Doodle God: Evolution hasn’t evolved from the original all these years later and because of that it isn’t suited to be on consoles.
Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is an enjoyable 3D arena fighting game but might be a bit simplistic for some. I did find the combat to have a bit of depth to it but probably not enough for more hardcore fighting fans. The lack of online support, full voice-acting, and some rather simple arenas also hold it back a bit. Still, I enjoyed controlling the Zoids that were here and if you’re a fan of the series there is a lot of content here in the Story mode to sink your teeth into.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin isn’t the best beat ‘em up to release this year but it’s a pretty darn solid one. It very much nails the time period it’s set in and it’s got a great combat system with some fun upgrades to earn. It isn’t the prettiest game and some of the voice acting and combat sections are bit hit or miss. If you’re a fan of old Chinese kung fu movies or just want a fun beat ‘em up to play with a friend online or locally then you should give this one a try.
Orangeblood is by no means a must-play JRPG but it does have some redeeming qualities. The look and sound of it are the best parts and while the combat system didn’t impress me it worked well enough for me to see it through. It’s really too bad that the story and dialog weren’t better otherwise I could more highly recommend this one.
Cake Bash is a deliciously great party game that is perfect to sit down and play with some friends either locally or online. Solo players will likely get bored of it faster as the bots aren’t very challenging to play against. The visuals are cute and well done, the soundtrack is pleasing, and it’s got some well designed mini-games that are lots of fun. The biggest thing it has going against it is much like any great desert, there just isn’t enough of it to last.
Fans of management simulation games will likely enjoy their time in Little Big Workshop. It’s got a charming art style and gives you plenty to do as you work to make your shop the market leader. The stability issues that I encountered do need to be patched by Mirage Game Studios though. Outside of that, their first game has set up shop on consoles rather well.
While it is rather simple overall, I think fans of cooperative experiences will want to give Unrailed! a shot. The concept is a lot of fun and it will take some good communication between you and the other players to get your train as far as it can go. With options for both local and online multiplayer there is no reason for you and some friends not to hop on this train.
I enjoyed my short time with Feather but there isn’t enough here really to make me want to go back to it. Flying around, seeing the sights, and listening to the different music was relaxing but that’s all I can really say about it. It’s priced pretty fairly though so if you’re looking to spend a little while just soaring around as a bird this might be for you.
Vampire’s Fall: Origin is a solid little throwback RPG but its mobile roots do show. Those origins are apparent in both the visuals and the repetitive mission design. You do get a lot of content here though especially for a game priced as low as this one is. If you’re looking to spend some as a vampire and explore a vast world then you might want to check this one.
It was said plenty when Ori and the Will of the Wisps launched earlier this year but now that it’s on Switch I’ll say it again: play this game. It takes everything that made the first Ori one of the most memorable experiences this generation and further builds on it with a more expansive and varied world along with expanded combat options
Sinn Studio has been releasing games on PlayStation VR for awhile now but I didn’t find their prior work to be very good. Swordsman VR shows that they are continuing to listen and working to improve with this easily being their best game yet. It’s got quite a lot of content here to play through and the actual sword fighting feels really good.
Crysis Remastered is still a solid first-person shooter in 2020 but more could’ve been done to make it better. The open-ended gameplay still makes running around in the Nanosuit a fun power trip but the problems with enemy AI do sour the experience a bit. If you never played Crysis or were a die-hard fan there is fun to be had here but you may want to wait for a sale or for some tuning to be applied.
Bounty Battle is a game that I was very excited which is why I’m that much more saddened to give it the bad score that I am. A game that brought together so many fantastic indie game characters to fight it out has no business being as rough as this is. The characters all feel the same, the stages are too basic, and the technical issues ruin the rest. If this game gets patched to run better it would still only be an average brawler but for now you should avoid this battle.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster takes on some heavy subject matter but doesn’t quite nail the execution with all of it. Despite that, I did enjoy the story and the game’s great visuals and audio design made the hotel a very immersive setting for me to explore. If the subject material here doesn’t bother you then I do think it is worth a playthrough.
Tony Hawk games have been pretty poor over the last decade or so but Vicarious Visions has finally restored the franchise to the greatness that it was known for in the 90’s. It looks like a modern game visually, the controls feel as they should, the iconic soundtrack is back with some new hits included, and there is a ton of content here to indulge in. If you’re a skateboarding fan then Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a must buy.
MX vs. ATV All Out can be fun but I’m not sure anyone should be racing out to buy it. It doesn’t look great and it misfires at times when it comes to load times, framerate, and AI difficulty. It’s got a lot of content but even there I had issues with there being a ton of DLC that isn’t included. If you’re desperate for an off-road racer on your Switch give it a go but otherwise you may want to keep looking.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series was a great experience for a Star Wars fan like myself but you should know what you’re getting into beforehand. This isn’t a very long experience so whether the price right now is worth it to you will be up to you to decide. If you have the choice to play it on PlayStation VR or Oculus I’d have to recommend to go with the Oculus due to there being no smooth movement on PlayStation VR. It doesn’t ruin the experience but it doesn’t feel as immersive when you have to teleport around. With all that said, the few hours I spent with this game is the closest I’ve ever come to feeling like an actual Jedi and that to me made this whole experience worth it.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim manages to not only tell one character’s story well but thirteen of them. It takes its time to get going but once it did, I found myself wanting to just keep going to see what was going to happen next with these characters. I also think this is not only the best game visually that Vanillaware has done but one of the best-looking games period.
Hotshot Racing is a stylish, fast, fluid, arcade racing game that brought back memories of some classic titles. The sense of speed it delivers is satisfying and sliding around corners to build up my boost never got old. Some things need to be done about the rubberbanding AI and some more variety in the track layouts will be welcome. Fans of Daytona USA, Outrun, and similar games should have no doubts about giving Hotshot Racing some gas.
OkunoKA Madness is a beautiful, brutal platformer that any fan of games like Super Meat Boy will enjoy. With dozens of levels, hidden collectibles, different modes, and online leaderboards there is plenty of content here and reasons to keep playing.