In the end, this Jydge has been found guilty of conspicuous padding and needless repetition, and my sentence will see it placed in a comfy resort prison with all the other decent games when it could have walked free this very day as one of the good ones.
It's too bad that its production values and general lack of polish keep it from ever achieving a proper moment of emotional transcendence… but there's enough earnest desire to show you the world through a glass darkly that We Are Chicago isn't without value.
This is almost certainly the fanboy in me talking but I Am Setsuna deserves more
Frogwares' past Sherlock Holmes games… have always been unexceptional interpretations of the world's most exceptional detective, at times displaying some moments of brilliance, but mostly held back by their ineptitude and desire for safety
From a presentation standpoint, Duelyst is beautiful in its relative simplicity, though a bit thematically confusing
[Kill to Collect] is a single-screen arena brawler, after all, and the exclusion of [local co-op] in favor of online only co-op absolutely baffles me, especially when the mechanics make a well-coordinated team absolutely essential
When playing with others the visual prompts used to co-ordinate skill use and crystal surges are masterful, and should be taken note of by any developer looking to create a modern multiplayer game without voice chat
The world of Gransys is certainly not as large as Skyrim nor as dense as From Software's Souls series, but it feels lived in and filled with sights and mysteries that beg you to step outside your comfort zone
In an attempt to frame the antagonistic nature of the designer/player dynamic and ask why a game can't be simple, uncomplicated fun, Mullins has saddled his creation with an incredibly tedious third act
Image & Form should be commended for rewarding players seeking a challenge without penalizing those just looking for a good time
It's beautifully modelled, filled with colour, has incredible sound design, the sense of flight is exhilarating, and from time to time a challenging battle presents itself that gets your heart pumping
There is one untarnished, shining star in this cold and lonely place though. The soundtrack. The rockabilly tunes are just too damn good
To further extend replayability after the first few chapters your roster of playable Autobots expands to encompass Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, and Grimlock
I've never been deep-sea diving but I think that even James Cameron would be hard pressed to find fault with the level of detail on display here
Much of the late game still feels like a needlessly punishing grind as it embraces artificial difficulty before fun