Drawkanoid is the most fun I've had playing a block breaker game in the last ten years, easily.
As a free update, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry - Happy Ending successfully serves as a brief epilogue to the main game. It does provide some necessary backstory for Faith and does leave things set up for a possible sequel, but the experience is over in about 20-30 minutes.
Hardcore Mecha's engaging single-player narrative, fast-paced 2D side-scrolling action, multiplayer options, and sweet mecha designs produce a well-rounded experience. The game runs and looks excellent on a PlayStation 4 Pro. The lack of current players online is disappointing, but there is a discord channel where others are looking to group up, but mostly seems to be centered around the PC release.
Without a doubt, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry aims at those that played the originals. The narrative is actually quite enjoyable, if you can look past the toilet humor. It's a very formulaic, paint-by-numbers, old-school adventure game with the same repugnant Larry Laffer, lacking many modern amenities. The throwback gameplay certainly has its appeal, but optional support could have led to the game being more widely accessible. No auto-save? Come on (pun intended).
What you extrapolate out of the game depends on how much effort you spend exploring and reading by scanning every possible artifact left behind.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an incredible way to experience the entire DBZ saga, for newcomers and fans alike.
Tools Up! is a local-only cooperative four-player game that doesn't quite hit the mark with all of the mechanics. Throwing feels useless when your character refuses to complete the action, and targeting can be a concern in tight corridors. Playing alone can best be described as frustrating, to the point where I wouldn't even recommend the game at all unless you are planning to play with others. The lack of online multiplayer doesn't help either.
Transport Fever 2 forgoes fail conditions and instead lets players focus on the beauty and elegance of designing the perfect transportation system.
Black Future '88 is a thrilling roguelike that eventually feels like you are in a side-scrolling bullet hell shooter the higher you climb. Once you reach the top, you'll begin once again, just with a harder difficulty.
Some may walk away from this game, thinking it was just a game, but I would say that they missed the theme entirely. Bravo, Pillow Castle Games.
The more profound life lesson that Superliminal attempts to convey throughout becomes quite apparent in the final monologue from Doctor Glenn Pierce in the last few minutes of the game. Not only does it connect everything that you have done in the game with a higher purpose and meaning, but it has connected with my own life. Perspective is a powerful sentiment and one that many take for granted. Dropping an enlarged exit sign over two pressure plates to open a door is one thing, but understanding how you can become a better person, by looking at all the possible angles and outcomes, is a life lesson I was not expecting from a video game. Some may walk away from this game, thinking it was just a game, but I would say that they missed the theme entirely. Bravo, Pillow Castle Games.
Megaquarium is a robust management simulation game, and the only one allowing you to build your own aquarium. While PC players have been perfecting their exhibits for quite some time, the transition to consoles has been quite smooth. I thoroughly enjoy how the game operates using a controller, although without going through the tutorial, you may be a bit lost. Many advanced elements slowly creep into the experience, such as ensuring your bigger fish don't eat the smaller ones, properly decorating aquariums to keep skittish fish calm, balancing the amount of a single species to keep them happy.
A Lovecraftian horror title, Moons of Madness, is tense, and at times genuinely frightening. It does focus a bit too much on basic puzzle-solving. I did enjoy the stunningly haunting and interactive environments that you find yourself in. What other game allows you to escape from Lovecraftian cosmic horrors, and then proceed to pick up and fill a mug with coffee?
New Super Lucky's Tale is bursting with charm and character, not to mention numerous improvements, and redesigned mechanics that enhance the experience. While not overly lengthy (roughly took me 12 hours), and relatively easy (except for Foxington), there are all-new levels, all of the previous DLC, and dozens of pages to collect, and outfits to purchase with your coins. Load times are a bit on the long side, especially when needing to restart a puzzle. It would also be helpful for the level to be listed when you pause the game and not just the hub world.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a solid remaster of a sub-par Super Monkey Ball title. The visual style works for the series, and most of the party games that were included represent the best ones from the original release. The online leaderboard integration for the Decathlon and Time Attack modes is a great addition. There are unlockable outfits, and even Sonic the Hedgehog has been added to the game. All of the original music from the Wii release has been replaced due to licensing issues.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is an enjoyable collection of Olympic event mini-games that feature local and online play. The story mode is undoubtedly the star this time around. Although it starts a bit slow, I enjoyed the interactions between the characters and the lightheartedness of the entire situation.
The Park's best moments come from the sense of dread and uneasiness in an abandoned amusement as you search for your kid. I wouldn't call it a scary experience, although there are a handful of jump scares, it's more unnerving than anything else. The climatic area drove home the narrative; however, if you were rushing to the end, you may not appreciate the message it is trying to convey.
Stela is a beautiful atmospheric puzzle-platformer; however, it seems to emphasize style over substance. The musical score, however, is phenomenal, making almost mundane actions feel grandiose or anxiety-inducing. The first playthrough only takes a couple of hours, and once you know what to expect, you'll be able to run through the game in under 90 minutes.
There are many different areas where Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip comes up short. A $40 price tag is just nuts for a 2 hour game with a barebones presentation and gameplay. Heck, the reload animation is your character looking downwards. That's it. The only time I died in the game was on the final mission when bugged out, and I became unable to shoot. The boot menu screen is only presented as a vertical graphic, and even the main menu doesn't fit the screen. It's plainly obvious that the game was rushed out the door to capitalize on the movie.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered may be the same game it was ten years ago, but I couldn't help but smile while playing through it once again.