The Council - Episode 2: Hide and Seek pushes the narrative forward but focuses on Louis exploring the island and solving large-scale environmental puzzles. With that said, the same performance issues and slowdown that plagued the first episode returns. The voice acting tends to be all over the place, even shifting quality during a single conversation. The branching paths provide a different experience, but overall the episode is quite short and once again ends on a cliffhanger.
AO International Tennis has all the makings of a definitive tennis title, with enjoyable core mechanics. However, the movement system is clunky and feels like you don't have total control over your player. I've had the hard game lock on me a couple of times, and I've had moments where my player simply refused to swing for no apparent reason. With that said, I felt more comfortable placing precision shots and increasing the difficulty the longer I played the game. The game's creation suite is outstanding, and each day I find someone new to download.
Dragon's Crown Pro is the definitive version of the game, especially if you have a PlayStation 4 Pro and a 4K supported display. The developers have done an outstanding job, boosting the visuals fidelity from the original release, and including the orchestrated version of the soundtrack. I have already spent dozens of hours on the initial release and considering I was able to use my save file from the PS Vita; I see myself once again spending a crazy amount of hours chasing high-end loot. It is a shame that no new skins for the classes have been released or included and the high price tag may scare some players from double dipping.
Masters of Anima provides an adequate challenge in terms of puzzle solving and combat encounters. You are ranked on each fight based on the number of guardians lost, damage Otto has taken, and how long it took to complete. The stylized visuals are quite charming, and the camera is kept in an isolated view that can't be altered. You may fumble at first with the controls, especially once you are trying to juggle a handful of different guardian types at a single time. However, it has been a delight to play the game and feel like a badass when you find the perfect combination of guardians to utilize.
It has been quite some time since I have enjoyed a platformer as much as I have with The Adventure Pals. The zany premise, characters, and colorful cartoon visuals certainly put a smile on my face. Video games are all about having fun, and The Adventure Pals is simply a fun game to play. You earn additional items and upgrade your character as you progress through the 105 different levels in the game. Don't forget to feed the cupcake king and collect wacky customization options. The co-op mechanics is somewhat lackluster, and I would have liked to see that implemented better so that both players and grow their characters.
The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones perfectly sets the tone for the remaining episodes, crafting an enthralling narrative with a colorful cast of characters. The inclusion of the RPG elements helps dynamically influence conversations and how you perceive other characters. Using your skills instead of focusing on win or lose quick time events is a nice change of pace for the genre. Finding manuscripts/books while you are exploring yield free skill points during each quest, rewarding players that thoroughly search the environments, not to mention pieces of amber that extends the number of available effort points. Although there were slight visual irregularities, and minor hiccups on panning camera shots, The Council performs rather well but doesn't have added support for PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings a fitting and satisfying conclusion to Kiryu's story and character. Even though I have only played three Yakuza games, I will miss his attitude and demeanor always fighting for what is right and honest. The Song of Life struck a perfect balance between goofy and serious missions, but I would have liked to see some of the other series-favorite cast have a more prominent role. The smaller scope of the narrative gives off an intimate sensation, but with that being said, I am quite interested in where Sega will take the decade-old franchise in the future, especially with its growing popularity in the West.
The performance issues, missing content, and brain-dead AI are simply inexcusable.
As an arcade-style VR shooter, Shooty Fruity is engaging and fun, but only in short bursts. The gameplay loop can feel repetitive if you try and extend your play session, but I found varying your loadout does wonders to keep you enjoying the experience.
The journey towards the light is something everyone can relate to, and the game is framed like an enjoyable fairy tale come to life. The visuals are gorgeous, and the controls are easily accessible. Without spoiling anything, the game didn't end how I expected, failing to bring a satisfying closure to the game's narrative. Movement speed is a tad slow, and the jump is a bit floaty, so that could be a deal breaker to some. Candleman is only available on Xbox One and PC in North America, but can be found on the Chinese PS Store.
Dreadnought's gameplay is such a powerful experience, and it is a shame that the current population on PlayStation 4 is not what the game deserves. Matchmaking can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, and even then, I've never had a full 5-on-5 player match without at least one AI controlled ship. Hopefully, the developers can help alleviate the grind at the higher tiers, and look to adjust how the customization system works, opening up purchased items across all classes.
Black Mirror attempts to bring a horror-themed point-and-click adventure game to a new audience but is hampered by glaring technical setbacks. On more than one occasion, David had become stuck, only to seemingly slowly rotate himself in place with no way to free yourself. During one of the game's pivotal cutscenes, the game crashed with an alarmingly loud buzzing noise before crashing back to the Xbox home screen. Exploring the eerie mansion and the accompanying ground should be more enjoyable, but the frequent loading screens ruin the experience. If you can overlook these issues, I found the characters and the narrative quite compelling, but at the same time, there is no reason to play through the game multiple times.
Hand of Fate 2 is truly a unique take on the role-playing genre, with randomly designed dungeons based on the cards within your deck. Whether you are testing your luck, disarming traps, earning gold, or fighting against the undead, each challenge feels uniquely designed. The dealer still knows how to get under your skin with jeers and taunts, but the cards are the most prominent highlight of the game. The inclusions of companions add an additional layer to combat, even if they don't rewrite the game mechanics. In fact, you may experience a different narrative based on which companion you bring along with you.
Being a Harmonix title, it only seems fitting that they included a calibration to sync the visuals and audio if you are having difficulties. I applaud the desire to continue releasing games that can be classified in the music genre, as the almost yearly release of Rock Band became quite tiresome. Super Beat Sports shows they can still lead the way in innovation with rhythm-based titles with a colorful and charming spin. I was initially caught off guard on how sharp and clean the visuals look, both in portable mode and when docked.
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 once again shows that innovation can still occur after years of releasing the same type of product. While Fibbage is the only sequel mini-game, the changes included help freshen the experience. The ease of use is the most significant asset to the Jackbox titles, allowing anyone with access to a browser to join the action. While Jackbox Games is undoubtedly going to face some competition in the form of PlayLink titles on PlayStation 4, but the fact you don't have to download apps ahead of time keeps these games on my must-play list for get-togethers.
The Evil Within 2 is quite the surprise, outperforming its predecessor in every category. The lengthy narrative kept me invested, while the open-world nature of Union and the supporting characters help create a much more realized environment. Even then, the game's tension is quite high, and there were a lot more scares than I was expected. The lack of PlayStation 4 Pro support is indeed an odd decision, but hopefully, Bethesda can patch the game sooner rather than later.
RAID: World War II failed to capture the magic that makes the Payday franchise so popular. Although Lion Game Lion has worked on the franchise, this game features disappointing AI, costly technical issues, and other glaring issues. It's not beyond repair, however, if they wish to continue supporting the game long-term, as the gist of running raids with friends online and stealing Naxi treasures is something that is quite appealing. There are basic customization options for characters, but the amount of time it will take to grind proficiencies is disappointing. It is such as shame that I couldn't be more positive on a game that includes FMV sequences with John Cleese.
Bloody Zombies is an enjoyable old-school cooperative brawler with modern conveniences. VR players certainly have an advantage, being able to view levels in their entirety, making it easier to find secrets, but most importantly, they can experience the sense of depth the game has to offer. Players can feed off of each other's combos, juggling enemies in the air for hundreds of hits at a time, something that is sorely missing when trying to save London alone.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an insanely good title with classic role-playing game mechanics. The art design and animation are quite unmatched, and it's a pleasure to experience newly discovered areas for that alone. The battle system is more in-depth than most RPGs released today, but it is a shame the sheer amount of grinding you have to do to keep pace with the narrative. I also experience more than a handful crashes and bugs that forced me to quit the game. One, in particular, failed to load the boss for a side mission, not letting me progress any further down the quest chain.
Although I find myself usually not replaying single-player narrative focused titles, I felt compelled to play through Tokyo Dark multiple times (the first playthrough will take around five hours). Maybe it was the inclusion of the alternate endings or the beautiful stylized visuals combined with a dark and intense narrative. The S.P.I.N. system can severely alter how other characters react to you, making you question your every action.