Khurram Imtiaz's Reviews
Easily one of the best platformers released this generation with striking visuals and great game design. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is an absolute delight from the beginning until the end its epic story campaign.
Katamari Damacy Reroll brings back a cherished classic to modern consoles. It acknowledges the historical significance of the franchise and avoids making too many changes, sticking closer to the creative vision, therefore making it a great remaster.
Just Cause 4 shows that you don't need a story to provide an entertaining gameplay, but the lack of activities in a massive open world is also its biggest fault. Giving the players an open playground with tools of destruction is basically the selling point of this game.
Darksiders 3 manages to stick to its old-school roots but it comes at the expense of a game that fails to innovate and offer anything exciting. The difficulty curve can also feel relentless at times, and the game lacks some technical polish. If you can overlook these issues, it is a decent entry in the Darksiders saga.
Valiant Hearts: The Great War presents us the grim side of World War 1 which is now thankfully a thing of the past. It looks pleasant and this Nintendo Switch port seems to have fared better than Child of Light despite running on the same game engine, so if you are seeking a brief interactive story, this gets a solid recommendation.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a better remaster than Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, but it is not perfect. It is perhaps the most faithful recreation of the original games and deserves all the praise, but there are some minor technical issues with the load times and performance that cast a blemish on the remaster as a whole.
Death Mark feels genuinely fresh and absolutely shocking at times. It captures your attention with its psychological gore and then surprises you with the way the plot is laid out. This is not a visual novel for the light-hearted, but as a horror-themed game, it deserves a place near the top of the list. The atmosphere, sense of dread, the relationship between characters, it is all handled exceptionally well with multiple endings giving it excellent replay value.
As a game developed for kids first, the presentation is simple with a repetitive gameplay loop which doesn't offer any challenge. Kids will appreciate it for the first few levels, but even they can experience the boredom once the initial excitement is over.
It is a shame that there was not much effort spent on bringing back two of these classic Castlevania games to the current generation. Despite the dated look, they are still fascinating to play thanks to the masterfully crafted level design and an engrossing story.
The presentation and visuals are on point and nail the aesthetics of My Hero Academia, but the story is poorly told, battles are lackluster with a stupid AI offering next to none challenge. Combat is fantastic with the intense destruction of stages but lacks strategy that undermines its credibility in the long run.
Nickelodeon Kart Racers is a game trying hard to stay stuck in the past. It is merely using the Nickelodeon name as a promotional tool, offering a shallow karting game underneath it. The lack of licensed characters, terrible tracks, and average gameplay doesn't help it stand out among the countless other Kart Racing clones.
This has been technically the most polished Warriors game so far. Despite the overwhelming number of playable characters, the combat is fun even if it iterates on the same traditional dated formula. As a whole though, Warriors Orochi 4 lacks an engaging story and directly serves more as a fan-service game.
Marvel's Spider-Man is undoubtedly one of the most impressive superhero games this generation that also has many visible flaws. The open world content feels bloated and artificially padded, stealth segments are inconsistent and forced, while the boss fights are a letdown.
More of an experiment that feels lacking next to the previous substantial expansion for The Surge. This new DLC doesn't feel like it is worth its asking price, especially when a sequel is already underway.
Visually one of the most pleasing looking games, Child of Light's turn-based gameplay hasn't aged that well. Despite that, it is only recommended for those who overlooked it during the initial release. There is nothing new added that provides an incentive to replay it again on Nintendo Switch, and you will have to deal with some mild performance issues as well.
Overcooked 2 - Surf 'n' Turf is a fun little expansion that is also extremely challenging. Despite offering just 12 levels, there is some extra replay value with the incentive to get perfect rank and gain three stars. The increased complexity of the recipes means this is ideal for the dedicated fans, but the performance on Nintendo Switch is slightly disappointing.
Super Mario Party is one of the best entries for the series in a decade. It is incredibly fun for both kids and adults alike, but the online multiplayer implementation is rather disappointing making it more suited for local multiplayer.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise sounds like a great concept on paper, but it has a clumsy execution. The slow pace in the start is a major hurdle but the game vastly improves in every aspect afterward. The combat is exciting with brutal finishers, and the side content is fun, even if most of it suffers from repetition. It is a solid game to recommend to Yakuza fans although it is best to play it with low expectations.
The story is undoubtedly the most enjoyable part of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, helped by the choice-driven narrative that delivers a significant impact on how certain key story elements play out in the game. It is all further bolstered by simple action RPG mechanics that are not too complex but still fun to mess around. All things considered, this is clearly the most comprehensive and ambitious Assassin's Creed game to date.
Nintendo Switch owners can now enjoy the complete Final Fantasy XV story but at the cost of stripping the open world, scaling down the combat, visuals, and customization. If you are playing the game just for the story, it is nevertheless a solid action RPG that is decent enough as an alternative version of Final Fantasy XV. The technical issues with the performance and lack of quality control, unfortunately, makes this a letdown overall.