Though Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was released to relatively positive reviews 17 years ago, the game has not aged well. The quest of a caravan of crystal bearers to refill their crystal’s power and protect their homes from a deadly miasma, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered fails due to problems that existed in the original title, as well as flaws in this remastered edition.
While Salt and Sanctuary is among the pinnacle of souls-likes and metroidvanias, Salt and Sacrifice fails to live up to this pedigree.
Tamarin ultimately falls short in bringing back some of the best franchises of yesteryear. Though the effort is a valiant one, Tamarin, hampered by the flaws of the games it attempts to emulate, is just too clunky in its execution.
Any series with a dozen games in its mainline story and over 15 years of time investment will naturally have an endless pile of expectations directed at it when it comes to wrapping things up.
When it comes to legacy JRPGs, few games in Square Enix’s catalog are as controversial as Chrono Cross. The closest comparison would likely be Final Fantasy VIII, a game with just as many detractors as ardent defenders. With that in mind, a re-release of the Chrono Trigger sequel, even one as robust and loving as Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, was bound to be divisive.
When you look back over the course of the Resident Evil series, you come away with a lot of individual feelings and reactions. There’s the corniness of the first few games, the shift to action, tons of side stories that don’t seem to go anywhere, and the recent tonal change to hardcore horror. It’s from all of these disparate elements that Resident Evil Village draws, fusing them into a blueprint from which the series can grow into something new.
The ultimate culmination of classic Metroid tropes and modern design philosophy, Metroid Dread is a treat for fans of the hallowed Nintendo series and anyone who loves a challenging, old-school throwback.
Zero Time Dilemma seems to be brimming with good ideas. Unfortunately, between the increasingly insane, shark jumping, plot revelations, and the never-ending dialogue strands, someone forgot to put a video game here. When the player does get to do something aside from making decisions, the game improves markedly but since the design of the game can make even these sections few and far between, it becomes harder and harder to forgive as the run time of the game continues to tick along.
While Windbound initially instills the awe and wonder of a brave new world to explore, the game quickly grows stale once the structure of it becomes readily apparent.
'Spider-Man: Turf Wars' is a middle of the road expansion of one of the year's best games. Lacking in anything new or exciting to draw players back in, 'Turf Wars' skips the opportunity to either resolve plot points or do right by its characters.
Though this Souls-like wears its heart on its sleeve in its love for the genre, Lies of P misses the mark on what makes these kinds of games tick. All the same, hardcore denizens seeking a challenge may find something to appreciate here.
While Greak: Memories of Azur can be occasionally frustrating, the design and world-building are effective enough to make it worthwhile and enjoyable for players of all skill-sets.
While Road to Ballhalla is very simple in its design, it packs limitless potential into its tiny design. With ever evolving level structure and new obstacles emerging right up until the end, Road to Ballhalla is fun little throwback to some of gaming's earliest forms.
While Pavilion is a sight to behold and packs a great soundtrack, it's ease and simplicity may turn off the more hardcore among puzzle fans. Still, it's worth a play for it's unique look alone.
While the ashen one's journey through the painted world of Ariandel does offer a very memorable finale, other sections come across a bit old hat. The journey is ultimately a satisfying one but it isn't From's best expansion by a long shot.
Though the gameplay can be a tad simplistic, Cake Bash succeeds through the whimsical fun and madcap silliness it brings to the party game genre.
Though Intermission reuses assets from the base game, it offers enough new and exciting material to more than justify the price of admission for Final Fantasy fans.
The first episode of Life is Strange 2 is impressive in both the small changes it makes to the formula of the original game, and the influences it allows from our current tumultuous news cycle. Though it may not bowl you over, it is certainly an excellent start to this new episodic series.
Though Blasphemous 2 lacks the wow factor of the first game, it does smooth out its edges to the point where it feels like a tighter, more fluid experience.
Rebirth subverts player expectations by offering intriguing new features and wonderful world design. Even if the puzzles are sometimes obtuse, Rebirth is well worth your while.