There are people who will enjoy the dedication to making Way of the Hunter an ultra-realistic hunting simulation. Though I fear those people will instead be spending their days actually hunting. If you play video games to get some immersive feel and still have fun doing that thing you wouldn’t normally do in real life, you might not be as appreciative of the dedication to realism. While I fell into the latter camp, I know there are certainly people in the former camp. You’ll have to decide for yourself if Way of the Hunter is for you.
Overall, The Ascent is a fun twin-stick shooter that comes to the Playstation with an absolutely beautiful world design. The wholesale violence is very engaging but may feel a bit redundant as you can be pretty well maxed out about halfway through. I had a lot of fun with The Ascent, especially with multiplayer. It’s a beautiful-looking game that’s a blast to play that’s worth checking out.
Overall, Roki was a big win in my book. Initially, I found its family-friendly focus to be a detriment to my enjoyment in my first sitting with it. In my second, I began to appreciate more of what it was going for, and in my third sitting, I played for 5 hours without even realizing it. Roki has a lot going for it, including a unique story, well-done but straightforward mechanics, and a simply beautiful art style. Don’t let this one slip past you like a tomte hiding in his hat.
In the end, Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition is potentially the type of game I could definitely lose myself in. The amount of options to build your craft, the variety of things you have to do to maintain your space program, the charming Kerbs you blast into a million pieces, and the feeling of accomplishment when you reach a new milestone are the kinds of things I look for in a simulation.
In the end, I am a fan of where Weird Beluga aimed but not as much as where they landed. While the world that Clid resides in is full and realized, its characters unique, its level design excellent, and its overall tone unexpectedly great, the gameplay itself, not plague fuelled slugs, seems to be the biggest deterrent Clid needs to overcome. No matter how Weird Beluga wants to tackle this, whether it be leave it as it is or patch it, they still stand as very innovative and exciting developers. As for the gamer, if you think I’m just weak and you can do better managing the punishing level of gameplay, you should definitely pick this up. Otherwise, maybe see what they do moving forward before you dive into this strange and unique foray into gaming.
When it’s all said and done though, Dodgeball Academia is much better than I was expecting. I enjoyed the style, the zaniness, the characters, and only got frustrated by the gameplay a couple of times. Given my childhood history with the sport and my general anger over not being able to win in every game, a couple of times of frustration is a MASSIVE win. While the RPG elements to it are a little on the light side, the open-ish world and all of the side quests/daily challenges you get to tackle on top of the story have you 3 hours deep into dodgeball games before you know it. The fun and light hearted aspects of the game outweigh the negatives, making Dodgeball Academia a good pick up if you’re looking to hear that SPLAT once more.
Whether or not it’s worth it for your new system, is probably up to whether or not you’ve played it before. The additions to the main game include some extra playtime, and the graphical upgrades make it a smoother running experience, but I don’t know if it’s worth a brand new purchase of the game. However, if you haven’t played Observer: System Redux yet, this new version is the PERFECT way to get your hands dirty in this cyberpunk murder mystery.
For as much as that sense of nostalgia is great, video games have come a long way since then and I’ve become accustomed to a certain playstyle. Being so fully integrated back into an old style of game, as I said earlier, reminds me of why I’m thankful for how far games have come. Outbreak: Endless Nights does everything it sets out to and while I enjoyed some dungeon crawling and shooting zombies in the face for a little while, I’m still going to go back to my very full game library… I have far too much to catch up on to spend too much time in 2002.
Overall, World Splitter is a really great and challenging puzzler that may look easy but will leave you scratching your head more often than not. The unique double map and physics mechanics are some of those things that really make World Splitter stand out. The cute and simplistic style is very aesthetically pleasing and helps keep you from screaming at the top of your lungs when you take one step too many at the very end of a map. Challenge your brain and spatial awareness if you dare.
Overall, TOHU’s lovely aesthetic, challenging puzzles, and do-it-yourself style of direction make this a real winner in my eyes. While so much good hits a real stumbling block with controls not designed for a controller, it didn’t stop me from really enjoying this unique and wacky world. And I appreciate the complicated puzzles that are enjoyably difficult instead of ‘smash your head against a wall’ hard. I would recommend TOHU, especially if you’ve somehow managed to figure out quicker reaction times with your controller than I have.
As a psychological horror that uses one of the most iconic horror games of the last-gen as its inspiration, it works incredibly well. I never thought walking down a hallway in a game could fill me with such dread, but every single staircase, hallway, and door ramped my anxiety all the way up. In all honesty, for the first couple of days, I could only play it for 10 minutes at a time before I had to call it quits. As someone who watches horror movies all the time, getting me to tap out before you even scare is a feat to be proud of. By that measure, Visage should be bursting with pride!
Controls and obnoxious voice acting aside, Pathfinder delivers exactly what it promises and does so very well.
Obey Me does a lot right to make it a fun play and entice fans of the genre in. The gameplay isn’t overly complicated but it’s still challenging. The dungeons are visually exciting and quite lengthy.
Overall, MotoGP 20 is a game for the player looking to be as close to racing on a crotch rocket at 300 mph without having to go jump on a bike themselves.
Regardless of who it’s for, ultimately The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance falls somewhat flat.
The Gathering Storm is certainly worth the price tag to me and I’ve lost sleep and been late to work in order to squeeze a few more turns out. If you’re dedicated to the 4X genre and enjoy Civ VI already, it’s well worth the price tag.
Basically, if you enjoy 4X games or are a Civilization fan, you have to pick this up. But you didn’t need me to tell you that. It’s already on your list and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is already in the download queue. If it’s not, you’ve got time right now to remedy that.
Luckily, Double Tap itself was much better than its game counterpart. Based on historical examples, this isn’t the first time nor will it be the last time we can make that statement.
If you’re a Final Fantasy VIII fanatic like myself, or just simply a Final Fantasy fan, this is a must pick up.
Overall, They Are Billions is an absolutely solid pick up and a real steal for its price point.