Jed Whitaker's Reviews
While Star Rush isn't the horrible 'car' wreck of the past two titles in the series, it is hardly recommendable due to a lack of mini-games and thus content, even if four players can play nearly the full game pending one other in the same room has the game (there is no online play to speak of, in case you were wondering). It is a shame, honestly. If there were around 30 more mini-games, and more bosses, this would have been easily recommendable, but as it stands at $40, it feels too expensive for what little is here. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm going to go to my Reggie shrine that I have in my closet and perform a blood sacrifice in hopes of getting a remastered collection of the classic games for the Switch. Praise be to his body, as it is always ready!
88 Heroes is a game that puts referential humor over bland platforming and little else.
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 brings with it four new games and the sequel to Trivia Murder Party. It's more polished than the previous releases on launch, but none of the new games are particularly great.
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is a short shallow experience that doesn't do anything new and isn't required playing for fans of the series.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood feels less like the story-driven co-op shooter that it should have been, and more like a product made to cash in on the legendary IP.
While the The JackBox Party Pack 5 is hard to recommend at full price due to mediocrity, if you liked past entries it could be worth buying while on sale.
Overall, Mario Tennis Aces just feels lacking in ever sense of the world. Lacking real tennis rules, basic quality of life options, series staple characters, and really any personality at all.
OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes sounds and looks good, but dull repetitive combat and a story that doesn't go anywhere. But if you're already a fan of the show, you'll probably be okay with its shortcomings, newcomers need not apply.
Hob is a beautiful but unoriginal Zelda-like that lacks an interesting story and has mind-numbingly dull combat and exploration.
Knack 2 isn't the game of the year we have been waiting for, instead it's just more Knack. Who asked for this?
Full motion video games are making a comeback and you could do worse than the crime thriller Late Shift.
If you have a longing for another game similar to Descent and Forsaken, Sublevel Zero Redux is it.
As a piece of art, I quite appreciate Virginia. but I certainly won't be revisiting Virginia in the future.
A colourful vertical bullet hell that coasts along until finale where the difficulty spikes abruptly. Some decent ideas can be found here, but overall an average experience.
Unravel puts all its cards on being cute and charming while having repetitive, lackluster gameplay. If you're looking for a very casual cute game, you might forgive its shortcomings
Feist feels like Limbo and Where the Wild Things Are had a not so fun love child.
It is cute, short, simple, and a nice nostalgic trip back down memory lane, even if these are new yet forgettable memories. I appreciate how much the developer was able to capture the N64 look and feel, and also the Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope cameo (he has one of the only voiced lines in the game; he didn't work on the soundtrack). I think with some time, money, and a bigger team I could see Siactro making an honest to goodness great modern N64 game, but as it stands this feels a little too simple and shallow for my tastes.
On the other hand, the 100 included levels from Nintendo aren't to be missed if you want some of the best Super Mario Bros. levels released to date; they just aren't worth the $40 price tag alone. Super Mario Maker for 3DS isn't a bad game or even a bad creation tool, but without its online heart continuously pumping life into it, it feels more like a useless skeleton, and nobody likes skeletons. NOBODY.
Earth's Dawn could be a far better game than it is if it were just a bit more focused and refined. A lot of issues with the game could have been fixed by just making the missions something you could do in each level at your own pace without loading them separately one at a time from the main menu. The level design lends itself to Metroidvania-like gameplay, but the missions themselves just drop you into the map and tell you exactly where to go and what to do, versus just letting you roam freely and do as you wish completing missions along the way.Even with its flaws, I think many people will enjoy Earth's Dawn, but I don't expect it to be a hit or even a cult classic. If anything those starved for something similar to Odin's Sphere or an RPG-style beat 'em-up might get some enjoyment out of it, while most will find the repetition a bit too much.
Unless you're a die-hard space shooter fan who doesn't mind repetitive filler content, it is hard to recommend Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours at the current price point, even if it does have solid gameplay. I'd suggest waiting till it goes on sale for somewhere around $20 or less, as that is a far more reasonable cost.