Overall, Dragon’s Crown is a highly enjoyable, gorgeous, old-school beat ’em up. The new things it introduces all add complexity and depth to the standard beat ’em up formula while still keeping a simple arcade feel to it, and it’s managed to be some of the best couch co-op I’ve played in ages.
It’s clear that not enough love was given to Fear Effect Sedna. The lack of polish shows all over the place, and little flaws that could have been ironed out with more testing cripple the experience. The things it does well are rendered disappointing by the frustrating mess one needs to slog through to reach them.
A psychological thriller with stealth seemed right up my alley, which made it all the more disappointing that it wound up primarily a mediocre cover-based shooter. But hey, my achievement progress for the game is at 69%, and it’s going to stay that way. Nice.
Some minor issues aside, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology was immensely fun to play, and I found myself having trouble putting it down. While the new additions may not be worth a $40 price tag on their own if you’re already familiar with the original, if you happened to miss out on it before, do yourself a favor and pick this up.
What time I had with it was enjoyable, but I was left wanting more. As far as problems a game can have, that’s a relatively minor one.
Despite a few minor flaws here and there, Monster Hunter World is a blast to play. The combat is exciting and varied, the spectacles are fascinating, and the aesthetics are on point. Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran of the series, I highly encourage picking this up.
...this is the first to commit the most cardinal sin of gaming: I was bored to tears. The game several hours in is fundamentally the same as the game five minutes in, and there’s not even the spectacle of new discovery to entice me onward.
What flaws it has do little to change the fact that the gameplay is satisfying and the characters will make you smile. The title is a little on the short side, at around ten hours, but it’s ten very enjoyable hours that don’t overstay their welcome.
The storytelling is lackluster and it manages to make combat, what should be the core of an action game, into something that toes the line between tedious and unfair.
If you’ve not played this game before, it proves to be an enjoyable action RPG, even if you’ve not played the earlier games in the series. For those who have played the PSP version, however, this new edition adds nothing new of note and can probably be passed over.
At the end of the day, Original Journey takes a solid concept of a shooter with a unique art style that sends you through progressively harder gauntlets with the gamble to proceed or head back to the start and bank your earnings, and mars it with a number of poor design decisions.
It has its flaws, but still proves to be a very enjoyable game that I had trouble putting down (as the sparse nature of this review can testify.) If you’re a fan of the series or picking up a Dynasty Warriors game for the first time, I highly recommend this.
Overall, Yooka-Laylee is a game with a ton of retro-inspired heart, but a definite lack of polish may disappoint fans who expected the quality of their previous Banjo-Kazooie titles.