Overall I would say it all depends on your perspective. Some people like the bottle episodes more than the season finales after all. If you prefer hanging out and getting to know people with a splash of sci-fi dystopian-ish intrigue to give them something to talk about, this will be right up your alley. If you’re here primarily for the sci-fi dystopia and seeing the characters bond over their shared struggle is just a bonus, you’ll probably find it a bit lacking. Still, at the end of the day, if my main criticism is simply that I preferred the previous entry… that’s probably saying something.
I wish I could rate this higher. I honestly had a fun time playing through Curse of the Sea Rats, but the issues I encountered were significant. On top of balance issues and voice line deliveries, I also stumbled across a few bugs here and there including one that basically broke most of the ending. Again the refrain goes, they’re aware and fixing issues, but I can merely hope the patch irons out every last detail. Should the patch fix every one of these issues admirably, I could easily see this being an 8 or even a 9. But even in its current state, it’s a charming experience. Especially for anyone with fond memories of 90s animated features.
More than anything else, Season is about the vibe it cultivates. Asking you to pause, actually look and listen to your surroundings, not just as a way to work on your journal but as a way of life. It is certainly a beautiful experience, one I couldn’t help but reflect on even after I’d put it down. But outside of that, it is a little bit short, and there doesn’t seem to be too much in the way of replay value. If you’re down with that vibe, you’ll find this a very relaxing experience with some entertaining worldbuilding and a few mysteries for suspense. However, being pretty much a one-off experience more like a movie may rub a lot of gamers the wrong way.
It’s buggy, the balance is off, and a good 80% of the locations only really serve as random sidequest destinations. But the storytelling drew me in, the stealth worked rather well, and on the occasions when I felt like I had resources to burn it was just so dang satisfying to slow motion dive out from behind a corner while blasting a barrage of shotgun shells.
For all my complaints, Aragami 2 does pull off making you feel like a ninja rather well. Planning just the perfect route to ambush everyone one by one or slip in and out without disturbing anyone felt really satisfying. It manages to tread that fine line of letting you get away with more than is realistic while still making a perfect run challenging that makes a great stealth game. I just can’t help but feel they took a few gambles with changing things up from the original, and took a step backwards as a result.
Everhood is nothing if not memorable. There’s flaws here and there, but they pale in comparison to the fun and unique time I had. It’s not a very long game, taking around six hours or so for the true ending, but there’s plenty of different choices to make and self-imposed challenges to try.
I really think of all the ways to adapt Animal Farm, this is definitely one of the best ways. Actually making the decisions and watching corrupt leadership undermine them, or being the one to justify sacrificing the “lesser” people for the “greater good,” really emphasizes how easily selfishness ruins a perfectly good dream.
It has the weighty action and focus on learning enemy patterns to punish, but at eight hours to beat it’s relatively short and is lacking depth in many of its systems. At $30 and with an easier learning curve this is a good starter for anyone who hasn’t played this style of game, but veteran players may find the experience underwhelming.
While I wouldn’t list Fallen Angel as my game of the year, it’s definitely entertaining while it lasts. It’s hard to enough to be satisfying, has a fantastic variety of areas, and the combat is fast and snappy. There’s a few flaws here and there, namely in a few minor bugs and the combat stagnating partway through, but it’s definitely worth the asking price.
Radical Rabbit Stew isn’t a long game, it isn’t a super complex game, but it IS a fun game, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. The levels are perfect little bite-sized chunks I can pick up whenever, and it hits that mix of challenging enough to be engaging without being frustratingly so.
Overall, I’d say if you haven’t played Saints Row IV before to give it a shot. I honestly had a blast going through this. If you have, well, the novelty of having it portable might not justify the price tag. I have heard from Volition that the bugs ARE being worked on but, at the moment, there’s no definite time frame for when the DLC will actually be available for Switch players, and I can’t help but be a little disappointed at that.
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is a pleasant callback to yesteryear, with just enough changed to keep it from simply retreading old ground. It is a little short if one charges through, points be damned, but it’s still several hours long at least.
Barring some bugs that will hopefully get patched soon, I really enjoyed my time with Interrogation – You Will Be Deceived. The interconnected systems that give consequences even to your “kind” options really make me want to dig in and figure out just what effects all my actions have.
Cat Quest II is relatively short, but I’d argue it’s as long as it needs to be. I didn’t feel a need to break from the adventure solely for the sake of grinding, and I finished before I grew bored of the simple gameplay loop.
Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove is definitely an odd title. It has a focus on exploration over combat, and embraces randomness in a way that keeps things exciting. While it’s likely not for everyone, it’s definitely a unique game in this day and age, and is worth a shot for that alone.
If there’s one take-away I have about Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, it’s that it feels like a lower budget take on the series. I’m reminded of when a series on the PSX or GameCube would get a game on the GBA; It’s noticeably different, and not as highly polished, but in the end it’s still fun for what it is.
Overall, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is a spooky and unsettling experience, but it’s not without some flaws. There is the occasional line that’s at a significantly lower volume than those before or after, making it hard to hear. The exploration mechanic also becomes quite repetitious over time, especially when events in an episode make it so any room could have something new in it, requiring players to go back and check every room they have access to for anything new.
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.
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.
That’s not to say it’s completely perfect. There is a little bit of that indie game jank, it’s not terribly long, and there are a few bugs here and there ranging from minor graphical ones to more major ones that halted my progress temporarily. Thankfully the devs are already hard at work on a patch, and while the main story may be short, I’ve managed to sink 20 hours in so far and I’m nowhere close to stopping.