Tacoma introduces a solid roster of characters into a brilliantly realised way of viewing and interacting with a story, but wastes both on a narrative that is unfortunately fairly dull. And because this is an interactive narrative experience, Tacoma doesn’t really have anything else to fall back on. It’s an okay time that introduces a great new mechanic that I want to see more from in the future, but the experience itself sadly falls short.
Black & White Bushido is a game that’s hard to recommend. While its core fighting mechanics are sound, save for the confusion that can arise from its stealth systems and monochromatic presentation, it doesn’t really have a lot to keep you hooked. There’s no denying that a group of friends playing locally can have a good time, but it lacks any sort of staying power in single-player or online.
I truly love the underlying combat mechanics, but what really lets For Honor down is its gear system, which can grant players enormous benefits on the battlefield (especially those willing to spend cash on microtransactions). A subpar matchmaking system in these gear-enabled modes doesn’t help.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is an average but frustrating game.
It’s not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, and hardcore first-person shooter fans can find a lot to love here, but it can turn into a bit of a slog the further into the game you progress.
Once Firis has passed the exam and the game drops the time limit, Atelier Firis turns into a pretty good JRPG with some deep crafting mechanics but a fairly lacklustre combat system. To get to this point, however, requires a fairly substantial time commitment.
There’s an interesting premise at the heart of What Remains of Edith Finch – explore a house and get to know a bunch of characters by invading their personal space and seeing how they died. And the short stories themselves can be interesting, particularly the shifts and changes they bring to the otherwise standard first-person gameplay. But there’s very little attempt made outside of these short stories to actually connect the player with its many subjects. Too often I felt like I was simply going through the motions.
World to the West is a pretty good adventure held back by some fairly annoying flaws.
RiME is a beautiful game. There's no denying that its visuals are stunning and the soundtrack is fantastic. The presentation is spot on. Unfortunately the game that lies within this audiovisual marvel is lacking.
Little Nightmares is an excellent experience wrapped in a fairly frustrating game. The world that Tarsier Studios have constructed is excellent – trading on its dollhouse-like environments, terrifying antagonists and incredible audio to create an incredibly atmospheric and disturbing horror game. But this otherwise great presentation is let down badly by poorly implemented gameplay and a story that feels like it goes nowhere.
There’s the core of a great game here, and it’s still fun to smash a car into oncoming traffic and watch the ensuing chaos. But the game is focused on the wrong things, specifically its Smashbreaker and aftertouch mechanics, instead of just dumping you into a simulation of a motorway and told to go nuts. There’s still fun to be had in Danger Zone, but it’s unfortunately held back by this misplaced focus.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a very monotonous game. Solid gameplay mechanics quickly give way to empty repetition as the game never really varies its core gameplay loop at all during its running time. Regardless of your specific mission objectives, you’ll never break free from the endless cycle of clearing out buildings populated by the same enemies you were fighting ten hours ago.
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a decent Musou-style action game with a few drawbacks that can dull the experience. While the game’s story is kind of interesting, it’s weighed down by some clunky, poorly written dialogue.
Urban Empire is a game with a lot of promise that ultimately lets itself down due to a lack of depth in its core mechanics. While there are probably hundreds of ways each mechanic connects with each other, these connections are never explained to players, making the whole game feel inconsistent.
Drawn To Death is an interesting idea that has been poorly implemented. The art style is fantastic to look at, but it’s at odds with the gameplay and isn’t helped by a lacklustre HUD.
With just a little bit more variety and a lot less repetition, Agents of Mayhem could have been an entertaining game. It’s not a bad game, nor is it a particularly good one. There were pockets of fun in the game, for sure, but this is a mostly forgettable experience.
Has Been Heroes is an ultimately frustrating game. There’s the core of a great idea here with the lane-based strategic combat. Unfortunately developers Frozenbyte have piled on too many complicated systems for it to ever feel fun.