Troubleshooter is ugly, mechanically shallow, stylistically mundane and lacks any kind of innovation. Without a framing or story to give it meaning, it looks like a hodgepodge of assets thrown together with some barely working systems and mechanics built around them. The design flaws are numerous, the soundtrack irritating and it is quite frankly the worst game I’ve played in 2020.
I’m sure those who loved The Wonderful 101 the first time around will get a kick out of playing this game again on modern day consoles with nicer visuals. For those that hadn’t experienced it before though, this remaster feels like an artifact from a bygone age that couldn’t adapt to a new set of input’s without the Wii U controller. The combat and concept are still sound 7 years on. Everything else needed to be reworked or tweaked further.
The small hitches and spotty audio don’t spoil what is an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable narrative. The diverse cast of characters, showing more inclusivity than any other romance visual novel on the PS4, is certainly welcome. Arcade Spirit is tightly written, with only a hand full of lulls, but plenty of heart and a tonne of quirk. While it’s not going to be challenging the greats in the visual novel genre, It’ll surely raise a smile or 10 on your face.
John Wick Hex isn’t your traditional movie tie-in game. Whereas so many others take a franchise and shoe horn it into a genre, Bithell Games have taken John Wick under a microscope, examined its DNA and gamified the essence of it. It’s an ingenious take on what it means to be the Baba Yaga, an efficient killing machine that’s as human as the next guy but fights like an assassin savant.
If you’re a veteran of Solomon’s Key and are desperate for more, Ghost Sweeper will provide you with what feels like the levels from the 1980’s classic that didn’t make the cut. The mechanics and enemy types have been recreated with a spit shine for modern TV’s and having a second playable character is a nice touch. Compared to modern day puzzle platformers though, Ghost Sweeper feels like a relic from the past that needed more of a refresh that simply updated visuals.
Non-violent yet regularly thrilling, it has a surprisingly powerful story that takes a little too long to draw you in, but eventually pays off. The vast majority of the puzzles, mostly based on scouring the environment for clues and thinking outside of the box, are well designed to offer just enough of a challenge without feeling over complex.
The Inner Friend is a short but sweet experience that will give back as much as you put into it. You’ve got to read between the lines with this game and if you like your narratives to have a clear structure, you’ll likely bounce right off this. If you like a game to challenge you, to make you think and maybe, just maybe, make you feel something, then The Inner Friend is certainly worth a look. Some sticky platforming sections aside, it’s a thrilling and occasionally chilling game that’s truly artistic in its vision.
Ancient Enemy is a chilled out take on Solitaire underneath a RPG card battler. It’s not the longest of games, the narrative is a little rote and if you really dig into the mechanics early on, you can find combinations of attacks and special abilities that make the game a touch too early. That being said, it looks fantastic, sets a brooding tone through its music and writing and, as card battlers go, is really quite enjoyable to play.
Super Toy Cars 2 is one of the worst examples of this genre I’ve played in the past few years (surprisingly not the worst). The visuals, much improved over its predecessor and a decent soundtrack are its only saving graces.
MotoGP 20 is a game developed for its existing fans and the lack of any kind of tutorial is testament to that. This game isn’t trying to win over anyone new (or, if it is, isn’t going to do a good job with it). Instead, this is a cracking racing sim that’s a celebration of the MotoGP heroes through the Historic Mode and a gaze into a bizzaro alternative universe where the GP’s actually went ahead this year. It looks great, handles even better and once you’ve got used to its particular idiosyncrasies, it’s a whole lot of fun to play.
The journey from PC’s to PS4 has not been a kind one on Construction Simulator 3 – Console Edition. The lack of control inputs has made using the generous real-world excavators and heavy machinery a bit of an unnecessary chore. Fighting the camera in any game isn’t fun and you might be doing that a lot here. Those with the patience to can forgive its foibles and push through the issues that Construction Sim 3 has though will be rewarded with that strangely therapeutic and relaxing game play loop.
A futuristic whodunit set in an open world, The Casebook of Arkady Smith has far too much filler, not enough "find the killer".
An all star cast and a lighthearted, almost comedic tone aren’t enough to save Real Heroes: Firefighters from mediocrity on PS4. The fire visual really underline the age of the original game, as does the AI. Among environments that have been spruced up for 2020, it’s quite jarring.
When Totally Reliable Delivery Service is working as it’s supposed too, it’s a hoot. It’s a visually simplistic but colourful game with chilled out backing music and a really simplistic gameplay loop that even a 3-year-old can understand.
Gigantosaurus is a game that gives children what they want - a game that's got as much complexity and depth as those that the adults get, that's polished and not a buggy mess and doesn't just tear up the source material. It contains all the classic 3D platforming tropes and manages to cater to players of all skill levels while it does so.
Polished to the nth degree, visually sublime and with a soundtrack that’ll get your heart racing, it’s a thrilling game from bloody beginning to gory end.
There’s a cool art style here, with a pumping soundtrack that’ll have you tapping your foot until you get bored of everything else this game lacks. It’s that lack of content that hampers Super Destronaut: Land Wars in the long run, with all manner of goals unconvincingly re-badged as more than just “shoot things” which just won’t keep you entertained for long.
Bikers and those who know the heritage of the Isle of Man TT will get a real kick out of this game. It goes out of its way to put this seminal race on the pedestal it deserves and backs all of that up by building a mightily impressive racing game around it. It’s not perfect – I’d have liked to see some other models like sidecar races included – but what is here is very, very impressive indeed.
This game won’t even be a footnote in the history of the genre but if you can stomach the repetition, it might kill a few hours between other titles.
t’s a cheap and cheerful title and while it’s not going to be challenging the giants of the genre in terms of narrative or immersion, it has enough charm to carry itself through its run time.