Road Redemption is a violent, but wacky successor to the Road Rash franchise born in the 90s. It's an “over-the-top” biker beat'em up that has some buggy moments, but they make for some of the more entertaining points. If you like the pacing of rogue-likes in a beat'em up wrapper, Road Redemption is worth swinging a pipe at.
While the creation of Dig Dog is a true underdog tale, the game stands on its own four feet - wagging tail and all. It's highly accessible to players of all skill ranges, but offers a challenging sandbox to play in. Overall, if you are looking for a classic arcade-style digger with a fun ambiance, Dig Dog is a very, very good boy.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of every Warhammer 40,000 game is to capture the scope of a massive universe with fidelity to its rich content which has influenced countless sci-fi titles while adapting to the high expectations of modern gamers. In this regard, Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor - Martyr fights a bloody battle, emerging victorious, but not unscarred. It is flawed and imperfect, but I adore it for what it is: a solid Warhammer 40,000 game which draws game mechanics from its source material and brings the grim darkness of the 41st millennium into a different medium.
After nearly two decades without a flight-centric Star Wars game, Star Wars: Squadrons bursts onto the scene to fulfill the other sci-fi fantasy: the one where you become an ace pilot!
Personally, I am loving my experiences in Appalachia. It has been a great point of connection with friends and family. And that, to me, is almost… not quite, but almost heaven.
At its heart, this is a street-level view with a focus on people and their relationship more than the politics of the situation - which is saying something with the amount of historical content found within. It reveals a timeless truth that we would be careful to heed in our heightened cultural climate: the fires of revolution always burn hot, but they are uninhibited in who or what they consume.
Before you pick this game up, know what you are getting yourself into. It gets messy and you may only play it once. This is not a game you play for the fun, but for the feelings. So, be open to getting a little uncomfortable… and don’t blame the onions, it’s ok if you tear up a bit.
Without spoiling any more of the story, Inked will take you on an adventure of grief, loss, and healing. It does, as stated in the beginning, what good art should do: provoke thought and feeling. It is gorgeous in its presentation, but flawed in some of the execution of its gameplay features and controls. Even with its flaws, Inked is a satisfyingly paced game with a descent length of around 4 - 5 hours that throws new challenges at you as you play.
If you are looking for a deep Metroidvania game that will challenge you with hours of gameplay, La-Mulana 2 is worth checking out. It is a faithful recreation of the classic genre while telling a fresh story. The characters within have a fun sense of humor that will keep you entertained in the midst of the action. Even though the controls are not perfect, after a few hours of play, I found them less frustrating over time.
If you like challenging strategy and don't mind learning the game's systems and unit counters, The Legend of Evil is a light-hearted spoof on classic hero versus evil tropes.
If you are looking for an uncensored, no punches pulled platformer with a healthy heap one-liners and fast flying bullets, Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition may just be your on-the-go ticket to the past. Be forewarned: it is a trippy ride with some bumps along the way. However, some experiences from the past are worth revisiting in all of their awkwardness and discomfort. They may just remind us how much we have grown… or how much we still love a good fart joke.
Alphaman is worth the trip to a not-so-far-off into the 20XXs.
Since its release, Minecraft has been inspiring generations to use their imagination in order to create and to harness the collaborative possibilities that the game’s universe presents to the player. In the vacuum of story or purpose, Telltale Games seeks to draw our curiosities back into the pixelated world of blockheads once more to discover the hero that lies within, the calamity to defeat, and a pig that’s people, too.
Bubsy is a cat-out-of-time trying to find his fit in a world that’s memories of him haven’t been too endearing. Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a moderately enjoyable game, but it just out of place within it’s current price bracket. Aside from the price, there are moments where Bubsy’s commentary feels rather forced (occasionally annoying), but other times he delivers one-liners that made me chuckle. It feels like Bubsy is trying too hard to be Deadpool-esque in relevancy and self-awareness.
At its core, At Sundown is an entertaining indie game that is fast-paced and fun without requiring a hefty system to run it. Its main game mechanic of using light and shadows is interesting, but the lack of ability to see where your player is can stifle the enjoyment of the game itself.
Summer in Mara reminds me of a mash-up between The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and My Time In Portia. It has a charming mixture of bright colors and whimsical music that encapsulates the world you are immersed within, in all of its child-like wonder.
If you like highly challenging rogue-like games with unique role-playing elements, Soulblight may be a game that scratches that masochistic itch that few games do. Its Taints system is different than any other roleplaying system that I have seen used before.
It is good for short commutes to and from work and the Nintendo Switch IS both a living room console and a handheld portable. Maybe it will grow on me. But for now, it just leaves me in the Void.
If you like strategy games and are really into ancient Japanese legends, Haunted Dungeon: Hyakki Castle takes art and story from the Edo period to create a unique strategy game. While it was not entirely my speed (it does put the crawl in "dungeon crawl"), it is a break from the frantic pacing of many dungeon crawlers with a central mechanic adds creative possibilities to puzzle solving and combat.
If you enjoy the Final Fantasy series and are looking for a team-based brawler for some competitive play or just want to kick back with some decently intelligent AI team mates, DISSIDIA Final Fantasy is worth checking out after the $60 USD price drops a bit. Even if you aren’t big into fighting games, there isn’t a steep learning curve to it and there is something satisfying about building your best Final Fantasy draft and letting them rumble in glorious combat.