The Inpatient is a much quieter game than Until Dawn. It adopts a straight-faced tone, opting for psychological horror rather than grisly thrills. There's nothing wrong with that approach, but coming off the last game, it took some adjusting. I couldn't help but wish it was more, well, exciting. It's a technical marvel, but at times the experience feels hollow and uneventful. In the end, even though I'm glad to return to this universe, The Inpatient comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity.
Even if the game doesn't bring anything wholly new to the table for Portal fans and it leans on some filler toward the end, on the whole, I had a darn good time with this spin-off.
As much as I loathe this implementation of loot boxes, I still keep playing Battlefront II and I will probably continue to do so on and off. I mean, I do like the game. I just wish it wasn't being squandered like this. You'd be well-advised to wait until overhauls arrive -- assuming they ever do.
The Snipperclips DLC makes an already sweet game even sweeter. Most of the new levels slot perfectly into the existing package, bringing fresh ideas that feel right at home without covering too much of the same ground as before. If you're picking up the all-in Snipperclips Plus bundle, it can be hard to tell where the original game ends and the DLC begins -- it's that seamlessly integrated.
Those complaints aside, I enjoyed my time with The Mummy Demastered from near beginning to end. (My initial playthrough took four hours but I still have half of the 50 optional "relics" to suss out.) This game doesn't do anything meaningfully new or original for metroidvania fans, but everything here is solid and WayForward got the fundamentals right... in a licensed Mummy adaptation, of all things.
Not every single aspect of Everybody's Golf hits the mark, but so, so much of it does. It gets the most important parts right, and I'm hopeful we'll see some quality-of-life updates and advanced control options before long to help close the gap. Clap Hanz has dreamed up a wonderfully warmhearted game, one I encourage every would-be golfer to consider picking up.
With a longer run time and more complexity, Dino Frontier could've been the next great PlayStation VR game. As is, though, it's still high up there as one of my favorites for the headset. If you have Move controllers and want a light city-building sim to chill out with, jump on this right away.
Theseus feels like a small-team effort, and a middle-of-the-road one at that. The myth-turned-game concept is smart, but the execution and scope aren't where they need to be.
Fantastic Contraption isn't something I'll ever aspire to master or completely finish. Some people will, and they'll get a lot of mileage out of solving all 50 levels and pushing the basic toolset to its limits. For me, though, it's far more enjoyable as a laid-back, revisit-it-every-so-often toybox. Get in, narrowly clear a puzzle with a cobbled-together monstrosity, get out. That's how I roll, and while it's not exactly what I hoped and expected from this game, I can't complain too much. It's fun in spurts.
Really though, if you're playing this, you're doing so for the satisfying shooting and VR immersion (and because you probably sorely need something new for your PlayStation VR). It is what it is. If you've got the setup needed to make the most of this game, you could do a whole lot worse.
It takes a special type of high-score game for me to want to actually stick with it and start rivalries on the leaderboards. Pac-Man Championship Edition was one such game. Trials HD was another. Now, Nex Machina is my new obsession.
All told, this is a content-rich collection, one that is especially worth investing in for WipEout newcomers. Longtime players might feel fatigue from tracks that have seen repeated use over the years, but even then, I'd argue the audio and visual polish present in Omega Collection makes it worthwhile -- with or without a 4K-ready setup. The dream of the '90s is alive at PlayStation.
Even though it ended on a sour note for me with a few too many elements snowballing into an avalanche of hair-pulling frustration, on the whole, Polybius had me in a trance. I'm happy just thinking about it. PlayStation VR owners, Jeff Minter fans, and arcade enthusiasts need to get in on this.
Even though certain design elements aren't as streamlined, fleshed-out, or user-friendly as they could have been, part of me is just thankful Birthdays even got greenlit. Niche as it might be, I've wanted something like this for years, and despite my admittedly high expectations, I still came away impressed. I hope the game is able to find an audience, because it so clearly deserves one.
It's a testament to Statik's inventive puzzle design and clever complementary use of the DualShock 4 and PlayStation VR that even though I didn't care much for its story or aesthetic, it still won me over big time. If you're a PlayStation VR owner, you owe it to yourself to look into this game further.
Most everything is well-thought-out, polished, and delightful
All told, Shiness is an uneven adventure, but one I'm glad I undertook. While it's too ambitious for its own good, deep down, and despite some hard-to-overlook faults, you can just sense that this was a passion project. I'm not sure if Enigami will get to make a sequel, but if it does, I'd be up for it.
There's hope for Drawn to Death to grow into something more, and my fingers are crossed that it does. After not quite a week, I've just about had my fill and don't feel compelled to stick around for cosmetic unlocks earned from drawn-out blind boxes. With new modes and characters, another pass at balancing, and some matchmaking options, I could see myself coming back. Until then, I'm good.
If you're new to World of Goo, there's no shortage of people who will plead its case or platforms to play on. I'm right there with them. After all these years, it remains a delight from damn near top to bottom.
Snipperclips is a terrifically charming package. It's one of those rare games I can flat-out recommend to everyone because odds are you'll have a blast with it, and so will anyone you share it with. If you're a Nintendo Switch owner, this deserves to be your next game after Zelda.