Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition presents a promising concept, but a lack of features to support either dedicated speedrunners or any sort of serious online competition limits the package's appeal. There's certainly fun to be had revisiting this lineup of golden oldies, but Nintendo has only scored a bronze at the Nostalgia Olympics this time around.
It’s easy to see why Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD stood out in its original form on the 3DS, and even today, there’s plenty of reason to like the green guy’s spooktacular sophomore outing. That said, limited efforts to update the original material, particularly some of the game’s more frustrating structural and design choices, makes this Mansion feel just a bit creaky.
While Still Wakes the Deep offers up its fair share of thrills, railroad-style level design, a short runtime, and a surprisingly superficial story result in an experience that may entertain in the moment, but will likely be forgotten rather quickly. Still Wakes the Deep may well float your boat at a discount, but there are better, scarier fish in the sea.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is a solidly-conceived asymmetric multiplayer horror game, but a lack of polish and content means it’s unlikely to become a long term go-to for most fans of the genre. There’s some quick and easy fun to be had with Killer Klowns, but a $40 entry fee and an uncertain future make these cheap laughs feel a bit overpriced.
While the new Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door preserves the gonzo charm that made the original game a cult classic, not a lot has been done to deal with its padding and other design quirks. If you’re a hardcore Thousand-Year Door fan, worry not, you’re going to love this spiffy new version. If you’re new to the game or weren’t entirely sold the first time around, you’re still likely to find plenty to enjoy here, but you may also notice a few tattered edges.
Endless Ocean Luminous offers some agreeable laid-back moments, but a lack of depth and complexity, even compared to the 15-year-old Wii entries in the series, waters down the game’s appeal. Endless Ocean Luminous was always destined to be a niche product, but even the diehards may find the game’s narrow focus on procedural generation and unexceptional online play over almost anything else a bit fishy.
Sand Land is a fitting farewell to Akira Toriyama as the game elevates itself above most digital adaptations of his work, delivering a well-presented story, solid action, and satisfying exploration. Some aspects of the game’s design may be a bit overfamiliar for open-world veterans, but newer players and fans just looking to explore a fresh world from the master will likely enjoy burying themselves in this sandy adventure.
With engaging puzzles in the mix, I truly believe Harold Halibut could have joined the pantheon of great classic-style adventure games. As is, it’s a title that consistently kept me hooked over the course of its 7-to-8-hour story but didn’t fully reel me in like the very best of the genre.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a treat, offering fun, approachable, and excitingly diverse gameplay as well as the most appealing (and downright cool) version of Nintendo's heroine to date. The game is fairly brief and has some performance hiccups, but its target audience of younger players, and those just wanting to see Peach ditch the damsel role, will likely be too busy applauding her latest turn in the limelight to care.
Alone in the Dark is the best entry in the franchise in over two decades, although there wasn’t much competition for that title. So-so combat, technical issues, and a frustrating lack of consistency sometimes cast a shadow over the game, and yet, there’s still something enticing here. The game’s intricately-designed Derceto Manor hub, thick Lovecraftian atmosphere, and surprisingly-varied level design ought to be enough to light a spark of enthusiasm in some hardcore survival horror fans’ dark hearts.
With the release of WWE 2K24 this series no longer feels like a carny outcast amongst the other big sports franchises. While the game’s core action could stand to be even further refined, fun new mechanics, match types, and a fully-developed suite of modes, including significantly improved Showcase and MyGM offerings, are worth cheering for. While maybe not quite the total package just yet, WWE 2K24 feels like it’s ready for the bright lights.
It can be difficult to square the decade-plus Skull and Bones development cycle with its lack of features in some areas, but this isn’t the wreck many expected it to be. The game’s naval combat is simple yet engaging, its world is striking, ship customization is satisfying, and there are plenty of varied things to do, even if most of them don’t involve getting off your ship. Skull and Bones can be repetitive and it doesn’t exactly capture that devil-may-care pirate lifestyle, but keep expectations in check and there’s fun to be had sailing these pleasantly predictable seas.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong may lack the razzle dazzle of its stars’ more recent games, but this remake still has the power to hook players with its tried-and-true retro platforming and a finely-tuned difficulty curve that culminates in some challenges that will truly test your mind and reflexes. Those who have played the original Mario vs. DK to death may not find quite enough new content here, but lapsed fans and new players are in for a barrel of fun.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has a sprinkling of that classic Rocksteady charm, delivering polished visuals, fluid traversal and combat, and some snappy repartee, but the whole experience is bogged down by dreary, repetitive mission design, empty live service elements, and a feel-bad story that’s mean-spirited to the point of feeling oddly resentful. Perhaps most damning, not even the thing promised in the game’s title – fighting and dispatching the Justice League – ends up being particularly fun or memorable. Those who really want to see what becomes of the Arkhamverse may not be able to resist picking this up, but I suggest waiting for a steep discount before subjecting yourself to this tedious team-up.
Another Code: Recollection may seem a bit quaint compared to some of the visual novels and narrative adventures that have come along since Cing’s games helped reinvigorate those genres, but there’s an undeniable easygoing charm to these stories, characters, and world. This collection also completely revamps the original games’ puzzles, usually for the better, meaning even Cing veterans are in for a fresh experience. Another Code: Recollection may not break much new ground, but it satisfyingly evokes memories of a simpler time.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a remarkable achievement in many ways, bringing a cinematic world to life on a massive, technically-impressive scale like few games have done before. Unfortunately, limited, frustrating combat means the game isn’t always that fun to play once you bump into the RDA. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s world is worth experiencing if you’re a fan of James Cameron’s movies, but as the franchise often reminds us, sky people ruin beautiful things.
Super Mario RPG is a lovingly-crafted remake that retains the original’s peculiar off-brand charm, appealing combat, and varied level design while subtly tinkering with numerous elements to make the game more palatable for modern players.
WarioWare: Move It! is a touch too clever for its own good, taking a concept that’s best when kept simple and drowning it in fussy unreliable motion controls and overelaborate microgames. There are still some flashes of that old anarchic fun here, but even those who have loved past WarioWare games may find this vacation-themed entry a bad trip.
EA Sports UFC 5 doles out impressive blood-soaked Frostbite visuals and a double-dose of M-rated attitude, but don’t let the new swagger sway you. While the action remains satisfying enough, it hasn’t evolved in any significant way, and a lack of compelling content continues to be an issue for the series. UFC 5 may deliver the razzle dazzle, but it needs to work on its fundamentals.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the plumber’s best platformer this generation. We haven’t been able to say that of a 2D Mario for a long time, but this game measures up to the best and most beloved side-scrollers Nintendo has ever made, delivering joyously-creative level design and rock-solid platforming in a gorgeous wrapper.