Alexander Morningstar
Drawful 2 is still just as fun as the first, and more fun with the ability to create personalized prompts in games. But if you're looking to get more bang for your buck stick to the first title, because Drawful 2 doesn't seem to live up to changing much in the way of a sequel. It provides more of the same fun, and it's hard to fault it for that because the base game is a wild time at parties.
It's mindless fun, with enough addictive strategy to keep playing. I loved weaving through the hundreds of enemies (whether they were zombies, spiders, or something in-between) so I could reach a power-up orb at the last second, to suddenly fry everything around me with a flame thrower. It's a great time all around, and if you have the itch, give it a try.
And the puzzles aren't bad. It does hiccup with a few control issues and puzzle-design mishaps, but I still think it's worth playing through if you're interested. Just be sure to have a small light on nearby.
While the introductory RC Car is a quick 10-minute build, the other four (Motorbike, Piano, Fishing Rod, and House) are much more involved.
It's clear that a lot shown in Figment is not what the focus of the experience, it's the puzzles, which don't always stick the landing. A handful of exceptions crop up, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. Check out Figment if you're interested in taking on a puzzle adventure indie, with some cute visual touches, and can handle a little puzzle fatigue.
It doesn't do anything revolutionary for the genre, playing it safe in all regards. It has a lot of content in an enjoyable package. The loop of short, quick play sessions is addicting, and an experience I did not expect to have as much fun with as I did.
The story isn't super deep, but it's not trying to be. This is a fun take on a villain doing what old-school villains have always done, and the thought process around that. If you're into simpler platformers that don't eat up a lot of time, and want some charming characters, Nefarious might just be for you.
Butcher is violent, fun, frantic, crazy…etc. It's short, but a good play for the value. There are a good amount of options available, and it's definitely got heart (granted, it's dripping in blood). If you're into the Doom series, or you've played other games like Quake, this game is definitively in that vein.
Not quite a Telltale-level game, but also not something to pass up. The beautiful visuals, characters, and choices are why I came back to it. And with that radio you just can't "turn that down".
But, those challenges are all in the later half of the journey, so getting to them will be a chore. I think all of the concepts here, warrant a sequel, that I would gladly come back to. A few tweaks here and there, would assist in the overall experience, but all in all I recommend checking into The Penrose for a few puzzling nights.
In the end, L.A. Noire holds up. It's a little odd to play as an open world game because of it's strong focus on story, but the immersion is unreal.
It plays great, it's hard to beat but addicting. There's enough content to enjoy looking for, and I honestly think that it's a well-designed game for what it is. It's small, and uses a lot of the same enemies, but that's a huge nitpick on what I think is a great game.
Squids Odyssey has a lot of great content available to play from the get-go, and it's a really fun summer title to keep coming back to in the midst of all the other heavy hitters.
I really recommend playing this game. It's a quick play, doesn't overstay its welcome, and is packed with a lot of love and charm.
The story is great, the music is fine, and the game runs well in both docked and handheld mode. Night in the Woods did not really leave me with a lot of complaints. So if you're interested in trying out a well-written story that is fairly relaxing in gameplay to get through, but also want to immerse yourself in an environment along the lines of something like Oxenfree, then Night in the Woods is definitely a must-have.