There is more to this game, a lot more, but I just don't care. Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! can be played for hundreds of hours, but these are hours I want to spend with something I actually like. There are a lot of facets here, including quests I can take, a bizarre Fortify feature, an art studio where I can customize characters and gear, and time challenges for each of the dungeons that make up the story mode. Again, all of that I should enjoy, and yet it just does nothing for me. If you can get into this game — and I recommend you play the demo before you buy — you'll probably have a lot more fun than I did. Which is to say you'll have any amount of fun at all.
Mario Sports Superstars is like a coworker everybody hates because they do just enough work to not get fired. It’s not a good game, not by a long shot, but it does just enough right that I can’t in good conscience call it outright bad. What I can call it is a lazy experience, one developed solely for the purpose of selling what are basically Mario-branded Topps cards. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to pour myself another drink.
The building blocks for something wonderful are there. I think the combination of Minecraft and farming is a winner, but more attention needs to be paid to the activities outside of planting and pulling crops if Harvest Moon ever wants to compete with the superior farm sims out there.
The big adventure of Demetrios isn’t all that cynical, but it certainly is forgettable. I can’t say the game is bad, because it’s not, but also I certainly wouldn’t tell you it’s good. Instead, it’s nothing more than a name added to a list of titles I’ve beaten, and it will never be anything more than that.
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is probably not a game you should buy.
An Exercise in apathy, neither solid nor liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit 'meh,' really.
Like I said at the top of this review, your enjoyment of Balan Wonderworld is going to depend on your tolerance for primitive 3D level design. Strip away the unnecessary costumes and their poorly implemented management system - and fire those Balan's Bouts into the sun - and you might have a nice throwback to a more experimental time of platform gaming, one that would be easier to recommend. But sadly, you can't just strip those elements away. They're here, and they're ruining what is otherwise an enjoyable rewind to the golden era of the mascot platformer.
The worst thing I can say about Calico is that it's undeveloped. While the entire experience can be described as relaxing, running the cat café isn't all that interesting and most of the tasks you'll complete for island residents boil down to the same two or three objective types. Anytime you're doing something other than those two activities, it's rather aimless. While its basic premise doesn't have a strong enough foundation to carry the experience, Calico manages to luck out in that its undeveloped nature and general wonkiness add to its charm rather than subtract from it. The "cute factor" does a lot of heavy lifting, and I could almost argue a lot of the design elements here "think outside the box," but I worry I'd be giving too much credit to a game that's just not entirely well-made.
The Princess Guide is a game I enjoy less and less the more I play it. There is a sound structure here and some really clever ideas, but the weight of all its small issues really burden what should a fun and frivolous experience.
Despite being in development for eight or more years, Dragon Marked for Death could have actually used more time in the oven. I'm sure there is a great game buried somewhere in there but between its lack of balance, less-than-ideal controls, boring levels, and unfortunate co-op requirements, the end product isn't nearly up to the level of the rest of Inti Creates's catalog.
I'll admit right now I know I'm not the target demographic for this game. It's for kids, but just because something is aimed at a younger generation doesn't mean it shouldn't put forth its very best effort to be a worthwhile experience. This isn't a bad game and some of the activities can be quite fun when played with real people. But these sub-games have always been the side-dish to the single-player main course, and without a worthwhile entrée, Kirby Battle Royale feels deficient.
The people behind The Darkside Detective obviously know how to make individual parts of a game. The artwork is splendid, the music should be on rotation on my iPhone, and, barring a few bugs, the easy-to-grasp point-and-click gameplay works. Its issues lie in the writing, the element that should be the glue that holds the package together. Its lightweight, cornball comedy opts for cheap and easy jokes I never really find funny. I'm not expecting the brilliance of Rex Stout with every word, but maybe aim higher than something I'd read on a Bazooka Joe wrapper.
Legend of the Skyfish is an inoffensive, cute, and simple puzzle game. Perhaps too simple as it honestly feels like this shouldn't be on Steam but on one of the Leapfrog gaming devices. I can appreciate any developer that finds inspiration in The Legend of Zelda, but inspiration can only take you so far. You need a little perspiration too, and I just didn't see enough sweat in this game.
If you own a Vita and a PS4, and you absolutely must buy this game, get it on the more powerful console. The portable version doesn’t cut it, and even without the janky presentation, the game itself is bare bones as a strategy RPG. I have no doubt the Dynasty Warriors franchise would make a splendid SRPG, but this ain't it.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.