Chris Compendio's Reviews
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet takes the familiar trappings of the mainline series and overextends them while supporting its structure and foundation with duct tape and silly putty. Scarlet and Violet promises to add more to the core Pokémon formula, but all it truly adds is more square footage. It’s a game that invites unflattering comparisons to other open-world video games, current and past, and even ones from Nintendo itself.
If you’ve played the bulk of the previous Jackbox games, and you are down to roleplay, make your friends laugh, speak up, think hard, and take your time, then The Jackbox Party Pack 9 should have at least a few games to engage you.
Splatoon 3 isn’t just another sequel — it’s the best version of Nintendo’s boldest franchise in years.
RiffTrax: The Game is still funny — it will just be dependent on you to make it funny enough.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a frantic game about violence and tension. The most defining moment for its gameplay is running away in fear from a larger Alpha Pokémon, whilst you haphazardly toss Pokéballs at smaller, unsuspecting Pokémon in your path. Despite the grind, I felt motivated to catch these mons, rather than dreading random encounters like in previous games.
Windjammers 2 is a curious case — it’s inviting to all players with its easy concept, but becomes a steep rabbit hole of skill creep as you discover its ins and outs.
Despite its mechanical flaws, in depicting a story of flawed characters, it’s hard to pass up on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. This title feels free of franchise-building and shady business practices. While it tries to ape on your familiarity with the property, it somehow all stands on its own. The visuals, lovable characters, and the promise of hijinx in space are inviting, but within this off-beat exterior is a solid emotional core.
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 will probably not be the end of the line for this series, and even though the games today are far more complicated than something you’d see from the first or second packs, iteration is the key to a fun pack of games. Gather your friends together (if it’s safe) and get cracking on uncovering the intricacies and strategies of these games — hopefully with a ton of laughter in between.
Regardless, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl serves as an example of how surgical marketing can be, feeding competitive players with specific bullet points while trying to cast a wide net with its popular IP. Playing it may certainly make you smile, and moments of hype can follow. But in the end, it’s an extended meme at best and a monument to capitalistic cynicism at worst.
Colorful brawler Super Crush KO has a lovely art style, a great sense of humor, and tense sidescrolling brawling that should charm anyone.
A magnificent blend of genres makes Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order a solid game, but technical hitches prevent it from taking the high ground.
Night School Studio's Afterparty falls short of greatness, with an unrewarding narrative, underutilized gameplay concepts, and technical issues.
Despite being built from previously-used parts, The Jackbox Party Pack 6 is still one of the more solid and consistent collections.
Side-scrolling sequel Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair has creative ideas, assuming you have the patience to wrangle with its difficulty.
Short, sweet, and simple, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a package of positivity, with music and visuals that will sure to win anyone over.
House House's Untitled Goose Game is undoubtedly a hilarious experience, but it lacks a varied toolset to maximize said hilarity.
Pinball-inspired dungeon crawler/hack-and-slash Creature in the Well is short, sweet, and satisfying, whatever that word means.
Until Dawn follow-up Man of Medan has amazing ideas in the cooperative space but collapses under the weights of performance issues.
WOAH! Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a fun remake that plays well, with weaknesses being unlockables and the Crash property itself.
Possibly the most original puzzle game in recent memory, Baba is You is also an exercise in frustration and stretched-out logic.