Who knew that playing SpongeBob SquarePants: The Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated would deliver such a solid dose of nostalgia? But deliver it does. Having played both versions of the game in the past week, I can attest that this is a rock-solid remake of fun but somewhat flawed game. You take the bad with the good on this one, but for the most part Bikini Bottom holds up surprisingly well.
Iron Man VR succeeds wildly in its mission to put players into Tony Stark's iconic suit of armor. Flying and doing battle is amazing, and even more amazing is the way that players are immersed in Tony Stark's narcissistic psyche. With story-telling without peer in the VR space, and amazing battle sequences, Iron Man VR verges on being the perfect VR game. Only the ridiculous load times are preventing this from being the greatest of all time.
Crayta is a remarkable game-creation game/tool, with just enough fun structure built around it to keep the proceedings light and fun. Crayta is built to appeal to builders of all skill levels, providing simple controller-based construction for newcomers, while allowing skilled users to dig right down into code. While a few starter games are provided by Unit 2, they aren't really the point. Time will tell what the community builds out of Crayta, but the tools are certainly there for this platform to spawn some amazing things.
With two distinct but well-integrated strategy modes, Brigandine offers a huge amount of gameplay that feels both old school and fresh at the same time. A fantastic tutorial eases new players into the game with little friction, and the seeming complexity becomes quickly manageable. While the graphics are nothing to write home about, the care taken in each story thread is evident, and the tactical gameplay offers a ton of replay value. Brigandine is an utterly unique offering on Switch, and should appeal to RPG fans and strategy buffs alike.
Wave Break puts a lot of barriers up to keep players from enjoying it. The disconnect between the visuals and the difficulty will likely be jarring for many players. But sticking with this game yields some great rewards, and the feeling of accomplishment you get is absolutely worth the struggle to succeed.
Beyond Blue is an educational game that delivers its lessons in a very relaxing manner. Players spend most of the game swimming around and looking at fish, and that's totally fine. Though it doesn't nail the story, that's not really the point – the documentary footage is informative and interesting. Beyond Blue is well worth the time for those curious about the depths of the sea, and the subtle ecological lessons it teaches are valuable enough to overlook its shortcomings.
XCOM 2 is, at five years old, a stone cold classic.
Maneater is a solid first entry in a new open world RPG franchise. Repetitive missions and some fairly severe framerate issues hold the game back a bit, but overall Maneater is a good bit of summertime gaming fluff. You can't beat the feeling of chomping people at the beach, and Maneater provides just what gamers are looking for – fun carnage with just enough structure to keep players motivated.
Hotel R'n'R allows players to engage in an ultimate fantasy – being a rock star and smashing up a hotel room. With solid controls and a fun game loop, Hotel R'n'R will call players back again and again for one more round – even if the progression feels a bit slow. This is a solid game with a wicked sense of humor. If you suspect that you will like Hotel R'n'R even a little, I'm here to tell you that you will love it. Rock on.
The Inner Friend is a game with interesting ambitions that doesn't quite gel together into a cohesive whole. While elements of the game (music and creature design) are quite stellar, other areas (puzzles, controls) suffer enough to hold the game back from what it could have been. The Inner Friend is still worth a look as an interesting experiment, just go in forewarned about the parts that don't work so well.
GORN is a bloody good time, arriving right at the moment when we need it most. Some strategy is hidden beneath all of the gore and carnage, though you might find yourself just dipping into GORN to bash some heads for a few minutes. While there are some technical limitations brought on by the PlayStation Camera, GORN works pretty well on the PSVR. As both a workout and a psychological enema, GORN succeeds wildly.
Pixel Ripped 1995 pulls off a remarkable magic trick, slamming players back in time to the gaming days of the mid-90s. With brain-twisting challenges and a solid dose of nostalgic delight, Pixel Ripped 1995 is an amazing romp through the games of yesteryear, combined with amazing modern mechanics. Highly recommended.
Get Packed is a wild multiplayer title, challenging players to pack a moving van while wrestling with some seriously destructive physics. Even in single player, the game is a good time, but in multiplayer Get Packed comes to life. Fans of games that cause them to yell at their friends should have a great time here, as this is a polished example of the genre.
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners' production values and atmosphere outweigh by far any videogame tropes and flaws that might weigh down the experience. This is a tough (and very scary) game, and every system in the game is built to support the idea that you are lone wolf in a very hostile world. Saints and Sinners understands its franchise, and is the scariest The Walking Dead has ever been.
Down the Rabbit Hole is a very unique take on its Wonderland source material, literally sending players down a dark, diorama-filled rabbit hole. With fun puzzles and a breezy atmosphere, Down the Rabbit Hole is an amazing – if brief – good time. As much time as you have spent in Wonderland, I guarantee that you have never seen it like this.
Make War's bizarre alien interference on historic battlefields gameplay is fun on several levels, but the interface is broken beyond any level of acceptability. With a great concept and super-sticky gameplay, this game is likely incredibly addictive on PC. But due to poor implementation on Switch, you'll get frustrated and quit before you experience the game's many simple pleasures.
With tons of character customization options and non-irritating procedurally-generated level design, Dread Nautical has enough meat on it to justify several playthroughs. Tactics fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up.
Spuds Unearthed has a lot of cool elements, but they unfortunately don't add up to a very compelling game. Plagued by overly complex interface elements and a very flimsy structure, the core gameplay just isn't interesting enough to keep players coming back for more.
Beyond the bewildering decision to exclude multiplayer (and some truly awful characters), Trials of Mana is a very basic action RPG that might be good for kids or newcomers to the genre. Playing the game isn't unpleasant, though it puts up very little fight for experienced players. Know what you are getting into, turn your brain off (and the character voices down), and you may enjoy cruising through its very surface-level gameplay for a weekend.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a wondrous exploration of the original, with fantastic writing, performances, and production values. However, an overindulgence in cut scenes and an extremely linear path through the game causes some serious sag in the middle chapters. A fine experience, but perhaps best viewed as a prelude to things to come.