Paul Broussard's Reviews
Bravely Default 2 still winds up my favorite game in the Bravely series largely due to the improvements in writing, and I’d recommend it to nearly any JRPG fan, but the series hasn’t managed to quite hit every note yet.
Ancient Gods - Part Two is a step in the right direction, even if id Software did somewhat throw the baby out with the bathwater when it came to balancing.
I can’t say that I personally view Rise as the ultimate culmination of years of Monster Hunting progress as some reviewers seem to, but if you’ve enjoyed previous hunting outings then you'll absolutely feel right at home here.
Somehow, Obsidian managed to create DLC for its decision-based RPG that contains only one meaningful decision and virtually no character specialization, so what we're left with is a watered-down first person shooter add-on that's a letdown on every front.
Ver 1.22 had the chance to take a cult classic and make it one of the best games in recent memory, but instead I'm left wondering what could have been; just like eleven years ago.
Just Die Already is a game principally about killing people, but which fails to make the killing fun or satisfying in any way, and as a result presents about as much utility as a power drill made out of wet cardboard.
There’s potential here for something interesting, but potential can only carry you so far... which is up until the point when you get softlocked and have to alt + tab the game.
There’s certainly a lot that Returnal does right and, if nothing else, it is genuinely interesting to see an AAA take on roguelites.
There’s no denying that the series ends on a miserable note, but for what it’s worth, the Legendary Edition reminded me why I was so engrossed in this series over a decade ago.
$40 for three titles that are still fun to play and are decent representations of the originals isn’t bad value by any means, especially if you’ve never experienced them before or don't own the consoles necessary to play the older versions. It’s just a shame that so little effort seems to have been put into fixing the problems that did exist with these games.
Scarlet Nexus is, overall, a good experience, thanks to some interesting combat design and well thought out characters, although its limited gameplay reach and muddled story mean that it’s hard for me to praise it beyond that.
There are a few interesting ideas with some potential but they're never get put to full use, and there's nowhere near enough content to justify the asking price.
Ace Attorney has already more than proven itself as one of the best narrative series in gaming, but sooner or later it needs to address the issues prevalent with its gameplay design.
Blightbound is a title without much of an identity to flaunt; it’s utterly devoid of anything that could make it stand out amidst the usual crowd of Steam dungeon crawlers, and it features numerous technical issues that hold over from its long stay in Early Access.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is probably what I deserve for getting my hopes up. But just like my plans for Summer of 2020, my hopes have been taken from me and ejected into the cold vacuum of space.
Iki Island is a solid and vastly improved product over the base game, featuring an excellent aesthetic, some solid content, and much-needed improvements from patches made to the original material.
Deathloop is a good game that's just a little too afraid to fully take its hands off the wheel and let the player drive.
Lost Judgment has, perhaps fittingly, somewhat lost itself. It’s focused so much on cleaning up the gameplay that it forgot what really gave Yakuza its appeal to begin with; the charm and soul of the writing, setting, and characters.
Between the rock solid exploration and atmosphere, the incredible boss fights, and the solid tension building of the EMMIs, Dread is probably the definitive 2D Metroidvania of the 21st century.
The core combat is slow and lacks variety, the story and artistic elements of the game don’t add much, and the mission design makes this an experience that's about as enjoyable as being thrown into the pathway of an oncoming 18 wheeler.