Joseph Choi's Reviews
If you can tolerate your puzzle boxes beautifully rendered and charming rather than merciless, or just want to have a pleasant experience playing alongside a spectator, I suppose you could do worse than Luigi's Mansion 3.
Astral Chain definitely falls within the higher tiers of Platinum Games’ offerings. It boasts a wholly unique and fully-realized gameplay mechanic, above-average world-building and characters straight out of animé, a memorable soundtrack, and more than enough replay value, all glistened with a coat of polish that will have you itching for more, even once you’ve completed its twenty-odd-hour campaign.
Unfortunately, despite all it has going for it, Team Sonic Racing doesn't achieve its full potential. The track selection is far and away inferior to previous offerings. There are some standouts, but it feels like for each great track, there are two half-baked ones filled with recycled ideas that go on for far too long.
It’s a bit difficult to whole-heartedly recommend this digital iteration of Catan. Those new to the series might be better served by starting the old-fashioned way: with the tabletop game and a group of friends.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the series, recall enjoying the original game, or are just in the mood for a good, solid JRPG, I highly recommend Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition. I know it scratched my JRPG itch.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a Super Smash Bros. game, you surely won’t go wrong with Ultimate. It’s one of the most ambitious fighting games of all time, and certainly among the top mascot crossover games in any genre. Ultimate is one for the ages.
Tetris Effect expands the appeal of the puzzle genre and introduces cool new mechanics, all without sacrificing or compromising the core gameplay of one of the best and most iconic games of all time. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve ever been bitten by the Tetris bug in the past, or have enjoyed Mizuguchi’s past experiments in synesthesia, you can’t go wrong with Tetris Effect.
If there was ever any doubt that Super Mario Odyssey would be anything less than the gold star of Nintendo’s recent gaming Renaissance, then let me lay those fears to rest, because I consider this to be one of the most joyous, polished, and inventive games in the entire Super Mario series. Even with literally hundreds of Moons, Super Mario Odyssey is so full of unique ideas and challenges, it rarely repeats itself. I found myself addicted to the sense of anticipation and excitement I’d feel every time I entered a warp pipe or hat-door.
With a few caveats, Nidhogg 2 is the kind of sequel I had hoped developer Mark Essen and Messhoff Games would make. It’s an evolution of what made the original great that keeps most of its best elements, and doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It takes the series into more of a 16-bit style. It also mixes up the formula a little bit, with a host of lush new environments, new weapons, and silly-looking, customizable characters.
This game’s critical success should be a wake-up call for Sega to rethink their approach to Sonic in general. Although I can’t speak from the perspective of someone who didn’t grow up on Sonic, I truly believe this game boasts cross-generational appeal. Anyone who appreciates challenging, well-designed 2D platforming should find a lot to love here.