It all ends up coming across as an ‘almost’ experience. Pacer is almost a successor to Wipeout, but poor track design, a lack of strong audio design, and lackluster weapons all add up to a ho-hum experience that leaves you wanting for the early Wipeout days. If you really need something to scratch that old itch, then give Pacer a whirl. If you’re looking for the next S-Class zero-g racer, you’ll likely want to dust off an older PlayStation.
All in all, Ring of Pain is a different enough take on the card game genre that it’s definitely going to be a good time. While not perfect, it has enough lurking in its depths to keep you thinking “Okay, well just one more run!”
The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is altogether an enjoyable romp that will land with you about as far as you can tolerate cringeworthy humor and a lite XCOM layer set in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. Also, do yourself a favor and mute the Elf. Permanently. The game has it as an available option; it’s like they knew how bad the humor might be. So do it and you’ll thank me later.
Star Renegades is a love letter to tactical RPG fans who have been craving a rogue-lite experience that keeps on giving. While not quite at the mastery of Into the Breach in terms of depth, Star Renegades has enough to be excited about.
I truly wonder what will come next for Flight. Whether this simulator becomes a new defacto standard for this technology, or if Microsoft will take this marriage of game engine with satellite and real time data into something even richer as an experience. For now, I’m enjoying flying from LAX, seeing my brother’s neighborhood in Newport Beach, and heading southward to Maui to see the Road to Hana again.
Overall, Othercide is a solid remix of the tactical turn-based genre.
All in all, CrossCode is a love letter to fans of the pixel days without skimping on the gameplay.
Summer in Mara was a game I wanted to love, but its core designs around crafting and questing left me wanting. It’s a shame, as I think it could’ve been something truly magical with more time to cook and less reliance on fetch quests.
A year later and a new package does little to boost up World War Z’s failings. If it’s on sale or you really need to kill some zombies with some friends it’s a quick way to get all the content and it’ll be brief and inoffensive enough to waste a few hours. If you’re like me and searching eagerly for the next successor to the 2008 classic, you are better served elsewhere.
Overall, the art style, the esoteric story setup, the charming character work and genre mashup make it a worthwhile experience to at least dip into. If you love pinball games and dungeon monster beat ‘em ups, this will be in your wheelhouse and you may find yourself losing out to just “one more run” mentality.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with the latest expansion. The level of detail on display is eye dropping, the enemy A.I. is still fun to battle against and most of all the loot just keeps coming. Whether or not I continue to play this expansion in today’s current pandemic with bullet sponge bosses remains to be seen when there’s more distant escapism to be had.
It’s just too bad that, for what Moons promises, it so rarely delivers.
Patapon 2 is a fun game of its time. It still feels like a relic of the PSP days with its big chunky menus and relatively straightforward gameplay, but if anything sets itself apart as much to warrant its own remaster, it’s the charm that comes through loud and clear.
In summary, if you’re someone who can get lost in a repetitive task, then I will say you may find yourself falling into a trance, an almost zen-like state. But maybe do so on PC if you have one available to you. I could not get into Barents Sea on the tiny screen with its muddy and bare world.
I do think Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is worth a gander, just don’t expect a swan song of a tale or gut punch metaphor about early America. Enjoy it for it what it immediately offers: a fun series of tiny vignettes and discoverable characters to unwind with. Forget the rest.
It’s okay. It’s fine. Its art is beautiful and its music wondrous, but somehow it’s missing its own magic. So if you have nothing going on, and it seems your jam, give it a go. It’s totally fine. Personally, I need something a bit more than okay these days.
All told, Crying Suns is a slick reinterpretation of FTL’s core design.
If games like The Forest were up your alley, I do recommend giving Green Hell a shot. However, if you’re easily frustrated by obscure deaths vs trial and error, I’d recommend starting out at the easier difficulty so you can enjoy what it has to offer without needing to wrestle in frustration.
I may come back later when it’s had time to sit with the general population only to really discover its wonders. But for now, my dear reader, I’d rather forget about my ancestors lost to time and play a game like Ape Out instead.
If you enjoyed the main game and have an itch to come back, I recommend picking up Eight Princes if you were aiming to do another playthrough. If you are waiting for something different and novel to come along and really shake up Three Kingdoms, then I would say hold on to your dynasty hat for the time being.