Abram Buehner


30 games reviewed
70.7 average score
75 median score
40.0% of games recommended
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95 / 100 - Donut County
Sep 3, 2018

Laser-focused and brimming with charm, Donut County is one of the year's best experiences. While brief, its laugh-out-loud sense of humor and laid-back, tactile gameplay combine precisely to create a game like no other. You'll come for its physics based puzzle-solving, but you'll stay for its quirky cast of characters and world. This is not a game to be missed.

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TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is a masterful, modernized beat-'em up and a loving celebration of its source material.

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90 / 100 - Abzu
Nov 29, 2018

ABZÛ is nothing short of a work of art. Diving through its gorgeous cel-shaded ocean with the title's sweeping orchestra in the background enraptured me from the first moment of the game. This is an experience that shouldn't be missed.

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Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is outrageous. The game is uncompromisingly zany: full of smart design, fluid combat, and laugh out loud personality front to back. While some may be turned off by its low budget feel and disjointed design, those who can look past these rough edges will find a hack-and-slash so quirky that it'll be tough not to fall in love. This title stands as a shining beacon of bold creativity and anyone who values risk-taking in games owes it to themself to give Travis Strikes Again a shot.

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Jul 4, 2019

Super Mario Maker 2 is a game that transcends its flaws. While the game can improve in several key areas, these shortcomings are triumphantly eclipsed by the strengths of the game. From its robust and accessible suite of level creation tools to its myriad ways to play, the sheer potential for fun, subversive Mario experiences outshines any problem the game may have. Super Mario Maker 2 is more than a game, it's a community—one I plan on spending a lot of time in.

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85 / 100 - WarioWare Gold
Aug 13, 2018

WarioWare Gold is an off-the-wall title bursting with content and creativity. The 300+ microgames and myriad side modes will keep you coming back to this game time and time again, even with its lacking multiplayer and padded unlockables. WarioWare Gold is easily the best game Nintendo has released in 2018 so far, and a great addition to any 3DS owner's library.

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Apr 4, 2019

Yoshi's Crafted World is a refreshing, modern 2D platformer from Nintendo that, for once, truly feels new. From its gorgeous aesthetic to its myriad creative level motifs and gameplay ideas, Crafted World embodies the spirit of fun. While the game's soundtrack is decidedly lackluster and its co-op feels underbaked, this is undeniably the most ambitious and fun 2D platformer from Nintendo in a long, long time.

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Jul 29, 2018

The Banner Saga 2 is a stunningly animated game that sets a new standard for both presentation and narrative outside of the AAA sphere. The game does stumble with a poorly designed combat UI, and a claustrophobic battle system that doesn't offer much breathing room for different strategies. While monotonous, combat is serviceable, and doesn't greatly detract from what is otherwise a defining narrative tale.

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Jun 19, 2018

Overall, Octo Expansion is an absolute steal. At $20, you're getting a very creative and engaging campaign that expands the world of Splatoon 2 with diverse gameplay, although a small portion of these levels feels like monotonous filler. Luckily, the ability to skip them mitigates this issue, but does little to assuage the fact that the majority of the bosses are rehashes. If you were hesitant to jump in due to the price tag, don't be: Squidkids will find plenty of enjoyment on the Deepsea Metro.

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Nov 26, 2018

Pokémon Let's Go is a curious game which bucks the established trends of mainline Pokémon titles. The series' signature, turn-based combat takes a backseat to the experience of simply existing in the world of Pokémon, capturing Kanto's ‘mons with brand-new, well-executed capturing mechanics. This game lacks many of the “hardcore” features that scores of fans, myself included, have come to expect from a new title. However, in the wake of these features is a Pokémon experience that engaged me in a manner unlike any title in the series' past.

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80 / 100 - TANGLEWOOD
Aug 20, 2018

Developed with genuine Sega Genesis tools, Tanglewood is the epitome of retro throwbacks. Outside of that novelty, Tanglewood succeeds through its intuitive puzzle design, constant drip of new mechanics, and varied locations. While the general lack of music and slow introduction do detract from the game, the sum of its parts is a genuinely great 2D platformer worthy of your time.

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80 / 100 - Crystal Crisis
May 28, 2019

Nicalis' marriage of puzzle and fighting game elements in the fan service-heavy Crystal Crisis coalesces in a largely satisfying experience. While the roster can feel unbalanced, loading times can be long and the story mode feels trite, the overarching, nuanced gameplay will keep players strategizing and returning to Crystal Crisis time and time again.

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75 / 100 - Mini Metro
Sep 6, 2018

Mini Metro's dynamic gameplay kept me engaged, yet never left me feeling overwhelmed. Whether I was simply looking for twenty minutes of casual puzzling or a burst of hardcore strategy, Mini Metro's deceptively nuanced gameplay worked on both levels equally well. With some quality of life improvements and a more detailed presentation, Mini Metro could propel itself even higher, but even with these concessions the game is easy to recommend.

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75 / 100 - Songbringer
Jun 7, 2018

While it does have flaws, the sum of Songbringer's parts is an easily recommendable title for fans of the genre.

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Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is the ultimate comic book power fantasy. From its empowering gameplay mechanics which evoke the heroism in the game's iconic characters to its event comic-styled storyline and presentation, there is a lot for Marvel fans to enjoy here. While the moment to moment gameplay more than justifies the price of admission, when taking a step back, certain facets of the game's inherent design knock it down a few pegs--but not enough to dissuade me from giving this game a solid recommendation for the comic fans in the room.

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The Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Special Episode delivers consistently fun and refreshing puzzle action. Aiming higher than the base game, this DLC stretches the Captain Toad mechanics and concepts in new ways, while also offering interesting new settings to explore. That said, the Special Episode's reliance on remixed content from the base game and truncated runtime hold it back from being truly great. Nonetheless, this DLC offers an afternoon of colorful, creative single player or co-op entertainment.

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Aug 22, 2018

Russian Subway Dogs is an incredibly unique arcade-style title that excels in short bursts. With a wonderfully zany presentation and great mission diversity, there is little else like this game. Its score-chasing, shawarma-munching action is diluted somewhat by its stunted game flow and superfluous unlockables, but neither flaw results in Russian Subway Dogs being anything short of good.

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May 17, 2019

Team Sonic Racing is a fun and intelligently designed, albeit content-light, kart racer. The game's central focus on teamwork gives the experience a unique and engaging flavor and its sense of speed kept me dialed in. But, that isn't enough to assuage the title's evident flaws. From an unimpressive roster of stages to lacking modes outside of Team Sonic Racing's great single-player campaign, I'd be hard pressed to see this game lasting more than a dozen hours for many fans. While the fundamentals are fun, this racer could've used a tune-up before coming to market.

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Jul 23, 2018

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is fundamentally strong with a solid core idea and great level design, but doesn't succeed beyond that. A more cohesive atmosphere, extra camera options, and deliberate mechanical progression could've made the experience far more satisfying. The conversion to the Switch brings along its own problems as well, making it hard to call this version definitive. As it stands, the game is a fun but forgettable adventure.

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Oct 14, 2018

Super Mario Party is some of the most fun to be had with a local multiplayer game on the Switch. Unfortunately that is compromised by a deluge of limited modes and design decisions that pull the whole package down. Based the fun factor alone, Super Mario Party justifies its price tag for anyone looking for a new game to play with friends. However, Super Mario Party's fun factor well exceeds the title's fundamental design principles--so tempering one's expectations is a must.

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