Star Wars Zero Company needs more than a few patches to iron out its abundance of visual hiccups, but the game underneath those technical shortcomings is fantastic.
Even with a few weak spots, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, in many ways, is the redemption Marvel fighting games have needed for almost a decade. It’s not exactly Marvel vs. Capcom, but it’s not trying to be.
In a game stuffed with plants that are equal parts beautiful and deadly, it’s fitting how every rose in Beast of Reincarnation has its thorn. Said rose petals still have their charm some of time, but their qualities would be much more apparent after a fair bit of pruning.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game’s trite campaign is just one of its many uninspired or poorly assembled parts.
It’s this well-rounded approach that makes Denshattack such a thoroughly fantastic experience.
From small additions like the cute cat or monkey that hangs near the Jackdaw’s wheel to sizable alterations like the overhauled stealth mechanics, Resynced does an excellent job of touching up a classic with features that feel like they were there in the first place.
First Light, as a title, has a dual meaning, too, since it’s not only an origin story for this rendition of James Bond, but also hopefully a new dawn for IOI’s ambitious interpretation of what a 007 game can be.
It’s impossible to tell if Invincible Vs as a whole will stick around since quality fighting games don’t always get the attention they deserve, but it has the potential to.
Even with these comparisons, Saros’ story remains an overall disappointment and is another reason why the game is an unsatisfactory follow-up to Returnal.
As striking as that sight is, it’s not an anomaly here. Mouse’s rubber-house animation ripped straight from the 1920s gives everything in the game — sans the environments — this bouncy style, a unique and playful aesthetic that’s fascinating until the credits roll. But the staggeringly long time it takes for those credits to appear does drastic harm to many of the game’s other components.
Tamashika’s intensity stems from its roots as a voidlike shooter, a hyperniche subgenre inspired by Post Void and its corridor structure that strips out all the fat. No involved level design. No side quests. Just kill, kill, kill.
Its lack of dialogue also allows the soundtrack to stick out, as it punctuates the action and quieter moments with its loud trumpets and sneaky basslines, respectively, while also weaving in some slick theremin notes that highlight the game’s obsession with aliens. When combined with the colorful art direction, it’s clear that these various elements work together harmoniously to create one cohesive audiovisual package.
Even with an uneven grind that loses purpose in the home stretch, Ball x Pit is still a mesmerizing mix of the brick breaker genre and auto-scrolling shooters. It doesn’t solely lean on one pillar, though, and greatly benefits from this hybrid approach. Stacking a screen-filling amount of upgrades and witnessing their destructive capabilities is empowering and being able to bounce balls with precision means it’s more than dopamine slop to passively consume. Ball x Pit certainly traffics in that space but does so intelligently and without feeling like a guilty pleasure. It’s just a pleasure, full stop.
Cronos’ sweeping narrative issues speak to how thoroughly troubled the entire game is. Like the humanoid blobs that coat many of its buildings and streets, Cronos is an amalgamation of ideas that combine to form a messy whole.
While it’s got rousing gunplay that prioritizes parries and weaponized defense, it’s also got enough fluff — a less tactical Glory Kill system, merely passable vehicle sections, a campaign that meanders near the end — that’s unbecoming for a game that came after two tightly tuned installments.
The Casting of Frank Stone is as disappointing as it is derivative.
Dustborn’s rhythm mini-game is just another way the game demonstrates how underdeveloped it all is. Its terribly paced narrative is married to an elementary view of authoritarianism and stars an irritating crew that never stops talking. Combat is woefully simplistic and lacks the necessary smooth controls. None of its systems fit together coherently, either, because they’re all underbaked in one way or another and, in some cases, plagued by glitches. It’s hard for Dustborn to fight the power when it’s too busy fighting with itself at every turn.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a wildly funny slapstick adventure.
Developer Bureau 81’s ability to file The Operator down to its best components and focus solely on what works is its biggest asset. It’s not a bloated campaign with an equal balance of tacky and tactful puzzles. Instead, it’s a taut collection of cases that work in tandem to create a gripping adventure that encourages savvy problem-solving. It’s all cushy desk work, but The Operator makes examining phone records and enhancing grainy security camera footage just as exciting as tiptoeing through an enemy base with a silenced pistol.
While it marvelously blows up during the final moments of its descent, Fort Solis is a mostly successful voyage. Puzzling together what happened at the station is an engaging exercise that incentivizes players to inspect every computer and voice recorder in order to shine light on its dark mysteries. Its narrative doesn’t seem to branch much or push forward in any new directions, yet it achieves its modest goals rather well. Fort Solis was misused as a facility by its staff, but Fallen Leaf and Black Drakkar have utilized it well to tell one effective sci-fi thriller.