Lawrence Le's Reviews
Mosaic is the plight of the office worker reimagined for the not-to-distant dystopian future. The tedium, the soullessness, the loneliness — it's all here, presented with sleek, stylish art and simple, effective mechanics. But, the burden of virtual corporate slavery is perhaps too much to bear; the game is prone to frequent bouts of monotony that pull players out of the experience.
One of this generation's titans finally makes its landmark debut on the Nintendo Switch. For newcomers who can fight through the rocky 30 frames per second and lower resolutions, The Witcher 3 on Switch is a no-brainer. But, for those with no plans to take their monster-killing outside, the game is better enjoyed on other consoles.
A graceful dance of lead and fists through some lovely set pieces and a whole lot of unsuspecting thugs. Nurturing quick, adaptive thinking, John Wick Hex is an excellent distillation of the franchise.
An FMV interactive thriller that's rather light on the "interactive" element. Choices are sparse and do little to promote player agency but some solid production and a stylish, campy aesthetic save the experience.
The PC port stands as the definitive way to experience Beyond: Two Souls, boasting a higher frame cap, solid keyboard & mouse controls, and a remix mode. These additions, however, do nothing to remedy the poorly-aged, cliché-ridden script and inconsistent chapters you may remember, but do highlight the game's strong visuals and emphasis on variety.
Nine years later, Heavy Rain's flaws have only become more pronounced. Even so, strong narrative design can't be denied, and it's just enough to ease the pain caused by the game's more outrageous blunders.
A tale straight from our childhood tree forts—Outer Wilds will reawaken the passion for exploration that you thought you lost.
Sky-high ambition meets sub-par execution in this roguelike fantasy-epic. Vambrace: Cold Soul delivers a large helping of worldbuilding but fails to provide engaging gameplay to accompany it.
Close to the Sun is a few steps shy of a great narrative-driven horror, but its trite gameplay expels the magic its environments worked to create.
Forager marries everything you love about survival-adventures with everything you didn't know you wanted in one. A casual yet chaotic experience that's worth a try despite a slight lack of polish.
Every aspect of Flower serves its singular vision: nourishing and maintaining a 1-2 hour Zen-like experience. Vibrant colors, an incredible score, and meticulous eyes overseeing the game's pacing—Flower rises to the occasion. A decade later, little has changed, though the PC port suffers a good deal on account of its mouse and keyboard controls.
God Eater 3 bears a superficial resemblance to Monster Hunter, boasting many of its features, but none of its depth. It offers nothing but diluted versions of what it has tried to poach from better games.
A short but sweet gem of a game dusted off and polished by Capcom for a quick nostalgia trip. Visual and auditory upgrades make this the definitive version of Onimusha: Warlords, but nothing can hide the game's aging design.
New studio flukyMachine's 2D runner-style platformer is every bored student's notebook come to life, proudly embracing its own eccentricities in the visuals department. But turn the page and one will find that the gameplay lacks the same luster, living in the shadows of its influences. While it does sport more-than-serviceable gameplay, Escape Doodland is a game worth playing for its charm and simplicity, not for its depth of mechanics or level design prowess.
SoulCalibur VI's combat could crack even the toughest case of fighting game-phobia; it's strategic, fluid, and deep, but remains as accessible as ever. It's unfortunate that it's hampered by a lack of interesting modes, and that its hefty single-player offerings attempt to shift the focus away from the robust combat system and towards stale, cumbersome stories.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 brings the series back to its roots and polishes that experience to a shine. It's a return to form for the decade-old tactical RPG series and its best entry to date, albeit playing it extremely safe. While it does iron out some of the kinks that plagued its predecessors, it does little else.
Rich gameplay concepts and lush aesthetics caged by suffocating level design and a weak story. The constant clash between free, flowing movement and repetitive, often claustrophobic levels puts a damper on the entire experience.
State of Mind is so obsessed with its story that it forgets what medium it's in. While a strong storyline and adept world-building can't be denied, the game can't escape its undercooked mechanics and puzzles.
We Happy Few is an ambitious open-world survival game that does not benefit from being one. Tedious exploration courtesy of poorly-designed environments and underdeveloped survival mechanics detract from an otherwise strong main adventure. Charming presentation, colorful writing, and powerful environmental storytelling are highlights that are unfortunately eclipsed by a shallow open world.
Trion Worlds' “reimagined” Defiance does little to fix the crippled MMO and instead, uses the opportunity to try and capture a new audience with the same bland experience of yesteryear. Defiance 2050 has nothing to leverage but its free-to-play status, nothing to separate itself from the competition, and nothing of quality for new players to latch onto.