Joseph Pugh's Reviews
I can't understate how big of an issue the lack of challenge is, it impacts a lot of the game. Yet, that is the only real issue I have with Death Stranding. It is dang near perfectly executed in its design. It's gorgeous, well-written, and cinematic, the music is stellar, the world is immersive and the gameplay is phenomenal.
Revelations features plenty of new content even without a brand new faction and is worth the price. Planetfall was already great, now it is even better.
If Revelations was an appetizer, Invasions is the dessert to Planetfall’s main course and I have a sweet tooth. It’s a great addition to the base game and compliments it with every feature it brings.
Crown Trick is replayable, fun, tactical, and full of meaningful variety. If you like rogue type games at all, it's a must-have and sets a high bar for the genre. If it doesn't end up as a game of the year contender, it dang well should be.
The truth of the matter is, Cyberpunk 2077 is a very good, but very flawed experience, but one that is still worth having. And with any luck, one that will continue to improve over time.
To put it simply, I adore everything about the game. It’s variety between classes, the balance of resources, the meaningful meta-progression, and breadth of content. Slay the Spire and Monster Train are some of my favorite games, but they can have a seat at the round table and bow before the throne at which Tainted Grail: Conquest now sits.
Clever management mixed with highly tactical combat makes this band worth the price of admission. Just be aware the grim difficulty might make you sing the blues while you learn to accept its brotherly love.
Sheltered 2 offers an apocalyptic survival experience that will put your planning and management skills to the test alongside nifty turn-based combat. Yet, the tedium of such excessive micromanagement might have you wishing for the world to end again.
Embr manages to be a hectic, yet methodical co-op game about firefighters that can also be enjoyed solo. Its replayable nature through a variety of enjoyable modes keeps the game burning bright when many other party games would have long fizzled out on dead wood.
The obstructive visual elements are bothersome, but the nostalgia factor made it up to me. Slayers Inc may not be the freshest demon slayer to take a risk on, but the fun rains down anyway as a solid rogue-lite shooter.
Pawnbarian is single-minded with a specific experience that it wants to offer. That experience is a challenging brain teaser using a classic and timeless game in new ways. Limitation is often king to innovation, and with that Pawnbarian calls checkmate.
Red Ronin might not be the turn-based tactical game that its main menu implies, but it is a great puzzle game with a popping soundtrack, nice visual effects, and stellar level design. The real-time elements are really interesting and unique, even if it introduces them with all gentleness of a rampaging rhino. If the technical issues can be fixed, Red Ronin could certainly take a seat atop its throne of blood.
The incredibly detailed combat, deep strategic layer, living world, and immense variety didn’t just fill the void in my heart left by the absence of X-COM 3, it replaced it entirely.
One Step From Eden manages to combine the strategic satisfaction of deckbuilding with the chaotic fever pitch of an action game and wraps it into a snug package of player choice. It might feature all the randomness that the genre is known for, but it puts the ball squarely in the player’s court about what to do with it, and that’s pretty magical.
Despite its flaws, Roguebook is still one worth opening. It’s filled with ink that paints a much different picture than its cover would suggest. It turns many common deck-building conventions upside down making for an enjoyable fresh experience in a crowded genre.
The combat is tighter, and the game is prettier. But it failed to iterate on its open-world at all, which is an essential part of the game. It feels dated, and the invisible force field that surrounds the machine spawns feels extremely janky. The most important addition is the wide variety of machines you can now fight, and that makes the game worth it alone.
Kaiju Wars is clearly a labor of love from people who love Kaiju, and with it, they manage to take a neat concept and turn it into something great. In most games, it’s you laying slaughter to hundreds of nameless grunts and fodder. In Kaiju Wars, you’re the fodder, and the beauty of it is in the challenge that presents.
Wingspan already rules the roost when it comes to family games. It carries that same talon sharp gameplay into digital form remarkably well, and with the addition of AI and local play, it might just swoop into the hearts of bird lovers everywhere.
To speak candidly for a moment. If you were to only ever take my word on a single game, make it this one. There are only a few games out there that can match its quality and quantity within its niche. It mixes the magic of board games and video games brilliantly while inspiring the same kind of joy that games like Slay the Spire can spark but, in its own way that’s unique to it.
Blacken Slash is a well-designed, challenging, and deep game hidden behind its minimalistic but charming aesthetic. Its core gameplay is simple to understand, but its stat-crunching character building extends far beyond its pick-up and play nature. It feels fast-paced despite being turn-based, and a solid upbeat soundtrack enhances that vibe even further.