Omi Koulas's Reviews
For both newcomers and long-time players, The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is a chapter that stands on its own. While previous knowledge of the game is not necessary to enjoy the self-contained story, it adds depth to the ongoing Shadow Over Morrowind narrative that unfolds throughout 2023 and beyond. The new environments may be a little "samey" and there might be a lack of extra content afterwards, but with the captivating storyline, the introduction of the Arcanist class, and a plethora of content to explore, Necrom is a recommended addition to the MMO.
Bread & Fred is a delightfully enraging cooperative physics puzzle that combines charming pixel art, adorable animations, and a challenging platformer experience. The game's world, filled with cute penguins and vibrant environments, will bring smiles to faces. The chaotic gameplay and repeating failure might bring frustration but will be followed by big laughs and lots of fun with your penguin partner. Still, for solo players without someone to play with local co-op, this game won't be for you.
With a cast of both fresh and familiar characters, an engaging story, and hours of captivating exploration across beautiful planets and biomes, this game is sure to leave fans of the franchise on the edge of their seats. Cal's incredible sense of movement and newfound lightsaber skills spur empowering battles with groups of raiders, stormtroopers, and alien creatures. Being able to personalise your experience with cosmetics, game-changing perks and optional side quests means the journey is yours to carve. Bosses might benefit from more inventiveness and there's the occasional visual bug and platforming visibility issue, yet it's all worth it for the bliss of being a Jedi in action. Whether you're a Padawan or a Jedi Master, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a must-play. May the Force be with you!
Wall World is a challenging roguelite with superb gameplay. Mining through varied and engaging environments is satisfying and pushes players to find out what's just beyond the next layer. Procedurally generated levels and a vast range of upgrades keep each run feeling fresh, enhancing the robospider to inch closer and closer to the end. However, that end doesn't meet expectations and annoyingly relies on luck for a few elements to align. Still, Wall World is a fulfilling mining-crawler with an addicting gameplay loop.
Curse of the Sea Rats is a competent 2.5D Metroidvania that offers an absolutely delightful style. The story and gameplay are basic at best, with design oversights and shallow combat that unfortunately drive this simple narrative. Still, the small package comes with a fun four-player coop that complements the classic cartoon animation and critters throughout the journey. This platformer won't rattle the scene, but it's a great game for families to play.
Destiny 2: Lightfall falls short of expectations, leaving players with unanswered questions and minimal impact on the Light and Dark saga. The introduction of Neomuna and Cloud Striders has little purpose to the overarching plot. However, the powerful Strand toolset is a delightful addition, though it raises concerns about balance with weaker elements. While quality of life improvements are positive, the removal of certain content makes the game challenging for new players. Overall, Lightfall feels rushed, as if it was a flustered effort to fill a gap before the final hurrah.
Team Ninja has created a challenging and engaging action game in a fantasy version of Three Kingdoms China. The combat mechanics are intuitive and all work together, making strategy and consideration of each next big boss fight vital. However, those same systems can be overly complex with a flurry of gauges, ranks, and stats to consider all at once. Even with a few difficulty spikes and balancing issues, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is still a fun adventure with creative bosses and exciting battles.
Wild Hearts takes the hunting action to the next level with vicious beasts, a vast world to explore, and an array of powerful weapons. But that's not all-the magical Karakuri crafting system seamlessly blends with combat and exploration to offer an awe-inspiring experience. It's so fluently integrated into the game that you'll be amazed at how much it advances combat, exploration, and the engaging gameplay loop. Still, the adventure suffers from visual issues and a waning grind. Even so, Wild Hearts is my new monster-hunting addiction.
Even with its quirkiness and challenging katana action, Wanted: Dead is a mess. It offers an odd nostalgic charm of the incomplete and unpolished games of the mid-2000s and never takes itself too seriously. Still, without the enjoyable mini-games, imaginative slice and dice finishing moves, and "so bad it's funny" voice acting, there's not much more to love. This might be one of the most disappointing games of this year.
Power Chord unleashes its loud style upon deckbuilding roguelites. The game introduces a creative band format with strategic roles for each member to play, adding a new layer to the familiar gameplay structure. Still, it's more style over substance with a lack of balance, interesting story or music, and a handful of gameplay issues. Otherwise, Power Chord is an entertaining game for fans of the genre.
A Space for the Unbound is a mesmerising adventure. Dive into people's minds and experience so much of Indonesian youth and culture through the eyes of Atma and Raya's clash with the end of the world. Uninspiring minigames and simple gameplay aren't its best features. Regardless, the stunning pixel-art visuals, animations, music, likeable characters and storytelling make this a game that will have you in tears.
Impaler is a good time for shooter fans looking for an instant nostalgia fix. The gameplay, music, and visuals achieve the ideal 90s aesthetic with a gothic twist. While it is limited in content, short, and a little too easy for the genre, the cheap price tag is appropriate if you want to give the game a stab.
The voxel creations and freedom that Dual Universe offers are pretty impressive. It's a concept with a lot of potential. However, the failed execution and many bugs leave this game dead on arrival with honestly no reason to play unless it ever receives a resurgence in players and a massive gameplay overhaul.
Overwatch 2 restores the fantastic hero shooter by making it free for all to enjoy. Changes to multiplayer mechanics make gameplay even more enthralling and address annoyances with the original. Although, there are still valid concerns about hero balancing, UI overload, and the future of the battle pass model. While it may not feel like a true sequel without the promised PvE story mode, Overwatch 2 can potentially be the most popular shooter on the market.
Temtem isn't just a copycat Pokémon. Incorporating MMO elements and engaging characters into fan-favourite gameplay is an overwhelming success, with an abundance of addicting endgame content. Unfortunately, Temtem suffers from optimisation issues and needs to present its most captivating features at the forefront rather than behind the MMO grind and a slow main story. I can't deny how much fun it is to play Temtem, it just needs more time and polish to be the best there ever was.
Soul Hackers 2 is one of Atlus' best games to date. The story is compelling and rooted in familiar dark themes while avoiding the fluff to be a sharper experience. It refreshes the gameplay of Persona 5 with streamlined changes to make it approachable for a wider audience. Its parallels to Atlus' most recent JRPGs mean it offers more of the same thrilling style along with the same minor faults. Still, Shin Megami Tensei fans will love this game.
Playing as Babyface with such smoothly animated mocap and fluent combo chains feels powerful. Being able to charge through levels, using everything in sight to bounce off goons like a martial arts master is an unstoppable sensation. Sure, the story isn't that deep and doesn't have the budget or quality of larger game studios, but the game compensates with very inventive fights. Midnight Fight Express is the John Wick experience in video game form.
Despite its flaws and hardship, Digimon Survive is an absorbing visual novel. It is a more profound and darker story than generally expected from the Digimon world with captivating characters and storytelling. The exploration and tactical battles provide a break from the immense amount of dialogue, albeit not as fun and the latter feels like a lacklustre last-minute addition. Regardless, Digimon Survive is a great game for fans of the universe.
Blasting through unbelievable tracks at sonic speeds, Redout 2 is one of the fastest racing games around. It shows off beautiful science-fiction races across an alternate Earth and galaxy. Yet, the track design is impractical, making it a challenge to play and that difficulty extends into the beastly AI, tiresome overheating mechanic, and time trials demanding precision and perfection. Multiplayer doesn’t hold up either, with network and matchmaking problems galore and a handful of bugs breaking races and visuals. However, there is still a fantastic amount of single-player content for the adrenaline junkie looking for extreme fun.
Welcome to the sunny shores of High Isle, an idyllic zone and Chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online. The storyline is down to earth, with politics and conspiracy at the crux of a deep but a little less engrossing narrative. Companions Isobel and Ember are useful fighters with great character-building quests. While Volcanic Vents aren’t an amazing multiplayer activity, the Dreadsail Reef is a challenging but satisfying trail to grind impressive gear sets. However, the cherry on top is Tribes of Tribute, which you’ll spend too much time mastering the mechanics of the new in-game card tournament. If the lack of PvP doesn’t bother you, High Isle offers another year of excellent content for The Elder Scrolls Online.