William Murphy's Reviews
Mutant Football League is the only football game on the Switch this year, and we're lucky it's a fun one despite all its warts. If you can handle its quirks, and want a football game that doesn't take itself too seriously, this one is for you. It also helps that it's half the price of that Madden guy's game, if you're counting.
All in all, Valeguard isn't terrible at delivering on its premise. It could use some polish and refinement, but it's scoped pretty well for being a light town-management game with tower-defense elements. Or a tower defense game with light town-management elements.
As a chilled, low-stress experience that strikes the right blend of cuteness and charm, Deiland certainly delivers, even though it lacks the depth and complexity of sandbox games that appeal to an older audience. Yes, there are a few bugs, but they don't get in the way of the magical fun on offer.
It’s amazing what Ironward’s done with Solstice Chronicles: MIA, and I can only imagine what they’d be capable of with a bigger budget, more staff, and more time. I want more of their version of Mars, and I hope to see it expanded upon in the future.
By the end of the game, you’ll wonder where the last 90 minutes evaporated so quickly, but you won’t wish you had them back. Scanner Sombre is an excellently unique adventure, that builds layer upon layer or intrigue and trepidation as you inch towards the surface. About halfway through, Introversion telegraphs the ending, and if there’s any real fault to this palate cleanser it’s that you wind up able to guess how the game will conclude before you actually get there – a cardinal sin for a one-time-through story.
Regardless of its lax difficulty and lack of replay value, Hey! Pikmin has been utterly adorable and fun to play through. If you’re a fan of the franchise and don’t go in expecting it to be a mobile sequel, but rather a casual spinoff of the series, you’ll be pleased. Folks waiting on a new full-scale Pikmin will have to hope the Switch gets one in the coming year.
Ilsanjo has done an admirable job making a memorable, if short game. Most people, unless they get lost, will finish the experience in about 6-8 hours, and that's not bad considering the $15-20 price-tag. I won't say The Wild Eternal is very replayable, as once you've gone from front to back of this little tale, the surprise and wonder of exploring is pretty much spent. That said, there are few games as peaceful, meaningful, and reflective as The Wild Eternal. So if you're looking for a title to chill out with as you learn some life lessons, give this one a shot.
There are a lot of great platformers on the 3DS, and if you’ve already played Woolly World on the Wii U, it may not be worth shelling out another $40 for this lightly updated version. That said, there’s a real charm to the level design, some real challenge in its item hunt, and a whole lot of cuteness to its aesthetic. It’s not a game of the year, but for fans of Yoshi, it’s hard not to recommend this one.
Simply put, Overcooked is a great game on any platform, and one with a couple glaring issues that need to be patched on the Switch. Still, there are few games on Switch that are this well-suited to co-op play, so at $20, it’s worth the price of admission if you’ve got the friends to bring along for the ride.
Absolver is a great combat game, and a fantastic blend of genres. It’s just sad that the PVE side of things is so short, because I’d really have enjoyed the game if there was more of an adventure to play through. Still, if you’re an old pro and fan of fighting games then Absolver may very well be worth the buy. It’s unique blend of ARPG and traditional kung-fu mastering is a whole lot of fun.
Kyn is a fun game. But it's also a little broken, a little bland, and a little weird.
Lichdom: Battlemage is a fun, if shortsighted RPG with some fantastic upsides. Is it worth the asking price of $40? I'd say no at this point, and hold out for a Steam sale. It's definitely something fans of the old Hexen will enjoy, but fans of open ended RPGs will find Xaviant's game lacking. A solid effort, but not quite what I'd hoped for after seeing the game at PAX East this year.
It’s a shame that Livelock launched on the same day as WoW’s Legion expansion. While I’m sure it did fine on PS4 and XB1, the PC release was probably completely overshadowed by both Legion and the launch of Nuka World for Fallout 4. That said, if you’re in the mood for a decent top-down shooter with some solid ARPG elements in character building and load-out tweaking you could do a lot worse than the budget-priced Livelock. If you’ve got a good friend or two to play with, even better.
[D]espite its shortcomings, Styx: Master of Shadows is an enjoyable hardcore stealth game with the light trappings of its RPG forebear. At $30 and offering around 15-20 hours of sneaky goodness, if you can overlook the poor combat and budget animations, chances are you'll find a lot to like in Styx.
Ditch the lame story, work in more customization and more exciting races, and The Crew is solid roadwork for what could be a fantastic MMO ride.
In short, ArcheAge does a whole lot of things most MMOs never would dare dream, but the sad truth is that it's not exceptional at any one thing. And that, unfortunately, makes the grand idea that is ArcheAge a little underwhelming overall.
Creative Assembly and 343 Industries should be proud of their work here. Halo Wars 2 isn’t perfect, and it’s not likely to win over tons of new RTS fans. But for fans of the game-starved genre (which is admittedly seeing a resurgence of sorts), Halo Wars 2 is a bright spot. It’s a little shallow, a little greedy with Blitz cards, and a little short in the campaign. But it’s a good game overall, and one I’d gladly play more of in the future. Keep it up, CA and 343i.
In the end, I’ve enjoyed Star Ocean 5, despite its shortcomings and any old school tendencies. I hope it sells well here, because the last thing I want is for Tri-Ace’s brand of JRPG to stop coming west. There’s promise in Integrity and Faithlessness that Star Ocean’s next incarnation could be really something special. Right now, it’s just not quite there in this edition.
Lords of the Fallen proves there is plenty of room for more difficult, deep, and engaging RPGs in the world and does enough different to stand out from the pack. I sincerely hope we get a sequel, as I feel like Deck13 is only just beginning to build this world and carve a niche in the genre.
God Eater 3 won't stoke the hearts of Monster Hunter World addicts too much, but it could prove to be a nice break for fans of that game. For God Eater faithful, 3 will undoubtedly become their favorite due to an overall better presentation and sharper combat and multiplayer.