Jake Su's Reviews
Ultimately, what you’ll get out of Arcade Paradise is your appetite for repetitive chores, at least at the start, and your love for the arcade experience. With the laundromat being the gateway to a fun and engaging management and simulator experience, it is well worth washing those dirty rags to allow our dreams of a bustling arcade to come to life. And like its real-life counterparts, there is certainly magic in these dimly lit halls, even if it ends up just a few steps short of paradise.
Nevertheless, even with some gripes, Two Point Campus is easily an improvement over Two Point Hospital. There is increased engagement with new systems like relationships and clubs with old ones that power the management aspect of things, animations are vastly improved, and there is a good variety of courses to run and items to ponder over. Just like any student enjoying a summer break, Two Point Campus is a ride that we hope will never end, but only get better.
At the end of the day, Escape Academy achieves much of what it sets out to do. Giving players and whenever possible, their co-op partners, the authentic escape room experience, cutting away the frustrations of real-life escape attempts, and focusing our attention on finding connections and solving puzzles instead.
Rather than delivering an undercooked campaign mode and real-time combat, allowing players to experience life as the Norse fully would have gone a long way; alas, it was not to be, and it might be best to leave this game out in the cold if real-time strategy is what you are seeking.
An experience that is a departure from the norm, Endling – Extinction is Forever is a game that pushes a real-world agenda that could definitely use your attention if you care enough.
At its core, Outriders: Worldslayer does bring to the table enough enhancements when it comes to the actual gameplay of this looter-shooter. That entertaining combat coupled with new Apocalypse Gear, Tiers, and more are what makes the game truly tick, even if the narrative beats can be hit and miss. There is certainly room for People Can Fly to explore other parts of the world in future content, but for now, we’ll make do with a looter-shooter experience that has become even better than before.
MX vs ATV Legends is anything but what its name suggests, unless the team was planning on creating a game so bad that it becomes a flagbearer for mediocrity. While a AAA experience was never in the cards, this arcade racer flatters to deceive in even the most basic of areas, and instead of raising a checkered flag, it should never have made the starting line in the first place.
Between shoring up things on the combat front and bringing a whole other focus on relationships and camaraderie, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes has taken the best things about the Musou genre and added more welcomed layers to the whole experience. It may feel overstuffed with the repetition, but each of the game’s campaigns feels unique and fleshed out, with the game heading in the right direction. Needless to say, our thirst for conquest has never been higher.
Between the obvious love for the franchise and the commitment to bringing every bit of that to life through the visuals, the colours used, to everything hammy that is prime Starship Troopers, the game does seem like a miss for a real-time strategy title. It has a good foundation to build on, but the various design choices leave us scratching our heads. Starship Troopers: Terran Command may well be made for the diehard fan, but even so, it might just be a bridge too far to recommend.
Whatever the path may hold, all that players can and would experience in Card Shark is beautifully put together, with a fascinating narrative matched by a vibrant and outstanding aesthetic, and propped up by wonderfully inventive gameplay that puts the player in the eye of the storm. In fact, it almost feels like the game has everything stacked in its favor, just like the different plots at play in the quiet confines of high society.
By returning to a structure that has made plenty of horror films a hit, Supermassive Games has delivered in trademark fashion with The Quarry. With fun scares, demanding situations, a cast of fun characters, and a narrative that picks up momentum with each passing chapter, there is much to like about this game. Of course, if you were never a fan, it will be hard for The Quarry to convince you otherwise, however, for those that love this kind of thing, this is one rabbit hole you might not want to come out of.
While the core gameplay is solid and the game looks awesome, everything else surrounding it seems to need more work. Whether Nintendo and Next Level Games will do so remains a burning question, and it would be a waste to see the potential of Strikers Club be, well, wasted. For now, even with the excellence shown on the field and that lovable Nintendo charm, it is hard to see Mario Strikers: Battle League as anything more than a game that just doesn’t have legs. In this case, the game was lost even before a ball was kicked, and that is a massive disappointment to eager fans around the world.
For a genre that is now getting even more popular and perhaps even saturated, getting the basics right is the least we can expect if a game hopes to make an impression. However, with all these issues plaguing the game, plus visuals that hardly scream 2022, Dolmen is not living up to expectations at all. The game tries to include many of the hallmarks of the genre, but muddles it all up with poor systems and execution. For a fan that has grown used to the genre’s often challenging requirements, recommending Dolmen is something that will only happen in an alternate dimension.
At the end of the day, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a good addition to a genre that is gaining popularity. While it may lack the accessibility or even the swifter pace of other titles, it still manages to deliver a strategy roleplaying experience that is largely good on all fronts, supported by six distinct kingdoms and storylines. As long as you can accept that it might feel repetitive in a long game, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is an experience worth trying out.
A less-than-ideal cohesive story and poor systems design make Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong a game that perhaps should not have seen the light of day.
An asymmetrical horror game that balances accessibility and paying homage to its source material, Evil Dead: The Game is a ruthlessly entertaining time whether you are saving the day or ruining it for everyone.
Granting players a peek into futuristic Singapore and putting their research skills to the test, Chinatown Detective Agency stands out for its story and visuals, but less so for the detective work.
An intriguing tale of adventure that does not necessarily reinvent the wheel, Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit pays homage to its predecessors while creating a modern experience that should appeal to fans, young or old.
On its own, it is a capable action-JRPG that looks great, with solid combat and platforming to keep players distracted from completing repetitive quests, but as part of the larger universe, it lays an inviting foundation for what is to come with well-realized characters amid a larger unfolding conflict. And as someone hoping for that Suikoden magic to be recaptured, New Neveah becomes an irresistible world to spend time in.
A cinematic experience that is spectacular visually, Trek to Yomi falters when it comes to keeping a straight story, with the combat being both a friend and foe.