Jake Su's Reviews
At the end of the day, I absolutely enjoyed my time in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and am raring to go back for more with an additional unlockable difficulty level that has more powerful loot and more challenging fights awaiting. The blend of combat, RPG elements, platforming, and a much more serious and interesting narrative makes for an engaging romp through the ancient lands of China, and aside from some small AI hiccups and design choices, there really isn’t much there to dampen my revitalized love for all things Romance of the Three Kingdoms. All hail the newest and most polished Soulslike to come out in a while.
It is hard to say that Scars Above is a bad game, but rather, it feels like something that was not made for the modern gaming audience. There is some merit to how it approaches some of its systems, but they never ever go far enough to make a significant difference as a whole. Interesting ideas are only half the battle, and with its mixed visuals and wonky controls, it turns a potentially complex alien journey into a road of forgettable crashes.
To sum it all up, Octopath Traveler II comes close to being the ideal sequel. It once again totes that amazing HD-2D aesthetic and style, and continues to build on the successful foundations of the series. The storytelling has also improved, with crafted tales that feel both easier to get into and remain invested in. Yet, the game does lack meaningful surprises in a sense, remaining steadfastly familiar to the 2018 release save for the new tweaks. It doesn’t make Octopath Traveler II any less of a great JRPG; just be sure to check your expectations at the door.
Returnal on PC is an excellent move for everyone involved, especially with the quality shown in the port. A new audience can finally have a taste of that amazing blend of gameplay that constantly beguiles players into taking one more run, enhanced by the bells and whistles made possible by the power of the PC. As one of the PS5’s best games, it would make perfect sense that Returnal maintains that form in its migration to the PC, and it proves just that.
Wild Hearts occupies an intriguing position, both as its own game but also as one that takes its inspiration heavily from a beloved franchise. The familiarity is not a dealbreaker, and in fact, it helps as a starting point for players with its increased accessibility and improved quality-of-life features. The Karakuri system is easily the biggest innovation that takes things up a notch, and if more Kemono are on the way, then Wild Hearts is in a good place as the next step for your monster-hunting journey.
Despite what is a promising combat formula as well as the supporting systems behind it when it comes to skills, crafting, and upgrades, there are also several equally frustrating aspects of it that hold the game back.
At the end of the day, not many games come close to a masterpiece like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but Elderand tries in its own way to honor its inspiration. Exploration is a fun endeavor enhanced by great art design, the RPG system has the potential to do much more, but its combat can be hit or miss. The storytelling follows the same path, but for players looking for Lovecraftian creatures to kill and glorious gothic aesthetics, Elderand will fit the bill.
While the gameplay may fall into a routine that can grow stale, there is no denying that what Guerrilla Games and Firesprite have achieved is an adventure that will astonish and impress once players put on the PS VR2 headset and wrap their hands around the Sense controllers. It may still be early days, but Horizon Call of the Mountain is an undeniably great start for this new generation of VR gaming.
Even if you are a relative stranger to its source material, the way Hogwarts Legacy introduces magic and all of its astonishing quirks, helped by a cast whose performances are always worth a watch, and bookended by a satisfying combat and exploration loop, this is an unforgettable experience from start to finish. By melding the allure of the Harry Potter franchise with an interconnected gameplay system that is always pushing players forward to the next entertaining activity, the game is more than able to keep you under its spell for a long, long time.
The barebones nature of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is ultimately disappointing, especially when there is so much potential with the license. While it delivers the charm and characters from the beloved television series, the lack of creativity makes it a barely enjoyable video game experience. Even for the most ardent of fans, this is one game that should remain in a pineapple under the sea.
Having released in this day and age where the classics of the genre are probably a memory for most, Chained Echoes has everything going for it to make a mark. It meshes modern-day conveniences and improvements with old-school formulas, making it a much more refined JRPG experience that simply needs to be played. While there are some stumbles along the way, it is an impressive effort from a solo developer, and a giant leap in what is hopefully the first of many successes to come.
Forspoken is not charting new territory, so to speak, with what it brings to the table, but at least its magical slant delivers fun exploration and combat in a relatively short RPG of 15 hours or so. The checklist style of design might not be for everyone, but there is a rough diamond in here, and perhaps with some more work, it won’t become a new IP that gets forsaken.
All in all, our expectation of the Dead Space remake being just a marginally updated version of the cult classic was blown out of the water just a few minutes into the journey. Instead, what we found was an astonishing and impressive experience that will set yet another high bar for its contemporaries to follow, a true survival horror adventure chocked full of surprises both obvious and subtle, and a fabled return to pure ecstasy while trepidation coloured every step. Dead Space has never looked or felt better, and a homage has easily surpassed its inspiration and become a flag bearer for the genre. If this is what Motive Studio can do with a remake, then we look forward to losing our minds further for even more Dead Space in the near future.
At the end of the day, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator delivers exactly what it set out to do with an experience that has potion brewing and alchemic discovery at its core. It is a casual endeavor on the surface, but contains plenty of depth for those willing to dive in. While its pace may not be for everyone, just a few tweaks here and there to the gameplay mechanics would help elevate this game to an even more potent mixture.
Nevertheless, The Devil in Me runs close to being the best in the series alongside House of Ashes, with a good-paced story and genuine characters that are probably better off alive than dead. The gameplay sections have been freshened up, even if the engine and look of everything feel just a little dated for the final entry in the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Hopefully, the second will feel more like a killer attraction.
In the end, The Callisto Protocol ramps up the atmospheric horror with plenty of visceral action, with the linear design helping to keep the focus on the main objective from start to finish. Although it can have trouble when it comes to empowering the player and losing its horror edge, the main issue remains the fact that we have all seen and done this before. Depending on your preference, that might just be exactly what you want, but the nightmare fades a little, especially with the Dead Space remake on the horizon.
Put that unfairness together with the annoying tendencies of the cops in Need for Speed Unbound, and the entire experience is full of peaks and valleys that curtail the progress that this game is supposed to be making. Beyond its art style that stands tall on its own, Need for Speed Unbound feels less like an innovation and more like a new body kit installed on an old engine. When the competition is already miles ahead, what this series needed was a nitrous boost of epic proportions, but sadly, it doesn’t seem like it will ever catch up.
To sum it all up, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is everything a licensed game can be with a sprinkling of Firaxis magic in many areas. The action is bombastic and great to see in action, the top-tier tactical depth and strategic play deliver near-infinite replayability, and the narrative does consistently surprise in the most pleasant of ways. While there are areas that can be further refined, it shouldn’t take too much away from what is a quintessential turn-based affair, and a true superhero fantasy come to life.
Soccer Story is by no means a perfect game, especially where there are bugs and glitches that require a hard reset and cause a loss of progression, but it does manage to deliver an entertaining time on occasion, even if it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the ball on the pitch. It might not be a great recommendation for those that are looking for more soccer action, but as a narrative-driven roleplaying title that just so happens to involve soccer, Soccer Story remains something worth checking out if you temper your expectations.
All things considered, The DioField Chronicle does what it needs to for the most part. Players will be entering a world full of action-packed instances, plenty of opportunity for tactics and strategic nous, and a bunch of characters that can be made truly your own. As long as you can ignore the less-than-ideal controls and narrative, this is one medieval adventure that is still worth having.