Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is everything the 2019 classic was and more. If you’re a fan of the original, you need to double-dip to experience the incredible work this cast of voice actors has put together. If you’ve never heard of Disco Elysium before, I envy you. I wish I could play this again for the first time. Be warned that you may run into a few bugs here and there, but it seems like every other day, ZA/UM is squashing more of them. And if you’re still here reading this review, it’s time to turn the world off and put your dancing shoes on.
If you can look past all of the issues plaguing Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace, there are certainly worse games to spend a weekend with. Especially if you’re a fan of Lovecraftian horror, but steer clear of it if you’re somebody that asks of your 2021 gaming experiences to at least feel like you’re playing something made in the past fifteen years. Granted, I’ll be curious to see if this receives a sequel, as I do believe this series could become a sleeper hit. Stay tuned.
Monster Hunter Rise is everything I had hoped it would be, and more. It’s welcoming to beginners while still retaining that deep core experience that longtime players know and love. It’s challenging, but never in ways that feel unfair or cruel. And the attention to the details that are meant to keep one smiling is something you don’t see too often. Every inch of Rise plays like it’s the culmination of the series’ best ideas. Subsequently, I’m enormously excited to continue my journey in discovering what else Capcom has crammed into the game. I’m 20 hours in, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. So, excuse me, my next hunt awaits.
There isn’t much more that needs to be said about Thorium’s UnderMine. I don’t care if you’re a fan of roguelikes or if you hate them – this is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve made. There’s a ton here to keep you busy, and the subject matter and setting seamlessly lend themselves to DLC. Given the response UnderMine has received so far, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of more content coming along sooner than later. Now, excuse me, I’ve gotta get back to work.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse isn’t going to blow you away. It’s certainly not going to have you reaching for the medicine cabinet, though. I suppose much of what you get out of CH: F will depend on your ability to take a joke. The gameplay won’t be what keeps you coming back, but Coop’s story has much left to be told, and I’ll be there for the sequel. The rub is that if Explosm doesn’t bring their A-game for episode two, I’ll probably take a swing at Coop, myself.
If blood is thicker than water, Bloody Bunny: The Game still wouldn’t be able to fill up the shallow end. It’s repetitive, uninteresting, and littered with bugs. The framerate does stay consistent, but if anything, that just works to highlight how awful everything else is. It’s never a good sign when you feel as if you’ve seen all that a game has to offer within the training stage. It’s even worse when the credits start to roll, and you realize that you did actually see everything the game has to offer in that training stage. Bloody hell, Bloody Bunny…
I’ll be front row with my bucket of popcorn for 3 out of 10: Season Two. The art style is fun, the writing is on-point, and the game itself runs almost perfectly on the Switch. The first season of 3 Out of 10 isn’t something you’ll get hours upon hours out of. But you wouldn’t want to overstay your welcome in this world anyways. And that’s the magic of what the developers accomplished here. Terrible Posture Games knew precisely what they were doing in making a terrible game about developing a terrible game. Bravo.
For what it’s trying to do, Disjunction does a pretty damn good job. Hitman 3 just launched and might end up wrapping a garrote around Disjunction’s neck. Though, if you’ve had a hankering for some old-school Metal Gear action with solid mechanics, a well-written story that offers replayability, and a musical score that’s been given genuine love and care, Disjunction is for you. Sure, it can get somewhat repetitive. And I did run into a few hit detection issues that cost me a life.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition isn’t going to win any awards. Hell, I doubt anyone remembers it’s out come March. And that’s probably where it should rest. It’s got a banging’ soundtrack, but you can listen to that without having to play it. Are you and three of your friends the biggest Scott Pilgrim fans on the planet? Okay, you got me. This will probably be the greatest thing to happen since Matthew Patel got the stuffing whipped out of him.
Listen, aside from having to deal with hardware limitations, The Hong Kong Massacre on the Switch is plenty serviceable. If you’re a fan of the bang-your-head-against-the-wall experience that these games offer, look no further. But I can’t recommend this on the Switch over any other system. And then, at that point, you might as well play something better. If ever a game garnered the title of mediocre, The Hong Kong Massacre is it.