Mike Thomas
There were enough hidden stories and lore to keep me interested as I went along. Stories of daemons and gods and cults are always fascinating and I could feel the mystery around me as I crept through dark streets and skulked through humming, misty caves. It’s just a shame it was held back by its shallow content and repetitive gameplay.
I had some pretty violent mood swings while playing Metal Wolf Chaos XD. I laughed, I smiled, I grimaced, and I yelled in frustration. At the end of the day, a lot of this comes down to simply playing a 15 year old game. Few of them age well and most of them coast on nostalgia.
I really don’t know who this game is for, aside from already devoted fans of the franchise. I’m sure there are plenty of Utawarerumono fans out there, but this game didn’t seem to make any attempt at pulling in new ones.
If they can sort the performance issues out, this might be a decent game to play on Switch, but only if you really enjoy button-mashing action/adventure. I just can’t see a reason to pick it up on PC or traditional home consoles when there are so many better alternatives.
It’s rare a competitive game can give you the exhilaration of beating your friends without the bitterness of losing to them. It’s competition at its friendliest and most fun.
It may not be the flashiest, prettiest, or most obvious choice for meeting your RPG crave, but trust me, The Outer Worlds is a can’t miss gem of not just 2019, but the entire generation.
I hate to speak for a community but I’m sure this game may meet the demands they ask for in Need For Speed. For anyone else looking to get into racing but don’t want the difficulty associated with Forza or Asetto Corsa, I would still recommend picking up the recent remaster of Burnout Paradise. If you’re not already a Need For Speed fan, I say skip Heat and wait for EA to remember Burnout exists.
So what does all this mean for Shenmue? Well, I think fans are going to enjoy this one, but I don’t think this is going to introduce a new generation of gamers to the series.