Alex Fuller's Reviews
Creating something with a greater draw than the Breath of the Wild was always going to be a challenge, but Nintendo has taken lessons learned from and systems established in it to create a glorious follow-up that fully deserves the plaudits that have already come its way.
Boasting an emotional tale with an intriguing take on player choices, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie makes for a highly thoughtful experience worth its time.
Ash of Gods: The Way is a solid strategic deckbuilder; its strength very much lies in its ability to generate a puzzle-solving feel through a straightforward base ruleset and a wide variety of combat scenarios and conditions.
Monolith Soft has executed it superbly, providing an emotional treat that acts as a highly satisfying coda to everything that has come before.
The Outer Worlds sets a solid, if unspectacular, base that has plenty of room to improve.
As a love letter to the series’ soundtracks it heartily succeeds, and every play session is bound to come away with players fondly humming at least one of the tracks they’ve played through for hours ahead.
The way the mysteries work with each other, the cast, and the atmospheric direction and presentation creates an enthralling tale that keeps players ready to unravel the next twist.
Fire Emblem Engage emerges as a decent but ultimately fairly forgettable entry in the series. It seems like a game undecided whether it wants to spend its time celebrating the past or leaving its own mark on the series, and doesn’t really do either.
Neither gameplay style is likely to wow anyone on its own merits, but they are used in good balance to make for an engaging 25-hour experience.
It was always going to be tough to follow-up Golf Story in an interesting manner, and one certainly can’t say there was a lack of ambition in what Sidebar Games was trying to achieve in Sports Story. However, fulfilling that ambition is another matter entirely, and ultimately the game leaves a sense of what could have been.
Harvestella somehow manages to pull off some highly ambitious storytelling, accompanying with it a highly satisfying gameplay loop that is hard to put down. The game has a much stronger and widespread appeal than many may have been lead to believe heading into its release, and is an easy recommendation.
Some of the puzzles and challenges are good fun and satisfying to complete, but there are also many that are made more frustrating than they need to be. With a flawed match system that becomes trivial once its workings have been figured out and technical issues that stack up as the game progresses, it’s incredibly tough to recommend.
Exploring Ocean City offers plenty of rewards for players, be it satisfaction from solving a tough puzzle or challenge, or simply a good chuckle at the strange goings on.
Although its story and presentation elements wear a little thin after a promising start, there is nonetheless plenty to enjoy thanks to a decently deep battle system that offers plenty of challenge for those who want it. It’s a strong debut that offers plenty of optimism for the developer’s future projects.
Fans of the Adventure Science series will get some enjoyment out of seeing its origins, and the mystery does eventually come together in a satisfying way. However, it’s hard to suggest it as an entry point for new potential fans when there are much better options available.
Airoheart should find its fans among veterans willing to stay patient and deal with its challenges in order to enjoy its explorative element. However, it’s difficult to see much widespread appeal with basics that are very derivative of past games, plus a general lack of polish and quality-of-life features compared to its contemporaries.
The great ambition of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is backed up with superb execution across the board as all of the elements work together to put players at the centre of another stunning experience.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes deserves to be thought of as one of the strongest Warriors crossovers so far. The game fully dives into the elements of its parent series and is all the better for it.
While its ultimate resolution is not quite as satisfying as its brethren, the way it uses its cast, some higher-minded concepts, and the player themselves makes for another highly absorbing title across its twenty-plus hours.
While the Touken Ranbu characters and stylings are certainly likable and engaging, the dilution of any challenge and depth to the gameplay make Touken Ranbu Warriors an ultimately uninspiring experience.