While it was a noble effort to port the game to consoles, the transition is rough around the edges and makes for an uncomfortable playing experience.
Despite some interesting ideas, Biomutant commits the cardinal sin of media — it’s boring, and that ultimately seals its fate. The game has a gorgeous world and adorable character designs, yet it’s soulless and falls far short of its ambitions.
The problem with Pong Quest on a whole is that for a crossover, it doesn’t lean heavily enough into RPGs to be interesting for RPGamers, and by the other side of it, you can only play so much Pong before it gets stale.
What Nelke presents is an embarrassing attempt to shoehorn battle sections in that bore the player to tears.
With the lack of direction, the difficulty spikes, and the time it takes to upgrade skills and equipment, Rival Showdown is an exercise in frustration more than anything else.
What the game gets right, it does incredibly well, but what the game gets wrong falls flat on its face. The game is clearly a labour of love by SWDTech and that is apparent in all facets of the gameplay, story, and presentation. Unfortunately, the game is so riddled with game-breaking bugs that it can’t be recommended in its current state.
While the game is adequate in nearly everything it does, Rising feels much more like a chore simulator and ultimately is just as engaging as doing them in real life.
None of the balancing issues are fixed, the backtracking is still as much of a slog as ever, and the roster of Pokémon is far from impressive.
There is absolutely good game hidden within it and damn does it have a lot of heart, but at this time the game misses it’s mark on the technical side, which makes it tough to fully recommend.
Any strategy fan looking for a good challenge, interesting gameplay, and fun and customizable cast of characters should find Dark Deity up their alley. Just maybe wait for a patch on the Switch in hopes that the performance issues get addressed.
Pioneers of Olive Town is a good game, but it is hard to recommend when Stardew Valley continues to dominate the farming sim genre.
Reinventing a series can be a difficult task, one which the first installment did with great success. However, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is a great example of fixing something that was never broken to begin with.
While Galaxy of Pen & Paper doesn’t push any boundaries, it stays true to its 16-bit roots, offering a fun exploration into outer space, and a great excuse to hang with your friends, eat some pizza, and roll some dice.
I mostly adored my time with the game, but I won’t sugarcoat my frustration in having to constantly replay the same battles and dialogue. For those who stick with it, In Stars and Time is an emotionally engaging tale that is worth the effort.
The Man Who Erased His Name is a decent addition to the series, but it misses the mark in being a truly memorable experience.
Thirsty Suitors is a hilarious romp that focuses on family, culture, and the mending of broken relationships. While the execution of its gameplay has some flaws, the game has a lot of heart that makes players root for this crazy cast of characters.
While the localization offers many belly laughs, I wish more had been done to update the experience and bring in newcomers to this wonderfully zany series. As delightful a game as Rhapsody II is, there’s just not enough of an update to invite anyone new to join in the fun.
The gameplay is a bit of a learning curve, but once it clicks, it’s addictive. Battles move at a brisk pace and challenge the player to be constantly aware of what is happening in every corner of the map.
While the storytelling is fabulous and the substories are legendary levels of insane, there are definitely parts of Ishin that could have used a bit more refinement, such as the combat and location design.
While the difficulty isn’t perfect and the platforming is consistently frustrating, the shortcomings are balanced by an enjoyable combat system and one of the most timeless stories found in gaming.