I found this long awaited Season Pass and DLC to be worth every minute, even if I died hundreds of times. The new locations, Yokai boss battles, weapons, and enemies all intensified the demanding and challenging game. While I do wish the overall story was a bit deeper, maybe more will be explained in the two upcoming expansions.
Ultracore is a blast from the past game that really nails what many side-scrolling shooters were like in the 90s; and coupled with modern controls, it's a game worth playing. Though there are a few oversights like getting hit and not knowing it, unlabeled special items, and low difficulty, it's worth a try.
Crysis Remastered is an amazing technical achievement to have it run on the Nintendo Switch, but at what cost? On the surface, in handheld mode, it suffers from framerate issues and stability; in docked mode, things get better and make the gameplay tolerable. Unfortunately, it's the technical issues that hurt the game the most.
Neon Abyss plays like a panic-stricken, action, rouge game that knows exactly what it wants to be from beginning to the end. The guns are big, the options are plentiful, and randomness is the name of the game. The boss battles left me a bit empty, but this game is definitely more than a glass half full.
Neversong is an amazing adventure through a world that feels uniquely crafted. It stands out in its genre because it takes platforming, thriller, and side-scrolling game elements, mashes them together, and what we get is a well-balanced narrative adventure game.
F1® 2020 is an amazing step in the right direction for Codemasters. By adding the My Team mode to the series, it gives this racing game a different personality; one sprinkled with adventure elements, and it works.
Ruiner is a cyberpunk-style, guns blazing, top-down shooter that pulls no punches when it comes to action. Where the levels lack depth and unique flair, the gameplay makes up for it with a diverse of ways to approach playing.
Samurai Shodown is a breath of fresh air to the series, because of its choice to make the battles more of a duel and not a button mashing frenzy – and I respect that. With each character feeling different enough to make your mind race with possibilities of offensive and defensive strategies, it almost fails because of the timing system.
Outbuddies DX is the quintessential perfect game, regardless of how you cut it. From the music that sets the tone and ramps up in the heat of battle, to the many weapons available, and the iconic and memorable boss battles, it's clear that years of development Outbuddies DX has gone through will revolutionize the Metroidvania genre.
3000th Duel is an amazing action-adventure game that pulls out all the stops to give us the experience of nostalgic gameplay with current videogame nuances. With a rich world to explore, visuals and audio hints that make you believe that the world is constantly evolving, and boss battles that shake you to the core, this is a must on the Switch.
The visuals and 80s soundtrack are amazing and look great whether playing on a TV or on the Switch in mobile mode. Too often did I feel I was on the back foot when it came to weapons, upgrades, and dealing with random enemies. There's definitely a balance issue when it comes to the procedurally generated mechanics.
With all its puzzling adventures, out-of-the-box thinking, and stunning hand drawn visuals, it's a memorable game in its genre. Solving the puzzles offers such gratification that one looks forward to continuing climbing the tower and solving the next. But with a lack of a meaningful story, it lacks complete immersion from the player.
Hot Garbage is an expansion that delivers gameplay that I hope to expect in future DLC, where the gameplay is centered around putting the player in situations where combat and skills are essential to progression. Though on a new planet, Hot Garbage falls short of creating an all-encompassing experience that makes one believe they're on an all-new world.
Pangeon is simply a bad attempt at trying to capture the nostalgic feel of a classic dungeon crawler. With its lack of attention to detail, gameplay continuity to give confidence to the player, and a design that feels incomplete and uninspired, it struggled to keep my attention.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 introduces some great fighting mechanics, overhauled systems from previous iterations, and smoother and more rewarding gameplay to the franchise. While it doesn't do anything new to uplift the Musou genre of games, it's a good game to pick up and beat the crap out of pirates as Luffy tries to become the king of the pirates.
Moons of Madness plays more like a cinematic experience than an actual game. Its immersion visually is sublime, and though objects are intuitively interactive, the story lacks the emotional pull needed to match the tone and mood set forth. You will undoubtedly feel as if you are on an alien planet, but that's it. The imbalance of story, gameplay, and interactivity with the enemy becomes apparent the more you play. And with much of the story being told through accessing terminals and listening to banter dialogue, I often felt as if I was no longer interested in what was occurring around me.
Saints Row: IV Re-elected on the Switch is a much-welcomed game as it runs amazing in handheld and docked mode, brings a beloved franchise to millions of gamers, and almost feels a bit naughty to have next to my Mario games. With its smooth gunplay, game mechanics that mesh well with the control scheme of the Switch, and ability to cram all of its explosive, expansive, and destructive gameplay into your hand, you cannot pass this game up.
With all the different battle royale games on the market, all seeming to offer the same experiences, Warzone might give the most realistic, precise, and investing performance of them all, but it will need to stay innovative. Sounds of ricocheting bullets, footsteps of the enemy, and a highly detailed world keep it a cut above its competition. I easily found this to be one of my favorite battle royale games to date.
MLB The Show 20 is clearly the culmination of all the hard work that went into the previous iterations, and then some. The updated and added game mechanics such as First Step and Perfect-Perfect batting add a sense of realism to a game where instincts and being quick on your feet is important. With a plethora of game modes, it's almost overwhelming at times because you don't know where to start. But once you begin, this game is hard to put down.
Likening this game to the movie Up, Arise: A Simple Story is much more than what its title lets on. It forces us to take a step back and analyze life. With its time control mechanics that manipulate the world in so many ways, platforming style of play, and its ability to tell a narrative story without dialogue, Arise is one of those games that makes you question whether small titles like this are becoming the status quo.