When Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee released on the original Xbox, it came with high praise and was one of my personal favorite titles from that system. The game was mind-blowing at launch, but almost two decades later, a lot of it is rough around the edges. The cutscenes, world-building, and storytelling hold up to this day, but almost all of the gameplay elements are out of place compared to modern games, with the wonky, tough-to-handle controls taking the cake.
undefined.Void Bastards was everything I wanted as a huge roguelike fan. The first-person shooter aspects are surprisingly competent, gameplay loop is perfectly challenging, always keeping you on your toes, and the aesthetic and sound design are out of this world. Some hitching and frame rate issues on packed ships aren't enough to knock this one down a peg, as the mix of Rogue Legacy and Fallout on offer here is necessary for the libraries of any and all roguelike fans who own a Nintendo Switch.
Pair that with beautifully-crafted environments, vibrant colors, and a compelling story and you have a game that plays and looks great. If the performance was on point, this would have been one of the premier puzzle experiences in the first half of 2020. Still, A Fold Apart is one to pick up and play if you can look past the framerate issues.
Boot Hill Bounties would be considered a serviceable JRPG without the bugs. The visual glitches are just out-of-place, but the progress-ending bug in the opening tutorial had me worried every time I would open a menu or click through dialogue that my playthrough would be ended prematurely. Given that the story, systems, and mechanics are so familiar, it's a shame Boot Hill Bounties does nothing to make its versions unique or exciting outside of the trope-filled, spaghetti-western theme.
In terms of what is on offer for a veteran gamer or someone who is familiar with the franchise, you will find this is a lacking option with not a lot of change, variation, or improvements. Motion control issues hamper the experience for anyone going for full completion, and the rest of what you see will remind you of one of the Wii-era titles in the series straight from 2007. As a family game, Cooking Mama: Cookstar offers a serviceable experience for your children for an evening.
Tharsis would be a game I would enjoy playing on a tabletop with some buddies, while drinking some beers, and enjoying our repeated failures. However, as a single-player video game, with only a few extra missions to take you out of the basic gameplay loop that is consistently frustrating, the overall experience has all the right parts but just leaves too much up to chance to be enjoyable.
Curious Expedition is a unique experience that fails to live up to its inspirations. Lacking storytelling through areas that could have offered so much was seriously disappointing, as the gameplay loop offers mostly basic management and decision making that doesn't keep you hooked. Repeated playthroughs are hindered by this as well, leaving this one feeling shallow and uninteresting.
Shinsekai: Into the Depths really shows that you can't assume a mobile port will be a subpar experience. Even with the tedious resource gathering and rough fall damage, this is a great Metroidvania that will surprise with how well it presents underwater platforming and exploration for a 2D experience.
However, the difficulty being tied so closely to RNG-based wind means sometimes it really blows to try and finish up a quest. Matching that with inconsistent AI and you have an overall package that falls a tad short of the high expectations. A few minor changes could make this a really special variation on the Bloodborne formula.
undefined.All in all, this version of motocross is pretty unfair to anyone who hasn't played an entry before, doesn't want to spend tons of time with it, or who isn't already keenly familiar with the process of racing these types of machines. Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3 offers an experience that is properly tailored for those fans who will more than likely make this purchase, but for anyone taking a passing glance, there is a barrier to entry that will take some determination to overcome.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine could have had deep mythology building for 1930s Americana, but instead it offers only enough to get you intrigued before forcing you back into the grind-laden, story-gathering crawl the rest of the game is.
Witch & Hero 2 has a great formula. Simplicity throughout, understandable mechanics, and a quick, in-and-out gameplay loop. However, the title lacks in nearly every department across the board, with some mechanics standing at odds with one another, and gameplay that doesn't hold up long-term.
Actual Sunlight is a story worth experiencing, even if the format chosen to tell this tale is a little rough around the edges.
Adventure titles that offer deep storytelling are some of my favorite experiences in the genre, and Mosaic had everything lined up to be truly special. Unfortunately, a little bit too much monotony, a control scheme you will be fighting throughout, and major performance issues make this a game that will have you looking for a way to alleviate your frustrations. Hopefully a patch comes to fix the performance issues in what could have been a fairly decent experience.
Worbital plays a bit like a Worms in space, minus the turn-based sequences. Even though blowing up planets in epic space wars is a plus, the lack of depth in battle structures and mechanics make this one better suited to short play sessions. The campaign mode, although a nice addition for single players, has dialogue segments that go longer than necessary.
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath offers one of the coolest reload mechanics in gaming history when it has you rustle up your own ammo. Lack of interesting puzzles make this feel more like an FPS with a good story when compared to previous entries in the series.
I felt for this child and wanted to do everything I could to help them. The game had me hooked in that way, but unfortunately, it squandered that enthusiasm away through some questionable storytelling devices and lackluster mini game sections. As purely a story experience, this is one I can recommend, if you can get through the broken-up design choice, but for those looking for anything else outside of a sorrowful and sinister puzzler, this is probably one you can leave behind.
Melbits World is, by far, one of the cutest puzzle-platformers you will play through. Utilizing that charm, cuteness, and design, this title offers something I could see families playing through together, but the lack of single player and replayability hurt the overall package.
All in all, this is a game that is trying to set itself apart from the classic conventions of the genres it is placed in, and while it is an interesting experience, I think it follows too many of those old-school mechanics that were made to eat up your coins, not give you a pleasant time.
Pulstario is another frustrating arcade experience that has just enough to offer to make it something that sets itself apart. Between the killer soundtrack and accessibility options, I found myself not able to put it down until I had beaten its 30-minute campaign.