Offering some exciting couch co-op action, this one will definitely produce some laughs and good times, but the lack of variety in the controls limit the differences in the game modes, which is only accentuated by the bare-bones single-player offerings.
Ritual: Crown of Horns offers fast-paced action that fans of difficulty will adore. People looking for a casual experience or those who want a story and controls that make sense will probably be left looking for more.
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.
Madden NFL 24 gets the job done in the same way it always has, even if there's nothing major to get excited for, it's still getting better.
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.
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.
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.
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.Working Zombies is to Diner Dash as Scribblenauts: Showdown is to Scribblenauts. A mini-game collection that feels like a shadow of the greater whole, where the enjoyable and addictive gameplay is outdone by a lack of content and variety. The multiplayer emphasis could be a good or bad thing depending on your household, but the fact that difficulty doesn't change based on player count means you'll either struggle alone or have an incredibly easy time with friends.
Cyanide & Happiness - Freakpocalypse is a perfectly serviceable point-and-click adventure that offers a lot of opportunities for laughter. However, unless you're a longtime fan of their comics, the jokes can regularly fall flat as they're pumped out in every sentence of dialogue. Between holding to basic mechanics and failing to impress past what is expected, Freakpocalypse forces you to focus on the negatives, even if there aren't that many.
Madden 22 makes strides in several areas, but lack of polish, numerous bugs, and mostly reloaded content put it behind the sticks.
While Monster Harvest offers a unique perspective on the farming sim, it follows along with the genre norms too closely to really set itself apart.
Thief of Thieves: Season One offers a good crime thriller with superb writing, but is bogged down by janky AI and a serious lack of polish in its gameplay sections. For those fans of the comic or those looking for just the story aspects you might have something worth looking at here, but stealth fans should look elsewhere.
Space Pioneer offers an addictive arcade experience that feels incomplete. Although the upgrade system is surprisingly deep, the rest of the game suffers from being too shallow to set itself apart from the pack. As far as isometric, twin-stick shooters go, this one is just okay.
Riverbond coaxes you in with its charming feel and aesthetically pleasing voxel graphics, only to thrust you into a monotonous hack 'n' slash. With the plethora of other games that have interesting art styles and incredible looks, it is hard to let the gameplay here slide, even with its comedic relief and destructible environments as a backer.
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.
Mato Anomalies loses itself with too many systems, mechanics, and story-telling styles. While ambitious, it never gets good at any of the things it tries to do, which makes the overall experience lackluster at best.
Minabo - A walk through life takes some basic systems and fails to make them fun in any meaningful way. While the thought experiment is interesting, it’s just not much of a game.
Munchkin: Quacked Quest is a disappointing experience for anyone who has spent hours with the original card game. There is a bit more staying power for those simply looking for a decent couch co-op game to play with friends over the weekend, but the monotonous gameplay will bore the group rather quickly. If you were hoping this would be the transcendent Munchkin video game experience, I am sad to report that you have something here more closely resembling Mario Party mini-games.
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.