Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed what Foreclosed had to offer, and a circular narrative is always a good way to get on my good side. The game effortlessly makes you feel like you’re in a comic book, and it feels immersive. But while there are some outstanding elements to the game, I just want more of it—more story, more action, more mechanics. Furthermore, I want to see Antab Studio use these same elements to build a longer game with more complexity.
Where Chronos: Before the Ashes goes wrong is in comparison to Remnant: From the Ashes. As a prequel, this comparison can’t be helped. The reduction in action, lack of complicated boss fights, and the removal of guns are a step-down. But alone, it’s a good game. The puzzles are fun, and the story is interesting, especially when used as a foundation for the events of Remnant.
While I wish there were more to the story and a few puzzles don’t quite hit the mark, Papetura absolutely achieves what it was made to be: an atmospheric experience.
Grounded provides some great survival mechanics and challenging combat in a rather novel environment with an intriguing plotline. The game can be very tough but also very rewarding. However, it can take a while to really get the game going with the analysis mechanic and the lack of explanation revolving around many other ludemes.
As Dusk Falls is a memorable experience. The generation-spanning story is intriguing with its many twists and turns and too-human characters.
Undeniably, Arcadegeddon is a fun experience, especially with friends. The music is phenomenal, and the game offers a good challenge…But the enemies do become stale the more you play, and there are only so many objectives to go around…Nevertheless, for the price, Arcadegeddon has so much to offer.
While the Playstation version of Deep Rock Galactic has a few downsides here and there, overall, the game is a blast to play with your friends. The procedurally-generated environments, endless variations on missions, and the customization will provide hours upon hours of fun and challenges.
Far Cry 6 has done a great job tweaking the mechanics typical of the series and creating some extremely fun and chaotic gameplay. While the main antagonist doesn’t shine like some of the past baddies in the Far Cry series, you’ll fall in love with the diverse cast of characters and the island of Yara.
The Big Con provides some much-needed 90s nostalgia while also providing an outrageous tale smothered in wit, sarcasm, and Horm. It’s a short, casual game, with a whole lot of spunk and a whole lot of crime, and I really recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh.
Overall, The Ascent is a great addition to the cyberpunk genre. The graphics are stunning, the characters and story entertaining, and it’s available right now on Gamepass!
With the game falling at around nine hours of gameplay, Cloudpunk is a quaint game that’s easy-going but also hits on some big themes in the cyberpunk genre. Cloudpunk is beautiful, humorous, and most importantly is a window through which to view the progress of society.
Despite some of the negativity, Rouge Company has had a great start. It’s fun and I can definitely spend back-to-back hours on the game. But eventually, it does get stale, and it will undeniably need something extra to spice things up to keep people playing. Whether that be adding new maps, new characters, or new game modes, the devs will definitely need to keep up the momentum to satisfy gamers.
“Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck” was by far a fun DLC. It brought back a few Borderlands 2 characters, including the “meat bicycle” man himself, Krieg, and the humor was nonstop. Gearbox has a wonderful talent for developing characterization through humor and dialogue and it continues to show in this DLC.
Overall, Mortal Shell feels like a Souls game. It’s difficult, the enemies are punishing, and the combat mechanics are familiar. Mortal Shell is undoubtedly a love letter to Dark Souls, but Cold Symmetry has added enough novel mechanics and intriguing landscapes to make a game that stands out from the crowd.
Hellpoint is, mechanically, a typical game in the Dark Souls genre. However, the sci-fi theme is really what separates it from other games. Although the upgrade systems aren’t always intuitive and the game has a few other minor issues, the unique enemies and story make up for it. Hellpoint is a hard game but well worth the struggle.
Pathologic 2 is odd and very unsettling. Just to make sure you never get a breath of fresh air in a town that’s going insane, the game is extremely punishing, and your 12 days of hell pass by sluggishly. Although the game will be getting a difficulty setting, the difficulty of the game was personally enjoyable. The only true downsides were the arguably unusable combat system and repetitive models.
The puzzles are challenging but satisfying, the spooks are wonderful, and the story draws you in from the very start—Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel has all the right elements, just may need a couple of gameplay tweaks for the console. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a horror game with all the puzzles you could ever need, look no further.
Back 4 Blood is a wonderful call-back to the games that have come before it. And even though it’s not a direct sequel to Left 4 Dead 2, it brings back the most important elements of the series. But it shouldn’t be seen as only a spiritual successor because it adds so many new features that make it an extremely satisfying modern-day FPS. While a few elements impede the gameplay, they can be easily overlooked when you have a great team to play with.
Dreamscaper is a fun rouge-lite that offers hours upon hours of fun and novel gameplay. While the combat is entertaining and offers a variety that’ll never get boring, the way the game focuses on mental health is well-done and powerful because of it.
Although Ghostrunner‘s story is straightforward and simplistic, the gameplay is anything but. The parkour aspect of Ghostrunner may feel familiar but the addition of the combat mechanics set this game apart from the rest. Each level brings with it new enemies and a novel configuration of obstacles that will test your skills over and over again.