Much of the game design in Pac-Man World Re-Pac is very standard and is what you would expect from a early 3D platformer from the PlayStation. What makes it unique and still interesting is the distinct Pac-Man-isms, stage gimmicks, and theming. Without that, this would be a plain 3D platformer.
Some features like improved legibility and pathfinding are coming, but these are all technical shortcomings that should have been addressed before released. Despite all these flaws, Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition is still worth playing and with Dightdive promising to continue support the game with updates, this version could live up to being the “enhanced” edition.
There aren’t too many 3D action games with fixed camera POVs being made anymore. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was the last of its kind and while it isn’t perfect, it is one of the better examples of its kind from a console generation that was hopelessly creatively bankrupt.
Anyone who enjoyed games like Blasphemous, Dark Devotion or thought that Symphony of the Night was bloated with extraneous RPG elements, will adore Moonscars. The core combat mechanics are deep enough to carry a determined player and the multitude of systems give less skilled gamers just enough wiggle room to tip the scales in their favor without it ever becoming an easy game.
Penko Park is a wonderful attempt at making a “snaplike”. It captures a sense of childlike wonder and the easy-on-the-eyes graphics make it an easy game for kids to understand and get engrossed in. It is fine as a game for adults who are children-at-heart, but it is even better for actual children too.
Fans of classic survival-horror must not miss White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. It may not look like much, but it uses its limitations to enhance the uncanny ambiance. The chilling scares make it the ultimate Halloween game.
It is convenient to have a bunch of these titles in one application and does add to the experience of having a variety of distinct platformers. Asha and Shion’s games are easily the highlight of the package, with the original arcade game being an amusing distraction with spicy challenge.
Evolution has always been a core theme of Splatoon. With the online updates, rotating maps, rebalancing, and new weapons; Splatoon 3 is a game that also will evolve; it is an inevitability that it will further improve.
Little Orpheus‘ has a solid enough foundation. It is too bad that there was not enough creativity put into the puzzles or platforming. The imagery is so good that it could have made up for the lack of imagination, but the rough controls and spotty inputs are what prevent it from achieving greatness.
Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is worth the price of admission. Some are duds, but most of them are excellent beatem-ups and a classic NES game that a lot of gamers grew up with. It’s nostalgia bait, but nostalgia is a valid feeling and can be cathartic- especially when it involves overcoming a game that used to crush you as a child.
Yuoni is a very standard example of the hide-and-seek variety of first-person horror games. It has decent graphics, even on Switch, but the gameplay is stretched incredibly thin and is over before you know it. For its price, Yuoni is a decent diversion. It lacks depth and has a few cheap thrills that make it a casual play for when Halloween rolls around.
If you loved Monster Hunter Rise and wanted more of it, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is going to be exactly what you want. The dazzling cutscenes for the story and new music are a bonus surprise that add to the scope of the scenario and add a lot of polish to the presentation. The attention to detail is staggering and it will be interesting to see how Capcom will top this in the inevitable sequel.
Which is the better game is debatable- but it is hard to ignore that Door to Phantomile has fewer areas that get recycled, while Lunatea’s Veil constantly introduces new ideas. No matter what, both titles are masterworks and anyone who enjoys Kirby or Nights into Dreams will surely find Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series to be very appealing.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 may not have the same spirit of invention that the first game had which made it such a huge success, but it is still an RPG masterpiece. Anyone who loved the first Xenoblade but had misgivings over some of questionable aspects of the second game (like the gacha mechanics), will find that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is perfectly balanced and delivers on almost every aspect imaginable.
Metal Max Xeno: Reborn is a highly enjoyable and entertaining JRPG that is stuffed with ideas that mostly work, even if some come at the cost of logic. The story and characters lack presence and it is due to the after thought presentation. The protagonist is borderline mute, and it is jarring when he suddenly speaks and everyone acts normal.
Live A Live is one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Fans of Chrono Trigger will definitely want to check this out and even if you played the original, this remake offers some new additions and adjustments that make it more enjoyable than ever. It is too bad that the localization was bungled in some areas, but this will only affect those who are intimately familiar with the original intent.
At worst, Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is derivative and is getting by thanks to the successes of its contemporaries. Thankfully, the time spent enhancing the vanilla game and rebranding it has paid off. The developers took a flawed and rough around the edges 2D action platformer and made it the very best it could possibly be.
Ground Divers! is stuck in a limbo where it it has the foundation of an addictive rogue-action arcade game, but is held back by unnecessary features. This needed a separate mode where its minimalized or if the options allowed for some tweaking. It has cute anime girls in it and a cool tiger-man, but it isn’t enough to endure the slew of annoyances that get in the way of trying to dig a hole.
Stray may not be for everyone, but it is enjoyable so long that gamers check their expectations before playing. Its got a bit of puzzle solving, chases and simple navigation, but its never demanding much accuracy or dexterity from the player. Merely aim camera and prompt to jump will make cat 100% land on target- anyone can play it.
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is a very solid “metroidvania”; one that anyone who enjoyed Metroid Dread, would find it worth their time. It is not as perfectly polished as Dread, but it makes up for it with its amazing visuals and setting.