Paul Hunter's Reviews
NeverAwake kept me awake long hours as I felt compelled to binge-play the more than 80 levels in the game. The luscious graphics and innovative level-looping gameplay instantly hooked me and separates it from the crowed shoot 'em up genre. The best surprise, though, was the thoughtful story that tackles tough topics with sensitivity and elegance.
After beating Escape Dead Island, I'm still not sure what the game was trying to do. It stripped out the parts of the Dead Island franchise that were fun and didn't present anything good to replace them. The combat was frustrating, and only made me wish the stealth actually worked. Cliff's hallucinations were the only interesting thing about him or the story, and that doesn't say much.
1-2-Switch serves as a nice tech demo to familiarize yourself with the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con controllers. It's a unique experience, the type only Nintendo can provide. Unfortunately, though, the redundancy of the minigames means you'll likely have fun for only a few hours, and then move on to more engaging games.
Scorn frustrated the heck out of me at times, but the world and art style are so darn interesting I just had to push myself forward. And while it was tough at times, I'm glad I made it all the way through. This is a very unique experience offering disturbing-yet-breathtaking visuals and a story that will make you think during and long after it's over.
MADiSON starts out strong with pristine graphics, scary audio, an intriguing story, great level design and interesting puzzles. It's a shame then that the latter half unravels to a degree as you recognize that the creaks and shrieks are a harmless audio loop, a few puzzles become obtuse and the narrative gets messy with poorly explained demons. Overall, I did enjoy the game though, perhaps because it so closely scratched that P.T. itch.
Whether you're an older gamer like me that grew up with the Smurfs or are looking for your next family-friendly gaming adventure, The Smurfs - Mission Vileaf is a good game to check out.
All in all, I had a bubble-blasting good time with Puzzle Bobble 3D Vacation Odyssey. It was fun to rethink my Bust-a-Move strategies in 3D, and while the third perspective does create some camera issues, I still really enjoyed this fresh new take on the classic series.
Song of Horror isn't the most graphically-impressive horror game I've played in recent years, but it does deliver where it matters most: intense, unrelenting terror. I'm a big fan of classic third-person horror titles so this game definitely spoke to me and made me pine for more retro titles in the same vein. If you like Resident Evil or Silent Hill don't hesitate to check out this Lovecraftian nightmare.
What a great surprise The Chant was. It's a superb debut game from Brass Token filled with top-notch motion capture and voice acting, highly detailed environments, an engaging story, and it has some truly haunting enemy designs. If you like horror adventure games, book your trip to Glory Island immediately.
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed is a saucy game full of foul-mouthed characters and silly antics. Fans of the original, which I'm definitely one of, will love this new remake that totally revamps the graphics while retaining the classic gameplay. It's too bad the game is so bug-ridden though as those moments stunk of serious Ark-doo-doo. Still, with probing this fun, I was easily compelled to see this invasive operation all the way through.
I had a great time with Thymesia, from it's Bloodborne-inspired atmosphere to it's buttery-smooth gameplay. I only wish the game was longer—its three worlds can be completed in about 6-8 hours. At its budget price though, it's certainly worth the cost of admission.
In my family, DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace is a tale of two gamers. For me, I thought the game offered decent fun, the type of game I'd play and platinum over the weekend and likely not touch again. But my child's experience was much better, he's totally into the game and had incredible fun playing it.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is a fun and innovative tactical adventure that introduces some cool mechanics to the genre. Any fan of Jump+ manga will love this game, as will younger players or seasoned veterans looking to flex their tactical skills in low-pressure combat missions.
If you're looking for a neat indie horror game to play over the weekend, Oxide Room 104 delivers a satisfying experience. It's not a long game—you can beat it in about two hours—but with four endings and multiple remixes of the hotel there's plenty of replayability. I especially enjoyed the escape room puzzles and thought the majority of them offered a good challenge.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a flawed, but actually quite enjoyable action RPG. The story is surprisingly good, combat is incredibly satisfying and the excellent character customization goes very deep. Graphics are a major sore spot, as was the disappointing end-game content, but overall I'm glad I got to experience this game.
As a first effort for Pulsatrix Studios, FOBIA St. Dinfna Hotel is commendable. The hotel has exquisite level design and the numerous puzzles kept me interested and engaged over the campaign. I also love the camera alternate reality mechanic, it's a neat twist on a familiar concept. Combat needs improvement, as does the voice acting, but overall FOBIA is an easy recommend for fans of classic Resident Evil or Silent Hill.
I had more fun than expected playing Dolmen and everyone who enjoys a good soulslike game should check it out. The environments are varied and look nice, the level design was appealing, it has great character and gear upgrades systems, and multiplayer was a nice touch. The real downside is the poor enemy A.I., so while combat was satisfying, aside from a few well-designed bosses don't expect a stiff challenge. Overall though, it's still a solid recommend.
Centipede Recharged takes a beloved classic and reinvents it for the modern era with exceptional graphics and inspired gameplay upgrades. This is the perfect game to unwind to when you've got an hour to spare or a great bite-size game to play between those all-consuming AAA titles. I'm hooked on this game and it's making me excited for the next Recharged titles Atari is cooking up, like Black Widow Recharged and Breakout Recharged. It would have been nice for the game to ship with more modes, but with it's incredibly satisfying gameplay loop and $9.99 price point, retro fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this game up.
I've had a lot of fun playing Habroxia 2 on PS5. At only $10 it's a steal and certainly a must-play game for shoot 'em fans on every platform. You can get the Platinum trophy in about ten hours, so it's great for achievement hunters as well. I play a lot of longer games, so whenever I get fatigued and need a break it's great to know that Habroxia 2 will be there to jump into for some quick and fun arcade shmup action.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood isn’t bad, but it’s not amazing either. It’s a serviceable Wolfenstein entry with some great standout parts—like the gunplay—but also has odd coop mechanics that detract from the gameplay. The difficulty feels unbalanced: you start out super weak and enemies are super bullet spongy. This eases over time as you gain levels and purchase gun upgrades, but it’s a slow grind.