Games like Elex II, where it seems no effort was put in, and no ambition is shown, are simply unacceptable. This is just the tip of the iceberg too, as I didn’t even mention the least fun jetpack ever, immortal and totally uncustomizable companions, and the choppy framerate. I could go on for days, but ultimately it doesn’t matter, because it can all be summed up succinctly. Don’t play this, get something else. Respect your time, respect your wallet, and respect other games that are simply doing it better.
I don’t think it’s some greedy money grab, a worthless piece of trash, and the worst game ever. There is a ton of effort and quality here. It’s just buried under nonsense, which I suspect only exists because of market pressure. A $50 niche stealth game is a hard sell, and being a short game only makes it more so. But I think we can all agree that taking the same game and artificially inflating it to AAA length at AA quality wasn’t the solution. And while Daedalic has said they intend to work on and fix the game, I honestly don’t see how. The damage is done, the issues baked in. Just learn and move on.
The Company of Heroes Collection for Nintendo Switch is one of those projects. It’s such an old game, and the genre to console conversion comes burdened with so much implied work. And even if it was ported over successfully, the RTS audience on Switch is hardly overwhelming. And this definitely wasn’t a case of a successful port, with the missing multiplayer, control issues, and puzzling performance decisions.
I could keep going about how much this doesn’t work, but that would be putting in more work than the developers did for SpellForce III Reforced. It’s a rare case of a game that I just enjoy from the start, and it only got worse the more I played. There are games I would consider to be bad, but this is a whole different beast. It just fundamentally doesn’t work. I would struggle to order one group to attack an enemy during battles, and by the time I did, the rest of my army had been massacred by everyone else. I’ve never been so frustrated with a game before.
Nowadays though, we have so many mediocre ARPGs on console, let alone genuinely amazing ones. And we’re a little past losing our minds over interactable enviroments. All that’s left is a game that’s doesn’t play nearly as well as it looks. Hopefully the Dark Alliance reboot is much better than this one.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is the kind of game that doesn’t do anything well enough to satisfy any of its intended audiences. For survival fans nothing is done better than titles they’re already playing, and in fact does plenty worse. And for diehard Lord of the Rings fans, the strange lore deviations and limited vision of Khazad-Dum and the canonical events portrayed aren’t any more attractive.
Strategy games are among my favorite genres, and a portable RTS done well is the dream. Ancestors Legacy even comes close, and proves that it is possible for a console RTS to be playable. What holds it back are core gameplay decisions.
SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection is the most polished game in the series, with by far the best combat loop. However, I found everything else, from the RPG mechanics to the linear world structure, to be a clear downgrade from Alicization Lycoris. And I can understand the why: focus on what you can do well. But I feel like the ambition of previous titles was something the niche fans of these games had already accepted, and not continuing with that for the franchises’ (supposed) last title is doing it a disservice.
The UI is still terrible, but playable. And the AI is again absolutely braindead, but we all know the real game is in the mutiplayer anyway. And Cyanide has already posted a comprehensive roadmap, which should fill in a few missing gaps as well. Still as fun as it is, Blood Bowl 3 is a warning of what some developers and publishers are willing to try to make a quick buck. It may be fixed and fun now, but we can’t forget when it wasn’t.
Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is the kind of game that confuses me with its existence. It’s not for newcomers with its real-time world map on top of real time combat. Even slowed down to turtle speed, it’s still a lot for someone who’s never played a game like this to start with. Especially with the complete lack of a worthwhile tutorial to lead them through the game. And it’s definitely not for genre veterans, given they’ll have played ten games that do everything better than this one.
It feels like a product of its time, with newer games doing the same things, but better. Especially Triangle Strategy, a game I now recognize takes a lot of cues from this title. It’s still a good game, and worth playing for people curious about the history of the genre. Beyond that however, I just don’t see the hype.
Disciples: Liberation was a game I started out intrigued by. It seemed my thing, and I wanted to like it. After I started playing it though, I moved from wanting to like it to simply wanting to like something about it. Eventually, I ended up just playing it to get through it, which is the death knell for any game. After all, if a game’s not fun, what’s the point?
Transformers: Battlegrounds is a basic turn-based strategy game, no more, no less. The campaign is decent, if lacking in overarching mechanics that make XCOM so addicting. Likewise the multiplayer is fun, but the omission of any versus modes is kind of bizarre. The gameplay is vanilla, but still fun and the use of environmental effects is genuinely interesting. It’s the kind of game that’s fun, has nothing overtly wrong with it, but just lacks something what would make it whole.
I hate games like this. The actual concept is great, but playing it just sucks all the fun out. There’s so much potential here, so many things to do, and the presence of both PvE and PvP means that low player count isn’t an issue. But those wait times that also highlight the terrible AI just invalidate all of it.
I can’t help but feel this would make a perfect fit on the Switch. The time wasted would be far more palatable on a handheld versus your television. At least with the Switch, you can watch some TV while you’re auto-skipping your 20th turn in a row.
Sonic Frontiers is so frustrating because it was so close to greatness. Despite the story weirdness, I did genuinely enjoy Kronos Island. The mechanics and feeling of speed were great, the levels were fantastic (this carries across the whole game), and the boss fight was absolutely incredible. But then you fly off to Ares Island, something shoots you scattering the Chaos Emeralds, and you crash land realizing that you have to do everything you just did all over again. It’s at that exact point the game falls apart and it never recovers because it pulls this nonsense two more times.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a real mixed bag of a game. The combat and character customization is superb, but the campaign doesn’t feel worth it. Amazing multiplayer with lots of depth, but not enough people are playing to make it worth it either.
Circus Electrique has so much promise. It’s gameplay foundation is incredibly solid, the theme unique and well executed, and there’s plenty of variety in everything. And while it’s definitely inherently flawed, there’s nothing here that can’t be fixed. Right off the bat, a store or resource exchange system would go far in improving your dealings with RNG. A way to leave current districts and replay previous ones to grind would as well. Balance changes are as always the easiest to pull off, and I’m sure some are on the way even now. The point is, while these issues are critical to actually playing and enjoying the game, they’re all easily fixable and I’m really hoping the developers realize this. Because this really is a fun and unique game, and I’d really really love to actually be able to enjoy it.
I was ultimately disappointed, but not surprised by GRID Legends. After all, with the level of quality the last game set I couldn’t imagine this one being that much different. And while I did really really enjoy the story mode, it was very short and not the kind of thing people buy racing games for. The rest of the single-player was generic and barebones, while the multiplayer is already circling the drain.
My Friend Peppa Pig is not a game most of us will play. However, it’s not your standard licensed nightmare fuel. It was created to be a carefully crafted experience for the show’s young fans. This is reflected in its simple button scheme, simple puzzles, and not much gamey gameplay to speak of. However it looks impressive and perfectly succeeds in delivering the experience of being inside the show. So for any parents with kids obsessed with the show, this game was made for them.