The Ascent is a bloody good time that combines addictive twin-stick shooting, a spectacular cyberpunk world, and a rocking synth soundtrack that elevates every moment to the next level. I never wanted to put the game down, despite some shortcomings.
Chernobylite is a wonderfully unique game with multiple gameplay elements that make it stand out rather than being dumped as just another post-apocalyptic survival game.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a much better game than I could have ever anticipated. It’s a very clever spin on the Monster Hunter formula, with a cutesy art style, turn-based combat that is easy to pick up regardless of your experience with RPG games, a serviceable story, and more than enough depth and sidequests to keep you busy for hours.
Song of Horror was a lot better than I could have ever expected. This is an inventive horror game that brings in scares through permadeath mechanics and unique story-driven moments. It’s a love letter to horror across multiple mediums that is incredibly inventive. Even though it doesn’t quite hit its full potential due to its visual and audio issues, this is a game that every horror fan should try out.
Outbreak: Endless Nightmares is just a bad game. Everything from the awful controls, terrible pseudo-randomised level design, a paper-thin story that I can tell you nothing about, all make for a horrible experience. Then mix in needless roguelike elements that just don’t belong in a Resident Evil style title. It’s a recipe made in hell.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends has potential when it comes to its team-based, stealh-oriented heist gameplay concept. That cannot be discussed. However, issues related to its gameplay and how easily it can be exploited, as well as that overall sense that it’s not bound to retain its community for long, make it quite hard to recommend, even if I’m hopeful the developers will continute to support it over time.
Resident Evil Village doesn’t reach the dizzying heights of my personal favourite game in the franchise, Resident Evil 2 Remake. It does, however, provide one of the best Action Horror gameplay experiences out there. Whilst it may seem like a successor to RE4, there’s a lot of the other games in here as well, making it one of the most complete Resident Evil experiences to date.
For better of for worse, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 is pretty much what it was so many years ago. If you didn’t like the original release, then this won’t do much to convince you otherwise, and if you are coming from Automata, this is a weaker game in a lot of ways.
Godstrike is a passable attempt at a boss rush game. It is certainly a brutal challenge that will take dozens of attempts to get through, but it’s just not a very fun experience. There’s some potential here with the time mechanic not only being your health but also a resource that you need to manage. The problem lies on the lacklustre boss battles, which comprise the entirety of the game’s runtime, however.
Monster Hunter Rise is an excellent continuation of the Monster Hunter franchise, feeling more like a refinement to its predecessor's already excellent Iceborne expansion. This is a game I will be coming back to over and over again. I’m very much looking forward to the PC release next year.