Leonardo Faria's Reviews
Crisol: Theater of Idols is an immense collection of great ideas, good intentions, tons of sources of inspiration, and an interesting setting, but hampered by trying to bite way more than it could chew. I loved its setting and atmosphere, but it’s not scary enough to be called a fully-fledged horror game, it’s not action-packed enough to be considered a first-person shooter, nor is it explorable or full of gameplay elements like an immersive sim. The game sits right in the middle of all these elements, clearly showcasing its sources of inspiration, and having enough ideas to make it stand out as something unique, but never being more than just that: a good, well-intentioned, creepy, but flawed game.
Super Bomberman Collection may only cover a very specific slice of the franchise’s more than forty-game history, but it works perfectly as a reminder of why Bomberman became such a beloved series in the first place. Every single title included here is a blast to play, no pun intended. The visuals are charming, the music os fantastic, and the core gameplay loop is just THAT good.
It is an interesting game if you are looking for something that resembles the Sega arcade racers from back in the day, but to be fair, you’d be better off just sticking to the excellent remastered version of Virtua Racing available on the eShop. It’s not a bad title, but it just simply failed to make any sort of impression with me, be it positive or negative.
I do appreciate Quarantine Zone‘s gameplay loop. Its mixture of the bureaucracy analysis popularized by Papers Please, thrown into a zombie apocalypse setting, is, without a shadow of a doubt, very unique, and, at least at first, pretty engaging. Sadly, there’s just not a lot meat in it to keep you invested for long.
It’s slick, it’s stylish, and its gameplay loop is fun and centered around short levels. There’s a lot to like in Don’t Stop Girlypop, especially when it comes to how unique it looks and feels next to pretty much any other first-person shooter out there. You will need a minute to get used to its “the more you move, the faster you move” gameplay premise, and it’s best enjoyed in smaller sessions (it does get repetitive after a while), but I have nothing but the utmost respect for the sheer amount of creativity put into it.
The only people who will have some kind of enjoyment with Fighting Force Collection are those who grew up with those games and have a borderline die-hard nostalgic attachment towards them. I can’t criticise the folks at Implicit Conversions for their porting skills, as there’s nothing wrong with their remastering efforts. The problem lies at the fact these games have simply aged poorly. In fact, I don’t think they have ever been that good, even for their time.
Ultimately, what hurts MIO: Memories in Orbit the most is the fact it’s yet another artsy metroidvania in a sea of very similar and (unfortunately for it) better titles. There aren’t that many elements in it that make it stand out from the competition, even though it is, once more, a pretty decent game with great visuals and movement, albeit frustrating when it comes to its combat and progression. Die-hard fans of the genre will easily have a blast with it, but otherwise, this is a game released at a very unfortunate time.
I loved the visuals, loved the music, and the boss battles were a highlight, but its premise and tiresome gameplay loop bored me after a while. Still, if you are looking for something you clearly have never played before, and will probably never play anything similar to it ever again, then Skate Story will be one of the most unconventional games you’ll ever play. Whether you’ll like it or not is a different story.
Taxi Chaos 2 might have finally added unique selling points to make it feel less like a mere Crazy Taxi clone, but at the end of the day, replaying Sega’s arcade masterpiece for the bazillionth time is still a much more interesting alternative.
Dinkum ain’t the most innovative or impressive life simulation out in the market, but it has just enough elements to make it feel more than just an Animal Crossing knockoff. Even if it’s a really slow-paced game, which requires a painful amount of patience from its players, it is also incredibly rewarding to see your little Australian-esque archipelago grow from a bunch of sand with kangaroos into a charming village full of friendly characters.
I guess we were all expecting for Assassin’s Creed Shadows to suffer some setbacks before getting properly ported to the Switch 2, so I’m not overly disappointed. It’s still somewhat good-looking (in parts), and despite the framerate dips, it’s still a neat and fully playable experience. What’s more, there’s the added benefit of portability and some quality of life perks when it this mode, with larger fonts and touch-based controls. It might not be a good showcase of what to expect from AAA ports onto the Switch 2 (it does feel a bit rushed, I’m not gonna lie), but I had a good time with it regardless. It ain’t Tsushima, but it is a decent alternative.
My main question here is, who is Terrifier: The ARTcade Game for? Beat ’em up fans won’t find any redeeming qualities in one of the genre’s clunkiest outings in years. Fans of the horror franchise will struggle a lot to find any semblance of enjoyment from this edgelordish and overpriced mess that features cheap visuals, poor controls and little to no replay value, as well as a tone that just doesn’t blend in at all with the movies.
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted is still a pretty good remaster of a hidden gem from the PS1 era, with a sizeable amount of content, a presentation that somewhat managed to age gracefully, and a gameplay loop that, sure, might be challenging, but never fails to entertain. I may have wished for a bit more in terms of quality of life enhancements and optional perks, but it still features improved visuals, an art gallery, and so on.
Once Upon a Katamari is not an inventive game in terms of new features, but there was no need to reinvent the wh, I mean, the rolling sticky ball anyway. What we wanted was a new Katamari game after fourteen years, retaining everything we love about the franchise, and that’s exactly what we got. There’s no need to complain about it not being innovative. It’s stupidly fun, addictive as always, and downright charming, and that’s what really matters at the end of the day.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a curious case of a tale of two games. At times, it’s a phenomenal first-person metroidvania with some of the best visuals, immersion and level design ever seen in a Nintendo game, a great reminder as to why Metroid Prime used to rule the world back then. At the same time, it features one of the most pointless and barren open worlds ever put into a big budget title. What you really need to understand is that the former massively, gargantually outweighs the latter.
As previously mentioned, my only “gripe” with Marvel Cosmic Invasion is that it’s brief. Then again, that is completely offset by the fact it’s endlessly replayable, with a ton of characters to play as, new modes to unlock, and more extra content to acquire in a neat in-game content tree. This is one of those games that does everything right, to a point there’s not a lot else to say or complain about. The premise works, the gameplay is phenomenal, the presentation is sublime, and it’s fun to play over and over and over again.
The career mode is deep and enjoyable, but as previously mentioned, you can’t just race with ease, as there’s a lot of depth involved. So you’re going to play and enjoy Project Motor Racing if you’re looking for something pretty specific: a worthy competitor to physics-heavy racing simulators like Assetto Corsa. I just wish it had more day-one cars, but that’s the collecting obsessed in me talking.
It’s super simplistic, dumb, shallow as a puddle, and really repetitive. But if you’re looking for the kind of mindless fun D3 Publisher is known for, this game is an easy recommendation. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have fun with it in smaller bursts. Destroying foes with ease with my overpowered weapons in a colorful and absurdist anime world was pretty cathartic. Overall, if you’re into the same kind of dumb fun you can have with EDF or Onee Chanbara, then Full Metal Schoolgirl will be good for you as well.
All my issues with it revolve around its lack of originality and really bad character development. It is a game all about the origins and development of Lara Croft as a toughened explorer, but man, I didn’t care about her at all after a while. The game’s tone is so all over the place it almost feels silly. Then again, if you simply don’t want to care about Tomb Raider‘s schizophrenic tone, there’s still fun to be had, as this is still a pretty decent, albeit far from spectacular, third-person shooter.
I don’t think that SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide is as memorable and impactful as The Cosmic Shake, but that’s a borderline unfair comparison. That game was just a shocking breath of fresh air that caught everyone off guard. Titans of the Tide maintains the same core gameplay loop, adds just a few new elements here and there, and has a slightly more focused approach in its spooky (but not really) ambience. That being said, it’s still a fantastic platformer well worth your time, and much better than the majority of 3D platformers released over the past few years.