Leonardo Faria's Reviews
It’s been nearly ten years, but Resident Evil 7 hasn’t aged a day. Its brand new Switch 2 port not only showcases that its gameplay is still fresh and tense after all these years, but also showcases how well Nintendo’s portable can handle some of the more demanding games from the previous generation, with a handful of improvements to make it look as good as its current-gen counterparts.
Saying that Tokyo Xtreme Racer feels like I’m playing a niche, mid-tier title from the PS2 era is not a point of criticism in this case. Even if it’s not aiming for the same kind of realism and impressive scopes seen in more recent racing gaming franchises, I can easily say there is nothing else like it out in the market. It perfectly oozes the easygoing vibes from that era of consoles without the graphical or resolution limitations from the period.
My verdict for this re-release of City Hunter is similar to pretty much any other subpar licensed game I have ever tested. If you’re a fan of the source material, as niche as it might be nowadays, you might enjoy it for a few minutes, as this is the only City Hunter game that has ever been developed and released. If you’re not part of this very specific demographic, then there’s nothing about this game that will either make you enjoy it, or turn you into a fan of the manga.
Reigns: The Witcher is superbly well-written, and masterfully integrated into the world and lore of Andrzej Sapkowski and CD Projekt Red’s works. It doesn’t feel like a cheap cashgrab. On the contrary, you can clearly see that Devolver, CDPR and Nerial worked together in order to come up with an engaging random story simulator that feels right at home in this world full of liars, deceivers, and terrible outcomes for everyone.
Revolgear Zero is the quintessential example of game feel being the most important aspect of an interactive piece of software: it doesn’t innovate in terms of visuals, sound, or controls, but knows how to appease players with how powerful your weapons are, and with the sheer insane amount of rewards you acquire whenever you defeat hordes of enemy ships or a giant boss.
Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition is an odd collection to talk about. On one hand, I was shocked at how well its visuals have aged, and I love how the addition of a rewind feature makes these once-frustrating games a lot more bearable to deal with. I also love the fact this absolute classic of a game is now preserved to posterity. But I also expected more from it. In terms of side content, the only neat inclusion worth speaking of is the 1992 SNES prototype. No interviews, no extras, no art galleries, no nothing.
God of War: Sons of Sparta is a very interesting prologue to the series as a whole, and a welcome return to the franchise’s original Greek setting, but as a metroidvania… I mean, it’s good, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen and played dozens of times before, especially in a post-Silksong and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown world.
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.