Leonardo Faria's Reviews
It could have easily been marketed as a brand new IP set in Purgatory; it would have still been generic, the typical game to be released on Gamepass and enjoyed for a month, but it wouldn’t have felt like an attempt to cash in on a dormant franchise’s nostalgic appeal despite having nothing to do with it.
As a game itself, Chicken Run: Eggstraction is fine, completely competent, even if it’s not the most fantastic stealth title in the world. But when you combine its simple but effective gameplay loop (which can also be enjoyed with a friend in local co-op) with some jaw-dropping cutscenes, excellent voice acting, and some lovely British dry wit, you get a game that will rarely make you feel bored.
It’s just an underwhelming cash grab. By featuring dated visuals, unresponsive controls, and barely any connection to its source material whatsoever, there is no way I can recommend this console version of Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition to anyone, even die-hard fans of the franchise.
Ball x Pit is what I love the most about Devolver Digital’s curation: scouting and publishing ideas that sound completely chaotic and nonsensical, only for them to end up working so much better than anyone could have ever predicted. The combination of bullet hell shooters, block puzzles, city management, and traditional roguelike elements are all seemingly random ingredients that work incredibly well together, resulting in one of the most addictive roguelite gameplay loops in recent memory.
Annoying visual issues aside, which I hope can be patched with a future update, I had a great time playing Persona 3 Reload on the Switch 2. It’s an odd case of a Persona game where the gameplay kicks off right away, but the plot takes a while to show up. Once it does, you’re in for a ride.
Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac won’t be anyone’s brand new favorite game, but I seriously can’t find anything egregious to say about it. It’s a really competent remake of a fun but unpolished gem from back in the day. So when you fix its issues, beef up its visuals, and add in just a bit more content, what you have here is exactly that: a gem.
In theory, doing a thorough explanation of Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny‘s features, gameplay and presentation might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world. But this is a clear case of a game that is a lot more interesting and fun than the actual sum of its parts, thanks to its irresistible charm.
It just made me smile and feel good about myself while playing, with its adorable presentation, great sound design, and easygoing gameplay. I have to take into account that this is, first and foremost, a family game: it’s meant for kids, and for parents to play alongside their children. In no moment did it feel challenging or complex, and to be honest, that’s totally fine. It never felt condescending, either.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is everything I wanted from a higher-budgeted sequel to the criminally underrated and overlooked Cyber Sleuth. By upping the ante in terms of plot, length, stakes, visuals, and even gameplay, what we have here is more than a high-quality licensed manga game. This is easily one of the best JRPGs I’ve played in a while. Without a doubt, the best monster collecting JRPG with “Mon” in its name you can grab right now. Take notes, Game Freak.
Yooka-Replaylee is, by and large, the same 2017 game you know and (hopefully) love, with just an extra layer of polish, less bugs, and more content to enjoy. I might not agree with all of its features, as well as how easy the game feels when compared to the original, but there’s no denying that this is still one hell of an entertaining platformer, with some incredible level design, amazing music, and outstanding visuals.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is part tough-but-fair NES game, part brand new (and highly nostalgic) AVGN episode. Even if it’s painfully short (again, it’s actually a game that can be played on a console from 1985), and even if some deaths felt cheap, I kept playing it with a dumb smile on my face all the time. More than just cheap nostalgia for one of the most famous and important internet celebrities of all time, this is purely and simply a pretty solid 2D action platformer.
What you have here is a very stripped down basketball game. It’s not detailed, doesn’t look amazing (though it runs at a phenomenal framerate), but for the intended audience, I think NBA Bounce is a pretty good entry port for newcomers and kids. What really matters is that it’s easygoing, responsive, completely devoid of microtransactions, and great to pick up and play.
It might be completely based on Mario Party, but there are enough gameplay elements included in Lego Party to make it feel like an actual proper competitor, and not just a mere clone. To be fair, it actually borrowing a lot of elements from its famous source of inspiration actually made it stand out from the myriad of failed clones released over the past few decades, with just enough of the right innovations added to the mix.
Make no mistake, by no means is Wizordrum a bad game. The game features some good level design, and it’s simply impossible to mess up a gameplay loop inspired by Heretic and old-school Doom. But this is the issue: it’s just a very derivative game, whose main appeal (it being heavily inspired by Heretic) feels less impactful after the release of Nightdive’s Heretic remaster collection.
This could have been an interesting title if there were actually puzzles, goals, and something else of substance for you to do. Instead, what we have here is something that feels more like a tech demo. Minimalist in design; mechanics that are sound and work well, but are never realized to their full potential; a really short duration that, still, somehow, manages to overstay its welcome after a short while.
I still don’t think this is a game changer in the franchise, or in football gaming as a whole, but after years of diminishing returns, seeing the slightest of improvements instead of just more of the same is already enough to make me recommend EA Sports FC 26 over a good chunk of its predecessors.
Call it a subversion of expectations, call it a revision on the tired walking simulator genre, call it what you will. Baby Steps is intentonally stupid and, first and foremost, just some perfect fodder for streamers. It’s, admittedly, occasionally funny, occasionally interesting to play, and a bit frustrating at times, though never in a ragequit-inducing kind of way. If anything, I was actually impressed with how the developers were actually able to come up with a halfway entertaining gameplay loop based on something as banal and stupid as walking.
At the end, it’s impossible not to feel disappointed by the end result. I know that not all games by both Suda and Swery are bangers, and that some jank is basically expected from their outings, but Hotel Barcelona could have been so much better. From a concept standpoint, it’s a banger, I really liked the premise. Regarding the gameplay loop, and the roguelike mechanics as a whole, again, all great… in theory. In practice, this game is hampered by framerate hiccups, infuriating input lag issues, and some juvenile humor coupled to some really poor writing.
Formula Legends is a slightly glitchy and unpolished racing game that still manages to entertain thanks to an interesting premise, an addictive gameplay loop, and a truly ungodly amount of content to unlock.
All in all, Otherskin is a game that is more interesting than the sum of its parts. Everything it has to offer, from its setting to its combat and DNA-absorbing gimmick, is… decent. But add all of these elements up, and you get a pretty enjoyable action adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome nor tries to bite more than it can chew. A handful of annoying framerate-related issues and the occasional bug frustrated me, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a few fixes and optimization patch.