Leonardo Faria's Reviews
Sol Cresta is not a bad bullet-hell shooter at all, but it’s far from being the most interesting I’ve played in a while. Its visuals and soundtrack did not wow me, and while it had one very interesting gameplay feature, it wasn’t exactly a new one: other games in the franchise have had them in the past. It felt less of a modern revival of an arcade franchise and just a new version of a 90s title which was locked in someone’s storage for the past 25 years.
Harvestella is far from being the most impressive and innovative mixture between a farming simulator and an action RPG, but it’s far from being outright bad or worthy of being ignored, either. It’s got some neat redeeming factors, namely its phenomenal soundtrack and relaxing farming vibes, while suffering from an uninspired combat system, and some really poor pacing problems.
Is there anything else that needs to be said? The The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was nearly perfect back in 2015, mostly hampered by bugs (which have already been fixed) and the hardware they were running on. The hardware issue is no more, with these next-gen versions letting you play these games the way they were intended to be experienced, with nearly no loading times, improved visuals, and a much sexier framerate. Is it worth revisiting it yet again? Absolutely! It might be a nearly 150 hour long RPG (counting the expansions and Gwent, of course), but it’s just way too good to be set aside.
I laud Floodland for being a shockingly niche game, aiming to please a very minute and specific subsection of gamers into survival, city builders, and strategy simulators all at once. It is flawed, being way too slow before it becomes really interesting, not to mention some performance issues, but it does indeed succeed at what it was developed for. It’s just a really hard sell for anyone besides this very specific niche of gamers, and not enough of a “city-builder” for those who are into the genre in particular.
It might be a bit frustrating in the beginning, given how punishing its first few hours are, but once you rack up some cash to afford new parts and cars altogether, the game becomes a blast. It may not have received the biggest marketing budget, and being borderline stealth released in December did it no favors, but do not miss this one out. It’s one hell of an entertaining racing experience.
Beholgar is just… there. It’s not a terrible metroidvania, but it’s severely lacking in notable elements that make it positively stand out among a sea of other indie metroidvanias in the market. Not even the fact this is the closest to a Conan metroidvania we’ll probably ever get seemed to pique my interest at the end of the day. All in all, it’s not an offensively bad game, far from it, but it’s very unmemorable.
For those who were already used to expecting actual mechanical improvements in each WRC iteration, WRC Generations might be a bit disappointing, as it is, for the most part, more WRC 10. That is to say it’s more of the (still pretty good) same. It makes up for its lack of innovation with a sheer amount of tracks and cars at your disposal, in a “greatest hits” kind of way. Even though it’s slightly less polished than WRC 10, I still absolutely recommend checking WRC Generations out.
New Joe & Mac reminded me a lot of Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection. It has its audience of retro arcade platformer enthusiasts who will be drawn towards gorgeous visuals and what they call “challenging gameplay”, but at the end of the day, it’s a brutally unfair game filled to the brim with difficulty-increasing mechanics implemented in order to extend its duration. It has its charm, I won’t lie, especially with these gorgeous visuals, but this isn’t the easiest of recommendations.
Don’t get me wrong, Bayonetta 3 is still an excellent action game. If you like the franchise, you’ll still have a great time with it. It still retains the dumb fun vibe the franchise is known for, and the fact you can play this over-the-top nonsense anywhere you want to is a major plus. But I cannot ignore the fact it feels more like a game being held hostage on a console which cannot run it like it should. Being a Nintendo Switch exclusive is a detriment to its potential, and, as a result, we’re getting drab visuals, less impressive level designs, and serious framerate and resolution issues.
I love the open world design, but hate its visuals. I love the inclusion of multiple routes and storylines, but despised the brand new gym battles. I loved the new pokémon designs, but didn’t care that much about its new gameplay gimmick, as usual. It was released before it was ready, before the hype caused by Legends: Arceus could calm down a bit. That being said, it’s Pokémon: it will still sell, it will still be really fun for those into the franchise’s gameplay loop, and Game Freak will surely release a new generation in a few years without caring about fan feedback, as usual.
I know I’ve said time and time again that “game x” is a love letter to “franchise y”, to a nearly exhaustive degree, but Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is just something else. It’s a worthy celebration of one of the most important companies not in gaming’s history, but technology history in general. Hell, maybe even the 20th century as a whole. The sheer amount of games included in it, both old and new, would already make this collection worth checking out for a retro enthusiast, but the tons of extras, namely footage from the 70s and modern interviews with Atari alumni and celebrity fans, result in this almost becoming a playable documentary.
Let’s put it this way: there’s enough content in Let’s Play Curling to justify its existence as a video game, and not just a mode in a winter sport compilation title, but not at the currently asked price tag. It’s not a deep experience, it doesn’t look appealing, and you won’t play it for more than twenty or so minutes at a time. I commend Imagineer for milking as much content as possible with what little they had at their disposal, especially in an ultra niche sport like curling, but this one is a tough recommendation.
Arkanoid: Eternal Battle is a fun take on a dated and immovable gameplay loop, that suffers from the fact it will only be fully enjoyed if more people buy it and play its excellent battle royale mode. Even though it has other modes to satiate your brick breaking needs in case you’re a solo player, be it with the inclusion of the old arcade game or bots, it’s just not the same without the sheer chaos provided by lots of players going nuts at once.
Tt’s pure, cathartic, and an unapologetic sensory overload. It’s pure nonsense. It’s a game that doesn’t excite with its visuals and overexcited sound design, but it’s so bizarre you will keep on playing it out of sheer amusement. There isn’t anything else like it on the Nintendo Switch or any other console.
The differences being minute aren’t exactly a deal-breaker. It’s legitimately hard to improve upon a formula that has been polished to near perfection for Sports Interactive’s small, but die-hard loyal fanbase. Football Manager 2023 caters to its audience and gives zero craps if you’re not part of this minute niche. If you are part of this demographic, however, this will once again be a time-consuming, heart-wrenching, immersive, and engrossing experience, one you could easily spend spend hundreds of hours playing.
I will commend The Case of the Golden Idol for being an excruciatingly smart game with a neat method of developing its lore and world-building, but its mystery solving gameplay loop, while engaging for those into whodunits, features some flaws worth pointing out. Solving a case is really rewarding, but getting stuck in a particular puzzle feels punishing, with the game nearly starting to treat you in a condescending way if you start using its (tiresome) hint system too often.
This chaotic gameplay and a really simple yet neat RPG progression system, where you’re given the opportunity to level up skills and increase stats like HP and attack, are what make The Pinball Wizard more entertaining and replayable than it should be.
Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a hilariously absurd game from a novelty standpoint, and it has neat elements, such as hunting for NFC-infused objects at home in order to generate monsters, which gave me a nostalgic feeling of inserting CDs in order to get monsters back in the 90s. However, it is still a dated and clunky game for 2022 standards. It gets repetitive quickly, but if you’re part of the aforementioned demographics, you’ll have the time of your life with this dude-in-a-rubber-suit breeding simulator.
I am not going to try to tell you that Gotham Knights is a pristine superhero game devoid of issues, for there are many, but I really enjoyed playing it. In fact, I haven’t stopped playing it yet. Its story is fantastic, and the core gameplay loop is solid, whether you’re talking about a story-driven solo mission or yet another nightly patrol with some mates. It is not, however, a game that deserves the label of “next-gen only”, as its performance is outshined by many other PS4 and Xbox One games.
As it stands, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a great idea for an asymmetrical multiplayer experience, a potentially fun co-op time with friends, hampered by questionable design choices and a severe lack of content. You’ll see everything the game has to offer in an hour or so.