Leonardo Faria's Reviews
Cyber Shadow is not the best retro-infused indie platformer starring a ninja I’ve played in recent memory, but it’s still well worth your time. It’s occasionally unfair and frustrating, but once you reach a boss battle or a better designed level, you’ll be greeted with a surprisingly rewarding action experience with great visuals and soundtrack.
Don’t think Atelier Ryza 2 is a bad game. There are lots of good things in it, in fact. The problem is that I was expecting more from a game with a full-fledged Playstation 5 build. With the exception of the fast loading times, the game doesn’t take advantage of the system’s hardware, resulting in a game that looks dated and runs as well as what I would expect from its Switch port.
In short, some of the games included in here might suffer from some graphical and gameplay issues brought over from the 90’s, but this collection really impressed me nonetheless. Turrican Flashback is one of the more robust retro collections released in recent memory.
As expected, Hed the Pig is terrible, absolutely abysmal, with terrible visuals, controls, and one of the most boring gameplay loops in recent memory. It’s the game that makes me wonder how easy it must be to get one of these Switch devkits. Why was this conceived, and most importantly, approved for commercial release, will remain as one of the biggest mysteries of the universe.
All in all, it’s a shame that Writhe is severely lacking in content, but that’s not its main issue. It’s not fun to play, and it’s ugly to look at. Its gameplay is clunky and borderline unfair at times. Not to mention the noticeable technical issues that hinder its performance. This might possibly be the first exclusive FPS to the Switch, but I don’t see the reason to pick it up in its current state.
Skater XL is a game full of good intentions, but not only is it completely devoid of content, but it’s also devoid of a community that was supposed to come up with new levels and assets for other players to enjoy. Sadly, I see no reason for people to give this game a shot nowadays.
All in all, Shot in the Dark is a very simple and straightforward game, but it succeeds at what it wanted to do: provide a genuinely creepy experience with the simplest graphics and controls one could imagine. This game made me feel more unsettled than many modern horror games out there.
The PlayStation 5 version of MXGP 2020 feels exactly like most early titles released right after a console’s initial launch period. It’s midway between the last generation and what the next generation of gaming will actually look and feel like, and a game that utilizes some of its new hardware’s capabilities. But at the end of the day, it feels just like a slightly prettier last-gen title.
Hell Pages is a very mediocre take on the ultra-saturated shoot ’em up genre, with little going on besides its edgelord themes and art style. If you’re a massive fan of classic Doom and pretty much any piece of media that tries to emulate its visuals and soundtrack, then I’d say you could give this game a try and have a few minutes of fun with it.
I enjoyed Blacksmith of the Sand Kingdom almost as much as I enjoyed Marenian Tavern Story. KEMCO and Rideon’s take on the JRPG-business simulator hybrid is still very fun, just like it was a few years ago.
Sometimes, aiming for a wider audience isn’t the right solution. Override 2 isn’t better than its predecessor at all. Its gameplay is much simpler and less appealing, its visuals are far from impressive for a PS5 title, and it’s still very underwhelming if you decide to play it on your own.
El Hijo is a fine stealth game. It does what it intended to offer, but besides its nice visuals and excellent Morricone-esque soundtrack, it does little to stand out over the dozens, maybe hundreds of much better stealth titles out there. If its nonviolent approach isn’t exactly something so important to you, then I’d recommend looking at its polar opposite in terms of color, violence. and vibe, A Plague Tale: Innocence, instead.
Just like other Double Dragon games released over the years, Double Dragon Neon isn’t exactly bad, but it’s so downright mediocre it’s hard to find anything worth praising in it besides the excellent synthwave soundtrack.
Empire of Sin is in a better state now than how it was at launch, with several fixes to its UI and performance, but this is still too much for the Switch to handle. I’m not talking solely about its still-underwhelming performance, but also the fact that it tries to be an excessive amount of games at once, without ever exploring all of its features to a reasonable degree.
It is beyond simplistic in terms of gameplay, but it’s challenging enough to keep it interesting. It features some interesting level editing mechanics and it does let your imagination run wild if you’re skilled enough when it comes to drawing characters with a mouse.
If you’re looking for fun, retro-inspired titles in one package, Space Invaders Forever can fulfill your needs. But bear in mind this isn’t a retro collection. You’re getting a DS game, a mobile spinoff and whatever the hell Gigamax 4 SE is. You’re not getting the history of Space Invaders, any meaningful additional content, or even a reskinned version of the original.
The graphical improvements didn’t exactly wow me, but I definitely did not expect for EA to come up with one of the coolest implementations of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers to date. It makes me look forward to what they’re capable of doing in maybe two years, when everyone will already own a PS5 or a Series X.
If you want to add another platinum trophy to your collection with little to no effort, then sure, go ahead, My Name Is Mayo 2 is the game for you. Just be aware of the imminent carpal tunnel syndrome you’re going to develop.
Ponpu doesn’t always deliver in its gameplay department and it’s far from being the spiritual successor to Bomberman we actually aren’t in a desperate need of right now, but it’s still quite fun. What really makes the game stand out is its bizarre presentation, visuals and surprisingly catchy soundtrack.
Phogs! might feature a confusing control scheme, whether you’re playing by yourself or with a friend, but it’s hard to get mad at it. Its puzzles are simple yet not exactly obvious, its stakes are so low to the point of making the entire experience very relaxing, and its presentation is so unbelievably adorable you can’t help but want to jump into the TV screen just to be able to actually pet that adorable protagonist.