Leonardo Faria's Reviews
I still cannot believe this game was developed and published by EA. Star Wars Squadrons is downright amazing. It’s a phenomenal VR experience, an addictive multiplayer title, and most importantly, a freaking fantastic Star Wars game. It’s something that could easily rival Lucasarts’ best titles from back in the day.
Ys Origin is a phenomenal fit for a system like the Switch. I loved its deliciously rewarding gameplay and metroidvania-esque gameplay loop. It might be the most underwhelming game in the franchise when it comes to plot and characters, but I didn’t mind that at all. For a game released in 2006, it’s amazing how well it has aged in pretty much every single aspect.
Feather is alright when it comes to its presentation, but I’m still trying to understand what the hell is its purpose. I’ve been flying around, looking at some cute low-poly sights, and wondering if there was some objective to complete, if I should flying through all rings and amass some collectibles. It’s just pointless. I’m not saying the game is bad due to its nonviolent and relaxing approach, on the contrary. But please, give us something to do in it.
Port Royale 4 is not a bad game by any means, as it does what it advertises with honors, but maybe I expected a bit more from a game centered around the golden age of piracy. This is actually a relaxing experience, but you can clearly notice it wasn’t created with consoles in mind. It is a PC game, first and foremost.
Despite the involvement of WayForward in its development, Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia is, at the very best, just an average platformer. It doesn’t offer anything new in terms of gameplay and definitely doesn’t impress when it comes to its visuals.
As long as you understand that you’re about to play a game that has aged significantly (it was originally released in 2004, after all), then you’ll have a great time with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition. Yes, it doesn’t look that great nowadays. Yes, its UI is janky and confusing. That doesn’t mean you won’t have tons of fun coming up with the stupidest, most gravity-defying rides in history.
Pardon the cliché, but Art of Rally is exactly that. It’s art. Not only is it one hell of an entertaining racing game, but it’s also a visual delight, a musical masterpiece, and a love letter to cars and racing in general. The developers took inspiration from lots of different gaming and non-gaming sources in order to create something unique and truly memorable.
I’m pleased with how robust Tennis World Tour 2 is. It looks decent, its framerate is great, its controls have been completely revamped, and it’s chock-full of content. I may not have cared that much for its card system, nor have I enjoyed what they have done to its serve mechanics, but as a whole, this is a fantastic improvement over its predecessor. Right now, this is easily the best option if you want a tennis game on your current-gen console.
In many ways, you may think that Breakpoint is probably the most generic title in gaming history. It doesn’t look very appealing and its gameplay is as shallow as a puddle. Yet somehow, it works. It’s so simplistic and carefree to the point of becoming freeing. There’s just something about slashing tons of colorful enemies onscreen that makes me feel entertained.
Metamorphosis has a great premise and a very intelligent story. I’m not gonna lie, playing as a bug in a first-person perspective was impressive at first. Too bad this one of the most unpolished games I have ever played in my life.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact this collection exists. I love that I can play these classic Mario games on-the-go. They are still ridiculously fun. But I can’t help but feel annoyed with the lack of effort put into this collection. It just feels lazy. We are paying sixty dollars for emulated ROMs, available for a limited time only, with little to no quality of life improvements. This sets a very bad precedent for the future.
No Straight Roads‘ premise is fantastic. I loved its setting, its soundtrack, and I really enjoyed its cast of characters, despite how freakishly weird Mayday looks. A game all about saving the world with the power of rock should be an easy win for me. If it wasn’t for its clunky combat and controls, as well as its tendency to bite way more than it can actually chew, No Straight Roads would have been one of the best surprises of the year.
If anything, eFootball PES 2021 Season Update is very upfront and very honest. It offers almost nothing new when compared to last year’s PES 2020, besides some very minute (but still welcome) gameplay tweaks and some roster updates. However, it does feature a much more honest price tag as a means to compensate for that.
You’ll spend about fifteen minutes between downloading Road Bustle, getting all of its trophies, and uninstalling it. It actually took longer for me to write this review than it took me to 100% the freaking thing. Technically speaking, it’s not a completely broken game, as it does what it advertises, but it’s so pathetic and uninspiring.
The idea behind Double Kick Heroes is absolutely amazing, and its soundtrack is oh so great. I really wanted to love it, considering how much I love most rock-centered rhythm games, but this game is a mess when you play in harder difficulties.
Playing Street Power Soccer right after tackling another lighthearted arcade football experience in Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions just makes the overall experience even more annoying. It’s not pretty to look at, its soundtrack is atrocious, and its gameplay is way too stiff for a freaking freestyle game.
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is exactly what I wanted from a game based off the classic anime franchise. It looks the part, it’s filled with overdramatic cutscenes and set pieces, and its gameplay doesn’t exactly follow the rules of football to a tee. This is basically the closest to a Super Mario Strikers or one of those older SNK football games you will find in the market nowadays.
I was really hoping Tamarin was going to be the spiritual sequel to Jet Force Gemini I’ve been waiting for the past twenty years. What I ended up getting was a carbon copy of an old game with even clunkier controls, underwhelming production values, a terrible setting, and not a single droplet of charisma or humor.
I am beyond disappointed. Bounty Battle has such a fantastic premise and such an amazing roster, but calling this half-baked doesn’t even scratch the surface of its issues. It looks bland, its sound department is mediocre at best, it features an underwhelming selection of modes, it’s a bit glitchy, and to top things off, its gameplay is just not fun.
This is the third time in a row that Rayark Games releases a game with little to no fanfare or prior promotion, and that game ends up being a surprising, well-crafted gem. MO: Astray is a fantastic little indie platformer that manages to be really engaging and creepy with its storytelling, while also managing to entertain with a very unique and intuitive control scheme.