Leonardo Faria's Reviews
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is just alright. There’s nothing terrible about it, and there’s nothing that makes it truly stand out. Even if its gameplay is floaty, it is so damn easy you won’t even care about it. It’s full of content related to the first three movies in the franchise, but it doesn’t properly follow the trilogy’s “from zero to hero” premise, making it feel less like a tie-in and more of a “what if” fanservicey fest than an accurate tie-in.
Compared to the bucketload of shovelware we tackle every year, Leo: The Firefighter Cat is actually far from being one of worst releases of 2024. For a kid’s game, it’s not amazing, but I do think younger crowds can have some fun with it, at least for as long as their attention span allows them to. It might be simple, it might be completely devoid of challenge, but it’s a somewhat well-built (albeit massively forgettable) title, never feeling completely boring or even condescending.
A pointless always online requirement, underwhelming car variety, and terrible progression system hinder what could have otherwise been a decent open-world racing game. I legitimately think that this can still be salvaged with a big fat update, removing some of these dated online requirements, rearranging the in-game economy, and reworking the visuals and GPU optimization to an acceptable degree. The gameplay itself is good, and the controls are actually decent. There is a foundation for something great in Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. It’s just buried under tons of glitches, pointless commercial decisions, and an undeniable amount of jank.
I was really looking forward to playing As Per My Last Email, only for it to become one of my biggest disappointments of the year, or possibly even the past few years. I was salivating for a game about a frustrated office worker being able to demolish his workspace, but for crying out loud, this is far from the kind of game I hoped for. It’s basic, it’s slow-paced, it’s glitchy as all hell. Finally, it’s just not fun at all. There’s no catharsis, no reason to play it for more than two or three minutes, or even a reason to check it out as some kind of novelty.
Squirrel with a Gun is a pretty simplistic but upfront game that offers exactly what its ridiculous name might suggest: it’s all about tackling puzzles and obstacles as a freaking squirrel wielding a big fat gun. Whilst it does ooze the the vibes of an overrated “meme game” like Goat Simulator, it does have more substance and care put into it. It might be janky, but its level design is solid, and some of its puzzles were quite ingenious. Its one-note joke wears off after a while, but it’s still somewhat fun while the novelty lasts.
The Crush House is interesting at first, with a really novel concept and controls that are really easy to pick up, but its innovative aspect and replayability don’t last for long. Between its repetitive nature and predictable plot twists, you’ll only get a true kick out of it if you’re really into celebrity culture, trash television reality shows, and don’t mind some unsubtle jabs at consumerism, “bread and circus” mentality, and so on. Even if it didn’t wow me that much, I can’t call it a bad game. Also, if anything, it’s a stupidly creative title. It just needed a bit more substance.
The overall consensus is that sure, you are going to buy Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection solely because of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and it sure has been remastered to perfection, but I’m glad that this package features every single Marvel-themed Capcom title developed and released prior to their 2000 magnum opus. It’s a phenomenal collection I never thought would ever be released, a magnificent piece of gaming preservation and mindless arcade fun. In short, grab it, have fun with it, and rejoice.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland was a mixed experience. I loved its presentation, with its amazing visuals and pretty decent soundtrack, but its level design felt a bit cheap, its platforming can be faulty at times, and, well, it’s just too damn short. By the time you’re starting to get used to its intricacies, the game is already over. I did appreciate the intention of making it a remaster of a fictional long-lost 8-bit title that had never been released before, but even games from back then featured a bit more meat and lasting appeal.
Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn can be infuriating at times, due to clunky platforming and a borderline irritating level of difficulty, but if you take it as one of those challenging arcade games which want you to memorize pattern recognition and enemy placements, you can have quite a bit of fun with it. If you have the patience, that is. As a fun arcade pasttime, meant to be played in shorter bursts, and also thanks to its pretty good presentation, Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn is a pretty decent recommendation.
I am still cautiously optimistic regarding the post-launch content and roadmap, but as it stands, I love Age of Mythology: Retold. It retains the gameplay loop and iconic soundtrack of the original 2002 release, improving upon it by featuring brand-new visuals, a vastly more intuitive UI, and a plethora of small quality-of-life perks. It’s the game I grew up loving to death, but better than ever before.
I don’t have many qualms regarding the gameplay loop at all, as it’s probably the best thing one could have hoped for from a Quidditch game. Even if the Seeker’s role got massively nerfed, I understand the decision, for balancing purposes. Mechanically-speaking, Unbroken Studios did a great job with Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions. It’s just underwhelming to look at, and it’s lacking in terms of modes and lasting appeal. As of now, it doesn’t feature a lot of teams, modes, or even a reason to keep you entertained for long.
Even if I don’t consider Castlevania Dominus Collection to be the best retro compilation Konami has ever put out (The Cowabunga Collection still reigns supreme), it’s still a close second. The amount of bang for your buck is astonishing, as this collection features three meaty and highly acclaimed DS metroidvanias, as well as a remake of a formerly maligned title in the franchise’s history. Furthermore, I feel like M2 has finally figured out a way to make DS games function decently on a big screen, opening the floodgates for future compilations and/or remasters. Pick this one up right away, and start whipping some demons like it’s the mid 2000s all over again.
Star Wars Outlaws just didn’t have a lot of cool elements to make it stand out from the rest of the crowd. There isn’t a lot in it that’s actually bad, broken, or unpolished, but rarely did it ever excite me. It’s your run-of-the-mill open world AAA game, one you’ve played a million times before from Ubisoft and other studios, with all the generic clichés you’d expect from the most default of titles in the genre. It just so happens to be drenched in a Star Wars coat of paint.
I’ll be brief because there’s not a lot else that needs to be said: it’s a Nightdive remaster of the first two Doom games, and you already know what that means. Those games now look better than ever, run like a dream, and have been tinkered to near perfection. I have a few complaints regarding lighting effects and the clunky weapon selection system, but that doesn’t make this package any less exciting. Featuring every single previously released expansion, plus a brand new campaign and even mod support, the lasting appeal is endless. Those brand new Doom remasters are simply amazing, and you should play them right now.
Cygni: All Guns Blazing is a hair-pulling experience which will enrage many people, if they are not used to how intense (and often unfair) old-school bullet hell shooters can be. Its level of difficulty is borderline insane at times. With that being said, it’s also one of the most engaging, beautiful and immersive bullet hell shooters I’ve ever played.
If you put aside the awful introductory cutscenes and unforgivably bad framerate for a PC game, Earth Defense Force 6 is basically more Earth Defense Force, and that’s never a bad thing. A completely stupid but endearing shooter with simple controls and a really fun gameplay loop; that’s all it needs to be, at the end of the day. Would I recommend picking it up on PC over its more traditional console versions? Well, if you can put up with the crappy performance (something which can be remedied with a patch), I’d say yes. Mouse and keyboard controls on an arcade shooter will always be a welcome addition to a successful formula.
I am sure that Aero the Acro-Bat has never been an amazing game or a staple from the 16-bit era of gaming, but I expected more from it. I don’t even think that Ratalaika did a poor job remastering the title; there are lots of neat extras and a competent rewind function in order to deal with the many leaps of faith you gotta perform. It’s just a somewhat underwhelming game, yet another mediocre mascot platformer released at a time when everyone wanted to have their own Sonic the Hedgehog.
I have always wanted to play Ace Combat 7 on-the-go, but I’ve always thought that wouldn’t have been possible unless I had access to a Steam Deck. What Project Aces and Bandai Namco did here is nothing short of spectacular. Sure, the framerate is limited to 30fps, and it drains the Switch’s battery like a Rimac Nevera at 250mph, but it’s a fantastic port of a game that was already quite demanding on much more powerful systems. It still looks quite good, its framerate is solid, and its pseudo-arcadey gameplay loop works quite well on a portable. In short, Ace Combat 7 might not exactly be the absolute BEST impossible Switch port, but it’s safe to say it’s easily the most impressive of them all.
The fact I didn’t find any game-breaking glitch or performance issue was already a relief (even if that’s the bare minimum to be expected), but, for the most part, this is the same Star Wars: Bounty Hunter you grew up with. With the exception of a new control scheme, it’s the same underrated (but understandably divisive) game released back in 2002.
Whilst I do appreciate the fact this former hidden gem is now available in more modern platforms, there was no need for SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos‘ CPU to be this unfairly broken, even at the easiest level options I could find. We have already paid an upfront price for the game, we don’t need to spend quarters on extra fight attempts. Give us some room to breathe. Well, at the least the multiplayer netcode is as good as expected, even if I didn’t spend that much time on it. As for the rest, it looks good, sounds decent enough, and it’s a great way to preserve a classic.