The Smurfs: Dreams is a solid platformer with a tonne of variety and stuff to do. But I want to be very clear, I don't think this game is for the gamer who actually grew up on the Smurfs. It's for their children, who probably don't even know who the Smurfs are. So take that advice as you will when deciding on whether to take the plunge here or not.
Overall, I'd say Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is worth your time if you're a fan of the genre and especially if you're a Power Rangers fan. The presentation is excellent, from the character select screen to the in-game speech scenes, everything feels like the Power Rangers TV show. I particularly loved the little nods Digital Eclipse included to other classics in the genre
The Karate Kid as an IP in video games has an interesting history. The very first video game was all the way back in 1987 on the NES and for a very very long time that’s all we got. But the popularity of Cobra Kai on Netflix reignited popularity for the brand which clearly inspired developers to revisit the IP in the gaming space and we saw a Cobra Kai based video game in 2020 as well as a sequel in 2022. What do all three have in common? They’re all some manner of beat ’em up and now in 2024, another developer is taking on the challenge of making a Karate Kid scrolling beat ’em up with The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. How does it fare? Well, that’s an interesting discussion
There’s nothing actually inherently wrong or bad with Wrath of the Mutants in terms of mechanics and combat. It’s a serviceable scrolling beat ’em up that brilliantly pays homage to the TV show it’s based on. I guess the “issue” is, that it’s not great either. It’s just ok. It’s just that “being ok” really stands out at a time when scrolling beat ’em ups are experiencing a renaissance with games releasing in the genre that stand toe to toe with classics of the past. Wrath of the Mutants does not.
Long time fans of Punch-Out should definitely check out Thunder Ray as it provides a stunning and fun modern day fix at a welcoming price of admission
Overall I’d argue this is probably the best Double Dragon game yet. It does just enough to modernise the franchise without straying from the path well traveled and alienating fans of the franchise.
Xbox players have had to wait a long time for Street Fighter to come back to the platform, and luckily got the best iteration yet.
I can't stress enough how close Embers is to something great here. Strayed Lights is just a few design decisions, tweaks and adjustments away from being fantastic
If you can find a way to break through the difficulty barrier, there's a fantastic brawler on offer here that I definitely think is the template going forward to bring the 2D scrolling beat 'em ups into the 3D world. Where previous efforts like Die Hard Arcade didn't quite stick the landing, SIFU definitely takes home the gold.
Overall JoJo is a pretty solid fighter and a pretty good upgraded port to boot. Some may find the price somewhat prohibitive given the semi-bare bones modes on offer combined with the fact that we are ultimately talking about a port of a niche near decade old fighter, but if you can look past that, there's fun to be had. Jo Jo Manga/Anime fans should definitely be giving this a go.
Gamers who have been craving more mascot platformers should definitely give the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series a shot. It’s a great little time capsule to a period where this was one of the dominant genres in gaming, in a franchise that I feel never got the recognition it truly deserved.
Shredder’s Revenge is an exquisitely executed example of modernising a classic genre and making you feel like this is how you remember the older games looking and feeling, despite being so much better.
I know I sound like a broken record here, but I can’t say enough how refreshing The Artful Escape is. In a sea of third-person open-world collect-a-thons, first-person shooters, and free-to-play action games, it’s nice to be able to just rock out and chill to something that doesn’t require lightning reflexes or demand intense attention from you.
When I played through Streets of Rage 4 just over a year ago, I noticed something almost immediately. There were some Boss characters that felt just a little too...fleshed out to simply remain Bosses you fight in a scrolling beat 'em up. Not to mention two of them had been playable characters in previous entries of the series. Needless to say, when the Mr. X Nightmare DLC was announced a few months ago, my suspicions were confirmed and my excitement took over. Now it's finally here and I got to spend some time going through it all and I must say, I'm very impressed with what's on offer here, particularly at this price point.
If you can look past the scarcity of modes and the anemic nature of the ones on offer, Samurai Showdown Special Edition is a fantastic return of a beloved fighting game franchise. It's a refreshing option for those who might want a break or palate cleanser from the combo heavy and more bombastic fighting games that are more prevalent in the scene today.
I mean yeah, in the end it's "just Tetris" but it goes deeper than that. This is a Tetris game that can be as chill or as intense as you want it or need it to be. It's an experience that draws you in, you can't help but lose yourself for hours.
The Falconeer is a must for fans of Crimson Skies or frankly, the air combat genre. While it sometimes may show the limitations of its indie roots, this isn’t enough to detract from what’s on offer. Even as someone who isn’t normally a fan of the genre, I found myself enjoying simply flying around getting to missions.
Fans of classic arcade racers from the 90s will feel right at home with Hotshot Racing. Lucky Mountain have clearly demonstrated an understanding of what made those games so great while adding just enough modern modes and systems to allow for both better re-playability and player engagement.
There’s more than enough content here to keep younger gamers busy and even older gamers nostalgic for the genre will enjoy what’s on offer. The caveat being that the game has no difficulty settings and more seasoned gamers might find it a touch easy. But I feel the game is enjoyable enough to not notice how easy the game is and just soak up all the platforming goodness being thrown your way. There’s outfits to buy, secret stages to find and a reasonable amount of collectibles that don’t feel overwhelming or are difficult to attain.
It’s honestly hard to recommend this title outside potentially as an option to keep the kids busy due to the 4 player local multiplayer. As I said earlier, the potential for something genuinely good is buried there somewhere, but there’s just too much lacking in just about every area to recommend forking over $30 to play this.