VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! embraces the term parody and is full of action-packed, strategy-based combat and humorous jokes, and easter eggs. Overall, it is a fun and hilarious experience that requires attention to detailed combat in order to become victorious. I loved landing a satisfying punch to the jaws of my opponents upon getting a TKO!
Generally speaking, all of this works nicely…well sort of. While the puzzles are fine, and there’s a good variety of them, there are some technical troubles. I played the game on the Nintendo Switch, and it had a rough time running the game at certain points. I remember having horrible amounts of framerate drops, especially towards the end. It’s sad, but this is a really big problem with the game. I’ve heard that it’s better on PC, but as it sits right now I did have a good time with Quench. It’s currently $19.99 on the Switch store, and I had about 5 hours worth of gameplay on it. I recommend this game if you love puzzle games, but just be wary that it has some technical issues that hold it back, at least on this console.
Overall I did really enjoy my time with STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town. It’s still just as good as I remember it being. If I had to pick any concern, it’s just that it’s a lot of the same. Don’t get me wrong, I still really recommend this game, even if it is $49.99. I was just hoping for something more substantial in terms of changes. I’ll still be playing and revisiting this game just like every other game in the series, and I’m glad it’s on newer hardware so I can introduce more people to it. If you’re curious, you can find the game both on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on July 14th.
However, despite that I think this is a great game to buy, especially for the price of just $9.99. It is rather short, clocking in at just about 3 hours, but it was more than enjoyable for that price. There isn’t a whole lot of replay value, but it’s a fun experience to try if you have some time to kill. You can even invite a friend along for some couch co-op if you’d like.
All in all I really love Rune Factory 4 Special. I had a blast playing it, and would highly recommend it to just about anyone. I’ve been playing this game for about 70 hours now, and I don’t feel like a single minute of that was wasted. It’s only about $39.99 on the Nintendo Switch, and since this is the re-release, it’s got a ton of new content, including a post-marriage scenario and a new difficulty. Definitely pick this up, it’s a must have.
I highly recommend this game to any card game fan. The story is hefty, and may have some very bad pacing at the start, but the game is fun and well worth the price that it usually retails for.
This game is weird to me. It’s very long, and has a lot of boring activities/fluff that makes it annoying to play sometimes. But in all honesty, the game is just too charming to put down. Its style, score, and even length are all so deliciously Dragon Ball that it puts a smile on my face. I’ve put more than 50 hours into this game, and just keep coming back. This feels more like a love letter to Dragon Ball than a game, and honestly I’m okay with that. There’s nothing technically wrong with it, other than some minor frame drops, and it even has a Compendium of information and collectibles from across the Dragon Ball world, including some of the old card game from the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game. Every last detail, even the title cards with narration, just makes me feel like I’m a kid again watching my favorite Saturday morning show. I can’t really recommend this game unless you’re both a die hard Dragon Ball and RPG fan, and also feel like spending $59.99 on a story you’ve probably seen thousands of times. But if you are like me, I think you’ll find a lot to enjoy about this game, despite all of its flaws. From the second that “Cha-La Head-Cha-La” starts blaring, to the image of Goku staring out over the wilderness, I guarantee it’ll spark joy inside you. It truly is the best example of a Dragon Ball Z video game.
I definitely recommend getting Tokyo Dark -Remembrance- on either Switch or the PS4 when it comes out later in 2020, or even the original version on Steam. The game is about $19.99 right now, which is a little bit steep, but I think you’ll enjoy it if you love either of the genres it’s a part of. I had a blast with the game, and managed to get about 6 hours out of the whole thing. Pick this up if you need a nice little horror/mystery game to go through
And that’s my biggest problem with this game: how tedious it is. You go through level after level and stage after stage, doing the same things over and over again. It doesn’t even feel rewarding towards the end, just a relief that the level is over. I really hate saying that, because this game had a lot of promise and is very pretty looking, especially for someone like me who loves that art style. I just wish there were a little more depth to the game, because as it is right now it’s very boring to sit through a lot of the time. I didn’t even mention the story that much because it’s very simple and takes a backseat to a lot of the game. For a simple pick-up-and-play game, I suppose it’s fine and serves the purpose of an arcade game well enough. But I don’t think it’s all that worth it, especially at the $24.99 price range where it sits right now. All in all I got about five hours out of the game, but I really wouldn’t recommend it unless you really love this kind of thing, or you need something simple and fun to play with friends.
Overall, Super Cane Magic ZERO feels like a good game that could have been great. I still enjoyed my time with it, but I feel like if the gameplay was just smoothed out a little more then it would be in my top games list. As it is right now, I still recommend the game for its $19.99 price point. Especially if you have 4 friends for the couch co-op. Me and my friends had an absolute blast. I got about 9 hours of enjoyment out of it, and I’m sure you can get more by going back and finding secrets, as well as playing the minigames with a few friends.
After all that I don’t think there’s a whole lot more I can say. After the story is finished you can replay the levels with a higher difficulty. You collect keys and then get to the end, but I never found myself wanting to go back through it. The game works, it just isn’t all that fun. As far as music there really isn’t much to talk about. It’s very painfully okay ambiance. The only issue with it, besides it not feeling inspired, is that you can’t manually adjust the volume in the options menu. Just mute it or have it on full blast. It really feels like a mobile game that was ported to home consoles and the PC just for the sake of it. Even for $5.99 I can’t really recommend it, not for two hours of fairly okay puzzles. There’s just nothing to sink your teeth into.
Overall I love Forager for how simplistic it is in it’s design, and how grand it is in it’s execution. It’s a very cute game with lots to do and explore. Behind the minimal exoskeleton lies a really big game that I just keep coming back to, even after 10 hours of playing. If I had one complaint, it would be that, as a crafting game, it does get very grindy if you don’t choose the right skills. My second go around I had a much easier time, but an option to respec somehow would be a nice addition. I would definitely pick this up for the small price that it is. As of writing this, you can get the game for about $16.99 on Steam, which is well worth that price.
After playing for roughly 10ish hours, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. There isn’t much in the way of replay value since the game is very linear, but that’s in no way a detriment to the game. For about $4 a chapter you get 10+ hours of enjoyment per chapter. If you ask me, I’d definitely try to get into this series if you can. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some catching up to do.
So that about sums up my thoughts on Graveyard Keeper. It’s a really fun game whenever it’s not being tedious. If the game had some sort of faster travelling system or even just a run button, it would make traversing the map a ton more fun. As it sits right now I love this game, but looking at it critically it may not be for everyone. Because as much as I love the premise, the execution is a little lacking. You do get a lot of bang for your buck, seeing as how I clocked in at a little over 50 hours for about $20 on Steam, which is a lot of play time. But when most of it is tedious grinding, it doesn’t really help the game’s case.
Overall I liked Lamplight City, but I just felt a little disappointed. Sure the atmosphere and characters were great, and the story was fine for the most part, but looking at it critically it doesn’t do what it sets out to. You might get some enjoyment for the $14.99 this game normally costs. I really hope the developers expand on this idea more in the future, because I feel like it has a lot of potential. The issue is just that it falls a little flat in its execution. If you’re a fan of point-and-click games then I definitely recommend that you pick this one up. If you’re not a fan, I don’t think this is really going to change your mind.
Overall, The Lion’s Song is a wonderful game that I highly recommend to anyone who might be interested in it. The stories are fun and all connect in the last chapter of the game, and I had a wonderful time playing it. Right now you can pick up the season pass for about $10, which isn’t bad for the 5 hours of gameplay that I got out of it. I think you’ll have a really good time with it, and I’m excited to check out what this developer has in store for the future!
All in all Unavowed was a really fun experience that I’m planning on going through multiple times just to see how things play out. I’m currently on my second playthough and have a total of 9 hours in the game, which is really good for the $14.99 price tag. I would definitely recommend that anyone and everyone picks this game up. I had a blast and the story/character interactions genuinely brought tears to my eyes on a number of occasions, and made me laugh even more. It’s definitely a must play!
Overall, Rainbow Skies is great if you want something to play in short bursts every now and again, but I wouldn’t expect anything special. It’s an average game that’s very grind-heavy and has a lot of fluff. But if you have 80+ hours to kill, you’d probably have at least a pretty decent time. I just wouldn’t recommend binging it.
Don’t let that last statement deter you though, as I still adore this game. The story and characters are wonderful, and the music is absolutely breathtaking. Normally with games like this you only get about three to four hours of gameplay, but this game managed to rack up a full seven hours for me to beat. I still have the urge to go back and play it again just to get the other 14 or so achievements that I missed. At $19.99 this game is a must buy for anyone who loves a good story with some dark and soul-crushing undertones.
Overall I think this game is a bust. Sure the visuals are pretty, the puzzles are fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic, but it’s just not enough to distract from the fact that this game is really bland and has a lot of really glaring problems. At $19.99 you get about 10 hours worth of content which is good for the price, but I can’t in good conscience recommend this game unless you really enjoy the puzzles.