I wanted to love Demon Turf and at its bone, there is a good title here. It just seems a little disjointed and awkward at points that make this little demon stumble. The asking price is more than fine for the game, and you get around 20 hours out of it. Just note that not all of it is gold, and has more padding than a push-up bra.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a fine introduction to a series most will have passed by over the years, though doesn't quite land the Fatal Frame it could have. It's still a worthy addition to any horror fan's collection and it's great to see the series being more available than ever.
While there is a lot to love about The Good Life, the slow pace, lack of action and the gameplay loop comprised of fetch quests isn't going to be for everyone. It's a lot more niche than it initially seems. The Good Life is a recommendation for fans of the more "punk" titles from directors such as Swery, Suda 51, and Onion Games/Love-de-lic. Those who enjoyed the quirky and obscure Simple Series of PS2 will likely enjoy it too. Its archaic formula may not be for all, but it has more heart than all of the AAA games combined.
Sadly it is very tough to suggest anyone picks Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl in the state it is in currently. It is very bare-bones in content, unbalanced, and feels soulless and cheap. Apparently, the developers are looking to further add to the game post-release but this model makes it feel like an overpriced Early Access run. The basics just aren’t here for the game, and I can’t help but feel that between the memes and rollback inclusions, they just doubled down on meme culture to sell copies of the game and hoped the fighting game community would stick with it.
Chernobylite is a great game that has suffered through the porting process. While held back by some ideas that were only partially baked, it still offers a good ol' Chernobyl time. I would just suggest playing it on a PC and using mods to tidy up aspects, along with hopefully much better performance.
El Shaddai: Ascension of Metatron has always been a title I've enjoyed but often struggled to recommend. It's repetitive due to shallow combat and few and far between set pieces. Visually the game is untouchable, but in such a way it almost damages the game by trying to make such rich visuals with an experience that's otherwise average at every turn. It's not all bad, the game does what it sets out to do and provides a memorable and unique experience. It's just a pity that shallow gameplay and a lack of significant improvement in the PC version knock it down somewhat. I do think gamers who enjoy more cult classic titles will find enough to love here to justify a few nights of angel chasing.
Star Hunter DX is a fantastic middle-of-the-road Shmup. Curious omissions like no online leaderboards, score attack, or training modes aren't quite justified by the existence of an Achievement list. This is still a good time, but just a little minimalistic in more ways than the art style. Unfortunately, that makes it a tougher sell than it should be.
While I liked Trigger Witch, I must say I was done with the game a while before its credits rolled. To be frank (and vulgar), it shot its load long before the crescendo which was a shame. It’s a fun and charming game with some ambition, containing quirky writing but hampered with wonky pacing and asset reuse.
NEO: The World Ends With You is the sequel that no one saw coming. It does everything a sequel should do in offering an additional experience while following the themes and tones of what came before it. It's a visual buffet with gameplay in buckets to back it up and has a tale to tell that you'll never see coming. So what are you waiting for? It's time to play the game!
I really enjoyed AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead and Undressed which was released on Vita and PS4 before this. Sadly I cannot say the same for AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed, which despite being much "newer" is pretty much a bare-bones remaster of an older game that's aged like bread. While it's not the worst game to have Akiba in the title (see: Akiba's Beat), it's very hard to suggest anyone other than die-hard fans of the series even consider this one. It's dated and repetitive with a little bit of charm, but it's sadly outdone by the previous release. If you haven’t played that already, just go straight to it or watch the anime.
CAVE are likely the most well-known craft masters of the genre and for good reason. Mushihimesama is not only accessible for newcomers but challenging for pros. It’s addictive, it’s visually unique with its bug theme, and has all the nuance and quirk any good Shmup needs to succeed. I couldn’t say if this is THE game that would convert the non-believers but in terms of pure Shmup action, it still shines brightly. I’d say it is one of the strongest additions to the Nintendo Switch library.
I like Necromunda: Hired Gun but it is far from being anything other than distinctly average. It has a great Sci-Fi Fantasy atmosphere and some fantastic action within. Sadly it's marred with a lack of innovation, level design issues, glitches throughout, and inconsistent performance. It's worth a look at on sale, and if you enjoy Warhammer titles. Otherwise, there are better, less glitchy alternatives around.
Guilty Gear -Strive- is a fantastic anime fighting game with excellent presentation and some of the best online around. The story is gripping and I found myself approaching it more like an anime. It doesn’t feel like a tacked-on mode for a fighting game. That said, it’s not all positive. It feels like the complete package, but be it a change of the times or a need to push a Season Pass, it feels quite lacking compared to some of the previous games. It’s a shame. The core product is some of the most fun I’ve ever personally had with the series. That said, the amount of content, care, and the eclectic roster within the previous XRD games makes me favor them. For newcomers though there has never been a better title to get you acclimatized to the weird and wacky world of Sol Badguy and friends.
While Touhou Hyouibana ~ Antinomy of Common Flowers is a lot of fun, it does have a really short shelf life due to repetition creeping in. By the third or fourth story run, I felt like I’d already seen everything the game had to offer. With the focus on simple controls, matches tend to go the same way every time much like 3D Arena Brawlers, and this makes matches feel less free flow and more flow chart. The lack of an arcade tower also dampens the package as the story mode doesn’t allow you to choose individual characters and wants to focus on the narrative instead of the combat experience. Another aspect that makes the game feel cheap is the fact the developers never bothered to translate the special moves throughout the game. It’s the lack of little touches like that which put the game further down the genre list than it should be.
I enjoyed the tone of Vaporum Lockdown. The story was fantastic and it’s been a good while since I was this immersed into a dungeon crawler. I think the lack of replay value does somewhat hurt it a little and the presentation could stand to be improved a little bit but I wholeheartedly recommend Vaporum Lockdown to anyone remotely curious in a more narrative-focused dungeon crawler.
Fantastic fun beat em up but not quite the evolution it claims
All in all 30XX is shaping up to be everything the original title was and more. While a little thin on content and glitch/bug heavy, this can be reasonably forgiven due to it being in Alpha state. I have no doubt that this title is going to great places and would suggest any Megaman or Roguelike fan take advantage of the Early Access program and get in early. Even though there isn't a whole lot here right now, it's constantly updating and is certainly my current MegAddiction.
All in all the NeoGeo Pocket Colour Selection Vol.1 is a fascinating, if not slightly unbalanced look into the history of SNK and its short-lived foray into handheld gaming. What is commendable is the dedication to getting fighting games working well on their handheld project, but also putting out stuff like Dark Arms which was quite unexpected for the market at that time. While this is a A+ emulation collection with some nice extras, filling it with 6 fighting games really puts this title into a niche. If you’re a fan of SNK/NeoGeo history and curious about the Pocket this is an easy purchase. On the other hand for people less versed or not interested in fighting games, it’s a rather pricey lesson in death by excess. It’s a quality product – just laser-pointed directly at a certain audience.
Fun addictive timeless gameplay married with grind and bugs. Much like seasons you take the good with the bad
Fantastic Shmup that harkens back to the handheld 16bit era