Overall, though, the mechanic works great, and fits well with the quirky fun of the game itself. This was a pretty unique and interesting title, and I may find myself playing through again later just to see how it holds up once you know the solutions.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing solo as well as with my wife and son, and I'd say this is a must-get game if you've got a Wii U — and, quite possibly, a reason to think about getting one if you don't, even amid the frenzy of other next-gen consoles breaking into the market.
I'd easily recommend it for anyone interested in thoughtful, emotionally-driven story — though, its focus on this is likely a detractor for many more "traditional" gamers.
One of the greatest things about Race the Sun, though, is that in the midst of this, there's variance and additional power-ups and other things that simply make the experience one worth repeating. Nothing captures this quite as much, though, as one fantastic vicissitude: every 24 hours, the game world is completely rearranged. While the real impact is minimal, the functional impact is phenomenal; any progress you'd made on memorizing where to go, which paths to take? It lasts less than a day.
Perhaps it's the warped, half-meaningless dialogue or the impending sense of your inability to change your fate; maybe it's the way levels shift around each time you play, or the variety of strange quests you're set upon without much direction; it could even just be the fleeting glimpse of possibility, cradled underneath this game's cloak of philosophy and confounding introspection, but I can say that I honestly enjoyed my journey here, and while I wouldn't say it's going to be everyone's cup of tea, anyone who's enjoyed the experimental indie games that seep into the market of late owes themselves at least a passing glance at this one.
All told, there's a lot of great stuff piled in to Betrayer. The graphics, story tone, setting, and quite a few elements of the FPS mechanics – reload time on the musket, for one – are pretty fantastic, and definitely can pull you in, but the game's lack of focus is an ultimate downfall that ends up turning what could be a really intriguing exploration and survival experience into a meandering , confused journey that loses appeal somewhere along the way.
With a fully-fledged single player / co-op "story" mode, online play, deathmatch, level editor, and more, there's a ton of content for the cost, and it's all a ton of fun to boot.
While Fract OSC is probably squarely in the 'not for everyone' category, those interested in a unique, music-centric experience with a healthy dose of exploration and obscure puzzles should definitely check out what this one has to offer.
I wish there was more detail to that side of it, but games are ultimately about having fun and doing something that presents intriguing obstacles, entertaining play, and worthwhile distractions – and, all things considered, Croixleur Sigma meets those requirements more often than not.
I'd easily recommend the title to anyone who enjoys classic platforming/action games from days gone by – the positive message and pure fun of it only add on to the value.
All in all, Mario Kart 8 gives seasoned players the game that they deserved when its Wii sibling hit the shelves, but also doesn't rely so heavily on past experience, keeping it open for new players. The 50cc class is a nice spot for beginners, and can be used to unlock any of the game's eight Grand Prix Cups for play in the tougher 100 or 150cc classes.
If you're a fan of exploration, puzzles, or pigs, you probably owe it to yourself to try this one out.
For a mere $9.99 on Steam, there's little reason (other than holding out for a nigh-inevitable sale price in the future) that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone — and I don't hesitate at all to say this is probably a must-play for those who, like me, love the genre and wish it had more high-quality titles to offset the flood of terrible browser-based entries.
With a healthy mix of challenging battles, easy-to-learn gameplay, and in-depth customization, Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one worth looking into, and one I'll certainly keep coming back for more from.
At the end of the day, I had an absolute blast playing Overruled! and that, for me, is the most important metric by which any game can be judged. While the first round was a confusing morass of blind fumbling and trying to understand, all the ones after it were an exercise in the best kind of tense, engaging gameplay.
Extreme Exorcism winds up taking a very simple idea, splashing it with variety, and turning it into something that's not just well done, but tons of fun. With solid mechanics, visuals, and audio to back up the intense, engaging gameplay, it creates a fantastic experience whether you're playing alone or are in a multiplayer game.
In full honesty, I'm going to admit that I did not do very well playing Train Fever. It was a difficult and, at times, frustrating experience for me to get the hang of it for this review, but I stuck with it as best I could because, despite my flagrant ineptitude, I got the sense that it was a good game if you're into simulators.
All told, Fenix Rage is a snappy, well-designed but infuriatingly difficult platformer. Fans of Super Meat Boy and the like would do well to check it out, either now via Steam for $14.
While I admit I had many reservations about Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, I'm very, very pleased with the end result. While there are still some glitches — we had a boss get stuck in the open, unmoving and invulnerable to attack, and some odd interactions with plot NPCs holding quest items out into walls and Fast Travel stations, for instance — it's well-polished, and the errors don't crop up enough to really be a bother.
Ultimately, Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror leaves some to be desired from a design perspective, but the puzzles and variety to solutions is fun, engaging, and difficult without being frustrating. Challenges present themselves in a nice, sequential order that builds upon itself level after level.