Luminous Productions has quite a way to go to captivate people from the start. A shame, because there’s a lot of potential buried within Forspoken’s flaws.
Hi-Fi Rush is clearly one of 2023's most pleasant gaming surprises, as well as a respectful nod to the glorious 2000-era of action titles where you just want to have pure unadulterated fun with simple mechanics to comprehend.
Simply put: this Indonesian indie title is one for the ages (for 2023 anyway), despite that one problem which is honestly a genre issue. Hats off to the humble team at Mojiken Studios for finally releasing a huge passion project that puts a lot of big-budget narrative-driven video games to shame.
The only crime Moonrider has committed is that it left me wanting more of the action and genre. 90s action titles starring ninjas/samurais/hybrid-of-the-two have distinct controls and feel, and Moonrider captures that to a tee, especially with its speed and plethora of attacks and skills on tap.
Even if you somehow have access to a PSP in the year of our lord 2022, you might as well spend the extra money on this remaster as it makes the original version pretty obsolete.
[...] River City Girls 2 adds more positive changes and upgrades to make it the de facto 2D RPG beat 'em up that's fun with more people in tow. With some small-but-noteworthy 2D combat tweaks, a slew of minigames, and new fun characters to play as alongside new Megan McDuffee bangers, you'll be glad to spend 10+ hours in your River City holiday tour beating the crap out of everything and everyone.
I really hope we see more from Criterion and its take on the NFS franchise, because this just feels like the starting few laps rather than the full tour.
[Warhammer 40K Darktide] is clearly 2022's best feel-good multiplayer group game with dark humour, carnage, and accents aplenty, evolving from Vermintide in all the right and satisfying ways.
Swordship is quick and easy fun that takes away the shooting in a shmup and focuses on defense and dodging. It’s a good lesson to learn, so it’s fortunate to know that Swordship does this right albeit in a very quick but replayable structure. Don’t expect much more out of a game that’s purposely light on story, but more intricate with its scoring and dodging mechanic.
Simple and to the point with its yuri-flavoured storyline and trappings: That's Samurai Maiden in a nutshell. It's also quite a chore to play, as you can only get the best skills and powerups through grinding for relationship points with the three ninjas. And that means replaying the same levels over and over ad nauseam
The Knight Witch can join the ranks of indie Soulslike & search action titles as one of this year's more challenging offerings. You'll die countless times getting the hang of the game's bullet hell patterns, but at the same time find joy and satisfaction in defeating the opposition with your correct choice of Spell Cards and playstyle, alongside its tight controls and fun levels.
Flying Wild Hogs did well here with the Wild West take. Evil West’s flexible combat, challenging fights, and cowboys-versus-vampires setting are enough for me, and probably for you if you need more action games on your PC and console. It does remind me of the old days of 2010s third-person action games, but the good parts.
It's amazing how this 2022 follow-up ended up being a huge downgrade that didn't learn & improve jack from a pair of its prequels made 20 years ago; that really takes talent. Yasuhiro Nightow's cool-as-heck series deserves better than Gungrave G.O.R.E.
In a sea filled with serious triple-A or so experiences featuring ex-Greek gods and rats, I'd recommend Goat Simulator 3 if you need a goofy laugh playing as a goat in an open-world setting filled with secrets, goofy quests, and easter eggs.
Somerville attempts to be the next Inside or Limbo, but with colour and a lot more sci-fi. It mostly succeeds, as some of its off-kilter segments, vistas and art style, conclusions, and developer choices will be seared in your mind for the remainder of 2022.
As far as game license cash grabs go, RWBY: Arrowfell could have been worse. At the very least, there's a serviceable action platformer game here with loads of potential, but it's squandered by boring-level design and all-around simplicity.
God of War Ragnarok is not only a fitting end to a saga that had no right to be this enthralling and engaging, but it does more than enough to justify players to buy this off the shelf. And perhaps even get a new PlayStation console to see it in its 60fps high-res majesty.
I just feel that the quality levels of the third game aren’t as top-tier when compared to parts 1 and 2. On its own merit, however, Bayonetta 3 is still a shining star in the pale moonlight.
[T]he Mario + Rabbids sequel is anything but soulless, though its appeal may depend on your tolerance of the turn-based strategy genre's ever-dreary pacing and Rabbid slapstick in general.
LEGO Bricktales is still a fun time to be had. Whether it's the soft-but-distinct "click" sound you hear when you're piecing LEGO bricks together, or you spend way too much time with a puzzle you solved hours ago because you want to stack it up with more vertical bricks, you'll have a ball with this relaxing building simulator.