Jesse Norris's Reviews
Wild Hearts was low on my list for 2023. After spending 30 or so hours with it I’m stunned. It is an incredible first effort from the team at Omega Force. Mixing Monster Hunting with Green Lantern crafting works beautifully. I hope this series is around for a very long time, because this game is excellent.
It plays ok, looks decent, and is an easy 1000 gamerscore for a couple of bucks.
This feels like it’s a cheap Gamerscore game, but it’s neither cheap enough or easy enough to get the full 1000 achievement points. If you can get this for a couple of bucks on sale it might be worth frilling away your time, but even then I’d say give this game a pass.
The idea of cleaning, repairing, and building ancient European houses and castles was an appealing one. Unfortunately, Castle Renovator fails to be enjoyable by any metric.
Fashion Police Squad is smart, plays pretty well, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s priced at $20 on Steam, and if that holds true for the Xbox launch then this one is an easy recommendation for any lover of first-person shooters and fashion.
The Dead Space Remake has no flaws for me. It took one of my favorite franchises and reinvented it perfectly. It is stunning to look at, and every single change or addition they made works. This remake is a masterpiece and I hope that this is the rebirth that the Dead Space franchise deserves.
Shoulders of Giants is a wonderful surprise. It’s a third-person action roguelike with a ton of heart. Great gameplay, stylish graphics, satisfying progression, and a killer soundtrack combine to create a game I loved spending time with. I know it’s great solo so as long as the co-op runs well this is a title you and your friends won’t want to miss.
Hi-Fi RUSH came out of nowhere and floored me. It is one of my favorite-looking games, maybe ever. The combat is sublime, the story is great, and the music just works. Tango Gameworks has shifted from making ok to good horror games and created one of my favorite action platformers of all time.
I came into Forspoken unsure of what I would find. Its initial teasers promised a gorgeous magical world full of incredible sites. Instead, we’ve been given something boring, that runs terribly and has a story full of overused tropes. The combat fares no better, and it’s retailing for $70 at launch. Do yourself a favor and only sate your curiosities once this game is on a deep sale.
There really isn’t much more to say about Kingdom Rush on Xbox. It is a faithful 1:1 port of the mobile game, for better or worse. The controls work well in the end but did require some time to get used to. At only $10 at launch, it’s an easy purchase if you’re already a fan or someone new to the series. Here’s to hoping that this is just the start of the franchise porting over to consoles.
If you love the idea of taking a floppy tube, pointing it at something hot, and spraying all over it until everything is cold and you’re filled with regret then Firefighting Simulator - The Squad can be done alone, but it’s far better with some friends.
Monster Hunter Rise benefits from a tighter focus and massive quality-of-life improvements over its predecessors. The performance is excellent, and your hunts are more enjoyable than ever. With it releasing day one on Game Pass it’s a world worth visiting by yourself or with some buddies.
Chasing Static is a boring, slog of a game.
Afterglitch attempts to bring a moving art experience to the low-budget indie-space, but it misses the mark by never looking or being interesting in any way. It is boring to navigate through after a few minutes, and an assault on the senses.
GRIME is a series of good to great-pieces that are slightly held back by performance issues. Depending on when you’re reading this review I hope those are fixed because this game is fantastic. It’s beautiful, ugly, terrifying, and something any Metroidvania Soulslike fan should love.
Prison Simulator is $20, and I can’t recommend it. While it may be halfway decent on PC control wise it is a mess on console. There is not a single part of the game that is enjoyable to play, and even if it was the overall structure grew stale after a couple of hours of gameplay. This is one Simulation to stay far away from.
For $12 if you are desperate for something to play while you listen to a podcast or some music, get this game on PC. It runs terribly on consoles and feels awful to play. The overall setup and amount of content is its best point, but in execution, it simply isn’t fun.
Aery Path of Corruption is only $10, and even at that price, it’s too much. It is an ugly, boring, poorly paced, and thought-out fever dream of a game that even the most freakish feather head would do their best to avoid.
BLACKTAIL is a well-made, highly polished title that is easy to recommend. Make sure you have the time to properly level up and explore. This beautiful, haunting world is one I hope to come back to time and time again.
High On Life is absolutely fantastic, and you should play it.