While it’s missing a few opportunities to embrace the advancements of the rogue-like genre, “Spelunky 2” still expands skillfully on the base of one of the first games in this popular style of games. With a load of new content and secrets to discover, this sequel offers everything fans of the original wanted, while offering very little to convince those that were repelled by the crushing difficulty. If you have any love for rogue-like games you owe it to yourself to at least check out this modern classic.
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"Monster Hunter Rise" was already one of the best games on the Switch without "Sunbreak", "Sunbreak" now offers more content, more challenges and more fun. And it doesn't even stop there, because the developers have announced that more variants of existing monsters will be added in upcoming updates. If you haven't tried it yet: Now is the ideal time to dive into the bottomless "Monster Hunter" franchise and lose yourself in it.
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An undeniable classic refined with modern graphics and controls, as well as a bevy of accessibility options. While it's still an amazing gaming experience, it does raise the question where the two sequels remain. The re-release on the Wii already showed the games' agelessness, even if the new graphical enhancements are welcome. Either an even lower retail price or more substancial changes would have been welcome, but what we got is still enough to make Metroid fans rejoice.
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Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak offers just more of the same at first glance. New monsters, a new difficulty, new maps and a new campaign to follow. Those who dare to sink their teeth into this behemoth of a game will quickly notice however, that there have been tweaks and changes to not only empower the players even further by reducing busywork and introducing new, flashy skills, but more critically empower the monsters. This adds some much-needed challenge to the game, even if the overall difficulty is still on the lower end of what fans of the series have come to expect. The follower quests need to be especially highlighted as a clever and fun replacements for the unpopular rampage quests.
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Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak offers just more of the same at first glance. New monsters, a new difficulty, new maps and a new campaign to follow. Those who dare to sink their teeth into this behemoth of a game will quickly notice however, that there have been tweaks and changes to not only empower the players even further by reducing busywork and introducing new, flashy skills, but more critically empower the monsters. This adds some much-needed challenge to the game, even if the overall difficulty is still on the lower end of what fans of the series have come to expect. The follower quests need to be especially highlighted as a clever and fun replacements for the unpopular rampage quests.
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Starfield may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to Bethesda’s formula for role-playing games, but it cleverly combines the best elements of past games in a very appealing sci-fi setting. The highlights are no doubt the many well-written and well-designed quests that you’ll encounter throughout your journey through the settled systems. No matter what appeals to you as a player, be it nail-biting gunfights, the quiet construction of your own base or the thrills of laser-dodging dye dogfighting, Starfield has hours upon hours of content for you to lose yourself in.
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Walkabout Mini Golf VR is the definition of a game for everyone. Whether you chase the perfect game across each hole or you're here to enjoy the detailed and colourful courses, there's something to like for everyone. Paired with excellent controls and a variety of options for movement, Walkabout Mini Golf VR makes for a must-have for VR players old and new alike.
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“Little Hope” delivers, once again, on the promise of an interactive campy horror movie. This second entry in the “Dark Pictures Anthology” appears more confident in the concept than “Man of Medan” one year ago was, featuring a more complex background story, deeper characters and memorable monsters. For the budget price, you get an interactive horror movie that is best enjoyed online with a friend but can also be played locally with up to five friends. It won’t stain your couch with its scares, but its five-hour ghost story is nonetheless one of the best horror games of 2020 so far.
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Whether alone or with up to two friends in co-op, "Remnant II" is already one of the best titles of the year. With around 25 hours, the campaign already offers plenty of content, but can be played slightly changed again and again thanks to various generated elements. "Remnant II" offers many elements that are known from other Souls-like games. In particular, spectacular boss fights, versatile character development and an exciting world that can only be slowly opened up via items and from the context are among the strengths that "Remnant II" takes over from modern action role-playing games.
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What The Callisto Protocol lacks in truly original ideas it more makes up for in presentation and atmosphere. A game this polished and confident from a newly formed studio that had to work through a pandemic is nothing short of impressive. While it won’t change anyone‘s mind who didn’t like the spiritual predecessor Dead Space, this brings back unsettling space horror at its peak.
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«Ancient Gods Part One» doesn’t do anything too drastically new. Instead it builds on the solid foundation “Doom Eternal” laid out and delivers mostly one thing: More content. It won’t do anything to persuade those that didn’t like the base game, but it offers a gripping new story and a 5-hour campaign that features more challenging gameplay and yet another opportunity to rip and tear through demon flesh.
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The sadly last title of Mimimi Games sends the German developer out in a blaze of glory. While there’s nothing really new or unheard of, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is an absolute love letter to the tactical stealth genre and blends in excellent, varied gameplay with a charming, albeit superficial pirate story and a vibrant, colorful look. The gameplay style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy the idea of planning the perfect heist with a band of undead pirates, this is your dream come true.
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Lies of P blends a dark and gritty reimagining of the classic Pinocchio tale with FromSoftware inspired Action-RPG gameplay. While it stumbles in some smaller ways, the result is one of the most polished and consistently enjoyable dye Souls-Likes I have played. The combat with its many special maneuvers and nuances can be overwhelming to newcomers, but the atmosphere, the variety in building weapons and the unique take on a familiar story more than make up for the shortcomings.
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Thymesia may look like an Indie-Developer trying to do Bloodborne, but it ends up being more than that. Thymesia seamlessly blends the fast, often frantic combat of games like Devil May Cry with a more thoughtful approach, giving the players the tools to quickly leap between enemies, while strategically switching between light and heavy attacks, as well as flashy specials. While regular combat is often a fun power fantasy, the game truly shines in its boss fights, where two equally deadly warriors dance around each other parrying and trading blows. The only sore spot in the gameplay is that there isn’t already a Thymesia 2 to sink my teeth into.
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Temtem follows a rather simple premise. What if Pokémon’s first generation was made today? The result is an excellent dose of nostalgia with many modernized features such as campaign co-op and a rich endgame. It’s about time Nintendo’s stagnant franchise gets serious competition and as things stand now, Temtem is the game for those who have dropped off the main Pokémon games for lack of innovation and challenge. A relatively low price and a ton of very polished content makes this an easy recommendation.
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One thing should be said right from the start: "Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition" is and remains an excellent strategy game with an incredible number of hours of play for strategy fans. We think it's great that a piece of video game history has made it to consoles, even if you have to make some compromises when it comes to controls. So, unsurprisingly, for hardcore purists, there's no reason to play the game on console instead of PC. But that's not necessary, because it is precisely through the availability in Gamepass that the game reaches a new audience, which now has a chance to experience a classic of video game history at its best.
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"Jagged Alliance 3" perfects the mix of management simulation, tactical battles and role-playing elements and inspires with humorous dialogues and a constantly surprising game depth. Even if minor flaws in controls, camera work and overview in the battles are occasionally frustrating, the game is one of the best titles of the year for strategy fans. However, one drop of bitterness for all those who want to get excited about the series for the first time remains: The high level of difficulty and the very many, very poorly explained elements make the introduction to "Jagged Alliance 3" a test of patience. But if you take the time, you will definitely be richly rewarded here.
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While some issues concerning UI and controls occurred from porting this game to consoles, Pathfinder: Kingmaker brings a true pen & paper feels onto the screen. This is easily one of the best console RPGs currently available, as it manages to surprise players with a challenging and long journey into the world of Dungeons & Dragons that’s full of meaningful choices and interesting characters.
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Dark, Depressing and Difficult. This interesting mix of tactical combat, existential horror and rogue-like elements punishes mistakes with brutal defeat. Thanks to open information and a boatload of tactical options however, cunning strategists can keep the upper hand and guide their daughters to fight another day.
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Islands of Insight feels like the developers took the Korok challenges from the recent The Legend of Zelda titles and crossed them with The Witness. It’s a wonderful playground full of different kinds of puzzles, some deviously crafted into the environment itself. While there’s little story to latch on to and no real fail-state, the thrill of discovery has definitely kept us going far longer into the night than we thought possible. This review was tested before general multiplayer went live, therefore we can’t speak as to how well the MMO-like aspects blend into general gameplay.
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