In sum, The Cult of the Holy Detonation is a nice bookend to a massive game. The extra story content is really interesting, but I am on the fence about the objective-based missions (mainly because they’re tough and I’m just not very good at this game!). This DLC further showcases inXile is in their prime when it comes to compelling, turn-based, action-and-story driven RPGs. At just $7, it’s pretty easy to recommend this content if you at all enjoyed the base game or the first DLC.
Darksiders Genesis is a strong entry to the franchise and it’s one that should appeal not only to fans and newcomers of Darksiders, but also to anyone that enjoys a isometric dungeons crawlers with two player co-op support.
The Master Collection is about as barebones as you can get for a compilation release. Still, if this is maybe an indication that the door to a whole new NG adventure is forthcoming, one that embraces the design of the first two, then that’s great news. Anyway — speculation aside — if you’re looking to relive these games or want to get into the franchise for the first time, this is very good way to do it.
In sum, Beyond A Steel Sky is a solid adventure game from a studio that has proven their skills and passion for the genre many times over many years. I’m really glad I finally got into the Steel Sky games this year, and if you like adventure games or looking for a strong story driven game with great writing and voice-acting, put Beyond on your short list. It’s not the most captivating or memorable adventure, but it has a lot going for it.
Off the top of my head I can’t think of another game with a backstory like Cyberpunk 2077. It’s fortunate that CDPR were able to spend the last year-plus continuing development of the game, listening to feedback, adding content, and fixing tons and tons of issues. Many games would simply not have gotten the extra time and money spent that Cyberpunk got, but this time CDPR got it right. Now is the right time to play this game; I’m not saying it’s flawless and perfect, but it’s nearly so, for such an elaborate, massive game. This is the game we were hoping for back in December 2020, but I’m reminded of the adage ‘better late than never.’ And that certainly applies here.
CrossFireX gets little to nothing right, and I don’t take pleasure in saying that. On a technical level, yeah the graphics and framerate and such aren’t bad, but you won’t get to enjoy them because I think you’ll be too distracted with all of the other problems in the game. Voice-acting, the script, the AI, controls, story-telling, the intensely lazy and generic feel of it all, the push for microtransactions — the game is asking players to overlook or otherwise deal with too much. Now, I am an optimistic and forgiving person by nature, but what SmileGate, Remedy, and Microsoft have done here is absolutely regrettable. This game has issues that even patching cannot fix, and I’m typically the first one to point out that games can often be much improved by patching. CrossFireX, though, has problems that run too deep and too broad — and I can’t recommend this game to anyone.
MathLand isn’t going to blow you away in any one aspect, but the sum of the parts makes for a quality educational game that deserves a nod of recognition if you’re in the market for this.
Be prepared to be impressed but also frustrated with the difficulty spikes.
As far as what makes Origins special, well, there’s not much.
Flaws and shortcomings in Control are utterly few and far between, while the gameplay is highly satisfying and fun. The world Remedy created is full of intrigue from the get-go and stays enthralling throughout. Barring any major surprises, Control is my personal game of the year for 2019.
Columns’ gameplay is simple, addictive, and largely fun, but it’s also quite a challenge. Despite loss after loss, Columns and Columns II are fun to go back to and try again, just see if I could top my last score.
Though I could extend this article with more information and thoughts, the bottomline is that this is the type of game you’re either into or you’re not. The genre is fairly niche and from the little I have played of it in the past and from what I have read this week, there’s nothing really new here other than the crossover with Doraemon.
This Remaster is a gem and I really hope it’s just a sign of things to come as more C&C games get remastered with this level of passion, community involvement, skill, and heart.
As long as you know what your’e getting into with Ion Fury, there’s not a whole bad that I can say about it.
For Pinball on the go, you would be hard-pressed to find a better option than Zen Studios’ Star Wars Pinball. From design to execution, Zen did an excellent job.
That’s not to say Maskmaker doesn’t standout on its own, it does. All things considered, at a $20 price point for a 4 or 5 hour experience, it’s hard not to recommend for someone looking for a pretty good story, average-ish VR gameplay that’s casually difficult (though sometimes a little frustrating), and solid presentation thanks to fine artwork and voice overs. If you’re in the market for an experience like that, Maskmaker is worth considering.
Beautiful Desolation is one of those games that has a lot of strong points, but has a few significant drawbacks that keep the experience in check, so to speak. Still, despite its few drawbacks, I found myself hooked on the game after the first half hour and I had to see it through, not unlike the captivating experience that a good page-turning book can do for you. Plus, at only $20, you really can’t go wrong here if you’re looking for a solid sci-fi adventure with gorgeous visuals.
For visual novel/crime fiction fans, especially/obviously of the Jake Hunter lineage, you’ve probably played worse and this is worth the effort.
It’s hard to explain these stories without spoiling them, and they’re so bizarre that you just have to experience them for yourself. Were it not for the great art, writing, and puzzle design, the very creative storylines just wouldn’t hold much water, but that isn’t a problem here — Sam & Max Save the World fires on all cylinders very well, with little room left for disappointment.
Like most (perhaps every) Sega Ages releases, Team M2 has done another great job. There’s an argument to be made for the lack of including the Genesis and SNES versions of the game given that they are a bit different than this arcade port, and seeing as how Sega Ages titles in the past have sometimes included the other versions of games, too… I suppose we maybe got a bit spoiled in having the best of all of the versions included in one release, but I did want to mention that this particular release is just the arcade one. Still, it’s a great game, arguably one of the better SHMUPs of at least the early 90s, and M2 has done another great job of making it available on the Switch.