Heroes of Hammerwatch: Ultimate Edition is a game that works best with friends, and does a great job with how it balances gameplay and grind. This indie game is something you should add to your list of 'must-haves'.
Arcadia Fallen is a wonderful game with very well-thought-through underlying messages that are wrapped up in a branching narrative. While its story-heavy personality may not fit the fancy of some folks, its intentions are good enough to entertain most.
The Warmind expansion is a change in gear from the usual. Warmind brings the promised grind from Bungie, but rewards the player for their efforts. People thought that the previous expansions were too simple, and they were right, so Bungie kicked it in the other direction and now we have gotten what we have asked for, even if it feels like it's too difficult. The balance between effort and reward is now a right of passage and something that is respectful instead of expected. Warmind is a good way for Bungie to begin to right the ship of their D2 game and make it closer to what was promised at the beginning of this Destiny journey.
Kaze and the Wild Masks starts off as an innocent platformer from the 90s but goes from first to fifth gear quickly in difficulty. Ramping up to large amounts of difficulty and enjoying the scenery is what made platformers in the 90s good. With Kaze, the difficulty is such a dramatic shift that you're stuck not having the ability to stop and smell the flowers that PixelHive has worked so hard to grow.
Evasion is a decent FPS for the PSVR, but it needed just a bit more variety to make it fun and engaging. The initial structure of the gameplay is spot-on, but the enemies and level design are just a bit too stale. Hopefully, Archiact continues to make VR titles because I think they're onto something.
The PlayStation 5 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the best in the bunch. It tells a solid campaign with branching narrative choices, contains some of the best visuals that you’ve seen on a system not called ‘PC’, and it has some good, new faces on the multiplayer scene. Is it all perfect? Not at all, but it’s a good way for Call of Duty to start on the next generation of consoles.
As free-to-play games come, Orcs Must Die! Unchained is quite good. The game is crafted meticulously to serve you humor and playfulness, as well as complicated strategy-led gameplay that will have you hooked after an hour or so. While the term microtransactions will be the dirty word with this game, they're not necessary to have some real fun.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy is impressive. Rarely does a trilogy of games get better and better, yet stay so closely embedded with each other in terms of looks and gameplay design. This trilogy does just this and even fits right in with the fourth game. You would expect some large gap between gaming experiences, but it's all consistent in scope and delivery.
ECHO was a very pleasant surprise. It will most certainly test intelligence and patience of gamers with its puzzle of enemies in tightly built rooms, while testing the amount of anxiety one can take with jump scares and pressure to get to the next checkpoint. That's the charm of the game. Ultra Ultra did a fantastic job with ECHO and it shouldn't be missed.
If you're a younger gamer that has never jumped into an RPG experience, then this simplistic adventure might be the game to start with, as it contains all the traditional elements of a turn-based RPG. For more seasoned gamers out there looking for an RPG good time this may not be for you, as your eyes should be on the Xenoblade-type experiences of the world, rather than entertained with a Mii world.
Overall, Dragon Quest Heroes II is an upgrade over its predecessor. It's packed with plenty of content, long action sequences and a healthy dose of role-playing elements to keep your interest firmly hooked. The balance between action and RPG helps make this more than just a Dragon Quest title with the beating heart of Dynasty Warriors. It's a worthy sequel. Just excuse the A.I. here and there.
Overall, this collection is accurate to a fault, packed with some additional goodies and reminds us how absolutely insane we all must have been when we played these games the first time around. Bravo to Digital Eclipse and Capcom for taking a chance on some classics.
The Yakuza Remastered Collection shows that Sega understands the importance of this series and how much it means to its worldwide fandom. By updating the visuals, framerate, adding characters and content, and just proving that they are invested in the long haul for this series, shows that Sega is starting to get itself back in the game. This collection is worthy of any Yakuza fan's money.
Overall, I did really enjoy Shop Titans more than I thought I would. It’s more complex than just a casual gaming experience and while it does have a traditional path of Free-to-Play gameplay structure, where real-world pay is involved, there are enough options for you to avoid that if that isn’t your thing. It just requires patience. I’m not crazy about the controls when compared to the iOS version, which is probably my biggest knock on the game.
Overall, the mixture of multiple genres is nearly pulled off well, but the difficulty gums the gears up on Disjunction's gameplay just a bit. If there were fewer enemies and more push forward then I think this game excels beyond expectations. As it stands with the gameplay, you're getting an interesting mix that tells a good story, but can only go as far as you can take it with the difficulty pushing back so hard at times.
Akabaka made a fun dating simulator based on a crazy narrative with Sucker for Love: First Date. Much like in real life, as each date occurs the game gets better and better, but also like in real life, it is still flawed in some areas.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the variety of maps that this expansion offered. Again, the tight confines of the map make the gameplay work so well. The thickness of the multi-tier layout also helps when it comes to really getting into the moment and the map. These are fantastic additions to the BF1 family.
Borderlands 2 VR is a game that is nearly perfectly translated into virtual reality. It contains everything you want from your Borderlands 2 experience, plus a bit more to make you feel like you're a part of the game. Gearbox and 2K didn't simply offer up a small piece of the pie, they offered up the whole pie. Just remember, too much of a good thing can make you sick.
I can still say without a doubt that I have enjoyed Morrowind better than the initial release of ESO. The world seems a bit more alive and explorable. There also seems to be more polished adventure/quests going on in the initial release of Morrowind, which tells me that ZeniMax has learned a few things from past ESO lessons. Despite my disdain for some of the boss fights that are incredibly difficult when going solo in the game, the overall package of Morrowind really does provide an upgrade to the ESO family in several areas. If you haven't played ESO, but have enjoyed The Elder Scrolls series, then this might be the right time to jump in to see what it is about.
I think Trove is a solid game for kids, as well as up and coming MMO players. It's a game that is a wonderful upgrade from the Minecraft world, but pushes players a bit further with gaming concepts and design that most of us have experienced for a good portion of our gaming lives. I'm sure that it will keep growing as a game and hopefully, audience willing, garnish new add-ons and design that push it into a more rewarding experience that will legitimize it as a go-to MMORPG for a wider audience.