There isn’t much I can recommend within SC5. The few positives were all brought from twenty years ago and haven’t been improved upon. There was a lot that could’ve been done, but it seems like a cash grab on the franchise instead of a passion project from lifelong fans. If you were fans of the previous entries, by all means go for it, but I would not make this a jumping in point for any newcomers.
Overall the game is an excellent alpha or early access. The core game play for SoG tries so hard to get out and shine, but unfortunately it’s buried beneath several issues that can’t be ignored. If you can overlook these issues, you will have a blast with this game, especially if you have the convenience of using the motion controls of the Oculus. If you’re on the PSVR like me, you may be better off spending the $30.00 on something more refined.
Ninja Legends is a good time that almost anyone can enjoy. How long before it gets repetitive is the more important question. Repetition is not always a bad thing, however for $25.00 I would’ve hoped for a little more, especially with the inconsistent tracking that is the backbone for VR games relying on motion controllers.
Overall I found myself being more frustrated with the game than actually enjoying it. The issues that are present are found within areas that stand out horribly amongst the average background of the rest of the game. If long load times, trial and error, and a steep learning curve will ruin an experience for you, look somewhere else.
Overall this game is a blast, especially if you enjoy the memory of the games from your childhood. It’s well worth the $15 asking price compared to many of the other options out there. There’s not a lot of replayability here and I could see the game play loop getting repetitive after a while. However, thanks to the short run time and changing back and forth between viewpoints and objectives, this title stayed fresh for my entire run through.
All in all A Tale of Paper isn’t a bad game. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t give itself enough time for the negatives to get drowned out by the positives. Small items such as the fixed camera, loose controls, and forcing the collection of items to reveal the main story, really stand tall when there’s nothing on the opposite end of the spectrum to contrast with. If it had it given itself another hour or so, I would’ve easily given it an 8. However, at 90 minutes and no reason to replay it, I would wait for this to be on sale before picking it up unless you are a sucker for these types of platformers. However, if you honestly can’t resist this genre, you probably won’t be disappointed here.
The journey itself was, to say the least, emotionally exhausting. This is not a game that I will play several times a year. This is not a game for those looking for a happy ending. This is not a game for those looking for an inspiring story of redemption or love. This story, simply put, is a torture-filled journey through two character’s own personal Hell. Again, the story is most definitely not for everyone, but I highly recommend at least giving this one full play through before making a final decision. As with any divisive title, this is one that should not be passed over.