Wolfenstein Youngblood looks great and has solid shooting mechanics, but misses the mark when it comes to the things that have become Wolfenstein’s greatest strengths.
Lightfall as a whole package falls short of the standard set by The Witch Queen last year. The story is shaky and tangential, and the gameplay changes are few and far between outside of the underwhelming Strand powers. Neomuna isn’t nearly as memorable, and difficulty changes make it more challenging to engage with Destiny’s bread and butter content. Thankfully, overall quality of life improvements and the rock solid bones of the gameplay save the package as a whole. If you’re after more Destiny 2, Lightfall is certainly that, but as the most expensive expansion yet ($100 USD with the annual pass), I expected to have my hair blown back a bit more.
While I was intrigued by the narrative, and enjoyed the performances, Twelve Minutes was an experience I’d had enough of by the time I completed it. There are just enough seams, jank, and clunk around that the act of playing the game felt like a task at times. I absolutely applaud the effort though. Twelve Minutes is an audacious first crack at a unique narrative structure, and one that will certainly lead to more refined and robust takes on this style of experience.
________________________ “Every action needs to be carefully considered in Surviving Mars
________________________ “I didn't feel much motivation to try new things when old solutions were still perfectly serviceable.
When punch, punch, launcher kick, jump, insane piledriver is an option, I tend to get creative whenever possible.
If you can swallow (heh, bird puns) the basic idea, there are a lot of weird and wonderful stories to be uncovered in Hatoful Boyfriend. Just don't expect to do much actual playing.
Fantastic setting makes up for lackluster gameplay.
It misses the thrill of slamming a quarter down on a cabinet in some dimly lit arcade and throttling some jerk who thinks they're a pretty radical Windjammer.
The Lion's Song is a game that leans hard on its storytelling and pulls it off in fine fashion.
John Wick Hex succeeds by building a uniquely time-based strategy framework but is pulled down by a lack of polish and repetitive elements along the way. If you can accept it’s rougher elements it’s well worth playing, but ultimately it could’ve used some additional development time to flesh everything out and really capture the flair of the Wick franchise.
Souls die hards: buckle up and get in there. Souls haters: you’ll hate this too. If you’re somewhere in the middle, give it a go, but beware you might end up like me: appreciating Nioh 2’s craft, but not actually enjoying it.
As a whole package The Medium is very much a story of compromise. For all its successes in visual storytelling and interesting setting, it’s collared by poor pacing and dated game design. Still, it’s well worth a look for history buffs and those fascinated by the unknown. So what lies beyond? It’s still up for debate. In the present, The Medium offers an intriguing possibility to puzzle on.
At the end of the day, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a satisfying action RPG with reasonable writing, fun scenarios, and the opportunity to hit zombies with barbed wire baseball bats.
Speaking of annoying, the movement and combat in The Evil Within 2 are largely a source of frustration.
Although more traditional than previous games in the series, Anomaly Defenders provides a flexible and entertaining strategy-light experience. It looks great, provides multiple options for players and play styles, and is challenging enough to require forethought and adaptation. Though previous Anomaly fans might be disappointed in the traditional approach, it's well worth a try for tower defense fans.
If Zen can hone their tables and create unique experiences instead of attempting to beat the best at their own craft, they'll have something special on their hands. As it stands, the game is a fun romp, but only if you can get past the differences from real pinball psychologically.
In my heart, I have strong feelings for Exodus, but I’ll forever be haunted by how outstanding a few more layers of polish could’ve made it.
The force is strong-ish with this one.
Where Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart took an old formula and brought it into the modern era, Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ approach was more adherent to the old ways. The technical aspects are phenomenal and thoroughly current, but the game itself relies heavily on the old way of doing things. Limited paths. Contrived situational limitations. Collectables galore. You likely already know if that’s something you’re interested in playing, and I personally believe they’ve done an admirable job here. Especially for a first crack.