What makes Showgunners so addicting is that its combat is tight, responsive, fair, and accessible. The options available to players during combat and exploration are just enough to feel varied without feeling overly complicated; though the combat U.I. can get cluttered at times. This is the perfect game for players that are new to this genre or for veterans looking for a more casual experience that still provides enough of a challenge to stay interesting.
During its next stage of development, it will be interesting to see how ANVIL will establish its identity as something greater than the sum of its parts. It's clear that ANVIL is utilizing the best designs and systems from the games mentioned throughout this review, but it comes at the cost of not feeling like it's doing anything new or at least anything that is uniquely "ANVIL." With ANVIL: Vault Breakers promising regular updates, it has plenty of time to become something entirely its own.
Hindsight is a poor game on a promising foundation
Overall, Seed of Life is a game with unique ideas and wonderful worldbuilding, but it needs to heavily refine the parts that matter most. In its current form, Seed of Life is a fantastic proof of concept prototype but an easy to skip final product. While it doesn't take long to beat, due in part to the ability to navigate the world in unintended ways thanks to easily exploitable bugs, it leaves a lasting negative impression that could have been avoided with a little more time spent developing out from its early promise.
Shipwreck Escape feels like it's actively fighting against the mechanics that it promotes. Some of the puzzles are actually pretty good, but even the best puzzles are overshadowed by the fact it takes 5-10 tries to figure out what it actually looks like. There are some other non-gameplay issues such as not saving key mapping when exiting and reentering the game, so it has to be changed every time the game opens. Puzzle games are supposed to balance being challenging but fun, but Shipwreck Escape just feels frustrating and unfair.
It's surprising to see how much Nimbus INFINITY is struggling to deliver the level of polish that Project Nimbus did nearly 6 years ago. Not only that, but it has been in Early Access for over a year and throughout that time, players pointed out the very same issues in this review. This is a team that clearly knows how to make a satisfying mech-based action game, and maybe this will turn into one with some post-launch support, but as it stands now, Nimbus INFINITY is a poorly optimized experience that wasn't ready for a full release.
In its current state, everything the player experiences in the first 15 minutes is all that Hanako has to offer. That said, there is a supportive community beginning to form around Hanako who will hopefully continue to support the project in its post-launch development. Hanako has had an incredible journey thus far and though it's struggling to keep up with the times, it has the potential to pull a No Man's Sky and turn itself around to become the Hanako: Honor & Blade that +Mpact Games envisioned 14 years ago.
Overall, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is fairly whelming and often aggravating. For those looking to replay one or all of these titles, it may be better to buy the original titles on their own, simply because the quality of the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection experience doesn't match its price tag, while those who don't mind the cost will find only a serviceable group of titles in a series that had produced much better.
Overall, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a title that is safe, accessible, but lacking in challenge. It provides a story-mode that players will likely love or hate, a narrative that is safe but predictable, combat that is impactful but inconsistent, and controls that are accessible and intuitive. For fans of the series or players that struggle with other fighting games, this is a fine title to jump into. However, for those more experienced in the genre and are looking for something new, this is not the one to pick up.
This is how nearly every combat encounter feels, and changing the difficulty does nothing. The bonfire-like checkpoints offer no help either, as they don't restore any health or allow Krog to buy extra lives. All these things really bring down what is otherwise a great game, and its best features are its level design, art, music, and platforming. Much like the original release of Primal Light, there are some who will see these shortcomings as challenges and have a blast trying to overcome them, but most will likely find the overall experience a frustrating and disappointing one.
What truly fuels investment is the game's beauty, music, and message. Thanks to Playplay Studios' use of Unreal Engine, the environments look stunning and lifelike. Whether its leaves, rocks, or rain, the world of this game feels vibrant and tactile; even the lighting effects feel like ray tracing. The music and sound effects are calming and appropriate for each environment. Finally, the message at the heart of Big Earth is as important as always. While the gameplay still needs work, it's clear that the developers mostly wanted to show off what makes Earth so special, and they absolutely succeed in doing so.
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness is a good game marred by poor pacing and the inability to blend game mechanics with the story they came from. If this game was purely the "Deep in Abyss" mode, it would be a great action-survival game with elements of RPG mechanics and even some horror mixed in. However, the contrast between the game modes both in gameplay and presentation is shocking and leaves one wondering why "Hello Abyss" needed to be a requirement to access what feels like the "actual game."
Ultimately, Dream Cycle is an interesting and creative take on Lovecraft's world and one that should have been so much better. While it's hard to recommend Dream Cycle in its current state, some may feel that these issues are miniscule compared to what the game is trying to do and that's enough reason to give it a go.
Best Month Ever! has its positive moments too, as the core of the story is that of a single mother doing her best to cherish her final days with her son, while making sure he will be loved and looked after when she passes. Unfortunately, this core sentiment is tainted by its various problematic moments and its inadvertent enforcement of harmful stereotypes. Best Month Ever! tries to tell a complex and loving story but the inherent cultural misunderstandings that come from race and nationality make those efforts fall flat and mar what is otherwise a serviceable narrative about love and family.
Overall, Clid the Snail is a beautiful game with tons of personality and a world that begs to be explored, but the combat and gameplay is so frustrating that it makes doing so a huge a chore. The good news is that it only takes a patch or two to fix the weapon damage and rolling issues if they're viewed by many as a source of frustration rather than challenging, fair combat. While it's not the best experience right now, players should absolutely follow its post-launch development, because Clid the Snail oozes, like so many of its menagerie, with the kind of potential that could make it an excellent entry into its genre with some meaningful tweaks.
Overall, Lake tells a beautiful story, has nuanced and interesting characters, and has an environment that feels comforting and inviting. What detracts from the experience is, unfortunately, the game's tedious tasks and slow pace. This combination makes it hard to leave the experience with a clear opinion about the time spent in Providence Oaks, but what is clear is that Lake will absolutely satisfy players who feel like they need to escape and spend some time taking it slow and easy.
While there was never anything frustrating enough to make someone want to stop playing the game, the lack of new mechanics as the game goes on makes it hard to come back. It's a shame because Glyph is truly a beautifully designed game that could become a great title to speedrun, so long as future updates make Glyph easier to control. Ultimately, Glyph is a beautiful game that fell short in some pretty important places, but still deserves a chance from those looking for a relaxed gaming experience.
Destroy All Humans! is beat for beat a remake of the original title with the exception of one new mission that manages to blend right in with the rest of the game. The biggest concern with this port is that it crashed a number of times and there never seemed to be a consistent reason for why - hopefully this is something that will be addressed in early updates. While it's awesome to see Switch players get access to this cult classic and all its new content, it would be better to purchase the port on another console if possible, as doing so will likely provide a more consistent and enjoyable experience.
Retro Machina is made to explore, not to fight.
Despite that, it would be wrong to say that Grotto doesn't succeed in telling a fantastic story and representing its core theme through its gameplay, frustrating as it may be. For anyone that has yet to play this game but is interested in its philosophy and ideas, definitely give it a shot because even though the gameplay didn't resonate in this review, it did for a great number of players and is a risk worth taking.