Ultimately, Knock on the Coffin Lid is a solid rogue-like deckbuilding game with some nice additions and twist from the norm.
Blades of Fire is a welcome return to MercurySteam and I think it’s one that is going to be a sleeper hit. The way the story unfolds and pushes the player to explore the environment that is littered with hidden fights and upgrades that will help Aran become stronger.
So, to invest money in this remaster just seems like giving some false hope to fans that are interested in seeing more from Deacon and gang but who am I, just a black guy reviewing games. I am sure Sony knows what they are doing……right?
The moment-to-moment gameplay feels just like watching those cop shows from the 80’s; running perps down on foot, getting into crazy shootouts and exploding cars, even your partner telling you how close to retirement he is; everything about The Precinct is so deliciously 80’s and I thoroughly savored and enjoyed every moment of it.
I love the fact they hand-designed the levels, but the overall graphics might have suffered as the game certainly is nothing to write home about in that area.
Graphics feel dated and bland, there are a lot of menus to navigate, and the game is poor at explaining things. It just feels crazy because almost everything that DDS isn’t, Schedule 1 is. If you have an Xbox, then this is passable drug dealing experience and is worthy of your time until Schedule 1 makes its inevitable console debt that is.
The more I played of Steel Seed the more I felt like that old saying where the kid asks for McDonalds and their mom says they have that at home. Yea, well Steel Seed is like the Stellar Blade we have at home. While the game itself is competent, its greatest sin for me is that it just wasn’t very fun. This seed didn’t bring forth the crop I thought it would, and I suggest just skipping this one.
Gorn 2 is a solid follow-up to the original; the new weapons, narrative and physics add so much to the already established formula of over the top.
If you have been waiting for the PS5 release then I am here to tell you that this game is going knock your socks off and I am not even on a PS5 Pro; I can only imagine how well it handles an adventure of this magnitude.
The Last Berserker: Khazan (just a terrible name) surprised me with its deep skill tree, brutal finishers and fun combat.
I wanted to enjoy The Stones of Madness because I really loved The Game Kitchen’s other game series; Blasphemous. Aside from the incredible hand-drawn art style in the Madness game, I wasn’t really a fan of this game.
I really wanted to like Atomfall, as I said that first trailer I was already intrigued by its weird and very British world but its narrative was boring to me.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows marks the best this series has ever been. With its destructible environments, fantastic story and excellent characters, Shadows has managed to dethrone Odyssey as my favorite Assassin’s Creed game. If I can give you any advice, it would be to ignore all the haters on the internet and play this game; as of now its definitely a contender for my 2025 GOTY.
Omega Force’s attempt to enter the roguelite space with Warriors: Abyss is sadly quite underwhelming. I had some fun battling the waves of demons with the plethora of playable characters. But with some ugly graphics, no real randomization in levels/layout or bosses and limited gameplay features, this one is better left to the uber fans, even at its discounted price.
Split Fiction is a clear and early frontrunner for my Game of the Year for 2025. Every moment of this game was enjoyable, even just sitting on a bench and overlooking some epic landscape while the characters shared a bit about themselves.
Synduality: Echo of Ada presents an ambitious concept, trying to blend PvPvE gameplay with mech-based combat in a dystopian world. While there are some things that shine, like the strong visual design; it just doesn’t offset how extremely slow and grindy the early game is.
Fans of micromanagement sim style games will find lots to love here, not the least of which is the stellar radio station that plays during gameplay.
The new setting of the game is nice as well as the additions to the combat. The best addition by far is the ability to dial down the challenge, I love that we are seeing these sliders more and more in “soulslike” games. Whiskers of Winter is a solid sequel, even if it played it safe by not really making drastic changes to the formula from the original.
This was a really genuinely touching story and there is a ton of payoff for players who are caught up with the series; especially the ending, while I have not played all the latest games, I am aware of the things that occurred in the last two games. I honestly can’t recommend this game enough for newcomers and longtime fans alike.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator isn’t a bad game, it’s just a janky one.