While it does scratch a certain niche, I wouldn't dismiss Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising as just another anime-inspired fighting game. It's a fun offering to get started with, and as you get better skill-wise, you're left with a moderately sufficient technical fighter with a large roster of characters to choose from. There's something for everybody in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and don't let its "fighting game genre" think that there are only versus modes available. The story mode allows you to enjoy a single-player experience where you can progress a character through the lore while learning the fundamentals of the game. Even if you don't embark on a fighting game career, there's enough content here to keep you interested and engaged, which is a very good deal for its price!
Persona 3 Reload is a triumph, considering the degree of difficulty that Atlus was challenged with when they decided to remake such a classic. Through a combination of thoughtful upgrades and leaving behind dated mechanics, this title is ready to satisfy the evolving taste of franchise fans while catering to newcomers and introducing them to the world of Persona. Persona 3 Reload proves that you can have both a challenging and accessible JRPG without losing Persona 3’s core identity, as it refines the dated designs and systems of the original by bringing it in line with Persona 5, offering a modern take that stands tall among its peers.
The Falconeer suffers from a lopsided tug of war between creative elements and frustrating game mechanics. While I enjoyed the nuanced politics between the settlements especially as the game gets more difficult, the tedious side missions and radiant quests rob it of its sparkle. For every combat instance that you engage in, so many of them involve really frustrating delivery quests that can be easily failed and you have to repeat to progress.
It is clear that Legend of Mana Remaster has been released for fans of retro JRPGs that would not mind what condition it came out in. The good news is that the game is preserved as best as it is, sprites and all, however everything that also was frustrating about this type of game also carried over including some control delay, dated gameplay, and unengaging story.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown keeps the legacy of the past by maintaining its core values and keeping the game as intact as possible. The game is easy enough to get into for newcomers, but the updates and polish make it also something that long-time fans will enjoy. However, I feel that if you’re not a competitive online player, it’s best to grab it on your PS Plus or PS Now (if applicable) subscription.
I really liked this game from the get-go, but I slowly became confused with the puzzle-solving aspect and hoped that there was more to it than what was presented. The soundtrack is great and having a fully visual story that could tug at the heartstrings really made the game shine. Sadly, some backstory and some context could’ve been provided with some text and would not completely take away from the emotional experience.
Foreclosed has many great ideas such as the comic book aesthetic, the film noir mood, and the great use of cyberpunk thematic elements. Yet, when put into practice, it’s a mess. The broken gunplay mechanics, unfriendly checkpoints, and yet another developer jumping on the Dualsense hype train without making it actually work ruins the intriguing premise.
There is an audience for The Long Gate and unfortunately, I’m not it, and unless you have an engineering background or enjoy this specific type of puzzle game, it’s a hard sell for the mainstream audience. It’s not a bad game and there’s a lot to appreciate in this puzzler, but appreciation doesn’t necessarily lead to enjoyment.
While I honestly enjoyed the concept, Jessika is quite a difficult one to recommend without many caveats. There are many ways the game is totally innovative, but also it has some issues with accessibility, especially if you’re playing it on the Nintendo Switch. The biggest issue Jessika has is that the content is not for everybody, especially if you’re the type of player who’s easily disturbed as they don’t pull any punches with how the character delivers some of her speech.
Golf Club Wasteland has an excellent premise with how it combined golf with the world and overall story. However, when the novelty ended, the frustrations just kept piling on top of each other because of the inefficient and broken controls.
Crown Trick has all the elements to succeed as a roguelite dungeon crawler: addictive gameplay, randomized dungeons and enemies, and a huge variety of monsters and weapons. However, with a market getting saturated by an endless number of similar titles, it does little to make itself stand out with its generic story and presentation.
I deeply loved Life is Strange: True Colors and at a certain point it was fast becoming my personal game of the year. Sadly, with inconsistent storytelling and a really messy final act, it feels that I’ve been emotionally manipulated to like the game until a breaking point. While one could argue that “it’s all about the journey”, a really messy resolution really ruins that journey it built up.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits makes a strong first impression with its beautiful visuals, engaging soundtrack, and decent combat that you'd mistake for a AAA title making its rounds. After a while though, the many little hiccups that I've experienced in the game wore me down, ending my journey with a whimper.
There’s a lot of fun to be had with BPM: Bullets Per Minute, evidenced by the dedicated cult following from its PC launch. Ultimately, the enjoyment of the game will be dependent on the player and how well they’ll be able to cope with the rhythm-related mechanic on top of its difficulty. There’s always the option to switch to Auto if you can’t quite cope with the beat, but this is the biggest selling factor of the game and turning it off relegates it to being a generic shooter.
You have to admire the amount of thought and effort put into the intricate level design of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. Yet no matter how much appreciation I have for this genre, it takes a specific kind of player to enjoy this game and it definitely isn’t for everyone. A lot of emphasis is placed on modernizing the game, adding as many accessibility options and extras which newcomers will certainly appreciate.
Unfortunately, Darksiders III is an example of a flawed port, where the hardware deficiency really shows its weak points. If you’re able to forgive its framerate issues and other frustrating hitches, you’re left with a decent adventure that puts a focus on deliberate and thought-out combat.
There is a lot of fun that could be had with Serious Sam 4, however many of its design issues make it a loud, overwhelming, and unbearable mess. There are some really great moments in this game with some entertaining cut scenes and many moments where it becomes a genuine run-and-gun fest. However, it feels like the game takes a good thing and gives you too much of it. While I appreciate all the extra content with the launch, a lot of it feels like unnecessary padding.
Rainbow Six Extraction is an interesting pivot for the Rainbow Six franchise and could've easily been a great sci-fi horror co-op shooter if it wasn't for much of the preparation involved to get the best out of the game.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection is a curious case that begs the question – was this really necessary in the first place? Fans of narrative adventures will find much to love with the game, especially if you are a newcomer to the series that will be experiencing the games for the first time. However, if you’ve already played the original versions from years back, there’s very little reason to go back and purchase this at a premium day one price
Submerged: Hidden Depths sticks to its game promise all the way in its brief 4-6 hour journey, offering a violence-free adventure that stops at just the right time before it completely loses the player. While there are many interesting mechanics involved with this game, we’re given a bare-bones experience overall and I actually hoped for more of the story over than the game I was playing.