Timothy Nunes's Reviews
Within Doraemon Story of Seasons beats the heart of what makes the farm sim genre engaging. Unfortunately, the controls don't offer many favors, progression takes a great deal of time, and the early game demands far too much organization to feel productive. Doraemon is not for the farming sim feign of heart, which contradicts its family-themed aesthetic and narrative. Consider Doraemon Story of Seasons a recommendation only for fans who love both franchises.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster offers up some wonderful environmental storytelling, creating palpable tension. Once everything starts to come together however, the game itself starts to fall apart. What could have been good ideas fall into thoughtless choices, and the strengths of the game as a whole are wasted on the finale. Outside of the gimmicky triggering ending, this game had the potential for something interesting.
Minoria offers up an interesting story all its own that is contributed to with both dialogue and world-building. The lack of significant difficulty and limited AI make this an especially simple game. At the same time, the simplicity allows for an accessible narrative with little in the way. Minoria has the potential to be a good Metroidvania, but its simplicity makes it more of a filler game than a must-own.
NBA 2K21 executes the fundamentals of basketball to perfection. Add to that a wonderful narrative in Long Shadow, and the package becomes even more appealing - even if MyCareer is linked to an online mode. These modes have a lot of potential, especially My Neighborhood, but some of the ideas still need a year or two of percolation before they're at their true potential.
Madden NFL 21 makes a good attempt at adding variety into a tried and true formula. However, Face of The Franchise has awkward and dry storytelling and cannot match up to the excellence that Longshot offered the franchise. The Yard has some ambitious ideas and offers up a nice change of pace, but it needs some control tweaks to feel like the mode it's trying to be. The fundamentals are getting better and better, with gameplay getting long-awaited touches of realism.
Ys: Memories of Celceta improves on the issues the Vita had in regards to performance. However, the way the game on a home console isn't quite as forgiving as it was in its original form. This is still a fun Ys romp, as all of them have been, but it changes so very little.
Ion Fury takes inspiration from the great retro shooters of the industry and runs with it. High-octane gunfights mixed with retro style and one-liners is a formula that never gets old. Ion Fury is a retro fix all its own, and it does it so well. Despite its setbacks, it's a blast to play and worthy of Build engine that it utilizes.
Deliver Us The Moon excels on multiple counts, delivering a story filled with hope and despair. A handful of issues hinder the game a bit, but nothing gets in the way of what makes the game successful.
Putting the few slight issues aside, Final Fantasy VII Remake stuns with how it expands on the original. At the same time, it takes its own risks and creates its own footsteps. Final Fantasy VII Remake is beautiful, engrossing, and hard to pass up. This game is meant for both fans and newcomers, no matter how learned, and the sheer level of time and effort put into this reimagining truly shows through and through.
Katana Kami: A Way Of The Samurai Story attempts to bring back a beloved PS2 franchise with a new twist. However, its lackluster execution and heavy repetitiveness leaves very little excitement in its wake. Fans might find some appeal here, but only consider this game if you're looking for a repetitive and simplistic dungeon crawler.
60 Seconds! offers up a different way to play a mobile game that features some light-hearted gameplay and a brief time sink. However, gameplay quickly contradicts itself, and the port work offers little help to the cause. There is some fun and some charm, but it's very short lived.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot takes inspiration from prior games while taking the kind of stylized enhancements to make the final product stand out from other franchise games. Kakarot is not without its own issues, but what it executes well more than make up for it. Kakarot will be one of those games down the line that fans will remember fondly.
SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions blends the challenge of olden JRPG days with the aesthetic refinement of modern gaming to create a tantilizing final product. Difficulty waivers back and forth in odd ways, but the narrative and combat keep everything feeling engaging and enjoyable.
Simulacra does a good job of delivering suspense, but its horror is limited. Equally so, the way that the game utilizes its phone apps leaves much to be desired in such a brief package, elongating the experience with fumbling around for what to do rather than filling the time with some form of progress. Simulacra has a lot to improve on, but there is still something dramatic and interesting here.
The things that make Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey so appealing are the same thing that make it frustrating. Many things stand in the way of your progress, many of those things being mechanics, and rewards come sparingly. At the same time, there is something wholly unique here that, if you can properly sink your teeth into it, you could find yourself completely engulfed in it.
Star Ocean First Departure R offers an easy way to play a hard-to-find classic RPG, but very few enhancements makes this a purchase strictly for Star Ocean fans. Simplistic combat and minimal options make this a hard sell for devout JRPG fans.
Gris is a serene experience all its own, filled with problems to overcome and success to achieve. Gris is a wordless game dependent on your ability to surpass what it throws at you. Pacing aside, not much gets more beautiful than witnessing Gris in full motion.
Playing Deemo without PSVR is a very hard sell. TV Mode requires a great deal of extra practice and effort in order to regularly score well. The delightful soundtrack and charming story truly depend on a PSVR headset to succeed.
Death Standing proves itself as a unique, palpable new IP, filled with rich storytelling both in narrative and gameplay. The beginning of the game suffers from long gaps of time intended for learning the ropes, but the ship rights itself once it finally turns the corner. Despite that with a handful of missteps, a deep, potent message of coming together rings through every aspect of Death Stranding that dazzles the game as a whole. If you give it the time, Death Stranding will offer you something most games never do.
Some jokes land, and some moments shine, but most of No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again Complete Edition relies on heavy-handed doses of breaking fourth walls and common game modes. There's an audience for this franchise, but this game doesn't offer much for anyone else.