Daire Behan's Reviews
While its visuals and music are superb and the narrative has some good ideas, Silly Polly Beast is heavily burdened by clunky, unresponsive combat that drags down what otherwise could have been a unique and interesting psychological survival horror game.
Overall, while there are still some issues, Yooka-Replaylee’s revamped level and game design reflect a more confident identity both for this series and developer Playtonic Games. There is still some room for the series to grow in a potential sequel, but until then Playtonic Games has delivered the game fans have wanted since the initial Kickstarter campaign, which happens to also be one of the strongest collect-a-thon 3D platformers of the current generation.
Dreams of Another is a wonderful exploration of dreams, memory, materialism, and so much more. While there are points where it feels like some narrative elements outstay their welcome and there are some technical issues that can break the immersion, Q-Games and Baiyon have delivered a charming story and world that I have kept thinking about since the credits rolled.
Hotel Barcelona is a a frequently enjoyable collaboration between Swery and Suda51, bringing together two of the industry’s most eccentric minds into an often times uniquely rewarding roguelite with an enjoyable story and cast of characters. However for everything the game does well, there is a frustrating downside that keeps it far beneath the best that either creator has to offer.
The Knightling is an example of how one frustrating issue can drag an entire work down with it. There’s plenty to like here, from its charming world and narrative, to its whimsical music. However all of this and the bulk of its mechanical and game design offerings are dragged down by input delay issues and poor optimization making for a disappointing experience. Despite this, with an apt amount of polish, I believe The Knightling could one day be an easier recommendation.
2007's Odin Sphere was an underrated gem from Vanillaware and Atlus, almost a decade later it's returned for the PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. Using gorgeous 2D artwork and five story modes that overlap and intersect, does this HD remaster match up with modern gaming?