Mercurysteam have taken what they learnt from Samus Returns and really upped the ante with the gameplay, Samus controls like butter, running jumping and sliding all other the place feels like a dream. A few years ago we called Samus Returns on 3DS the best 2D Metroid ever made and as good as that game is, Dread improves upon it in almost every sense of the word, hopefully, this is the start of a whole new era for Samus and the Metroid franchise even after a lengthy development.
To celebrate Mario’s 35th Anniversary Nintendo has released a brand new All Stars Compilation, and unlike their 25th Anniversary it isn’t just slapping the SNES game onto a disc. The brand new 3D All Stars contains three of the biggest 3D Mario titles in Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and the original Super Mario Galaxy.
Even though it’s been almost a decade since it originally came out, The Stanley Parable keeps finding ways to surprise me…. and I hope it never stops.
Stray has got to be one of the most unique and heartfelt narratives I’ve played in a long while. As a former cat owner there was something truly heart-wrenching about playing this game and even if you’ve never owned a pet in your life, you would want to take our feline friend home with you.
You will find yourself coming back to the game over and over again, just to spend time with everybody and explore the islands. The lack of any kind of rush or failure allows for a serious relaxed approach that I can definitely appreciate at the moment. There are also some truly entertaining moments like catching lightning in a bottle during a storm, musical mini-games to help your plants grow or saving a giant serpent by driving a pickaxe into their skull.
While we have all been drooling over FF7’s shiny new remake, you should give a moment to appreciate Trials as well. A title that just last year was still only available in Japan has now, not only finally gotten localized but a full-blown Remake as well.
Accompanying the game is an absolutely stellar soundtrack that captures the atmosphere of a giant research facility perfectly, reminiscing of similar tensions in movies such as Alien. The cries and whimpering of terrified scientists cowering in a corner before making a satisfying leap from the shadows and throwing them around like an absolute ragdoll.
While there are certainly some complex sections, especially with Bonus Stages it is a real stretch to consider this game “hard”. We’ve gotten used to so many games hand holding us that we have become blind to any real challenge. Anything even considered hard is automatically paired with Souls or Cuphead. But anybody who is going to strive for full completion, you are certainly getting your money worth with each level having a “Twisted” version with its own set of gems to collect.
There isn’t much challenge or strategy with I Am Dead and honestly, there really doesn’t need to be. It’s more about the sights and the people we meet along the way, it goes to show that even after we’ve passed on we are never truly gone, our stories, our legacies will be remembered by the people around us, sometimes even for centuries. The design of the world is incredibly basic, with a simplistic vector style that doesn’t even have any shadows, but honestly, I don’t hold that against the game.
While Live A Live wouldn’t have been the first game I would have picked to get the HD-2D treatment, I am certainly glad to see this underappreciated gem finally get the respect it deserves, while full 3D remakes certainly have their place some games are just better conveyed it that old school art style and Live A Live is no exception.
If you liked the previous titles then you’ll like Bayonetta 3 because its more of the same with action set pieces ramped up to 11, while there are some behemoths when it comes to bosses, the game has enough leeway with dodging and health so things don’t get frustrating and average players should at least see a silver medal in most of their battles, while it’s difficult to tell what the future holds for Bayonetta, for now, it is always special when she finally pops around.
Even with all the issues with performance and objectives that are more mystery than the game’s actual case, I still thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Premonition 2 and could barely put it down. The characters, York’s continuous Movie References, even the combat works a treat with no need for melee whatsoever. But, like the original, this game is gonna be just as polarizing, you can either look past the decade-old graphics or not, you can see Morgan as endearing or insane. But one thing you can’t call Deadly Premonition, is boring.
The Last Campfire is a simple yet heartfelt story that really anyone can pick up and play, my biggest gripe with it all is that it is far too short and would have really liked to have spent more time in the world with the game barely clocking in at 8 hours.
The main issue with No More Heroes 3 is that while the bosses can be wild and flashy, everything between them can get incredibly samey and monotonous, there’s only so many times you can be grinding the same mini games and going only vague scavenger hunts before you feel bogged down with it all. What’s worse is that even though they are featured at the beginning, neither Shinobu or Bad Girl are playable during the game.
I had a lot of fun playing through Shantae’s latest journey. But I knew I was going to enjoy this, because I did 4 years before. Again, this is what terrifies me, Shantae is coming back again and again with the same basic concept, and I know this girl, I know this STUDIO has so much more potential.
The world is absolutely stunning, especially the new enemy designs and the completionist in me loves finding all the Toads and holes to fill. But on the other hand, the game is plagued with niggling issues including the complexity of the ring battle system potentially driving new players away.
The truth is, Fall Guys feels like that quick little game you boot up between other bigger games, its the little snack break in-between titles or the one you play with something else in the background. Much like Tetris 99, it’s best to play Fall Guys in small bursts throughout the day rather than a marathon session.
While there are certainly some difficulty curves, the creators behind Skully were far from dropping the ball…..or skull in this case. I actually got fairly invested in the story, especially the third act twist even though I did see it coming from a mile away.
The game plays similarly to the original God of Wars with fixed moving cameras over a 3D world, although the camera feels incredibly far away making Raji almost a speck on the map. Combat is a standard affair with normal/heavy attacks and the dodge button, but Raji can also pull out some Prince of Persia moves with her wall jumps and swinging around poles to attack the beasts that show up.
Ghostrunner has a lot going for it, it's an awesome concept that really could have benefited from some more fine-tuning. While there were times I was getting visually frustrated in segments, I couldn’t put the game down for long. It reminds me a lot of Katana Zero, basically the same slow-mo ninja concept but as a retro 2D game and I absolutely adored that title.