Drew Sherratt's Reviews
Egglia: Rebirth is a fun, if repetitive, turn-based JRPG that wears it’s mobile origins with pride. With some pretty graphics, catchy soundtrack and simple mechanics, it’s easy to lose an enjoyable hour or so here and there between more substantial games. Had the dungeons had less of a cookie cutter feel and shown some gameplay (rather than just aesthetic) differences, it could have been a great little game, but the repetition turns things stale long before you’re finished. That said, I’d still recommend this to players who are fans of a mobile RPG and looking to transition to console with something familiar, or to younger fans who are dipping their toes into RPGs for the first time.
The Company Man is a short lived rage against the machine that is funnier than it is fun, if that makes any sense. I did absolutely enjoy my time with the game, and Forust’s beautiful cartoon styling that has made an accurate mockery out of big corporations is incredibly well thought out. But while hacking through familiar lackeys and poking fun at business tropes is uproariously enjoyable, beneath a veneer of well crafted jokes is only some pretty easy platforming and combat, and when coupled with a run time that’s shorter than some appraisal meetings, the gameplay ultimately keeps the overall experience from breaking the glass ceiling.
A wonderfully simple game with just enough complexity to make it incredibly addictive, SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash is a nostalgic blast from the past that’s as fun to play today as it was 20 years ago. The playful art style and masterful pixel art really bring your favourite characters to life, and completionists will get a tonne of playtime out of the ‘collect them all’ aspect of the game. With some slightly better sound, a few modern quality of life improvements, and some online features, this game
From the beautiful visual style and catchy music to the throwback level design and tight mechanics, Grapple Dog is a blast all around. The gameplay is easy enough to pick up but difficult enough to feel rewarding, and the light-heartedly story and adorable characters round out the experience really nicely. Having watched Grapple Dog swing around social media for a long while, it’s incredibly fulfilling for me as a reviewer to finally get my hands on it and enjoy it so much - I can only imagine the sense of achievement that the Medallion Games team are feeling at creating such a wonderful experience.
All-in-all, Gang Beasts is a fun multiplayer romp that’s best enjoyed with a few friends after a couple of beers, but doesn’t hold up nearly as well once you try to take the party online. The derpy characters, intentionally awkward controls, and daft physics will bring plenty of laughs in a room full of pals, but become more frustrating as a solo experience. Ultimately, once you’ve played a few rounds in each mode there isn’t an awful lot of meat on the bone; Gang Beasts is an admittedly tasty morsel, it just carries the price tag of a prime cut.
Broken Age is a shining example of the point-and click adventure genre, and is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The gameplay delivers on a tried and tested recipe and while it doesn't take any risks, the rewards are in the story, visuals and voice-acting. The pastel-style imagery and playful characters are truly memorable, and the stellar voice-cast deliver a script full of laugh-out-loud moments. Another Tim Schafer classic.
Picking up Knights of the Old Republic is absolutely still worth your time and money in 2022. There’s an engaging story with a timeless focus on good versus evil, and mechanics that allow you to choose your own destiny – something that modern-day players still absolutely love. The audience shouldn’t be limited to Star Wars fans either, with KOTOR standing out as a fantastic RPG experience regardless of setting. Sure, the graphics and menus haven’t aged well, but that’s entirely moot when you consider just how enjoyable this game is to play. Like rewatching the original Star Wars trilogy today, forget your seamless CGI effects and high definition screen for a few hours and enjoy KOTOR for what it is – you’ll have a fantastic experience that leaves a seriously lasting impression.
6Souls isn’t the most original of titles but there’s enough fun platforming, tricky bosses, and well considered animation and sound to keep you happy for the whole of its duration. Had the level design been a little more varied, with some of the older mechanics brought back a little later in the game, and there been less reliance on the Soul Boost, it would have gone to another level still.
As a lover of both wildlife documentaries and videogames I absolutely wanted to fall in love with AWAY, but the rough edges of the gameplay and some bugginess proved just too much of a burr under the saddle to be entirely enjoyable. The frustrating gliding controls, a rogue camera, and a smattering of weird and wonderful bugs throws salt on the rich earth of a great idea. The premise is a marvellous one and I applaud the team at Breaking Walls for doing just that – smashing down another wall of what can be made into a videogame. I hope that the team continues with their ‘Survival Series’ and works to bring more playable nature stories to life in the future – I have every faith that this could be a wonderful franchise with only some refinement.
While I feel like I’ve had more negative things to say about Disgaea 6 than positive, I definitely enjoyed my first foray into the Netherworld. The characters are great fun and make up for a rather well-worn plot by quite simply being well presented and entertaining. The combat is a little long-winded for my tastes but once you’re in the thick of battle there’s really a lot to like, and I can see why the series has so many admirers. There’s plenty to enjoy for returning fans and newcomers alike, though I warn first-timers to be aware of the emphasis on grinding to a ridiculous rate, and to be ready to have AI completing more battles than you in the long run. If you’re someone who enjoys fine tuning party management and are happy to leave the hands-on battle management to the robots, I think Disgaea 6 is definitely one for you, dood!
Metroid Dread is a wonderful addition to a storied but long-dormant franchise, and offers some modern shine on a traditional experience. The stunning visuals and some simple but fun new mechanics make it a joy to play, even through the sometimes punishing difficulty level. The busy controls might bamboozle some players in heated moments and others will argue that it’s too short to justify the price tag, but there can be no mistaking the overall quality of the title.
I can’t call G-Darius HD anything other than a run-of-the-mill arcade shoot ‘em up. While the capture ball and beam duelling are fun wrinkles to the gameplay, they aren’t enough to make the game stand out against a myriad of other titles in the same genre. The achievements and graphics updates are nice but I struggle to look past its short run time and genesis as an arcade cabinet that’s designed to eat your money. Sadly, this just isn’t an ideal console title. Fans of the genre will be overjoyed to have G-Darius HD available in their games library, but I don’t think it will capture many hearts outside of those players who forever yearn for the glory of the arcade High Scores table.
Corpse Killer is a decaying relic of its time, with few redeeming features that would encourage anyone to unearth it. The full FMV levels are hilariously bad and the point-and-click shooting is the dictionary definition of rinse and repeat gameplay. B-movie aficionados or former Sega 32X players seeking some nostalgia may be slightly more inclined to resurrect this one, but the cheesy plot, poor production, and miniscule amount of gameplay will not appeal to many modern players at all. It’s an amusing time capsule to my misguided, zombie-enthused youth, but this is one that should absolutely have stayed buried.
Narita Boy delivers in almost every facet and I thoroughly enjoyed my time facing down the Stallion threat. But while it’s positively dripping with 80s nostalgia and style, there’s a lot more to it than just a trip down memory lane – and the fun sword fighting and exploration into a spectacular universe is only the half of it.
All-in-all, I was thoroughly impressed by everything Axiom Verge 2 offered and would probably have devoured the entire thing in one sitting had adult life not gotten in the way. Yes, the combat could have used more variety and the story was a little head scratching at times, but that’s entirely worth it for the masterclass in retro graphics and sound that you get in return, along with some thoroughly enjoyable world building and exploration too.
My time with Umurangi Generation Special Edition was a little like discovering an old photo album in the loft and opening it to find pictures that remind you of a painful break up. There’s the spark of excitement at finding something out of the ordinary, and wonderment at what you might stumble upon next, but flicking through the pages of blurry images only leaves you pining for what could have been had things been just a little bit different.
More like a firework than an inferno, Fire is pretty and will certainly make you smile, but is sadly over all too soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring the broken landscapes of Glyph and resurrecting the ancient civilisation in the sand, and I’d definitely recommend it to players looking for something they can pick up and put down in small sittings. While it might be a little bit samey, I found it a charming experience that makes for a lovely change of pace in a genre often requiring pixel-perfect precision and outlandish reaction speeds.
My time with Hentai vs. Evil was thankfully very short and produced more head shaking and fewer smiles than the average episode of Dragon’s Den. Designed to appeal to an incredibly niche demographic, there’s a feeling that the lack of content or enjoyable gameplay will be quite simply ignored if you allow the players to ‘hur-hur-hur’ at animated breasts.
All-in-all, Resident Evil Village is a fantastic shooter that’s overflowing with grim and grisly visuals that add a flourish of horror to a wonderful repertoire of action. While the move towards a supernatural theme meets with mixed results, it’s impossible to argue with how enjoyable gameplay is, or the effort taken to merge the distant and recent pasts of the franchise into a new monster for the new age.