A game that makes me feel like I’m getting better, while telling a story about a human aspect, and delivering whimsy, humor and prestige. I couldn’t have been happier, and now I’m hoping for a console port so I can play this on my Switch again next year.
As I Began to Dream is a lovely, if bittersweet, experience that delivers in the storytelling department, but fumbles a bit in the gameplay execution.
You will get frustrated. You will grind your teeth. You will feel your hands shake and that one muscle in your neck will get sore from being tense. But you will persevere, and Bittersweet Birthday will reward you as a result. If you cannot take the stress of it all, trade off with someone who doesn’t mind the fury and take over the controller when you’re given the chance to chat, play mini games, and collect gatchas, because that’s all lovely and good. But when the soundtrack shifts and menace is on the horizon, it’s time to beat your plowshare back into a sword.
This is Onion Games’ opus, and I hope they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished. On nights of sonder and existential loneliness, remember that we have all been, at one time or another, stray children. I hope it comforts you.
Million Depth has such a compelling throughline that I’m doing my damnedest not to ruin for newcomers, and the approach is unique, engaging and successful. Minecraft fans will take to the weapon upgrade faster than I did, and those of you who want to simply do the “story” mode will find incredible satisfaction in spite of the watered down difficulty. It’s brilliantly unique and reminds me that the worst damages wrought by humanity often are tinged with good intentions and the erroneous beliefs of righteousness. If you’re prepared to face the pain of it all, hold your oxygen tank close and dive in. There’s so many layers to peel back to reach the truth.
You can slap a fresh coat of makeup and a beautiful dress on a reanimated corpse, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a staggering, hungry mess. Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted ends up doing meta commentary on itself. The franchise has been raised from the dead, not with something new but with a necromantic amalgamation of what it was, what it could be and what it ultimately is. If you have no other way to play Plants vs. Zombies, you can mostly enjoy it on the Switch, and at least the asking price isn’t too strong. But don’t reward mediocrity.
Brief and memorable, Cling to Blindness builds tension and horror without relying on cheap tricks and does well to craft a story and experience that sticks with you until the very end.
Overall, Jackbox Party Pack 11 is a fantastic iteration and adds more to the series than not. While some of the titles may be lost over time, there’s still a lot of joy to be had here and it’s a necessary addition to any Jackbox enthusiast. Draw, accuse and doom your friends, and then have a nice screaming sesh in between answering adventurous trivia. This pack goes all the way to eleven!
MotionRec is an absolute delight that both crafts an incredible experience while keeping players happy with actual gameplay. It kept me coming back again and again, and, in spite of some very difficult Notes to find, I was enthralled from start to finish.
Simon the Sorcerer Origins is such a brilliant revival of the series. Letting it be a prequel, letting things exist with you knowing them and the cast pretending they don’t was an excellent move. It’s got plenty of puzzle complexity, a lot of fun achievements to discover and some amazing extras where you can see the conception of the character designs and motifs.
With so many chefs involved (Supramonks, Dotemu, Guard Crush Games) I am pleasantly surprised by how tight and succinct the gameplay is. You can absolutely get lost in a delight of combos, spellwork, and tossable things, and you get better each and every time. The production is top notch, the characters are unique and the lore – as difficult as it can be to glean – is fascinating. Dotemu has made themselves known for their beat-em-ups, and Absolum takes the formula to a new, fantastic level.
Dreams of Another is a surreal sensation of mixing creation through destruction and conversation through solitude. You come away with things on your mind, and often forget what your intent was other than to simply “understand.” This has the panache and the flair of a title that will glitter brightly for those who pick it up, and could be enjoyed by people who aren’t traditionally gamers or into shooters specifically.
Clover Pit can hook you and keep you there, but so can a bear trap, and I wouldn’t recommend stepping in one to spend an afternoon. There might be some balancing in the future that’ll make it more worthwhile, but, for now, it becomes a Skinner Box of pain that fills you with hope and dashes it just as quickly.
Spindle has heart in a bare ribcage, and it beats for the player as well as the NPCs. Take a chance, breath deeply, and remember: you’re already dead. You’ve got all the time in the world.
I wish I could say more good things about Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer, but the fact is that it’s an arcade style shmup with a good amount of replay as long as you get into the vibe and potentially the storyline. If you bounce off that, you’ll never let the game hook you in a solid way. But if you’re ready to put your critical thinking skills on pause and not consider a lot of what’s happening in terms of story (really? Only a bounty hunter was available?), then you have some awesome graphics, fun blasting and a killer soundtrack to round out a really solid package from EastAsiaSoft.
I love a game where you can literally pick up and play for a few minutes and put it down without consequence. I love being able to sink close to an hour at a time, doing the same rewarding actions, and then walk away without needing to get another move, another turn. It’s the most ideal way to casually enjoy a game, and Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition keeps players locked in for the most viciously enjoyable cycle that I could imagine. If you loved it the first time, you’re going to adore it the second.
Enthusiasts and collectors will want to grab the physical version of Sonic Wings Reunion, and players determined to make it to the top of the leaderboards first are probably already in poll position when the game goes live on console. But, for the choosier player, the shiny graphics and silly nature of some elements might not be enough to retain engagement, at least not at launch. It’s a decent shooter, but I’ve played dozens of decent shooters, and my memories of enjoying an SNES title isn’t going to keep me hooked into something that’s just “decent.”
Candy Rangers falls solidly in the middle when it comes to on rails shooters. It’s got plenty to do and it’s inventive in the execution, which kept me locked in for exciting fights and the arcade mode. But needing to repeat myself simply to justify the lack of margins of error was exhausting and, frankly, unfun. I’d much rather do a level again because it was thrilling or because I want to challenge myself, not because the game won’t let me go out to play until I clean my plate.
Classic anime fans and roguelike survivors who want something different are going to discover Wander Stars as a fantastic expedition. The story goes in amazing directions, the engagement of crafting the best “deck” never gets old, and, when it’s running well, it’s a smooth and enjoyable expedition.
Once everything is said and done, Blippo+ may only run you about six hours of “play” time, but it’s one of the most honest and unique titles in the last decade of gameplay. It’s an FMV without any game, and it works in a spectacularly bizarre fashion.