This is a game where I wish the Nintendo Switch had a true multitasking system, because I would 100% run EGGLIA: Rebirth in the background while I planted my crops in Sakuna and did my daily challenge in The Binding of Isaac, then returning to EGGLIA to harvest my berries.
All the frill and filler is optional; you’ve got an amazing world to explore and plenty to play and see. It’s got smarts, it’s got heart, but mostly, it’s got guts. If you want to see Kirby with a good dash of wonder mixed in, then Kirby and the Forgotten Land will transport you to someplace truly wonderful.
This might not be the most adventurous of the Shin Megami Tensei games, especially since after Shin Megami Tensei V lived up to the hype, it was a tough band to beat. Yet, Soul Hackers 2 delivers everything I needed in a tidy package.
For newcomers, really consider what the game is and what you want it to be. If you sincerely want a full fledged experience, Factorio on the Switch will get you 80% of the way there, but I can’t conceivably think that chat or keyboards can be put in the Switch version. Still, it’s got everything important, and that should be more than enough to keep the cycle going. The machines must grow, and you shall be their farmer.
I imagine that Vampire Survivors is going to spawn a legion of imitators and developers trying to capture the same effect but with some variation, and I’ll be staying far, far away from them. This game is amazing, and it’s one of those titles where I don’t know or care about the lore: I just want to get those blue gems and feel the chemical reward of doing something that my brain says is good. Pick it up and play, but be sure to block off an afternoon. Any other plans you have are going to get canceled.
This isn’t just a new version of a game, this is the updated version that actually caters to what gaming personalities expect and look for in new titles. Sure, there’s no touchscreen controls, which is a bizarre choice for something that was just on a goddamn touchscreen device, but whatever! It’s The Oregon Trail, you can play and unlock the filter to make it monochrome green if you’d like. Or you can appreciate the color, the pizazz, and the actual gameplay and realize that it’s a frigging masterpiece.
This game was just the greatest cup of coffee for me to help start the new year. Last year started with a bang when I had the pleasure of playing Infernax, and 2023 got off to a great start as well with Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider. It’s not terribly involved, the storyline is a bit heavy handed, and you need to figure out how it handles, but it’s exactly what it needs to be.
It’s a shame that, for whatever reason, screenshots have been disabled on the Nintendo Switch, because I would love to show firsthand that there is little difference between the Xbox and handheld versions. Still, it overall didn’t affect my play, and the end result is still the same: a battlefield soaked in blood, a boy fulfills his debt, and the player is left torn between relief and unease. Was this truly the only path to redemption? Or was the loss worth the price of revenge?
Ib is a slow burn of disquiet and high strangeness that gets you with a scare and keeps you with the story. It’s a fantastic marriage of art and gameplay, and it’s worth a trip to see the crafting of something truly unique. Beware; the art may not show what you want to see.
As off kilter of a “game” as this might be, it’s nonetheless a heady dose of high strangeness, a cafe blend of Twin Peaks meets Watamote with a fair dash of When Our Journey Ends and just a touch of existential crisis. Like a great book, it leaves you filled, curious, and eager for more. The yearning for explanation, for connection, and the very real taste of loneliness cloaked in dry humor is what will keep me waiting at the station. The next train will surely bring me home.
Players looking for an epic, sweeping romance or a bevy of boys just dying to be your arm candy should invest their time and efforts elsewhere. Instead, if you’re interested in watching a young woman pursue her dreams against all odds and actually being lifted up and encouraged in the process, then may I invite you to the curtain call of Jack Jeanne. It really is something to behold.
I sincerely hope that Sky Caravan attracts plenty of attention and even acclaim, as it’s both engaging and unique without being purposely obtuse. It’s incredibly approachable, the art style is endearing and the story, while nothing groundbreaking, is a fun romp for any time of day. Players looking for a read-along with flair and panache should absolutely consider a rewarding career in being a part of the Sky Caravan.
I was drawn in by the visuals and utterly hooked by the musical scoring, the expansive areas and the implied lore that was further cemented by my own character’s evolution. The combat, when it was good, was SO GOOD and the reason I kept coming back is because I wanted to be as precise and murderous as the game thought I could be. There is no death, no save points, no turning back and no way out but through. You find more, you see more, you fight more and all you want is more. It is a hunger that spawns from the epoch of creation.
This was such an unexpected treat. I adore reading in games, even though that feels counterintuitive to the point of video games. Being swept up in visual novels is a passion of mine, so I love when I can get that safe effect elsewhere. Frog Detective is such a silly and genuinely funny read from start to finish that I didn’t even mind that it was in the first person perspective. It’s like Inspector Clouseau and Detective Drebin taught a frog everything they knew and sent him off into the world.
You’ve got something for everyone (art, writing, trivia, music and psychology) and it scales wonderfully for all age ranges. Jackbox has done fantastic, and I highly recommend grabbing this as a party favor to distract and delight whomever you surround yourself with this holiday season.
I feel like this is a visual novel anyone, and I mean anyone, can get behind. It’s broken into bite-sized pieces with animations, game mechanics and QTEs that keep you from just clicking through. It’s almost more like a Lucasarts adventure title, if Bobbin Threadbare had to drink just enough to not expose himself as a narc. It’s compelling, it’s raw, and it plays itself as seriously as possible while still having some of the most maddening ideas for a storyline.
Next Star Rebels is an ugly but necessary forced marriage between two warring factions in order to preserve the whole. If you only had a rocket building game without the context as to the how or why items are introduced, you’d get a visually impressive but somewhat pointless game. Kerbal Space Program is more for the hardcore creators, and Next Space Rebels is for those of us with no great bearing on physics or angles, but are willing to learn through trial and error.
It’s fun, it’s replayable, it’s frustrating as all hell when you just can’t get the right movement card to get out of a sticky spot, and it keeps drawing me back in to prove that I’m not a loser. I may keep getting killed during missions, but I’m doing it with style, and that’s all anyone can ask of me. Okay, they can ask that I complete the mission and not die, but hey. Baby steps.
I like to walk away from games with something to take away, something to remember my playing by. Unreal Life has left me thoroughly disquieted, filled with ideas about what it means to connect, to be a part of someone’s life. How much our own illusions can protect us from what might seek to harm our livelihood, and how fragile a person can be, even if we feel the change is minor.
KEMCO has partnered to create something special, and I have walked away from this with a brand new lens through which to view their creations. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s engaging. Although, if they want to patch in a toggle for timer elements (they have toggles for both combat and golf difficulty), I think it’d make everything just that much cleaner. RPGolf Legends is, hands down, my favorite title that KEMCO has ever published, and this is a clean drive into a beautiful birdie for players everywhere.