James Cunningham's Reviews
While the PC port is a little janky, the actual game of Little King’s Story is as instantly likeable as it’s ever been.
Time Machine VR is the kind of game you tend to see at the start of a new technology.
Anarcute is a warm and fuzzy, utterly adorable game that plays with mob violence and social unrest.
Score Rush Extended is a fantastic remake of what had already been an excellent shooter.
Lumo is a big, puzzley, dungeon-romping love letter to the history of gaming, filled with references to a huge number of titles but still more than able to carve out its own identity.
Samorost 3 is a fantastic point & click adventure game, and a perfect sequel to the previous two.
Trackmania Turbo is a giant, gorgeous world of arcade stunt-racing action.
While the story can be a bit much at times, The Witch and the Hundred Knight's gameplay makes returning to Metallia's swamp a tempting prospect.
While it takes a bit to get all its gameplay elements into place, Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairy Tale is thoroughly charming from the very start.
While a little more realism would make American Truck Simulator more fun, paradoxical as that may sound, there's no escaping how fantastically playable it is.
Starward Rogue is easily the best arcade roguelike since Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and while it doesn't stray too far from its inspiration's influence, it makes up for this by executing its formula incredibly well.
If the story is nonsensical, the fighting and platforming are great fun.
Gravity Rush Remastered is close to perfect.
All these elements come together to make an arcade-style game that easily lives up to its Pang/Buster Bros.
In order to get the most from Turok, it's important to approach it as a remnant of the '90s, rather than a modern game.
It would be easy to blow off Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair as just another HD remake, but that wouldn't give it credit for how much better it plays now that it's got appropriate processing muscle behind its enemy-packed levels. Simply put, Earth Defense Force has never looked or played as good as this, and while the framerate still drops a bit when the action gets particularly intense, it's never anything but playable.
DariusBurst Chronicle Saviors is a massive shooter with seemingly endless gameplay in its multiple sections.
Kromaia Omega is a giant hyper-saturated burst of color, speed and heavy firepower, as stylish as it can be difficult, and it's impossible not to forgive a few questionable design elements when the enemies are swarming and the action takes off.
Last Horizon is a beautifully minimalist game of exploration and survival amidst the planets. It's simple enough to be easily pick-up-and-play, but with enough challenge that a brief run still feels satisfying. The drifting universe and ambient soundtrack are properly relaxing, while trying to land on a planet for desperately-needed fuel while it slowly rotates beneath you and you try not to drift into the ocean or a mountain makes for a nicely tense moment of piloting. Unfortunately, bugs hold it back from its full potential at point in time. The void is filled with asteroids and other cosmic hazards, aliens wander between planets, the sun is not only burning hot, but in possession of a worryingly strong gravity well, and stray comets briefly light up the sky. The quest to find and create a new homeworld has plenty of room for disaster to strike, but it's also a lovely journey through a vibrant night sky.
The sheer volume of content is fantastic, making it as easy to replay a mode over and over again for practice as it is to bounce from one game type to another for the shooter version of Short Attention Span Theater. Mushihimesama is a phenomenal arcade game and an indispensable addition to any shooter fan's library.