James Cunningham


217 games reviewed
78.0 average score
80 median score
69.3% of games recommended
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5 / 5.0 - flower
Nov 20, 2013

Making it a bit easier on the gaming budget, Flower is also cross-buy, so if you've already got it on PS3 or Vita, then the PS4 version is free. There's no gameplay updates, no level tweaks or new areas, but it runs at a better framerate and the 1080p is noticeably sharper than the original if you put them side-by-side.

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Aug 24, 2020

It's hard to understate how incredible having the whole world available feels and the amount of possibility it opens up.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Axiom Verge
Oct 5, 2017

Axiom Verge was already one of the best Metroid-style games in years and it lands on the Switch like it belongs there.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Rogue Legacy
Jul 11, 2013

Rogue Legacy is just about as close to perfect as a randomized action platformer could hope to be. The constantly changing challenge, and character to face it with, make every game feel different.

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Oct 6, 2015

The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition is a fantastic package of two great first-person puzzlers.  It's basically identical to the PC version, so if you've got those already there's not much need to double-dip, but otherwise it's a must-own.

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Apr 24, 2015

Crypt of the NecroDancer is a phenomenal dungeon crawler.  It's loaded with personality, great music, fun characters and deep action that only appears simplistic on the surface.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Zenzizenzic
Jul 24, 2015

Zenzizenzic is a massive dose of twin-stick action, demanding a learning period to master its systems, but rewarding players with a finely tuned machine of destruction for their effort.  The various weapons and tools fit together perfectly, but the game never becomes a pushover even with the knowledge of how to use all that power, or even anything less than major challenge on the higher difficulty levels.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Downwell
Oct 21, 2015

Downwell is a fantastic arcade game from the '80s transplanted into a modern-day computer. The pixely art style and minimal color palette reinforce its influences but the animation and number of different moving parts on screen at once are nothing 80s hardware would have been able to keep up with. The interlocking gameplay elements are far smarter than they look at first glance, teaching you how to play and get better while also not being shy about killing you dead.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Mushihimesama
Nov 3, 2015

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.

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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.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Starward Rogue
Feb 15, 2016

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.

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May 31, 2016

Score Rush Extended is a fantastic remake of what had already been an excellent shooter.

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4.5 / 5.0 - RunGunJumpGun
Oct 5, 2016

RunGunJumpGun is simple arcade action taken to its extremes.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Thumper
Oct 11, 2016

By the end of Thumper, the speed is insane, the music wild and oppressive, and the feeling of just barely holding on to a beast that wants to send you flying so it can gnaw your bones is disturbingly strong.

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Oct 24, 2016

DoDonPachi Resurrection is a monster of an arcade shooter.

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4.5 / 5.0 - SUPERHOT (VR)
Dec 20, 2016

SuperHot VR is one of the best games VR has seen yet.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Polybius
Dec 31, 2018

Polybius looks like a frenetic shooter that constantly has the player in a state of heightened tension, but the truly amazing thing about it is that it's almost the complete opposite in actual play.

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Jun 17, 2017

Tormentor X Punisher is loud, mean, occasionally unfair, intentionally ugly and thoroughly awesome.

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4.5 / 5.0 - Nex Machina
Jun 20, 2017

Nex Machina is an utterly fantastic arcade twin-stick shooter that doesn't so much revolutionize the genre as get almost every aspect just right.

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4.5 / 5.0 - SteamWorld Dig 2
Sep 20, 2017

SteamWorld Dig 2 is a huge, expansive and utterly fantastic mining/platformer, with a great variety of challenges and plenty of tools to attack them with.

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