In the end, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory feels a lot like the previous title.
With almost everything costing 10 times what it is worth, weak base content and an impossibly long grind for what limited content there is, it's practically impossible to see a bright side to Raiders of the Broken Planet. Well, besides the fact practically no one is falling for it.
As cute as RemiLore: Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore might look, there is literally nothing else redeeming about it. Not only is the story forgettable, it has so little going on it might be better to have nothing. From there, even though you have over 200 weapons to choose from, most are worthless and even a bad weapon with good magic is enough to beat the game. Add in one of the most frustrating grading systems I've seen, a pointless cash system, paper thin gameplay and you have an experience that I'd be hard press to recommend to anyone.
Blades of Time feels less like a loving remaster that we can now take on the go and more like a last chance at redemption. With frustrating elements, dated idea and less depth than a current Dynasty Warrior title, it's hard to understand who this remaster is for.
To be perfectly honest, I could probably write another 1,000 words explaining just how hollow this experience is. When you figure you have a bland indie fighter, set in largely linear stages, that has, at best, three modes to play, it's not an attractive experience. Toss in stiff animations, extremely frustrating stages, underwhelming characters and it's hard to find something redeeming in Bounty Battle. Heck, I unlocked every costume and can only seemingly use them in one mode, which brings into question why even bother. The really unfortunate thing is, a lot of the problems can be fixed and likely was the goal when it got delayed sometime back but in its current state I struggle to find something positive to say and that is really unfortunate.
Emerald Shores wants to be a great experience, without the tools or understanding of what goes into that. Between imprecise controls, horrible hit boxes, predictable enemies and countless ways to abuse the mechanics, it's not a pleasurable experience. When you figure it does countless things to limit the replay value, either by removing your ability to gain experience or easily solved secrets, it really has nothing to offer. So, unless you're a big fan of bad games, there is really no reason to ever visit Emerald Shores.
There are so many issues in New Gundam Breaker that it manages to be the worst thing an anime game can be – a title with the sole positive being the fact it's Gundam. Combat is boring, repetitive, with a targeting system that manages to be frustrating. Even if bland gameplay is not a problem, so many of the mechanics have needless limits or seem pointless. Throw in a generic story that is about as forgettable as they come and it feels less like a game Gundam fans will love, something that has been true for previous entries, and instead a rushed title with whatever they could toss together at the last second.
I don’t particularly appreciate giving games low scores, especially to a game that was a labor of love by a small team, but Death or Treat is a hard sell. It’s short, features only four bosses, limited variety, is poorly balanced, and is filled with bugs. The last one is significant because I can overlook some of these things, but in its current state, I can’t recommend it. This is a shame because the jokes and core gameplay loop are enjoyable, but the flaws are impossible to miss.
Death end re;Quest tries to be more than the sum of its parts, yet fails to achieve it. The story could've been interesting with less mystery or at least thrilling if it had a large enough budget to give some of the dead ends/deaths animations/scenes. Sure, several people probably don't want to see a cut girl sliced in half or killed a number of ways but anything is better than just explaining how they die a multitude of times. Combine this with an extremely linear world and relatively bland combat and you have something that just doesn't stand out in any way.
In the end, The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is a weak game that will only appeal to Suda 51/fans of the original. Without this it's a slow moving, poorly designed and boring title that likely won't keep your interest. Combine this with a lack of voice acting and limited graphics and that is really the only appeal. Well, that and it's an easy platinum.
For better or worse, Curse of Osiris is more of the same.
If I am being sincere, Redfall feels closer to a beta than a finished product. It isn’t just missing polish; many elements are in the wrong place. There isn’t much of an end game or reason to grind, nor did I find any weapon that seemingly changed the face of the game. At most, I found more accessible ways to do things resulting in my build always having a UV and stake weapons. Despite this, I think Redfall will benefit significantly from Xbox Game Pass. Even if the product I reviewed was in a rough place, I still had fun. Arkane Studios has time to improve it, two additional characters are coming in the future, and 60 FPS is in the works; it’s just a shame our first impression was nowhere near what we’ve come to expect from Arkane Studios or the genre.
The hard part about the introductory chapter is starting with a bang. It doesn’t feel like the story actually starts until the very end of Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation Code Fairy Vol. 1, with gameplay that is simply not appealing enough to carry the rest. As a result, this is going to be an experience, at least in its current form, that appeals to a very small set of people. Maybe if you’re a fan of the Gundam Battle Operation series, otherwise I’d wait to see how the second volume goes.
One Piece: Romance Dawn is a great idea that was poorly executed. While fans and newcomers will appreciate the story, the gameplay feels like an afterthought. It becomes bland after mere hours and starts to feel like you’re going through the motions. This is not the reaction you want in an RPG, especially a long one like Romance Dawn.
For the most part, Sword of the Necromancer is decent fun in a rather flawed package. I can't imagine anyone could have fun playing with decreased levels and losing gear since even without that stuff it isn't particularly amazing. Toss in lazy enemy names, kiddie pool level depth, and a generic story, and Sword of the Necromancer falls short of where you want to be. Especially when there are so many other games that handle rogue-like elements better. Maybe if it goes on a deep sale it might be worth it but at full price, it's a hard sell.
Fun or not, there are a lot of flaws and there are plenty of better options for those looking for mindless violence.
Look, Indivisible isn’t an awful game, it just makes too many poor choices to count.
Omen of Sorrow is basically a fighting game with a fair amount of depth, without the structure to support it.
The Good, The Bad and The Augmented feels rushed and offers little for returning fans to do. Between levels being comprised of the same stages in a different order or altered enemies is reminiscent of the complaints about wondering through similar looking ducts. Despite there being a fair number of weapons and armor, a lot of them are reskins and none of them are different or good enough to justify changing for, unless you're a newcomer. Add this with lackluster challenges and an underwhelming end and it just feels more like a rushed expansion than something fans or newcomers need to see.
Where previous games allowed players to feel powerful by defeating an absurd number of dumb enemies, Dynasty Warriors 9 cuts out the middle man, leaving a shallow game feeling completely hollow.