Carrie Lambertsen
Who doesn’t dream of being the town’s hero? Heroes of Hammerwatch Ultimate Edition allows you to do just that- after a lot of death.
Does this extensive development tool make building RPGs a breeze on the Switch? We take a look to find out.
In this alternate reality version of the French Revolution, a group of women seem to hold magical abilities within themselves. Can they change fate?
While not incredibly long, Alwa’s Legacy feels polished and complete, featuring quality dungeon design and a clever cast of characters.
Sometimes, you just need a good arena brawler game to jump in and slash at giant hordes of enemies again, and again. Cubers: Arena is that game.
The time-stopping mechanic, while refreshing in concept, isn't enough to elevate this twin-stick shooter RPG beyond its middle-of-the-road status.
Monster Sanctuary masterfully mixes several classic components - monster collecting, Metroidvania platforming, and RPG elements - into one impressive package.
Calico is a peaceful simulation game about collecting cats to live at your cat café, and helping your friends on a magical island. Simple, soothing fun.
Fans of 3D platformer adventures, especially those who also are fans of SpongeBob's television series, will find a lot of value in the game SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. The friendly banter between SpongeBob and Patrick throughout the game offers a lot of jokes - and even some unexpected laugh-out-loud moments - that makes it difficult not to smile while playing. The art style, music, and voice acting all provides a high-quality feel, almost like being inside an episode of the cartoon series. Meanwhile, the gameplay itself is well-crafted and offers a lot of variety for players. All these things combined make the game an overall enjoyable, if not immediately forgettable, experience for players of all ages.
Fans of cozy gaming will enjoy this narrative adventure mystery, with cute characters and fun retro graphics. It is a short game, although there are at least two different possible endings that can require replaying some of the game in order to see. Many of the choices made in the game will lead to different outcomes, and saving frequently would be recommended for anyone who wants to be able to see all the varieties.
EA Sports PGA Tour is an absolutely beautiful and immersive golf game with a very realistic feel. The game can be quite demanding on even some of the better systems, so PC users should be forewarned to check the requirements and be ready to turn down graphic settings. It is a challenging game, but still a lot of fun and is a great foundation for players to become better with the ability to see true growth happening as they continue to practice, as long as the player has enough patience to get there.
Capcom collections of older games tend to be great, and this new set is a wonderful example of the care they put into making them easy to navigate and exciting to find lots of the extra content that many players may not have had access to originally. The art gallery with concept art and official artwork for events plus the music player of 188 songs are wonderful to have included with the games. Overall, the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is a very well-crafted trip down memory lane and will be a true treasure to fans of the original games, and fun for new players to have that much content provided.
Though there are some learning curve issues with the game, Minecraft Legends is a solid experience overall and does a wonderful job of combining the action-strategy formula into a compelling game in the Minecraft universe. Being able to lead creepers and skeletons into battle to fight alongside the player is a clever concept and the cutscenes throughout the campaign provide an epic feel. Because of the procedurally generated world and the nature of the battles, Minecraft Legends offers a lot of replay value as well.
Age of Wonders 4 is a beautifully crafted 4X experience for players who like to dig deep and learn how to customize a game to fit how they like to play and be able to research through many varieties of choices and traits.
LEGO 2K Drive may seem like a simple racing game on the surface, but it has surprising depth with its layers of comedy, clever Easter eggs, and creativity. It's also safe and fun for children and adults alike. LEGO 2K Drive may not be a serious adventure title, but it is certainly a must-play experience for anyone interested in a good time.
While the story for Sunshine Shuffle is intriguing, the presentation does not match up with the tone of the narrative. The game also suffers from many technical issues that individually wouldn't be too bad, but when put together are very distracting and problematic. Though some of the features of Sunshine Shuffle are entertaining, and the poker is well played, overall there are many other poker games that are more enjoyable than this one.
Ultimately, Diablo 4 is a must-play experience for any fan of dungeon-crawler ARPGs.
Ultimately, though the Etrian Odyssey games do not feature much story, they are incredibly fun dungeon-crawling experiences. The featured ability to draw maps of the dungeons as the party progresses through the game can become somewhat tedious if played in docked mode using a controller, but with the touchscreen in handheld, it can be quick and very satisfying. The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a well-crafted remaster of the original games and offers hundreds of hours of fun for dungeon-crawling enthusiasts.
Speed Crew's developers have already announced they are working on planned updates and DLCs that will include new levels and game modes for players to enjoy. There are some customization options for characters and vehicles in the game as well, which is a fun extra touch. The game was completed in solo mode in about 10 hours and that timeframe could easily shift when played with friends, depending on their ability to cooperate effectively. There were no technical issues observed over the entire course of the game, and its process of slowly ramping up the difficulty felt smooth and natural. Overall, Speed Crew is a very fun game that would be a great addition to any group of friends or family looking for a new party game to enjoy.
As a casual player, Railway Empire 2 can get incredibly overwhelming quickly with the number of different things to pay attention to, such as: resources, connecting lines, what the competition is doing, and budget. This is a strange contrast to the slow-moving nature of the game and the peaceful feeling that the theme and graphics provide. For anyone who is a fan of train simulators or management games, however, Railway Empire 2 is an enjoyable experience that can provide countless hours of entertainment.