Best Month Ever! is a short, enjoyable narrative that perhaps suffers from high ambitions that don't quite pay off. Glitches in the game can really take you out of what would otherwise be a fluid experience.
To be fair, the game is visually appealing, with a minimalistic art style that manages to convey the feeling of the time. It's an interesting experience and a unique premise (how many other Cold War disaster games are you going to play this year?), but ultimately that can't save the title from falling a bit flat.
There’s a lot going on, but it doesn’t stop the game from feeling stale. Only getting to do one battle per in-game day makes the title's pacing feel very slow, and the story feels disappointingly broken up as a result.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is a prime example of a below par dungeon crawling RPG. Kinda fun in parts, if not a bit basic and simple, the title has nothing that offers a real challenge and nothing that demands your attention. While the game starts off well enough, very little is added throughout to hold your interest, and it's a struggle to remain enthused about the lacklustre plot and the title's repetitive nature.
Dark Rose Valkyrie offers opportunity for excitement, but ultimately fails to deliver. Weak concepts and a suite of poorly crafted gameplay systems sink an otherwise semi-interesting premise. This is a frustrating and slow slog all the way to the end.
Blue Reflection has a lot of interesting ideas, from its plot to the core gameplay, so it's unfortunate that these ideas are left to fester in a pool of mediocrity and drowned in an adventure that feels boring and stale before it's even really begun. The opening scenes show a lot of promise, but none of it is built upon as the game develops. Blue Reflection feels like a tutorial for JRPG beginners - one that even the most inexperienced player would get bored with.
Moonglow Bay has a lot of promise; it’s easy to spend hours with it when it’s working properly. But when it’s not, it turns into a nightmare you don’t want to revisit. The cosy vibes of the gameplay, fun characters, and enjoyable fishing and cooking mechanics don’t make up for fundamental errors with the game that really mar the rest of the experience.
The Huntsman: Winter's Curse's relatively short campaign is a slog, with little variation in the types of enemies presenting themselves. Moreover, the plot is so basic that it offers little in the way of distraction from the terrible mechanics of the game. The only saving grace is that this is an attractive game with its storybook stylisation.
Taxi Life has so much promise, but in its current state it’s extremely hard to enjoy. Some menu options still have Xbox buttons assigned to them – press A, we were told. One accident we were in saw our car flipped onto its back (maybe the road rage had gotten to us at that point), and we had to quit the game and reload just to be able to move the taxi again. The lack of polish feels evident throughout the game, and it’s a real shame, because the concept is a compelling one.
Think of the most frustrating gaming moments you had as a child. Add them all together, and you still probably can't even come close to Yasai Ninja. This is a game to be avoided at all costs. With no redeeming factors, and a whole catalogue of problems, Yasai Ninja is more painful to play than forcing down sprouts at Christmas, with about as much reward. A good ninja shouldn't be seen or heard, and the same can be said about this game.