There’s some undeniable fun to be had if you can look past the hit collision issues, or the lack of proprietary support for online coop. The roguelite elements are interesting but don’t feel essential in any sense, almost as if a mandatory box to tick and tickle the fancy of some fans. As a throwback to one of the all-time brawler greats, Double Dragon Gaiden is competent, but doesn’t really pack the punch that the series deserves.
Arcadegeddon is tight and very playable, the neon-drenched visuals are cool and stylish, assuming you’re open-minded about all the garish colors and epilepsy-inducing explosions, and it has enough weapon options and character customization to experiment with. But as hours pass, a certain feeling of sameness inevitably starts to creep in. The runs begin to feel dull, the enemy variety isn’t stellar, and all those edgy characters start to blend and look the same.
As a straight-up shooter, Exoprimal comes with competent mechanics and polish, even if a feeling of sameness ends up as the predominant factor after a few hours of play. There’s something here to spark interest among the most competitive players, but it doesn’t feel like Exoprimal is a multiplayer game made for the ages, same as the creatures that were brought from the past to serve as the enemies in here.
If you’re not a die-hard fan of the series, waiting for the server issues to be fully resolved is the best step to take right now. When that is in the past, you may dive into these initially confusing but eventually rewarding heists, knowing that the Infamy system is a stone in your shoe, but cooperating with other like-minded players is an offer you may not want to refuse…in due time.
With a truly accomplished pixel art style and a noir vibe that gets under your skin, Hell is Others is a compelling loot shooter that shows its flaws when multiplayer starts to take preponderance over solo play. It’s a shame that the brilliant concept is dragged down by something so inherently tied to its core gameplay that it’s impossible to dissociate, but if you persist and overcome the early and frustratingly unbalanced player versus player battles, this is a bloody gem that deserves several excursions to this cursed city.
Creating something innovative is a massive gamble, and God of Rock is trying to achieve something like that, but it sadly falls short. Some strange design decisions and a gameplay style that doesn’t really excel at any of the genres make this one an honorable but ultimately lacking effort – this isn’t quite the new challenger we were hoping for.
Minecraft Legends isn’t a bad game; the issue is that it doesn’t excel at any of the genres that it attempts to tackle. In terms of construction, it doesn’t hold a candle to the possibilities of the original, and to be fair that isn’t quite the aim here – still, it could do a lot more than it currently does; as a tactical warfare game, it’s a simplistic and yet occasionally convoluted take offering slim options to engage in deep and meaningful combat, instead ruling by numbers and basic unit expertise that won’t get your commander juices flowing. Conqueror’s Blade is one of countless examples that perform this art of war in superior ways, balancing complexity with fun in a rewarding way. Too shallow for players looking for a challenge and too complicated for younger players, creativity is mostly absent in this spin-off. Minecraft Legends may retain some of its original blocky charm, but the fun aspect was lost somewhere along the way, being replaced by repetitive gameplay and frustrating unit control woes.
The original System Shock was a classic but also a niche game that never achieved commercial success; this remake highlights the niche aspect but will forgo the classic label. It may entice players who want to see how this updated version looks and plays, and while there’s some considerable tension to be had while going down narrow and dim lit corridors, the fun of being lost in maze after maze wears out quickly, especially when you’re doing the umpteenth scan through the map looking for whatever card or switch you have missed. At this rate, SHODAN is likely going to conquer both Citadel Station and Earth, as frustrating her plans is precisely that – frustrating.
When your dwarf is filled with joy and bursts into singing while mining, a little of The Lord of the Rings atmosphere springs to life. Exploring some areas without any care in the world is another moment when the game feels enticing and hints at the sandbox gameplay that could have been. But suddenly, you are reminded that the whole place is a procedurally generated mess with barely any memorable locations, combat is dull and flawed, mining is extremely limited, and the repetitive walks to the base with the goal of storing your recent loot become tiresome. Return to Moria is one for diehard fans only, and even those have to consider just how passionate they are about dwarves and survival in dark places.
Unholy started on the right foot with a setup that wasn’t too far from contemporary horror movies, but you’ll be better off waiting for the release of Silent Hill 2 Remake. The predictable descent into madness wasn’t entirely successful, as the netherworld is little more than your average city in ruins and an excuse to add broken stealth elements into what could have been an accomplished narrative-driven mystery. This is a game that works better when it isn’t trying to tick boxes left and right, but once you step foot into the Eternal City, it drags at snail's pace and rewards you with recurrent death and frustration. A mother’s struggle it may be, but making it a player’s struggle as well isn’t exactly what horror games should do.