Does Princess Peach: Showtime! reach the level of, say, Super Mario Bros. Wonder? Probably not. But it’s certainly on par with any of the solo Luigi or Yoshi outings we’ve had. Here’s hoping that we don’t have to wait another two decades for Peach to get another starring role, because this one is well worth your time.
For the second year in a row, Jackbox Party Pack 10 delivers a set of games where everyone is bound like at least one of the games on offer – certainly a far cry from earlier editions where you knew that an entry would have at least one dud.It's an outstanding collection from top to bottom, and it shows that as the Jackbox series enters its second decade, it's as strong as ever.
Everything about Bzzzt makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s a very fun old-school platformer that manages to stand out even in a very crowded genre, and it’s definitely worth picking up.
Here are the three key things to know about Please, Touch The Artwork 2: 1. It’s gorgeous. 2. It’s trippy. 3. It’s free.
Not many games in recent years have come up with something as thrilling as taking on massive robot monsters like you find here, and it’s a mark of how well it’s done in Forbidden West that every time you see one of those familiar flashes, you’ll feel your adrenaline start pumping as you draw your bow and arrow and take aim.
If you go into Loddlenaut expecting anything in the way of stakes or drama or a challenge, you’ll probably be underwhelmed. But if you just want a relaxing, chill game that you can escape into for a couple of hours, it’s hard to think of a nicer, more pleasant way to pass the time.
But leaving you wanting more and making you feel good about what you just played are two hallmarks of a very good game – which Botany Manor undeniably is. It’s a relaxing puzzler that doesn’t allow being “cozy” to get in the way of challenging you just enough. If you’re tired of puzzlers that all feel like they’re chasing after a game that almost perfected the genre more than a decade ago, this will be a very pleasant change of pace.
It’s an interesting look at a neat experiment, and it’s fun to get a chance to discover – or rediscover – a game that finds Nintendo breaking out of their comfort zone. It may not be a perfect game, but it’s an interesting one, and that’s enough to make it worth checking out.
Like grapefrukt games’ previous outings, it’s made for both quick gaming sessions and lengthy hours spent trying to get just a little bit better, and regardless of which way you approach it, you’re going to have fun.
Much like Dragon Quest Treasures last year, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a fun entry point into a long-running series that doesn’t ask too much of players in terms of prior knowledge (though that surely helps). If you’re after a solid monster-training game with colourful cast of characters, it delivers solidly on that front.
The big drawback to The Lost Crown is that if you’re not already a fan of Metroidvanias, it’s hard to imagine anything here will suddenly make you a believer in the genre. It’s a well-made Metroidvania, to be sure, but there’s nothing here that breaks new ground.
Even if I was disappointed by Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, it was only a minor disappointment, all things considered. It may not reach the highs of the previous Turnip Boy game, but it’s still fun in its own right, and it makes me eager to see what shenanigans Turnip Boy gets up to next (and what genres he’ll get up to them in).
I can’t help but love Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League. It’s not about to make you forget Rocksteady’s other games, but it’s not trying to, either. It’s a game that’s all about the simple joys of soaring through the air, blowing away aliens, and making funny quips afterwards – and there are far worse things for a game to be.
Block Buster Billy is definitely worth checking out if you like your puzzle games hard. It’ll challenge you and it’ll probably frustrate you, but you can rest assured that it’ll make you think.
The bottom line is more or less the same as it is every year: if you skipped a year or two it’s a good place to jump back in; if you played last year’s edition your mileage will vary depending on how important it is to you that you get a new season of storylines, plus the ability to create a female player. Nothing in MLB The Show 24 achieves the same comparative highs of the franchise during its glory years from a decade ago, but it’s undeniably a very outing.
Minishoot Adventures doesn’t break any new ground – even if all these genres aren’t usually together, they’ve all been around long enough that it all feels familiar. But that’s also Minishoot Adventures’ biggest strength: it all feels so familiar that you can’t help but feel like you’re playing an old classic.
I feel like comparing Abomi Nation to Pokémon is just about the highest praise I can give the game. It’s not on the same level in terms of…well, anything, really, but at the same time, it’s well-made enough that if you’re the kind of person it’s targeting, it’s absolutely essential.
Murder on the Orient Express is proof that even if you mess around the edges of a classic murder mystery, as long as the core remains – and it does here – you can’t help but make a worthwhile game.
Here’s the key thing to know about Hitman: Blood Money — Reprisal: as long as you go in with the right level of expectations, it’s a whole lot of fun.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden represents Don’t Nod’s latest attempt to try and make the whole action thing work. This time out, though, they’ve taken the novel approach of trying to play to their strengths, by creating a narrative-heavy action game with a heartfelt story and multiple endings that depend on your choices. Does it work? I can definitively state: kinda, sorta, depending on how you look at it.