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The Sims 4 Paranormal Stuff Pack has a lot of potential but needs some tweaking with the emotion buffs. A little more guidance on how to get things set up to be Haunted would make it easier for the player to jump in. The Medium skill is a lot of fun, and the new Paranormal Investigator career, while frustrating at times, is definitely something new and fun to try out if your Sims have been in a rut. At $9.99 it's worth the purchase, and a welcome addition to the game.
Super Meat Boy Forever is a game that suffers from inconsistent difficulty and some counter-intuitive mechanics. While the cutscenes and bosses are charming as always, this is one game that die-hards of the previous installment might want to skip. It’s still a fun time for those willing to overlook its flaws, however.
While I appreciate the crushing difficulty later in the game, it’s unfortunate that Rhythm Fighter equates “harder” with “more damage and cheap attacks”. It got to the point where if I ended up getting the Chonki boss (a literal chonky statue of a cat) after my second stage, I ended up resetting my run due to the fact that the boss’s move patterns are unpredictable and there’s barely an opening to hit back.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: the Game is one of the best modern beat-em ups, despite a lack of much competition in the genre. It's gorgeous visuals and amazing soundtrack complement its surprising depth in combat perfectly. Scott Pilgrim is back, and hopefully here to stay.
Tetris Effect: Connected upgrades its musical rhythms and visualizations with fun multiplayer PvP, but the new Connected mode steals the multiplayer show with an exciting, energetic way to play Tetris that's a welcome alternative to its competitive modes.
Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend contains three good games, but lacks any extras like manuals, save states, or cheats other than game speed to make it stand out. It's certainly a better effort than any of Nintendo's recent re-releases, but we can do much better to preserve the history of games.
Suzerain is unlike most things you can play that's out right now. The choose your own adventure stylings are fascinating, with rabbit trail upon rabbit trail to investigate. Because of this, you'll be able to play it again and again, and because they do such a great job with the setting and people you're going to want to. While some sections can be long in tooth, they only make me appreciate what Suzerain is doing, creating a riveting narrative of what it's like to be President.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest is a great visual novel with tons of impactful choices, great visuals, and excellent sound design. While it slowly loses steam after the introductory chapters, it's still well worth multiple playthroughs.
Per Aspera has a bunch of good ideas in it. Adding a narrative element is a slam dunk, but the pacing of it hurts it in the long run, even as interesting as it is. Per Aspera also has a lot of solid gameplay elements, and evolves into a pretty complex package in the end. But a lack of explanation as to what you're doing impairs the experience, and may cause newer players to give up before the enjoyable gameplay loop kicks in.
Tanuki Justice is a throwback to the run and gun games of the 80s and 90s, for better or for worse. While it does sport some challenging difficulty and a distinct pixel art style, some of it goes into unfair territory and ends up being an exercise in frustration.
Override 2’s combat is drastically changed from its predecessor, acting more like a fast-paced 3D arena beat-em-up than a slower mech fighting game.
Chronos: Before the Ashes is a tough game to recommend to Remnant fans due to its comparatively flawed combat system and less amount of content overall. Nevertheless, I still believe that while the game does not live up to its full potential, it still has just enough charm to be worth at least a try for hardcore fans of the action-RPG genre.
At the end of the day, I want to play more Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, but the technical issues rear their head even on the most powerful hardware available. The campaign often falls on the wrong side of humor, but the gunplay is like nothing else. Multiplayer is an awesome added treat, though the bots are pretty dumb. It's the very definition of a mixed bag.
In the end, Cyberpunk 2077 is an absolutely gorgeous game in search of a soul, which is ironic, given the duality of the protagonist’s situation. The developers worked extraordinarily hard on what’s here, polishing it to an absolutely gorgeous shine on PC, delivering stunning visuals…when they work correctly. They also delivered a game that is a great deal of fun at some moments, and bafflingly broken the next. With over 30 GB of updates since launch, this game needs more time in the oven. Sure, it’s better on PC, but that’s cold comfort when it’s hardly functional on other platforms. What’s clear is that this game is no more ready for release than it is for review. Major patches are already slated for January and February, and we’ll revisit it at that time to score it. Right now, buyer beware. There’s a fun game underneath all this, but only if you are playing on PC or Stadia.
Despite its cryptic storytelling and repetitive gameplay, Shady Part of Me is a game that deserves to be played and experienced especially by puzzler fans.
Call of the Sea might be short, but it's a highly rewarding puzzle game with a fascinating narrative that keeps getting better and better as the game slowly reveals the truth to you. It's a fully engrossing experience that showcases the best parts of the Lovecraftian genre, but makes it fully accessible to players who want to experience the mystery but none of the horror.
Outcasters is an outrageously fun Stadia exclusive with an innovative shot mechanic and wacky graphics. If you can get a party for four together, it's an amazing time, but even playing solo with online randoms is a great treat too.
WRC 9 is a beautiful game that will speak to the enthusiast. There are a plethora of modes, and the career offering is packed with plenty of ways to customize your experience. The only issue I have is I don't see myself returning to it often because of its esoteric nature. I'm not the target audience, and while that's okay, new players may feel a bit excluded.
From ts heartful story that is only made better by a charming set of characters, to the soothing atmosphere of the gorgeous island-town Shelmerston, I am Dead constructs a serendipitous but accurate portrayal of the usually sorrowful emotions around death.
Perhaps the only real issue I have is the overall length of the game, which can be excused since it’s, well, free. The game lasts under about two hours on a casual playthrough, though there’s tons to explore (with a platinum trophy requiring a little more thought when replaying levels for collectibles), as well as special online time trials you can participate in for the best time. Do I want more of Astro’s Playroom? Definitely, and if we could get a full-fledged sequel that could utilize the DualSense controller like this one, it would be a masterpiece.