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Phantom Fury is an unapologetic boomer-shooter that can definitely talk the talk, but fails to walk the same walk that its inspirations did some 25 years ago. Countless technical problems, obscure level design, and a sad excuse for a story unfortunately make what could have been a good game a middling one.
TMNT: Wrath of the Mutants puts you on a roller coaster ride through the world of the 2012 cartoon. The ride proves amusing, but digging any deeper into its game design reveals the game to be a rather sloppy bout of sewer surfin'.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is a surprisingly heartfelt, wholesome dating sim between a girl from a small town and a goat from beyond the stars. The comedy takes a backseat here in favor of some very tense horror and incredibly cute romance, though there are still jokes and gags a plenty. It's a short and sweet experience that will shock you, terrify you, and warm your heart.
Freedom Planet 2 suffers from many of the same problems that plagued the original game, with the additional problem of having way too much combat, but remains a delightful speed platformer at its core and is worth running through for any fans of the genre.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU rests on a solid foundation, yet prioritizes its narrative at the expense of its game design. Rather than allowing its gameplay and narrative to support each other, it discards some of the medium's unique strengths for a competent if bland experience that fails to give full weight to its subject matter.
Providing a short but semi-sweet experience, Buckshot Roulette ups the stakes and the fire power of Russian roulette. While the opportunities for deeper strategies often become muddled by the core mechanic of luck, there are still some worthwhile white-knuckled moments that will test your mettle.
Whether you're a fan of Fallout or Magic: The Gathering I think there is something for you to love with these four decks. For the experienced players, there are new mechanics that are powerful and interesting. For Fallout fans there's some of the most amazing Fallout artwork I've ever seen. I truly appreciate the care Wizards takes with their Universes Beyond products and I hope this continues. Despite the decks having a few design hiccups, they are fun to play and I personally love them as a pod being played together. Overall, I absolutely recommend these decks for any fan of Fallout or Magic: The Gathering.
Transcending the line between video game and interactive art piece, Harold Halibut explores the meaning of home on an isolated alien water world. While some pacing issues exist within the larger story, the handcrafted visuals that consistently charm alongside an extravagant cast make this a treat for fans of narrative adventures.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! -Pirates of the Disturbance- feels like a few episodes of the anime put together into a well made visual novel package. The writing can feel clunky, but the charm of the characters shines through. Fans of the show, manga, or light novel will find something to like here, and otome game fans will find a game with a ton of options and robust ease of play.
This highly addicting definitive edition of The Last Case of Benedict Fox was a blast to explore! The improvements to existing game mechanics as well as the additions of new story content, puzzles, and the arena complete the package, resulting in one of the best Metroidvanias I've played to date.
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is a gift. Its at first simplistic presentation belies a work of thought, care, and empathy. It satisfies those looking for quality in exploration, combat, and writing, while tying all elements together to focus the experience on communicating its message.
Despite Parry Nightmare's short runtime, it makes the most of every action-packed second by flawlessly combining addictive, high-tempo, parry-based combat and attention-grabbing visual storytelling baked directly into the enemies' sprite art and level design.
Anglerfish feels like it caters to a very specific patron and ends up poisoning the rest. The strange environments and peculiar denizens within the Anglerfish bar are a high note, but one that becomes drowned out by the frustrating design of its gameplay elements. After each death the game beckoned for another round, but I ultimately left feeling hungover.
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is an incredibly polished PC port with all the bells and whistles you could possibly ask for. It looks and runs incredibly, with the ability to tweak visuals and performance to suit your device. Nixxes continues their perfect streak of ports, and this is a fantastic way to experience Aloy's second adventure.
Pepper Grinder offers plenty of fun during a surface level playthrough. Once you drill into the depths of its game mechanics, however, you'll find an overly forgiving "casual" game and a relatively frustrating "time attack" game. That said, you can collect stickers and that's pretty cool.
Open Roads takes you on a delightful road trip as you seek out the truth behind granny's secrets, even if it's over quite quickly. Exploring abandoned summer homes and enjoying late night motel chats was pleasant, even if rather simple in premise. It's a nice diversion if you're looking for a relaxing narrative-focused game, but it's one that doesn't do much to make you deeply invested in the story.
Highwater is certainly a looker (and a sounder(?)), but its predictable combat and uninteresting story make it difficult to drudge all the way through.
If you love South Park, this will be the best $30 you could spend to have another adventure with all your favorite characters. With a completely different game style than the most recent South Park games, Snow Day! gives you five chapters of the main story totaling 5-6 hours, side quests that can be done more than once on multiple difficulties, and plenty of cosmetics for you to unlock. Solo play gets a little difficult during the ending of the story, but with friends, it should be an enjoyable time for all!
Unicorn Overlord has some of the best and most enjoyable strategy gameplay out there. It's gorgeous and engaging, and will have you wanting to uncover every inch of Fevrith before you put it down.
Rise of the Ronin is nothing if not ambitious, and though that ambition leads to the game not being as polished as you may expect from a PS5 release, it still manages to tell an enthralling story in which your actions truly matter, while also utilizing a unique bond mechanic, an in-depth -albeit slightly repetitive - combat system, and so much to do you'll find yourself losing sleep in an effort to complete just one more task. Those approaching Rise of the Ronin like the next Nioh will likely leave disappointed, but those who approach Team Ninja's latest effort with an open mind and patience will find a gem that just happens to have a few rough edges.