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Road to Ballhalla is an insanely difficult rhythmic puzzler. It’s enjoyable and agonizing in equal measure, tossing a variety of trials at you then teasing you when you don’t overcome them on the first try. For those who can fight their way through and remain cool-headed, dozens of neat features and hours of playtime await.
Telltale’s take on Batman is fresh, and shows a side of Bruce Wayne most games shy away from, and that’s enough to make it interesting as we head into the rest of the season.
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a remake with very few improvements. An added ability to be evil and access a new storyline brings new content, but the game is basically unchanged from its PlayStation 3 debut. Bland, cliché, and uninspired, Fairy Fencer F is just another cog in an increasingly frustrating machine churning out the same JRPG experience over and over again. With recent releases of bigger and better games in the genre, Fairy Fencer F is one to avoid.
This Is The Police is a challenging portrayal of law enforcement that falters when it comes to meaningful commentary. While it constructs a good form and addresses topical concerns, it fails to say anything definitive. Starting a conversation is worthwhile, but that only carries the game so far before its menial nature drags it down.
Hunter’s Legacy is another platformer in a sea of platformers. Some of the puzzles are clever, going beyond jumping around to involve intriguing elements, but otherwise not much about it stands out from the crowd.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is an old school roguelike JRPG with a ton of replayability and a great visual style. With its randomized levels, densely related mechanics, and deceptively simple combat, it’s a game that still manages to be fun even twenty hours in.
Trials of the Blood Dragon continues the storyline from where Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon ended. If you’re driven to find out what happens next to Rex Power Colt and his two kids, Roxanne and Slayter, it looks like you’re buying this game. You won’t hate it, and the charm of the presentation is enough to keep you moving forward, just don’t expect it to be the thrill that other Trials games have been able to deliver.
There is very little fun to be had in MilitAnt. After spending most of my time breezing through half of the game’s bosses, all but submitting to the other half (with a pair of very green exceptions), and rushing past nearly every basic enemy, I get the impression that this ubiquitous imbalance in difficulty is more likely a vast oversight than a design choice. I appreciate Xibalba Studios’ focus on old-school level design, and some of the boss designs showed real inspiration, both in gameplay and aesthetics. But the desultory approach to enemy design and combat mechanics completely overshadows any of MilitAnt’s potentially redeeming qualities.
DreamBreak is a short, relatively easy trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up playing point-and-click adventure games. While it has plenty of rough edges and won’t hold your attention for much longer than the end credits, it’s a good game to play through in an afternoon, with well-designed puzzles and surprisingly engaging combat. Just be warned that there are a lot of bugs near the end.
There are a lot of small things to nitpick about Neverwinter, but the overall experience is something more than worthy of its exceedingly fair price point. The combat may not be particularly skill based, but there's something very tranquil about doing quests at your leisure, managing your loadouts/inventory, or even just chatting it up with some friends you've made through guilds or questing.
Human: Fall Flat has its endearing, satisfying moments and its aggravating moments. The physics are fun to play around with and present a challenge, but the wonky camera movement is a weakness that’s hard to overlook.
I Am Setsuna is a carefully crafted JRPG that will appeal to the nostalgia of fans, but also intrigue JRPG newcomers. A beautifully emotional story underlines a solid battle system that is equal parts familiar as it is unique. Some lenient money and ability hand-outs make the game easier while an empty overworld can make the walks a bit dull. The 15-20 hour average completion time might be shorter than what many JRPG fans would expect, but it is also a good entry point for newcomers without being a daunting 100+ hour experience. It is safe to say that I am Setsuna is a worthwhile journey.
The infuriating do-over nature of 10 Second Ninja X greatly sours the experience and takes away from what otherwise could’ve been a decent game.
Charming and fast paced, Anarcute is a delightfully quirky little game. Light on story but high on style, this addicting riot simulator offers five to six hours of adorable destruction and cute, colorful animals. As challenging as it is fun, Anarcute requires tactical thinking and quick reflexes. Anarchy has never been this adorable.
At best, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS Force is a competent but dull beat-em-up with a few neat mechanics, and at worst a cluster of battles mostly controlled by the game’s AI, with only a small amount of help from the player.
Phantom Brave is an all-timer, but Phantom Brave PC feels much more like a screenprinted masterwork than the real thing. Glossed up slightly, but with very little to no changes since the last re-release, Phantom Brave PC is the least impressive of all. That said, the game itself is still wonderfully great, and new players will be rewarded with the cool breeze of phantoms coming in the air tonight.
This was a very good creation. The art was breathtaking, and the music was just as good. A simple story and a simple platformer were made so much deeper and complex, just by the little choices the producers made. It was hard to go wrong with what the producers had to work with, and they didn’t overdo it too much.
Ghostbusters as a couch co-op game is a dream on paper. Unfortunately, the execution from FireForge Games is so lackluster and devoid of quality that publisher Activision should be ashamed in having released it. It’s a shameless tangential cash-in based entirely on the power of an already-maligned reboot that nobody asked for. I’ll go see the movie for the popcorn, but let’s leave this game in the Containment Unit. Light is green, trap is clean.
God Eater Resurrection is a fun 40-hour experience that keeps you going with its gameplay mechanics and customization. The dark story falls flat at points, with the gameplay saving this game from a lackluster story. While the lore of the world is interesting, dull voice-acting sucks away the narrative’s emotional points making cutscenes a chore to watch. Gameplay is the only reason for you to pick up God Eater Resurrection, as the story is unconvincing and fails to provide a compelling hook for you to keep going.
Enchanting and charming, Song of the Deep is a children’s-fairy-tale-turned-video-game that’s full of wonder and vibrant beauty. The gameplay is both solid and enjoyable, but not without hiccups and hindrances.