Maximum Utmost
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While I can’t be sure how everything fits together when played with others, even the solo play of Happy’s Humble Burger Cult is an enjoyable slice of job. It’s definitely not Overcooked in terms of depth, and the horror is pushed out of the way to make room for hijinks, but the care that Scythe Studios always put into the small details elevates it. Really, it’s not made from the freshest ingredients, but it’s a tasty sandwich that gives you what you paid for.
Agent 64 is successful in replicating a lot of the look, feel, and swagger of Goldeneye, but when it comes to putting it into practice, at least when it comes to singleplayer, it doesn’t come close. And for me, the fact that the actual mission design falls so short made all of its successes feel superficial, even if, on paper, it succeeds more than it fails. You can take from that what you want. Maybe if multiplayer is what you’re showing up for, it will scratch the itch. I’d rather just disavow any knowledge of Agent 64.
Meat Grinder’s gameplay isn’t enough to support the narrative, and the narrative isn’t enough to support the gameplay. The unfortunate part is that, with a little effort, either would be fine enough to stand on their own. And it isn’t difficult to imagine either being more than fine. Turning people into hot dogs is always a good time, but doing that, tacking on a transparent-thin story, and then calling it a day, isn’t appetizing. There’s very little meat on this bun. For that matter, there’s very little bun.
Had the level design and island art direction been at all interesting, I’d be ready to sing this game’s praises from the fire escapes of Splatsville. Because the shooting mechanics are unbeatable, legitimately the best Splatoon has ever played. But Splatoon is more than just its mechanics. This series has an aesthetic and vibe all its own. Without that, or even an attempt at a substitute fit to the sub-tropical setting, Splatoon Raiders ends up as all substance, no style.
For a lot of The Mermaid Mask's runtime, I often reflected on how flawlessly it delivers on its intent. The art, animation, voice acting, and music are excellent in the ways that support the narrative, and the narrative itself is top shelf. You may not be given very much agency when it comes to solving the mystery, but it doesn’t feel that way, and the time spent with the quirky, whimsical, but believable characters is a delight. This is one that you’ll want to investigate.
In a world with games like Blippo+ and Squad 51 vs The Flying Saucers, it’s possible to imagine that Geppy-X could have succeeded in finding its niche, and maybe it still can. For its time, its focus on providing an experience rather than just a game makes it a rare thing. From an audio and visual standpoint it’s absorbing. Grand, over-the-top songs about Geppy fighting against evil are belted out behind an average shooter that takes a break to tell you not to pour salad dressing in your eyes. It feels appropriate that Geppy-X got a reverent remaster, because it absolutely deserves it.
It occurs to me that if Star Fox Zero never happened, I’d probably be a lot kinder to this remake. A lot of Star Fox 2026 is what I want from a proper remake of Star Fox 64, but it’s still Star Fox 64. Again. Some of the rough edges are sanded down, but they’re still there. Even $50 is pushing it for what it has to offer. To anyone at Nintendo or Valen Studios who would listen, I beg of you. No more remakes. Take what you have here and build on it with a new installment. Let this franchise finally step out of Star Fox 64‘s shadow again. Or, if you must do another remake, do Star Fox 2. That game needs a remake even more than Star Fox 64 did. Or bury the franchise for good. At this point, I don’t care which.
But that makes giving an opinion on Wax Heads a bit difficult, because clearly, it had effective messaging overall. It got through to me on some level. I think its approach to retail is really creative. It’s full of likeable characters. It’s just the narrative is trite and idealistic to the point of being saccharine. And that was enough to turn me off it completely. I appreciate Wax Heads, but I don’t see myself playing it again, and I don’t know that I recommend it. It’s time to find a different job.
I wasn’t hating my time with MOLE. Getting from beginning to end was mostly breezy, barring a few encounters with that pointless monster. It’s just I don’t feel I got a lot of nutrition from it. While it doesn’t outright copy anyone, its adherence to its inspirations is so stark that it seems like it doesn’t have its own voice. It’s buried somewhere in there. Deep down. I’ll get my shovel.
It’s somewhat of a high pricetag for four simple arcade experiences that you can burn through in a couple of hours. That’s often the nature of arcade ports, though. However, all four of these games are worth playing, two of them allow you to rope a friend in, and they’re all readily replayable. Personally, I think Space Gun alone makes it all worth it. It helps that most of these are relatively obscure. Except Operation: Wolf. Everyone’s heard of Operation: Wolf.
Without my son, I wouldn’t have ever bought Astronook, and I certainly would not have powered through the last handful of puzzles. The game is cute, for sure, but the puzzle difficulty and clunky controller controls begin to betray the coziness at times. My son probably gives this game a 10/10, and we have revisited it many times since beating it. I love it because I love seeing him happy, but I am mostly hoping that we move on to something new soon.
And if you haven’t played R-Type III before, you absolutely should. This is a solid way to do it, if only because it removes the slowdown endemic to the SNES version. R-Type Dimensions III is a loving renewal of an outstanding shoot-’em-up. I do wish that they found a balanced middle-ground for easing the difficulty beyond its all-or-nothing approach. As it is, you either feel pain or nothing at all.
As a means of crafting a narrative I could connect with, many books accomplish with ease what inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories attempts. As a konbini simulator, you’re better off grabbing Convenience Stories from Kairosoft. From my experience, self-described cozy games strike out far more often than they hit, sounding nice in theory but fumbling the execution. inKONBINI avoids most of the pitfalls of its contemporaries, but that is a low bar to hurdle. All in all, it’s a perfectly nice game. An average one, but certainly nice.
The console release gave me a terrific excuse to replay this fantastic compilation. Having it on Switch feels like being able to take one of my favourite books along with me. Anthology of the Killer is just something special, and while this compilation has the feeling of finality to it, I kind of hope that this isn’t the last we see of BB or the world she exists in. But, if you haven’t yet played Anthology of the Killer, then count yourself lucky because there’s still so much to experience. And then you should play it. You should play it right now.
Combining magic powers with a realistic combat setting is an inspired decision for a strategy game. It brings the tactical view and fanciful powers of a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 into the hard realism of a world beset by private military corporations. The setting is rich enough that I look forward to what Suspicious Developments does in this space going forward, especially if their next outing sees them come back with an even bigger budget for more things like voice acting.
Retro Rewind accomplishes small things with accuracy. It doesn’t lean heavily on asset stores to fill out its world (though, I would like to talk to whoever made the arcade cabinets 3/4 scale on risers, wtf), it’s not as janky as a lot of its peers, and it maintains a tight scope. There are places where it can grow (they’re adding video game rental in the future), but not a whole lot to complain about. It might not blow you away, but it might suck you in. And it might also make you pine for the days of Blockbuster Video. We didn’t know how good we had it.
Crabmeat’s horror atmosphere is breathable. Its crabbing manages to claw its way out from under the darkness without compromising it. Its outstanding work-a-day gameplay alongside a great attention to detail creates a very involving experience all around. The restraint it shows in certain areas, especially when it comes to narrative and runtime, allow it to succeed in just about every facet. I can’t remember the last time I found a horror game so satisfying, which is a weird thing to say about horror. I’m a little afraid.
Which means you should probably check it out. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and there’s a substantial chance we’ll never see anything like it again.
A little more TLC with the boss battles might have resulted in a more memorable experience, but Lovish is a satisfying adventure nonetheless. It’s a timeless type of entertainment that takes a simple a premise and runs with it. As the gaming industry continues to get more complex, bigger, and frustrating, it’s a solid reminder that at the end of the day, what matters most is creating a product that people can have fun with.
Anyway, that’s a long way of saying that I appreciate that the gen-AI art has been ripped out, but the rest of the experience should have been left alone. Still, as it stands, should you play Future Racer 2000? Yep. It’s short, it’s relatively cheap, and it still manages to be a unique horror experience in many ways.