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Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus takes an already fiendishly addictive arcade game and adds a fantastic multiplayer mode. At $20 it's an impulse buy for any Switch owner.
Castle of Heart goes for that Souls level of challenge but without the nuance and balance needed to make that kind of difficulty satisfying. It's visually striking for an indie game but it needs some fine-tuning; for now it's mostly just frustrating.
With its fun visuals, finely tuned difficulty, and inherent physicality, Blasters of the Universe stands out in the crowd of VR wave shooters. While a late-game bug was disappointing, I still had a great time and plan on returning to it. Bugs can be patched, and game design this strong doesn't come knocking every day.
While technically competent and armed with a good story to tell, Apex Construct doesn't provide a compelling reason to keep going after the first few levels. A couple of upgrades to your single weapon appear, but the primary increase in challenge is simply more of the same.
While the game is a fantastic improvement over the first game, the ability to play through the story mode as a created character doesn't really make up for having to play through the exact same missions while watching the exact same cutscenes of the first game all over again. That said the gameplay more than makes up for it as flying around battlefields and taking down Titans has never been more fun.
The room escape part of Room Escape VR: Stories is very good. There can be some quirky behaviors with the Touch controllers, but none that go so far as to ruin the experience. The unnecessary disruption from interstitial cutscenes, on the other hand, can be a mood wrecker.
Moss is a gorgeous game, with Disney-level animation (on Disney's best day), spectacular world building, and intriguing puzzles. Quill the mouse is a living creation, delicate but with real weight and personality. Like the way the best 3-D worlds incorporate 3-D organically, Moss avoids VR gimmicks and relies on wonder and story to produce the first essential title on PS VR.
It its current form, Sailaway is an adequate way to learn about complex sailing vessels, travel the world by sea, and race online with other skippers. It is fairly straightforward to learn, but the limitations of controlling a complex boat with a keyboard and mouse are very evident. Sailaway is not for the casual player.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life wraps up the story of Kazuma Kiryu with the same sense of style and attention to quality the series has always maintained. By alternating erratically between deadly serious crime stories, and wildly goofball side activities, Yakuza strikes an entertaining sweet spot that few other series manage. Players should set aside a lot of time before engaging with Yakuza, because like the mob, this is a game that will keep pulling you back in.
Once you get past the hook in The American Dream, there is a decent VR shooting gallery to enjoy; but even that is derailed by the pacing, with the best bits too few and far between.
Q.U.B.E. 2 is a puzzle solver's dream in a gamer's nightmare. There are dozens upon dozens of simplistic button and jump puzzles to complete over a five-hour time span.
The atmosphere is what makes this game. The emotion of the plot succeeds in some places and stumbles in others. The puzzles can be frustrating at times, but not because they're impossible to complete, more so because they seem like filler to extend gameplay time. Overall, the experiences are memorable for the feeling they create in the player, but not much else.
Fe is a beautifully ethereal game that, despite its flaws with plot comprehension and spatial organization, is a pleasure to play. If you're fine with wandering, and don't mind the feeling of being swept along on a journey rather than pioneering the journey yourself, then the weak points of this game will seem a lot less weak.
Pop-up Pilgrims is a beautiful and charming game that is pleasant for a time, until players discover that it carries some backdoor punishments for not getting perfect scores on every level. Compounding the issue, the game never explains this unfortunate mechanic, instead allowing the player to discover how things work when they are already in the midst of their punitive levels. There is no question that the game is well made, and fans of Lemmings-style games will probably find something to love here, Pop-up Pilgrims left me more frustrated than entertained.
I have no skill when it comes to playing this game, yet I enjoyed my time with it. The two most important aspects of the game could have used a lot more support, but I choose to view that as a sign of greater things to come from the developers, whether in the form of a sequel or another product.
Bridge Constructor Portal is a fantastically challenging puzzle game that is dressed in $10 looks. You will not be awestruck by anything the game does, but the challenge will have you wanting more, the humor will keep you smiling, and the silly horn at the end of the level will be enough to know you "did it."
Subsurface Circular has an engaging story with compelling characters that really makes you think about how you'll meet your objectives. While the game is short, clocking in at around two hours, the story itself is enjoyable enough that you really don't mind the short length. For six dollars, Subsurface Circular is worth checking out for the story alone.
Steamworld Dig is a fun game, but it's pretty short and can get repetitive after a while.
If you are extremely patient, then Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition has a deep and rewarding game to offer you. But that patience isn't just tested in the tutorial or painstakingly crawling your way over the steep learning curve. It will be tested throughout your entire experience with the pacing, bugs, and even control scheme itself. Kerbal Space Program is a fantastic and unique gaming experience, and it's a valiant effort to bring this to consoles that rarely even attempt games this outside the box, but ultimately it always feels like a port, and one that would simply be better enjoyed with a mouse and keyboard. If that's not an option, there is an opportunity here to get a taste of one of the ways the PC gaming community stays weird, but be prepared to spend a long time chewing on it before you'll enjoy that taste.
EA UFC 3 is EA's best UFC game yet, and while there a lot of improvements, there are still some things like the ground game and the career mode that still could use some fine tuning.