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Learning about life’s more difficult lessons is never easy. It is said that Tove Jansson believed fear was an important detail to add in children’s books. Losing someone or growing as a person are scary prospects. What Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth does kindly is show these struggles from different characters’ perspectives, never losing its trademark humor. Delivering a heartwarming message that will resonate with both kids and adults, this is a story that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Then come the harder questions. Will you be an ally or a hindrance? Do you even care that people are dying around you? And, most importantly, if you can stop it, will you even try to? Once again, DigiXArts has left me with an experience that will haunt me. Something that feels so disturbingly plausible despite the distance between them and us. This is the power of narrative storytelling in gaming.
Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is at its worst, extremely dated, and outdone by every experience that has come after it. The change in name, especially for a game that is still around, feels like a dubious decision. I mean, I get it; the Memoire series seems like it is designed to recontextualize older games in the series into a new series. I genuinely do hope to see more (please do Ys Seven next), though in this case, I could see some confusion.
Along its 15- to 20-hour playthrough, what makes Tombwater hard to put down is its level design. Smartly placing shortcuts that are unlocked once a difficult boss or area is advanced through, it is purposeful in its ravaged layout. Obtaining new abilities, such as rock climbing and a special shot from your gun to light torches, incentivizes you to explore every cursed nook and cranny.
Outerloop Games’ latest entry weaves a heartfelt narrative that reminds us of the cultural act of cooking. One of the more common ways to show love to our close ones, its family narrative has its heart in the right place. Its tight turn-based system moves along at a natural pace, with its active inputs keeping things dynamic.
There are a lot of ways I could take my thoughts when it comes to Mouse: P.I. For Hire. There were some issues I noticed, and I will note them. The thing is, though, it’s fun! It’s old school, unadulterated fun! It’s booting up your PlayStation 2 after rushing home from school, new game fever levels of fun!
We are in the presence of a monumental undertaking. It is not only that it offers a tuneful narrative, but that it does so masterfully. Dazzling musical numbers next to a deep combat system pulling from the greats are awe-inspiring. A passionate tale about following your dreams, everywhere you look at proves that Iridium Studios produced a hit. People of Note is a perfect intersection between turn-based games and music.
Not everyone will agree with the handling of this storyline, but developer Deck Nine Games did it for a simple reason: Life Is Strange: Reunion is for those aching to see Max and Chloe have a true happy ending. This comes at the cost of sidelining certain characters. It also honors the series itself, with musical nods, nostalgic dialogues, and artifacts of previous entries.
Much like the ghost stories it tries to tell, Homura Hime amazes at every turn. The riveting boss fights drum up excitement as you make your way to the final battle of every mission. Dodging a barrage of bullet-hell projectiles at a precise moment, when it works well, makes you want to come back for more. And the combat, developing over the course of the game with more skills, combos, and options, accomplishes its goal to keep things interesting over its 10-to-15-hour runtime.
Fighting for an uncertain future is a theme most of us can resonate with. Who will be standing when the rubble settles, and what will be lost in the process? Solateria is a melancholic Metroidvania that borrows heavily from its counterparts but carves its personal path. The damaged characters you meet, the tragic bosses you fight, and the rich biomes you explore all have something to say.
Collector’s Cove is a repetitive game. You will have to do many of the activities described a lot. Like, a lot. But you probably already knew that heading into a game like this. The tropical soundtrack helps you unwind and just lets you focus on the task at hand, be it trying to catch a slippery fish or grinding to collect specific items to trade for funny glasses for your sea turtle.
GreedFall: The Dying World does the thing that vexes me more than anything else. It does plenty of good things that make me like it, enjoy it, and want to keep playing. Then it goes ahead and does many bad things, sometimes bafflingly so, given that the prior game did not, which frustrates me to no end.
It is a trap to think that game development is easy when you see it so deftly made. It is strange to feel like a nameless ship has charisma, but the way your ship interacts with others makes it impossible not to draw a smile on your face. To figure out which way to go in each carefully designed level and shoot your way out while avoiding the complex projectile patterns is rewarding.
City Hunter, as a port, is a competent remaster. It runs well and plays well. That’s not the issue here. That was never the issue here. City Hunter is just a bland game that, in 1990, was attempting to capitalize on a manga and anime that had already ended, while MAYBE trying to bridge the timeline until the 1993 Jackie Chan film came out.
Scott Pilgrim EX is a passable nostalgia romp that will offer you and your friends enjoyment, bashing your way through the world. The throwback world combines multiple aspects of games I grew up with, both as obvious references and easy-to-miss sight gags, with a fun roster of characters to beat your way through everything that stands in your way. The biggest issue I had with this experience was how hostile it got towards playing solo later on in the game.
I might be in the minority on this, but having just played both chapters in the Ethan Winters saga back to back for this review, I personally found Resident Evil Village to be the more enjoyable of the two. It starts with a ton of minor improvements that make this game flow better. Ethan has a legitimate run, the menu pauses action, and the boss battles don’t feel like claustrophobic nightmares.
In 2017, there was a reason why Resident Evil VII: Biohazard made such a splash. Five years before the series had hit a roadblock with the over-the-top, three-story action entry that abandoned almost everything that made the series great. Then, Ethan Winters goes to Louisiana and discovers true terror.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is one of the best-looking RPGs out there and offers a genuine alternative approach for Square Enix to the 2.5D approach popularized with Octopath Traveler. I want more games like this! That’s the problem, though. I want more games like this. As I followed the beats, my mind kept wandering to which games I want to get this kind of treatment, and there are a few.
Not a perfect adventure but close to it, Demon Tides gives you the freedom to explore to your heart’s content. Its expressive platforming is the alpha and the omega. Every level provides an opportunity to try out different ways to show off your increasing mastery of Beebz’s skills. In the end, that is what it is all about.
What mostly won me over was how very campy everything is. Yes, the shifting around is methodical and precise, if a little annoying at times due to the trial and error, but the underlying narrative is pure teen drama.