Cubed3's Reviews
Octopath Traveler is an extremely satisfying storytelling experience vastly different from other traditional JRPGs out there. The eight stories followed over the course of the game are all compelling in different ways, and each is engrossing in different ways. The combat is simple, yet nuanced, and building party compositions never stops being a fun exercise as the adventure presents each new challenge. The pacing does have some small missteps here and there, especially as the world opens up between each major act, but it's a tiny hurdle in an otherwise magnificent experience.
MOTHERGUNSHIP is tons of fun to play, but it's also that kind of FPS that doesn't really evolve the more you play. The ability to create weapon "cocktails" is simply awesome, but the action itself is way too repetitive to let that shine.
The somewhat restrictive nature of the controls of FOX n FORESTS, coupled with the lengthy stages where death means sitting multiple times through the same section, keep it from being the glowing homage to the 16-bit era and the SNES, in particular, that its fantastic soundtrack and awesome graphical design would have otherwise allowed it to be. Nevertheless, what is on offer here is still well worth checking out, if only for one heck of a nostalgia trip to the first half of the 1990s.
It's not bad, but it's overdone.
For almost four years, The Banner Saga has provided a thoroughly enjoyable alternative offering to the standard tactical RPG.
The story mode and equippable tiles give something unique, while the extra modes give the same type of replayability that makes these types of puzzle titles so popular.
Nintendo Switch is becoming the go-to home for indie titles, and that's become something of a double-edged sword. It has meant that Switch is becoming the new Vita, stuffed to bursting with indie darling ports from PC, giving a whole new audience the chance to experience them. However, it's also meant an influx of mobile ports that are not quite as memorable. Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops XL falls somewhere in the middle. There's a ton of content here for the low price of £9.99, but these games are sadly artificially inflated with repetitive, boring gameplay that really shows its age.
A mobile-esque, generic, repetitive, and mind-numbingly easy shooter, with subpar audio-visuals, Assault Gunners HD Edition is a waste of time and money, even for the most passionate of Mech fans.
Ultimately, I Hate Running Backwards is a fun, worthwhile experience. At the same time, though, it is largely a fleeting sort of fun. For some reason, it feels eerily reminiscent of those mobile games that people play in brief spurts while waiting for something better to do. It is that same kind of hectic, fast-paced fun that sadly doesn't really last and is forgotten about almost as soon as it gets turned off. It is sort of the videogame equivalent of being chased by a bear. Heart pounding, thrilling, but once you get away, you are just sort of glad it is over. This is just a couple steps shy of greatness, and even with its failings it is probably worth checking out for fans of shmups.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Donkey Kong Adventure turns out to be much less focused on strategy this time around but more on the actual enjoyment of the story and universe with more laid back battles that are easier to approach than the rest of the full package, in no small part due to how powerful Donkey Kong and Rabbid Cranky are in battle. The base game had lots of charm with its colourful and humorous universe and this is all intact here, if not even more pleasant than ever before. The small downside to this is that those who loved the base for the challenge and variety of possible strategies will not quite find the same depth here. For others, though, this will be a solid addition to an already solid experience.
Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is a solid fighting game that feels satisfying to play, while being accompanied by a great soundtrack and pleasing graphics. It may not have many modes, but what's on offer is enjoyable enough to be worth recommending to fighter fans, even to those who aren't necessarily experts. The removal of Scenario Mode is unfortunate, but the rest of the new features still make it superior compared to Koihime Enbu.
There could have been potential for Dream Alone to be at least a run-of-the-mill adventure platformer. Instead, the developer chose to see how far it could make a game so infuriatingly bad. It plays with the grace of a gorilla's knuckles being smashed in with a metal bat and it always looks like it's being viewed through squinting eyelashes, while a child is switching the lights on and off with great rapidity. Nothing in Dream Alone makes any sense at all; it is a void that sucks everything where no light can escape.
Aside from a few minor grievances, this port of Groove Coaster is more than suitable for fans of rhythm and music games. The included songs are all great and will definitely put up a stiff challenge. As for the user-interface, it's minimalistic and easy to navigate. The support for various control schemes is really appreciated. Given enough time and dedication, players will find a style that works for them. The Non-Stop Mix mode is a really fun addition, as well.
There is not much to Clustertruck, yet for a game with that kind of title, it is far more enjoyable than it would suggest. This is a silly, arcade-style guilty pleasure that manages to delivers a satisfying laugh and not much else. There is not much substance here, but there is enough that does put it above most Youtube-bait schlock, since it does have a thoughtful rising challenge and unlockable abilities that can offset the unpredictability of the physics engine.
Despite all its exterior polish, TurtlePop: Journey to Freedom is a bit of a mess. It's trying to pull elements from multiple different genres, but it does it in a chaotic way that leaves the player little time to process what's happening on-screen. It's a constant battle with the controls to switch between the various turtles you need to control, and to also manage the genie, all while various on-screen hazards endanger the player's shot at a perfect score. The co-op mode slightly alleviates some of these issues, but it doesn't do enough to fix the fundamental issues with this quirky puzzle-platformer.
LEGO The Incredibles is a mediocre action-adventure brawler that fails to live up to the LEGO franchise's reputation. While it's certainly charming to see both films adapted into the LEGO format so succinctly, the whole experience is bogged down by tedious gameplay, technical issues, and sound design that's rough around the edges, at best. Along with a rather uninteresting roster and short play time, LEGO The Incredibles doesn't even come close to the comparatively high standards LEGO Star Wars set nearly a decade and a half ago.
A Rite from the Stars is worth playing through at least once, if only to appreciate how rich Makoan culture is, but it fails to improve upon the point-and-click genre in any substantial way.
The asking price of £8 for Animated Jigsaws: Beautiful Japanese Scenery is simply far too high for this. The fundamentals are heavily flawed; the puzzles are far too limited; the animated features are completely underwhelming; basically, there are far too few positive aspects here. The scenery is nice, at least, but not worth buying this game for. It feels like a free phone title.
As Rifter is in some dire need of some polishing here and there, it falls under the category of those titles that are very good, but also hard to recommend to just anyone. Those who can handle its flaws, however, will get to enjoy a tough, and surprisingly fast, platformer that's built for those who love speed-running.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an absolute joy to behold, from its cute visual styling and delicious soundtrack and audio utterances from the main characters, to the expertly crafted self-contained stages, jam-packed with smart puzzles to solve and a plethora of goodies to uncover. This was one of those Wii U gems that thoroughly deserved another shot at the limelight, and with its excellent new additions now, it is indeed time to shine bright.