Cubed3's Reviews
Emotional, alluring, and compelling from start to finish, A Normal Lost Phone is a phenomenal visual novel that takes full advantage of Nintendo Switch in a creative way, while telling a story with a genuinely powerful message. The investigative elements are gripping and require a sincere attention to detail, and the soundtrack is appropriately atmospheric for mobile phone sleuthing. The short length might be off-putting for some, but it does lend itself to a well-paced experience and the title is cheap enough to justify the time spent playing. A Normal Lost Phone is a wonderful story with heart, and an excellent example of interactivity within the medium.
A Robot Named Fight! is a "great game, BUT…" kind of deal, that won't appeal to just anyone. It's actually highly recommended, but only as long as you can deal with a metroidvania with a perma-death mechanic - and one that won't exactly win any awards for its variety and replay value.
Although not as narratively ambitious as A Normal Lost Phone, Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story nonetheless tells a compelling a tale with a great set of twists that recontextualise the entire experience with a grander scope than its predecessor. The deliberate lack of a traditional control is a bit of an odd one, but the Joy-Con's gyroscopic pointing is serviceable and using the undocked Switch to emulate a proper mobile phone remains the best way to play the game. The interactivity present isn't as extensive as in A Normal Lost Phone, but the puzzles themselves are far more engaging and require deeper levels of analysation to solve. Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story is a strong and consistent sequel that plays to the strengths of its medium, creating an original experience with an important message.
While the story in BattleTech takes some interesting turns, and the combat is slow if serviceable, the game chugs along as playable with occasional moments of greatness. The major issues come from how combat is both too slow at times and too random, plus there are too many numbers to sort through for anyone short of the very dedicated. The structural problems are too ingrained in the game to easily fix, which is unfortunate as there is actually a solid package underneath the problems.
Frostpunk isn't perfect, but it doesn't really matter, as this is playing a different kind of ball game that has a unique charm of its own. It engrosses players into its frozen, post-apocalyptic world, and lets them do more than just design a city; it lets them really fear about failing, and it lets them feel immense joy for every small victory. It's a survival strategy game at its best.
To judge a game such as Elliot Quest is more convoluted than might be expected. On the one hand, there's a compound of flavoursome ingredients, while on the other one lays a final course that tastes just like a million others. It doesn't do anything bad, but just does not reach notable heights or excel anywhere.
When it comes to action RPGs, Ys Origin ranks among the elite.
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, while not for everyone, is still a unique visual novel experience that oozes creativity. Its gameplay elements do slightly bog it down, but the stylised writing, entertaining characters, and one of a kind story more than make up for it. It's a truly memorable adventure accompanied by wonderful music and artwork, all coming together to make something that visual novel fans should definitely look into. If okay with checking out something a bit different from what you are probably used to, then you are likely to have a great time going through the weird world of Ward 25 that nobody will be able to forget anytime soon.
Megadimension Neptunia VIIR isn't a bad RPG, but a slow battle system and a focus on grinding hardly make it a great one.
No, this isn't as good as those who have fallen in love with it say it is.
As the era of remakes continues on and on, with the recent confirmation of the original Shenmue games finally receiving their long-awaited remaster later this year, this is not a good example to look to for what's in store. If this is indicative of what to expect, the Final Fantasy VII faithful are right to be concerned for what their upcoming drastically different remake has in store. Somehow, it manages to take the original and, honestly, it makes it worse… The same story and the same game are still here at its heart, but it's hidden away under so many layers of imperfections and issues that it's almost indistinguishable. Frankly, it's a better idea to grab a SNES mini and enjoy the original instead. Horribly disappointing.
Assassin's Creed Origins: The Hidden Ones it the ultimate example of "more of the same." Honestly, the core gameplay is as good as the full game and, in places, it's even better, with some real highlights. However, with a disappointing new zone design, a lacklustre main story, and nothing new or bold to set it apart, it just feels like filler and occasionally dull, which is a real shame considering how Ubisoft's track record with original and memorable DLC has been.
When taking on an army of demons, it is a good idea to bring along some backup. That seems to be the general philosophy behind Hellmut: The Badass from Hell, and it isn't too shabby. Controlling a swath of monsters, machines, demons, and other oddities to dive headfirst into a frantic fight and deftly swapping bodies to overcome the challenge is a very solid and fun core mechanic. A few rough edges and unclear enemy attacks throw some bumps in the road, but it is still an enjoyable journey through the underworld nonetheless.
ACA NEOGEO Gururin is a tough recommendation, even for hardened veterans of falling block puzzlers.
Skyrim VR is an excellent RPG that obviously directly plants down all of the amazing work developing it. Of course, even in VR there are an abundance of user-created mods to enhance the experience. With that said, judging it purely as a virtual reality title, the limitations of trying to deliver a grand RPG of this size crop up a little more clearly than otherwise would be the case. This feels like a technological leap too far for the current generation of headsets and, despite the world being easy to get lost in, it displays constant reminders of just how far there still is to go. However, this is still one of the most ambitious VR titles on the market and possibly one of the very few AAA experiences so, in that sense, it would be a shame to take away from Bethesda's effort in not just bringing Skyrim to VR but to making a distinct change to the combat engine and allowing people to experience a great story in a whole new way.
The Spatials: Galactology is more like EA's Sim series, just set in space with a strategy experience tacked on. The surprise comes from how the strategy is actually competent. The system is likely not deep enough for hardcore strategy fans to want it solely based on this reason, though, yet for those more from the simulation genre fan club, they will find it all to be pretty fun overall. Those craving a sandbox simulator in space will feel right at home here, and the amount of crafting/decorating will be what some are definitely looking for.
Despite some truly obtrusive load times and a script littered with grammatical errors, Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs manages to carry itself relatively well thanks to a unique approach to turn-based strategy and a relatively charming cast. Battles are engaging and thought-provoking, as combat has its fair share of rules not present in other SRPGs; kingdom management is a great way of connecting players with the world while accurately conveying Kay's struggle to be a good king; and splitting dungeon crawling into three major sections is an inspired way of keeping the gameplay well paced. The story is far from perfect, and the voice cast is hit or miss, but Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs overcomes its flaws to offer a genuinely fresh strategy experience.
Sledgehammer delivers yet another bulging kit bag of fresh content for Call of Duty: WWII, offering up great War and Zombies episodes, as well as a particularly strong selection of multiplayer maps.
The Way Remastered is another janky indie game with faux-retro pixel art that misses the point of pixel art. It looks and plays like it was made by amateurs or possibly by some cynical designers who ticked all their checkboxes on what generic indie games are. This is not the worst indie game made - far from it - but it is so bland and plain... so middle of the road and inoffensive, that it is devoid of soul. Many gamers will decry big name publishers of mass producing soulless AAA games en masse, but now the scene has got to a point where indie developers can pump out non-descript, generic sci-fi retro homage number 274 and dupe people into their scheme. At the very least, The Way is forgettable.
For gamers who still pine for the days of polished shoot 'em ups that leave nothing to chance, Wild Guns Reloaded can't be missed. It's proof that there will always be a place in the world for "thirty-minute videogames." Sure, it doesn't take long to reach the end, but the fun is in overcoming the impossible and doing it with style. The scoring system, while not ridiculously complex, does require players to make a lot of difficult choices. However, if they are willing to put in the work, they will soon discover that this awesome game will never let them down.