Cubed3's Reviews
Voxel Shot VR provides some splendid scenarios in this wave-based VR zombie shooter. Meanwhile, the bright colour palette and voxel visuals are charming, the frantic shooting, discarding of weapons, and environmental storytelling is immersive, and it culminates in a fun and exciting experience. However, it's all over with far too quickly.
Both in terms of storytelling, as well as gameplay, Tower of Time sits right there in the middle of the quality scale. A handful of interesting ideas do exist, and, as a whole, this isn't bad or broken, but, from the first to the fortieth hour, nothing in this dungeon crawling "RPG" will turn out to be exciting, either.
Stellaris: Distant Stars is an example of DLC done right.
For everyone out there who has been beaten down by the relentless pursuit of thrills and high scores, Yoku's Island Express is going to feel very refreshing. It's a charming vacation filled with beautiful locales. Taking the time to explore everything is highly recommended. The emphasis on pinball lends the game a superbly-realised identity. Utilising an array of bumpers and flippers to get around is somehow more fulfilling than tapping a jump button repeatedly. Altogether, this is a worthwhile venture for anyone who needs a break.
The Thin Silence hits all the right notes when it comes to the puzzling situations faced, with extremely smart ways of working through the various stages faced, continuously crafting new objects to aid with progress. Sadly, it does hold itself back too much with a painfully slow walking pace for the lead character, and some weighty prose that misses the mark, too often proving to actually be boring and/or confusing. A sequel more focused on the puzzle adventure element would be welcomed with open arms; just ditch the convoluted story-telling aspect, please.
NEKO-NIN exHeart 2 isn't notably awful, but it's unmemorable and bland nonetheless.
Azure Reflections is a fine entry in the Touhou franchise, one that compares favourably to even the mainline games. The various unique systems blend together quite nicely and help to take the traditional danmaku action in a slightly different direction. There are times, though, where this STG could have been a little more creative and really embraced the fact that it's a spin-off.
Dillon and his adorable little hamster friend Russ roll back into the Tower Defence scene with fresh and futuristic tale of Western adventure. Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers builds on the previous games, heightening the action with intense races and expands the universe with an intriguing cast of characters/recruits. There is a steep learning curve and a lot of investment needed into the main tower defence gameplay, but it is worth rolling into in order to save those adorable Scrog critters.
Even accounting for its tough AI and problematic online mode, Fast Beat Loop Racer GT is still quite impressive. Races are just as intense and fun as fans of the genre could ask for.
STAY starts as an nail-biting adventure that's hard to let go of - literally and figuratively. Soon enough, however, it will become an exercise in frustration, partly because of the slow pace of it all, but mainly due to some bad design choices, with the aggravatingly cryptic, and speed-bumpy puzzles taking the biscuit.
While the Enhanced Edition does make for a more tolerable experience, Space Hulk: Deathwing is still held back by an incredibly under-designed campaign, along with clunky mechanics that ooze into the multiplayer. The aesthetic, and overall tone, does shine, but the core gameplay loop feels severely lacking. While it's by no means bad, the combat simply isn't engaging enough to justify long playthroughs and the improved performance does nothing to fix the fundamentally inconsistent level design. Space Hulk: Deathwing might resonate with fans of Warhammer releases, but casual gamers are better off looking elsewhere for co-op first-person shooters.
Little Nightmares: Complete Edition manages to do what it couldn't do when it wasn't complete: it satisfies the hunger for adventure. It is still not a game for everyone because of Tarsier Studios' complete devotion to telling a story in the most vague and dreamlike way imaginable, with no dialogue at all. It may be a bit obtuse for some people, but the intent of the developer has always been to allow the player to take what they will from the imagery and to consider it on a deeper level. Some subtle jabs at sardonic humour prevent this from ever feeling pretentious, but the bleak tone may still make this kind of hard to enjoy for some. Anyone with a passing interest in horror or those who like the idea of things that are cute and scary will love this. Most will be able to play it since it has very simple controls and even though it is much longer than when it first came out, it still does not overstay its welcome. Doing the core with the new chapters incorporated as one long story finally feels like every possibility has been seen and done with Little Nightmares.
As a jumping in point, it would be difficult to recommend Assassin's Creed Rogue. However, as a product in and of itself, it is a cohesive experience with hidden levels of depth and progression possibilities, backed by exceptional presentation values and fun fighting and seafaring mechanics. Completionists looking for an irresistible challenge and franchise fans who missed out the first time around will find a lot to love here.
Devious Dungeon is a solidly built game with a downright ingenious combat system, where the developer has used the retro-styled limitations to their advantage. It struggles in the RPG department, giving players little-to-no reason to care about any of the events, and offering barebones levelling and equipment.
Evoking the sense of classic Arcade gaming, Don't Die, Mr. Robot! DX embodies the strengths of pick up and play games to their fullest, providing mere minutes or many hours of satisfaction as needed. Much more of a solo offering than a crowd pleaser, Mr. Robot's ease of play and addictive high score trophy collecting ensure the game's icon will find a recurring place on the Switch's home menu.
A shining example of graphics not making a game, players who look past this issue and some user interface designs will find in Lost Technology a game with multiple, well-written plots, engaging strategy, and an entire system that encourages multiple replays. It is rare to have a story that is actually unique, compounded with a simple, yet deep strategy layer that combines into an overall package highly recommend for strategy fans that can handle a little anime flair.
Super Dungeon Bros. is one of those games that is best described as inoffensive. It doesn't do anything wrong, but at the same time it doesn't do anything right, either.
As bizarre as the idea of Grim Reapers, turn-based battles and Scrabble-like wordplay all together sounds, Letter Quest Remastered really makes it work, and enjoyably so.
A Way Out is a phenomenal co-operational interactive movie that can be enjoyed both on the couch with a friend or spouse, or online. What makes the online aspect even better is that the partner doesn't even need a copy of the game, as they can join in easily. Vince and Leo have two contrasting personalities that see the calm meet the storm, as they both must put their differences aside to escape the prison they are confined to. With attention to detail within every nook and cranny, watching how their two stories diverge and converge at integral moments of the game is a fascinating experience that needs to be played through twice. Playing as both Leo and Vince will offer two unique story paths, as they both have different roles in solving puzzles, while narrative-forks provide a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" element to the story.
Break Arts II is a deceptively complex racing game that is sure to create a dedicated and hardcore fan-base. Complex construction mechanics allow for the creation of machines that can be wholly unique to their builder. A high skill ceiling serves as a fine complement for the construction, as all the time spent in the garage will pay off as that machine navigates the small sampling of challenging tracks. While the combat interactions can feel unsatisfying at times, mastering those elements with the others provides players with a worthy challenge.