Cubed3's Reviews
There is nothing majorly wrong with the game, but Pathfinder Adventures is entirely average as the gameplay quickly devolves into endlessly clicking dice and cards without meaning.
Ittle Dew 2+ is more than the sum of its parts.
At its heart, Football Manager 2018 remains a compelling experience, delivering rollercoaster highs of conquering the world while battling the agonising lows of relegation and sackings. The problem is the first signs of weariness are really starting to show themselves in this year's edition. It is like an ageing star in the twilight of their career; more than previously, there is a lack of genuine innovation from a team of developers who are held up to an exceptionally high standard. For sure, there are some welcome additions; the performance of the 3D match engine, alongside the revamps of scouting and medical teams, for instance, show that Sports Interactive does take refinement seriously. However, the continuing focus on the aspects most fans of the series find the most tiresome - the social media and player conversations - portray a worrying trend of the wrong path being pursued. The fundamental strengths of Football Manager remain, yet it seems a better strategy these days is possibly to pick up the title every two seasons for the best 'bang for buck' factor. For the annual buyer, this year's might prove a tougher pill to swallow and could well be deserving of one mark lower.
Sonic Forces is far from perfect, with frustrating controls, brevity, poor level design, and a lack of challenge. The visuals, soundtrack, and the occasional moment of flair leave the game with some redeemable qualities, but it ultimately disappoints even the most forgiving Sonic sympathiser. The bad outweighs the good, and the positives are not enough to warrant a recommendation to purchase unless you are an absolute die-hard Sonic fan. At least it is a step up from Sonic Boom, but a considerable buzzkill compared to the sublime and excellent Sonic Mania.
As is, this is an okay way of killing a few hours, but it might be worth holding off until at least Volume 2 is out to get a fuller experience.
While X-Morph: Defense is a great title that tower defense fans and shoot 'em up fans alike will enjoy, some issues experienced while playing the game with the loading times might be a huge turnoff after a couple of hours. While a great game, a fix to this is in sincere need. The gameplay is great and shows the best sides of both genres, as it mixes together in a wonderful way that helps them enhance each other, while at the same time offering a more pure experience for the respective genres.
Where the first title came up short because it was over so quickly and the monotony could set in, SteamWorld Dig 2 goes the extra mile by introducing a ton of fun new abilities that open up the world in all directions, putting platforming skills to the test throughout a greater range of diverse locations. Whilst the main game is still over fairly quickly, it is time well spent with Dorothy, and there is plenty to seek out for anyone that can't get enough of all that scavenging.
JYDGE does the Robocop concept really well, and has some really strong twin-shooter gameplay with its wonderfully diverse upgrades that opens up a lot of different playstyles.
To simply label Nioh as "Souls-like" would be to imply that it is in any way derivative of the Dark Souls formula. It shares its similarities, yes, but Team Ninja has crafted a different beast entirely. William's journey to recover Saoirse runs brilliantly parallel to Japan's journey to recover order. Combat is fluid and variable thanks to quick weapon switching and an emphasis on recovering stamina mid-action instead of simply exhausting it in bursts. The overall presentation and aesthetic of Japan is breath-taking and unforgettable. The enemy variety is lacking, but that's easily overlooked by just how engrossing each boss is. With all the DLC present, Nioh: Complete Edition is an excellent way of experiencing Team Ninja's masterpiece for the first time, or just revisiting William Adams for another trek through Japan.
Castles is in a very unfortunate release as it is highly derivative of a very tired formula, yet at the same time does things worse than most of the games that came before it. Having the player control a character that pushes the blocks leads to an enormous amount of undue frustration and makes this somehow even less palatable. Even when they try something kind of new, it just doesn't lead to the kind of pay off that it should. It is just a stale, uninteresting game in a stale, uninteresting genre. Perhaps the most rabid of match-three enthusiasts might get a kick out of this, but this castle is one that should just be torn down.
ECHO is a game brimming with smart ideas that should appeal to lovers of good sci-fi and stealth/action alike. Ultra Ultra has done a superb job in creating an intriguingly eerie world that piques interest early on, first with a slow build up, and then effortlessly drawing you in for the long haul without having to be overly reliant on a heavy narrative to drive the story forward. It's an impressive opening statement from the Copenhagen-based troupe that puts them firmly on the developer map as ones to watch.
Finally, Telltale seems to be getting onto the right track with this property, but it may be too little, too late. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series - Episode Four: Who Needs You is enjoyable but still has issues, especially with its unlikeable characters.
Pinball FX3: Universal Classics Pinball is a very solid pinball pack offering three tables that offer varied experiences. At least one table will catch the flavour of almost any pinball player with the wide appeal of the package. The faithfulness to the movies mixed with the usual Zen Studios quality makes this an easy purchase for pinball fans and Universal movie fans alike.
The gameplay isn't overhauled here, but it doesn't need to be. Cities: Skylines - Green Cities adds new content and refreshes current content, making for a more whole and diverse gaming experience, which is just about everything a good add-on needs to do. It might not be a must-have, but it does add to the Cities: Skylines experience, which is one the development team at Colossal Order has kept running strong since launch.
Creeping Terror's best quality is by far its impeccable production quality and graphics. Generic and uninteresting stalkers aside, the art direction and overall look of the game are incredible for a downloadable 3DS release. The very 'by the numbers' adventure gameplay is serviceable, and really the main event should have been the stalkers, but they are completely undermined by a lack of challenge and pushover difficulty. It is regretful because Creeping Terror could have been the definitive horror 3DS game since all the working pieces are present but are, ultimately, horribly implemented.
To all the NBA fans out there: hold your horses! In no way is NBA 2K18 a bad game, but it's certainly not worth its current price-tag, as the few improvements it offers are simply not enough, and, secondly, its sub-par single-player portion relies too much on micro-transactions. That being said, it can certainly feel as if it's the perfect basketball title for some couch party fun.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is a good game. It manages to deliver a cast that lives up to previous alumni and stories that are on par with the best the series has produced. The Class Trials are just as fun, mostly, and the murders smart little enigmas. This should have been a home run, but, it isn't. The narrative choice made is going to be massively divisive in the fan base. It's a bold choice; it's an interesting choice; it's the wrong choice. Sometimes it can be about the destination and not the journey, especially if the driver suddenly swerves into a wall.
With the exception of Fibbage 3, each game in The Jackbox Party Pack 4 requires a minimum of three people but, the pack's potential isn't fully realised without a substantially larger group. This is a party pack that is sincerely meant for a party. Smaller groups will be able to get enjoyment out of Civic Doodle or Fibbage, but Survive the Internet, Monster Seeking Monster, and Bracketeering, especially, are designed with larger get-togethers in mind. Despite an emphasis on playing with a big group, The Jackbox Party Pack 4 stands out as one of the strongest entries in the series with no discernible weak links in the pack's line-up. Along with continuing the trend of swapping out traditional controllers for smart phones, it's entirely possible to host a game over a stream, negating the need to find 8-16 friends for some local Jackbox shenanigans.
Tiny Barbarian DX is an extremely enjoyable action-platformer that has lasting challenge to it. The refined mechanics and the way the story unfolds is most of why this is so much fun to play. It may not win any beauty contests and the lasting appeal comes up a bit... short because of lacking incentives. Thankfully, the local two-player co-op rounds out the value making this a pretty fun game at parties. Tiny Barbarian DX may not be as memorable or as appealing as the likes of Shovel Knight or Hyper Light Drifter, but it is every bit as good and is clearly a product of a lot of passion put into it. The barbarian-fantasy sub-genre just does not click with people like it did once upon a time in the 1980s and it seems most gamers refuse to play a 2D action title that is not a Metroidvania derivative. Tiny Barbarian DX will most certainly satisfy anyone looking for a thrilling and focused 2D sword'em up.
Although the base story surrounding the Eternity Forge and Hala seemed like it was ready to finally conclude, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series - Episode Four: Who Needs You does its best to drag out that narrative thread. By diverting the story into a seemingly minor "cave escape" sequence, it surprisingly delivers plenty of emotions and ends up becoming quite an important episode in the scheme of things. The same old menial gameplay features here, though, with some uninspiring sequences to endure in order to get to the meaty parts of this character-driven story.