Cubed3's Reviews
There is a lot that goes wrong with Tokyo 42. This was a concept that had so much promise but is held back by terrible design choices and technical issues.
Infinite Minigolf is a whimsical take on minigolf that has all the charm that only Zen Studios can bring.
Antiquia Lost is so good, its shortcomings feel like minor annoyances. While it doesn't do anything that will reinvent the genre, it does do everything it does very well. It always feels fluid, and never tedious. The best way to summarize it: this is one of the best retro-inspired RPGs to come out in a long time.
Splasher is a creative, fun, and competent 2D platformer. It takes a gimmick and runs with it as far as it possibly can in the best way possible. It keeps the player interested and the difficulty curve fair by slowly feeding new tools to change the environment and gameplay, ensuring the game stays fresh towards the end. It is, however, on the short end, and a special world with extremely challenging stages at the end of the game would not have hurt it at all. That said, when the only complaint is that the player is left wishing for more, even after a filling meal, it is a great testament to how good and solid Splasher truly is.
Battle Cars can't be faulted for a lack of content. However, it begs the question: Who is this expansion for?
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is very much like the PlayStation JRPGs that it is influenced by. There are elements from Final Fantasy, Suikoden, and even some Diablo. It is a shining example of why people love turn-based RPGs, thanks to the emphasis on character building, management and strategy. The presentation ties everything together with a strong sense of adventure and atmosphere without any hint of cynicism or pretension. This is a game that keeps on giving due to a slew of content that invites people to keep on playing way past the 40-hour mark, and because of the carefully constructed and balanced battle system, it is always exciting to travel this long and tense road. It may have a few rough and inconsistent spots here and there, yet Nightwar remains amazing in spite of its flaws and comes highly recommended to any fan of RPGs.
JYDGE is a strong entry in the twin-stick shooter genre. It employs a multitude of systems and features to create a fully customizable experience. Winning is not just a matter of building the ultimate killing machine. Each objective can require a different loadout, so there's reason enough to test a variety of weapons and gadgets. The bland yet serviceable visuals convey the action quite well. Aside from a few annoying objectives, this game is consistently enjoyable.
It's difficult to reflect on FIFA 18 for Nintendo Switch. On the one hand, this is definitely the most fully-fledged portable version of FIFA ever. When docked, it performs extremely well, delivering crisp 1080p, 60 frames per second visuals, with enough extra polish to keep it in touching distance of the more powerful consoles. However, it's disappointing that old code couldn't be given the same touch-ups that FIFA 18 received within modes on other consoles, particularly when it comes to Ultimate Team.
How it has been allowed for Everybody's Golf to exist on PlayStation is beyond anyone's comprehension, but may Sony continue to get away with this tomfoolery for another twenty years because it's simply a pleasure to have Everybody's Golf on PS4. Accessible for all ages, play styles and ability, this is a game that is the closest thing a player is going to get to being gently hugged whilst holding a DualShock.
Conga Master Party! hasn't evolved much from the days of Conga Master, and, as a result, feels twice as disappointing to see it remain an extremely simplistic and… stale party game. Trying to form the longest conga line in here can certainly be fun, but only for a dull evening or two.
Pankapu is a series of lessons on what to not do when creating a platformer, wrapped up in a greedy episodic format that should not exist at all. Amongst its many issues, the sluggish controls stand out as the main big flaw of this piece of indie-developed frustration.
For players wanting to act as machines, it is going to be a fun expansion, but the amount of content is very thin. The lack of cities and ships for the machine empire comes off as cheap, and the entire race feels like a re-kin of hive mind mechanics. Those looking for something new or substantial will not find it here. Sure, those who love Stellaris to death will surely find something in Synthetic Dawn, but wayward fans will not find redemption in this expansion.
Pankapu leaves much to be desired in nearly every aspect, with the sole exception being its artwork. The story hints at something greater to never deliver, the music is impossibly repetitive and grating, and by far its biggest sin is that the platforming is atrocious. The difficulty and frustration is so ever-present that it annihilates any chance of it being any fun, and the slow controls only serve to put the final mark on a disastrous title.
While there's nothing fundamentally wrong with Psychic Specters - it is, after all, the most compre-hensive entry in the series, and Level-5's signature polish emanates throughout - yet it is also more than a little disappointing to see a fully-priced release add so little to the base game. Hardcore fans intent on purchasing should be aware that the new content is a little on the thin side, although it does make for a decent place for newbies to start their YO-KAI collection.
Arriving nearly a year later, but losing none of the charm and gaining some new tricks, Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 is ultimately a very solid version of the game on Switch, performance downgrades aside. An enjoyable and versatile battle system, coupled with a plethora of content that fans will appreciate, and an engaging story both new and old makes for a viable purchase option for both arena fighter and franchise devotees alike.
Ultra violent and very entertaining, Ruiner is quite an achievement. Not only does the game offer a meaty challenge, it doesn't bore and frustrate players with wave after wave of minions; each level is filled with just enough action to keep them invested. Some aspects aren't quite as polished as they could be but, again, a great soundtrack makes everything better. The effects could have also been dialled back a tad, but otherwise its inspired art direction is really impressive. On the merits of its presentation alone, this cyberpunk thriller deserves a look. Of course, it certainly helps that the rest of the game is solid, as well.
Blue Reflection is a solid, if somewhat fanservice-y, JRPG that suffers from some poor pacing issues. The characters themselves are decently fleshed out, and it's worth sticking with them to see how their arcs develop, even if there is a lot to keep track of. The skill customisation is a lot of fun to mess around with, but combat is the weakest part. Despite the excellent combat tracks, most battles feel like a drawn-out exhibition more than anything else. As one of Gust's best titles in years, however, it's definitely worth checking out.
Even though Pokkén Tournament DX might not offer much in the way of new content, the added longevity it'll gain by simply being on the Switch more than justifies the port.
Elliot Quest sticks to its old-school roots, but as to whether that's a good decision is hard to tell. It feels good, but hampers itself with old ideas that, simply put, are more obnoxious than fun. Still, even the game's worst moments could be forgiven if it would just explain things a bit more, instead of throwing you in and hoping you figure out how to swim.
Obduction is a niche title, and not everyone will enjoy it. It's beautiful, the story is engaging, and the voice-acting is absolutely top notch, but the puzzles are often pedantic and may push some players, and even adventure fans, away. However, if you can enjoy the puzzle structure, and get past the annoying load times that sometimes crop up, this is tremendously fun and well worth the price of admission.