Cubed3's Reviews
It's a shame that in trying to invoke so much nostalgia, instead Thimbleweed Park invokes frustration. A clumsy set of mechanics, humour that quickly runs dry, and a narrative line that splits and diverges in too many directions creates an obstructive experience. That is not to say that there isn't plenty to enjoy here. Fans of the genre will delight in the puzzling and will be able to easily forgive the game for all these tiny foibles.
Despite falling on the shorter side of indie titles, Expand manages to stand out as a fascinating take on puzzles and mazes. By relying on a mix of patient gameplay and non-stop movement, each puzzle requires as much thought as it does technical skill. Not every puzzle is a hit, with a few standing out as little more than frustrating, but the majority of the experience is very well done thanks in large part to the colour scheme and soundtrack.
Jettomero: Hero of the Universe is beautiful, sounds great, and controls very well. The story is engaging and the lead character is instantly loveable and well worth your time, putting an investment into getting to know it better. Unfortunately, that beauty hides the fact that planets don't change enough to be distinguishable from one another, and much of the gameplay is vapid. Definitely come to visit this enticing universe, yet just make sure expectations are correctly set first.
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online is a pleasant surprise, actually. The fast-paced combat is a welcome change from the tedious encounter system from previous games, and the story strikes a good balance of cutesy and interesting. Unfortunately, the gameplay gets really repetitive as bosses and enemies get reused level after level, so it's hard to want to keep at it for long. The balancing is completely off, and there's not a lot of challenge past the first couple of dungeons. Still, the gameplay has its charms, and the solid writing makes this one of the first Neptunia titles casual RPG fans and devout Neptune addicts might both enjoy.
Mushroom Wars 2 isn't a groundbreaking RTS, and it won't be changing the genre in any major ways, but it does stand out as a particularly strong title that's more than worth investing a few hours into.
Fjong is a decent game wrapped in some weird design choices; namely, should this be on the PC, or on mobile devices. Regardless, it features decent controls that occasionally feel wonky, and not much beyond the main action to really do. Truth be told, fans of physics games should definitely give it a shot, but for everyone else, don't expect Fjong to change your mind.
Nidhogg 2 is a lot of fun when you're playing with other people, and not very much fun when playing in the single player mode. Graphically, some people may not find the game looks quite as hideous as others, but to those who do, know that you are not alone. Nidhogg 2 is, in short, a fun multiplayer release with some unnecessary components, and some lagging issues that sadly do it no favours.
Altogether, Fight'N Rage is a superb effort. Very few throwbacks are fit to hold a candle to the classics of yesteryear, but this one admirably stands alongside. Every subsystem and game mechanic works wonderfully. The three playable characters are incredibly diverse and fun to play, while still retaining a simplistic three-button control setup. The multiple difficulties represent a challenge that grows with the player's skill. Even on the hardest setting, enemy stats aren't boosted to absurd levels, making every battle a slog. The ambitious routing system works quite well, giving every playthrough something new to look forward to.
Kat may be a Layton but she's far from "the" Layton everyone knows and loves. Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy feels more like a pale imitation with glimpses of the greatness that has come before. There's a ton of potential here and the adventure is still enjoyable, but just falls short. It holds a lot of promise for the future, at least, and the story wraps up with plenty of questions unanswered. Level-5 is clearly ready to keep this story going; however, hopefully it is with something much better and more deserving of the series' lineage.
Destination Ares settles the age-old argument of whether it's worse to be shallow or overpriced by adopting both banes as a core part of its identity. What praise can be given to the premise of managing a crew and ship to their destination is better directed at the far superior FTL, which Ares lifts most of its ideas from. Even with an excellent base to build off of, however, just about every feature and gameplay element fails to capture the fun of managing a spaceship. The flavour text is mostly bland, making a dynamic choice is always accompanied by a grating minigame, and all sense of progression is surface level at best. In no way whatsoever is Destination Ares worth the price of admission. Price accordingly, or don't price at all.
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas certainly isn't a bad game, but it gives the impression it wanted nothing more to be like Zelda, and because of that, that's all it really is. It feels like Zelda-lite, a sort of homage to the classics that follows the pattern well enough without infusing enough charm on its own to help it stand out.
INK may be a simple package, but it's a good package. Thanks to a well implemented, simple idea, you will find yourself getting lost in its allure. It's just too bad there's not a lot of reason to go back once you are done. If it had more meat on its bones then perhaps it would come as a higher recommendation. Unfortunately, though, despite being enjoyable, there is just not enough to it overall to help it reach the upper echelons in the current marketplace.
DiRT 4 is a racer that purists need to get. Simply put, the rally driving is incredible to control, as every little movement can derail control of the car.
There's a lot to like about Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Both games offer well-done plots with unique characters, and the escape room based gameplay is both difficult and enjoyable. At times, the pacing does drag out certain moments a bit too long, leading to lots of furious tapping of the X button to speed up dialogue as quick as possible, yet it's hard to want to skim over anything since crucial information might be missed. Still, this compilation is a great way for folks to catch up on what is arguably one of handheld's hidden gems.
While Has-Been Heroes can draw someone in really quickly, it will wind up losing them just as fast. It's fast and fun, and the mix of roguelike and pseudo-tower defence elements actually work quite well together. The core concept here is entertaining enough, but the lack of variety winds up souring the experience sooner than it should.
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?