Cubed3's Reviews
The Girl and the Robot has a lot of heart, which is why the myriad of issues are so upsetting. Rough movement, clunky combat, frustrating puzzles, and unresponsive controls make this a tough sell. It's sad, because there's a lot of potential here hidden under all the rough patches.
Despite some irritating writing, and some difficulty balancing issues, Cat Quest is an amazing RPG. It takes the best features of other RPGs, and distils them down into a simple cocktail of fun mechanics and memorable moments. This should do good to scratch an itch for those who have never played a game like it, and those who swear by them. In short, this is a solid title, with few issues really holding it back.
There's no doubt that Kunos has delved into the JDM driving scene with a meticulous sense of craft and attention to detail. This is an excellent representation, with a great selection of vehicles from legendary to modern, each of which feels very distinct and authentic.
Mononoke Forest is difficult to recommend, because the learning curve is difficult to describe. Honestly, it's enough to make many gamers turn away, and for good reason. If one were to get past the obnoxious controls and the initially confusing gameplay, however, there's something enjoyable buried here - it's a shame that it's so frustrating getting to it, though.
This Is the Police should be applauded for taking a concept such as police work and making it into a unique, yet somewhat flawed experience. The tale of Jack Boyd and his struggles to escape the trappings of his troublesome life make for an interesting story, but like his state of mind, the constant back-and-forth between work and contending with ambiguous morality choices through each passing day makes it seem like a never-ending cycle of success and failure.
More than living up to the "rhythm violence" tagline, Thumper leaves a lasting impression. Presenting a distinctive and adaptive score, together with an insane visual style and a difficulty level that rarely shows mercy, Thumper is a very effective showcase for the hardware abilities of the Switch, and a highly engaging experience on its own merits.
Strictly as a collection of hard-to-find games, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is largely okay, but from a gameplay point of view these games simply do not stack up to modern conventions in the slightest. Even the "modern" 9 and 10 go back to when the series was at its worst. The lack of dashing, wall slides, and anything to reduce the annoyance of edges, and "trial and error" style gameplay, all serve to remind of the progress the genre has made. As a historical piece, this compilation is interesting, but for any sort of recommendation, this does not get it - even from a fan of the series.
Some will be disappointed that there is no story progression, or revelations of any sort, with this first DLC release for Little Nightmares, but even the way The Depths is selected from the in-game menu screen implies "prequel" or "side-story" and that is exactly what this is. If the tense run-and-jump sections of the base game were appealing, and the thought of a few more jump scares sounds right up your street, then dropping a few quid for another hour's worth of intense action is certainly well worth it.
Sudden Strike 4's biggest takeaway is that market saturation means nothing in the face of a good game. Kite Games might not bring anything new to the table, but it does offer a refined RTS experience that sincerely has fun with the World War II premise. Five separate campaigns for a total of 25 missions give the single-player a considerable amount of longevity. The inclusion of the Battle of Dunkirk from both sides is a surprising, but welcome addition. A lack of base building traditionally found in most RTS titles gives each unit weight. Side missions, likewise, create a sense of urgency that feels right at home with Sudden Strike's aesthetic. While multiplayer does admittedly feel scarce, there's more than enough solid content in the single-player to make up for a lack of online material. World War II is far from the most original setting at this point, but that doesn't mean it can't still be fun.
Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can You Stay Focused? is an admirable attempt to mix up the formula, and there are glimmers of greatness here - the dynamically adjusting difficulty is fantastic, for instance - but it just can't measure up to its predecessors and the new ground that they broke. The decision to wait five years to publish the game in Europe is to its detriment, too, making the formula seem even more dated than before. It does its job well, but it lacks Brain Training's focus and accessibility, making it a difficult recommendation compared to the past iterations.
The story of blurred lines between life, death, and imagination is actually really interesting, and enough to keep the player enduring for a while in what is otherwise a simple grind and unfun combat system. While the story is compelling, eventually there is simply too little to keep players going through what is an incredibly frustrating dungeon crawler with little sense of progression and too frequent combat.
The Norsca expansion is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. The beast hunts are a nice and interesting way to deviate from the traditional building and recruitment structures, while the mechanics of the four gods is very distinct and allow for some potentially interesting choices and decisions to be made. However, it likely won't persuade anyone outside of the franchise to join in, and is pretty obvious in both what it provides and what said provision will do.
Moero Chronicle is just straight up disappointing. It's a lacklustre dungeon crawler, with time consuming, wasteful mechanics that pad out dungeons. It's a subpar ecchi game far too invested in its own subpar story to excel at the fanservice it offers, and it does all of this with creepy undertones, frustrating interfaces, and an overall aggravating vibe. There might still be a niche Compile Heart fanbase that gets something out of this, but even then, it's a stretch.
Asdivine Cross turns out to be a surprisingly pleasant adventure to plod through. It is not too expensive and not too long, either, so it can easily fit in between meatier titles played at home and in shorter sessions on public transport and the like. Its shortcomings in terms of presentation may make it harder to grow fond of, especially early on because it does not do quite enough to make its interesting characters and story stand out. It is nevertheless a title with enough good qualities and even some surprising efforts that wouldn't normally be expected from a smaller title such as this, which all contribute to make it a recommended buy for people yearning for a 16-bit style RPG that is not a remake of something already existent.
A wonderful atmospheric ride that can be powered through in just over an hour if dashing by everything along the way, but it will actually keep the majority of gamers plugging away for a few hours longer as the timed-puzzles and conundrums found within this thrilling escapade, complete with platform challenges to add to the already high tension levels, and extras to uncover, provide plenty of entertainment.
While in strict gameplay terms this lacks depth, and although it feels as if it tries to bite off more than it can chew on the storytelling side of things, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice turns out to be an epic journey through madness and Norse myth, and one that's worth a play-through or two despite its problems - as long as you aren't here for something more action-packed.
West of Loathing makes remarkable use of the space it inhabits. It just doesn't make navigating that space very fun at times. There is enough to this adventure to make it is easily recommendable to fans of CYOA style games, and those who enjoy tougher RPGs all around. For those who don't fall into those categories, there's nothing here that will likely entice you to stick around very long.
Fictorum is an ambitious game that certainly needs more time and polish to really give it a strong presence in any PC library. A lot of promise is found in the utilisation of spells and magic, but the combat against foes is a complete mess in many situations. The ability to destroy nearly any structure is always an exciting act, and the story, being the strongest aspect, is easy to follow and understand. After all, vengeance is a plate best served on a magical icebolt.
Without a doubt, Collar X Malice is a required pick-up for fans of the genre. It features a thrilling storyline and some of the best characterization seen in an otome visual novel. Exploring every route will take dozens of hours, yet the viewer will never lose interest. Even the most mundane scenes are buoyed by the awesomeness of Ichika Hoshino and the rest of the cast. Also, it goes without saying, but the game is drop-dead gorgeous. Obviously, a game shouldn't be recommended on that quality alone, but the icing on the cake is quite nice.
There doesn't seem to be anything that makes Energy Cycle feel like a necessary entry into the puzzle genre. Even for fans of the core mechanic, there are plenty of alternatives in existence that look and play a lot better. Energy Cycle is, in truth, less barebones and more chalk outline, and doesn't add much more to the mechanic than a shining example of how not to do it.