Cubed3's Reviews
Embr is, in a way, a lot like its namesake. It burns bright while it lasts, sure, and it is initially a lot of fun to run around putting out fires and dealing with the general chaos of the game. Unfortunately, it burns out quickly, and soon all that is left is the faint glow of the once bright fire. At this point, this just doesn't have any sort of staying power, and the novelty of the whole experience wears off very quickly. This isn't a bad title, and even with its shortcomings it is worth the time for a quick play-through. Perhaps it might even warrant a second one some time down the line, but this is the sort of game that could've been much better with a few more ideas, and maybe if improvements come in the future this could truly be a great experience. For now, it doesn't quite generate the heat it was hoping to.
Now that Marvel's Avengers is dirt cheap, it might be worth a play for the impressive action sequences and impressive visuals. Maybe with enough people picking it up at a much more agreeable price, it might inject the tedious co-op modes. It certainly did not deserve the utter disdain it received, and was at best just a corporate, tone-deaf project that nobody wanted. It is rotten with executive sleaze for sure, and the game can feel like work a lot of the time due to the grind, but there is an ok experience in this somewhere. It is buried beneath all the obnoxious writing, grinding, and generic design.
Crash Bandicoot hasn't changed much, and that's - mostly - a good thing. Some more substantial additions would be more than welcome, as the new things on offer feel underused here - like the mask abilities and the extra playable character, which can only be used in very specific spots and/or levels. The replay value is once again very high, first due to the many collectables, and, second, because of the "your skill is the limit" Time Trial mode. As expected, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time remains as challenging as its older siblings. Mostly because this is…well, Crash Bandicoot, but sadly this also happens because of the much worse perspectives. Fixable by a patch? Hopefully, yes, as it lowers the fun factor quite a bit.
If it weren't for the helpful quality-of-life features added, the first two Turrican instalments would likely never be played by anyone today. This is less of an issue for the other two titles included in Turrican Flashback. Super Turrican and Mega Turrican are really exciting, and highly stimulating action games that hold up today. The only modern day indie equivalent would be Gunlord X, which cheekily mapped the beam weapon to the analogue stick for the fastest possible action. Turrican was where it began, and anyone who enjoys the likes of Contra or action games by Treasure should really give this a look.
This competent knock-off won't stick around in anyone's memory after playing it, but Bladed Fury has a strong foundation and the action feels satisfying to play. However, the droll story is a hard sell for anyone not familiar with Chinese history. The art, though, is very good - almost as good as the Vanillaware titles that inspired it. From a certain angle, it might pass as the real thing.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town has the potential to be the best entry in the Story of Seasons series. Sadly, the combination of major and minor bugs, including frame rate dips on the farm itself, severely decreases gameplay enjoyment. There has been one pre-launch update and further updates are on the way. This will hopefully address some of the issues encountered and maybe even allow active participation in more of the events. It is still a fun experience so long as the noted problems can be tolerated. There is a huge variety of animals and crops to tend to, fantastic range in character customisation, and the usual aspects of a Story of Seasons title that long-time fans have come to love.
The story and presentation are very unique and deserve high praise; the narrative keeps the experience going whenever the platforming starts to get boring and fall flat. Too often, MO:Astray amounts to cheap deaths and pixel-perfect jumps, which severely detracts from what would have been a completely outstanding sci-fi exploration game. Simply put, flopping around as a blob eventually gets old.
At first glance, Azur Lane: Crosswave may look like a fan service-filled experience, and while there is a bit of truth to that in both character design and some conversations in the story, it is also a title filled with intrigue, rivalry, and cooperation. The depth of the story and character growth coupled with the easy to pick up, hard-to-master gameplay make it perfect for the portability of the Nintendo Switch. Post-game content is just as important as the main story, whereafter dozens of hours can be put into creating a dream team whose power is unstoppable against the Sirens.
Aside from a few limitations and exclusions in the mechanics department, Harvest Moon: One World is an exciting addition to the famous series from Natsume Inc. Dozens, if not hundreds, of hours can be spent befriending town residents, taming wild beasts and being a good farmer so the world can prosper and people can eat more than just potatoes. Different landscapes and climates provide region-specific crops and creatures that expand beyond the basic types initially available, adding variety throughout and beyond the main story - not to mention the house decoration mechanic and wardrobe to expand with new clothes. The invention of shrinking the farm buildings at the touch of a button makes it easier to build and manage a vast farm empire that benefits the entire world. This is one for every farm sim fan to check out.
Battle Brothers feels like a really natural fit on the Switch. The open-world nature of the game is one that is easy to get lost in and therefore having the ability to take it on the go is a fantastic attribute. As good as that is, the clunkiness of some of the controls on the console will take a bit of getting used to. However, the fact is there is not really any other title like this on the console with such a uniquely procedural role-playing feel. Making the player care about characters is one of the hardest tricks in gaming and Battle Brothers delivers this, with the sense of loss after a tough battle being really palpable.
The Ancient Gods - Part Two is very good… or, more precisely, just very good. Compared to the near flawless core game, and the slightly rough around the edges, but still great Part One, this feels kind of rushed, with the new additions once again following the tired formula of gimmicky enemies. As for the story, and most importantly, the presentation, it's a blatant mess. A disappointing one at that, as this isn't just a simple expansion, but the culmination of what was basically the resurrection of the venerable franchise that 2016's DOOM initiated.
Crash Bandicoot 4 is a raving success when it comes to producing a sequel worthy of the franchise's original trilogy. Any fan should have no hesitations in picking this up. The content on offer is huge, with tons to collect and aim for in every stage, costumes to unlock, different characters to play as, fresh gameplay that compliments the familiar, and bundles of humour and charm. This is not an easy game, however. Getting to the end is one thing, but be prepared for one of the toughest tasks in modern games if attempting to 100% every level. Despite the performance cutbacks on Switch, it runs and looks well enough, but if portable play doesn't matter to you, it might be wiser to opt for one of the other versions.
El Hijo is certainly a lovely experience. It has gorgeous visuals, as much storytelling as a player wishes to see, smart puzzles, and some of the more frustrating aspects of stealth games are given features to make it more palatable to a larger audience. Sadly, though, these features dumb down the stealthing side to an extent and take away the dynamic feeling of many others of the genre, leaving players coming for a stealth heavy game wanting more.
It is hard to say this is a great Persona title. The combat is fun and punchy, the story cool and on point, and there are some attractive design sensibilities. Unfortunately, the overall experience doesn't feel as cohesive as it could. At its core there is a great Persona story and experience but the move to the new systems and Omega Force's take on the series highlights why it is that Persona needs its turn-based combat and carefully considered character narratives. This is an excellent title in its own right and probably Omega Force's best work yet. It's just lacking that special something that would make it a stellar Persona title. It might have worked better as an expansion to the original Persona 5 as the story is awesome.
It is incredibly hard to put Alice and You down once a session has begun. It's pitch perfect in its execution of a simple but compelling puzzle concept. This is a fantastic title that is highly recommended to anyone interested in retro aesthetic and puzzle games.
This game is part Animal Crossing, part hardcore strategy, and that is largely its weakness as there is very little overlap between those games or gamers. For strategy aficionados, the staggering amount of crafting, structures, and literal Feng Shui will be too much, and for casual crafting/constructing fans there is too much RPG/Strategy elements. It's nice how this is clearly very Asian in theme, but the game is just so strange it is hard to recommend.
The simple gameplay of Battle of Polytopia is actually a pretty fun breakdown of the genre - the problem is ultimately its simplicity is its undoing. Despite what it says or looks like, every starting race is nearly the exact same, which is a huge missed opportunity to diversify them. Battles late-game are very dry. For some casual players it is a fun romp, but anyone looking for depth or longevity won't find it here
Apex Legends is a live service experience, so there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of the title. The best advice at the moment to is to turn off cross-play and just compete against others with the same limitations. At its core, though, there is something really good here. Unfortunately, it's just hidden behind a wall of technical issues in terms of graphics, frame rate, resolution and overall stability. Panic Button is the king of Switch ports, though, and it feels like the developer deserves the chance to try and put this right. Fix the stability, adjust the graphics and work on cross-progression. If Panic Button can put things right, it will enhance its reputation to no end.
As bold, or unique the horror-meets-sex concept might be, the execution here is far from excellent… or great, or very good, to be honest. Lust from Beyond is a decent adventure, for sure, with a neat dose of Lovecraft in it as well. While it has its moments, it isn't really very effecting at being scary of discomforting, with the gameplay certainly being the least enjoyable aspect of it all. It's easy to find a lot worse in the realm of indie horror games, so if a big fan of the genre, do try it out if you get the chance to find it really cheap, just don't expect something that will stay with you for long.
Tired of RPGs were you become the chosen one after the intro? Then check out Gothic. This cult classic gem by Piranha Bytes might not be the most polished one, and its purposely "hardcore" mind-set might not be for everyone (especially if spoiled by modern representatives of the genre), but few titles can claim to be as immersive as this is.