Cubed3's Reviews
The low-poly graphics may not appeal to everyone, and various mechanics can make gameplay feel a bit on the slow side, but those who love the cute aesthetic are guaranteed to have fun helping Fennel settle into his new town of Button City with the bright colours and entertaining characters. The range of mini-games means there is something for everyone to enjoy from racing to rhythm games, and the plethora of side quests add to the post game content. The almost non-stop humour aside from the moments where gravitas is required make it more than just a game. It focuses on and excels at showing the nature of friendship within small groups, and also the wider social structure of what it takes to be in a community.
It is highly satisfying completing a story arc or traversing the world and finding things that you felt that other players might not have stumbled across due to the nature of the open world and its use of way finders. The lack of load times on Xbox Series S is truly impressive given the nature of environments, landscape, and elements that are present on screen. There were a few issues from characters floating in mid-air, bizarre enemy AI, and straight up freezes, although these were far and few between given the scope of it all. Intuitive and varied combat help keep things fresh, even if it does take a fair few hours of gameplay to really get going. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a thoroughly enjoyable, open-world RPG that is an absolute must for Xbox owners.
Inked: A Tale of Love is a puzzle-adventure at its soft and squidgy centre. Often, it's quite a slow and straightforward puzzle-adventure at that, notably, with origins established on mobile platforms. Nonetheless, it is a gratifyingly chill affair because of this. It is furthermore that of the love-based narrative for which it takes its namesake that carves a surprisingly dark and twisty story that ensures the proceeding three to five hours don't ever get a little too chill.
It's definitely a good thing that Blade of Darkness exists, therefore its 2021 update is more than welcome, despite the fact that it is an extremely conservative remaster that hasn't really "fixed" the game. Flaws put aside, though, this is not one of those titles that belong in the past and are best left there to collect dust. It's not a title to recommend to just anyone, especially to those with an aversion to its heavy "retro" sensibilities, but those who can get past the clunky and slightly unreliable controls, and stomach the occasionally repetitive gameplay, will immediately get immersed to the strong atmosphere of this Conan the Barbarian-meets-Dark Souls fantasy land of sword and sorcery. And death. Plenty, and plenty of bloody death.
The rearranged soundtrack coupled to new compositions is stunningly awesome, as Yuzo Koshiro recaptures brilliantly the spirit of the original and the gameplay of the side-scrolling sections is even better than in the original. However, the questionable choices in the art direction, the bugs, poor performance and the, at times, way too wordy expanded script, mar the experience in such a way that what should have been the masterful return of a masterpiece instead turns out to be a nice introduction to the classic for new audiences, but not much more. There's no shaking the feeling that this re-release was not treated with all the care that such an important landmark title deserved. The extra content sweetens the deal somewhat, and encourages fans of the original to come back for more, but the price of admission for such an end result is a bit too much perhaps.
Killing orcs is fun. That's it. There's no need to say anything else. Oh, you want more? Ok. Orcs Must Die! is a tower defence game, mixed with a decent dose of third-person shooty action. It's relatively simple in mechanics, and doesn't have much replayability, but it's also crazy addicting for the 30 or so hours most will need to do everything there is to do here. So, what are you waiting for?! Go kill some orcs too!!!
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker caps off the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga in a near perfect fashion. The storytelling on display vastly outshines the hit or miss quest design. The English voice acting deserve praise for consistent performances of both old and new characters backed by great directing. The dungeons and trials are some of the best in the game that continue to offer escalating challenges while keeping to consistent visual language. Each zone has a unique visual style and tale to tell in this final chapter, despite one or two having a rather slow introduction. All rounded out by a masterwork soundtrack, this MMORPG continues to prove that it shouldn't be missed.
Assuming the player has an Aim controller this could be the definitive way to experience the story and world of DOOM 3 out of all of the ports and versions. The minute-to-minute gameplay is satisfying and punchy accentuated by the player being face first in the action and horror. Highly recommended to horror lovers who are in search of an action-oriented VR experience.
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster is a stunning update that sings with the bells and whistles of a more modern pixel rendering style. Hindered only by bad font and a small technical issue this is an experience Final Fantasy fans need to have. The story of Cecil is easy to get sucked into, it is backed by some insanely sublime music and the gameplay is a joy, even if it is dated. Only a fool would pass this up!
Nightmare Boy is a fun experience for a few hours, and a lot of the glaring design choices around the gameplay can be overlooked or ignored for the most part. While Billy may feel heavy to control, he does almost always make it to the platforms, while the fighting systems are quite basic, but it allows for the focus to be on the exploration side of things instead. In terms of the aesthetic of the various areas as well, The Vanir Project has done a terrific job in stylising the different sections and making every area feel fresh and new, without getting bogged down with repetitive enemies. While the platforming-based abilities work well, the combat-based abilities leave a lot to be desired, as they lack any flexibility within the combat arena, and even when those abilities are fired off, they do little damage to be worth its while compared to the base attacks. While this can be replayed, there's very little incentive to do so.
Re:Turn - One Way Trip is pleasant to the eyes, works ok with no bugs or whatnot… and that's about it. Sadly, there's nothing good to say about it. Apart from just not being scary (like at all), and having an uninteresting story, the bulk of the experience revolves around running from A to B for about five hours, picking key items, and using them in the obvious spot. It's a fetch quest, plain and simple.
Ultimately Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a fun game and does everything it says on the package. Unfortunately there is always a limit to games of this type, which explains its budget price tag for a physical release. While the multiplayer is fun to pick up and play with friends and family, it does not last very long with fifteen games in total. It is a game that need to be repeatedly played to try and beat the high score which can be fun for short bursts, but not something that will stay in the brain for a long time.
Battlefield 2042 is nothing short of a rip-off, and screams of EA trying to see what they can get away with this generation. Overpriced, yet devoid of the content to justify its next-gen premium, it will leave franchise fans feeling insulted. Make no mistake, anyone looking to get into Battlefield should look elsewhere, or risk letting a lacklustre first impression sour their perception of what is otherwise one of the most premiere first-person shooters in the genre - which frankly just makes 2042's lack of content, lack of a campaign, and lack of polish all the more frustrating. Battlefield's legacy deserves better than EA squandering DICE's potential by launching a major title in a clearly unfinished state. Battlefield 2042 is a beta masquerading as a AAA release.
Aksys has brought across another winner and hopefully, they will continue to do so as the Switch has become a wonderful home for visual novels. Like most Otome games there is drastically different quality between the individual stories, with some feeling like filler to pad out the game. But good stories here are so good, it really sets it apart, with those routes managing to land on every emotional level. Steamy romantic moments, heartbreaking moments, touching tear-jerking, genuinely funny comedy. This combined with a cast of suitors that cover off just about every otome archetype makes for a must-buy for anyone wanting to embrace their inner Fujoshi.
Riders Republic has managed to tweak the majority of small gripes that were in place in an already fun beta release and in its final version, given gamers easily the best extreme sports simulator on the market - ironically done by embracing the craziness of the sports themselves and making events increasingly zanier as progression is made. For purists, they will find the type of experience that will link them in memory, back to the seasons of being out there on the trails and slopes (or in the air if anyone has actually tried that mental gliding thing). For the stay-at-home gamer, this really is as close as it feels to being out there with the added enjoyment of the extreme element pushed to its… well, extreme, all without a scraped knee or full reconstructive surgery in sight.
Highly addictive and packed with personality, Cannon Brawl targets a specific niche being a merger of real-time strategy, funds balancing, and Tower Defence, and will undoubtedly be worth the investment not only for fans of those genres, but newcomers to it as well.
In terms of content, Death's Gambit justifies a purchase, especially now with Death's Gambit: Afterlife, and the new stuff that it has added, along with some refining here and there. Having said that, this is probably a big, nicely designed, fun… ok. It's an ok blend of the exploration found in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, served along a combat philosophy, and an overall vibe that takes its cue from Dark Souls. Nothing is bad, but nothing is great either. Ok. Fans of either "genres" can find better metroidvania/soulslike cocktails nowadays.
Girl of Glass: A Summer Bird's Tale draws elements from point-and-click adventures, visual novels, and turn-based RPGS, blending them with a whimsical world and sympathetic characters to make a wonderful story. The battle system, while at times too difficult, adds flavour and action to the point-and-click formula that some might otherwise find slow, and the characters and their stories pique the player's interest and keep them wanting to dig in more and keep the story going. Where a lot of point-and-clicks feel slapped together to make a quick experience, this is a rare gem that feels like it was designed from the ground up to be exactly what it is. It doesn't try too hard, it doesn't cram in aspects from other genres in ways that don't fit. Girl of Glass: A Summer Bird's Tale is a wonderful story, built into a game that tells it wonderfully.
An utter disappointment, for fans and newcomers alike. For the newcomers, this is more likely to dissuade potential interest in a series that is so much better than this. For fans of the series, this not only does not do any of the adaptations - be it light novel, manga, or anime - justice, but it is a terrible adaptation. Low quality. Low budget. Just embarrassing, especially considering how long this has been in production. It's hard to think of anyone to recommend this for. It's flawed and forgettable in every way.
DARQ: Complete Edition is a very curious and compelling living nightmare. Fans of puzzle adventures games like Myst or Broken Sword will find the alluring mystery and quandaries to solve to be very satisfying. The art direction is impressive, and for a title that was developed by an incredibly small team, it is comparable to mid-level developed indie creations. It is simplicity in a very pure form, and that is why it works so well... at least when it doesn't glitch.