Cubed3's Reviews
FoxyLand is a must play for casual and more experienced platformer fans, with levels mostly being fairly easy to traverse, with fun puzzles to figure out involving switches and hidden items. High replayability comes from both individual competitiveness in completing a level without dying, and collecting coins to buy accessories, such as a hat or scarf to put on the fox.
By no means a bad game, Project Warlock can definitely be fun, but its many rough edges mar the experience, and fun soon gives way to annoyance. While the ultra-retro style is neat, and the gunplay is great, in the end these alone can't help much with the repetitive and simplistic level design, or how often bullets tend to hit thin air, and how unnecessary a permadeath system feels for such a game. Here's hoping the developer team understands what made titles like Doom so darn enjoyable, and create a much better sequel.
While disappointing in terms of content, Samurai Shodown's fighting mechanics alone are enough to make this a solid recommendation. As long as you don't care about not having an actual story mode or tons of unlockables, and if you feel brave enough to enter the unforgiving online portion of SNK's niche fighter, be sure to check this out.
Everyone that is excited over the prospect of the upcoming Paper Mario: The Origami King needs to pick this up. While Sticker Star and Colour Splash took the series in quite unwelcomed directions, this fully embraces the original. The combat system keeps things constantly engaging, the world is inviting, and the trio of main characters utterly charming. This is a world that deserves to be further explored and returned to, and it will hopefully see future instalments. The Origami King has some genuine competition here.
The broad and generic story is the least offensive aspect of Daymare: 1998. The rotten gameplay and ugly presentation that support this roof of mediocrity won't shelter even the most desperate horror fan. There is nothing classic about the gameplay or story; it is every bit as derivative as most of the soulless schlock that modern studios excrete from their focus group testing. There is no attempt at having any guts at trying to make something that is a throw-back, and the best Daymare: 1998 can offer are a few Easter Eggs and obvious nods to the games that inspired it.
All three games present in Borderlands: Legendary Collection are well worth a play by themselves. Packed together, they represent an excellent deal on the Nintendo Switch.
Twelve years later, and the dreary little world of Persona 4 Golden is as captivating as it's ever been. Having it on Steam is a wonderful boon to its accessibility, given the limited range the Vita and PSTV had, and this port more than does it justice. The elements unique to the expanded rerelease may not add much to the experience, but there's no doubt that this should be on everyone's list of must-play RPGs.
Spuds Unearthed ultimately fails in all respects.
La-Mulana is an exceptional metroidvania, but only to those who are capable of braving its meticulous ruins. Understanding the symbols and meaning behind so much of its cryptic messages is only half of the battle. Being able to meet it physically is another story, since the enemies care as insane as the ones in old-school Castlevania, and the traps are more methodically implemented. The adventure is epic with quite a few miles to it.
This adrenaline-pumping, tough as nails run-and-gunner, isn't retro-inspired, but pure retro! Besides that, it's also tons of fun. That being said, it has a couple of issues, like some annoying hit-boxes, a lack of balance in terms of difficulty and weaponry, and, finally, the fact that it doesn't add anything new to the genre. It's great, but it could be so much more.
In spite of an ending that leaves much to be desired, Ys: Memories of Celceta is a great action-RPG that re-contextualizes a decades-old franchise for a modern audience.
Some pretty cool ideas and fun battle set-ups are largely handicapped by bad controls, and the campaign needs some overhauling with its length and unlock structure. These small things get in the way of the simple fun of watching crazy battles unfold. Ultimately, there are only so many things to try before it starts to become boring. Largely the battles are its strength, and far too often the game trips up on itself, when it would be better served getting out of the way.
Considering how mindless and tailor-fit for mobile audiences the substanceless gameplay loop of Shop Titans is, one has to wonder why Kabam saw fit to pursue a PC release. Of course, the "why" is made painfully clear the moment players hit their first wall. Progression is very blatantly designed around micro-transactions. Anyone who doesn't want to spend a dime will need to contend with a very long grind. Even then, the game actively withholds items and content from players who don't want to spend real money. Worse yet is the monthly subscription service, which Kabam fully expects anyone who wants to play Shop Titans in earnest to purchase. Already aggressively mediocre experience by design, jumping from mobile to PC has done Kabam's shopkeeping "simulator" no favours. Shop Titans is worse than video game junk food; it's slop.
Ion Fury blows the Build Engine's dust off, and manages to offer something that seems to hit all the right - nostalgic - notes, but it sort of misses the most crucial ones. Gunfights feel awesome, but the level design is anything but, leading to the many quitter moments being dull as hell. Plus, Voidpoint's creation lacks character, and plays its "comedic" card a bit too safe for something that's meant to be a return to the days of Duke Nukem's political incorrectness. As for the Switch port, while currently the only way to enjoy this on the go, this is definitely something that plays a lot better on the PC.
The definition of niche visual novels. It's easy to see that there is probably a demographic for this story and its geeky exploration of trains, but the slow pacing feels wrong. The exploitation of its childlike characters, mixed with a lack of a choice system means that this is very hard to recommend, even though the technology and artwork is commendable.
While not revolutionary by any stretch, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath breathes new life into the experience in smart and welcome ways. With the exception of the average Robocop, the new characters are unique and brimming with potential, and the story content is a short but sweet trip through the world of Mortal Kombat post-MK11 - hefty price-tag aside.
So much information, and so many possibilities that it can be almost scary. On the other hand, players are given the opportunity to design a whole new period of life for their Sims. While not always easy to navigate, Discover University definitely adds a lot to gameplay.
Previous compilation titles from Nintendo have often bundled in controllers to these types of packages to help them sell, such as including a Wii Remote in Wii Play and Wii Party U, essentially making the game great value for money. 51 Worldwide Games doesn't do this. Instead, this can stand tall knowing that it compiles a number of brilliantly addictive games that can be fun to play alone or with friends. Almost all can be played in a quick pick-up and play fashion, which can be handy for those looking to play in short bursts, whether on a short commute, or in a party scenario. Online matchmaking should perhaps be refined so that people match players first, and select games after, but this aside, 51 Worldwide Games is a fantastic budget title that all Nintendo Switch owners should buy!
While far from the definitive version of the 25+ year-old classic, realMyst: Masterpiece Edition remains a highly atmospheric, and immersive first-person adventure.
Frostpunk is quite simply one of the best city-building experiences on the PlayStation 4 with a highly detailed narrative written for four huge campaigns. The sadness in there only being four campaigns is a true testament to the team at 11 Bit Studios, as they have crafted such a memorable experience, with gut-wrenching decisions at every turn. The savagery of the game can have long-lasting effects that can carry into the subsequent play-throughs, as the memories of what arose from making previous decisions can sway future decisions down other pathways. For those who wish to experience a more laid-back 'Sim City' like experience, then this title may not be the right title to jump into. However after experiencing this, it will be easy to feel anxious to see whatever the team behind it has in store next.