Cubed3's Reviews
The heavy criticism towards Warcraft III: Reforged has nothing to do with the quality of the experience therein. This remains the wonderful real-time strategy that thousands of people have loved. The real problems begin when you take the changes of this remaster into consideration. The half-baked, unimpressive new engine and hit-or-miss design choices; the numerous bugs and network issues; and, finally, those mind-numbing, corporate-smelling decisions, like the fact that custom maps now belong to Blizzard, or how Reforged effectively ruins the original for those who don't even own the new game.
Big booties aside, the easiest way to sum up Atelier Ryza is: an absolutely great game framework, waiting for a game. The battles are interesting enough, the gathering okay, and the alchemy very good, but it all fails to connect on a purposeful or coherent level. With no driving narrative or reason, pretty rapidly the whole point becomes to simply battle, gather, alchemize, repeat; all of which fails to pull the player into something deep or meaningful. The is a great casual-friendly title, but it lacks any serious staying power.
The decision of picking up Harcore Mecha is going to rest purely on if this type of platformer, and its over-the-top anime tropes' appeal.
The play style adjustments in the campaign to the core gameplay loop do enough to keep things interesting
A good tactical game makes you feel dumb when loosing, Banner of the Maid makes you feel cheated, as it's less about forming a plan, and more about retrying missions to discover which exact "route" to follow. Add to this a heavy lack of balance, some annoying friendly AI, and a needlessly long length, and this makes this Chinese-born SRPG hard to recommend. Its flawless pixel art style, and sexy anime look are really the only things of any worth here.
Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace deserves credit for managing to retain a desire to spend more time with these characters, and runs with the humour and nerdiness in combination with the sexually natured and light-hearted narratives that Okabe ends up entwined in. It does the series justice by sticking to what makes everybody so appealing, but it is a very specific type of visual novel that doesn't get into any serious or dramatic situations. Understand what you're setting yourself up for and this is a fun alternate diversion to the original title.
StarBlox Inc. is a perfectly enjoyable action puzzler that manages to balance reflex-based gameplay with on-the-fly puzzle solving. The core gameplay loop doesn't have much in the way of depth, but it's easy to pick up, and fun to play, especially in groups of four. Unfortunately, no online means that StarBlox has no real shelf life in spite of a surprisingly decent single player campaign. If nothing else, this makes for a decent couch multiplayer alternative to Puyo Puyo and Tetris.
Not for the faint of heart, but a survival horror masterpiece nonetheless, Resident Evil 2 sets a standard for good horror, good action, and damn good game design.
Technical issues, and lack of polish put aside, Evil Genome is just a mediocre action-adventure, that only metroidvania aficionados can manage to enjoy for more than an hour. Bring its many problems back in, and what you get is a bargain bin metroidvania that simply isn't worth the trouble... fan or not.
There is no denying that Touring Karts VR is rough around the edges.
Great graphics, a compelling experience, and overall heart, paint the general picture of this adventure game. While some aspects of the story go unexplored and the animal-shifting aspect largely goes under-utilized, these are not enough to distract from a positive experience. Gamers need to know going in that Lost Ember is a very casual-friendly experience, but one that is still well done. The only thing holding it back is a lack of truly diving into the mechanics presented, or truly investigating the story themes brought forth.
More unlockable rooms with some further challenge would have been welcome, but The Turing Test passes on many fronts. Well worth a purchase - and launches at a great price, too.
Mechstermination Force is a terrific boss-rush adventure that grants a few hours of undisputed, frenetic, and fast-paced gunplay against gargantuan robotic titans.
The controls are an absolute mess and it's a shame, as Surgeon Simulator CPR is a funny title that is great entertainment for team of friends. While the aim is to "save" patients, doing the opposite is what eventuates most of the time thanks to some unintentional, but humorous moments. With a better control scheme, more responsive controls, and less glitches, Surgeon Simulator CPR would be an easier title to recommend on the Switch. However, beyond the poor controls, there is some enjoyment to be found here for those who don't take these too seriously.
A flawed port that struggles to overcome mediocrity in its implementation, and that suffers from a lack of multiplayer, leads to a less than stellar experience. Star Wars Jedi Outcast is purely saved by its solid level design, and fan service. There are probably better options if you want a good TV experience, but nothing can beat this port's portable experience, which is in all honestly its saving grace. Recommended for fans looking to take it on holiday, and a near miss for fans looking for a Star Wars title worthy of being played in the big screen.
The best way to enjoy Capcom's action-RPG gem
In spite of a somewhat spotty presentation, Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark manages to fill a tactical RPG niche that had been lying dormant for far too long. Beyond just serving as a competent TRPG, however, Fell Seal engages with the genre in increasingly dynamic ways. It borrows a good deal of its concepts from Final Fantasy Tactics, but nothing is just brought over as is. While there are conceptual similarities between the titles, this has more than enough mechanical depth to stand on its own. Strong map design and plenty of customization options make this game a must-have for fans of tactical RPGs.
Even though a bit harder to play compared to the original, the wonderfully designed puzzles, characters and music make this game a wonderful experience. Players that enjoy brain teasers without being forced into a time constraint will enjoy Katrielle and the Millionaire's Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition, as a relaxing and sometimes infuriating title - but remember that every puzzle has an answer!
Psikyo shooters range from above average to good. Therefore for any genre fan, those tend to be safe bets for a truly good time
Playing this is the videogame equivalent of drinking cobra venom. There is nothing to be gained, probably is bad for your health, and should only be done as a dare.