Cubed3's Reviews
Trails of Cold Steel III is an important title for both Falcom and NIS. For Falcom, it's the penultimate entry in a story arc half a decade in the making - and an incredibly engrossing one, at that. For NIS, it's a step in the right direction after Ys VIII, and proof that The Legend of Heroes' localization is still in good hands moving forward. This is a continuity-heavy RPG with 13 years of video game history, and seven titles building up to it, but the combat and world are strong enough where even newcomers can enjoy the ride. Trails of Cold Steel III is the Erebonia arc at its best.
For lack of a better term, Golazo! is a pretty run-of-the-mill arcade football sim. It does well to channel a '90s aesthetic and it is sure to create some memorable moments despite the hiccups in its design. The controls are simple enough to pick up and play and the gameplay solid enough to warrant whipping it out for a night of arcade fun with friends, but it certainly isn't going to hold most players' interest when it comes to playing solo against the CPU.
Baffling leaderboard support, lack of remapping, and wonky "Timeless" mode aside, the Vasara Collection is sure to find a home with any fan of arcade classics. The Vasara series, though short-lived, offers a unique blend of STG action and close-quarters mayhem. They certainly aren't a walk in the park. It'll take weeks of constant practice to clear them without continuing. The scoring systems are compelling, and there's a plenty of enjoyment in slashing everything in sight. Give this collection a shot sometime.
Despite it being an expansion pack, Iceborne is pretty much another game built upon the many layers of Monster Hunter: World.
This is one of those kinds of scenarios where the designers set out to make exactly what they aimed for, and achieved it... but only because they were only going for a very simple premise. Cybarian aims low, and succeeds at what it needs to, which was not very much. There is no room for expression for the extremely controlled nature of the gameplay, with the exception of how many times a player might miss an input or get slapped. While it may not be a horrible game, Cybarian is merely mediocre and too strict to have any lasting appeal.
With a new handheld format comes a new Yu-Gi-Oh! title, and while Link Evolution offers a compelling and modernised take on the Card Game for both fans and novices alike, with almost infinite play styles and strategy possibilities, it retains the stale interface and storytelling of its original form.
Although far simpler on a conceptual level than it lets on, For The King is a charming, addictive blend of rogue-like and tabletop RPG elements, culminating in an experience that is far more than the sum of its parts.
For the title that essentially originated the modern hack 'n' slash genre, Devil May Cry holds up tremendously well.
In Asphalt 9: Legends splashy visuals come first, collecting unlockables comes second, and skill proves to be a distant third. Having said that, it's tons of fun, at least, if not in search of realism, and despite the lack of decent variety, not to mention the fact that it's an always-online product. Moreover, this can definitely be enjoyed in its original, free form, or by simply spending a bunch of pounds to purchase the Starter Pack if you need to save yourself from more than 10 to 20 hours worth of grinding, but beyond that, the game won't really force you to do anything more besides from playing it.
Fans of adventure will find Argonus and the Gods of Stone to be too light on content; both when it comes to its plot, but mostly in regards to its almost non-existent puzzles. Fans of mythology, and especially Greek legends, will surely enjoy some bits of this small journey, but in the end, this is nothing more than an okay-ish (and empty) theme park with a Greek mythology setting.
Nonsense title aside, Alternate Jake Hunter: DAEDALUS The Awakening of Golden Jazz is one of the best written detective adventures to release this gen.
The world of Mutiazone is full of life and drama, and its interesting scandal-filled story and engaging characters do a fantastic job of conveying this story in a way that leaves you genuinely invested in the characters and the island itself. Although the world can feel a little small and repetitive at times, the soundtrack and beautiful visuals ensure that the player stays entertained and longing for even more at the story's conclusion.
Despite some obvious flaws, and some parts that were somewhat rough around the edges, Spaceland offers great fun for something not coming from big name studios.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is the best way to experience the original Spyro the Dragon trilogy, two decades after the first entry was released. The games on offer were never major classics, of course, and their heavy collect-athon nature won't appeal to everyone. The new, upgraded version is simply beautiful, making the originals look even older than they truly are, so Spyro fans will simply love this… as long as they have the patience to endure 30-second-long loading times (or more).
This is kind of fun, but there are many other games already that do what it tries to do so much better.
Even accounting for the passage of time, and the contempt that familiarity brings, The Alliance Alive HD Remastered is still a class act. This traditional tale offers a unique blend of fun characters and engaging exploration. The battle-system is sufficiently deep, and caters to any style of play. There are times where this journey isn't as good as it could be, but absolutely nothing about it stands out as truly awful. All in all, it's a wonderful RPG that deserves to be checked out.
GRID Autosport, in its Switch incarnation, is a technically accomplished port of a solid entry in a genre defining franchise that falls right in-between arcade fun and driving sim
For short, nostalgic blasts of fun Venture Kid succeeds in almost every respect. While there's fun to be had here, it's painfully clear that, just like playing the game itself, everything is just going through the motions.
Boo! Greedy Kid is an arcade action title that plays more like a puzzler, and where the name of the game is making old people meet their maker, so that you can empty their pockets to buy a few cans of soda. Sadly, the previous synopsis is far more exciting than the actual experience of playing this, as it soon turns out to be an annoyingly repetitive, forgettable, and unimaginative deal.
For cycling purists who just want a game to race in, this is fine, but its issues will test even those with a lot of patience.