Cubed3's Reviews
Transference is wasted on Xbox One, since it does not support VR. It is not only unbelievably short, it is lacking in content and substance. It is a perfect example of a "one and done" kind of game where you never look back after completing it, and then forget all about it. It might get brought up later in life, but even then, memories of playing it will be foggy at best. Half-remembered dreams are more memorable than Transference.
Wingsuit diving is one of the most exhilarating experiences in the world, and while Rush VR can't replicate it, it still delivers an immersive rush. Every aspect of the game feels fluid and fast, but that's not always a good thing, as one of the fastest things is how it gets old. It will take only the most interested player to unlock all of the routes.
The return to Yenching in Legend of Kay Anniversary is not the complete package as one would've hoped for. While the adventure itself stays true to the original, it unfortunately stays too true for its own good. The faults that it contained are still prevalent in here, and the whole mechanics also feel dated and are missing that revamp that other remade platformers contain, such as Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. However, when looking past the dated mechanics and annoying camera angles, Kay's journey can be a fun little treat to spend 10 to 15 hours in, though it does require a heap of patience to be able to fully enjoy it.
Devoid of both style and substance, Poi is perhaps the least interesting 3D platformer currently available for the Nintendo Switch. Not only is it mechanically shallow with a relatively skill ceiling and floor, the level design rarely, if ever, gets creative enough to mask how lacklustre the platforming can be. To make matters worse, this is just charmless all around thanks to an incredibly safe aesthetic that renders a potentially fascinating world completely unmemorable. This neither reinvents platforming, nor serves as a suitable love letter to the genre, ensuring it is best left forgotten.
So utterly disappointing and flawed in every possible way… The first few hours, most of it can be ignored, and occasionally the flaws can be forgotten, but only briefly before they come storming back to the forefront. An awful, boring, empty, pointless experience. There is, however, a glimmer of hope. It's worth mentioning that there has already been a Bethesda title that was equally as unimpressive: The Elder Scrolls Online - but looking at it now, it has transformed into one of the best MMOs out there. There's always the hope the Fallout 76 develops the same way and becomes something special, but for now, that seems impossible. It's a world away from that.
It's Speed meets Temple Run, with a heavy Tron filter over everything. It's a fun little runner that has plenty of replayability, thanks to the competitive aspects of the racing, the alternate routes through the stages, and the hidden items to track. However, Razed is quite niche - there's a considerable challenge here and the frustration may be too much for some to handle.
Although Pilot Sports is not exactly bad, it is likewise far from compelling in its own right. Most of its best qualities are shared with the far more polished Pilotwings series, with its reliance on homage doing a considerable amount of damage. The content present is fine enough, but that, in itself, is a problem. Fine is not good. Pilot Sports is a below average flight simulator that might scratch that wholly unique Pilotwings itch, but only for so long.
A fun experience played best with a couple of friends in alternating turns, Super Steampunk Pinball 2D delivers a little burst of fun, with solid controls and an interesting theme. With a variety of balls and one board, this has plenty of room to expand on a very solid foundation. For such a low price, you can't go wrong if you are looking for a quick nifty pinball game to enjoy.
A love letter to all things videogame, Guacamelee! is a fantastic blend of homage and originality, resulting in a wildly memorable, if a bit short, Metroidvania. From the title's tight platforming-heavy level design, to its skill based combat, there is never a dull moment in Juan's quest to save El Presidente's daughter. Although the script does rely on out of place humour perhaps too often, and the general difficulty does take a hit near the end, this makes for a fantastic experience from start to finish, with plenty to love and admire. Best of all, at no point in its quest to pay tribute to the legends that came before it does this title forget to craft an identity of its own, elevating the title to the same level as the ones that inspired it.
More a refinement of the formula than a fresh take, Art of Balance graces a new platform and offers the same addictive puzzle action it always has. The host hardware greatly benefits both the quickplay nature of the game and its multiplayer features, making for a solid choice to new fans of the genre.
Although Episode 4: Thicker Than Water once again deprives players of all agency, it's actually handled relatively well in-universe, making for a second-to-last episode that actively marches towards the finale. Characters are finally reaching a point where they feel fully developed, the story has found a suitable emotional centre, and the stakes have been raised high enough where Javi and Clem will naturally find themselves challenged in Episode 5. It isn't as strong as it could have been - in large part due to A New Frontier's overall structure - but Thicker Than Water stands out as the strongest chapter in season three thus far.
Is this the worst game on the Switch? It is very close. Ark: Survival Evolved is easily the most poorly converted game on the system, which makes it feel like it could be the worst. If things worked and it didn't look like computer generated vomit, it might have been an average survival game at best. Nothing would distinguish itself. It is unfortunate that the one aspect it has that makes it stand out is just how much of a porting disaster it has proven to be.
Light input lag and lengthy load times aside, Aces of the Luftwaffe: Squadron is an excellent party style shmup the likes of which are very rarely seen. In fact, no other shmup quite like it, in how multiplayer-centric it is, comes to mind. It may look rather simplistic, but it proves to be top notch in its game design, apart from the fact that the game is not quite as enjoyable in solo as it is in multiplayer. For all those out there able to gather three or even just one or two more players for long enough to see the full experience through to the end, however, it turns out to be a memorable piece of software, and an enjoyable experience that, who knows, may bring the band of playmates back together for more beyond the scope of the single adventure.
It's difficult to recommend Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 since it's so wildly inconsistent in its quality. What is essentially being offered is one game that's decent (albeit unmemorable), one that's sometimes great, and then two that are complete trainwrecks. That said, Mega Man X5 and Mega Man X8 are worth playing through as they're still fairly enjoyable in their own right. Otherwise, though, there's not much reason to check this out.
Aside from a couple of relatively small issues, this is both one of the finest independent games of 2018, and one of the most unique puzzle/action/platforming titles of the year. A visceral experience, which relies almost purely on the satisfaction of clearing a tough challenge, Flat Heroes provides ample opportunities for players to test their mettle against a continually escalating series of challenges. Whether breaking through thanks to careful dissection of the puzzle, pure technical skill, or even just a bit of luck, each new stage presents a new opportunity to earn what should be a very satisfying victory.
Even the most hardcore Swery fans will be put off by how sloppy and tedious The Missing is. Much of the appeal of past Swery games was interacting with interesting and colourful personalities. The Missing has none, unless reading text messages counts, and even then the writing is the same movie-referencing material from past games from this director, and its interrupting of the flow of action. The Nintendo Switch has so many better options for puzzle-platformer adventure games - Limbo, Inside, Flashback or Another World, to name a few. The mediocrity of The Missing might have been a bit more tolerable if it weren't such a janky and busted mess. Swery is not the David Lynch of video games; at best he is Ed Wood or a dime store Suda Goichi.
Fans of the original who want the most accurate and perfect experience that looks and feels perfectly like it, will find that some shortcomings, stemming primarily from how this was designed with the technical limitations of monitors of its day in mind, prevent this from being the most accurate way to play R-Type. Those who can overlook minor differences will still find a compilation of two of the greatest representatives of the genre that still play, look, and feel incredibly close to their original releases, while offering ease of accessibility to those two classics for those who never played them, and who don't want to spend tons of money on an original cabinet. Some cruelly missing display modes, and a clear oversight in the infinite mode's design do hold back this compilation to a certain degree on all platforms that it was released on, but, naturally, the Switch will be the only one that can be undocked and taken on the go, giving it a slight edge.
Game Tengoku CrusinMix Special is best thought of as an experience. There are a lot of scenes where the main characters chat with each other and goof off - not to mention the multiple songs with vocals, commentary tracks, and even an interactive karaoke performance. This creates an atmosphere not often seen in such a tradition-focused genre. None of this comes at the expense of the game itself, which is a solidly enjoyable trip down memory lane. The scoring mechanics are well-realized, while the stages are cluttered with things to see and destroy. Ideally, all of the clutter could have been stretched out to create a more consistent and fully-realized shmup, but what's there is perfectly all right.
Repetitive, dry, and inexplicably uninteresting, Travis Strikes Again is a massive misstep for a series with an otherwise solid track record. It's not so much the near complete abandonment of what made No More Heroes so appealing that plagues the hack n' slash, but the all-around drop in quality from the original duology. Dialogue is stiff, lacking in the same character that made Travis Touchdown so unpleasantly likable; the once colourful world of Santa Destroy is tossed aside in favour of multiple virtual realities, none of which manage to capture the same wonderful seediness of the fictional Californian town; and boss fights, once the staple of the franchise, come and go all too soon with none of the expected impact. Suda51 has always been an acquired taste, but Travis Strikes Again will be hard to stomach for even the most invested of fans.
Refreshingly unique and lots of fun, Steel Vampire is well worth checking out. Its inspired take on rank control makes for a shmup that can be approached in a number of ways. The RPG elements are also quite interesting. Finding the right build can lend all sorts of advantages to the player's ship. There are even rare and legendary drops, which is an amusing novelty. Best of all, this game's usage of high speed bullet spreads and strong weaponry create an aura of ferocity not often seen in the genre. The impact of crushing legions of enemies before they can shoot is oh-so-satisfying.