Cubed3's Reviews
A must buy. Case closed. There are so many reasons to pick this up. For those who haven't tried the series out, this debut on other consoles add up to a wonderful incentive. It's amazing that even 20 years on, these still hold up. The only thing that lets this collection down is that there is little extra to elevate this remaster, other than just a graphical overhaul. Regardless of this small bump, these remain some of the very best Visual Novels out there and with no end in sight for the series, this glimpse of them arriving on new platforms is very promising.
Outward isn't so much bad as it is outwardly bland. Bolstered by its genuinely endearing premise, and an emphasis on a more "human" approach to the RPG genre, the title is simultaneously held back by lacklustre presentation, an underwhelming combat system, and a main game that goes on far too long to justify the onslaught of hostility thrown at the player.
Deceptively simple in its concept, Ghostory's form-swapping mechanic provides all this needs to be a neat and challenging puzzle-platformer - and one that happens to provide some pleasantly ghos... ghastly puns. Unfortunately, the fun dissolves due to the subpar level design, which makes this 25+ level adventure feel the same from beginning to end.
SoulCalibur VI tries to go back to its roots and mostly succeeds. It is far from being the game expected after waiting so long for the sixth entry, with low quality visuals, long loading times, and not much improvement over the same old combat, but if the return of old character favourites and that classic gameplay is what is sought after, this will do the job, with plenty to do for the solo player in story modes, although there is a lack of options outside of that.
Not Yoshi's best adventure to date, but it does a sufficient job of being a kid friendly 2D platformer with an appealing visual style that lends itself well to crafting some interesting levels. Sadly, things can get a bit tiresome, and older gamers may find themselves rushing through to the end of stages in no time. Seek challenge elsewhere, because you won't find it with Yoshi's Crafted World. The quality is there, as expected of a Nintendo-developed title, but it is too simple for its own good.
While Dark Devotion is in no way a perfect Souls-like or metroidvania, it's definitely a pleasant mix of those two "genres." Some of the design choices at hand can make the experience feel a bit repetitive, and even annoying at times, but, as a whole, this is a pretty solid recommendation for lovers of challenging action-adventures with a dreadful atmosphere.
Both games still hold up well today, and, at the very least, Final Fantasy X alone can make this compilation worth the purchase, especially now it is portable on Nintendo Switch. Although this edition of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster isn't as graphically impressive as other ports and is missing the PC boosters, it remains a highlight of the franchise and shouldn't go missed. Unskippable cut-scenes in this day and age is a huge negative, though!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the breath of fresh air the "Soulsborne" sub-genre needed. It proves that stats, levelling-up, and equipment, is not what makes this kind of games.
The combat system has been tweaked just enough to keep things fresh for Dead or Alive 6, but there is this niggling feeling that the budget just wasn't there for this game, which is unfortunate, because there are plenty of modes and great characters to enjoy. A few too many aspects stand out as sub-par, though, leading to disappointment for many that have been waiting so long for the next entry in this franchise. Still a whole lot of fun and worth at least trying the free-to-play version out if curious, but it may be best to wait for the likely Ultimate edition.
Mortal Kombat 11 caters to the hype as far as its combat is concerned, managing to expand on the series' trademark formula and provide an entertaining story mode to boot. In a truly admirable feat of game design, every character manages to feel fresh despite some of them being around since 1992. Long-time fans and newcomers alike will have plenty to enjoy with this title. The only thing holding Mortal Kombat 11 back is its convoluted gear system, but with NetherRealm committed to continually improve upon its creation, that is subject to change. As it stands, this is a great fighting experience.
At first glance, there was little promise here. A movie tie-in to a pretty bad movie, so long after it, and clearly taking more than inspiration from another existing popular franchise? Yet, what at first seems like just another shallow Left 4 Dead clone reveals itself to be so much more, it feels more a true successor to its inspiration, definitely one to pick up for groups of friends looking for a new game to enjoy together, even more so for the Left 4 Dead fans out there. If the stability issues can be resolved, this is going to superb and needs to be on more people's radar.
Grimshade is a love letter to the JRPGs of the '90s. Trouble is it's one that wasn't as eloquently written as it should. The weak-to-decent presentation cannot be fixed, of course, but there's some hope for this, if the developer ever heavily rebalance the tactical battles.
While things could have been better if the final moments had been allowed to last a little longer, this ending feels satisfyingly enough because of the emotions it conveys, and that is a commendable effort for a final season that's seen its fair share of development hell.
The Path Home ends Shadow of the Tomb Raider's season pass with a whimper. The tomb's main puzzle isn't as difficult as it comes across at first, and the whole act is over in a flash, wrapping up a plot point that very few will care about. Now that all is said and done, the asking price for the full lot of content just isn't worth it. Wait for a heavy discount.
Nothing special once again for the next in line in Shadow of the Tomb Raider's season pass. A simple battle and a different, but not overly difficult, tomb work to pass the time, with a handful of decent rewards on offer at the end. It still does nothing to light up what has been a very average set of download content, though.
With another platforming and puzzle area to tackle before the main tomb itself, this could have been something that topped maybe all of the previous DLCs for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Instead, The Grand Caiman is over too quickly, despite the decent tomb embedded in the volcano.
Although the story arc isn't anything to get excited about, this is one of the better DLCs to have come out for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The Price of Survival features just enough variety with enemies and puzzles to make it worth a chance on its own, but still doesn't quite make the full season pass tempting enough.
As with their previous non-Pokémon efforts, Game Freak's Giga Wrecker Alt. shows that the developer has a knack for character-driven platformers.
A very solid and fun Lego game that tries to undo some of the more tired series trends by offering up a more interesting and varied style of humour, deeper puzzles and fighting mechanics but most importantly being less buggy. It's really a great title, and though some fans may find the gameplay still a bit stale, anyone who gives it a shot should find plenty of fun to be had and lots of value for money.
The Messenger is a unique and enjoyable 2D platformer with a strong personality and exciting gameplay, and its fine-tuned appearance on the PS4 is a welcome one. The first half of the game is worthy of unfettered praise, but the experience takes a hefty blow at the halfway point from a failed attempt at expanding the scope. This aside, it remains a lovingly conceived game and is well worth playing through on this basis, but its flaws prevent it from going down as a true classic. In light of the fact that this is the first game by Sabotage, it's fair to say that the studio's future is bright.