Cubed3's Reviews
Bust out the Earl Grey and crumpets! Rebellion has delivered a quintessentially British flavoured caper in Strange Brigade and it's hard not to get caught up in the whole darned shooting match when the added incentive of fighting for King and country is tossed into the mix. It's a rather spiffing package, all told, that manages to find the perfect blend of rip-roaring adventure, explosive gunplay, treacherous traps, fiendish puzzling, and crate-loads of loot. Whether tackling it solo or with a group of chums, it's a title very much geared towards repeated playthroughs, which should be enough to give fellow relic hunters, Nathan Drake and Lara Croft, a run for their money. Indiana who?
The experience is fun after really sitting down and giving this a try. There are plenty of moments where the grinding feels a bit tedious, but for those that enjoy exploration, collecting, and point-and-click shooting will love this approach to what is otherwise a survival game in a Terraria/tower defence fusion.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire's first DLC is mainly focused on dungeon crawling, rather than the things that made the core game so awesome, and yet Beast of Winter is far from a boring addition, especially for those who see themselves as scholars of Eora's lore.
Beautiful music and cute, unique visuals aren't enough to save Mushroom Wars 2 from its flaws.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 is another enjoyable instalment in the series. Switching between Kamurocho and Sotenbori with there being so much to do means the action never gets stale, and the new content offers some variety that will spice things up even for people who know Yakuza 2 inside out. That said, the features that have been cut from the original are greatly missed, and the new songs just don't have the same impact as the old ones do, most of the time. It's still definitely worth a play-through if a fan of the series (or even if only recently getting into it), but it's difficult to call it the definitive version of Yakuza 2.
Marking its first outing on a handheld device, Okami HD retains all of the elegance and charisma from even its non-HD days, packing it all into an epic adventure with a budget price and intuitive control inputs. There is a degree of repetition involved with certain battles and events, but even this takes little away from the tale that unfolds.
Very basic but highly approachable, with an addictive gameplay hook and cheap entry fee, Jumping Joe & Friends is a strong candidate for impulse purchasing on Nintendo Switch eShop, and offers more depth than its basic aesthetic would suggest. Online connectivity would have done wonders for potential replay value, but for pick-up-and-play Switch gaming, this one is hard to beat.
No Man's Sky: Next can be impressive at times. It is dense with features and the sensation of lift off and breaking/entering a planet's atmosphere is genuinely magical. It is a mixed bag of mostly good things, but has some really low lows. Sean Murray's project brings the age old saying of "Art is never finished, it is simply abandoned." Good on him and the crew at Hello Games to continue to support what was a disaster at launch to what is a pretty good, if a bit simplistic space sim. "Art" may never be "finished," but when art is shown to an audience... that is going to be the first impression and the first impression is the most lasting. Next does have room for improvement; getting caught in invisible geometry and weird graphical anomalies does happen frequently and the scope of the setting still is not even half the level shown in pre-release gameplay footage. No Man's Sky: Next proves that space does not have to be a lonely town.
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is the definitive version of Minecraft on everything but the PC, where the Java Edition will probably remain the preferred version in the foreseeable future due to its easily modded nature. Everywhere else, however, and on the Switch in particular, since it bridges perfectly the worlds of portability and home play, the Bedrock Edition with its heaps of newly added features will be the way forward. It is not perfect (at time of writing) since glitches have found their way in ,which recent updates did not seem to fix at all, but Mojang and Microsoft have proven themselves in the past in their support of the regular Nintendo Switch Edition, so it is safe to assume that these should be completely gone in the not-so-distant future.
To say Guacamelee! 2 excels as a Metroidvania would be to sell it short. in recent memory.
A free-running joy at home or on the go, N++'s tricky yet gratifying array of platformer puzzle levels ensures a worthwhile purchase, and the online options only extend its already considerable lifespan. With single- and multiplayer options fitting the Switch's form factor and detachable controller attributes like a glove, N++ is a strong consideration for top indie game on the eShop.
The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 1: Done Running lays down a strong foundation for upcoming events of the season, although it focuses strongly on re-establishing past events and linking them to current ones. It ends on a strong cliffhanger that is going to make the wait until next month's release really hard. The story delivery is the strongest seen so far, with improved presentation and voice acting being as good as ever. Now, if only Telltale would release the previous seasons on Switch with just as much care as it poured into this port, hopefully with shorter load times in those cases since they are older titles, then that would be perfect.
WadjetEye Games has done it again! Unavowed does not disappoint at all, relying on the tried-and-tested formula that has worked so well in the past, but now taking that and polishing it beyond belief, and then expertly blending in themes from popular titles, sprinkling a whole host of fresh ideas into the pot to make for one of the most engaging experiences of the year.
State of Mind is an interesting project that prioritises its story beyond all other aspects of the experience. Unfortunately, while it does feature a very interesting narrative and a lot of compelling ideas, they are not executed very well at all. Even those acclimatised to the pacing and narrowness of other more successful 'interactive stories,' such as The Walking Dead, will find State of Mind to be inextricably rigid and overly linear. Everything encountered is positioned there to further the story. Both Berlin and City 5 lack proper secondary interactions and spontaneous encounters. Even the most linear of adventures cannot completely ignore the player's implied sense of possibility and wonder, without seriously affecting the immersion. For this reason, it's hard to feel engaged in State of Mind, despite its highly compelling story content. It might even be more enjoyable to watch a streamer play through it, than do it for oneself. Ouch.
Unlike most Minecraft clones, Portal Knights delivers an experience wholly its own and for the most part it succeeds. Playing through the main story is a highly enjoyable experience and for those who are looking for a new sandbox to build in. The home worlds allow the freedom to craft to your heart's content. It's even better with friends, too. The inclusion of co-op was a very wise choice and gives yet another element to elevate it above its competitors.
The Journey Down, overall, started off as an interesting concept and a competent, although not flawless, adventure game in its early moments and then evolved into something more unique and special by Chapter Two, setting expectations high for its conclusion. This entry, Chapter Three, delivers on all of that, while sneakily even taking the story in a slightly different direction than what the cliffhanger at the end of its predecessor could have led gamers to believe, keeping the intrigue levels high all the way up to the end, as it is driven by different, yet equally awesome, aesthetics as its predecessor, and comes with a matching soundtrack and strong voice work to round things up neatly. Fans of the genre will find plenty to enjoy here.
If you have ever been turned off Metroidvanias for their tendency to prove too confusing or challenging, or pined for a larger focus on plot, Iconoclasts is the answer. By relegating the heavy exploration side of the popular genre in favour of driving a captivating narrative and characters to the forefront, Joakim Sandberg has crafted a 2D adventure that comes out as one of the most entertaining of the year, and certainly in the genre as a whole. Don't sleep on this.
Dead Cells surpasses expectations regarding gameplay and destroys the developmental cap for pixel art games. It not only reinvents a genre that has seen little diversity in the last decade, it does so in a way that encourages everyone to invest time to improve and progress. The balance between permanent upgrades and complete wipe-out upon death is perfect, as it will never feel too discouraging to reset due to the optimism that the next run will see a further dive into the world.
Overcooked 2 is more of a second helping than a brand new concoction, but that's not to be sniffed at. It features more dynamic levels, with better scope, a wide array of new restaurant themes, recipes and chef costumes, not to mention another very meaty story mode. The real evolution, however, comes in simply addressing the biggest failing of the original - its lack of online multiplayer. This addition expands things significantly in terms of its longevity, allowing friends and strangers to gather when a local session isn't on the cards. Moreover, it enables lone cooks to experience the true core experience, specifically, the unique brand of chaos that comes with running a kitchen co-operatively. Overcooked 2 is a fantastic combination of excellent music and vibrant visuals, with gameplay that is as addictive as it is dizzying. While it's not a huge leap beyond the original menu, it brings plenty to the table.
Earthlock isn't going to go down as an essential JRPG, especially on the PlayStation 4 where RPGs aren't exactly uncommon, but it will go down as a charming, respectable title that pays tribute to the PSone era of the genre without forgetting to carve an identity of its own.