Hardcore Gamer
HomepageHardcore Gamer's Reviews
When compared to Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t quite live up to its lofty expectations. As a standalone experience, though, Shadow of the Erdtree is an absolute treasure that only helps to enhance the enjoyment of Elden Ring as a whole.
Classic II: Dominique's Curse is a fitting finale for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It continues the story of the base game in an interesting manner while paying tribute to one of the more divisive classic Castlevania titles. Making a game in the style of Simon's Quest was a risky move, but the execution was exactly what it needed to be. Dominique's Curse perfectly captures the retro vibe. The overall feel of Simon's Quest has been transported to Bloodstained, where all the positive aspects of the classic title have been maintained and the main areas of criticism have been improved to make this a more accessible and less cryptic experience. As a retro-inspired title, the more simplistic approach to game play may be off-putting to people who want something that plays like a more contemporary metroidvania, but for those who have enjoyed the Bloodstained throwbacks to classic Castlevania games, this is one that shouldn't be missed.
It’s hard to keep something going for ten years, especially a Live Service game. The industry is littered with failed attempts at building ten-year plans. Despite Destiny’s many ups and downs and lack of consistent quality through the years, Destiny 2: The Final Shape completes Bungie’s ambitious ten-year plan and mostly sticks the landing. Its story is the most focused a Destiny tale has ever gotten, opting to focus on character interactions, linear level design and heartfelt payoffs. While this route meant a complete neglect of the series’ big bad, it did culminate in an epic finale to the Light and Darkness saga.
With the original Monster Hunter Stories title, Capcom created an entirely new style of gameplay in a familiar world that fans could come to grow and love. It was an attempt at something they weren't sure would take off, but ultimately paid off in creating a beloved spin-off franchise. It's not just lovely to see this first title now available for new and old players alike to re-experience, but it goes back to the series' humble beginning before it blasted off and expanded more than people could have expected. This series is one of Capcom's greatest and we're thrilled to see it now made available for brand new audiences to experience on modern systems. It's well worth picking up for fans of the sequel or those who haven't checked it out yet. Players don't need any familiarity with the core Monster Hunter franchise to enjoy this absolutely wonderful RPG adventure.
Even with its slightly unintuitive interface and occasionally-tedious boss encounters, V Rising does what so many survival-sandbox and loot-based RPGs alike get horribly wrong from the word go: having the base gameplay start from a point of enjoyment. While the task to build one's self up and survive the ongoing perils remain crucial to one's progression, it's thanks to the game's reframing of key genre pillars like gear score and meters to manage that make the experience far from the slog it may initially imply. While its introduction may lead many to suspect the same mounting tedium is coming, a host of well-integrated mechanics alongside that consistent balancing of the risks one may be willing to take make V Rising -- and now, its subsequent release onto PS5 -- a noteworthy accomplishment.
Is Rocksmith+ the perfect substitute for guitar lessons? Absolutely not, but it is a good tool for learning some techniques and songs. The comprehensive library of video lessons covers a wide variety of techniques; from beginner to advanced, to whatever technique a player is struggling with, there's a video to help show them the way to improve. Unfortunately, unlike actual lessons, the videos are one-way communications, so there's no constructive feedback to cater to the individual's needs. The song library numbers in the thousands, and while there's likely something for everyone, many favorites are omitted. Even with its limitations, however, video instruction can be an effective means to learning an instrument. Rocksmith+ does have all these limitations, but with its vast song library and comprehensive video lessons, it is one of the better options for learning how to play guitar without taking actual lessons.
MultiVersus shows there's enough promise to expand the platform fighter genre with a new focus on 2v2 gameplay and intriguing movesets for each character. We didn't call Mortal Kombat a Street Fighter clone, despite them sharing a 2D plane. Nintendo didn't even begin the platform fighter genre: it only popularized it. The term "Smash Clone" is a demeaning one, which is a huge turnoff for many. MultiVersus should get love for its concept, and as it continues to build, hopefully it will get its time in the sun.
There are so many games in the zeitgeist that focus on offering the most realistic or the most refined and polished experience on the market, but often this can be to the detriment of fun. Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip knows this all too well, focusing solely on bringing the fun factor. It's a love letter to successful mascot platformers of old while offering some much-needed fan service to the kid-friendly GTA-clone sub-genre that gave us The Simpsons Hit and Run and Lego City Undercover. It's not a game that's going to change your life, but it's a wonderful, action-packed romp that just might make a lazy afternoon a little more memorable.
Paper Trail delivers the perfect blend of color and art style that's a standout among the puzzle game genre. The technical mechanics are innovative and creatively integrate new challenges as the story goes on, making the experience engaging and thoughtful. While this storybook looks visually stunning, the plot lacks a sense of depth and doesn’t add much to the games’ experience. Paper Trail puts a twist on the simple indie game and centers itself on display for everyone to see in all its splendor.
Nine Sols is a Metroidvania that does what many have failed to do within the genre and actually creates an experience that feels like an authentic, grueling, atmospheric and unique 2D Souls game. Artistically, it's hard to find any fault with it as the blend of Tao Tradition and Cyberpunk dystopia is captivating. The narrative is gritty, mature and uncompromising, which leads to an engaging story from start to end, and the gameplay is a refined showcase of combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The difficulty settings may be a little askew, and some may feel that the central themes are too graphic and unsettling at times. But all in all, Nine Sols, in a stacked year, as far as Metroidvanias are concerned, does more than enough to force itself into the conversation, as it could be a contender for indie game of the year.
Ubisoft’s attempt to blend two disparate genres together backfires, creating massive balancing issues and diluting both experiences. Its lack of polish on the server side leads to outright aggravating and uneven experiences. Finally, while XDefiant is free-to-play, the fact that there’s little earn and outright unlock leaves little incentive to stick with the game beyond a couple of matches occasionally. XDefiant provides that solid, fun FPS action in small doses, but is sorely held back by a lack of focus, polish and earnable content.
The removal of content hurts this year's official Formula One game. F1 24 went in a bold direction with its physics, but now the game borders on a casual racer due to the lack of difficulty for simulating a Formula One car. Racing will be more aggressive because these cars stay glued to the track with minimal punishment for pushing the car. The graphics and audio options are where the game stands out the best. The ongoing bugs will continue to hamper the experience, so here's to hoping these things are addressed. It's neat to take one of the Legendary Drivers into the career mode, as Senna hasn't been playable in years in the series. The changes to Career Mode are subtle, but a good bit of the modes come down to the same experience previously seen or just a mode to get rewards or a high score. Maybe the overhaul needs to begin with focusing on current-generation systems.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is still, after all these years, the prime example of Paper Mario at its very best. Its writing is still funny, its characters are quirky and fun in ways that they just aren’t in other Nintendo games, its combat is simple yet deep enough to stay interesting throughout and it’s a visual and aural treat thanks to all the enhancements made by Intelligent Systems. The improvements made both in and out of combat also go a long way towards making the game shine even more than it already did. Sure, the extra tutorials can be annoying for longtime fans, but otherwise, this new version does the original justice and makes it an even more worthy addition to any Switch owner’s library.
With its vibrant visuals, intricate gameplay mechanics and a narrative that both entertains and provokes thought, Capes sets itself up as a memorable addition to the superhero genre. While there are minor audio-visual sync issues and balance quirks in the combat system, the overall experience is overwhelmingly positive. This game promises hours of engaging gameplay and delivers a powerful commentary on control and resistance in a dystopian future.
Starstruck Vagabond is an audacious attempt to provide a space-based life sim that doesn't go to the same well as many developers have done in the post-Stardew-Valley landscape. In this bid to stand out from the rest, however, this game feels like a smorgasbord of simple, repetitive and generally uninteresting mindless chores. The game has a solid foundation with understandable, intuitive mechanics and the promise of an addictive gameplay loop. And while it delivers in one way to offer a 'switch-your-brain-off' sort of feel, the game feels as vacuous as the setting. The humorous writing does help to motivate you to begrudgingly push for the finish line, but in the end, it's all just busy work, and not the fun kind.
An anime-inspired 3D platformer, RKGK puts you in the shoes of Valah, a graffiti artists who uses their unique painting skills in order to help free the people from the evil B-Corp.
Zet ZIllions is a game that isn't afraid to head to crazy places, be it sentient planets sucking on pacifiers or more legit terrors from other dimensions. And not only does this make for some great characters, visuals and a wild world to explore, but this extends to the card battles and their spread of unique mechanics, making for a ton of fun as you work with them to create the best deck possible. It's a sheer blast of creativity that's worth checking out and makes the game stand out among all of the other roguelike deckbuilders. Truly weird and wonderful stuff.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a great addition to the Happy Broccoli Games roster as well as to the detective mystery game genre. While it does play it safe in its approach, the game brings out the lovable aspects of the genre with its authentic characters and unique investigation. The voice acting and music are engaging and tonally-accurate, while the game doesn’t fall victim to stereotypes and carves itself a place in the sand within the cozy mystery beach. Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a must-play for those who crave a story-rich experience without the dirty work of digging too deep into the issue at hand (or feet?).
While its lacking narrative and world-building comes off a missed opportunity that, despite momentary hints, never properly materializes, Hauntii and Moonloop Games' admiration and understanding of collectathon-styled adventures is what keeps this latest journey through the afterlife feeling anything but lifeless. The two-tone aesthetic and use of light-and-dark contrast, specifically in the context of level design, is where the game is at its most cleverly-orchestrated. Despite its minimalist appearance, this is a game whose subtle suggestions to maybe venture off the beaten path now and again is never too far away. Complimented along the way by a possession-based mechanic that plays host to challenges, mini-games and even a couple of set-pieces providing just the right amount of variety. It may not go down as the most memorable or indeed the most fulfilling example of its genre or indeed this style of game, but Hauntii still proves that even flawed creations can still bear a welcome level of enjoyment.
The remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord respects its roots by offering a nostalgic and punishing gameplay experience. While it could benefit from enhanced character customization and a more forgiving approach to new players, it remains a solid choice for those who appreciate old-school RPGs and are looking for a game that challenges their strategic thinking and patience. For RPG veterans, Wizardry delivers a satisfying blend of complexity and nostalgia, demanding meticulous planning and resilience. For newcomers, however, the steep learning curve and high difficulty level might be daunting, suggesting that starting with the pre-made characters and taking time to gradually understand the mechanics might provide a more enjoyable introduction.