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While Owlboy may have small sections that cause numerous restarts, those portions are buried underneath the overwhelming amount of great moments found within. Nearly everything about Owlboy is well-crafted. From the graphics, the soundwork, the characters and their inter-relationships, the changing state of the world, the gameplay, and the title’s ability to introduce and drop mechanics in a dynamically-paced way, Owlboy is a perfectly executed composition of story and gameplay.
Despite all that it’s lacking, such as an interesting stories and characters, sophisticated or innovative combat mechanics, and compelling game-play outside of the dungeon, Dungeon Rushers can provide an entertaining experience for genre fans. It’s chock full of humor, has a colorful nostalgic visual style and has solid combat mechanics offering a decent challenge.
As someone who has ADD, it's difficult for me to concentrate on a game for even 30 minutes — yet, Small Radios Big Televisions plucked me out of reality and dropped me into its world for two hours. I never once looked away when playing it — something that has only happened to me one other time. It was upon that realization, that I knew Fire Face had created something unique and special in an industry deprived of originality.
This is certainly one of the best FPS games I have played in a long while, and it definitely does not fall short compared to more established franchises. Its biggest weakness certainly isn’t Respawn’s fault, as it’s a tasty hamburger between the Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Buns. If you love first person shooters, good sci-fi or giant robots, I implore you not to ignore this game just because of that sandwich. Titanfall 2 deserves your attention.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition doesn’t set the bar for remakes, but it is the de facto entry point for one of the best games ever made. With mod support, all of the DLC, and noticeable stability and visual upgrades, Skyrim Special Edition is a welcome addition to the current console generation. However, given the inconsistent value of the versions, take a few moments and consider where you want to play it.
More than anything, Episode 3 of Batman: The Telltale Series continues to show that underneath the billionaire, playboy philanthropist archetype that Bruce Wayne has come to be known by for so many decades, there’s an even greater story waiting to be explored.
That said, it’s an absolutely fantastic game. It shows the courage to break the mold of the established FPS settings, by bringing forth a nearly forgotten era, that comes packed with a lot of charm of its own. On top of that, it does so with tight and impactful gameplay that will keep the fans busy for a long time.
While the underlying games hold up as well as they ever did, Batman: Return to Arkham as a remasterwas very disappointing — especially compared to others that masterfully retouch games like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection or Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Of the two, only Arkham Ayslum’s remaster is worth playing through; with no additional content beyond both games’ previous DLC, I would only recommend Return to Arkham to either die-hard Batman fans or those who don’t have access to an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The $39.99 price tag may bring pause to some gamers, but the length of the main scenario justifies the price. The gorgeous art, choice fan service, enthusiastic voicing and compelling overall story make the game an easy sell for those who like visual novels, although the appeal ultimately won’t be as great as something like Zero Escape or Phoenix Wright.
Overall, World of Final Fantasy is one of the few PlayStation 4 JRPG’s I can recommend across the board. The game is light-playing, but incredibly enjoyable for Final Fantasy buffs while also being a perfect entry into the series. Beyond a few small annoyances – Tama more than anything – the game is easy enough to play for hours on end or in small, nightly sessions. More importantly, World of Final Fantasy is perfectly suited for both PlayStation 4 and Vita – if you need a light JRPG fix before FFXV, I couldn’t recommend this game more highly.
Yomawari: Night Alone has small elements that may be frustrating, with repeated death and wasted time spent wandering, looking for the one thing that will cause some progression. This is mitigated by its short run time and great sense of atmosphere. The reserved score, reliance on player imagination, and world building make it a worthwhile investment for those who aren’t afraid of surrealistic creatures lurking in the dark.
The game is paced well, with mini-games, scenes and boss fights breaking up the basic dungeon progression in neat intervals. It keeps things feeling exciting and dynamic. At $14.99 the game is a fantastic value. Parin and her pals are easy to love and so too is the game itself. The main campaign should take you at least 9 hours and there are various secrets and things to collect for completionists. Fifteen bucks is very little to pay for a title that channels some of gaming’s best known IP in its strongest moments.
Pirate Pop Plus emits Game Boy nostalgia in its purest form. From its simplicity in story and gameplay to its retro graphics and sound, Pirate Pop Plus fits right in with other games on that old system. While the game can get repetitive and does have a few design problems, especially when it comes to sound design and control with the Wii U gamepad, for only $4.99, any Game Boy or Pang fan owes it to themselves to pick up this game.
Shu is a no frills approach to the classic 2D platformer. With a beautiful artstyle, fine-tuned controls, and a brisk difficulty, Shu is a short but sweet experience. However, even with collectibles and time modes, some players will likely be turned off by the simple controls and lack of innovation.
With a cool cast of characters, a suspenseful story, a huge and beautiful world, unique exploration, addictive combat a and main scenario dozens of hours long, Exist Archive has quite a lot to offer the action RPG fan. You can and will spend many fun hour playing this. Despite the issues it’s worth the price of admission, particularly for its fast combat, a wonderfully pleasant contrast to the waves of purely turn-based JRPGs we constantly see.
Despite that pressure, The Coalition have proved with Gears of War 4 that the team is more than capable of providing an experience that falls in line with the titles that came before it by staying reverent and faithful to the original games (sometimes to a fault), but with enough layers of intrigue and new additions to make Gears of War 4 an admirable continuation of the Gears story. Like with the relationship of Marcus and J.D. throughout the game, Gears of War 4 sticks close to the legacy of its predecessors, but along the way is on the way to writing one of its own.
Paper Mario: Color Splash is a hell of a good time. If you are able to look past a gimmicky battle system and a couple of shoehorned mechanics, Color Splash oozes with both charm and humor. Sporting a great aesthetic, it is a title that should be in every Wii U owner’s library.
XCOM 2 rises above these small errors, and is still a highly recommendable strategy game for those both new and familiar with the franchise. Both friendly and hostile upgrades are doled out to yourself and the opposition over the course of the entire campaign, ensuring variety through to the end. Whether or not you will make it there is entirely on you, which is why success is celebrated and losses so discouraging. XCOM 2 introduces new elements that keep the strategy game fresh, continues to overwhelm the player with options, and challenges you to overthrow the alien overlords in power. There isn't much more I could ask for.
All this adventure and discovery made me think of times in my past that I sunk hours and hours into game’s like Dragon Warriors II and Torneko: The Last Hope. That being said, I feel as though Dragon Quest Builders is not only worthy of being apart of the long standing RPG franchise, but it also succeeds in making its mark and surpassing all competition compared to any game like it.
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity is a game that is definitely made for fans that already know what to expect from Touhou doujin games. With that said, the game allows Western fans to spend some quality time with two of the more popular characters, but offers little beyond that in terms of story. I ended up enjoying the game more after the first few hours and I hope that players new to the series stick through the simplistic beginning and discover what this game has to offer.