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I love Inscryption even more because I expected something entirely different. It does everything so well, and I’m itching to get back to playing already. This deck-building psychological horror is more than worth your time, and one hell of a great game.
The Ascent manages to create an unbelievably detailed and dirty cyberpunk world for you to explore and find your place in. All the while you’ll unravel cyberpunk-esque corporate schemes. I couldn’t stop playing the game, The Ascent is absolutely dripping with cyberpunk aesthetics and is a true love letter to the genre by clear lovers of cyberpunk fiction.
Even without post-game rewards, Metroid Dread is a thrilling entry for the series, and for the Metroidvania sub-genre. It may not have the biggest and most cryptic world, or the best soundtrack, but it’s one of the best paced and varied examples on offer. It introduces new ideas to the series, while putting a new spin on tired concepts; pulling it off confidently with a beautiful presentation.
Looking past the obvious flaws in The Good Life, players will find a very unusual and engrossing mystery, with a lot of depth to the gameplay and witty characters. It’s a very personal game that presses the player to slow down and take it easy; to chill out and enjoy life.
I’m still adamant that the best usage of Hot Wheels was the DLC pack in Forza Horizon 3, but that success only came because it was built into an already excellent racing game. This is a passable at-best racer, but it damn sure ain’t anywhere near Forza.
Most gamers will come for the balls to the wall, bone breaking, violent kung-fu action and adventure. Some may come for the mini-games and retro video games. No matter who plays Lost Judgment; everyone will stay for the dramatic, thrilling story and characters.
Probably the biggest and easiest missed opportunity to get players on board with some of the characters they know nothing about would have been to include a cartoon episode for each character. Instead there is nothing but still images. For $49.99 USD, this is a rip-off and is a wasteland of content. Maybe Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl will get better with updates, but it would take a miracle to salvage this pile of slime.
Overall my experience with Fuga: Melodies of Steel was pretty solid, and I enjoyed the 20 or so hours I spent on it. The characters were cute, the setting was interesting, and perhaps in a less dark story this could really get fleshed out well. I just think the WW2 time period is a bit outplayed at this point, especially for a game about anthropomorphic dogs and cats.
Flynn: Son of Crimson is likely to get swallowed up in the ocean of similar action platformers. It’s not a bad game, just a violently forgettable one. A dry piece of toast that sat out for too long, and has long since gone cold. Some players may find comfort with it, but most will be bored by it.
This change in priorities is felt through out the entirety of the game. While Oddworld: Soulstorm is no means a bad game, it’s a profoundly misguided one that fails to capture what made its progenitor so wonderful. For a remake to make such a drastic change to the original, Oddworld Inhabitants missed the opportunity to include the original Abe’s Exodus as a bonus unlockable feature.
For me, this marks a 10 out of 10; it checks off everything that should work in a game, and to an excellent standard. Eastward is made with love and care, and it definitely shows with a perfect final package. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Despite the repetitiveness of the various stages, Metallic Child is a fun action-filled story, highlighted by unique gameplay. If rogue-lite games are one of your favorite genres, it’d be a sin not to give Metallic Child a go. Actually, even if rogue-lite games aren’t your typical cup of tea, it’s still worth a go.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a faithful adaptation of the tabletop game, and a direct improvement from Pathfinder: Kingmaker. The army management system is more hands-on than the kingdom management of the previous game, but it’s a less fulfilling experience. Fans of fantasy RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Tyranny, or tabletop RPGs would be well-served to give this game a chance.
A Juggler’s Tale is very short, but worth playing once. It has decent visuals, clever puzzles, and the story is original. There are even a few moments where the game reaches greatness, and almost goes beyond expectations; before it swiftly lands back on its feet. The game just does not go far enough with its concept, and will leave gamers feeling hungry.
There’s still a good handful of things to like; I think the characters are all unique and cute with their design and personalities. If you want to play Mary Skelter Finale, play the previous games first to know if you may be interested in a dungeon crawling JRPG.
There is an audience out there for something like Struggling. The variety of set-pieces do show an attempt to break up the monotony of fumbling, but the journey is much too long. Trial and error scenarios are too frequent due to the gameplay, and the real struggle is having the patience to redo many simple tasks.
Coming back to the reaper’s game with this scope and grand vision has proven to be a risk for Square Enix that sadly has not paid off. Sales may not have met expectations for the venerable publisher and this would mean that Neo: The World Ends with You could be the last reaper’s game ever. It is a shame because this bold title has proven to be one of the best action RPGs that Square Enix has ever made and is highly recommended.
The great irony of Skyward Sword is that Nintendo struggled to make it have motion controls as refined as possible and in the end it made it a worse experience. Only when a traditional control scheme was implemented and the game took on a less patronizing game design philosophy is when players can appreciate Skyward Sword‘s finer aspects.
Overall, I’d say that Arkane Studios may have possibly dropped the best game in the middle of this quality game drought we’re currently in (but I haven’t played Tales of Arise yet.) Deathloop isn’t nearly as original as it is refreshing and inventive. In fact, you could argue that Deathloop borrows the very best elements of everything that it rips off pays homage to and manages to stitch it together with a quality that’s not quite designer level, but considerably more convincing than a Wal-Mart brand knockoff.
Final Fantasy XIII is one of the weakest Final Fantasy games ever made, but it isn’t without its merits. The only aspect that is legitimately impressive on all fronts is its graphics. Square Enix was unafraid to let the money burn on screen, and every cent is on fire with how much effort was put into making this one of the best looking games of its generation.