Niche Gamer
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Dreams can be wonderful places to be in. Most people never want to wake from their drams. Little Nightmares II is a rare example of a horrible nightmare that draws you in deeper; and even though it is a terribly hostile place, you want stay because it is so fascinating.
Anyone who missed the original on Wii U, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is a must own for their Nintendo Switch library. It may not make a whole lot of sense, but the platforming action is so focused and confidently designed. It is a constant stream of creative ideas and stimulating gameplay that is very hard to put down.
Ultimately, Lotus Reverie: First Nexus is a dramatic story with compelling characters and outstanding artwork that’s actually diminished by the inclusion of combat mechanics. I understand wanting to try and appeal to a broader audience with gameplay on top of narrative in a visual novel, but the game ultimately fails to make the combat relevant, meaningful, or enjoyable.
Disregarding the retro appeal of the stylish aesthetics; Cyber Shadow is focused and carefully designed action that transcends the fact that it is a throw-back. A lot of flashy pixel art driven indie games rely on their style to carry their lack of substance. Cyber Shadow is an example of an excellent balance of everything.
Gal*Gun Returns manages to hold interest for a while in spite of the repetitive stages and simple gameplay. Maybe that’s a testament to the tried and true appeal of love, lewdness, and shooting. While those who don’t appreciate fanservice or rail shooters might not enjoy this game, it’ll evoke a strange feeling of nostalgia for fans of “weird” Japanese games even though we never got to play the original.
If you are in the mood for a hefty visual novel full of compelling characters and don’t mind that the combat mechanics aren’t particularly deep, then you’ll definitely want to give the Utawarerumono franchise a shot.
It’s hard to recommend Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town as anything but a novel relic, it’s a remake of a game with historical importance for a well-loved franchise, but offers nothing that newer players who started with Stardew Valley or Rune Factory 4 will find interesting or worthwhile.
Anyone who can stomach the tired minimalistic 2D pixel art will find that Olija has quite a bit going for it. The low difficulty may turn off most hardcore players, and the violence may be too much for kids, but this would be a fine game for much older people who want to get into video games.
The Medium is a tightly designed horror-puzzle game. There may not be much survival at all, but presentation of the spirit plane is captivating and the driving mystery of the story will leave enough bread crumbs to allow players to piece the answer themselves.
The game certainly isn’t the most complicated or mechanically deep roguelite action-platformer on the market. It doesn’t have the giant build variety and in-depth combat mechanics of something like Dead Cells. That being said, Skul: The Hero Slayer still a great addition to the genre in its own ways.
For $14.99, this is a worthy diversion for fans of Donkey Kong Country. Jet Kave Adventure may not have the memorable David Wise music; or any memorable music at all, but the fundamentals of what made the gameplay is present. On its own, Jet Kave Adventure is a perfect gateway game for kids who are interested in 2D action platformers.
There are not too many action games with RTS elements out there. Other than Overlord or Little King’s Story, the only other options are the Pikmin games. While it may not have the benefit of the Wii remote anymore, Pikmin 3 Deluxe is still an excellent experience and is a fine port of an overlooked Wii U classic.
If you have a tolerance for spotty frame rates, patience for load times, and enjoy being an army of one against a horde of idiotic mooks; then Age of Calamity is for you. This is a guilty please that comes at a steep price, but it also serves as a potential appetizer of things to come in the Breath of the Wild sequel.
It may not be the perfect sequel, but Bayonetta 2 is a satisfying one nonetheless. Some steps were taken forward and a couple backwards; resulting in a very polished and good looking game with some design choices that might annoy hardcore fans of the original. Hopefully, Bayonetta 3 only takes steps forward.
Bayonetta exudes confidence in its design. Hideki Kamiya and his team knew exactly what kind of game they wanted to make, and the quality shines brightly thanks to being responsible with their priorities. Bayonetta has kept gamers playing it for a decade, and they are likely to continue to keep playing it for more decades to come.
When Cyberpunk 2077 works right, you can manage to have a fair bit of fun with it. Unfortunately, even on PC, the game is in a truly embarrassing state right now. The bait and switch CDPR has pulled on us is comparable to No Man’s Sky in many ways, and they absolutely should be held accountable for releasing a game in such a buggy and broken state.
Fans of Breath of the Wild who are patiently waiting for the sequel might find Immortals Fenyx Rising worth a look. It lacks Zelda‘s spirit of invention and creativity, but it is a densely packed open world action game that manages to refine some aspects that Nintendo overlooked.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon proves you can make a masterpiece by experimenting with the formula. It is more than just being the best Yakuza game yet, but also one of the best RPGs ever made. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio did their homework, understand what makes a great JRPG, and combined it with their honed craftsmanship of decades of making some of the best crime dramas in video games.
Ultimately, Valhalla Hills fails to be an engaging city builder, and at best is a mediocre casual game better suited for mobile devices. Players who want a fast-paced and casual city builder might be this game’s niche audience and will enjoy it; but I doubt a majority of players will find anything in Valhalla Hills that isn’t done better somewhere else.
Nodding Head Games clearly have a lot of passion for the subject material, and you can see that they definitely put a lot of heart and soul into Raji. With more experience and a better budget, they could probably make a game that is every bit as fun to actually play as it is to immerse yourself in. The abrupt ending teases at a potential sequel, so hopefully they’ll have another chance to improve upon what they have created thus far.