Niche Gamer
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Playing El Shaddai portably feels right. The combat system is easy to get into and not having to deal with any camera system makes this game feel very accessible for action game newcomers. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster is an audio and visual tour de force that you never forget. It makes sense why it was brought back after all these years.
At the end of the day, Nightdive Studios has done a great job with the Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster and would make Lucas Arts proud compared to some other Star Wars titles. Yes, the game isn’t for everyone, but the developers have done a good job of making it accessible to most. The lack of a colorblind mode does seem like a failed oversight when you look at everything they did add, but it doesn’t make or break the game experience.
Ultimately, The Last Spell: Dwarves of Runenberg does what any DLC ought to do, adds new content to the game without making it a convoluted mess. All the new toys in Dwarves of Runenberg make the game even more exciting and I don’t expect fans of the base game will feel it trivializes or bloats the game’s existing strategies.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes perfectly captures everything it set out to achieve. While the “love letter to JRPGs” phrase gets thrown around a lot these days, and sometimes makes me cringe despite my adoration for the genre, I have to hand it to Rabbit & Bear Studios. They made a promise and delivered with in amazing ways I never thought possible – Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a love letter to classic JRPGs.
There are too many little things that Alisa gets wrong and it comes off as a fan’s attempt at making a horror game, rather than someone who truly understands the genre. The result is a very generic retro throwback.
This is a very mediocre shooter that plays it too safe and lacks the charm of the originals. There are far better options out there like Blazing Chrome or Gunlord X that will scratch that itch far better and those are priced more fairly than Contra: Operation Galuga.
Honestly, if you think a game about slapping someone might be of interest to you, then it is worth checking out or picking up. For $19.99, picking up The Rose & Camellia Collection might be worth it at least to try.
Even with minor nitpicks, Dredge and its The Pale Reach add-on turned out to be one of the most enthralling experiences I’ve had in 2024 so far. It’s exciting, tense, full of mystery and wonder, and there is no other game like it.
Dredge is a totally innovative and creative take on the survival horror genre and manages to tell a compelling story without long-winded cutscenes or spoon-feeding it. The minor metroidvania elements to its adventuring also give players a lot of freedom to play at their own pace.
Unicorn Overlord is a true gem, a genre-defining strategy RPG that should be lined up with the other greats released through time. I truly love Unicorn Overlord and now consider it one of my all-time favorite games, I only wish Vanillaware didn’t run out of money again because I’m dying to return to Fevrith.
Highwater is not much of a strategy RPG and its story is boring. The adventure game elements are hopelessly bare and the battles are too basic to get any stimuli. It won’t interest children due to the lethargic gameplay and bleak premise, and older gamers will be desperately scraping for substance. It is a slow-moving and short game that looks and sounds kind of neat but is utterly lacking in every way imaginable.
The Cub is a solid cinematic action platformer that could have had tighter controls. Its audio and visuals are its biggest draw and while the story sticks to landing, the core themes of the narrative are utterly insulting. The misanthropic ideals it spews are shallow and the game would have been better off without it.
Good-Feel knew exactly who they were making this for and they succeeded, but it would have been nice if there were some substance for gamers who grew up with Peach too.
While a worthy spiritual successor, OTXO lacks the same underground charm that propelled Hotline Miami to success. Given the time elapsed since the Hotline games, OTXO feels like it could have benefitted from further refinement. With significant advancements in game design, some of the sloppier elements make it seem more like it came out around the same time as the Hotline series. Oddly, something so recent feels so behind.
Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection deserved a full remaster or remake compared to the garbage that Aspyr put out. It is heartbreaking to see how little effort they put into bringing an experience worthy of the series to the modern era. The game’s controls are extremely stiff and you will have to battle aim assist on top of it. If you are looking for a fun trip down memory lane, just buy the games on Steam or when they are on sale.
Combat within the game feels unsatisfying with a limit to the abilities. The jokes within are dated and feels like an AI wrote them after being fed information about South Park. Arguably, the only fight we enjoyed with the game was the final fight and that was because it broke the mold the game had established in the prior chapters.
With a bit of fine-tuning and rebalancing, Slave Zero X could be magnificent. It is already an audio/visual tour de force and the gameplay mostly works. If anything, Slave Zero X presents a compelling world with vivid imagery that sticks with you. It is no wonder why people still remember the original game and have fond memories of it.
Dungeon Encounters is a game that’s remarkably difficult to fault for its premise. It sets out with very specific intentions, and it achieves them, even if it frustrates players in the process. This isn’t your typical Square Enix fare; it’s tailor-made for hardcore RPG enthusiasts who savor the likes of pen-and-paper RPGs.
Alone in the Dark is hopelessly mediocre and rife with technical issues. While the bugs can be addressed, the generic gameplay and confusing story will always hold it back. There should have been some effort to include the original 1992 Alone in the Dark as an unlockable extra to add value to this remake, like how Splatterhouse (2010) had the 16-bit trilogy or how the Medievil remake had the PS1 game as an unlockable.
Outside of 2K locking Brock Lesnar out of the game due to the Vince McMahon controversy, Visual Concepts has done a good job with the game and improves each year.