Wccftech's Reviews
While AWAY: The Survival Series nails its nature doc narration conceit, it doesn't have anything particularly enlightening to say. The game does sometimes succeed as a straightforward cinematic adventure, but rough controls and a general lack of polish derail the rollercoaster far too often. Playing AWAY can be compelling at times, particularly if you're an animal lover, but you might find queueing up a few episodes of Planet Earth more fulfilling.
In Sound Mind is a surprisingly compelling title, offering an interesting story and strong horror experience. However, some aspects start to outlive their welcome - if only due to annoyance. Tackling a sensitive subject like mental health, In Sound Mind could have really fallen flat if We Create Stuff didn't handle it well, and while it can come across as heavy-handed at times, this is generally well done and worth experiencing.
Tormented Souls is a love letter and throwback to the old school survival horror games, warts and all, even including the age-old tank controls found in the games it looks to emulate. Honestly, it does a good job in this, setting the atmosphere, ramping up the stakes and only rarely venturing into the absurd when it comes to puzzle logic. While not completely innocent, with some nonsense puzzles, and a questionable art style for the protagonist, there's enough on offer to keep you going and it makes it more than worth the reasonable price of the game.
Easily the best way to experience building bridges across America, Death Stranding Director's Cut is less of the final cut one might expect from Kojima himself and moreso a collection of novel enhancements to make this the best looking and best feeling way to experience this unique title.
For those yearning to explore, Sable offers the chance to do it at your own speed, with your own goals, and without the need to exert violence or experience shocking twists. Sable is confident the world is interesting enough and is completely right in that regard.
Despite featuring a very familiar experience inspired by The Legend of Zelda series, Kena: Bridge of Spirits manages to stand out from the competition with its amazing visuals, excellent combat system, and puzzle design. The underwhelming story and lack of real innovation prevent the game from being a must-have, sure, but what Kena: Bridge of Spirits does well, it really does well, so much that it's very easy to look past its issues.
NBA 2K22 is the franchise's best entry in years, offering well-balanced changes on the court and a bold, yet welcome, revamp of MyCareer and The City hub. Microtransactions still frustrate at times, but they're not as aggressive or tasteless as they've been in the past. For the first time in a while, it feels like the NBA 2K dev team is hungry, and they've cooked up a real championship contender this year.
Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG is a worthy purchase for all fans of classic Fallout games, thanks to a well-crafted post-apocalyptic setting, great worldbuilding, reactive world, and solid overall gameplay. The clunky interface, basic combat, verbose writing, and overwhelming amount of status conditions to keep track of damage the experience a bit, however, making Encased a game that only the most die-hard RPG fans will enjoy right from the start.
With its excellent detective story, extremely likable characters, and welcome improvements to combat and investigation mechanics, Lost Judgment won't disappoint any fan of the original, of the Yakuza series, or anyone looking for a very mature story. The game doesn't try to shake up the original formula, which may definitely put some players off, but this is hardly a problem when quality is as high as it is in the latest game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.
WarioWare: Get it Together! retains its easy to pick up and hard to master nature while adding a bit of a challenging element through its newly implemented characters. However, this can work against it as the layer of complexity may alienate fans who want to optimize their performance because of the way some characters are designed.
Aragami 2 is another enjoyable sneak 'em up and a solid improvement over its predecessor, but an overfamiliar world and mechanics make it hard to get too excited about the game. Aragami 2 gets the job done cleanly and efficiently, and is worth a shot if you're into old-school stealth, but its memory may quickly fade into the shadowy recesses of your mind.
RiMS Racing is a decent first attempt into the racing simulation genre by Raceward Studios, with good racing, a detailed career mode and attention to detail on the bikes higher than any other game in history. On the track, it's rare to find a game that gives you the feel of a bike as good as this. However, with this attention to detail comes an inherent need to feature accessibility, which the game lacks with a terrible tutorial, and a need to balance and reduce the indulgence. The biggest culprit of indulgence comes with bike customisation, which - while valuable for those who want to know about bike parts - acts as a barrier to fun and the playing of the game. This is one I recommend to fans of bikes and racing sims, just go into it warned that there are things that could get in the way of your fun.
With its engaging story, dark atmosphere, charming characters, and excellent combat, Tales of Arise provides an experience that feels both new and familiar at the same time, making for a game that both long-time fans and newcomers will enjoy.
Life is Strange: True Colors is another success for Deck Nine, highlighting how well they understand the source material and its connection with the audience. The new characters, location, and power are an instant classic of the series and we can only hope they continue to develop this world alongside DONTNOD.
The Artful Escape is a rockin' Space Opera but it doesn't have much going for it besides its pretty visuals and incredible music. The platforming is basic and the plot is serviceable, but it's nothing that audiences haven't seen before. I'd recommend this game only if you're a fan of rock music from the '70s and '80s.
F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch throws a lot of different things at the wall and tries to make them all stick. In the end, it's a bit of a messy mix of platforming, combat, robots, and animals that Dr. Robotnik would be proud of, but it's still great fun to play even if it doesn't make a lot of sense.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a faithful adaptation of the tabletop RPG, featuring an engaging story, well-written characters, and extremely deep gameplay mechanics. Although Owlcat Games' did their best to make the game feel welcoming to newcomers with plenty of in-game resources and tutorials, and difficulty customization options, the depth of the experience can be intimidating. Those who brave through the initial confusion, however, will find one of the best computer RPGs released in recent times.
The Myst remake does many things right. Unfortunately, it still has a few snags that would keep me from recommending it to veterans over realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. Likewise, most of the adjustments and revisions are made with veteran players in mind while the newer players may feel alienated by the lack of accessibility options.
No More Heroes III is a glorious, gory mess, bursting with excitement and creativity from beginning to end. The game's intensity does shift down a gear when exploring its dated open world, but its best moments shine bright enough to keep your heart and beam katana pumping through the slower bits. Suda51 has scored another bloody Touchdown.
Humankind is a very interesting 4X strategy game with a wide variety of elements, most of which are very detailed - though some, like religion, can feel a little undercooked. From city building, expansion and the urban sprawl over time, so much of the development of the world is well represented here. Science, influence, war, economy, growth - there's very little you'll find covered here.